REsperaNzA 2012

My reflections and feelings about Esperanza and Tijuana

2013-03-13T22:04:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was my day to post on the trip's blog here's my post...

For me, this year's trip has been different from all of my other trips, having lived here for so long last year, returning is a little strange. I missed Mexico so much while I was gone, and now being back I am slowly realizing how much this place, and this organization has changed me and helped me grow as a person. While I was down here last year I saw small changes, but mostly I was wrapped up in what was going on while I was here, and the work we were doing. When I returned home change was slow and I'm not sure if I ever fully took the time to reflect on my time here, but now having been back for about a week and a half now (I came down a week earlier than the group), I have really had time to examine everything that has changed in Tijuana, and in me in the last year, and over the past nine years.

It's easy to come down here for a week each year, and to have an amazing time, meet kind and caring people. It's hard to return home and continue living out the lessons learned while here. We get sucked up in the fast pace of our lives and work and forget this wonderful place. Being back here the last two weeks has been completely refreshing. People talk about how selfless volunteering is, and how amazing it is for people to come here, to somewhere perceived as very dangerous and give their time. It's hard for me to see this trip that way, I almost feel selfish coming here, because of how much I get out of this trip, and how much I love it here. I have never been somewhere that I felt more welcomed and loved. The people we meet open their homes and hearts to us daily. They would give us the shirt off their back if we asked. Even though for many of us there is a language barrier we still find a way to communicate, we find a way to work side by side with people from the communities to accomplish something.

I'm often asked why I come here when we're only building one part of one house. There are so many problems in Mexico, we can't possibly solve them all so why should we try and help.... Continue Reading on the trip blog

Day 8

2013-03-11T20:13:00.002-07:00

Today we headed to the border in the morning after breakfast. This is always an interesting experience. There are a lot of mixed feelings when we go to the border. On one side, it was a beautiful day and we were at the beach, then there is a giant wall reminding us what side we were on and that some cannot cross, and that the friendship that once existed between the two countries no longer exists.

Every year there is different art on the wall....

"The love of one's country is a splendid thing, but why should love stop at the border?"

-Pablo Casals

After our trip to the border we went downtown to Revolution street for lunch and some shopping...

Mom and I at lunch

Beautiful Mexican pottery

Day 7

2013-03-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

Buenas Dias!

So it is my 7th day in Mexico this year and I am on cloud nine! The group from Wooster is here! The main part of the group arrived early yesterday afternoon with a group of 4 walking across the border later due to a late flight getting in. I went to pick up the group that walked across. Heading to the border is always an interesting experience, and it's never the same. Right now they are doing construction on the border (They have been for a few years now) so things are constantly moving around (see earlier post about me walking over the wrong way). But we met up with them and all is well!

When the group arrives we always do an opening circle. It is one of my favorite experiences to see how people's comments and reactions change from the opening circle to the closing circle, how their perceptions change.

Emily Howard, who works for The College of Wooster's Office of Interfaith Campus Ministries wrote on the Wooster trip's blog yesterday and had some great things to say:

"In our first reflection circle yesterday, people shared some of what brought them to this place, and why they've come. Many people in our group have visited for many years (the most being, I think, 9 years in a row! and several past and present long-term volunteers among us). Trinity UCC shares a sense of commitment and particular mission with Esperanza International and this city. I am always impressed by the number of folks who point out houses they worked on years ago, have developed long relationships (even marriages!) thanks to Tijuana, and notice the changes and improvements in the city each time they return. Whether it's the music and the colors and the roosters, the families impacted, the differences and similarities in the way of life - they find something meaningful and unique that brings them back. "Why do you come to Tijuana?" is simple - they feel a connection in their life, in their spirit, with the people and the place, and want to share it with others here and back home.

Students' responses as to why they are here were a little different, as many are here for the first time. Many said they feel the desire and have a commitment to help, serve, and give back to others. They have learned about the relationship between Mexico and the U.S. and want to see the other side in person. Or, they knew another student who came and had a life-changing experience -- so, here we are!

As for me, I know one thing I'm looking for this week is to experience the connection between all people - whatever our language, income, work life, religion, culture. My best memories from last year's trip are those moments of surprising connection at the home sites, at the migrant shelter, the orphanage, even out shopping and at the taco stand. Esperanza says one of its goals is to promote global citizenship (actually, the COW says that too!). What connections do we share with this place? How can we promote a good relationship with our neighbors across the border?"

Four people will write on The College of Wooster & Trinity's Trip Blog Daily. Follow along for different perspectives on the trip and all of the experiences.

Wooster's Trip Blog

2013-03-08T13:15:00.001-08:00

Starting tomorrow (Saturday) when the Wooster group gets here they will be keeping a blog of their experiences. Each day 1-2 people will post about what happened during the day. It is a good way to keep up with what is going on with the group, and see different perspectives on the week!

Trinity/College of Wooster Trip Blog

Day 6

2013-03-08T13:11:00.002-08:00

I haven't posted for a few days. I took Wednesday and part of Thursday off from work to visit with Alex, the long term volunteer that was here with me, his girlfriend, Giselle, and some of the Mexican College students that volunteer on the weekends. It was nice to relax a little bit and hang out with friends! I also got to eat some of my favorite foods (in TJ)!

There is an amazing Chinese food restaurant in La Gloria, this giant meal was about $4.00!

Heading out of La Gloria is one of my favorite taco stands they serve "El Dragon" this amazing mix between a fish taco and a quesadilla... so delicious!

Thursday morning Alex, Giselle, and I went to Rosarito in the morning for breakfast and had an amazing breakfast overlooking the beach! I am hoping to take the group there this weekend if we venture to Rosarito!

Today it was back to work, even though it was raining. We only got about two hours of work in before it started pouring down rain (again). The Providence College group is heading back over the border today. Being that it is lent we had fish for lunch, probably the best fish I have ever eaten! Fresh from the ocean to the fryer! Tomorrow the Wooster group gets here!

Sorry for all the food pictures, and no work pictures! Promise next week you will get more work pictures!

Heidi - Current Long Term Volunteer Blog

2013-03-05T17:12:00.003-08:00

Heidi is from Ohio, we went to college together at The College of Wooster. She is the current long term volunteer with Esperanza and she is keeping a blog for the next four months while she is here:

Heidi's Creating Homes and Smiles in Tijuana, Mexico Blog

Mexico Day 3

2013-03-05T17:04:00.000-08:00

Today I worked in a community called Cumbres with Roberto one of the technicians. The two of us with the help of Maria, the woman who owns the house we built a small wall and poured the cement for the wall. We didn't use a mixer, we simply mixed the ingredients together on the ground with shovels. Which sounds easy, but it was a lot of work! I am finding muscles I didn't remember I had. Below you can see Roberto building a wall and Maria helping below. We carried the sand for the cement and all the materials up that hill! At the bottom of the hill you can see the family's current bathroom, the room we were adding to will be their bathroom when it is finished. Also notice the tire/dirt steps, they are very resourceful!

It is always amazing to me to see the physical things I can do. I can lift, mix, and shovel more than I thought was possible. I also find that when it has to be my balance is pretty good!

The view from Maria's back yard. You can see how dense the houses are and some are nicer, some are simply ply wood.

There are many olive groves in the Tijuana area, in the distance if it wasn't so cloudy you could see the ocean.

There were horses grazing in the back yard.

And Roberto and I had delicious pizza for lunch! Bet you can't guess which half was mine...

Mexico Days 1 & 2

2013-03-04T19:28:00.001-08:00

Day 1

I arrived in Tijuana yesterday afternoon, a little later than expected. They have moved where you walk across into Tijuana, so if you are crossing it is actually much easier. You get of the trolley and the border crossing is right there. I unfortunately was unaware of the change so I walked all the way across the bridge, pictured below.

Then I walked all the way back crossed, and walked over a different bridge to where I met Alex, who was a long term volunteer with me, and his girlfriend Giselle. We stopped at The Posada to drop off my things and headed out for delicious fish/shrimp tacos, I may or may not have eaten five. My diet is out the window this week I am going to eat as much delicious Mexican food as I can get my hands on! I have missed it so much!! Mexican food in Michigan just isn't the same! Especially the seafood!

So after our yummy tacos we came back to the Posada and headed to the beach at Rosarita with the group. They did some shopping while Alex, Giselle, and I relaxed at the beach and fresh margaritas!

Day 2

Today we worked in Lomas de San Anton (I think) on a site that already has one Esperanza house. The house we are building now is for the daughter and her family. The house has beautiful flowers and is very nice. Today we moved a giant pile of dirt and got all of the blocks into the center of what will be the floor of the house to prepare to build and pour the walls over the next few days.

To build the beams for the room we first cut thick wire then straighten it.

Next the wire is bent into squares, then tied to rebar to make beams.

The guys eating lunch. The blocks are stacked and ready to build walls.

Beautiful flowers on the site.

Yummy lunch, Chicken, beans, and rice.

Throughout the day we leveled out the entire area to the left of the house, it was a dirt hill with aloe and other indigenous plants growing on it.

This evening while we waited for the group, who was at Casa Migrante, we had a bite to eat and saw the Brazil soccer team practicing for their game Wednesday night against Tijuana's team (Los Xolos). This is the first time a team from Brazil has come to Tijuana.

Sunset Cliffs, San Diego, California

2013-03-03T22:49:00.001-08:00

Hello!
Before heading down to Tijuana I am spending a night in Ocean Beach (OB) San Diego. Ocean Beach is a very laid back colorful little area full of surfers, artists, and international travelers. It's a great meld and I always end up meeting or at least witnessing many interesting people.

One of my favorite things about Ocean Beach is that Sunset Cliffs are just a short walk away...

Pictures coming soon...

Headed out Tomorrow!

2013-03-01T07:37:00.001-08:00

Hello all!
I am headed to San Diego tomorrow, I will be staying in San Diego for a day or two then taking a train to the border at San Ysidro and walking across the border to meet a friend in Tijuana. I will post while I am in San Diego, and continue posting through my trip in Tijuana.

For the last 9 years I have been traveling to Tijuana, Mexico for a week each winter to work alongside local families to build homes with a wonderful organization, Esperanza International. Last year I was lucky enough to spend three months in Tijuana as a long term volunteer. I have never had a more life changing or inspiring experience. I am so excited to be heading back down! I will be staying until March 16th. On March 9th a joint group between the church I grew up in and The College of Wooster will be joining me. Group members will be posting daily I will link to their blog, it is nice to see different people's perspectives!

In college I started the joint trip between Trinity and The College of Wooster, if you are interested in starting your own trip please e-mail me at Rena.Starr@Esperanzaint.org and I will help you get started! If you are reading this as a member of UUAA please e-mail me if you are interested in coming on the trip next year, I will be starting the planning process very soon!

It is important to give back to your community and I do volunteer locally. This trip is always a nice step away from home, a good chance to take myself out of my comfort zone, out of my own "troubles" and get a perspective on the rest of the world and different ways of living, and hit reboot. I get as much out of this trip as I give, sometimes I feel a little selfish. It is always a reminder of the important things in life; friends, family, and community. I also see it as a reminder that in a cruel world there are still good things. The people I meet have very little materially but have so much warmth, love, and kindness. They are rich in the things that many people with so much more materially are completely bankrupt in.

Countdown to Tijuana...

2013-02-18T14:32:00.001-08:00

Hello again and thank you for your continued reading!

On March 2nd I will be headed back down to Tijuana to spend two weeks volunteering. I hope to post daily about what we are doing, the area, and the organization.

I will be spending a few days in San Diego during my two weeks, I will post from there as well. I love visiting San Diego almost as much as I love Tijuana, I hope I have time to do/visit everything I miss about Tijuana and San Diego!

Last year I spent three months living and working alongside the people in Tijuana. While I was there and right when I arrived home I don't think I fully understood what my time there or the what the people of Tijuana meant to me. I have grown so much over the past year. Being in Mexico helped me get out of my comfort zone and helped to open my eyes to what is going on in the rest of the world. It helped me to understand what I want out of life and how I who I want to be as I "grow up." So many people live full, generous, happy lives with very little in the way of material things.

Never have I met more inviting caring people than while I was in Mexico. They opened their homes and hearts to the volunteers and bent over backwards to make us feel welcome and loved, which often meant they or their children had to go without. By working together we worked to accomplish something great, a home for a family that had been saving for years for this dream come true.

It is an amazing feeling to know you helped someone accomplish their lifelong goals. I am hoping that I can share this wonderful experience with more people.

If you do not ever come on this trip I hope that you can find something locally that is as fulfilling as this experience.

Please Note...

2012-10-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

Any political ads that show up on my page are NOT necessarily political opinions I hold!! Google has placed them there!!

Do your research, real research, not just listening to an add, before you vote!!

To my continuing readers...

2012-10-02T21:29:00.002-07:00

Thank you for your continued support of my blog and Esperanza, I am glad to see that there are still readers out there. I am planning a trip back to visit and will hopefully have more to report soon!

If you would like to see what I am up to please see my other blog: Starry Eyed Wander ... for recipes, natural remedies, restaurant reviews, travel updates, etc.

Please check up on what is going on with Esperanza at www.Esperanzaint.org

Thank you again! Keep reading!

- Rena

Hugging Jesus

2012-07-24T11:48:00.001-07:00

Miss driving by this beautiful (large) statue of Jesus lovingly called "hugging Jesus!" This photo is from a few years ago! Still have never visited the church on the hill! Have any of you?

Musica

2012-07-16T21:27:00.003-07:00

One thing I love and miss about Mexico is their love of music and dancing! Hoping to go through in the next few days and start adding more pictures from my last stay in Mexico. I am starting to get excited about heading back in August! Let you know exactly when I'm going back when I know! So back to the music, here are some songs to put you in a Mexican mood!

Danza Kuduro - Don Omar

Tu Carita - 3Ball MTY

LaCumbia Tribalera - El Pelon de Mikrophone

Redemption Song - Bob Marley

Besos al Aire - 3Ball MTY

Intentalo - 3Ball MTY

Last Day in TJ...

2012-05-07T10:57:00.001-07:00

Hello!
SO I know I haven't been writing often lately, I've been busy and preparing to head home! This will be my last day in Tijuana for at least awhile, I will continue to post when I get home I have a TON of pictures and experiences to share so keep checking back! Thanks again everyone for reading!

Bucket Cam video

2012-04-23T15:24:00.004-07:00

Video from the Bethel Youth Mission to Mexico

This video is awesome! They made a "bucket cam" and shot the process of pouring a floor, check it out!! There are two more awesome videos on their channel as well!

Semana Santa

2012-04-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

When there aren't groups here believe it or not, there is still work to be done! However, when it is Holy Week (Semana Santa) we had four days off! The first day we went to the beach and had some delicious shrimp tacos!

On Saturday we went to the Xolos game! Xolos vs. Atlante, Xolos won! We sat in the front row of the cheering section! It was a blast! Above is me in front of the stadium before the game below is the a good shot of where we were sitting, the guy standing in front of me was wearing an Indians hat, what are the chances, Go Cleveland!!

For Easter I went with Victor, the grounds keeper at The Posada, his wife Olga and their three daughters to the Beach at Rosarito. Families flocked to the beach for a great day!

Hopefully everyone had a great Easter, or holy week, whatever your religion!

Thanks for Reading!

<3 Rena

There has been a sharp decline in cross border giving in the last five years

2012-04-16T15:20:00.000-07:00

“Yes, the children suffer here,” he said. “But across the board, the groups that aren’t coming because of the perceived fears are the ones that are losing out. People are missing on the incredible experience of serving so close to home.”

This is a really good article about the decline in giving from the U.S. to Mexico. All organizations in Tijuana, and the whole of Mexico, especially those on the border, are suffering greatly from a decrease in American volunteers. The American volunteers that could be coming are also missing out on a life changing experience. An experience that could help them to understand a culture that is geographically so close to our own, and a culture that has a lot to give to our own. There is so much to be learned from sharing with our neighbors, south of the border. We are all missing out on a huge opportunity to share, and to learn.

Sharp Declines in Cross-Border Giving- UT San Diego

Independent Trips

2012-04-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

So I know there are many people out there that have come on trips in the past but for whatever reason cannot come with their church or start a new trip, there are several independent trips throughout the year one is the East/West trip, coming up July 28- August 4th of this year! Check it out:

Interesting in forming your own group?

2012-04-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

So I know a lot of people are curious about how to start your own group, here's some info on how:

Start your own trip information!

More Tecate!

2012-04-01T21:40:00.002-07:00

Friday after going to La Fundacion La Puerta: La Cocina que Canta and Las Piedras we went to Los Ninos, an orphanage, free daycare, and school in Tecate. Hadme showed us around the organization and shared about her experiences growing up there, and now working there.

With the Los Ninos, they have also have a water mission that goes out into communities and shares their excess water (their wells are overflowing) to local communities who go without water, we happened to go into a community that Esperanza built two houses in 2010. This was a special project building homes for factory workers whose homes had burned down. The Wooster group I know worked on this house, I was so excited to see it finished (it's grown so much!)

This is the other side of the house, the yellow part is the part we built!

Saturday we poured two floors in record time, pictures to come soon!

Thanks for reading!!

-Rena

More from Tecate...

2012-03-31T18:54:00.001-07:00

Me inside a traditional Kumiai house built at the museum!

Thursday, after the Kumiai museum we had lunch at a great little restaurant called La Mision then toured the Tecate Brewery and had a beer in their Jardin de Cerveza (Beer Garden)!

Friday morning we went to Las Piedras (the rocks) part of La Fundacion de La Puerta. Las Piedras focuses on preserving the natural habitat in Tecate and the mountains as well as the native peoples in the area. They teach local school children about conservation, recycling and gardening!

We went for a walk through the moutainside and a local Pai Pai woman told us about some of the plants and their uses along the way! The view was amazing!

Next we went to La Cocina que Canta (the kitchen that sings) for a tour of their gardens and an all organic, gluten free, vegetarian lunch!

The head chef, Denise, of La Cocina que Canta and the head gardener showed us around their beautiful organic gardens! Two acres of gardens are tended by the head gardener and six other men. The two acre garden feeds the Rancho La Puerto, a wonderful wholistic spa and La Cocina que Canta the cooking school.

While touring their garden we got to taste fresh fruit right from the ground! It was delicious!

After touring the garden and tasting the veggies raw, we went into La Cocina que Canta and had a wonderful vegetarian lunch, and I don't really like veggies, but it was delicious! And so simple!

Computer is being slow... More to come soon!

Thanks for Reading!

-Rena

Rancho Ojai- Tecate

2012-03-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

Hello all!
So this week we have a group from San Diego State University staying in Tecate at El Rancho Ojai! It is beautiful here. Group B was in Tecate last week, Alex stayed here with them, I am here this week with group A (when each group isn't here they are staying in Mexicali with a different organization) here is some of what we have been doing this week (since Wednesday)!

This is me sitting out front of the Kumiai museum. The Kumiai are a native people that lived in the Tecate region and in Arizona.

This is a Kumiai woman telling us about their creation story and her people. She is one of only five people left that speak the Kumiai language.

My computer is being slow I will have to tell you about the rest of my week a little later!

Model Three Roof Friday March 23rd

2012-03-27T21:53:00.002-07:00

Model 3 house ready to pour the roof. This is an Oaxaca style house, if you look close you can see the blocks are smaller than the Tijuana houses, and they have mortar between the blocks, whereas the Tijuana style houses do not. The roof has rebar criss-crossed over the entire thing, at each joint the rebar is tied with wire for stability.

Central Washington and Seattle U. groups all ready to pour the roof!

Roof almost finished! Only took a few hours (or so)! Big job!

You can see the full buckets being passed up to the roof, and the empties being thrown down!

Thanks for reading!

Rena