The beach in January. Be jealous.

Sand castle/Aztec warrior resort made by Rachel and Brooke! 

Thank God for Sundays. After a week full of tough physical labor, we finally got a day off, and it was fantastic. For those of you who haven't known the pleasure of being able to jump in the ocean when your loved ones back home are dealing with freezing temperatures and snow, allow me to try and explain it to you. It is pure ecstasy.

I love the ocean; I love the sun, and I love the beach, so today was bliss. Add that combination to the fact that I couldn't dream of doing such a thing back in Reno at this time of year and it's that much sweeter. The fact that you can get a natural tan in the middle of winter is amazing. I could go on and on about how cool the experience is, but I think you guys have a pretty good idea, especially since most of you readers are those aforementioned loved ones =P.

I would like to take a little time to describe the beach we visited to you. It was this really cool bay, which made it extremely swimmer-friendly, and the water was surprisingly clear. We had a set of snorkeling gear, and I had the chance to use it. You could see a long ways, so far in fact it conjured memories of Lake Tahoe. Adding to those memories was the fact that little sea life was visible while snorkeling, which was a little disappointing, but I guess you can't have everything. Although I did see a jelly fish which was a little frightening, but it was just a little one and didn't seem to have any interest in me. I was able to escape without any stings, which I'm sure is a relief to all of you.

Once our beach adventure ended, we piled back in to the car and headed home. After a long day of swimming and sun bathing, we then had the luxury of some good ol' fashioned downtime where we could do whatever we pleased. So, being the basketball nut that I am, it was time to go shoot some hoops. I gathered as many people as I could, which sadly was only one other. Props to Darren for going with me =D; you're the man. Unfortunately the basketball court is closed on Sundays, so after all that I didn't even get to play =/. Hopefully we will get a chance tomorrow. Instead of spending my free time on the basketball court, it was spent lounging around the house doing a whole lot of nothing, which was also nice.

At about 6:45, a large part of our group set off on an adventure to find the Nevada bowl game. I didn't travel with this group, so I can't say exactly what happened other than their adventure was fruitless. Apparently ESPN Mexico doesn't care too much for American college football, but that was okay with me because the group brought back pizza for dinner.

After dinner, we began our nightly reflection which went from sometime a little before 8 until well after 10. We got to play a couple fun games and then spent a long time on Peter's hot seat. Since he is the least known to the rest of the group it was fun to get a chance to learn more about him. Soon after I began this blog and you know the rest of the story from there. Have a good night and make the most out of your Monday; just remember: if we didn't have Mondays, everyone would hate Tuesdays instead.

-Joshua Hughes

Today we took a bike ride on the road to San Javier and then veered to three mountain bike trails. Manny, the owner of the bicycle shop, brought about ten young people with him in his truck. All of us grabbed some tools and started walking on the trails. We divided up into groups of four. Our trail (the lower of three-- closer to the ocean) was about two-and-a-half kilometers long. We cleared rocks, brush, anything that had fallen on the trail. On the way we saw a bobcat or small fox that had been recently killed, a jack rabbit, and many shrubs and cacti that were just beginning to bloom. Even though it is still January, the desert has a different rhythm-- now is the time of spring blossoms. One shrub, a matacoro, had a beautiful red blossom on it. All of the small leaves signaled spring. One of the shrubs had a citrus scent. Our two youth guides, Gama and Enrique, worked hard with the broken rake and tired bamboo rake. It was the day everyone got a lot of exercise. All of us were real hungry when we returned. Debby made a baked vegetable salad and Jake made a killer potato casserole and I threw some chicken and ribs on the barby. It was one of the best days we have had (we've only been here since Thursday). P.S. It was an especially nice day for me because I was able to paint. I did a montage of the backyard, with bicycles coasting through the patio beneath the beauganvilla. A lovely day. On the way home, Chuey stopped in his car and gave us hot churros. Wonderful cinnamon flavors. We're tired now and going to sleep well. STG

Red Paint, Salsa Dancing, and Restringing a Guitar - What Fun!

Salutations and felicitations from Loreto, Mexico! Just thought the post should start off interesting. Let's see if it'll end that way. OK, today was an interesting day. First off, a slightly later than usual start; just by five-ten minutes, nothing big. We once again made our way over to the Intranado to resume work on the painting.

Being done with the melon color, we turned our attention to the vermilion red. There wasn't as much to paint with the red and the work went by quickly. We splintered off in groups of roughly three and proceeded to paint the red onto the brick walls and one wall that needed a complete coat. As I stated earlier, the work went by quickly. There was a naranja (orange) paint bucket, but Cheuy and his pals painted the orange. The time was roughly 11:38:12 PM and the Leader of the Day (Brooke) had called lunch. We ate lunch and then resumed what remained of work. Shaun and Debbie took to sanding, varnishing, and repainting the benches.

We also borrowed a guitar from Cheuy and Peter and I noticed a string missing. We therefore went to the music shop and bought Ernie Ball acoustic nylon strings for 150 pesos (about $15) and proceeded home. Peter restrung the guitar up to the B string and then went to string the top E string at last. The gear on the tuning peg fell off, as did the screw holding it there. Brooke, Peter, and I searched the grass and Brooke had found the gear. We searched for a while for the screw as well. Tiny and jet-black. Perfect. I helped in the search and retuned the guitar while they continued on. Peter improvised with the low E string's tuning head gear screw, as that gear held in place, no problem.

This is a long post, so I'll finish up. We had gone out to dinner with Patty tonight as well and everyone learned salsa dancing. I took some pictures for the first half and then jumped in and learned the basics quickly enough. During the free-for-all dance, Sophie and the instructor (Alejandre?) were really gettin' down on the moves. Josh danced with everyone as well. It soon fizzled to where Josh was just solo dancing. We then went to the ice cream parlor, which was closed. We decided to get into a club, but the only club opened served beer, so we didn't go to that. We ended the evening with a game where someone closes their eyes, someone starts something, the rest follow, and the person with their eyes closed has to guess who's leading (they can open their eyes after everyone makes the same sound).

Buenos Nachos!
-Donovan

Painting...Football...and Snail Muzzles!

Over the past few days our group has been painting. We have painted the exterior parts of the dorms and are starting to make plans for our next activity. After finishing our painting for the day, we played a little catch with a football. We played not only with our group, but with Cheuy's grandson Alfredo (right). Although the other kids don't come until the tenth, we have gotten a sneak peek of how much fun it is going to be when they do.

Shaun and Debbie got here this afternoon. I am excited to show them what our group has become over the next couple days that they are here. Jake was leader of the day today. We played many games, one that involves inventing a use for an object given to you. Donovan and I made a snail muzzle. It keeps the snail from sucking on your arm and getting rid of rashes from the previous times that the snail got to your skin. It was a very creative game and I think that Jake did a great job with being leader of the day. We ended our exciting day by taking the group to get some ice cream. Once again, we have kept our goal of getting ice cream everyday we are here. I am looking forward to our projects and am excited for whats to come.

Brooke Harrower

Round 2

Hey y'all!!! (:
Okay, so yesterdays blog got lost in the process of posting, so here's a brief synopsis of what we did. (please keep in mind that the previous version of this blog was an infinite number of times cooler...)
We got off to kind of a late start, but no one was against sleeping in so we just called it good. We got started painted the exteriors of the buildings at the Internado.  Darren and Sofia bought 3 giant (5 gallon) buckets of paint for us to use; melon, rojo, y naranja.  We started with melon, which was the color of most of the beams of the main outside area and the other buildings as well.  We got a lot of painting done, but by the end of the day, (4 PM) we were ready for ciesta hour.
Patty surprised us with some of the most DELICIOUS soup you've ever had... vegetables and chicken and stuff. AKA sooooo good! (: Props to Patty! *snap, snap, snap* However, Josh and Peter had already planned to barbeque some burgers.  As youth leaders being faced with such a predicament, we decided to eat the soup as an appetizer while the real dinner was being prepared. Can you say GUUD DEESISHEN?!?! I can!! (:
After dinner was cleaned and put away, (both in our bellies and in the fridge) our L.O.T.D., Sofia took charge with reflection.  We reviewed our progress and discussed possible projects within the community outside of the Internado.  After finishing up official business, the focus of the conversation turned to the one and only ICE CREAM!!! Since we have vowed to eat it every day, we all took a trip together down to the ice cream shop.  Oh wow ice cream is so good here! Good thing we are eating it EVERYDAY! (:
We took the long way home and got to see the actual white house.  Literally, it said "CASA BLANCA" right over the front door! We also witnessed the beautiful waves crashing of the ocean against the rocks and the cool salty breeze while we merrily trekked along. What a good way to end the night!
Speaking of ending the night.... I'm out. Word G'man. (:
Cambria

Bicicletas y Bicycles. :)

Hello to all our readers. :)
Our second day here in Loreto has come and gone in what seems like no time at all, and already our group is making vast progress in the exploration of this beautiful town. As we settle in we are beginning to find different resources such as grocery stores, restaurants, and of course, ice cream parlors. (Seeing as one of our goals is to eat ice cream everyday).
We recently acquired bikes, thanks to all the those who loaned them to us; Rick, Jeff, Paul, and Jesus, these will be extremely useful in the aiding of transportation around Loreto. Also a fun activity for the group. A special thanks to Patty for assisting us in the transportation department today and Jesus (Chuy) as well.
When walking out of the house, we have found that whatever path is chosen, something miraculous will be found, whether it be the breathtaking view of the sea, or the enticing and irresistible smell of the warm, freshly baked tortillas in the Tortilleria on the opposing end.
Tomorrow we will be taking the path that leads us to the Internado, where we will be working with the local chicas y chicos. We are going to begin repairing the paint on the exterior of the dormitories, this is the kind of work that we will be doing for the first week seeing as the kids are currently on their winter break. We also will be preparing for workshops and creating activities for the kids later on. There is much anticipation in the air to meet all the children.
As for tonight, games and perhaps a run on the beach will be the finale for our group. Then we begin a whole new adventure tomorrow. We will be sure to keep you posted. Until then, goodnight.
-Sophie Glogovac

El primero dia en Mexico

Hello readers. Thanks for your interest in our blog. Today marks an important event for our Global Voice team as we have just arrived at our destination in Loreto, Mexico. We started early this morning (4:30am when this picture was taken) in the Reno airport and made our way south to Los Angeles via small propeller powered airplanes to our current destination about 3/4 of the way down the Baja peninsula. Loreto is a beautiful spot with hypnotic desert mountains rising out of the Sea of Cortez. It feels good to be back in Central America where the pace of life is a little slower and strangers seem to have greater concern for one another. Our accommodations here in Loreto are terrific (Thanks Yandre and Teague) and the weather is much warmer than the snowy winter wonderland of Northern Nevada. Tonight we dined on a fantastic meal composed of tacos of all varieties including fish, beef, and pork. We are getting ourselves settled in and working out the logistics of how we are going to work together as a team on our service-learning projects. Although tired, we are in good spirits and are looking forward to the adventures that lie ahead. Stay tuned for posts from the rest of our team. -Darren