Open Day Introduction by Dr. Peter Slowe, Leeds 2005

A good way to find out about us is to come to one of our Open Days. On Saturday 24th November we have visitors from all around the world. Pabbu Rajendran is visiting from our India office, Saad Rbiai is visiting from Morocco and Sajani Amatya from our Nepal office. We also have lots of recently returned volunteers who are keen to share their experiences.

The afternoon starts at 2pm at the Hotel Met in Leeds city centre. The hotel is five minutes walk from the main central station. If you want to find out how to get there get in touch with Sue who can send you a map. Her email address is suerevill@projects-abroad.co.uk.

The afternoon starts with an address from our Director, Peter Slowe. This is followed up by a powerpoint from myself and a few tales from overseas. After a cup of tea you are able to split up and find out the ins and outs of what you can do overseas and what each country is like.

It should be a good afternoon. If you want to find out more please get in touch with Sue on 01903 708300 or apply on the website HERE.

If Leeds is a bit far for you have a look at the website for other events which might be taking place near you .

- Ian Birbeck

Journalism Discussion Group

By Natalie Bryson, Program Advisor

It’s been a busy month here in Guadalajara! October is the month of festivals (“Fiestas de Octubre”) and it seems that I wasn’t able to walk anywhere in the city without accidentally bumping into a street fair, parade or concert!

Early in the month as I was making my way towards downtown, my bus suddenly stopped far from my destination and made everyone dismount. I was completely baffled and as my Spanish is truly terrible, I was unable to understand the responses to my garbled inquiries of “¿Qué está pasando?” (What’s going on?) I was I walked further down the main avenue I noticed bleachers were set up and people were lining up along the road, which, to me, seemed promising of a parade. I waited for a while and all of a sudden was barraged by the blare of trumpets, the squeal of violins and the warble of wailing Mariachi bands. For a full three hours a parade of Mariachi bands streamed by, flanked by traditional Mexican dancers that twirled in their bright, full skirts.
What I later learned was that the parade was the kick off for the “Fiestas de Octubre,” and what would be a month full of me accidentally running into different cultural events.

Throughout the month I managed to visit six streets fairs, witness three parades and watch at least a dozen concerts and cultural films. One of my favorite street fairs was the “Dia de los Muertos” (day of the dead) market in Parque Morelos. The market only runs for one month a year in preparation for the traditional ceremony of Dia de los Muertos that takes place on November 1st and 2nd in cemeteries across Mexico. Day of the Dead celebrates and honors the lives of the deceased by holding all night vigils to celebrate the continuation of life into the afterlife; deceased infants and children are traditionally celebrated on November 1st, and adults on the 2nd. In general, the belief is not that death is the end, but rather the beginning of a new stage in life, and this belief can be traced back the ancient civilizations of the Aztecs and Mayans.

Sugar Skulls in Guadalajara before Dia del Los Muertos

This weekend I am going to Pátzcuaro and Morelia, two cities that are famous for their celebrations for Dia del Los Muertos, and I’m extremely excited to see the traditional altars, ceremonies and songs that accompany the vigils.

In other news, I had a chance to visit two of our incredible projects that run in Mexico; the Arts and Crafts placement in Tlaquepaque, on the outskirts of Guadalajara, and the the Turtle Conservation Camp , which is located in the beach outside of Tecoman, three hours from Guadalajara.

Read more about the Arts and Crafts program and the Turtle Camp with LOTS of photos after the jump

MORE…

Molding

The Arts and Crafts program is really great for anyone interested in the traditional crafts of Mexico. Volunteers are taken step-by-step through the process of ceramic making, from preparing molds and casting them, to learning the meaning of traditional designs and colors which decorate the pottery, to finally evenly coating the pottery in a thick spray glaze which turns clear while baking in the kiln. The area itself is a nice escape from the bustling city and honking cars and creates a peaceful artists sanctuary.

Painting

A rocking mug with a luchador, Nachoooooooooooooooooo

The Turtle Camp was by far my favorite though. Seeing thousands of baby turtles released into the ocean and knowing that we had helped them to get there was really incredible. The whole weekend I was there we learned about the process of the turtle camp. Every night workers and volunteers go out on patrol on an ATV to sweep the beach for turtle nests. When one is found, it is dug up, placed into a bag and loaded onto the vehicle. The night that I went out, we found ten nests, which I learned is a small night! (Keep in mind that each nest has about 80-100 ping-pong sized turtle eggs!) The eggs are then brought back to the camp, and in the morning are reburied in new nests inside a protected corral near where the volunteers sleep. As dozens nests are collected every night during high season (June-December), that means that every day there are thousands of hatchlings to release (the incubation period for a nest is about 45-60 days), which makes for some very busy volunteers this time of year!

Cute baby turtle!

Baby turtles ready for the open ocean

As you can see, I’m loving my time in Mexico and I can’t believe that I’m already halfway through!

By Elisa Glangeaud

I am 38 years old and a mother of two children who are 2 and 5 years old. I am also from Grenoble in the French Alps. Since I was a child, I have always had a passion for the discovery of other cultures.
I have been studying foreign languages and international relations. During my studies, I took a “gap year” in South America. After that, I worked for a company that organized cultural travels but I was also a European Exchange student in Denmark.

I still love traveling and meeting people!!!

After my Master’s degree, I started working in Colombia on the evaluation of development projects for a French NGO and then I worked some months at The Center for Human Rights at the United Nations in Geneva. For six years, I was traveling between South America and France for development projects, mostly in indigenous communities in the Andes. I worked for two years for a Peruvian NGO in Cuzco, land of the former Incas, which was one of the best experiences of my life!

Before joining the Projects Abroad team, I worked for eight years in a press relations agency in Grenoble. I was in charge of different budgets but I was looking for a more useful mission in my work. I needed a wider opening on the world with true human values. That’s how I found Projects Abroad and I sincerely hope that I will be very useful to fulfill its mission. I have been working for only one week at Projects Abroad but I feel I am at the right place and I am already enjoying it a lot!!!

Lee, all the way to the left, enjoying a game of putt putt golf in Mexico

When I first started working for Projects Abroad in 2005, my second week was spent at our Headquarters in the UK learning the ropes. I learned a lot (as well as listened to a lot of Keane!) with Lee Bronze who was a Programme Advisor at that time. He showed me how to give presentations and regaled me with stories from his time in Mexico. Let’s hear what he is up to!

By Lee Bronze

It’s now almost 8 years since I was teaching in China with Projects Abroad. I am now a practising Employment lawyer as such I am still using the skills I learnt from that experience today such as speaking in public, thinking of my feet and dealing with all sorts of people and problems (the two though are of course are often interlinked with my clients!).

I perhaps realise that I am now getting old as I think to myself ‘where does all the time go?’. Since that time I have travelled to 3 other Projects Abroad destinations; I soaked up some summer time sun in Senegal, embraced in full the cult of Dracula in Transylvania, Romania and went to Mexico for 5 months. I stayed for a year mind you but that just shows how great an experience I had.

I have now landed back to Earth with a bump perhaps it hits home hardest when I am stranded waiting for a judgment to be delivered, I long for just half a chance to be enjoying foreign climbs. I am so glad I went off but how long until I can do it again???? It seems that there is only one cure for those itchy feet…