Ivy Tech - Bloomington ASB 2008

This post was submitted by Ivy Tech student and ASB participant Jenna M.

Laundry in the River

On Friday, March 14, 2007, we were able to do another day of service. We helped a single mother that had six children, with the youngest being one year and five months. This family did not have a bathroom, so we built her a bathroom. The cement blocks and mortar were put together with the skilled help of an experienced local construction worker. It is difficult to get the blocks at the same level and straight. The men helped with this while the women tackled the inside of the home. Her home had dirt floors and walls that were made of tarps. The ventilation for the stove had so much soot and buildup in it that we had to take it down and clean it out. Mark went and got supplies to clean the pipe with and some soap to wash things with. The dishes were piled all over and there was a container of baby formula with bugs in it. There were also dirty clothes all over the room and there did not seem to be any clean clothes in sight. We packed up the clothes and dishes into the wheel barrel and headed to the river. The woman’s daughters and their cousins went to the river with us. There were six girls with us that taught me how to wash laundry in the river. We put the clothes in the water and then used powdered laundry soap to wash them. The girls used a large rock as a wash board and I soon began to learn how to wash clothes.

One of the girls named Flo asked me if I had ever washed clothes by hand and I told her no. She was so surprised to hear that I had always had a washer to use. I put clothes in my washer and go do other things. I take for granted the fact that some people in the world have to wash their clothes this way. It was such an eye opening experience. I have read about this in books, yet it does not sink in the same way that it did when I was there experiencing it for myself. The only way that I can begin to explain this to you is that it felt so real. It was real to be standing in the cold water of the river and washing clothes by hand. The sun was shining down on us and there was a group of horses walking by the river. It was a tranquil scene that was the perfect example of being on “Mexico time”. The people in this town did not run on a clock as I do in the United States. They do the things that need done for the day as they occur. If there a child needed attention or someone wanted to take the time to play, then they did. There was not a clock staring down at them telling them that they had two minutes until they had to be somewhere.

It is amazing to me how these people made it to school on time, but I guess that they knew by the fact that the sun rose in the morning. I would love to be in a culture that lives by the rising of the sun instead of watching a clock all day. I did not bring my cell phone or a watch to this trip because I wanted to surround myself with this experience and forget about counting the minutes of the day. The girls that worked with me washing the clothes really impressed me. These girls were between ten and thirteen years old and all worked at the same rate that I did. They did not complain and even seemed to enjoy working together. The fact that they were working together towards a common cause and were having fun doing it was impressive. Some people seem to be pessimistic about everything, but these girls were so willing to help each other.

The fact that the Catholic religion prevents these people from using birth control is a hard thing for me to understand. When there is not enough food to feed three people, I do not understand why these people not prevent having six children. However the way that they worked together and made the load light with many hands, proved a point to me that families work together to take care of each other. There are not nursing homes here, instead the elderly are taken care of in the home. The family steps up and takes care of the others when one person gets ill.

The team work that the girls was interesting to observe. One of the girls stood with me while another took the clothes and hung them on the trees or barb wire fence. The girls worked together to get the water out of the clothes. Each held a side of the clothing and twisted it around to remove the water. They worked together with such synchronism that I was truly impressed. Another thing that I loved was that they accepted me into their group and taught me how to do the job. They never made a judgment about the fact that I did not have any idea how to do this. Then after the chore was finished they swam in the river and splashed me as we all laughed and played in the river. I wish that my daughter could have been there to share this experience with me. I am thankful that I was able to help them and have this experience. When I got home today, I threw in a load of laundry and as I walked away from the washer, I thought of the girls in the river that day. I will truly appreciate the modern convenience of a washing machine for the rest of my life. Yet in a way, I envy these girls for being so close to nature each day.

This post was submitted by Ivy Tech student and ASB participant Jamie H.

So the last couple of days have been crazy! On Wednesday we went to the local elementary school to observe the students in their classrooms. First we got to have recess with the children, and of course we were rock stars as all the children wanted to have us on their team. We played some for of tag, and after the game was finished the children would gather in a circle and do breathing and stretching exercises.

Being in the class was really neat as well. I have never seen such organized chaos. Of course it didn’t help that we were in room either. The children kept getting up and asking us to write on papers and sign our names. They, in turn, would draw us pictures and giggle at us. I think that we got to see some form of patriotism, the only phrase that I definitely understood was “an independent nation.” It was fascinating to watch the children as they did a short presentation (I think just for us) where some of the lines were memorized, others read from a folder, but that all of them would chime-in in perfect time together with the independent nation.

There were several obvious differences between this class and the American classroom. First of all the building itself was not in good repair. Some of the windows were broken, the desks were tiny, and all of the books that the children were using appeared to be about 6-7 years old. They were worn and tattered, much like the rest of the building. On the walls were various articles about hygiene, math, reading, books and other information, but the most out of place for me was the article about the woman who went to jail for robbery in the center. This was bittersweet for me. I didn’t understand the relevance until later in the day, but we will get to that later. Overall I enjoyed the school. My only wish was that I could have stayed for the math lesson, since math is the same in every country!

Later in the day we went to see another family that was in need. As a group we were looking for another service project to do, since the one that we have already completed was so successful. So there are about six kids that hang out outside the house here always asking for chips, or candy, or cokes, pretty much anything that has sugar in it. As it turns out, they are all related and the seven of them (including mom) all live in a room that is about the size of my living room. My living room is about 10 by 20 so that you can have a frame of reference. In this room you will find the most horrendous living conditions that any one single human being will or could ever endure in you life. There are two rooms. One serves as a sleeping domicile for the entire family. There is only one mattress and then there are several blankets on the floor for the children. The rest of the dwelling is a single room with poorly laid concrete floors. There are three walls. One made of aluminum roofing sheets which are on the side where the single bedroom is forming a short hallway. Two of them are basically sticks and scraps of wood being held together with chicken wire, and the front wall is a blue tarp, tied to the corners of the building.

There is a single couch and a wood burning stove (made of concrete and large stones) that is not properly ventilated. There is an aluminum wash tub made into a make-shift ventilation system. Smoke billows out from the stove and dances up and out of the cracks between the ceilings and walls. There was also a baby in this house. It was resting peacefully in a sheet that had been tied to the support beams with grass strings. The baby lays in this room and breathes a healthy dose of smoke every day! The family bathroom was located outside. If it would even really qualify as a building is still up in the air. It’s a room with a toilet that sits on a concrete base. No running water, no plumbing, just a hole in the ground with a toilet atop, and some buckets of water to wash with. I have never seen poverty like this in my life.

The beams of this structure are small trees that have been stripped of bark and nailed and wired into place. I don’t think that any structural engineer would ever be able to make a building like this and have it be free standing. The ceiling is covered in thick, black cinder like soot. The clothes are filthy and laying all over the place. The dishes were covered in filth. Prisoners of war are treated better I think.

So in an effort to assist this family, the only thing that we could do was help them fix the bathroom. So today we built a wall for the bathroom. We washed all of her clothes and did her dishes. I tried to help soften some of the machismo-ism here by letting the boys watch me wash the dishes in the river. It was a start.

There is so much more that I could write about right now, but I realize that I’m taking up a lot of space, and this already is so long. I will post some things on myspace for those of you who will be interested to read more.

~Jamie

This post was submitted by Ivy Tech student and ASB participant Kevin C.

I know I was going to talk about different things than I am about to, but I thought it would be better to talk of our projects. Our first project was laying a concrete floor for a single mother with two children. They live at the bottom of a hill and there floor washes away when it rains. The home was about ten feet by fifteen feet. We divided it up between two days to let it dry. We had to travel about 70 yards to carry 100 lb bags of concrete, and then we had to load buckets full of sand and stones. To make the final stretch to the house we had to cross a river on boulders which everyone but I ended up in the water. Everyone took their fair share of the labor while taking turns speaking to the family. Upon completion the family was so pleased we were invited to the little girls school play.

Our second project was taking tons of clothes to a nearby Indian village. It all started very organized with the schoolchildren filing in and all of us assisting them in their selection then sending them on their way. After the schoolchildren were done the mothers with no organization piled in and just took what they could without a fight. I was perched by the toys and that was a huge mistake. I caught all of them trying to steal all of the cars and stuffing them in their pockets. Eventually I had no more toys to hand out but the kids continued to hound me, and with my fluent Spanish I got my point across. The kids must have thought I was hoarding the toys.

Today’s project was building a bathroom for a family who had an outhouse. There was already a concrete base so we didn’t start from scratch, although it felt like it. The concrete had to be mixed by hand then shoveled into buckets and carried to the house. All of the brick lying was by hand, and we had to learn fast to ever get it done. It seemed like it was taking forever to even get one row done. It eventually had to make it to 8 bricks high and when completed was such a relief.

This post was submitted by Ivy Tech student and ASB participant Mindy P.

My experience thus far has been one I’ll never forget. I hope to be able to share it with my boys from memory and through pictures. I hope they can understand the differences between life in America and Mexico in a more substantial way and appreciate their opportunities and lifestyle a bit more.

The mountainous terrain on the way to the Indian village today was a beautiful sight. When we arrived there we distributed the gifts to the children from the school and to some people from the village. It was rewarding to see their smiles but disappointing that we didn’t have more for them.

The completion of the floor on Tuesday for the single mother of two was also a satisfying accomplishment and to know their life may be a bit more comfortable from our efforts is a great reward. At the school performance we attended this morning, we saw the two children and the smiles on their faces when they saw our group was great! I hope our visit here in Calnali and to their school helped them feel special in some way and that they will always remember we care about them.

This post was submitted by Ivy Tech student and ASB participant Judy B.

Hello from Calnali we had another great day. We went to the school to watch a school program which was very nice. The people was so kind they made sure we had a seat and with smiles. We left there and with the help of a police truck they took us to one of the Indian village’s and we went to the school and took the gifts we brought to them. They seemed very happy to get the things we gave them. At this school they told us that something had paralyzed a lot of the children at about the age of eight years old. There is so much to understand, that your mind is always working. At night you are thinking about what you have seen that day. When we got back from the village we walked to the grave yard which is such a beautiful place, they take special care of there graveyard. Tomorrow we are going to help another family, a woman and her 6 children. The father is deceased. They live in a put together home of some wood, tin, tarps. The floor is dirt and the baby lay in a hammock in a smoke filled room. If only once in your life you could experience what I have in this week it would change your life forever. Our group has been wonderful; everyone works hard together and respects everyone. We didn’t know each other until we were choose for this trip except for 3 meeting before we left. It seems as if we have known each other all our lives. Since I am the oldest, I want to adopt all of them; this trip has bonded us forever. Judy Borden

Here, in very brief language, is what we have done Tuesday morning to Thursday evening this week:

Tuesday, March 11
Poured a concrete floor

Wednesday, March 12
Visited a local elementary school to volunteer by helping with P.E., etc.
Toured an impovrished neighborhood in Calnali to scout a place to make a difference on Friday
Visited Calnali’s high school
Toured a local bakery
Taught/tutored English to a local study group for 7-9 year olds
Visited a cemetery

Thursday, March 13
Visited a school to watch a teacher’s retirement ceremony
Visited another school to watch a “mini-carnaval”
Traveled to a local Indian village to deliver clothes and other important things to people in need
Bathed in sulfer hot springs
Went to a community soccer match

That’s it for now. Thanks to everyone for their comments - they’ve been great!

Mark

This post was submitted by Ivy Tech instructor and ASB leader Donn H.

This is Wednesday our 5th day on Alternate Spring Break and our less physically active day after two days of working hard to pour a concrete floor for a family of a mother and two little children. The work was very difficult but very rewarding. The house we were putting the floor in was down a path right off of the road, fairly close to the center of town but it could have been a hundred miles away. We walked about a hundred yards down the road from Juana’s house (Juana Watson, our sponsor/contact person on this trip) where we have stayed since arriving Saturday night, down a path, across a creek and up a steep embankment. The house we are working on has one room, is made of a frame with cut boards and no dry wall or interior walling, and looks to be fairly new, but before our two days of work it had only a dirt floor. When we arrived Monday morning the tiny house had been emptied of all furniture which was positioned outside around the perimeter of the house and covered with sheets and quilts.

The two children of little family are 5 and 7 years old or so, the youngest a little girl. Her brother told me his name was Geraldo and then I accidentally knocked him into the creek as I was crossing the rocks to fetch tools. I slipped as I was going down the embankment; I stepped onto the first rock to cross the creek, slipped and fell right on top of the little guy. I hit my elbow on a rock but Geraldo went over his head into the water and of course was completely soaked. I helped him up out of the water and said I was sorry about a hundred times. His mom got him into some dry, clean clothes but he wasn’t too happy to see me when I came around for the rest of the day.

To get all of the gear and materials to the house where we could mix concrete we had to carry 100 pound bags of cement down a path, down an embankment, across a creek and up a steep embankment on the other side. Everyone helped, making a sort of bucket chain. Then we carried 5 gallon buckets of sand and rocks that were piled outside the house. I spent part of the morning in the bucket chain moving concrete bags, sand and rocks up to the house until I was too exhausted to continue so I abandoned my place in the line and went back to the road where the piles of rock and sand were waiting to be loaded into buckets and helped Kevin fill the buckets.

We did half of the floor on Monday and finished it on Tuesday. It was a very triumphant moment late Tuesday afternoon when Chimo (the worker Juana hired to do the actual laying of the concrete floor) stood up and raised his hands in victory as he completed the floor for Augustina Hernandez and her children.

The food has been excellent, as authentic Mexican food as can be had. Juana is an icon of the town; she has brought a great deal of help to Calnali. The town is different from what I thought it would be like. I had in mind a very small place with mud roads. The town we are visiting is a medium sized place with a square and several Internet cafes, plenty of stores and a lot of activity. The first day after we arrived was market day and the square and for several blocks on the radiating roads were filled with booths with folks selling everything from butchered cows, cicerones (fried pig skin, or as we call them, Pork rinds), plastic kitchen ware, CD’s, and lots of beans, peppers, herbs and edible cactus. It was a mass of human activity and difficult to take in every bit.

Today we visited an elementary school in the morning. The kids were great and as friendly as they could be. I watched a class during their PE period and then with Mark Howard, Jamie, and Ejas followed them back to their classroom and observed their school work. The teacher was friendly but generally ignored us and the kids gathered around us to ask questions all of which were in Spanish so it was frustrating not to be able to communicate with them. One slight bit of understanding was reached when I realized the kids were asking me how old I was, and when I told them 51, they were amazed. One little girl asked me if I had any little girls at my house and I explained as best as I was able to that I had 2 sons, one 23 and one almost 16. That made them smile to know I was a father. We were there for the beginning of lunch and then returned to Juana’s house for our lunch. After lunch we visited a very poor woman’s one (very small room) house where we may work on Friday to build another concrete floor.

In all, visiting this village in the non-tourist part of Mexico has been an eye opening and humbling experience. People live happily here with so much less than Americans get by with. They smile and do as best as they can and it makes me feel guilty to have ever complained about anything. I know it is as cliché’ as it can be, but visiting here truly puts things in perspective. I am very proud of the way the Ivy Tech ”Family” has worked so cheerfully and so hard to be of some little assistance compared to the need of the entire community, but we have been such a great help to one special family. The students are enthusiastic, and they have been truly affected by this eye opening experience. I know that each student (and faculty/staff member) who has taken part in this week long alternate spring break will come home a better, wiser and more humble person. More later…

This post was submitted by Ivy Tech student and ASB participant Gisselle B.

We just got back from a school, each one of us was sent to a classroom to spend some time with the kids and get a taste of their world; we where able to witness a new generation been formed, the future of Calnali. After hearing they reviews their assignments for Easter break the teacher asked me where I am from, he was excited to hear that I was from Honduras, the classroom remained silent, every eye in that room was staring at me as the conversation went on.

It is hard to believe that we have only been here for three days and we have probably made a difference in so many lives with the simple fact of been here to share a smile and a hug. Monday and Tuesday we worked on a family’s house, she is now single mother, with to gorgeous kids; her husband abandoned her now she is on her own with the financial responsibility of raising two kids. There is probably no muscle in my body that is not aching, for two days we carried buckets of gravel, sand and water in our shoulders… if that does not sound painful imagine walking a block of unleveled-narrow dirt path which ends on a creek that you must cross in order to get to the other side – just for the record there was no such thing as a bridge, we made a human chain standing on rocks so we could carry the materials from one side of the creek to the other. Even though I am sore from head to toes, the pain in my heart is bigger when I see their faces happy for a concrete floor in a little house made of wood with aluminum roof; I wish more could be done. This all makes me think about what I have and how often have I taken it for granted. We put a price to our happiness that goes way beyond the true needs and the real purpose of our lives.

….. one of our “family” members is sick today, keep her and the rest of the team in your prayers so that we can have the strength an health to continue to pour out ourselves to this community.

PS: It’s not a myth… Mexican is not just tasty… it’s spicy hot!!! Yeehaa!!

This post was submitted by Ivy Tech student and ASB participant Jamie H.

Climbing a Mountain

The first thing that I have to say is that I have already had the time of my life, and the journey has just begun! When I think about the process that I went through to get to be able to come on this trip, I realize that I didn’t really put my best foot forward and secretly wonder why I’m here. In some ways I was complacent in its pursuit, much like I have been with several things lately. While I have kept up with my school work, I have generally put things off to the last minute. And if I have to make any confessions about my extra curricular activities at school, I have been extremely passive. Even thought I have had some good ideas, which probably could have benefitted a great number of students, I have been complacent in execution, and quick to give up when I have encountered any type of resistance. As of late, I have been waning on lots of things. I have just been doing the bare minimum to get by, and sometimes even less. I’ve been pushing the envelope to see how long it would take someone to hold me accountable for my short-comings. That moment has not yet happened as folks seem to think that I will finish what I start.

The city of Calnali is tucked neatly away in the Sierra Madre Mountains. Everything here is beautiful. The natural wonders are abundant, the people are friendly, and life here seems to be slow paced. The house that we are staying in has a balcony on the front, which is only accessible from the men’s dormitory. The view is of two peaks, one is very steep and densely saturated with vegetation. The other is not as steep, but wears a summit like a circular crown. The rock bolts up from the peak and stands towering like a stoic guardian over the quiet city.
The paths up the mountain are narrow, and appear to have carved out by water. They are also used by the farmers here to herd livestock up the mountain so that they may graze. It’s a long, tiring walk up. I guess that would by why we place so much importance on being able to climb mountains.

As the group walked the winding trails were took frequent breaks to talk about the view, the weather, and what we are doing here. The conversation took many turns, with frequent banter. But we kept coming back to the main point, which was that we are here to make an impact on someone’s life. That person is me. When we got a little more than half-way up, some of us (understandably so) felt the need to go back down. This was my chance to finish something I started. This mountain had suddenly become an opportunity to prove to myself that I could finish something that I had started. Did I come here to just climb all the way or did I have the drive and determination to make it all the way to the top? My soul starts screaming yes, and when the question was asked who wanted to go all the way, I was the first to raise my hand. So I and 5 others said that we could go the distance.

By this time, my legs were screaming and all that I could think about was how nice it would be to have a shower and lay down. But I have too clean and well rested for too long. I had to persevere. I needed to prove something to myself. We moved on. After passing through a gate the hill became much steeper and presented a new element. Can you push yourself a little harder to be where you want to be, or would I settle for close. No, I couldn’t. I had to get there. My life almost depended on it. Each step was one step closer to the goal.

Finally we made it as far as we could, because the trees and plants got so thick that light could not even pass through the leaves. Once I reached the top, I felt that I was so high over the earth that at any moment gravity would cease to exist and I could just float away. It was breathtaking to have the view of the stoic guardian. There was also immense personal gratification. Overwhelming emotions stirred as I peered over the city. The air was sweet with victory and sweat. A light breeze fanned my aching body, but all I could feel was joy. A cleansing took place with 5 classmates, and washed away all the doubt that I had let build. In fifty years I may not remember the view, or the fallen tree that I used for a bench, but I will always remember the way that I felt at that moment, and how if I had been alone I would have cried.

Does this Taxi have a Seatbelt?

Flying into Mexico City was a sight to behold. I have never seen an expanse of lights that seemed to go on forever. After we landed and got through customs we were met by Pat, one of the ladies that’s helping out Juana, our host, for this trip. She was there to get us to our taxis and then our hotel. Once we were in the garage we saw our taxi drivers. There were standing next to two older Chevy Suburbans painted maroon and silver with some custom wheels. I could not see how the luggage for 14 people was going to fit into these cars, but he drivers assured us that everything would be fine. Once the truck was busting at the seams with luggage, there were still 6 bags sitting on the ground beside the car. The driver picked them up and threw them on the luggage rack, crossed himself, and said lets go. There were not tied down or anything. I was a nervous wreck, as the main bag that I brought with me was one of those on top. We left the airport and all I could think about was my duffel on top and how at any second it was going fly off the car and into the street and be destroyed by one of the other insane drivers. I have never had such a car ride in my life. Stop lights here are merely a suggestion and I don’t know why they even bothered to paint lines on the road, they are completely ignored. But this does have a happy ending. We made it to the hotel in one piece and with all the stuff, so I guess that he knew more that I gave him credit for.

This post was submitted by Ivy Tech student and ASB participant Jenna M.

The last three days in Calnali have been amazing. I have never had such an
experience in all of my life. I am a single mother and a nurse living in
the United States and I did not realize that magnitude of the statement
that I should be grateful for what I have. Mark and I were talking as we
passed buckets of sand across a creek about the overwhelming reality that
these people in Mexico are living in poverty that Americans will never
understand. We have food stamps, welfare, medicaid, food kitchens, and
many other resources to help us when there is no other ways to make ends
meet. Also most of us have people that we can go to and stay with or get
food from. Yet these people in Mexico have no resources to help them when
there is no other means to survive.

The woman that we are laying concrete for is living in poverty. She has a
dirt floor with light shining through the walls of her one room home. She
has no bathroom or way to store food. She does not recieve any government
aide and she washes clothes for a living which pays her minimal income.
She has no husband because he left her for another woman. He is a police
officer and she is an outcast from the community because it is such a
macho culture. The women are supposed to serve the men and work in the
home. She is blamed for the fact that they are not together and treated
badly because he is a man of power in the communiy by working close to the
government.

Her daughter is five and her son is seven. I was able to talk with the
little girl and she reminded me of my own little girl. I gave her a hair
clip and I let her have some of my Bath and Body Works lotion. She loved
the lotion and she immediately put the clip in her hair. She is so cute.

We built her a cement floor by carrying the cement, sand, and rocks across
a creek and then mixing the cement by hand. It was an amazing experience
to be able to build her a floor and provide her with a dry place for her
and her children to sleep at night. We also were able to talk with her and
provide her with a way to vent her feelings. This is extremely therapuetic
for someone to be able to talk about their feelings.

The children are not able to socialize or go to school because they do to
have any uniforms or ways to pay for tuition. Their tuition and uniforms
are fifteen dollars a year and I think that there is a used clothing store
to buy them some uniforms for two dollars. This is such an extremely small
amount of money for someone like me in the United States. Yet she has no
money for food, let alone being able to pay for the children to go to
school. When we get back home, I am going to collect money for these kids
to be able to go to school. I want to collect enough to pay for their
uniforms and then for their whole career as students. This would be
amazing. I believe that this would be three hundred and sixty dollars. If
anyone would like to contribute to this cause please contact Mark Howard
at Ivy Tech.

The woman made a comment that really hit home for me and touched my heart.
She said that when her kids are sick, there is nothing for her to do for
them but cry. As a mother and a nurse, I want to help these people with
their lack of healthcare. I know that there are nurses out there that
would love to come and help these people.

I plan to come to live with Juana Watson, whichi is our host in Calnali,
this summer and be able to work in a hospital here in Mexico. I am
learning so much Spanish and I would love to continue to learn more. When
we went to the market on the square on Sunday, I was able to talk with
many people. I think that I learned more by talking with people than being
in a class. The market was so beautiful and I have never seen anything
like it before in my life. The smells of the foods and the people all
walking around buying items was a sight to see. All of the people talked
to us and were friendly.

Unlike in Indiana, people had the time to stop and talk with each other.
There is not a rush on time like there is in the United States. I really
like it that there is not a rush to get somewhere every second of the day.
We wake up with the sounds of a rooster crowing and the people walking
their children to school. There are cars here but many of the people walk.
I have so much to say and not enough time to say it. I learn, experience,
and enjoy something new every single second of the day here.

Before I left Indiana, I went to church and my minister told me that I
would be able to find my purpose in life this week.
I have truly found my purpose in life this week. God give me the strength
to serve others because that is what gives life purpose. Service learning
is about helping others, but is also is about finding a purpose for my
life. It has two sides to the experience. Being a nurse, there is no
better feeling than being able to help someone. That is why I chose my
career which I believe will help me to help these people.

I am so grateful that I was able to go on this alternative spring break.
This was an opportunity of a lifetime. The people that are on this trip
with me are truly a diverse group, yet we meshed within the first twenty
four hours that we were together. I love the group that we have taken this
journey with and I feel that I have made some friends that I will be able
to keep when we return to the United States.

This post was submitted by Ivy Tech student and ASB participant Tabitha L.

Today and yesterday have been truly the most rewarding days of my entire life! I physically hurt more than ever before but my heart and soul feels tranquil and fulfilled. The day started bright and early, all of us carrying shovels, buckets, and work gloves. We had about a 5 minute walk to a stream with slick rocks forming a sort of makeshift bridge that led to a 12ft by 16ft shack with dirt floor, a hole in the wall covered with chicken wire and an old sheet formed a window, a rusty tin roof with a dead armadillo on the roof, and no chinking between the wooden boards forming the walls… The money that we payed ($125) to come on this trip was used to buy supplies to make a concrete floor for this house.

We met the young woman that lived there with here 2 young children and nephew, their excitement and anticipation was palpable, as was ours. The recipe for the floor involved sand, rock, concrete and water. A few of us were stationed by the road to shovel sand and rock into buckets and carry them to the river where they were passed to waiting family members painstakingly walking on the slippery rocks to carry the supplies over the river to other family members waiting to mix the right amount for the floor. I was mainly on the river rocks hauling buckets and later mixing (by hand with a shovel) the concrete.

More than a few of us fell at least once, the buckets were extremely heavy, the concrete bags were 80 pounds each and could not be dropped in the water, and the sun was very hot!

However, I felt none of the pain (until later! haha) after seeing the smiles on the faces of the people living there!!! While we were ‘hurrying up to wait’ today the little boy came up to me while I was clearing trash from the river with a little cup. I looked inside to find a small minnow swimming about, we didn’t speak at first but he handed me the cup, pointed from the minnow to me and smiled…without words I had been given a gift!

He motioned for me to follow him so I did. His mother was waiting for us and with Giselle’s translating help she showed me how to fish for the minnows, she also told me when I asked that they only ate the ‘large’ minnows (large being bigger than an inch and a half long…) Semper Gumby came to visit because the water levels were near depleted so we had to ferry buckets of water from the river to pour in the toilets so we could flush them and no showers for us! We had a great dinner and almost all of us crashed within a few hours of arriving back at la casa de Juana!

This morning was hilarious, hearing everyones groans and moans from the sore muscles! It definetely makes things worse when you stop moving! haha After breakfast we headed back to the house. Today was overcast and there were a few sprinkles but nothing bad. We started out the same as yesterday and completed the rest of the floor successfully! Jamie, Brianna, and Elisa took the whole family to buy new shoes! The smiles on their faces were absolutely priceless! Once we finished the floor I wrote Con Amor (made with love) Ivy Tech 2008. The young children also made their mark by making handprints in the cement beside our family signature, it was an extremely touching moment. Besides all the hard work everyone put in today we did manage to have some fun! Mark ventured upstream chasing ducks so after a few comical attempts I followed to assist. Being a country girl has it’s advantages because while I managed to catch 3, Mark was not successful so we moved on to chickens.

Before the day was out, after several whole-hearted attempts, Mark captured his first chicken like an expert!!! Oorah!!! This has been truly amazing so far and I know it will only get better! More later!- Tabby

This post was submitted by Ivy Tech student and ASB participant Virginia I.

Juana was right. It has indeed been a long road to Calnali. Although we have not been here that long it feels like we have accomplished so much! It has been amazing submersing ourselves into this culture and really being apart of it. We have been to the town market, climbed a local mountain,and even dabbled in some cooking.The guacamole is delicioso.

My favorite part of the trip so far has been the work we have done for a family in Calnali. We built a concrete foundation for them so that their floor would not turn to mud when it rained. It was very hard work bringing the supplies across the river. The supplies being sand, rocks, and concrete mix. I did more physical labor in those two days than I have done in months. I am extremely sore but it hurts so good.

I love the group I am with and they have absolutly enhanced this whole experience for me. The leadership has been strong and Juana has been more than hospitable. There is so much more to come and I am anticipating it to be great if not better than my experiences so far. I am honored to be here because this is an experience that has power to influence my life.

Here, in very brief language, is what we have done as of this Monday evening:

Friday, March 7
Drove to Chicago
Flew to San Antonio
Saw the Alamo and River Walk
Flew to Mexico City
Took a cab to the Hotel Premier with luggage, unstrapped, on top of the taxi

Saturday, March 8
Took a 8-hour bus ride from Mexico City to Calnali, including a stop for us (yes, us) to change the flat tire on the bus

Sunday, March 9
Some went to mass
Shopped at a local market for the week’s food, including cow tongue
Climbed a mountain

Monday, March 10
Poured a concrete floor after carrying the supplies across a river by foot, literally
Watched a cow get slaughtered and then butchered

More to come tomorrow!

Hello all,

After some technical problems, ASB 2008 is back online! Finding proper internet in this village turned out to be quite the task y es diez pesos per hora. Pictures are coming soon.

Mark

This post was submitted by Ivy Tech student and ASB participant Judy B.

To talk about my experience so far is beyond words. I have met some wonderful new family members in our group. We climbed the mountain today and saw some beautiful sights. We also went to the market this morning and shopped for the week.

I don’t know that I can explain how great this was. There’s not a store to go to, so everyone brings all the fruits, veg. and meats this one day of the week. The people has been so kind to all of us. Tomorrow we are going to do the concrete work and I’m really excited about helping. I wish everyone could get the chance to see and experience this just one time in their life. This is a life changing experience everyone needs to experience. I again want to thank Ivy Tech for this wonderful experience, and also thanks to all my beautiful new family.

Judy Borden

This post was submitted by Ivy Tech student and ASB participant Elisa M.

What I can say, I met so many wonderful people in this group. Today, we went to buy food for all the week and climbing the mountain was great. This is a great experience that I never going to forget. Thank you…. And I love you guys, you are all wonderful.

This post was submitted by Ivy Tech student and ASB participant Brianna P.

Hi again, it’s Brianna! It is about to be 1am and I have had such a fulfilling and adventurous day. In the morning we had breakfast and then went to the public market to get food for the week. It was fun because we had to get tons of food and go back and forth to and from the house because we could not carry so much. It was a good feeling when we bought a young man’s entire orange supply; he was shocked and so happy. We also were followed by little kids, I guess out of curiosity. Although we were busy we still found time to talk with the kids and walk around with them, we bought them some churritos (a type of chip) to eat and they were happy and grateful as well.

After that we ate lunch and hung out until our climb to the mountain. Now this is something that none of you could imagine if you just read it, your best bet is to see a picture to understand the height to which we hiked. We were led by a kind man and a young boy named Eduardo (he was so adorable). The hike was hard and at some points I did not want to go anymore. Mind you, this is a mountain that is natural; there aren’t any specific designed roads especially when you get towards the middle to the top. I had to dig my hands in the earth and climb to the top. When we got to a clearing, some wanted to go back so 5 of us continued on the journey to the top. It was kind of dangerous, we had to help each other since it was so steep to climb, and we were literally climbing straight up the mountain. At the end it was such an invigorating experience. I looked at the horizon and saw that we were thousands of feet up (6,000ish I believe), I felt like a conqueror and that I could do anything. This may sound cheesy but I felt so close to my ancestors, and even though they were not from this part of Mexico, I still felt like they experienced similar struggles and had to literally climb mountains like I was doing today. We made a little video and took pictures at the top and to make the experience more meaningful some of us went down the mountain barefoot. Crazy I know, but we wanted to identify with the people and what they experience, and through the pain (rocks!) I totally felt grateful for everything I have back at home and the comfortable lifestyle I have. I was grateful for my bisabuela for pushing education and hard work to my abuelo who pushed education and hard work to my mother and aunts and uncle. Because of this they are able to live comfortably and never know what it is like to have no shoes on your feet while you walk on rocks.

I learned something else as we traveled down the mountain. Our guide was very interesting and he and I talked for a long time as we climbed down the mountain. We talked about race and some history of Mexico and how it is so diverse. He told me that everyone who is “Mexican” is pretty much a mixed-breed. Interesting, huh? In this town of Calnali, the French actually stayed here and mixed in with the natives. He told me to notice people’s appearances tomorrow as I walk through the town. Some people are very fair-skinned with European features while others are truly Azteca with dark skin, long and black hair. He told me that in actuality there is no need to worry about being light or dark or having straight hair or curly hair. It is really to what you identify with, and although I’m obviously bi-racial, most Mexicans are….you can say…bi-racial as well in a sense! But of course they still consider themselves %100 Mexican although some may hair green eyes and light skin, which is not the norm. He mentioned about the culture of Afro-Mexicans who live more south of Mexico and how they are very dark skinned with African features. Even though it’s OBVIOUS they are mixed-blood, they call themselves Mexicans. Slowly everything is making sense to me, I don’t know why but I am feeling more comfortable in my own skin.

Tomorrow we are going to fix up some houses and mix up concrete, after the climb up the mountain; it will probably be a piece of cake! I am excited for another day. I could not ask for more. Thank you again Ivy tech for this wonderful experience.