Clase de Artesanías

The art class offered on Thursdays is a great way to practice Spanish and learn about typical Mexican art! The teacher , or one of his brothers, gives a really cool explanation about their family´s history creating art and the impact it has had on their lives. At just around 40 pesos for paints and supplies, it is a great way to spend the afternoon with your fellow classmates.

I found that taking the art class really changed the way that I looked at the art sold on the streets in Mexico. Speaking with the artist is also a great way to practice your Spanish. Not to mention that late afternoons in Chac-Mool are absolutely magical! I will never get tired of seeing the way the sun hits the church at around 7:15!

Orphanage and Lifelink group

Last Wednesday we took our trip to the orphanage. It was great! Many of the kids weren´t there because they were spending the holiday with their families. I was so happy to hear that.

Four of the students who joined us are part of a group called Lifelink International. It is an organization with a really cool 8 week missionary preparation program. Their students are always really fun and interesting, and it was a blast to have them with us. Daniel, one of the members had coincidentally volunteered before at the same orphanage!

We helped clean the boys´dormitory and then ate lunch and played. Each of the classes prepared a different activity for the kids to play. Before game time, the kids gave Pablo a reading lesson! Then we had balloon popping contests, a lemon on a spoon relay race, and we also played Redrover. Daniel brought candy for everyone and he even shared with the teachers. Gracias Daniel!

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Student Contributions

I´ve been trying to get the word out about the blog. I don´t have everyone´s email address, so it can be a little hard, but its so exciting when a student sends us photos to post. Thank you so much Ricky. One of these pictures is of us watching the Mexico-USA soccer game. Now you have before during and after pictures!! The other is of some of the very feisty students who came up with the bet idea. I´m still cold from jumping in the pool! If anyone else has pictures or stories they´d like to share, please email me at publicrelations@chac-mool.com. Gracias!

Orfanato

We are in the process of planning our monthly trip to the orphanage, and coincidentally, Martin sent us pictures of one of our recent visits yesterday. Gracias Martin!

This month´s trip is a little bit different than those that we´ve taken in the past months. Instead of cooking and eating with the children and staff, we called to see what we could to do help clean or do maintenance while we are there. They asked that we clean the dorms and the outdoor areas, so right now we are ordering the supplies.

Tomorrow we are going to give a Charla with pictures and an explanation of what we will be doing and the objective of our trip. The charla usually helps people to be prepared emotionally for something that has the potential of being too intense if you don´t know what to expect.

Many of the children are not truly orphans but their parents are not in a position to take care of them full time. The nice thing is that some children´s parents can go to see them on the weekends. In either case, we go with the objective of preparing lunch, cleaning up, or helping with homework. Most importantly, we also set aside a time to play organized games and get to know each other. It is always a very special day for the staff and students of Chac-Mool, and we hope it is just as special for the children.

You can get to know the children through the following website Al Abrigo de Dios.

Semana Santa

We hope everyone has had a beautiful holiday. Cuernavaca was packed with tourists this long weekend! During this time the city is not just a destination for American and Canadian tourists, but a very large number of tourists from Mexico City and other neighboring areas. I heard on the radio on Saturday that no one should even consider getting on the highway back to Mexico City between 3 and 7 PM yesterday because of all the traffic.

I spent the weekend in the center with my parents. They were really impressed (I was too) with how clean the streets were kept. Cuernavaca has also recently finished a pretty big renovation of the streets and sidewalks in the center. It is now easier to walk around (even in high heels) and way better lit at night. The renovation even included repainting of some of the giant walls of private and public houses and buildings downtown. It looks great!

Enchiladas de Mole

Curious about Mexican cuisine? Today is our clase de cocina (my favorite activity!). Students will learn to make Enchiladas de Mole, another favorite of mine. Here is a link to a good recipe for those of you who won´t be able to join us. http://recipes.rimag.com/recipe.asp?id=1605
And I´ll let you in on a little secret-- many of us cheat and buy mole sauce at the market or supermarket! You can buy it as spicy or sweet as you want, and add extra ingredients according to your preference.

Buen Provecho!

Bienvenidos!

Hola amigos!
We have decided to start a blog to make it easier for you to keep in touch with the friends you´ve made at Instituto Chac-Mool. If you have pictures of your time here with us in Cuernavaca, please send! We love to reminisce and I would like to share some pictures with everyone through the blog as well. Here are some pictures that our dear friend Martin sent us. Those of you who remember the Mexico-USA soccer game are sure to get a laugh!

Before and After!