Thursday, June 12, 2008

More from Mexico

Here is part of one of my weekly reflections, ENJOY!

Con amor,

Ashley

The La Lagunilla library project has been near and dear to my heart for the better part of a year now, and I still believe that the project is important to the people of La Lagunilla and to my own professional development. But, this week I truly had to question why I have never dedicated myself so completely to a service project as much as I have dedicated myself to this project. Though this is a complicated question that I am sure I will have to reflect upon more, the answer I came up with this week is this: sometimes when it comes to my own community and culture I am disinterested and complacent.

Since I have been in Cuernavaca I have complained about not having enough time to see the sites, or truly immerse myself in the culture. But this week I truly thought about that. How much of my own hometown have I really seen? I am guilty of calling Indiana a boring place to live, but how many times have I really focused my energy on experiencing interesting things that Indianapolis has to offer? Perhaps one of the reasons I have a problem adjusting to the Mexican culture is because I do not really appreciate culture as much as I thought that I did.

As I prepare to return to Indianapolis and IUPUI I have been thinking a lot about how the experience here can influence my personal and educational life. I came here expecting to learn a lot about ways to serve the growing Latino population in Indianapolis, and I have learned a lot. But, unexpectedly, I have also realized that it is really important for me to appreciate my own culture and share this culture with others.

When I return to Indianapolis I hope that I can approach my daily activities with as much desire and passion that I have approached this program with. I hope that educating teens in Indianapolis will be as important to me as educating the kids at La Lagunilla has been to me while I have been here. Though I have been frustrated with my inabilities in certain areas since I have been in Cuernavaca, once the dust from the frustration settled I always wanted to push myself to do better and learn as much as I could.

I hope that this drive will follow me to Indianapolis, and though I think I will be happy being back in a place where I know the customs and the language a lot better, I never want to be complacent about what I have to offer to or what I have to learn from my own environment again.

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