TBD

The SPA

Sammy and Sadie in the usual moring sunspot.

My current Project at the SPA, Lucy a 2 yr old, Golden/lab who has been at the shelter for at least a year.

















Another Project, Copal, who has been at the shelter since a pup. Very cute with an adorable overbite.

The last several nights I've been thinking about all that has happened since I came to Mexico, and the funny instances. Between them all, there is rarely a dull moment. The video above was taken at a talent show at Casa Ayuda. This week I went to Board meeting for the SPA, seeing the way that the organization has been run, and the changed that many board members are proposing are interesting to see. The thing that frustrated me about the meeting is that when I would talk to a board member, and they found out I was a volunteer, they suddenly felt I was beneath them. Even, when I talked with the woman who coordinates some of the logistical planning for one of the programs and asked if I could help- I was told that I was not at the level to be able to help. I also took a dog to the jardin on thursday that needed adopting, and the SPA is there every thursday morning. I got the sense that even though my presence was "permitted", and they all knew a new person was coming to start helping, I was unwelcome. They feel that only board members can be the active ones doing things for the shelter. The idea that one board member had for me to take over the volunteer training and coordination for thursdays was shot down and a proposal was made to search for a person on the board who had the time. (Just as a side note 1. Many of the people hardly know the shelter policies, 2. they have no idea which animals need to be adopted, 3. they don't know the dogs or volunteers, 4. They only approach and talk to Americans, any mexican that came up to ask a questions they were very cold- It took one of the dogs up to a mexican family who had been eyeing her, and they wanted to adopt a dog- not any of the ones we had there that day, but I saw them adopted a dog from the shelter the next day). The more I think about it, I am going to have to get to be a part of the board in order to be listened to. It is frustrating for me. I'm "just a volunteer".

The Preschool and Education Center (in progress)

There are three preschool classrooms with thirty kids in each class. The photos are some examples of two of them. Classes are conducted till about noon each day. A week ago or two the preschoolers participated in a dance presentation, watching them practice for the event
was an afternoon of entertainment. All the kids were dressed up as scarecrows- very cute.








Classroom number two

















The education center progress before the group from Texas came. When they group was here much progress was made on the building. Once I take more current photos those will be posted. It seems like things are moving quite quickly in terms of construction.

Building Site and Random Photos

The Girls looking *thrilled* to be out in the sun helping lay the foundation for the building. Who knew that filling buckets with water, gravel, and sand could be so much fun!

Consulting with the boys while Alecia pours concrete into the molds. The boys on "quality Control". An afternoon of carrying and lifting heavy buckets of water, sand, and concrete make for exhausting work.
One of the three preschool classrooms at Casa Ayuda. Each classroom has 30 kids. They participated in a dance presentation with all the local preschools. It had to be tbe most entertaining thing I have seen in a long time.
The foundation......

As I write this I am dog sitting 8 dogs, not including Sadie. We exchange dog-sitting- so we always know that there will be someone to take care of Sadie if the need arises. The past few weeks have been busy. Amina and Grace came for spring break. For the duration of spring break we moved into Casa Ayuda, a different experience. I got to see the routine before we actually move in full- time. Hopefully by the time we move I will have a job and several other things to do in town. As it looks now, I have several options I need to follow up on and people to see. Once Spring break and Holy Week break is over I can meet with some of the principals. In the mean-time I can get to know the schools and prepare some questions and curriculum things. I have to ask for some references informaton as well.

Funny Instances are common. As we waited for Amina and Grace's plane in Leon, we grabbed dinner. I ate "gringas". From that point on it has been a joke that never gets old. Apparently I am a cannibal. ( FYI: Gringa's are basically a taco made with flour tortilla and cheese). This week there has been a group from Texas at Casa Ayuda helping with the constuction.

• 1. "Eating Gringas",
• 2. Yet another car incident with the Suburban (battery related....not our fault- they were using the battery to power cement mixer all morning before we left to take Brian, Alecia, and Ari to the dance presentation. And they were with us as Lauren and Alecia tried to flag down people for a jump. )
• Seeing scary movies and getting locked out of Casa Ayuda
• Amina and Grace coming for Spring break!
• Playing with puppies.....
• Spending time avoiding my "stalker" in town
• Dog-sitting for 8 dogs and fighting for space on the bed....
• Playing spoons with forks
• The Ayuda Foundation -taking the kids to the waterpark and getting majorly sunburned despite the many applications of sunblock.
• Many lectured by Reyna

A Quinceanera and Broken down Blazer

Busy as usual in San Miguel. I just got back from Leon, and San Francisco where Lauren, her parents, and I went to a Quinceañera for someone their family knew. At this particular moment, I am completely exhausted. My brain is drained from speaking and hearing practically only Spanish, and being social at the Quinceanera. I had so much fun, and it really was interesting to watch the ceremonies. We all ended up getting back to the hotel about 1:30 in the morning to get up and drive back to San Miguel in the morning from San Francisco.

Getting to Leon was a trip in itself…but we met some very interesting and helpful people. Victor lent Lauren and I the Blazer- and Carmello and Jorge looked over the car and made sure it was going to work well for us. All was well until we had almost passed the airport in Leon- there was traffic. We stopped and the car would not go any faster than 16 kilometers per hour. When we tried to accelerate the transmission made a horrible sound and the car lurched. We pulled into a hotel- three bus drivers came out and helped us- and Victor’s brother eventually came as well. It was actually quite an interesting ordeal. We met a lot of interesting people. The hotel desk manager kept coming out and checking on us, and when Mario finally arrived he came out to double check that he was indeed our friend, and to explain what was going on with the car. The bus drivers offered us a ride to Guanajuato with them, but we needed to head in the complete opposite direction. Sadie kept us entertained and was not phased one bit. Several hours later we finally got into Leon where Lauren’s parents were waiting for us. The original plan was to meet and then drive from Leon to San Fransciso and stay that night before the quincenera.

A short synopsis:
-Car breaks down
-Stop into Hotel and on the side of the road
-Bus Drivers look at car- tell us the transmission is dead and it is not going anywhere. (Actually it is a sensor that failed….)
-Call Victor and wait for Mario
-Call Parents
-Mario Arrives, fiddles with car
-He Calls mechanic in nearby town.
-Mechanic comes
-We all drive back to the mechanic shop
-Mario negotiates with the mechanic
-We get dropped off in the bus station- Mario talks to the bus driver, and we put Sadie in her crate underneath the bus …..
-Finally get on bus to Leon- a 25 min ride. Entire time we get stared at by guy- more like glared at. I guess it was strange to see gringas in a town that has none.
-Arrive in Leon
-Walk to hotel
-Hotel said they allowed dogs, then said no when the rooms were already bought and arrived with Sadie.
-Dispute ensued with the manager being told “ If you want us out you are going to have to kick us out yourself. We paid for the rooms and you said you allowed dogs….) It was a great day for American-Mexican relations.
-Snuck her into room…end of story.

The next day we drove to San Francisco and got ready for the event. I met Juan (the ex-boyfriend) and his family. Juan still seemed tense- and out of the loop- like he wanted more from life. Which seemed accurate since his family won’t truly let him “go”, and he is not ready for it. Everyone in the family was incredibly humble and very welcoming. It was easier to pick up on the Spanish when compared to the very beginning of my stay. I’ll have to post some photos when I get them ready from the event. The event was long, but I had a great time. It included:
-Meeting with the family
-Back to the hotel for a bit
-Church service
-Reception (6 hours with four separate traditions)
-Music and dancing
-More traditions
-Dinner
-Music and Dancing

We got back late, and left the next morning for San Miguel. Arrived several hours later and spent the next few hours sleeping and catching up on things. Basically decompressing my brain from the overload. Dropped Sadie off at the dog-sitter, she is getting her spay stitches out and the last of her shots. Monday (Today) I spend some time at Casa Ayuda and working on the resume, getting some other things in order for sending in another set of applications. The work I have been doing with SPA has been interesting in a sense of seeing home a small organization deals with an overwhelming issue of abandoned dogs and do well with it. It is clear that they lack as much funding as they need, but are still staying afloat. The volunteer supervisor has been helpful in answering my questions about the shelter and helping me gain a better sense of how the place works. The employees get a kick out of my Spanish. Three of the gentlemen that work there are my buddies- they are always keeping me on my toes and making fun of me- in the best sense. They are also helpful correcting my inaccurate Spanish and telling me about some of the backgrounds on the dogs there. Lucy got adopted today- I’m very excited! I’m surprised that there are so many large breed- pure-breed dogs. Some get abandoned, and some are street dogs.

Finally in San Miguel!

Everything has gone without hitches so far. I arrived in Leon, and was met by Lauren, Several of the kids, and Victor (He runs Casa Ayuda). Apparently his brother works for Immigration and they had planned to give him a description of me, and have me "fake detained". I would have gotten a kick out of it. The only real challenge right seems to be the language. It will come with time, but communication is hard when I know what I want to say, but not how to make it clear. In the next few weeks I will hopefully get a spanish class arranged, or at least someone who can give me lessons several times a week. I need the most practice speaking.

Several pieces of exciting news before I finish with the rest of this:

1. We got a dog! Her name is Nara- Mongolian for "sun beam". We adopted her from an organization here in San Miguel: Save a Mexican Mutt. She weighs 12-15 pounds, and is 2 years old (Minature Pincher/Chi mix). We picked her up last night, she was spayed, and just needs to get one more vaccination. She is incredibly calm! So relaxed- as she gets more used to us and the apartment more of her personality is coming out. Very exciting- and she can travel on an airplane easily. Also, she's crate trained!

2. I potentially have a job on the side- dog walking. I'm planning on starting with two clients, and as word speads pickup more. I think that this will work well to bring in some extra cash as I wait to get to several other leads. I'm doubting that I will find a placement in a school here- no-one is hiring teacher aides half-way through the school year- and there is the complication with the FM3 work permit.

Tuesday morning We went to the center and did a mini-tour and stopped by for bread and coffee. There is a big market in San Miguel on Tuesdays- I met Maricella- and she let us tag along with her there. From the market we took a taxi back to the apartment and rearranged it. We now have an office, and new arrangement for the place. Below are some photos of the apartment. (1) One of the bedrooms (2) Living room (3) Sunset from the roof!

Casa Ayuda is going to be interesting. Getting to know the kids so far has consisted of them asking me question after question. And me slowly responding to them in my broken spanish. Victor is a funny guy- actually both he and Alicia are- I love their sense of humor and have come to terms with the fact that 99% of the time everyone will be making fun of me. But, it happens- and I just laugh about it.

The Long and Winding Road....

Finally I'm back in Portland! We rolled in about 2am, due to major delays in Idaho. I have never seen snow higher than the highway signs before. It was kinda crazy. Lots of ice below the snow. And- then it started to snow and accumulate to top it al off. We were not meant to get through quickly. The trip went smoothly, with some adventures and kinks, but at least it makes it memorable.

Beloit- St. Cloud
Unevenful for the most part besides some snow. A quick, easy drive- it only took about 7 hours

St. Cloud, MN - Billings. MT (about 800 miles)

Billings, MT- Portland, OR (Almost 900 miles)