Cuetzalan

For the last week, we have been in Cuetzalan in the northern state of Puebla doing a service learning project in one of the schools in the woods. The school that we have been helping out at is in part of an indigenous village. The kids all wear traditional clothing and speak Nahuatl when talking with each other. They are taught in Spanish and are also learning English, but it's fascinating to see how the culture is still retained within the town. When we first arrived, they danced for us and all were dressed in white: the girls in skirts, huipils, and white shirts with a knit belt in the middle of red and yellow colors. 

Monday:  We painted the school with the kids helping as well...and the humidity and heat was so intense here. Also, the "mosques", which are like little biting gnats, are fierce. I had 80 bites on my legs after wearing shorts that first day. Needless to say, I wore pants each day following to avoid those nasty little bugs. Later on in the day, Natasha and I taught english to the second grade. We played some jeopardy with them and soccer a little later.

But, the soccer game was at this cement platform with a cover on top....the kids later explained to Natasha and I that a man had died there the Saturday before...probably from too much alcohol. 

So, Monday at the school was from 930-5pm. We were exhausted by the end of the day and passed out in our beds later on.

Tuesday: The day was much shorter. We arrived and were supposed to finish up the painting that we still had left, but there weren't enough brushes. Natasha and I decided to teach english instead. We translated sentences with them. It is especially difficult for them to understand that Me gusta isn't me like, but instead I like or he likes. To break up the serious teaching we played heads, shoulders, knees and toes and then danced the Hokie Pokie. Natasha's crazy - we taught them butt in english and she definitely shook it in the middle of the circle. 

Those kids are adorable. We taught them all frisbee, which they were really great at (though I scored a goal).

Wednesday and Thursday to sum up: everyone planted and gardened in the nursery. We visited a holistic hospital, went to a tempaskal, were cleansed from negative energy, and visited a arteseans organization where women weave clothing, blankets, and other clothes. 

Anyways, the kids were amazing for these past four days. These kids have so little in their lives. No one had watches and cell phones were unthinkable. The respect was outstanding and two of the girls even gave me bracelets that they had made. One other gave Natasha and I fruit today - a mamay. Many of the parents came in to make us lunch today - and of course it was chicken and mole (most everyone doesn't like mole, but they ate it because it was such a gift to have dinner made for us) and rice.  Then, they gave us gifts of a piece of the roof with a picture of the town pasted on it. The kids all danced some of the traditional dances and one even recited this poem, which was about the patriotism of being a Mexican. 

They days were outstanding, though hot and humid, I'm really glad that we were able to come here.

Today a few of us hiked over to this waterfall and swam underneath and in the water. The land is so lush and beautiful - it's hard to describe, and I'm so tireeed. 

Tomorrow, we'll be going to Veracruz to the beaches (and a museum, like always - but no church) until Sunday. Mexico is such a vacation. After this week of having no classes, we have Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for classes and then a 5-day weekend. Some of us are going to Puerto Escondido, one of the beaches in Mexico. It should be really great- and then back to Puebla for the Cinco de Mayo celebration. It's really awesome because Puebla is where the battle of Cinco de Mayo occured.

Okay, so to close, this post reflects how tired I am - sorry for not being more specific, but I wanted to write something before I forgot so much of it.