these are a few of my favorite things: CUERNAVACA

when the dog bites,
when the bee stings,
when i'm feeling sad,
i simply remember my favorite things,
and then i don't feel so bad!


So THESE are a few of my FAVORITE THINGS in Cuernavaca:

MY FAMILY, particularly the babies!

the park right by my house. a perfect place for a walk, a run, or some relaxation with the sound of the river trickling by

the juice lady...fresh squeezed orange juice about a 3 minute walk from my house....mmmm!

The panaderia "La Paloma," right across from the juice lady, completed my perfect breakfast of fresh bread and fresh oj

La Rana de La Casona: an awesome little bookstore down in the zocalo

the Italian Coffee Company, particularly their "Frappe de Cajeta." perfect refreshment on a hot day and a great place to chill and read a book or work on my project!

the Cathedral of Cuernavaca

the kids at La Buena Tierra, their runny noses and giggly laughs :)

a sigh of relief

Two blocks away from one of the principle avenues in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, is a small community that is called La Via. Less than ten years ago, the train passed through this community that is now made up of about one hundred families and has suffered from a lack of resources and education in its past. Ten years ago, a kindergarten called Centro Educativo “La Buena Tierra” (Educational Center “The Good Earth”) came to life in the community of La Via. This school year, 2009-2010, La Buena Tierra opened an elementary school with first and second grade, with the vision to increase in size every year. This same year, the kindergarten celebrates ten years serving the community. The school has achieved abundant accomplishments in its years in La Via, and it is time to look in depth, from a variety of perspectives, at what the school has offered to the community.


A weight as been lifted off my chest... Today I handed to Lizy, the director of La Buena Tierra, the finished product of the project I have been working on for the past six months. Named "The History of La Buena Tierra," this project has been on my mind, and my to-do list, for a very long time. It feels SO good to have it finally be done!

Although it was a lot of work, and perhaps a source of much stress at times, the opportunity to do this project has definitely been a blessing. One of the most interesting parts was going house to house in the community of La Via (where the school is located), knocking on every door, interviewing as many people as would let me for this project. I definitely learned a lot.


The final product included the following areas:

• The History of La Via (how the community came to be, along the railroad tracks)
• La Via Today (what the community is like now, demographics, etc.)
• The History of La Buena Tierra (how/why it got started)
• La Buena Tierra - how the school functions, its mission, what it offers, sponsors, scholarships, etc.
• Accomplishments and Changes - what the school has accomplished in its 10 years in La Via, and how La Via has changed as a community as a result of the school's impact
• A Model - using La Buena Tierra as an example, what can others who have interest in starting a similar school in a similar community learn?
• The Future of the school
• Recommendations - for the school, based on observations and various complaints/misunderstandings from community members
• Pictures - from before the school started, until today, creating a history of the school through photography

It's long (typical natalie style), but if anyone has interest in reading it, please just send me an email...i will gladly send it on. (spanish or english, take your pick!)

As I wrote in my MCC End of Term Report, I view this project as my biggest success of the year. I have learned a lot from it, had great learning experiences in the midst of writing it, and feel that I have truly offered something of value to La Buena Tierra. It feels good to have it done!

As La Buena Tierra continues to make positive impacts on the community of La Via, may it keep in mind the following Bible verse that inspired the name “La Buena Tierra.”

From Luke 8:4-8

⁴While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: ⁵"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. ⁶Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. ⁷Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. ⁸Still other seed fell on good soil (“buena tierra”). It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown."

May La Buena Tierra continue to be good soil for the children of La Via, nourishing and preparing them for a better future.

another era has come to an end....

It´s 4:30 in the morning and I am wide awake. This is odd...

I have just waved goodbye as my Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Bob rode off in a taxi headed towards the airport for their big trip back to the United States.

As I walked back in the house, I realized that in exactly two weeks from this very (deadly) hour, I myself will be getting in a taxi, bogged down by all my luggage, headed off to the airport, for my trip back to the land of the USofA. Wow.

But I try not to think about all that yet...

Saying goodbye to my aunt and uncle has brought an end to an era: a delightful, somewhat unexpected, fun-and-adventure-filled era of hanging out with my aunt and uncle in Mexico. Soon after moving to Mexico, I sent an email to my aunt saying ¨tell Bob to get his bum down here.¨ My uncle had spent about 6 years living in Mexico in the 1990s, has returned many a time with my aunt in the past 10 years, and I knew he was hoping to make it back this year! I wasn´t sure if I would ever have the luck of them coming down while I was here, but it turned out that the end of March, both Cynthia and Bob moved to San Miguel de Allende, a town about 3.5 hours north of Mexico City.

SO, over the past 3 months I have had the joy of sharing lots of adventures, great conversation, some good laughs, musical debuts, and great memories with the both of them. Since in a normal year of mine, if I´m lucky, I might see these two nomads ONCE (if that), I feel extremely blessed to have seen them so many times over the past three months.

The following pictures are a few snapshots of our times together in México...

It is sad to see them go without knowing when I will even see them next...

But it´s most definitely been fun!

the future ...

Pretty much from the day I arrived in Mexico, the following thought has been running through my head constantly: ¨What am I going to do next year???¨ To be honest, it has probably been way to much of a preoccupation of mine throughout the past year. but I can FINALLY say that i know the answer to that question. Not figuring it out until 3 weeks before leaving Mexico has created a bit of stress in my life, but I am happy to say that stress is now gone, and I can breathe a sigh of relief for that.

SO....starting September 27, I will be participating in Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS). I will live in (of all places...) Kansas. ha! The Kansas City MVS Unit will be my new home for the next year, and I will work under Catholic Charities in the Refugee and Migrant Services department. From my (limited) understanding, I will be working mostly with refugees from SouthEast Asia and Africa, assisting them to achieve self-sufficiency in the U.S.

I guess that´s enough said on that. Just thought I would let you all know what the next steps were for me. I´m excited to spend some time at home and visiting family and friends before this new adventure begins. I can´t believe my ¨learning adventures in mexico¨ are so quickly coming to an end....