Service Trip to San Juan

It has finally happened since I've started as the Civic Engagement Coordinator at St. Mary's - I got to go on a service trip!! Woohoo!!!!!

St. Mary's had mid-semester break starting on Thursday, October 16th. Paul Felarca, Paul Herrera, and I have been planning this trip for the last few weeks. We would be traveling to San Juan, TX, which is one of the farthest points south in all of Texas, down by McAllen in the Rio Grande Valley (more commonly referred to as "The Valley.") A few days before leaving on the trip, a family emergency came up and Paul Felarca was unable to go on the trip with us. That through Paul Herrera and I into a bit of a panic, because up until that point Paul Felarca had been the main point-of-contact for everything. We reviewed all the travel information and policies for St. Mary's service trips (ie - alcohol is apparently acceptable on service trips provided that students are of age, although I disagree with the statement "we can't stop them from drinking.") So Thursday morning at 8:00am we set off in a 15-passenger van with 8 students, 2 advisors, and a 5-hour driving plan to arrive at our destination. (Paul Herrera would be doing all the driving since I'm under 25 years of age.)

The trip started off alright, no problems with the drive-down. We stopped for an early lunch in Alice with the family of one of our participants. His parents were so great, and it was the first home-cooked meal I've had in two months!!! It was phenomenal, and his parents were really great. We arrived in San Juan around 1:00pm, and checked in with our host-site to get our room accommodations and get our work assignment.  

Our project for Thursday afternoon was to help with a project called "Mi Familia Vota" (My Family Votes), which is trying to encourage Hispanics in the area to vote in the upcoming presidential election.  The campaign isn't trying to gain votes for any particular candidate, but rather to show politicians in general that the Hispanics in southern Texas do have a voice.  Basically we traveled around communities in groups of 3 or 4 with clipboards of information (names and addresses of registered voters that haven't voted in an election in the past 3 years), asking residents to sign pledge cards starting that they would vote in the upcoming election and that the program could mail a reminder postcard right before election day.  Although this wasn't any sort of super thrilling activity, I did enjoy the fact that I got to utilize my Spanish-speaking skills quite a bit. 

Now Thursday night on the other hand was completely phenomenal!  First of all, one of the trip participants is from the Valley, and recommended a Mexican place called "Taco Palenque."  And when I say Mexican, I mean real Mexican!!!  Complete with sliced cucumber at the salsa bar and aqua de jamaica to drink.  Maravilloso!  The wonderfulness of the evening continued when we returned to our dorm-style housing for the night, and spend 4 hours playing "Coffee Pot" (a modified version of "Bowls," because a coffee pot was all we had), watching a movie, and snacking on cookies with cajeta.  Delicious.

Friday we were able to do construction for the day, which I were thoroughly excited for.  We worked with a group called Proyecto Azteca, which is very similar to Habitat for Humanity.  The program builds homes for families along the US-Mexican border ("las colonias") that are currently living in shacks made out of sheets of tin and loose cinder blocks.  We spent the morning installing insulation, and the afternoon using putty to seal exterior nails.  

Friday night we were invited to dinner at the home of one of our group members, followed by a showing of "Talladega Nights" and a detour to get some gelato.  The evening was a bit more laid back in the housing unit, but we did get to play Thumper, a personal favorite :)

Saturday was our free day, and we went to....South Padre Island!!!!!  Yes, I am talking about the popular spring break destination.  It is much more laid back in mid-October, and while the weather wasn't super sunny and hot, it was a pleasant day nonetheless.  Myself and two guys from the group ended up playing soccer on the beach with a group of women from Mexico, and man did we get our butts kicked!  It started out alright, but after the score was 8-8, we were taken in a 7-1 run.  Ouch.  Soccer may not be my best sport, but it was still a great time!

Despite quite a few hiccups during our service (both with voter recruitment and construction) it was a good trip, and a great group of students.  I can't wait until spring break though, when we can have a substantial impact and some hard-core group bonding.