EIL Intercultural Learning

Overall, my experience in Mexico is one that I will never forget. There is much to tell that it is hard to know where to begin! My first two weeks in Oaxaca City were a great start. The Instituto Cultural de Oaxaca was an excellent place to learn Spanish. Not only did it teach grammar, but it also did a conversation class and offered the opportunity to partake in cooking classes.

My Oaxacan family were extremely generous kind and always made me feel welcome I really felt as throgh I was part of their family. I met some really interesting people in Oaxaca and it was good to have the chance to hear about their respective countries. Oaxaca is a beautful colonial city with much to offer culturally in terms of the many museums, galleries, churches and the living culture. It was also interesting to observe the political activiity that that was taking place while I was there.

I spent six weeks on the island of Soyaltepec in the Mazatecan heartland of Oaxaca, Mexico. In 1947 the government of Mexico built a dam creating an artificial lake, which irrevocably changed the way of life for the indigenous people of the region. Farmers became fishermen as they strived to earn a living for their families. Today, there is still a great deal of poverty on the island. The eco-tourism project is designed to encourage sustainable development by providing an economy and employment prospects for the young people whom up to now have been forced to emigrate to the larger cities or the U.S.A in order to survive economically. The project hopes to reverse this trend.

My volunteering activities mainly consisted of teaching English to the women, teenagers and children, collecting some of the many local legends, making signs for the eco-tourism project and to raise environmental awareness. While I was there I also tried to find a means of recycling plastic, the disposal of which is a huge problem in Soyaltepec. The pace of life on the island is quite slow and there were times when I realised that patience truly is a beautiful virtue! At the same time, I did get things done and I enjoyed the work that I did immensely.

I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to live and work alongside the people of Soyaltepec. I made some really good friends and met some exceptional people. I am filled with admiration for the families who work so hard together in order to strive for a better way of life despite the many difficulties and obstacles that they face. Overall, my outstanding memory from Soyaltepec is of the children. I was amazed at their openness and their ability to communicate with me despite the fact that many of the younger ones only speak Mazatecan (the indigenous dialect).

Since spending time in Soyaltepec I have really come to appreciate the things that we take for granted on a daily basis such as running water, showers, flush toilets and washing machines. At the same time, I feel that it was extraordinary to have lived in a place in 2007, which is so remote from the outside world in terms of communications such as Internet, telephone, etc. In this way my experience was quite unique.

For me, volunteering in Mexico was extremely enriching and rewarding. It is an experience that I will never forget.

Mairéad O'Reilly