Monday, April 13, 2009

This morning we met as a group and did some team building activities so that we could get to know each other a bit better. We talked about the reasons we came on the mission trip and we also shared a few personal details about ourselves.

We then had time to grab a water bottle and were given directions for the Cuernavaca Quest Activity. Each adult was given a group of 2 - 4 students, a shopping list and 50 pesos. The groups had to go to the Mega Supermarket (like a Superstore) and the People's Market (like a farmer's market), compare prices and get all the items on their list with the 50 pesos.





In the afternoon we gathered in the palapya to debrief the Quest with Patti. Groups took turns sharing their experiences.



It was a real eye-opener for us to see how little money many people have to live on. The 50 pesos that we had to buy our five items is what minimum wage is in Mexico for ONE DAY! To buy a pound of meat here,a worker most spend 76% of their daily wage while someone on minimum wage in Canada would only have to use 8% of their daily wage. Eating protein here is a luxury that only those with money can enjoy on a regular basis.







Before supper we gathered with Jenna for a session about cross-cultural dialogue. We talked about what culture is and who we see ourselves. Jenna explained the "Iceberg" model to help us see the different layers of culture and what happens when two different cultures meet. We were challenged to go beyond the covert, easy to see differences and seek to understand the deeper more complex components of culture. The presentation helped to prepare us for some of the experiences we would have while at CCIDD.

At supper time we had a special treat. NDH has been sponsoring a family that the students met last year. Alejandra, her husband Felipe and seven children joined us for the meal. NDH students made a presentation to the family.



The meal ended with birthday cake. Shaila celebrated her 16th birthday and Alejandra's daughter, Wendi was celebrating her 15th. The cake was delicious!



We had one last session in the evening with Sister Kathy. We had an introduction to social analysis. After a short lecture we were put into groups and given a topic to present to each other on the final day.