Curso de Verano

The past 2 weeks have been quite busy around here.  The other volunteer at my site, Shayna, helped to put together a Curso de Verano (a summer course) for kids.   There were two courses of, with each course including 60-70 kids, lasting 5 days, and covering topics such as recycling, pollution, water, forest fires, deforestation/reforestation, ecotecnias, biodiversidad, and even a short lesson on first aid.  Both courses were essentially the same, the only difference being their locations.  The first course was at CEFOFOR so the other 4 volunteers who work nearby were able to come and help out while 2 other volunteers came from other states in Mexico to help as well. Together, we were quite a force to be reckoned with in our official Curso gear:

Here are some photos from the presentations and activities…there were sessions given by Peace Corps volunteers and the general staff at CEFOFOR.

Shayna talking about bidiversity

Activity time!

The group with Savi the squirrel (Mexico's Smoky the Bear equivalent)

Kids Helping fight some fire

 

Planting some trees

The second week of the course took place about an hour and a half away from The Guz, this meant early mornings as we commuted back and forth each day and also meant not as many Peace Corps volunteers could come out and visit as it was quite the logistical challenge just to get me and Shayna out there each day!  This course took place in Tapalpa, a small town in a much more rural than The Guz.  It does have a Pueblo Magico designation though…which I'm not entirely sure what is needed to meet these requirements, but it is kind of equivalent to a historical designation in the States and helps attract tourists.  While a bit tiring to commute every day to this location, I enjoyed interacting with the kids in the rural area where people riding on horseback was not uncommon.  You could really tell a difference in the kids as they were shy at first meeting, but they were also more respectful towards us and very well behaved…at times the kids at the CEFOFOR course were a bit hard to handle :).  

Whitney & Shayna hard at work

 

 Giving a tour of the Medicinal Garden

The kids with their plants they got to take home

Playing Loteria (Bingo)

Activity book time
(book designed by Whitney & Shayna)

So there you have it…a taste of the past two weeks for me.  I learned a lot and had a good time talking with the kiddos…even despite the fact they enjoyed laughing about my accent/pronunciation of words :)

And in case there weren't enough photos in this blog here are a couple more from Tapalpa

   

Cathedral in Tapalpa's downtown

I also got to make my very first tortilla by hand!  These ladies were amazing. They helped out with the course in Tapalpa all week and made us food every day, which they did not have to do.  When I saw them making tortillas I knew I had to try and make one myself…they taught me, but I will need to make 2938789 more to be at their level.

Schooling me in how to make tortillas

My first hand made tortilla!
(cute little guy if I do say so myself)