Mexico

Articles / Volunteer Evaluations

	Well, the swine flu to me seems all media hype. Our last week was spent in Mexico City, so we were in the centre of it all, yet people were still going around as normal, using the metro and roads but we all were wearing face masks which were handed out by the army at the time, just to be on the safe side. The only pain was that everything was shut - we didnt get to go in the National Palace or anything, but I think it's fate - this means that I HAVE to return to Mexico to see all these things we missed in our last days!! I would definately recommend Outreach International to my school, as although many of the kids now aren't doing gap years for financial reasons, even if I can encourage one person to go to Mexico it would be worthwhile as I had the most amazing time and really want to go back! Personally I prefered the rural projects after spending the first week in PV, and I know many of the other volunteers who were out there at the same time also could see themselves living in Chimo rather than in PV, whereas before they would have thought they would prefer the city/town life - I guess it's what you make of it, and me and Lindsay enjoyed every second!! So I would definately encourage future volunteers to do the rural projects as in my opinion you get so much more out of it - closer friendships and experiencing more vibrant mexican living being the main advantages! At the moment I am planning some more travelling - I am probably going to go to Madrid for about 2 months to stay with a host family, working as their English language assistant and hopefully find a job out there, until returning to London for Uni - I will be at Kings College London studying physiotherapy - you never know, in a few years I might be applying for one of your physiotherapy projects out in Mexico!! Would love to keep in touch, and happy to provide advice/info for future vols! I am writing this after being home for a week in a surprisingly sunny England, and have had time to reflect on my experiences in Mexico and I can honestly say that I have never been so happy in my life as I was in Chimo! We arrived in Puerto Vallarta after a nightmare journey from Madrid, but the colour and vibrancy of the city and its people cheered me up as soon as I stepped foot on Mexican ground! We made our way to La Gringa's house (Justina, the mum of a host family in Vallarta), weaving our way through the traffic in a taxi, whilst the driver reassuringly explained to us that in Mexico you can BUY your drivers licence, rather than passing a test... I wasn't surprised. Pick-up trucks steamed past us with whole families loaded into the back, the children gripping hold of the edges to keep them inside of the truck, some wrapped in blankets to shield them from the wind. The first week in Mexico was spent living in Vallarta with Roxanne, another volunteer who Lindsay and I have become best friends with. Nahuli and Alicia (Justina's daughters) took us to Malecon, the promenade along the seafront where all the clubs, bars and restaurants are, but we couldn't go in as the girls were too young (to Nahuli's disappointment). It was great fun, although I was itching to go to Chimo where I would be in completely new surroundings and away from city life. A week later, after a few intense Spanish lessons with Lupita to convert my Castillian Spanish into balshy Mexican, Justina took us on the water taxi (which took an hour from Boca de Tomatlan) to get to Chimo where we would be teaching for the next 3 months. Lindsay and I were so excited, we couldn't wait to unpack our bags and meet the family and our future pupils! As we sped along the hilly coastline in the boat (with Martin and Chepe the drivers talking to us the entire way, making jokes, blowing kisses and laughing all the time) Chimo emerged from the distance; a scattering of dusty square buildings and palm trees set against a cloudless bright blue sky. It was beautiful, I loved it from the start. We were greeted by shouts of 'hola!' by the local kids as we walked from the water taxi to our new home, the house of Alicia and Alberto Joya Cruz. We had a typical Mexican breakfast (complete with the famous Choco-Milk) waiting for us, and Alicia greeted us warmly with her 5 year old grandson Sammy, who we instantly became best friends with. He jumped at the chance of showing us the local sandy beach called Pilidad, where we spent our first few hours of our new, care-free Mexican liftestyle. We settled in very quickly and our first day at the primary school was as frantic and impulsive as expected. The youngest year of the primary are full of energy, won't sit still for a second, and eager to learn anything you have to teach them. We had to do dynamic, think-on-your-feet lessons in the primary school; lots of games, colouring worksheets and active lessons – sweets and prizes always goes down well! The kinder school was great, we simply went along and played with the kids, joined in with their songs which they loved to dance to whilst they sang, and encouraged them to pick up a few words of English. Brightly coloured English books which I took out were very good - they are more interested in the pictures rather than the storyline and end up making up their own, more interesting and exciting version of the story rather than listen to me tell it to them in Spanish! The kids are very imaginitive and Sammy loved any book with witches in it! The Telesecundaria (the secondary school) was where we spent the majority of our time, teaching the second and third years for a few hours every day and sometimes after school, and also helping out Maestra Cuca (the slightly crazy first year teacher, who is great fun and extremely entertaining) with her English classes. We also watched and participated in P.E lessons, dance classes where we learnt how to dance popular folkloric Mexican dances which the kids found exceptionally hard to perform correctly, (much to Cuca's disappointment) and singing lessons (where I learnt the lyrics to the song Los Caminos de La Vida which has been constantly stuck in my head ever since!) The second and third years didn't have an English text book, so we had the freedom to teach them whatever we wanted; vocabulary, speaking and listening practice, games, etc. Hearing them trying to repeat words such as 'thoughtful', 'sometimes' and 'vegetables' which were impossible for them to pronounce was very funny for Lindsay and I! Lessons were always relaxed and enjoyable, but we did give them the occasional exam (in exam conditions, which was a shock to them) to recap everything we had learnt and they always did very well which shows that they were learning; the sense of achievement which Lindsay and I felt was amazing when Selene, Nadia and Carla got 100%!! We became good friends with Maestra Candy (the headteacher) and Maestra Cuca, and were welcome to sit in any of their classes. During breaktime we played games such as wink-murder, stuck-in-the-mud and dominoes, whilst eating loads of bags of chili-cucumbers and rice pudding! We were really close to the pupils, especially a group of 6 girls in the second and third years who called themselves 'Las Divinas', and also a girl called Ericka, who was the trouble-maker of the entire school and who became very attached to us. I spent most of my time divided between joking around with Ericka, doing my nails with Las Divinas, and hanging around with the local boys Luis and Manuel who showed us the many things Chimo had to offer; waterfalls, pools, coconuts, beaches, fields of orange trees, diving... the list could go on forever! The funniest time was when we had a dance competition on the beach around a fire, everyone was there and we all performed mexican 'chicken' dancing, where you have to hop around and move your hips from side to side! The winner would receive a bottle of Malibu, as provided by Hugo, so competition was fierce! (I think back to that time now, and can see how much we have improved! Apparently, we are the best English dancers Chimo has ever had, but I think they are just being generous when they say that!) Evenings were generally spent (after watching our daily soap operas, Un Gancho Al Corazon and Manana Es Para Siempre) looking out at the sea and stars from the pista, or playing the most amazing game ever which we became addicted to; 'La Loteria' (the lottery!). Selene, Nadia and Nayeli would play for money, so we played 2 pesos per card and as soon as we'd begin to play, a crowd would gather and the game would grow until nearly 20 people were playing and you could win a huge amount of money!! I lost every time, but was happy to keep putting down my pesos to play another game to be in with a chance of winning! I became known as 'the unlucky one', as the person next to me (almost always Nadia) would win large sums of money every game! We had so many good friends in Chimo that we wanted to spend every possible moment with them, and so didn't go to Puerto Vallarta that often, apart from when there was a birthday party that we wanted to go to! This always involved lots of drinking, eating and dancing! We loved our family and Mexican friends so much, and so did all the other volunteers who came to visit – Roxanne practically lived at ours half the time we were there because she liked it so much in Chimo! It was great when she'd turn up unexpectedly (Chimo has very little phone signal and the internet in the Primary school won't work if there is a single cloud in the sky) and we'd go on a night trek to Las Playitas with the boys or eat choco-bananas and have girly chats with Selene, Nadia and Alondra!! Finally, the parties in Chimo are the most fun I have ever had!! The Charreadas (the cowboy parties we went to in Ixtlan and Chimo) are an amazing experience, with a live band and bullriding; we danced the night away (I still have the scars to prove it from the cowboy boots!) and sang to all the Ranchera music I have learnt the lyrics to! We stayed in Chimo for an extra week and a bit after our project finished (we couldn't bare to leave everyone) for Nadia's birthday and the Judas celebrations for Easter. Judas involves making a huge human figure from tree branches and the leaves of a banana tree, with a coconut for a head. The night before the party is when the boys of the village go on a hunt to steal any clothes left outside the houses to dress the Judas figures in, which they then burn together with the Judas at 12:00am on the night of the party. If you want your clothes back, you have to pay them. So, Lindsay and I hid all of our clothes inside of our room, making sure nothing was left outside our house or Fabiola's! A few days after the Judas party, we left Chimo. I had been dreading it for about a week before; I was so upset to leave Luis, Ericka, all the family and all the girls. We went on a paseo with the Selene, Nadia, Alondra, Nayeli and some of their cousins from Vallarta to a beach called La Torrecilla and spent the entire time in the sea getting crashed around by the huge waves, almost forgetting that we had to leave the next day. In the afternoon, we went to Ericka's house to give her the presents that we had made her (a poster with loads of photos of us and her on, with a letter, and I gave her my necklace which I always wore – it was very emotional!) and gave presents to the boys–a bottle of tequila and a shot glass each which we had painted for them! We played our last game of La Loteria with everyone – the biggest, most competitive game ever, ate choco-bananas with our winnings, and then I spent the evening talking to my best friend Luis before going to meet Lindsay, Manuel, Cesar, Misael and Paola. We all went to the pista to drink the tequila we had brought them and celebrate our last night in Chimo! We spent hours and hours there, dancing, singing, drinking and laughing, and I hadn't even packed to leave!! We got home at about 4am, and I got up at 7 the next day to pack all my things which were spread all around the house, so I shoved them all in my bag as quickly as possible and then went to Hugo's to begin saying my goodbyes. I had a huge lump in my throat the whole morning, and found it almost impossible to speak! We went to say goodbye to Blanca as she couldn't come to the beach as she had to look after her 5 day old baby who was born while we were there and that set me off crying! All the boys heaved our bags down the road to the beach where we all had to wait for the water taxi which was late – making us suffer more and more with every second!! Ericka wasn't there, so I ran up to her house, stumbling all over the place on the stones in the road to go and say goodbye (it was like in a film)! We were all very teary as we hugged Alicia our Mexican mum and then every single one of our friends who had come to see us off. I still get that lump in my throat when I think about it! I miss them and Chimo so much! The people are amazing, and the village is great fun! Just don't get into the habit of being a 'floja' (a lazy person) as it is very easy just to pass the days lying in a hammock!! Good places to visit in Mexico around the Jalisco state area: San Blas – really lovely town with nice beaches, you can surf there but the current is really strong! A good place to stay is called the Stoners Surf Shack right on the beach, which is cheap – you stay in a tree house but be careful of the biting insects! Guadalajara – beautiful city, cheap coach rides. Tequila – do a Tequila factory tour! Mexico City – great colonia to stay in is Coyoacan, we stayed in Hostal Cuija which is not expensive and really nice! If travelling from Guadalajara to Mexico City, it's worthwhile getting a first class coach 'Primera Plus' travelling during the night. Puebla – beautiful town with amazing food.

• Evaluation by Victoria Lockley

	When we arrived in Chimo we were exhausted from the 13 hours on the plane and then the further drive in Greta's car on the bumpy dusty windy road which eventually dropped us into Chimo. We appreciated the journey much more when we retook it another day, Chimo is a cluster of little houses all cutesy looking right by the sea, all around it are mangoe trees mmmmm and palms. We spent a huge amount of time eating while we were there, but I don't want to get distracted talking about food because it was delish, all fresh fish and yummy salsas or soups. Our family is really nice and next year we are going to see them all again, Dalia, Martin, Nadia, Nayeli and Omar. Dalia felt like a real mum after about a month and we had ongoing jokes with her throughout our stay, one night I especially remembering staying up with her and we chatted and drank and giggled until all the fishermen came home, it was fabulous. Nadia is really fun and Nayeli is intelligent and really daft, Omar on the other hand pretended we weren't there for a long long time lol but eventually he was telling us his nonsense tales, he is so naughty but you can't help but love him. In the house you really have to have no quarms about privacy because the bathroom was a quarter with a flimsy curtain and throughout our stay every single person in the family had made us jump out of our skins while we were showering. And you have to be very brave when you go in the shower because the water is icy in the winter and its not much warmer outdoors, in the summer however it's lovely and warm. The parties are sooo fun, everybody loves having parties in Chimo, and you don't always need an occasion. We went to, I keep saying we because of Harriet and me, we were honestly like sisters or a married couple and we had so much fun it was fabulous... we went to lots of parties and nearly always sat with all the senoras drinking coronitas J and listening to the music, we loved dancing even though we had no style. The bestest parties were the charreadas which are unlike anything I had ever seen before, its rodeo with a massive band and dance afterwards loads and loads of entertainment, everyone talks about it for months and months before it arrives and then there is one nearly every weekend in different places which is awesome because it means you can visit new places and meet up with the other volunteers. I think if you go you have to go for 6 months, 3 months felt like we had only jut arrived. After 3 months you are well settled in and then the next 3 months are like living at home but then this is dangerous when you have to leave because it hurts loads, when we left to go travelling, I wasn't dead upset because we had the intention of going back in a few weeks before getting the plane back to rainy England!!! L However this didn't happen because my boyfriend from Chimo came to Vallarta and we were having such a lovely time we didn't go back. Everyone came to the beach to see us off, there were like 50 people on the beach and it was raining, it was kind of like a funeral parade to the boat which took us away hehe I am very envious of whoever is going to go to chimo following us, could you pass them on all my very best and a few more things: There are a million anecdotes I could put into this letter but it would turn into something that's miles long so I'll leave it here. Can you keep me in touch with all that's going on? I would like to also say to you thank you very much, I really did have the most fabulous time there, and Mexico as a whole is a fantastic country and the people are treasures.

• Evaluation by Jessica Emery

	Hello luvlies! Another probably too long e-mail from Mexico! Am still having a wonderful time and it's still as stereotypical as ever: cowboys, frijoles, tortillas and chickens. The other day a chicken tried to lay an egg in our room-we tried to get it out and it started going crazy so we had to get the son in or family to save us was really scary! Another of the sons (there are so many I cant keep track) came back from riding in the mountains with a cap full of tiny, tiny birds-they didnt have feathers yet and there eyes were popping out. They looked like mini ETs was so cute and the mum has been hand feeding them ever since-although the cat has eaten about three which is quite sad : We visited another close by village called Salcere the other day because a lot of our pupils come from there and they had been begging us to come after school almost every day and it was really nice-two differant families gave us meals when we arrived and then the children took us out to the mountains to eat mangoes and some kind or strange flower bud things which I was a bit dubious about. We rode on there horses and tried on there cowboy boots and tried and failed to dance Mexicanly in them-but was a good afternoon-all the children wanted to show us there houses and families and then all the families wanted to give us food and drink its all so welcoming. The other week end we visited Chimo, a seaside village where there are two other Outreach volunteers-we had to get up at 6 o clock so we didnt walk in the heat. The son led us through this jungly path which wasnt really a path with a macheti that he claimed was for the tigers we might encounter, for 2 hours it was quite scary but really fun-still havent quite decided whether to believe him about the tigers. Chimo is beautiful and in the evening the whole village went to this tacco stand and sat round one table to eat it was really friendly and fun and the children didnt stop saying holaa ever lol. On the Sunday we went to Yalapa which is a slightly more touristy beachy place but is really gorgeous and picturesque. Had a really fun day! but had to get up at 5.30 the next morning to hitch a lift in the back of a truck surrounded by frozen fish to get back to El Refugio which was interesting. There has been quite a few fiestas recently which are always good fun-last week was 'the day of the children' and the pupils in the primaria school did some dances and poems. It was so cute and also really good I dont know how they got them to learn it we cant even control the kinder for half an hour let alone teach them a whole dance! And then last thursday was Mexican mothers day which was so much fun-In the morning the secondaria and prepa school did lots of dancing and poetry encluding our son which was really funny and our primero class did a play about getting drunk which was so good-Then in the afternoon there was two live Mexican bands who were amazing and Torros which is the scariest thing I have ever seen! The men of the village have to try and stay on this mad bull which has been angered before hand so its all bucking everywhere its so dangerous! And after was lots of beer and dancing :D We also made friends with the band and went on there tour bus which was fun. We gave one class a test on Friday and they did really well which made it all worth while. And the director has given us permission to black out the answers in there guide books so they actually have to think abit which is useful-the pupils were quite distressed when we did it! I have already rambled on too much so better go but I hope every one is well-If there is any major news story I should know about please let me know coz I feel so out of touch! If world war three is about to happen I dont think El Refugio would have a clue lol-This past weekend Me, Katie, Ian and Kim the volunteers from Chimo have been camping in a place called Sayuilita which is really cool-lots of surfing and swimming in the sea so am quite exhausted-but there are hammocks dotted around so can always go and relax in one if life gets too tough.

• Evaluation by Catherine

	Y Tu Mama También, an iconic road-trip film, shattered my illusion of Mexico as being nothing but a place of sombreros, tequila and mariachis. However, realising I would never be able to experience such a vibrant country by sitting at home watching films I chose to do an Outreach teaching project, armed only with my insect repellent, an English grammar book and sticky iridescent gold stars. Less than 24 hours after arriving in Mexico I stumbled in a jet-lagged daze onto a dilapidated bus that bumped along a road so bendy that its hairpin turns must have inspired several roller coaster rides. Three and a half hours later, we nervously arrived in El Refugio, a remote but bewitching village hidden high up in the Cabo Corrientes Mountains, far away from tourist infested Puerto Vallarta. The people we were living with were so friendly that within a couple of days we had adjusted to the laidback pace of live and felt like part of the family. My words don't even begin to show how welcoming, open and fun the family was and anyone who gets the chance to live with them is really lucky. In no time at all we were used to hand washing all our clothes, showering from a bucket and avoiding plumbing nightmares by not throwing paper down the loo. I soon ditched my lisping Spanish accent that everyone seemed to laugh at although it did help break the ice on our first night. Having only had one day of teacher training that focused on primary school classes, I was a bit daunted by the prospect of teaching classes full of teenagers. All were lively and eager to learn except those who were more interested in distracting others. Discipline was a bit of a problem at first and during one lesson someone spent more time on the roof than in my classroom. By the end everyone seemed to be trying really hard and I wish that I could have stayed on for an extra three months. The televised English programme that our lessons were supposed to follow was far too advanced so we adapted the themes and invented our own exercises and games. Each day we wrote lesson plans to avoid floundering around for ideas in the middle of a class. I never realised how much work teachers have to do and was surprised to find I actually really enjoyed creating worksheets and doing marking. I had serious problems learning to write on a blackboard and used to finish each day with my clothes covered in smudged chalky handprints. We got roped into taking challenging IT lessons and playing lots of football in PE which was amusing as I seemed to spend more time flat on my face in the dirt than actually scoring any goals. Although we had a really fun first lesson going through the alphabet and singing songs at the primary school, the Headmistress decided out of the blue that there would not be enough time for English in the timetable. Undeterred by this setback we did some afternoon English classes but it would have been useful to know what obstacles we would face trying to teach at the primary school. In the morning we taught at the secondary school and in the evenings we had an extra English class with our family. In the afternoons we often played hide-and-seek and stuck-in-the-mud with the kids from the kindergarten or had drawing classes and went exploring with others. We also got whisked away to ride horses at break neck speed, learnt to pick coffee, swung around in hammocks and became quite addicted to melodramatic telenovela soaps. Nothing beats a Mexican fiesta as people in cowboy boots and sombreros generously hand round bags of popcorn and crates of ice-cold Coronitas before dragging you out onto the dance floor. Three months flew by so quickly that it was impossible to leave behind all my friends and tear myself away to go travelling. Excuse the cliché but I honestly think I learnt as much from everyone there as they did from me - if not more. I am so grateful to everyone for letting me become a part of such a unique community and although my tan disappeared as soon as I got back my memories will never fade. One day soon I hope to be back on the bumpy road to El Refugio. I also visited many of the Outreach projects in Puerto Vallarta. The work Outreach does really is commendable. They get really involved in the worthwhile projects.

• Evaluation by Alice Ramsay

	Writing this review has been very difficult. Not due to lack of inspiration, or an uninteresting topic, but perhaps the opposite: having experienced such amazing things, how do you go about putting it into words? The expectations and aspirations I placed on this trip have made it such an important part of my life, that it seems almost insulting to try and analyse it or dissect it's best parts. It has become all too easy to slide back into the English way of life, thinking of 'Mexico' and the people I met as if it were merely a dream. Perhaps recollecting it too vividly is a harsh reminder that it did in fact happen, but I am now home, and it is over. The sadness that this fills me with is an indication for you as to what a truly remarkable experience it actually was, and therefore my cowardice at writing this review is surely a compliment to Outreach International. I taught English for three months in the village of Ixtlahahuaey in Mexico. It was easily the most challenging yet enjoyable three months of my life so far! I had a fantastic time! I stayed with a family and another volunteer, and together we made up the only English speaking pair in the entire village! We taught at the secondary school for 3 hours every day, mainly English, to a group of about 30 children- mostly boys. Our Spanish wasn't that impressive, so at first it was very difficult to communicate, but soon enough we got to grips with the language, and indeed that has become one of the aspects of the trip I'm most proud of - being able to communicate in Spanish! I can imagine that reading this now would seem daunting and indeed quite frightening, to be living with a family who don't speak English, staying with a person you've only just met, whilst being expected to teach thirty children a new language, when you don't even speak theirs – the combination seems difficult to deal with! Before I left, and for the first week or so when I arrived, I did feel apprehensive. But it's amazing how quickly you adjust and apply yourself to the situations that you're in! There were times when I would think, 'wow, I'm actually doing this!' And the sense of achievement that that provides you with, inspires you to continue. I absolutely loved the teaching. Although I was nervous, after a few days I got the hang of it! The worst part is walking in and getting ready in front of the black board, whilst a group of curious eyes just stare silently at you. Those few seconds were the worst, where it seemed appealing to just run out! But once you say the first sentence, and you realise they're actually listening, then the first hand goes up and you realise that they may be interested as well, then all the fear vanishes and all that matters is trying your best to make them understand and achieve their potential. There were many aspects of the teaching that were difficult to deal with. We found it hard to get along with the teacher of the school, and didn't share many of his views about discipline and education. We wanted to spend time with the pupils, regardless of their intelligence or their standard of behaviour, but unfortunately teaching methods are very different in Mexico. Our English lessons stood out as being very different from the rest of their day – obviously some kids didn't like this as we made them actually work hard and often gave them tests! However the majority seemed to enjoy the opportunity of personal attention and reliable lessons and got really 'into' English. We chose to teach as a pair, as we found that this was the most effective way to use our whole hour well, whilst still giving the kids the attention they deserved. Whilst one person could be writing on the board, the other could be walking round and helping with problems – of which there were many! Mexican children are not taught to sit patiently with their hand up – they will shout at you until you help them! Looking back on it now makes me miss the classroom and all it's 'organised chaos', but at the time I was glad to be teaching as a pair – I think I could have taught by myself but it would have been at the sacrifice of many children's understanding. It is this aspect of personal attention, which through no fault of their own, Mexican schools do not provide, which makes me value organisations like Outreach International and recognise that their projects are very worthwhile. We were their first set of volunteers; therefore the English of the children in our school was very basic when we arrived. For us this made the experience all the more rewarding, as we knew that what they could say three months later was down to us, and that maybe we had made a small difference in their lives. I would say the key to being successful in our project was that we were enthusiastic yet realistic. We didn't expect too much, but enjoyed every minute of our time in the village. We knew every child's name and would see them around after school and at the many fiestas, we became their 'English friends' as well as their teachers. I miss them all dearly, even the naughty ones! It wasn't only the teaching that I found exciting, just living in such a vibrant country was an amazing experience. I loved the Mexican way of life, everything from the food to the constant stream of fiestas! The help that Suzanne provided us with ensured we made the most of our trip; she encouraged us to travel and recommended the best ways to go about it. The excursions were also an important aspect of such a brilliant time; they were fantastic and a great way to meet the other volunteers who were on different placements. I enjoyed both the whale watching and the canopy touring thoroughly, and think its great that they were incorporated into the trip, as I'm not sure if I would have found the time to organise them myself. Overall, I had a fantastic time. I was challenged and thrilled and surprised in almost everything I did, and I would like to thank Outreach International for giving me the opportunity to discover the remarkable country that is Mexico and to meet such amazing people.

• Evaluation by Sarah Daly

	Sirva la presente, para que en nombre de los alumnos, padres de familia y de su servidor enviar a usted y a ese organismo a su digna representación, un agradecimiento por el valioso apoyo brindado con las voluntarias y especialmente por el trabajo invaluable de la señorita Katherine kedward nos ha brindado. La comunidad queda profundamente agradecida por el desinteresado servicio educativo y social que la señorita katie, como cariñosamente le decíamos nos proporciono. Esperamos seguir contando con el apoyo de used, para que los niños y jóvenes sigan teniendo contacto con otras culturas y colaborar en su formación y sobre todo mejorar el aprendizaje del idioma ingles. ¡gracias por su apoyo! On behalf of the students and families I send you and your organisation a genuine representation of gratitude for the valuable support of the volunteers, and especially for the invaluable work of Katharine Kedward. The community stays deeply grateful for the educational and social service that Katie offered us. We hope that we can continue with your support, so that the children and young people continue to have contact with other cultures and assistance in their education and most of all to improve their learning of English. Thank you for your support. Profesor Miguel Romero Amaral Director de la Escuela, El Refugio de Suchitaln

• Comments from the School Manager

	I think its almost impossible to put into words the absolutely incredible time I had teaching in Chimo in Mexico, nevertheless I will give it a try!! Before I start I have to say that the whole experience was fantastic and that I loved every single second of it!! Well, where to start?? We had a bit of a hairy start as we were stuck in Madrid airport for 2 days due to snow… a little unlucky as it was the first snow in 5 years I think!! However, there were five of us flying together so we had company and I guess it gave us a chance to really get to know each other if nothing else! When we arrived , we (when I refer to we, I mean Vicky (the other Chimo girl) and I) spent a week in Puerto Vallarta staying with Roxanne (who became a brilliant friend of ours) and her host family (Justina and her daughters - Nahuli and Alicia). It was so lovely staying with them - they made us feel so welcome and were so kind to us making every effort to help me understand as I had barely any Spanish when I arrived! I would, however advise having a basis of Spanish as the language barrier was probably the hardest part for me - luckily I had Vicky by my side to help!!! During this week we had Spanish lessons which were such a good laugh and we got to know the city and the other volunteers who were brilliant - such a lovely bunch of people! We got our first taste of real Mexican family life, Mexican food (which is amazing by the way) and the warm, friendly Mexican people. We went to the cinema one night with the family to see 'Bolt' - a cartoon about a dog - it was good fun - I remember thinking it was so weird that they put chilli on popcorn but by the time I left Mexico I was putting chilli on almost everything! As much as we liked Puerto Vallarta, Vicky and I couldn't wait to head off to Chimo which was to be our home for the next 3 months. Our first journey to Chimo was incredible as it was every time - it never lost its magic! We got a lift in the back of a pick-up (a popular form of transport in Mexico) to Boca where we took the taxi (a small lancha) that took about an hour stopping of at lots of little seaside villages and finally ending up in Chimo. Martine the driver became a friend of ours and always made the trips great fun by making us laugh the entire journey. I remember Justina saying to me 'its just around the next headland' and sure enough there it was. It was so beautiful, a tiny little fishing community with small dusty buildings surrounded by lush green palm trees, backed by jungle covered mountains only metres away from the deep turquoise ocean and both stony and golden sandy beaches …it was just like a mini paradise - no joke!! I think it was love at first sight for us both! As the boat couldn't reach the shore we had to take a small canoe (a very ungraceful experience especially when the locals of Chimo were watching as you struggled to get from one to the other without falling in!) nevertheless it was fun!! We stayed with Alicia and Alberto, who lived with their eldest son as a neighbour on one side and another of their sons, his partner (Fabiola) and their son, Sammy on the other. Alberto's elderly father lived in a little shack at the end - he was such a legend - he appeared everyday for lunch and we always saw him attempting to work out his arm muscles as he watched the few passers by pass by! The family were so so kind. Sammy kept us entertained everyday with songs, hilarious comments and games and Alicia always looked after us, made us the most incredible food and always made us laugh!!! The accommodation was really nice, it was quite basic but felt like home. We had a cold shower which strangely enough we really liked, it was refreshing and occasionally when there was no water we had to bathe in the river. That was a bit of an experience. I can remember my first time, sitting there shaving my legs whilst having a conversation about life with Fabiola and the school teachers walking by as I was washing my hair - it was quite a sociable event but also a little embarrassing! The teaching was brilliant. It could be quite hard work but school is so relaxed out there. As the teachers travel in from Puerto Vallarta and Tepic for the week there would often be no classes on Mondays and Fridays. We never knew if they would arrive - however when they did, the news spread quickly and all the children arrived at school within minutes! We went to the Telesecundaria everyday where we taught the 2nd and 3rd years with our own planned classes which usually went quite well but the children did have quite short attention spans so we ended up playing all sorts of games outside when they got fed up, which was actually great fun! We did all sorts of things from vocabulary to grammar with written exercises, making posters, doing plays, reading and listening comprehensions and other bits and pieces. We helped out in Maestra Cuca's class (the 1st years) but usually just helped them with the books in their curriculum which were not the best! Cuca was well… very enthusiastic and eccentric!! She taught the children dancing every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon which was always funny to watch. They did all sorts of dancing from typical traditional Mexican dancing in large flouncy dresses to dancing to Michael Jackson and even 'Walk like an Egyptian.' They certainly were not short of imagination! Vicky and I had a go at it one day - it was hilarious!! We also sat in other classes such as Maths and technology where they always did interesting things like making mops and brushes. I asked one of the girls why they were making mops and she said due to the economic crisis - to save money. I found this so funny as Chimo is probably the last place in the world that would worry about the economic crisis!! That to me just sums up their chilled out yet quirky personalities and attitudes to life… life with them was never boring! We became very attached to our pupils, in particular 'las Divinas' (a group of 6 lovely girls in the secondary), Paula (who was always eager to learn more and we spent many an evening doing extra classes and talking to her lovely family) and Ericka (the joker of Chimo). These girls were such great fun, they taught me so much and were always on hand to help when I was 'lost in translation'. We also taught in the primary school. There were 3 classes and we worked in particular with one class. The children were so enthusiastic and great fun to work with! Similar to the secondary, our classes usually ended up with a game in the playground!! On our last day we had a typical British sports day with the three-legged race, the wheelbarrow race and the egg and spoon except we used limes instead of eggs just to give it a little Mexican flavour - it seemed to go down really well. One day a week we went to the kinder where we just helped out with the work they were doing and played with them as they were too young to be properly learning English. They were so cute!! I really really enjoyed the teaching. The children were such friendly people and on the whole well behaved despite a lack of discipline! I found it so rewarding when I had a break through with someone. For example I remember working with Lucio (a boy in the secondary school) on pronunciation. They all found it hard to say words beginning with 's' as they always said e-spanish instead of Spanish. I worked with him and he got the words absolutely perfectly and with a perfect Scottish accent haha! I also loved it when the children said words in English that we had taught them when we were just in the street chatting or just passing by! We did lots of after-school classes, which were usually 40% work and 60% banter and as we came to the end of our time there we had to sort of make timetables as we were being double booked!!! The people in Chimo are so lovely as was the atmosphere. Every time we walked anywhere little children would shout 'hola' and would always ask us where we were going and what we were doing. We would always find someone to chat to! We made lots of amazing friends and did lots of amazing things with them…too many to say in this evaluation but Il just mention a few! One day, two of our closest friends, Luis and Manuel, took us to get fresh coconuts and they cracked them open with boulders and we sat on the beach eating them..they were delicious. They took us up to waterfalls in the jungle and to a beautiful beach about a half hour walk from Chimo where we swam out really far. Manuel went for a dive and said that there was a dolphin and her baby playing beneath us! One day he actually took us diving to a ship wreck - it was incredible! We spent our evenings chatting to our friends on the Pista or in the street, playing La lotteria (the most amazing and most addictive game ever!) and eating choco - bananas, lying under the stars on the beach or at the secondary listening to scary superstitious stories or up at 'las mandarinas' where the boys picked fresh mandarins and we ate them with salt… yum yum!!! We spent lots of afternoons sunbathing on the beach or up at Erica's eating all sorts of fruits with chilli and 'picante' (which is frankfurter sausages, cucumbers, takis, chilli, salt and lime) - sounds strange but was really tasty. We went swimming with the children off the espigon most days where we would swim out to a panga and sit and chat! The women played volleyball everyday and that was always good fun to watch too… The social life is great in Chimo! The Fiestas are so much fun, lots of cervice, coronitas and tequila. Also lots of dancing!! Mexican dancing is such an unnatural movement but so much fun and you do get the hang of it!! I think eventually we picked up a bit!! We went to the Charreadas which are real Mexican parties with bull riding etc in Ixtlan and of course in Chimo (it's one of the major events of the year) where we drank and danced the night away with the Chimo boys. They are so much fun!!! I think the last night we spent in Chimo was one of my favourites. Vicky and I had been dreading leaving for a while and the thought of leaving this amazing place and our amazing friends and family really got us down, however our last night was such good fun , we almost forgot that the next day we would be leaving! We spent our last night eating tacos with Selene, Nadia and Nayeli, playing our last game of la lotteria with the usual crew (this night Vicky and I actually won some money!!) and then we headed down to the pista with Manuel, Luis, Cesar and Misael. We sat and drank tequila, danced and laughed for hours and hours completely forgetting that the next morning we would have to leave! At about 4am everyone went home but Manuel (one of my closest friends) and I decided to go for a walk along the beach and through the palm trees. We chatted for ages about all sorts, it was crazy as at the start of my time in Chimo our conversations were pretty limited due to my level of Spanish but by the end I could get my point across more or less! I headed back to the house with just enough time for a quick nap before finishing packing. Leaving Chimo broke my heart and even just writing about it brings a lump to my throat. We headed down to the beach to catch the taxi, almost everyone was there. We said our tearful goodbyes but the taxi was late and every moment that we spent waiting just killed as we really just didn't want to leave. The three months that I spent in Chimo were without a doubt the best 3 months of my life so far. Mexico is such a fantastic country with such a vibrant and colourful culture and such warm, open, friendly people. As clichéd as it sounds it was a life changing experience for me and I am sure I have made friends for life with both Mexicans and fellow volunteers. One day soon I hope to return!!!

• Evaluation by Lindsay Simpson

	Hey guys, I have just got back from 3 months volunteering with Outreach in Mexico on a teaching project. It was one of the best experiences of my life and I would recommend it to anyone. From the very first phone call with James, I knew this was something I wanted to do. We spoke in depth about the available projects and we both agreed that the rural teaching project was the one for me. Once confirming the project, I received a booklet, CD and all other important paperwork in the post quite quickly. The contact prior to departure was good and any problems or questions I had were speedily dealt with via email. I attended both the teacher training day and the pre-departure briefing day. I was picked up at the train station which was pre-arranged by Outreach and also taken back to Castle Cary station afterwards. James was even kind enough to put a roof over my head as the youth hostel was closed during that time of year (December) and the B&B which was suggested was full up. I found the pre-departure briefing more beneficial as I finally got to meet the other volunteers going to the same place and doing the same project. The training day was good, although it lacked a little in teaching us how to manage the children. The booklet that I was given was very useful , I even took it with me to Mexico and used it in some classes! I would liked to have been given the contact details of Miranda a bit sooner as I was very keen to travel South America and perhaps could have arranged this with her had I had more time. The best thing prior to leaving was a Skype call with Greta, the representative in Mexico. She reassured me of how nice the people are and some things to expect, and I felt loads better after speaking to her. When I arrived in Vallarta Greta was there to pick me up and take me to the apartment and the next morning she arrived to brief us all. She was very organised and it didn't take very long to go through all the paperwork before she took me and Miranda off to the village. She then helped introduce us to the family and ease us in to the village before leaving us to fend for ourselves. The next 3 months were 3 of the best in my life. The people in the village were very friendly and accommodating, everyone saying 'Buenos Dias' or 'Buenas Tardes'. The family were amazing, looked after us like we were their own children and the food was great! Fresh fish delivered from Chimo, tamales, burritos, frijoles, all with a little (or a lot) of chilli! I was surprised to find I actually had a bigger bedroom than my own one in England. There was a double bed and a single next to it to put my things as I didn't have a wardrobe, although a make shift clothes rail was made for me to at least hang my t shirts. The teaching project was a lot of fun. The buildings were more developed than I had thought, there was a computer room with internet access which I was not expecting. The classes were small and manageable although we were a little surprised to be left to teach them on our own on the first day, but we survived! After the initial lessons, we were given text books by the teachers and asked to follow the lessons, although Miranda and I both agreed these books were a bit inappropriate and littered with mistakes. They were trying to learn developed topics while some of them still had trouble counting to past 5. All the kids were great though, friendly and most of them really wanted to learn. There were occasions where we had to cover other lessons like maths and science as there were only 3 teachers in the whole school and sometimes they weren't there. The primary school teaching was a little less organised as it took place outside of school hours so the kids weren't obliged to attend. The first few weeks were successful if a little difficult to handle, but the numbers started to decrease as the weeks went on and I just loved it. We got on extremely well with the staff in the school, they were very friendly and became good friends with us, one of the teachers even invited us to his home town near Tepic, although we didn't have time to fit it in. Looking back I would recommend that future volunteers plan lessons a bit more, as it can become quite difficult to think on your feet whilst controlling a class. Especially for the kids that finish early and become bored and restless. I always felt safe in the village, everybody looks after each other and the family warn you off any potential dangers. The biggest danger was probably travelling along the uneven roads in the back of a truck! Especially at night. Also beware of the little kids, they like to 'borrow' lots of things and are always asking to play with cameras/iPods etc. Just be careful with them. The family looked after us so well, any problems we had, could be sorted. The one time I needed Greta to sort something out (rearranging of flights) she was great and helped immediately. The organised whale watching day was amazing, I would thoroughly recommend this project and Outreach International as a company to anyone looking at doing a gap year, and tell them not to be put off by the price. It was a fantastic experience which I will never forget and I hope to return to Refugio one day.

• Evaluation by Marc Ciardiello