Trip thoughts....

Now that we have been home for 24 hours - I thought I might take a couple minutes to look back on the week.  The Esperanza trip week is always one of my favorites of the year!!!  Although I'm working while I'm on vacation - it never really seems that that way.  It is a great mix of physical work, venturing to many places around Tijuana, great food, meeting new Mexican friends, warm weather and working & growing together as a group of 11.

I want to thank everyone who went on the trip for such a great week!   This is the 5th or 6th year we have taken College students from the College of Wooster.  The students work hard and we learn a lot from them.  Taking a week of spring break to go to Tijuana instead of the beach shows the character of each one of you!

Each year we get to know Eduardo and the rest of the Esperanza staff better.  They work hard and long hours every week out of the year!!!  This year we were fortunate to see Monica, the Esperanza director and we worked with two long term volunteers - Alex and Sean.  Best of luck to you both for the rest of your time in Tijuana.

All through the year I talk about how the families are strong in Tijuana.  We again found that the two families, Dora & Eduardo, Claudia both had strong family and neighborhood backing to help build their houses.

One of my favorite parts of the trip is the closing circle with Eduardo.  We each get a second to reflect on the week and Eduardo spends a lot of time talking to us as a group and then individually.

Now I have to wait almost a year before next years trip.

Phil Starr

Hola! My name is Sarah and I am a sophomore at the College of Wooster. This is my second time volunteering with Esperanza and my eighth time in Mexico. Having been last year, I knew what to expect but I still experienced and learned new things this year. On our first day working, we had a difficult concrete pour. We moved hundreds of heavy buckets up to a roof but we had help from students from Providence College. We all collaborated well and enjoyed getting to know each other. For the rest of the week, we worked without the other students and at one house. We built a foundation for a house this week, a difficult and very important job. We dug 68 inches into the ground, poured concrete into holes, and poured sand into our "trench". We also passed lots of concrete blocks down into our trench. It's always amazing to work with these families and see how their community comes together to help work. Neighbors, children, in-laws, and siblings all join. The women this week cooked amazing meals every day and we never tired of their delicious tacos. We also visited the orphanage and Casa del Migrante this week. Just like last year, these experiences were amazing and unforgettable. We all enjoyed seeing a Xolos Futbol game this week too. Although they lost, it was something none of us have had the opportunity to see before and it was great getting to hang out with the Providence College students. Coming to Tijuana, both this year and last year, has been an eye-opening experience. Someone said this week that it's incredible that students from the North East and Midwest come all the way here yet there are so many others close to the border that won't step foot in TJ. There are so many misconceptions about TJ and without seeing it or listening to the experiences of others, nothing will change. Mexico is our neighbor and having seen so much of this country, experiencing its culture, and living with its people, it is frustrating when people are closed-minded and negative towards our neighbor. It is so important that we are able to come here and make a difference. All in all, this trip has been amazing and I'm looking forward to the next time I come here!

Link to friday pictures

Link to Friday pictures:

All Pictures

Link to all pictures:

Teamwork makes the dream work.

Greetings everyone, Mo here. This is my first trip to Tijuana, as well as my first trip out of the country. I can honestly say it was nothing like what I expected. As an American, I find it easy to stay up to date with international topics by watching and reading the news. And from what I understood about Tijuana (prior to the trip) was that it was a dangerous city, overrun by drugs and violence. I can't attest to the validity to these statements as I have yet to see any evidence of this. However, I can say that through my own eyes I see a developing city with friendly people and a growing infrastructure. Today being our fourth day of work, our job was to continue to finish laying the foundation of a new house. I was again acquainted with the cement mixer. Yay me. Luckily today we didn't have to mix as much cement as we did early in the week. After a few hours in the Tijuana Sun we finally got to take a lunch break. The food was amazing and I appreciated the fact the ladies took the time to cook the food AND help us with the work site. Hats off to them. I decided to play Frisbee with the children of the house the second half of the lunch break. I don't think they played much before that but they could have fooled me because they threw the frisbee as if they had been playing for a while. Especially the youngest son Brian. After working and playing with the families I could see how strong the sense of community is between everyone. Not even a language barrier could stop us from sharing a laugh or a meal with each other. I hate the fact that tomorrow is our last day to work with the families. Nevertheless, I plan to make it a good day and create memories I'll be happy to look back on. That's all for now. -Mo

Fear to Fearless

Hola! It's Hannah here again with my last blog post of 2015 Esperanza. Today, out of all days was pretty challenging. As many of you know we are digging the foundation for a house, and with digging, there becomes a lot of dirt, that needs to go somewhere. For our site, we have been putting the dirt either in a pile that the foundation surrounds, or in a pile on the side of the fence. My job today, was to help Phil while standing on the middle steep hill of trench pass buckets full of dirt across the trench to Kevan. Luckily, all of us have fantastic balance, so no one has fallen off the steep hill yet, but it still requires an insane amount of trust in yourself to stand on a somewhat stable hill above 68'' ditches. After going on this trip last year, I have found a new sense of fearless in myself by travelling to a foreign country that the U.S. does not give a good reputation to with a group of people I had barely met. This year, I packed up again and headed off with the same group to help again. My fearless this year was found in speaking much more Spanish than the year before, and most of the time probably making a fool of myself in the process, and standing above deep trenches and sometimes over. In a way, it makes you feel able to save the world by putting your fears behind you and giving up one week to help others. All in all, it has been another amazing week in Tijuana, and I can't wait to come back next year, make more new friends in this country, and help some family create a new place for them to live in the years to come, in which ever way I can. Adios Amigos!

Through the eyes of a child...

A child sees the world differently. To them, to the world is simple; it consists of simple actions, simple emotions, and fun. I also feel that in today's world of fast paced technology, some of this "simpleness" is lost. As a kid, I played with toys, was outside all the time, and enjoyed riding my bike. Children today also enjoy such things but they are normally accompanied by technology, like an iPad or other electronic device. In Mexico, these luxuries are not as accessible to the families we work with. At the site we have been at this week, the mother Claudia, has three sons, two of which are very young, Allen and Brian. These boys have definitely been our little helpers, picking up buckets and assisting wherever there small hands can find a use. Today, I was working in a trench to fill in a hole we had dug that was no longer needed. Allen, who I would guess to be about 4-5 years old, comes and joins me down in the hole. Brian, the littlest one at 3 years old, sat at the top of the hole, on a dirt mound, watching with a careful eye. Allen did all he could to help me while I pick-axed the dirt off a hill and down into the hole. Slowly, this got boring and he turned to searching for bugs, what a boy should do. I continued to fill in dirt and quickly became his assistant in grabbing worms out of the dirt and getting these other insects that were similar to a pill bug. Allen would take these bugs and then give them to Brian, and where they went from here I do not know. Yes, it was difficult working with Allen by my side, but I did not care. I was getting an opportunity to see some of the simple joys of childhood in the actions of Allen and Brian. They were content to crawl around in the dirt, only for the excitement of a worm. I feel that much of this has been lost in American society. Kids are shuffled to activities and given screens to occupy themselves when it is proven that they can be content with the earth around them. This is a larger concept of my trip to Tijuana that I appreciate. I have so much excess in my life, and in the lives around me, that I feel is necessary and I enjoy. But, I come to Mexico and see people who do not have extravagant luxuries, who are also very happy with life. You never know what lessons a three year old, some dirt, and bugs can teach you. Children take the most basic look on life that they have the ability to strip our perceptions down to what is "simple" and realize what is necessary and why we have such excess in life. -Chelsea

Thursday pictures

Click for Thursday pictures:

Thursday's Work

Tara Here, So this is my third time on the Esperanza trip. This week, we have been working on laying the foundation for another room in a lady named Claudia's house. Claudia's adorable three-year old son, Ryan, has been been assisting us by passing us empty buckets. After several bucket lines and an insane amount of digging, we are almost finished! Earlier in the week, we visited the same girl's orphanage that we always do. Though this was my third visit, it was the first time that I noticed something about the girls that really touched my heart- the way that the older girls would just pick up the younger girls and take care of them as if they were their mother. And then it hit me- the older girls WERE the younger girls' mothers in a sense- since they had no family. It then hit me that once the girls hit their teenage years, they no longer had mothers. I thought about how in the United States, people (even adults) are much more hesitant to pick up a child who is not related to them, and our culture of paranoia of "stranger danger." These girls, on the other hand, are each other's family. Another new thing on this trip was our visit to Casa del Migrante. Though this was my third time going there (like the orphanage) it was the first time that I had heard one of the men who stayed there give a speech about why he was there. He explained that he had been involved in drugs and crime. This made me wonder what society can do to give people in places like tijuana other options (instead of drugs and crime). Overall, I am very glad that I have come for a third time. Tara Abhasakun

Quick Wednesday post and pictures

Tonight we went to the tijuana xolos pro soccer game downtown> It was a lot of fun - they lost 0-2. Today we poured 5 bags of cement and dug the foundation a lot more. It is late and we have to be going early tomorrow - so we will post more tomorrow night. Phil Starr

Click for Wednesday pictures

Around 6 Feet Deep

Hola todos!

My name is Hannah, I am a sophomore at the College of Wooster and this is my second trip with Esperanza! Tijuana is an amazing city, with amazing people and that's why I decided to come back. Today was our second day of work and while we finished the top of a house yesterday, today we started at the base of a house digging a foundation. Many precautions were taken in the process of many people swinging pick axes in a very small space, I promise. Digging in Tijuana is a strenuous task, since most of the ground is clay. Needless to say, most of us were extremely tired by an hour of digging and pick axing, but it was all worth it when we were rewarded with a traditional Mexican lunch made by the woman of the neighborhood we were working in. After eating an amazing lunch, some people which included intestine soup (cow or pig maybe?), we got back to work digging a 68'' trench for the foundation of our home owners new home. It might be hard work, and sometimes a bit dangerous, but it is all worth it to know you are playing a part in giving a family a new home to make many memories in. As a group we are all blessed to meet these amazing families that we work with.

Adios Amigos!
-Hannah

Esperanza Part II

Tijuana is a wonderful place. Period. Over my past two trips with Esperanza, it has not taken much for me to learn this. My name is Chelsea Amis and I am a senior at The College of Wooster. I went on this trip last year and did not second guess my decision to come again.With it being my senior year at Wooster, I completed my own Independent Study that is due at the end of Spring Break. I used Tijuana as my motivator to get I.S. done before I embarked on this journey, which I succeeded in doing, #39 in my class!

From last year to this year, I feel that not much has change: the landscape, the people, and my opinions of Mexico. I still think that Tijuana is beautiful in its own way, the people have big hearts, and that the ways in which the media portray this area are false. What I have been able to do this year is look even deeper into the culture of Mexico and think more critically about this place. This week that has mostly been focused on infrastructure. When driving around, I can't help but think about the inner workings of mail, maps, addresses, and how individuals get what they need. My partners on the trip can contest that I have questioned how the mail works in Mexico about three times a day. With the rollings hills, lack of house numbers, and lack of street names, I just cannot understand how people get mail! According to Alex, the long term volunteer, mail is just not really a thing here. But then I ask, how do people get their bills? Or pay them? Most everyone would atleast have an electric and water bill. What I can guess is that possibly there is a central location where people go to pay these kinds of bills. I can imagine that the little bit of social services that Mexico may try to implement is more easily lost in the shuffle because of this lack of infrastructure. Ugh, I just get exhausted thinking about it! We utilize these services on a daily basis at home and it is not something that we easily question. As the week goes by, I hope to continue to ask myself these critical questions and think about how the basic services that exist in the United States are not so easily transferred, or are not actually necessary, to all individuals around the world.

Tuesday pictures

Here is the link to the Tuesday pictures

Holes the Sequel

Today we we left the posada at about 9:30 and headed to our new work site for the rest of the week. After about 40 minutes of driving we got to the top of a large hill, where the house we are working on is at a pretty good slant. For the rest of the week we are helping to dig out the foundation to set the house. Each side and corner had to be 68 inches deep, which is pretty difficult. We spent many hours with pickaxes and shovels working to level out the holes. We are making a lot of process so far and by the end of the week we hope to be ready to pour the floor of the house. It is tough work, but it feel great to see the progress and the happiness we are giving the family!

Monday pictures

Click to see Mondays pictures.  Most recent are from today


Click to see pictures from the Girls Orphanage that we went to see

First Day at Work (and Play)

You wouldn't know it if you first met me, but usually I'm not a person who enjoys manual labor. However, the work that we did today was a definite exception. Our group spent most of the day pouring a new concrete roof on a house that belonged to a couple named Dora and Eduardo. My job was to pour water, rocks, and sand with the cement to help make the concrete. It was probably one of the most physically intense things that I've ever done. And I loved all of it. It was so apparent that the work we were doing was making a direct impact on people's lives and the people we were working with were so visibly grateful. It was truly a privilege and pleasure to be able to do what we helped do today. 

After work, we were able to visit an orphanage for girls where we were handily beaten in a game of football (soccer) before being serenaded with a rendition of John Lennon's Imagine. This was such a meaningful experience for me personally because I didn't expect to lose myself so fully with these kids. It was so much fun to dance and play with the kids that I almost forgot where I was. These girls, some of them who have faced real hardship, were so gracious and happy and fun that being with them and seeing how they treated each other was awe inspiring. 

I can't wait to see what the rest of the week will be like and I'm sure that I'll have more thoughts and impressions before we go. Until then,

Spencer Gilbert

Ciudad sin Fronteras

About half past four, we arrived at the beach besides the border. Getting off the van, I was told that just a few years ago, this beach was desolate and soulless but a low fence made of metal plate. However, all I could see was that children and adults were playing by the beach, Pacific rhythmically was washing people's feet and sun was shining in every corner. Not far from us on a small plaza, a young boy was doing karaoke with shocking strength. But next, there was the wall.
We took a picture on a platform above the beach, and just looked at the ocean. A placard on the platform caught my eyes, and there was a phrase-"Ciudad sin Fronteras". What a funny phrase, because if I just turned my head, I could see steel fence about ten feet high with concrete wall not far behind it. Are these Mexicans lying to themselves? Why do they lie to themselves?
Walking along the wall, I could see all sorts of arts and emotions: prayers, graffiti and sometimes outcries. There was this flag of the United States flipped vertically with little crosses instead of stars. At this time, the boy thanked the crowd, and started another song. I was thinking that Mexican folk songs were always such lively and joyful, and could it be joys that blinded them from the harsh wall? Or, could it because when they were facing pains of separation, instead of filling themselves with remorse and negativity, they would always look towards esperanza and joy? This thought immediately shocked me, and I understood the phrase "Ciudad sin Fornteras". That was not a lie. That was esperanza.

Sunday pictures

Here is a link to today's pictures:

Downtown Tijuana

It's Danica here! Today we got up and had a lazy morning after everyone tried to catch up on sleep. Chelsea and Hannah made breakfast for the group which was a really good way to start a day of sight-seeing and shopping. At about 11 we headed downtown to the Tijuana Cultural Center. There were four different exhibits in the center and it also had really cool pieces of art that were about one story high and hanging from the ceiling in the entrance way. The first exhibit showed the history of Baja California from the dinosaurs and indigenous peoples, first casinos, to the state's role in WW2. The second exhibit were photographs that show immigration and the border. It was interesting to see immigration from a different perspective. A lot of the photographs were eye-openers on what is actually going on on this side of the border. My favorite part of the center was the botanical garden where they even had turtles swimming in the pond in the center! After the cultural center we got lunch at a restaurant in the center of Tijuana and were able to walk the street and shop. Overall, it was a good afternoon in downtown Tijuana and we only got lost a couple of times! (Ok maybe more than a couple...)

Amy here. Its a beautiful Sunday morning, the sun is shining and birds singing, which feels like a rather distant memory because of Ohio's long winter.  Everything has gone really well so far and crossing the border was much easier than I had anticipated.  Once we arrived to Esperanza, we spent much of the after noon getting to know each other.  The patio is perfect for gathering and I anticipate we will much our time there. Half of our group has been here the other half has not, all are definitely excited to be here and meet the families we will be serving.  Most of the group went to grocery store, and came back with fun things we can't find in Ohio. After we went to dinner, we are definitely eating well well so far.  By the time 8pm (10pm our time) came along and the group after a long day of traveling everyone was showing signs of the long day of traveling and our 3am wake up.  The students are just beginning to wake up now, and we will be well rested for the work to come tomorrow.  Today we have a full day of seeing beautiful Tijuana.  But first we drink coffee.

Evening in Rosarito

Tonight we drove the van down to Rosarito to shop for blankets and dinner at El Nido's.  It probably takes around 45 minutes to drive there.  Highway 1 goes south close to the ocean.  Dinner was great - we've gone to this place just about every year so we can count on great food.

This is Kevan and my 11th trip with Esperanza.  Earlier we got to talk to Eduardo as he introduced himself to our group.  Today they had worked with High School students.  Eduardo is the construction foreman/leader that has the perfect personality to accomplish a lot of work while making it fun.  To me he is the face of Esperanza.  First impressions for me is that the area looks close to what it did a year ago. Probably the biggest change in this area is that Waldo's has closed which was just around the corner from the Pasada.

The group is tired after meeting at Lowery Center at 2:45 this morning Wooster time.

We will write more tomorrow.

View Saturday pictures:
https://plus.google.com/photos/105770564471570639219/albums/posts

Phil Starr

We've arrived

Hello - just a quick note to let everyone know that we arrived at the Posada about 12:30 pm California time.  We had two good flights and a quick border crossing.  Before we crossed we ate at Inn and Out Burger in Southern San Diego.

It is close to 80 outside so we are enjoying the patio.  We had a quick meeting with Alex and Sean the two long term volunteers.  We are grocery shopping and then we will be going to Rosarito for shopping and dinner.

We will post more tonight.

Phil Starr

Two days and counting

We are excited about making another venture to Tijuana on our Esperanza Mission trip.  Our trip is a joint effort between Trinity United Church of Christ and the College of Wooster.  There will be eleven in our group - about half have been on the trip before and the other half will be first timers.  Last night I received an email from Eduardo Reyes who is the construction foreman / leader double checking our information.  It is always great to see Eduardo and see the changes/improvements that have occurred in the last 12 months.

We will be having two people type in this blog each day during the trip and we will also be posting pictures.  Check back often.

If you want to view last year's pictures hit the link below:

https://plus.google.com/photos/111582903102975594385/albums




After the trip we have a reflection service at Trinity - here is the video we put together from last year:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ftvl1YC_H8s






Phil Starr

2014 Blog address

If you would like to read the Trinity United Church of Christ / College of Wooster 2014 Esperanza trip blog - click below to read:

http://esperanza2014trinitycow.blogspot.com/


Please follow us on our trip March 7 - March 14, 2015.

Looking forward to the Esperanza 2015 Trip!

Hello everyone!  2015 has arrived and you know what that means........Esperanza!!

We will be taking our annual mission trip from March 7th - March 14th and are currently working
on preparations for the trip.

Keep checking back for more updated information!