Update # 4: The Medical Brigade and Tamul

Bridge Mexico Families and Friends,

Greetings from Windsor Mountain!
When we last heard from the Bridge Mexico group, they were having fun and working hard in Agua Puerca. Their service project was divided into two parts--the infrastructure work in the morning consisted of digging gardens, planting potatoes, and clearing an area to lay the foundation for a new home for one of the residents of the village, while the Friendship Camp in the afternoon consisted of Arts and Crafts, teaching English, and playing volleyball and wildly popular games of soccer with all the village kids. But they didn't stop there! The foundation of Tirsa's home became the focus of the infrastructure work, and the group made a big final push to get all the work done. Darren and Becky tell us that everyone pulled together and the effort was impressive. A job well done for the Bridge Mexico group.

At the end of the week, the group took part in the annual Medical Brigade organized by our partner in Agua Puerca, Tools for Development. Families from all over the Las Palmas region come to Agua Puerca for basic medical care administered by volunteer doctors and nurses. This year our group acted as the 'front office staff' and 'hosts' for the temporary clinic, interviewing the visitors as they arrived, making sure they saw the proper doctor, dentist, or nurse, as well as making sure everyone had food and water while they waited for care. And that is not all! Our group finished off the service component of Bridge Mexico by taking part in a smaller Humanitarian Brigade in a nearby village (also organized by TFD), where they handed out basic necessities like food, water, blankets, and clothing. These two experiences combined to give our students a close-up view of the survival issues facing the indigenous Pame people on a daily basis, and reinforced our reasons for being there in the first place: our work has an immediate and positive impact on the daily lives of the people we meet.

Then the weather changed! Forecasts of heavy rain threatened to close the road out of Agua Puerca, so our group left a day early, had an MMT in Ciudad Valles, and spent a wonderful evening relaxing in the swimming pool at the Hotel Taninul. Taninul is amazing--a former European Hacienda, the house and grounds were taken over by the people of Mexico during the Revolution and transformed into a spa-hotel, complete with natural sulphur hot springs, well known throughout the region for their many healing properties. But the rain did not stop falling, so our trip to the Tamul Waterfall was cancelled--too much water made the boat trip too dangerous, and instead our group headed south to the town of Xilitla, which has turned out to be fantastic. Darren and Becky found a nice campground for the group, and spent yesterday exploring the town, which happens to be quite the cultural center, complete with a surrealist cathedral/mansion created by renowned experimental local artist Edward Castillo. I have to admit that I cannot tell you exactly what a surrealist cathedral/mansion actually is, but Darren and Becky report that it was totally amazing and the group had a great time there.

What I can tell you is what each individual student identified as their personal "High Point" for the last two weeks:

Emma loved the Medical Brigade. She sat right at the front desk and spoke tons of Spanish and made friends with many of the TFD volunteers.

Paige was moved by the Humanitarian Brigade in Posas Guapes. Handing out the necessities of life to people who had walked miles and miles for them had quite an impact on her.

Gideon loved the mountain sunrises and sunsets in Agua Puerca, and was particularly happy to swim in the pool and then take a shower when the group arrived at the Hotel Taninul.

Youngsan's high point was the goodbye celebration in Agua Puerca--the residents of the village were all there to say goodbye, and he loved the pinata.

Katie had to admit that swimming in the pool at Taninul was hard to beat.

Rachel really enjoyed working with the doctors and nurses during the Medical Brigade, and her efforts in Spanish were instrumental in ensuring that all the visiting families got the proper care.

Elkema was blown away by how beautiful the Sierra Madre mountains are. Her high points were the amazing colors of the clouds at sunset, and watching distant storms in the evening.

Julian loved the Medical Brigade. He held a baby, and it was magical.

Nicky had an awesome time during the group lunch MMT in Ciudad Valles. She loved seeing all the people, buying food in the market, and completing all the tasks for the MMT.

Zoe is very happy that her Spanish is improving, and had a moving experience passing out food to a family during the Medical Brigade--a man asked her for five tortillas, and when she found out that he had a family of six, she gave him twenty!

Rebecca enjoyed all the service work in Agua Puerca, swimming in the pool at Taninul, and the MMT in Ciudad Valles. She couldn't settle on one high point!

Tomorrow the group is headed to an festival in the town of Aquismon, where they will attend a local rodeo. Our Mexican leader Osiris grew up on a ranch and used to be a competitive bull-rider, so he will be a great resource for this experience--I'm jealous! After Aquismon the group will head to the town of Los Cuates to begin the homestay segment of Bridge Mexico. This is going to be a great opportunity for all of our students to spend a week with a Mexican family, practicing Spanish, and learning what day-to-day life is like in a typical Mexican town. In the office we are excited for them--homestays can be very rewarding, even life-changing experiences.