Saturday, February 17, 2007
Update #9: The sun shines in Mexico
Hello from Mexico. The winter heat is a bit much for me right now, so I decided that I would come inside, and write and spread some of my warmth to you... :D
So much has happened since my last update. Where to begin?
IMIFAP
I'm still trucking along at IMIFAP, writing proposals and adjusting to an entire new set of colleagues that have just shuffled into the office. Right at the start of the new year, all of my fellow peons in Resource Development left me (for better paying jobs), so I was alone and quite sad. To add to my suffering, someone decided to move everyone out of the third floor, cram them into the second floor, and make our 35-person NGO feel absolutely barren of all forms of human life and compassion. Needless to say, I was not very happy living "solita" on the third floor. Then, the start of February brought relief, we hired a wonderful new woman named Nadxielli to our Resource Development department, and picked up several new bodies on the third floor, which has made going into work everyday happy again.
In January I shipped off a bunch of proposals to several donors, and now I am just awaiting responses. What was most exciting was the recent acceptance of two of the proposals that I have written during my time at IMIFAP - one to the World Bank and another to the Kellogg Foundation. I was really pleased that these were accepted because it validated my time here (and my usefulness), and the projects are truly worthwhile, in my humble opinion, of course!
The World Bank project will work with migrants en route to Mexico or the United States via the Honduras-El Salvador-Guatemala channel. Its primary focus is the prevention of sexual and physical violence, especially towards women and children, as migrants seek to ensure safe passage and their very survival. The project will train migrants that are staying in migrant shelters in each of the three countries so that they may better understand their personal rights and learn skills to help them communicate effectively and assert themselves with greater confidence in situations that compromise their personal safety and dignity. In addition, there is a special component for people living in the communities that host migrant populations in an attempt to sensitize them to the plight for people in transition and to prevent unwanted and/or unprotected sexual encounters.
The Kellogg Foundation project is more or less a standard IMIFAP training program, but instead of providing services to women in Mexico, it targets the most marginalized women in Honduras, where we have a strong partner. For this project, IMIFAP will train our NGO partners, who will then replicate the program to provide marginalized women with basic health and sexuality training. Although we have worked before in Honduras, I don't believe that we have ever had a project of this magnitude abroad, so its a big step for IMIFAP!
Otherwise, I am waiting on responses to a few key proposals that we submitted late last year. My biggest hope is that UBS will accept a proposal that would mean total re-vamping and expansion of IMIFAP methodology. I will spare you the details for now so that I will have something to share with you should it be accepted! If you are still wondering what exactly is IMIFAP, please search it on www.wikipedia.org, as yours truly has officially begun an article on our organization!!!
Politics
Life in Mexico City is much how I imagine it was long before the political upheaval, protests, and anger over the election. Reforma Avenue is bustling, no one is on hunger strike, and the greatest uproar to date has been over the increasing cost of Mexico's dietary staple - tortillas - due to the use of formerly imported corn from the United States as a source of alternative energy. I am pretty sure that they have taken care of that problem by promising to control prices.
Otherwise, there is violence in certain areas of the country due to (President) Calderon's crackdown on drugs and gangs, but not enough to substantiate a warning from the State Department, which usually freaks out about these things. The violence itself is a real problem, as you can imagine (the gangs are unmerciful and unrelenting and seek to create terror in order to get what they want), but it is also a big problem for relief and development agencies, such as IMIFAP, as we have had to suspend or alter planned activities in some states due to the violence. Anyways, I do hope that our new president knows what he is doing, and will quell the violence ASAP.
Life
woman who was about double my size in body and muscle mass alike drafting off of me! Well, for you all who know and have seen my competitive spirit know that I was not going to stand for this [insert bad/angry word here], so I immediately slowed down and got right behind her and drafted until I was sick of following her. Then she got behind me and drafted some more. Naturally, I wasn't going to deal with that, so I fell behind and drafted off of her again. This pattern continued for a very tiring 20 minutes, and, recognizing that she had obviously trained for the race, I slowed down and allowed my new arch enemy to pass me. I am pretty sure the television company aired our struggle on their broadcast of the race a few weeks later... ANYWAYS, I finished the 5K in a long one hour and 24 minutes, exhausted, bloated, and quite satisfied! As it turned out, I finished first in the 19-25 age category and got to stand on theAt the end of January, I had an amazing opportunity to travel to swim the entirety of the Bay of Acapulco with my masters swim team! I traveled with my amiga Anaid, and we stayed with two other friends on the swim team, Rosa and Isreal, at a cheapy hotel in the resort area. The race was incredible. There were about 100 competitors swimming, and they all looked tough (with the exception of some of the grannies that were swimming it, of course!) - some had even trained for this! Go figure, right?! Ha, well, not having swum more than 2.5K in the past year, I knew that it wasn't going to be easy to race a 5K...much less against people who had been training for a 5K...oh yeah, plus for the open water bit. Anyways, the race began and I had a goal to finish... Then, no more than 15 minutes into the race, I looked behind me only to find this podium set up in front of the sea! It was pretty embarrassing, however, that I was literally a foot taller than the girl who earned second place. I felt like the big gringa bully...
The original Acapulco itself is "a diva past her prime," as my Frommer's guidebook so eloquently put it. Although it's a resort town back on the upswing, it is obvious that it has been used and abused by spring breakers and lower-class tourists, who simply don't know that it is bad for the environment to throw your trash in the water, etc. In addition, I imagine that many foreign tourists would absolutely hate the locals who roam on the beach seeking to find a sucker or two to pay exorbitant prices! The new part of Acapulco, where I got to stay and visit, is still quite beautiful, although not nearly as nice as the Thai beaches. I am angry because I am now sooo spoiled, and I don't know if any beaches can ever compare! However, I am told that the Caribbean coast of Mexico is just that much better when compared to Acapulco... Nevertheless, it is close to Mexico City and Alison and I will return when she comes to visit...during spring break. I am dreading the spring breakers, but I am VERY excited to see my baby sister!
To round this up, two weekends ago I returned to good old Severna Park because I just needed some time to be at home! My daddy said no, but my loving mother said yes, and I bought a ticket on Monday and was on a plane on Thursday. It was one of the more compulsive things that I have done, but with a Mexicana Airlines hub right out of BWI airport, it wasn't 100 percent outrageous! I just told my mom that I'm worth it! Anyways, home was lovely. I ate cream of crab soup to my heart's delight, got to see Kristen and Aly, visit DC, and even make a trip up north to my beloved Princeton! Coincidentally, the big HYP meet was going on that same weekend, and, being against my greatest rival in the world, I just had to make the trip. So my parents and I bundled up and took the familiar route "home" for the second day of the meet! It was fantastic to see everyone AND my girls DOMINATED HARVARD...just like they are about to do TONIGHT at the Ivy Championships! Yes, so I have been screaming at my computer like a maniac, watching some second-round excitement on the live webcam and scoreboard!
For now, I am back in Mexico, enjoying the heat and most definitely not missing the ice storms that I've been reading and hearing about in great detail! Alison, Pier, Kristen, and Hoff must be the only smart ones on this list, as they will all soon be making the trip to escape the cold winter (and humid Thailand) blues!
I hope this email finds you well and safe into FEBRUARY! Eeek! I cannot believe it's already mid-Feb! Please continue to send your updates and keep in touch!
So much has happened since my last update. Where to begin?
IMIFAP
I'm still trucking along at IMIFAP, writing proposals and adjusting to an entire new set of colleagues that have just shuffled into the office. Right at the start of the new year, all of my fellow peons in Resource Development left me (for better paying jobs), so I was alone and quite sad. To add to my suffering, someone decided to move everyone out of the third floor, cram them into the second floor, and make our 35-person NGO feel absolutely barren of all forms of human life and compassion. Needless to say, I was not very happy living "solita" on the third floor. Then, the start of February brought relief, we hired a wonderful new woman named Nadxielli to our Resource Development department, and picked up several new bodies on the third floor, which has made going into work everyday happy again.
In January I shipped off a bunch of proposals to several donors, and now I am just awaiting responses. What was most exciting was the recent acceptance of two of the proposals that I have written during my time at IMIFAP - one to the World Bank and another to the Kellogg Foundation. I was really pleased that these were accepted because it validated my time here (and my usefulness), and the projects are truly worthwhile, in my humble opinion, of course!
The World Bank project will work with migrants en route to Mexico or the United States via the Honduras-El Salvador-Guatemala channel. Its primary focus is the prevention of sexual and physical violence, especially towards women and children, as migrants seek to ensure safe passage and their very survival. The project will train migrants that are staying in migrant shelters in each of the three countries so that they may better understand their personal rights and learn skills to help them communicate effectively and assert themselves with greater confidence in situations that compromise their personal safety and dignity. In addition, there is a special component for people living in the communities that host migrant populations in an attempt to sensitize them to the plight for people in transition and to prevent unwanted and/or unprotected sexual encounters.
The Kellogg Foundation project is more or less a standard IMIFAP training program, but instead of providing services to women in Mexico, it targets the most marginalized women in Honduras, where we have a strong partner. For this project, IMIFAP will train our NGO partners, who will then replicate the program to provide marginalized women with basic health and sexuality training. Although we have worked before in Honduras, I don't believe that we have ever had a project of this magnitude abroad, so its a big step for IMIFAP!
Otherwise, I am waiting on responses to a few key proposals that we submitted late last year. My biggest hope is that UBS will accept a proposal that would mean total re-vamping and expansion of IMIFAP methodology. I will spare you the details for now so that I will have something to share with you should it be accepted! If you are still wondering what exactly is IMIFAP, please search it on www.wikipedia.org, as yours truly has officially begun an article on our organization!!!
Politics
Life in Mexico City is much how I imagine it was long before the political upheaval, protests, and anger over the election. Reforma Avenue is bustling, no one is on hunger strike, and the greatest uproar to date has been over the increasing cost of Mexico's dietary staple - tortillas - due to the use of formerly imported corn from the United States as a source of alternative energy. I am pretty sure that they have taken care of that problem by promising to control prices.
Otherwise, there is violence in certain areas of the country due to (President) Calderon's crackdown on drugs and gangs, but not enough to substantiate a warning from the State Department, which usually freaks out about these things. The violence itself is a real problem, as you can imagine (the gangs are unmerciful and unrelenting and seek to create terror in order to get what they want), but it is also a big problem for relief and development agencies, such as IMIFAP, as we have had to suspend or alter planned activities in some states due to the violence. Anyways, I do hope that our new president knows what he is doing, and will quell the violence ASAP.
Life
woman who was about double my size in body and muscle mass alike drafting off of me! Well, for you all who know and have seen my competitive spirit know that I was not going to stand for this [insert bad/angry word here], so I immediately slowed down and got right behind her and drafted until I was sick of following her. Then she got behind me and drafted some more. Naturally, I wasn't going to deal with that, so I fell behind and drafted off of her again. This pattern continued for a very tiring 20 minutes, and, recognizing that she had obviously trained for the race, I slowed down and allowed my new arch enemy to pass me. I am pretty sure the television company aired our struggle on their broadcast of the race a few weeks later... ANYWAYS, I finished the 5K in a long one hour and 24 minutes, exhausted, bloated, and quite satisfied! As it turned out, I finished first in the 19-25 age category and got to stand on theAt the end of January, I had an amazing opportunity to travel to swim the entirety of the Bay of Acapulco with my masters swim team! I traveled with my amiga Anaid, and we stayed with two other friends on the swim team, Rosa and Isreal, at a cheapy hotel in the resort area. The race was incredible. There were about 100 competitors swimming, and they all looked tough (with the exception of some of the grannies that were swimming it, of course!) - some had even trained for this! Go figure, right?! Ha, well, not having swum more than 2.5K in the past year, I knew that it wasn't going to be easy to race a 5K...much less against people who had been training for a 5K...oh yeah, plus for the open water bit. Anyways, the race began and I had a goal to finish... Then, no more than 15 minutes into the race, I looked behind me only to find this podium set up in front of the sea! It was pretty embarrassing, however, that I was literally a foot taller than the girl who earned second place. I felt like the big gringa bully...
The original Acapulco itself is "a diva past her prime," as my Frommer's guidebook so eloquently put it. Although it's a resort town back on the upswing, it is obvious that it has been used and abused by spring breakers and lower-class tourists, who simply don't know that it is bad for the environment to throw your trash in the water, etc. In addition, I imagine that many foreign tourists would absolutely hate the locals who roam on the beach seeking to find a sucker or two to pay exorbitant prices! The new part of Acapulco, where I got to stay and visit, is still quite beautiful, although not nearly as nice as the Thai beaches. I am angry because I am now sooo spoiled, and I don't know if any beaches can ever compare! However, I am told that the Caribbean coast of Mexico is just that much better when compared to Acapulco... Nevertheless, it is close to Mexico City and Alison and I will return when she comes to visit...during spring break. I am dreading the spring breakers, but I am VERY excited to see my baby sister!To round this up, two weekends ago I returned to good old Severna Park because I just needed some time to be at home! My daddy said no, but my loving mother said yes, and I bought a ticket on Monday and was on a plane on Thursday. It was one of the more compulsive things that I have done, but with a Mexicana Airlines hub right out of BWI airport, it wasn't 100 percent outrageous! I just told my mom that I'm worth it! Anyways, home was lovely. I ate cream of crab soup to my heart's delight, got to see Kristen and Aly, visit DC, and even make a trip up north to my beloved Princeton! Coincidentally, the big HYP meet was going on that same weekend, and, being against my greatest rival in the world, I just had to make the trip. So my parents and I bundled up and took the familiar route "home" for the second day of the meet! It was fantastic to see everyone AND my girls DOMINATED HARVARD...just like they are about to do TONIGHT at the Ivy Championships! Yes, so I have been screaming at my computer like a maniac, watching some second-round excitement on the live webcam and scoreboard!
For now, I am back in Mexico, enjoying the heat and most definitely not missing the ice storms that I've been reading and hearing about in great detail! Alison, Pier, Kristen, and Hoff must be the only smart ones on this list, as they will all soon be making the trip to escape the cold winter (and humid Thailand) blues!
I hope this email finds you well and safe into FEBRUARY! Eeek! I cannot believe it's already mid-Feb! Please continue to send your updates and keep in touch!
# posted by Sarah @ 2/17/2007 04:17:00 PM 
