Madawaska Arrived in Mexico!

We arrived at Toronto airport three hours before our flight left so we had plenty of time to weigh luggage, move some stuff around so no one’s bag was over 50 pounds and convince US Immigration that Pia (an Austrian exchange student) was safe to allow into their country!

After our customs ordeal, we boarded a miniature plane bound for Minneapolis. After a two hour flight that landed in a strong cross wind, we had three hours of walking around the mall, which amazingly was inside the airport! Soon we were all on a plane heading to Los Angeles, California. We then quickly boarded a bus, driven by our very accommodating guide, Charles. He took us to our hotel for some needed one-on-one time with our pillows. At 6:30am we got back on our bus, and greeted Charles with sleepy smiles. Within an hour we were all craving some breakfast, so we made a stop at an IHOP just off of the highway, where they were surprisingly patient with our group of twenty-two!

We finally arrived in Vicente Guerrero, our base of operations. We found the accommodations to be much nicer than expected, we were given two beautiful houses, and they even had bunk beds! After our debriefing we tucked into our bunks, dreaming of the day to come.

 

In the morning, we woke up to bacon, pancakes, sausage, eggs, and bowls full of delicious fresh fruit. After breakfast we had a quick information session and then hopped on the “Charles bus” for a quick five minute ride to our two building sites. Once we arrived we were greeted by the smiling faces of the two families. They were so excited to have a new house – even the children were picking up hammers and pounding in nails like little construction workers!

 

The houses are 20’ x 21’ and the process of taking mostly rookies and teaching them how to build a house is well honed. The concrete pad was already laid when we arrived. Today we cut lots of boards, painted trim, and managed to nail together and paint the four roof components and two of the walls. The walls even have siding on them already! Most of the houses in Mexico are very brightly coloured. Apparently our two families have chosen sky blue and deep red for their houses.

 

 

 

 

Charles says that tomorrow the walls go up and the roof goes on. It sounds ambitious but doable with our great Madawaska teams!

Carson Graham – This trip so far has been really amazing!

This trip so far has been really amazing!

Just getting to the place we are building was a huge shock. It is a big open desert field with a collection of small houses and huts, some of them made of cardboard or loose boards. The families have been great – Jose, the father in the family, has been incredibly kind to us and every day he has brought our group something different for lunch or a snack. One of the other families made us some traditional Mexican food on the first and second days of building. Everyone in the community is very friendly and social, and even though we are only building for four of the families, everyone who isn’t working and even some of the shopkeepers come out to help us paint or lift things. It’s a lot of hard work in the hot sun and dust, but from the reaction of our family when they saw the progress at the end of the day it was totally worth the effort! Our group’s house is almost completed with the walls up, the roof on and half covered in tar paper, the interior and exterior walls painted, and the windows put in. All we need to do is install half the tar paper and put up the last interior wall!

Everyone seems to say this and it’s completely true, this trip so far has had a huge effect on me, It’s a huge blast of perspective seeing people living in these conditions being so generous to us –  the gifts of food, their sharing with each other, and just the way they act towards us. The thing that has stood out for me the most is that we have it really, really good back home in Vancouver. When a person here has something they’re extremely thankful for it and happy that they have it, while back home people are never satisfied with anything. Even when they have something simple like a cell phone that would cost months of wages for someone working in a field down here, they are still wanting the next new expensive thing. The thing that I want to take from this the most is that I shouldn’t be complaining about any of the little inconveniences of life back in Vancouver because there are a lot of people here who have so little, but who have modeled thankfulness and cooperation in such amazing ways. 

– Edward

Today I worked for the third day. I’m starting to get tired in the morning, but I’m still feeling great! Last night my roommates and I had a great story sharing session, and it was a ton of fun.

I’m working on painting the inside of the houses right now – at first I was trying to hammer nails into the window trim but apparently I’m really terrible at that! The family that I’m helping to build a house for has two little boys who speak english which so far has come in handy! Juan is an adorable 12 year old little boy, who might possibly have a career in photography! Today he bought me a chicken flavored lollypop, in between laughing at me trying to hammer in nails. 

I’m feeling really good so far, the walls to the house are up, and the roof is being put together. The community has started to get to know us better and we all seem to be coming together. It’s a really welcoming environment! Sidenote – I think Hero Holiday has a thing for painting bathrooms bright blue, as this was the second one in 2 trips! 

Today we also went to a candy shop and everyone went NUTS! The coca cola here is really great, as there is something a little different about it. All the girls are going to be doing a lot of early morning walks with Mrs. B to work off all that sugar!

– Riley

Carson Graham – March-11-12, 2012

Today we continued our journey of building houses. Throughout the past two days, we have greatly enlarged our perspective of the world. Our emotions are fluctuating, we’re happy to see the smiles on the faces of the families, yet it is discouraging to see that people live in circumstances like this even in the present day. 

Today, excitement and courage took over our team! We all took roles in building the house, be it measuring and cutting the wood, painting, or framing. Once everything was framed together and painted, the next step we took was standing the house up. Anxiety then took over! We were afraid the measurements would be too short or a nail would collapse the whole house – but in the end, it was a success. 

Meeting the families was an experience that completely shook most of us. Observing the shacks that the families live in, produced of wood and any scraps found, around hit us hard inside. For example, a family of six live in a dark shack almost a quarter the size of a high school classroom. However, the families weren’t ashamed to invite us into their homes, they were open and welcoming. All our hearts were shining with passion and empathy. These are extraordinary people living in harsh circumstances, and yet they will not give up; they take care of their families, feeding them, providing some sort of shelter over their heads, and most importantly, they have an extreme bond with one another. That was something that truly inspired all of us. 

Carson Graham Team has arrived!

So here we are, much anticipated and it is all worth it. Already I can see the euphoric expressions on both our students faces and also the families. I have had the pleasure to meet one of the four families and learn about their humble ways – and to see how content they are with what they have is truly admirable. We were only able to spend fifteen minutes with the family and I believe I speak for everyone when I say we already have a special connection. I can only imagine what the atmosphere is going to be like on day 8 or so!

– Terry-Dayne

This is my first time coming to Mexico, and so far I am loving it. The mountains are so beautiful and the weather is amazing! On the bus ride in we passed many horses and cows along the side of the road, and I also made some new friends. Many of the houses that we drove by were painted in very bright colours, and this brought a smile to my face. The bus ride was long and dusty, but very, very entertaining. 🙂

Paloma Michelle

Reality sinks as I sit in the land office going through applications of families who are all worthy of a Hero Holiday house and I begin to understand that not all families will be getting good news from us. We are only so many hands and we cannot build for all of them this year. As we sat in the office looking through applications a 17-year-old girl walks in with her 8-month-old boy. She starts filling out an application for a house and chatting with Santiago (our translator) and the landlady. Her name is Katheryne and she’s always smiling; despite the fact that two weeks ago her stepfather drowned trying to save his son, and despite the fact that she is living in poverty and struggles to pay for food and diapers because her 19-year-old husband Jesus was recently laid off from work. Half way through the application she says something and everyone laughs – she asks, “How many children do I say I have? One and a half?” That’s when we learned she’s six month pregnant with her second child.

That night this family was all I could think about. I wanted them to get a house from Hero Holiday so badly. The landlady has donated land to them but they are currently living with Katheryne’s mother and older brother in a small concrete house using a trailer as their kitchen.

The next morning my heart sank when I found out she had lost her baby. She went into labor at only 6 months and the baby didn’t make it. Her baby girl, Paloma Michelle, was too beautiful, too perfect for this world and was taken back before she even spent a day on earth.

When we got to the church for the funeral we were there before Katheryne and Jesus, and before the casket had been delivered. We walked in and laid flowers on the floor, and then took our seats taking up the whole fourth row in the church. I then watched as people took our flowers and placed them in 2 liter pop bottles for vases. I watched people slowly fill the front of the church, and then I watch a man carry in a tiny white casket and place it on a table surrounded by flowers. I didn’t understand much during the service as it was all in Spanish but I understood enough. I understood that the people in the room felt a deep loss; I understood the pain felt when tears swelled in Katheryne’s eyes and she looked up to the ceiling and I understood that when her baby boy began babbling and crawling around the church floor it was a reminder of the beauty of life.

The next day we told Katheryne and Jesus that they would be getting a house built for them in March, and that “it has nothing to do with the fact that you lost your baby, we knew when we first met you that you deserved a house.” They smiled from ear to ear, and I can’t even imagine all the thoughts that were running through their heads. A house won’t take away the hurt from the incredible loss they’ve experienced, but it will bring hope for the future. This is what LiveDifferent is all about; it’s about “Shining in the dark places, and lending the world your light.”

Written by LiveDifferent Academy student – Brittany Apolzer-Danis

The House that Changed Me

Coming to Mexico, I always knew that I would be building houses for Mexican families who can’t afford them. I knew that they would be living in makeshift houses that leak when it rains and wearing tattered clothes over and over again, but for some reason I just wasn’t expecting what I experienced these past few days.

On Saturday, January 21st, our first Hero Holiday team came down to Mexico to start their house build. They were building for a family with 7 children who live just over the hill from our house, about a 5 minute drive down a bumpy dirt road. The mom and dad both work in the strawberry and tomato fields full time, leaving the four older children to go to school during the day, and the three younger ones to stay home and take care of themselves.

On Saturday afternoon, my friends and I arrived at the work site. As soon as we stepped off the bus, we were surrounded by little Spanish-speaking kids asking us for “capucci’s (piggy back rides). There were so many of them! We definitely had our work cut out for us: paint and play with kids at the same time! But the kids were quite willing to help as much as they could. They weren’t afraid to get their clothes covered in paint, that’s for sure! After I had gotten a bit used to the amount of excitement around me, I had a chance to look around. What I saw was a dozen sticks used as support, tarp and garbage bags used as walls and roofing, and a sheet for a door on a “house” that was the size of my bedroom. The children ran around playing in the dirt, wearing the same clothes each day we were there. The family’s bathroom was a hole in the ground enclosed by tarps and garbage bags. And the children would have all slept on a dirt floor. The mom explained to us that she wakes up every morning at 3am to prepare food for the family before work, and spends her evenings doing housework after a full day on the fields. The mother showed my friend and I how she does the laundry for her family every day and let us try it out. Let’s just say it’s no piece of cake!  For the next three days, we worked on building the family a brand new house with the help of the mom, dad, and their children. I worked so hard on getting the paint job done perfectly that I think I almost forgot what we were actually doing there. I forgot how big this was for the family. They had never been able to afford a house before in their whole entire lives, and now they were getting one for free.

On Wednesday we finished the house and had our “dedication ceremony” where we each said a few words to the family and then handed over the keys and got to watch as they explored their new home. Of course they had seen the house all along, but now with their few belongings in it, some brand new outfits, 5 beds and a fully stocked kitchen, this was their home, and I had been apart of making it possible for them! It was honestly an overwhelming experience to be apart of. Last night they slept in a leaky hut made of tarps in the pouring rain, and tonight they will be sleeping in their own brand new beds, with blankets, and with food ready to be put on the table in the morning. I can imagine they probably feel like they’ve just been given a mansion. I will never forget the smiles on their faces and the gratitude they had for us. This family truly had an impact on my life, and I will always remember my first house build.

Written by LiveDifferent Academy student, Cynthia Burmaster

Teary Goodbyes

Today was an intense day.  So, this is our last week in Mexico, and although I am very happy to see my friends and family back home in Canada, I am also so sad.  I woke up feeling pretty good about everything.  We had class just like usual, then we headed off to teach English at the Pasao San Quintin school one last time.  I was completely fine.  We taught our lesson and then Rosa started talking to the class… she started telling the kids how much we loved coming to see teach them and getting to know them.  My tears then started flowing.  I didn’t even mean to, I just started crying so much.  Yolanda, a 12 year old who is extremely smart and a great kid, came up to me and gave me a huge hug.  Whoa!  That just made me cry even more!  I love those kids so much and am going to miss them a lot.  Today we taught them how to say “Goodbye” and “See you later”.  I could barely help teach the lesson because I was so shaken up about having to say goodbye and not knowing when I will get to see these kids again.  We also asked the kids a few questions about school.  We asked them what they liked about school.  Most of them said things like reading, studying and learning.  They told us that they had great ambitions for their futures.  Some wanted to be vets, teachers, lawyers, fire fighters, soldiers, police officers, and even the President.  I hope the best for these kids.  I will pray for them all the time in hopes that these kids can accomplish their dreams.  We all got together after class and said our goodbyes, even though we are going to see them tomorrow for a movie night.  Then when we said goodbye to Pedro, the teacher, I cried some more!  I had a bit of an emotional break down, but I am so happy and so proud of these kids.  They are great kids and I am thankful that I got to know them. 

After that we went to a different Pedro’s house.  The Pedro that we built a house for in September.  We had previously ordered special bracelets and poncho’s from him because he is a vendor.  He made us all some very beautiful bracelets and we are all now equipped with all of our Christmas gifts! 🙂  Getting to see what he has done to his house since we built for him was neat.  It was great to see the family and try out my Trikee words.  They have added a concrete pad in front of their house and they have secured their bano very well.  I am so happy for this family as well! 

Well sleepy time for me.  I have had a long emotional day and am trying to pack my first suitcase.  Hmm.. I wonder how I am going to fit all of this stuff into these two little bags. Well that’s a challenge for a different day! 

Thanks for reading!
xoxo
~ Lisa G! A LiveDifferent Academy student in Mexico

We are Woman

It’s two days into house build number two for us LiveDifferent Academy Students and although it has only been a few days a lot has been done! This week we are building for Maria and Pedro and their four kids who are ages four to sixteen. This family has a special place in my heart and building for them has lit a fire in my heart. They have so little; I brought more to Mexico with me then this family has but yet they are still able to give. We found out the day we interviewed them about their application that Maria always gives what she can to others and her children now
do the same. We have about four teddy bears in our house now that four year old Lupe has given us. But don’t worry we will be giving back to them! I can’t think of a more deserving family then this one although I know there are hundred’s of families that need new homes.

Maria and Pedro work in a tomato field that is about an hour away from their house and in order to catch the bus on time they have to leave their house by about 3 a.m. But before they can leave they have to make breakfast and lunch and make sure everything is ready for the day. Then they go off and work a nine hour day picking tomatoes which the girls and I know from personal experience is really hard work. And to add to this they don’t get home until 8:30 or 9:00pm and at least one parent is usually working every day. That means that they only have about five hours at home before they have to start the next day and to me that seems impossible, but to this family my impossible is their reality. However, this family completely owns their own piece of land and all of their children go to school which is a lot, especially for their situation.

So! This family really deserves a house and we are working extremely hard to give them one! But it has been a little crazy trying to build; we started a day late because it decided to rain a couple days before we were starting to build and we were given the wrong kind of wood twice! Also it is a very small space that we are working in so there has been a lot of moving of 2X4’s and sheets of plywood so that we are organized and won’t run into problems later! Can you tell that we are an all women group!? But being all women has not slowed us down and instead it has fuelled our fire! Because we started a day late we have now put in two full days of work and are right on schedule, we stood up the house today and completed the inside walls and painted over half the house! Our goal is to be done by Friday in hopes that we can dedicate the house to the family before Dawn has to go home (Dawn used to live here in Mexico working with Hero Holiday and is visiting for the week). I think that if we keep working as hard as we are we can definitely meet our goal! We have given a whole new meaning to being a woman this week. And we are also extremely happy to give back to this family for all the times they have given to people that they know to help them. In just a few more days this family will have a new house and I am so very thankful that I get to take part in building it and giving it to them.

Written by Britney Favreau, LiveDifferent Academy student living in Mexico

Shack Day Seven: Crazy, Amazing Week

Hola! Well we have pretty much finished shack week. Tomorrow at 5:30am we will be let back into the big house across the street. It is really crazy to think that it’s over. It has been a long, hard, crazy, fantastic, wonderful and amazing week. We have all learned a lot about what it is like to live in Mexico without a whole lot. We have learned what we can and can’t afford to eat, as well as how to start a fire with damp wood while using only one match! We have learned how to work in a tomato field, how to pick rocks (yes there is a specific way) and we have learned how to go clamming. All of these things were worth learning and by doing them we also learned a lot about ourselves and what life must be like for those who do these jobs regularly.
We learned how to work as a team through thick and thin and learned to rely on each other. We learned how to wake up at 4am so we could catch our bus to go to work. And we learned how to shower with a pot of cold water and an empty bean can. But most of all we learned how to live a life that is much different than our norm.
I wouldn’t change anything about shack week. It has been such a fantastic week but I don’t know if I could have done it for longer. I know I could do it if I needed to but I don’t think I would choose to do it for longer. But what I have taken out of this week will stay with me forever, things that I don’t think I could ever forget. This has been the best experience and I have learned so much: I know I sound like a broken record but I really have learned a ton. Watch out everyone because I am home tomorrow and I will have a million and three things to say about my shack experience.
xoxo – B
(written by Britney Favreau, LiveDifferent Academy student)

So Much to Be Proud Of

Today we worked in the tomato fields for the second time. It wasn’t as bad as the first time we did it. Even though we got tired, sore and hot, I realized that we always ended up smiling. I cannot think of a time in my life where I was working that hard and yet so happy at the same time. I had been told work in the fields was hard and I had seen people working in the fields as we drove by but now I know how difficult it really is. But I also know that with great people to talk and laugh with all day that the day goes by much faster.
At the end of of every day this week we end up being so proud of ourselves and each other. Today we kept up with the Mexican workers and they apparently kept commenting to Santi, our translator, how impressed they were with our work and commitment to seeing what life is like for them. Between the four of us we picked a whopping 130 buckets! Also today we are proud of our shack building skills because it “rained” briefly on our shack today while we were at work and the inside of our shack is dry! Just the cardboard on the floor by the door was wet but was easily replaced. We worried all week how our place would stand up if it rained and if we would have to sleep with wet blankets on a wet floor like many people have to who have not been able to find enough plastic. And now we know we wouldn’t have to worry. We have so much to be proud of this week.