Reflections from our trip to Mexico

Here is an excerpt from Taylor Jay, our Associate Director, who traveled down to Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico in the state of Chiapas. Chiapas is actually the poorest state in Mexico, plagued with armed conflicts and poverty, but it is also the most beautiful. Taylor shares her experiences...

We do this activity in every LTI program. You’re asked to list some number of turning points in your life; decisions you made that changed the course of your life afterward. Choosing to go on this trip was without a doubt one of those decisions.I didn’t know what to expect from Mexican culture. I learned a bit of Mayan history in my high school Spanish classes, but we certainly never made it into the present day. I quickly adjusted, however, to friendly kisses on the cheek to greet in the morning, to strangers prepared to help with excellent restaurant suggestions, and to the adventures that stemmed from no one needing to ask why anything was happening, just content that it would all settle out.The staff of Casa Telmex was no exception. They were some of the nicest, most welcoming and encouraging people I’ve ever met. Each of them had a different personality, a different teaching style, but each of them shared a common passion for helping those around them and bettering themselves as well. Working there was the best experience I could have asked for and I would love to go back in the future.LTI also took on a different hue at Casa Telmex. It was unlike the spring program, of course, because we had ages ranging from 13-41 and ability levels just as broadly distributed, because we didn’t see the participants every session, but also because of the different culture. In the US, the most common problem in a group is that no one wants the responsibility of the leader; everyone is reticent to share their ideas lest they be the “wrong” answers. Here, however, almost everyone wanted to share and lead vocally. It led to some fantastic discussions and is certainly indicative of the natural leadership inclinations of those participating in the program. But, it is also something that can impede effective teamwork. So, it was really interesting to see how the activities worked with different participants. They suddenly taught different lessons than they did at home, many of which I hadn’t seen or realized before myself. It also makes me realize how much different LTI must be to serve a diverse range of communities, certainly a challenge, but one I believe now more than ever is one worth taking on. I think this program fills an even more unique niche in other parts of the world.While I certainly grew as a leader and a member of a team during the month, I think I grew more personally than in these other capacities. I had never left the country before and had a wide range of trepidations, many of implausible events like being stuck somewhere with no available bottled water or loosing a shoe on a combi. I also feared sticking out because of my appearance, not something I’ve ever experienced growing up as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Midwesterner. It was something I began to no longer notice by the end of the trip, but certainly not something I’ll take for granted in the US again. I feared not being able to communicate effectively with those around me. This fear was realized many a time, whether it was in discussion with students (my worst fear) or just hanging out with the facilitators outside of work. I came up with many creative ways to express myself other than words, realizing the importance of body language, asking the right questions and preparing in advance what I wanted to say. Now that I’m back in a country full of English-speakers, I’ve been much more confident in talking with others, whether it is in front of an audience or scheduling the ever-difficult doctor’s appointment by phone. I feared not knowing what was going to happen at each moment which I was certainly forced to face. I gave up trying to have mental control over situations and just let things happen as they were going to happen. The luggage isn’t going to arrive for how long? This combi is going where? Why exactly are we in this vehicle? Why is the bus stopping by the side of the road and luggage is being extracted from the under-seat storage? All questions that I would have sought the answers to in the US, but all questions that don’t seem to need answers in Mexico. I learned to just be calm and let those in charge of the things take care of them as they need to, hopefully a lesson I can carry through life with me as well. Of course, my stomach also learned its fair share of lessons. Over the course of the 3 and a half weeks it learned to deal with ice, lettuce, grease, more spice than I knew existed and a wide variety of unknown, but delicious, foods. This was perhaps the hardest learned lesson on the trip, but it now certainly misses all those things it once was quite uneasy about.And I was so blessed to share this experience with 3.25 (since YeSeul left about a week into the trip) other MIT students. It was really interesting to get to know these remarkable people better and share with them some of the most memorable experiences of my college career. So thank you to each of you for this amazing trip.