Parksville Rotary Team Mexico – Casa Finito!
Three days ago, we began our build and today at noon, we locked the doors until tomorrow when we will set up the new home and present the keys to Policarpio, Augustina, Jennifer and Puol.
This morning was a last minute frenzy of paint touch-ups, finishing cabinets, caulking, and moving the outhouse into place. But then, this should be no surprise – Rotarians are known for “getting er done”!
With an unexpected free afternoon, our intrepid LiveDifferent leader, Steve, took us on a lovely drive through the mountains – on some very narrow roads with a few hairpin turns – to visit La Mision Santa Domingo. It’s an idyllic spot with bouganvillia blooming in colours of magenta, peach, purple and white. The area was once lush and green but with little rain in past years, it is now very dry and desert-like. We visited the cemetery there and Steve explained the great importance of proper burial rites to the Mexican people. Our daily libation was enjoyed under a pepper tree, something none of us had seen before.
And speaking of Steve, this blog would be incomplete if we didn’t mention the joke he played on us all when we arrived here. He told us that we should speak a few words of Spanish and say “con queso”, meaning “see you tomorrow“. We finally clued in the “con queso” actually means “with cheese”, but not before we received many a startled look.
Dinner tonight was at a local taco stand, after which we walked a block or so to the largest candy store in Vicente Guerrero. There were giant pinatas everywhere and every type of candy imaginable!
Our last stop of the night was the compound where the students from the LiveDifferent Academy are staying. There are 17 students in the program right now, and what an amazing group of young people the are! They have come from all parts of Canada and will spend the next 3 months studying social justice issues through hands on experience, learning Spanish, and participating in a house build. The energy in that group of 17-21 year olds is something to behold and leaves no doubt in our minds that they will LiveDifferent and in so doing will be a catalyst to change the world!
We are all so looking forward to the dedication tomorrow. Just as the lives of one family will change, so too have all of our lives changed forever.
Rotary Team Mexico, LiveDifferent Trip, 2014