Adios America and Buenos
Dias Mexico! The next stop on our Latin American tour started at the
beginning of January and if the next year is anything to go by these
first few weeks, then it's going to be an incredible trip. In already
only two weeks we have encountered some fate like opportunities and
it honestly feels like the universe is alinging in our favour. So far
we've stayed in the house of the famous late Mexican cinema
actor/director Emilio 'El Indio' Fernandez (who is actually the model
behind the Oscar trophy), visited the house of Frida Kahlo and sat in
her kitchen, spent a crazy Carnaval in Veracruz dancing the weekend
away, saw 10,000 birds migrating in perfect unison, met incredible
friends and local generosity and have hooked up with a perfect fit
non-profit that will teach us all we need to know about setting up in
Mexico and making our dream come true.
Mexico for many people,
like many of it's Latin American neighbours, still carries the stigma
of danger, corruption, kidnappings and drug fuelled cartel crimes.
While many of these stigmas still hold some truth; the majority of it
is media hype and misrepresentation from foreign press. That's not to
say Mexico doesn't still suffer problems, it's just that overall as a
nation they are steadily on the ascent. In reality Mexico is a
country on the move. Kidnappings have been and still are
significantly on the decline from 15 years ago and it is rarely heard
of these days. Corruption comes mostly in the form of opportunists or
people who have nothing anyway; no different to corruption in our
Western world countries that happen behind close doors of the people
entrusted to represent us. Drug crime, although still common, is
isolated from all but a few cities and only happens within the
cartels. And the overall level of danger is no different to riding
the New York Subway at night or trying to get a cab on King St after
3am.
In a land dogged by
negative releases and false representations it is often forgotten
that it is primarily a country of rich culture, national pride,
passionate souls and amazing food, music and fashion. With a mixture
of ancient beliefs, colonial imposed influences and contemporary
culture Mexico is slowly moving away from the shadows of yesteryear’s
and into a progressive stage of transition. The youth of today are
educated, globally aware and are making their mark on the
traditionalists of Mexican culture. They are moving towards unity,
cohesion and are making Mexico a country of strength.
We have spent a lot of
our time here so far CouchSurfing (check out www.couchsurfing.org
if you're not sure what I'm talking about) and really trying to
intertwine ourselves into the national psyche. So far our trip has
taken us many places and led us to a number of vital networking
opportunities just by being open to the immersion of cultural
exchange. In fact before we even landed on Mexican soil we had the
ball rolling on our plan to start our own non-profit organisation. We
happened to bump into the executive director of the largest woman’s
fund group in Mexico called Semillas. There primary goal is large
scale fundraising through grants and individual donors in order to
distribute grants amongst many smaller Mexican non-profit groups
helping to support women in domestic violence issues, land rights,
workplace relations and sexual education. After meeting with them
recently we are happy to say that we're going to get involved with
them for a few months and join their team as volunteers. It's early
days yet but we're hoping to incorporate some of our previous
experience in non-profits, education, leadership, etc into their
already established operations. Primarily though it will be from here
that we learn all about the ins and outs of professional non-profit
work in Mexico and it get us in touch with many different communities
in need from all over the country.
In the months that will
follow it will be all about working towards our own goal to set up a
community based non-profit that assists rural communities in Mexico.
This is our dream! This will be our reality! Start small, dream big!
