As part of my independent component, I went to Mexico for two days with a group from my church. We were at an orphanage in Ensenada hanging out with the kids. We also made them food and taught them how to clean their kitchen. The trip fit perfectly with my component because I got to speak a lot of Spanish and experience the culture of Mexico as well. The majority of the people on the trip spoke Spanish, and I was proud of myself for being able to understand most of what they said to each other and for being able to respond to them. None of the kids at the orphanage spoke any English, so I got to talk to them too. And I even interpreted for my brother and a non-spanish speaking friend! That was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I felt like I was actually able to experience for a tiny second what interpreting is like. A significant portion of the cultural aspect came in the form of the food we ate. I have Mexican food all the time but it was really cool to eat a taco in the actual birthplace of tacos. I also found crossing the border quite fascinating. It was the first time in my memory that I have crossed an international border by car (usually I'm in a plane). Going into Mexico, there was no line and they didn't check at all for any kind of identification from anyone. Some random cars were searched, but that was it. However on the way back, we sat in a two-hour line to get to the window at the border (there were 26 open windows and it was still taking forever), where each of our passports, or birth certificates in the case of my brother and me, were looked over and verified with their respective owners. Then we were asked 20 questions about why we were in Mexico, where we were going, what we were bringing back, etc. No wonder the line had moved so slowly. I'm so glad I was able to go and get my IC Spanish hours finished up but also bring smiles to the kids' faces in the process. Unfortunately I was only able to get pictures at the actual orphanage and none of the city of Ensenada.
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| The kids loved soccer |
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| This the main gathering area at the orphanage |
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Not a good picture of me, but it proves I was there!
I was the group photographer, which explains the lack of pictures with me in them |
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| They had a little playground |
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| Here are some team members making lunch for the kids |
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| Craft time |
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