Two weeker Katie shares how our community programme welcomes her at Playa del Carmen
Voice from the field, Jun 15, 2013 - Katie
Hello my name is Katie, I have been working on the community project
in Playa del Carmen for two weeks. Playa del Carmen is a beautiful town, the
people are extremely welcoming and volunteering here has definitely been a huge
treat! On starting my first week the weather was dismal, the
beginning of the week bought with it a small 3 days storm. This was definitely an
experience I won't forget - the streets were extremely flooded; you had to wade
down them! The wind you could hear banging against the windows; however the
temperature still remained hot which I found amazing. My first experience out
at night in Playa included us nearly swimming to the clubs - turning up drenched
to the bone with a poor guy mopping up the puddles that trailed behind us as we
danced! On my first weekend I visited a beautiful Muyil’s lagoon with
two other volunteers! Even though it was raining all day it was an amazing
experience - we received a private tour of the lagoon and its Mayan ruin along
with being able to float down the lagoon river with our life jackets being worn
as nappies- this made us laugh for hours! During my first week on the project I
participated in Spanish lessons at the school Solexico. I thoroughly enjoyed
these four hours a day as I got to meet people from various countries and
improve my Spanish in an enjoyable environment. The teachers and other students
were extremely friendly. Due to the weather we were unable to visit the
Ludoteca for the first two days; instead I participated in helping the
recycling project that is taking place after I leave and finishing off my
emergency first responder course- 'hello my name is Katie, I'm an emergency
responder may I help you?' - a saying that is ingrained into your head!! By the
end of the week the Ludoteca finally opened again. I look forward to going to
work and playing with the children every day. They are all adorable and love
playing and talking to us! It's a great way of improving your Spanish as they
don't speak much English. Last week I was involved in teaching the younger ones
colours and animals in an English lesson, this week so far I have been involved
in a feisty game of piggy in the middle and helping the older ones with their
homework. The experience has been tiring but extremely rewarding and the
children seem to love us being there. The weekend just past I went to find
whale sharks to swim with, with some other volunteers. It was an interesting
experience involving a lot of sea sickness and big waves but definitely an
experience worth having! Unfortunately we didn't see any whale sharks so are
hopefully going back again this weekend - bring on the waves! Most
evenings we all take a trip to Burger King for the infamous wi-fi parties -
these are a 'must attend' party where we all sit in silence with an ice-cream
in hand contacting the world back home - social event of the season where we
must look so odd to outsiders just not talking to each other for an hour!
Overall so far I have had an amazing time, met great friends and have had some
incredible experiences!
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