Welcome to my page! After 66 years of living in New York State, 45 of those years working as a Registered Nurse, I have decided to be a long-term volunteer in Mexico – specifically in the small village of Cofradía de Suchitlan in the Pacific Coast state of Colima. Within about 2 months, I hope that I am comfortable enough here to make the next step, which would be to move here. Currently I am here on a 6-month visa. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and feelings as I experience life in Mexico, first as a gringo, then as an ex-pat.
Cofradía is a small village, in an agricultural area. The main products are coffee and sugar cane. I learned about it at the Rotary International convention in New Orleans in 2011. Looking for a way to volunteer, but with limited time and money due to working full-time, I happened upon the Project Amigo booth at the House of Friendship in NOLA.
I talked with the founders, Ted Rose and Susan Hill, and thoughts swirled around in my brain: “It’s close to home” and “I do speak a little Spanish” and “It’s only a week; I can manage that,” and so I made my first trip as a volunteer.
It was love at first sight, falling in love with the climate, the beautiful landscape and the beautiful people. Most of all, it was the children that we were helping. Project Amigo provides scholarships to children, enabling them to go through school, eventually attending and graduating from university as professionals, making a better life for themselves, their families, their community and their country.
With this blog, I not only want to share my experiences, but also open people’s minds and hearts to the real Mexico that many do not see – the Mexico beyond the newspaper headlines, political talking points and Mexican tourist vacation spots.
Also, I just want to point out that I am a newcomer to blogging, so if anyone has any suggestions about improving my format, etc. please gently guide me to making this a better and more memorable site.
So, welcome aboard and here we go!
mex-pat.org 