14 May 2008
Once Upon a Time in Mexico…
Posted by Up With People under: Monterrey-Mexico .
Hello all.
Well, Monterrey was certainly a great welcome for us all into Mexico! We left Brenham, TX bright and early to cross the border into Mexico. After a few hours on the road and a few more walking across the border and talking to custom we drove a few more hours to Monterrey. We were greeted by video cameras and a large crowd excited to see us. Once off the bus, the Monterrey crew had some traditional Mexican music and dance lined up – Amazing! After that, we all divided into our allocation and met our host families. I was roomed with Brandon from the US and Gift from Thailand.
I spent most of the week in Monterrey working with DIF, a governmental organization that helps the impoverished and lower class of Mexico. We spent the time clearing brush, painting buildings and interacting with the children there. I found myself learning a lot, if only because the people I was working with could not speak English. I tried to pull from the reserves of my mind the sparse knowledge of Spanish I had but it didn’t work too well at first. By the end of my three days working there, I found that I had a STRONG connection with the people I had worked with, perhaps even stronger than those I had worked with in the US. Is it strange to feel such an amazing connection without the common ground of language?
The show in Monterrey was our first Mexican Show and our first opportunity to showcase our Mexican Medley. We also had our first double show day. Though it was long and tough it was easily the most rewarding show I’d done to that point.
Our Regional Learning day in Monterrey was exciting as well. We toured many cool sights: an old , a large courtyard with statues and landmarks and a river ride through downtown. We also took part in a blind experience, which was essentially where we walked through many different rooms of different environments (nature, city, store, and restaurant) all in complete darkness. All we had was a guide (who was also blind) and a walking stick. For an hour we toured around inside realizing what it was like to be blind. Amazing.
Finally, Monterrey ended quicker than any of us would have liked but it was an amazing introduction into how great Mexico truly was.
Dan Rohmiller Iowa, USA
One Comment so far...
landmarks of iowa Says:
19 May 2008 at 11:58 am.
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