Where has the time gone???

This post's for Sonia - she's on the mend and we are so thankful!

February 10, 2011

 - thanks to Ricardo, Garry, and Brian for sharing some of their pictures with me.

Hola - time is winding down for us in Lo de Marcos.  Where has the winter gone???  I feel like we just had Christmas . . . but I guess that really was over 6 weeks ago!

Here's a bit of what we've been doing over the past while -


Kipper's new BFFs - Brendan and Cassidy from Kitscoty (and Dad, Scott)



Last week we attended a fund raiser for La Casa de los Ninos - a free, after school enrichment center for the children of Lo de Marcos.  For more information about La Casa de los Ninos, go to     http://www.lacasadelosninos.wordpress.com/ . 

The food was prepared by the great staff at Arcelia's Sugar and Spice Restaurant - a tasty Mexican buffet.  I can't imagine that anyone went away hungry - I think there were close to 100 people there, and all the money raised went to La Casa de Los Ninos - a very worthwhile cause.

After dinner, we enjoyed some wonderful Mexican dancing by these two beautiful senoritas!



I think everyone had a wonderful time, although, we were just heading into a cool spell - and a bit of a storm heading our way.

Needless to say, we didn't spend a whole lot of time at the beach when it was like this!

But, like anything else, the weather changes and it's back to the beautiful soft waves that brings out the kid in all of us - or most of us.  I call these following photos "Greys on Trays" - someone once told me that's what they call "cottonheads" who snowboard - but it applies here as well - just a lot of born-again kids playing with their boogie boards . . . (well, except for the one in the bikini - but she just happened to get into the shot!)



Just say "No" to "crack"

At one point, I must have counted at least 20 old farts in the water, just having a ball - and yes, Arturo and I were two of them (we're not in the photo)!

Another wonderful volunteer organization here in the village is  Amigos de Lo de Marcos .  "Amigos de Lo de Marcos is a registered Mexican non-profit association formed by concerned residents, local and foreign, to represent the needs of the community of Lo de Marcos.  Amigos exists to serve, advocate for, and be true "friends" to the people of Lo de Marcos."  Click on the above link to see what they are all about - and to find out all sorts of interesting information about Lo de Marcos.

On Saturday, the Amigos organized a Lo de Marcos Walk-about - to share information about what the village, and what activities they actually support.  They had a great turn-out - somewhere around 85 people, and it was a real eye-opener for me. 

We started out at the square - which is literally the center of town and wear most of the "action" is.

  First we headed to the Elementary School which is located on the main street heading towards the beach. 



Elementary School street side




Elementary School from inside the school yard




The lunch area

 The Amigos helped the school out and raised money to put in these picnic tables for the kids to have their lunches.  Before that, there was none.  They have plans to put a cover over the tables in the future - so the kids will have some protection from the sun and rains.


The Cafeteria



 

Inside a classroom



The School Yard

 As you can see, it's pretty basic - I think the kids here are from grades 1 through 6.  There is a Secondary School (Secundaria) on the other side of town, but we didn't visit there.  The students at the secondary school receive their lessons via TV from Guadalajara (or maybe Mexico City - just like when I was in school, I wasn't paying close enough attention to get all the details).  The secondary school goes to grade 9 - and after that, the kids have to go to another town if they want to continue with their education - and pay for daily transportation, etc. to get there.  One person gave us a figure of 60% drop out after grade 9 - many of the people here just cannot afford that.


Not too far from the square is the kindergarten - it looks so bright and cheery. 

We didn't go in the kindergarten, so I only have pictures from the outside.

Day Care

Further down the road is the day care centre - during the week, you will always see the little ones playing in front area.

Next stop -   La Casa de los Ninos

Library

Activity Room - and "Wall of Fame"



Front entrance - with one of the founders of La Casa de los Ninos



Arts and Crafts Room

The story and activities of La Casa de los Ninos can be found at http://www.lacasadelosninos.wordpress.com/    - a very worthwhile charity that will make a difference in the lives of the children of Lo de Marcos.

Then, at the other end of the life cycle, is the Seniors Centre.  Every Wednesday anywhere from 30 - 90 Seniors from Lo de Marcos meet for social activities, and sometimes, even a nice meal.

Senior's Center

You notice the golf cart out front - one of the volunteerss with Amigos de Lo de Marcos, picks up some of the seniors who would otherwise not be able to attend the Wednesday program - how great is that!



Medical Center

 This is the Medical Centre in Lo de Marcos.  Doctors who train in Mexico, must provide one year of service to rural communities.  The clinic is staffed by one nurse, and the doctor.  The doctor lives right at the clinic.  One of the fund raising efforts for the Amigos de Lo de Marcos, is to purchase an Air Conditioner for the building - can you imagine being here in the sweltering summer heat without A/C?  I'm sure the doc will appreciate it.  In the past, the Amigos donated a washing machine to the clinic - so towels, linens, etc. could be cleaned right on site.

A couple of other things that the Amigos are involved in, and I don't have pictures of, are the free spay and neuter clinics that help control the pet population, and the recycling program (see the previous post).

Excellent efforts on everyone's parts!

We are gettng to the end of this trip - and are most likely leaving Lo de Marcos on February 23rd - and heading north - with plans to cross into the US on March 1st.  We'll spend a bit of time there with Art's sister and brother-in-law, and then head her home!



Chacala Beach

Next post - the hot springs adventure, a night of Jazz and Blues, great amigos - old and new . . . stay tuned!
Hasta Luego -

Arturo y de Beeb

Who's on first . . . .

***did you know if you click on the pictures you can see them in a larger format???***

Every Wednesday and Sunday morning, Arturo heads off to the ball field for a friendly game of slo-pitch with the locals and gringos.  There have been a few minor injuries, but all in all, it's just a good time.  On every other Sunday, after the gringo game, the local mens baseball team plays - against other teams in the area.  It's pretty good ball from what I can see.   The fans enjoy the game too - we usually buy lots of 50/50 tickets, our winnings being a case of coronitas (mini-bottles).  It's fun, and many of the towns people come out to cheer on their team.




The field

 

The house/yard bordering the field - often their farm animals come out to play as well!



Not sure what was being discussed here . . . but it looks important!

 


It's not Kipper, but sometimes a dog or two will saunter onto the field in the middle of a play - no problemo!

 


People bring their own refreshments . . .




It's siesta time for this perro . . .



I missed the shot, but while the spectators were away from their seats, the goat came and was drinking from the cups - I guess the goat likes Tequila too!!!

Goats, dogs, ducks, chickens and roosters are all part of the crowd!

Bev and other cheerleaders - would you believe that I worked with one of them in Whitehorse 28 years ago!!! (at the Super A grocery store!) - small world!!!

That's our Sunday entertainment!

Now for some other stuff . . . . .

In Mexico, the transition from childhood to womanhood is a significant passage for adolescent girls.  It is marked with the celebration of the Quinceañera, or 15th Birthday  - sort of like the "sweet 16" type of celebration that North Americans used to have (they don't still do that, do they?) Last Saturday, I noticed quite the goings on in the town square . . . .

and yes, it was the setting up of a Quinceañera for one of the local girls.  We saw the celebration that night.  I couldn't get a good picture of her, but she was dressed in a beautiful purple dress, much like a prom dress, and was absolutely beautiful!  The party and lively music was heard well into the wee hours . . . lots of fun and celebration!

This was the procession walking from the church to the celebration in the Town Square - not a great picture, I know, but you can get the idea.

"The degree of opulence of the event is directly related to the economic means of the girl's parents and godparents.  Urbanites frequently lease banquet halls for the dance, while village folks are more inclined to set up rented folding tables and chairs in a freshly cleared and swept huerta (orchard) or corral. To cover the multiple expenses, a host of padrinos and madrinas may be invited to sponsor, respectively, the dress, the music, the locale, the bar, the cake and the table favors." (I got this information off the internet)

All is good -

Arturo y de Beeb