More about my assignment

Hello!
It's Sunday in Queretaro and I have some free, and very welcome, time to write to you.

We visited our host sites this week and I couldn't be happier. I’ll be working at a beautiful tree-studded campus with its own small grocery store, cafeteria, medical doctor, ATM, swimming pool (unheated -- the "hardship" part of the assignment) and Wi-Fi. It's clean and modern and nicer than most of the places where I've worked.

My counterpart is in charge of Difusion de Cientifica, or Diffusion of Science, which is like communication and community outreach. She is a delightful woman in her early 50s and speaks fluent English (Praise the Lord).

Before I visited the center I thought, "They don't need me -- these are brilliant people from all over the world conducting advanced research." But I was wrong. Apart from the research, the business side of things needs help. For example, their web site (which needs a lot of work) includes a place for "distinguished guests," which is blank because there is zero internal communication and no one knows what's going on. My initial activity will be to develop an internal communication program. All the other centers are the same -- much research; not much business savvy. And therein lays the reason for describing Mexico as a developing country, and for the connection with the Peace Corps.

For the first month I'll live with a single woman and her doberman pincher, Omega, while I look for my own place. I will probably end up taking the bus to work each day since there is very little available housing in the small pueblo near the center.

Our last day of training is May 31st. We'll all be sworn in on June 1st, then depart for our new sites on June 2nd and report to work on June 6th. I'm eager to get started.

We're taking our last field trip this week to Mexico City to visit the U.S. Embassy and CONACYT, the Mexican government agency that oversees the research centers and has the arrangement with the Peace Corps to provide volunteers for the Technology Transfer program. We're driving in two vans through Mexico City traffic, which no one is looking forward to. The city is so big it can take 1-1/2 hours just to get from one end to the other.

A funny tidbit: My host family asked me if I knew the movie with John Travolta called "Vaseline." That's not a crude translation -- it's what they actually call the movie here. (The actual name in the U.S. is “Grease.”)

Adios for now. I'm off to help support the local economy.

I'm a happy camper

Hola everyone!

I have finally learned about my assignment. I am going with four other volunteers to a research center not far from Mexico City. We have been told not to identify our locations or those of other PC Mexico Volunteers on blogs or other public forums for security reasons, so I apologize for being vague. If you haven’t heard the details from someone else or I haven’t already told you by e-mail, please write to me and I’ll be more specific.

The city near the research center is a historic site with Spanish colonial architecture, similar to Queretaro. It’s only a few hours to Veracruz on the Gulf Coast, convenient for weekend trips. Our village is at 7,200 feet so it never gets above the low 80s and is cool most nights. One of the two nearby volcanoes is active, which should make for some interesting times.

A volunteer who currently lives and works there described the location: “The surrounding area has a lot of traditional Mexican culture, food and activities. It seems like every weekend is a festival of some sort! I honestly think this is the best PC Mexico site because it has the small-town, traditional Mexican feel and yet all the conveniences of a big city if you need something.”

My job description includes working on the construction of a science trailer; developing and implementing communication plans to improve the awareness of the center in the country and the world; helping improve internal conferences, workshops, presentations, etc.; and helping one of the directors with promotions, communication, web sites, etc. It’s everything I enjoyed doing when I had a real job. I am feeling really fortunate to have this tremendous opportunity.

We will all be working with counterparts, who are coming to Queretaro on May 16^th to meet us and discuss our projects. Then we’re going with them to our future sites for five days to see our new cities and visit our work locations. The following week we’re traveling to Mexico City for a few days of “cultural enrichment.”

Training ends on June 1^st, when we’ll all be sworn in as volunteers. We depart for our future sites on June 3^rd and will live with another host family for a month while we look for our own housing. It will be wonderful to live on my own again and have some privacy and control over what I eat and how I live.

We had an interesting week at school, including first aid training to be first responders. It started with learning how to scream for help in Spanish: “Llama cero seis seis (the equivalent of ‘call 911’) -- llama un ambulencia!” We actually learned what to do in the event of an amputation or evisceration (after screaming and throwing up). Did you know that if someone’s intestines are protruding from their stomach you’re not supposed to tuck them back in? Who knew? And may you never have to thank me for that tidbit of information. I also learned how to give an orange an injection. I haven’t figured out the practical application for that yet, but am guessing it might involve tequila. We practiced wrapping each other in bandages for various injuries. Some people decided to keep their bandages on after class. I think they’re having separation issues.

I’ve been really busy, and am “up to here” with Spanish. But I’m actually able to carry on a conversation and can understand much of what I hear. We have only six more days of Spanish before our training is over, but I plan to continue studying.

Last weekend I went with some friends to see a 2,000-year-old Pyramid outside Queretaro. The Spaniards imposed themselves on this country in countless ways, and even managed to build a structure on top of the pyramid with bricks and arched windows.

Yesterday I went with other friends to Bernal, which is the third largest monolith in the world and an hour by bus from Queretaro. Bernal is a beautiful little village with many wonderful shops and restaurants and a killer view of the big rock. You can find some photos of Bernal, the pyramid and the Procesoin de Silencia (which I described in an earlier post) on Flickr at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20264995@N07

Adios for now. It’s mother’s day and I’m heading for the internet park to Skype with my kids. What a great invention that is, and it’s free! The technology just amazes me.

More soon,

Donna