Week 5: A Little Taste of Country

The entire SJGELA group and Social Work group after a reforestation talk

By Cassie Frantz

Have you ever wanted to escape the world of cell phones, internet, television, traffic, fast food, and your usual responsibilities? Maybe you could just retreat to some remote village up in the mountains of México. A small, rural town located in the northern part of the state of Morelos offers more personality and hospitality than a big city or a tourist town. Even though it lacks what we call “comforts,” it offers a different form of comfort discovered through our week-long home stay. As we were paired off in groups of two, we went to our assigned houses and embarked on a week-long mission to learn about different aspects of rural life and embrace everything that this town in Morelos has to offer.

We traveled as a group to many different places in and around the town to learn such things as how to run a greenhouse, the positive and negative aspects of satellite-television middle school, the process of garbage collection, how government funded programs impact the poor and elderly, the effect of immigration on the families left behind in Mexico, developmental programs to help young people, the impact of a group of politically active women, and so much more.

One of the most interesting trips of the week included a visit to the local Telesecundaria, a middle school that uses educational television programs to educate the 28 students in attendance. One of the three teachers, Lic. Carlos Ramon Rigueroa Carbajal, serves as both the 9th grade teacher and principal of the school. Along with being both the secretary and the principal of the school, he frequently attends meetings for the school, so often that, “For the six months I’ve been here, it feels like I’ve only been here a month.(1)" With only two other teachers to help him manage the school, he said he feels like he’s “been dropped here with no help (2).” He even mentioned to us that he plans on leaving very shortly in search of a private school. According to his informative lecture, children perform better at private schools and have a better chance of continuing school and maybe even attending college. At these small, public telesecundaria schools that span across the Mexican countryside, many students graduate without being able to read well and no desire to further their education. The grim reality of these “educational” schools made an impression on all of us as we toured the school.

Our instructor, Lisanne, both a resident of the town and program staff member, debriefs with students after a tour of the Telesecundaria.

Even though we had educational trips during the day, mornings and nights left ample time to discuss issues with our host family over freshly-squeezed orange juice, homemade tortillas, and atole (warm milk, cinnamon, sugar, and tortilla dough). The physical and mental strength of these hard-working families made an impact on all of us and taught us to appreciate what we have been given, especially our families. Hopefully we can take this experience and practice the same manner of genuine care and hospitality in both our time here in México and in the United States.

The view from the roof of a host family’s house displaying the magnificent mountains that encompass the small town where we spent our week.

1, 2 Ramon Figueroa, Lic Carlos. Lecture. Lecture on the Telesecundaria. Morelos, Mexico. 26 Feb. 2008.