Day 8 Death by Mexican watermelon (Flora)

I must say, waking up without a stabbing twinge in my stomach is surprisingly refreshing after experiencing a day of numbing pain caused by bad watermelon. After traipsing through Aztec pyramids, archaeological sites and countryside castles, it was quite the jolt back to reality when I woke up Wednesday morning with the infamous Montezuma’s revenge. But nothing good ol’ Cipro meds couldn’t kill, so after sleeping quite literally 20 hrs that day, I went back to work this morning to meet with my group.

Earlier in the week, we met with Lorena, the THP/Proyecto Hambre director, to discuss our project objectives. We had decided on four deliverables: a tailored Vision, Commitment and Action workshop for companies, a restaurant alliance for fundraising, an investor relations manual and a “sales” manual for selling THP to possible investors, and with her direction, decided to work on these objectives in reverse order.

Jesse and Diana worked on the sales manual as a guide to lead potential investors to become investors in THP, while Sruthi, Julie and I worked on the Investor Relations manual, as a guide to the sustainability of the investor relations program. Unfortunately, I couldn’t work on anything Wednesday as I was curled in a fetal position all day but Sruthi and Julie made great headway in the Investor Relations manual: they began with a survey that would gauge the investor interest and perception of THP, to better improve upon THP programs. Today, we continued with the manual: in setting out the basic structure of the program, we decided on splitting it into the “Maintenance and Sustainability” of the program, and the “Growth and Innovation”. Then, we split “Maintenance and Sustainability” into three parts: Sruthi covered “Building Loyalty”, Julie wrote on “Information Management” and I dealt with “Retention” of investors. All in all, Lorena seemed pleased with our progress, which was great for us to hear!

I’ll admit, I’m a little unsure as to how the manuals will turn out and how useful they will be to THP in the future – as of now, I’m unclear as to how the manuals and information gathering will tie into THP’s implementation of our suggestions. Even within my own group, Sruthi, Julie and I have an unusually difficult time finding common ground in our section on Investor Relations. The rising volume levels of our heated exchanges may seem a distraction in the workplace but luckily, they usually end in laughter. Thus far, our teamwork has worked reasonably well and everyone we’ve worked with so far has been incredibly supportive and helpful so I’m taking it as a sign of good direction! *fingers crossed*

To celebrate the end of our first week in Mexico (one week already!!), Sruthi, Jesse and I went out to Hookah Lounge in Condesa (desafortunadamente, our dear Dee-ahna — as her name is pronounced here in México — has fallen ill, and Julie was tired). We had mango and something else I can’t pronounce for our hookah flavoring (if that’s even what you call it?) and Sruthi and I shared a falafel. This is by far my favorite hangout place in Mexico! The music was great, atmosphere, service, and food was amazing! We’ll definitely be returning soon enough.

Until next time!

Flora

Day 4: Check Out My Junk (by Diana)

Sunday marks Day 4 of our stay in Mexico City, but it hardly feels that way. We’ve already begun some traditions of our own – like grabbing breakfast at our local bakery Maren with the most amazing pastries of every kind. And around 10 AM, Claudia came to our apartment to pick us up. As we walked out the door, we discovered Claudia’s adorableeee son, Adrian, would be joining us to La Basilica de Guadalupe. He’s eleven years old but still tiny enough to sit on Sruthi’s lap during the ride across the city, while the remaining four of us squished in the back seat. We passed by the oldest church in Mexico City, Bellas Artes, and other old buildings with beautiful architecture. Claudia also told us about Guadalupe and how she acted as a crucial link in the conversion of indigenous peoples of Mexico to Catholicism from the Spanish conquistadors. When we finally arrived to La Basilica de Guadalupe, we witnessed the long procession of many Mexicans on their way to the Basilica. Some, mainly men, made their way to the basilica on their knees to show their great devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. We explored the inside of the Modern Basilica, caught a glimpse of a tradition dance being performed outside of the Old Basilica, and we even saw the bishop of all of Mexico. Distracted by a myriad of vendors and various tourist stalls outside of La Basilica, we made our way slowly back to Claudia’s car.   

            From there, we all piled into the car and made our way to the Northern Bus Station – Gate 8 for Teotihuacan. One thing we’ve all realized is how dirt cheap transportation is in this city. Riding the metro for 20 cents, cab rides for less than $4, and an hour bus ride to the Aztec Pyramids for only $3.10. Most of us were dead tired and passed out right as we got onto the relatively comfortable bus, but Jesse and I had the chance to see these rural towns as we crossed the border of the Districto Federal. House’s literally were stacked one on top of the other, built into the mountainsides. And these seemingly extremely poor areas are considered middle class Mexico. Finally, about an hour outside of Mexico City, we reached our destination – the Aztec Pyramids of Teotihuacan 

            Immediately, upon entering the sacred ruins, vendors started harassing us to buy their goods. Some of the many lines we heard all day were “Almost free!,” “$1 dollar $1 dollar,” and the best of all – “Check out my junk.” Flora and I were camera freaks and took about a few hundred photos between the two of us. Yes, I’ll even admit that we switched cameras for part of the day just to take “candids” of each other. We took our time climbing up the smaller pyramids and exploring the interesting ruins along the sides of the Avenue of the Dead. We came across this area that appeared to be a bathing house of some sort, where we also found four pillars on which we all stood and personified the four elements. Sruthi- water; Flora- earth; Julie- fire; Me- wind. Sorry Jesse for making you take about a million “girl photos.”  Also, we saw these small little tunnels that went underneath the stairs separating each of the regions of Teotihuacan; and of course, we convinced Julie, who is ridiculously tiny and cute, to crawl underneath. After a good hour of exploring, we knew we had to do the inevitable: scale the Pyramid of the Sun – the second largest pyramid of the New World. Our “mom” Claudia climbed this when she was nearly 9 months pregnant, and she wasn’t the only one. We saw a few pregnant women, and that meant that we had to be able to accomplish the same feat.

            After about 30 seconds of stretching, we began our ascent to the top of this Aztec wonder. We rested at almost every plateau – just soaking in the breathtaking views of Teotihuacan and the Pyramid of the Moon off in the distance. It was surreal to finally be at these pyramids after learning about them in high school Spanish or various history classes. At a solid pace, we reached the top with relative ease, despite the fact that my lungs were about to give out. It was an amazing feeling to reach the top of the pyramid and touch its very center at the top. And while the ominous clouds were looming not very far above our heads, we decided to descend before it began to pour. Of course, we spent a great deal of time bargaining and shopping for souvenirs on the way back. Julie and Jesse bought these really cool tapestries, and I must say our bargaining skills are getting better and better everyday.

By the end of the day, all of us were incredibly fatigued. We made the bus back to Mexico City and passed out basically until we reached the metro stop for Indios Verdes. Julie wasn’t feeling well, and all of us were out of it, having not eaten since 10 AM and returning to the apartment around 8 PM. After dropping our stuff off at the apartment, we grabbed a bite to eat a Don Eraki- a relatively popular restaurant in our neighborhood of Navarte. Sruthi had some trouble finding vegetarian food; Mexican food is definitely heavy on the meat. All of us are desperately craving fruit and vegetables right now. Interestingly, they have this sandwich that is extremely similar to the Philly cheeseteak. Guess we can’t escape Philadelphia even if we try hard enough.

The night ended relatively early, in preparation for a long day at work on Monday and our meeting with Lorena for the first time.

An amazing weekend to say the least and only the first of many here in the DF.

 

Besos,

Diana  

Day 3 (Julie aka Han Yue)

Empanadas de pollo. Chocolate-covered churros. Functioning toilets. Ah, what a way to start the weekend. This morning, we trekked to the quaint paneria near our apartment, and stocked up on various puff pastries, sweet breads, and other baked delights. After finishing our meal, we were ready for a filled day of shopping in the Saturday market—Bazar el Sabado.

As we made our way to the metro, I was excited to get a glimpse of Mexico City beyond the more residential and official areas in which we reside. We rode the metro to Barranca del Muerto, and then proceeded to take the bus to San Angel for Bazar el Sabado. When we arrived into the heart of San Angel, we didn’t actually know where the market was located, and had to backtrack for a block or two to arrive at our final destination. It began to downpour as we walked, but it was exhilarating to skip through the streets with the rain pattering down against the umbrella (ella…ella…). We stopped by a bank to wait out the rain, and it was peaceful to simply watch the bustling streets littered with vendors, cars, and people.

Eventually, we found our way to the Bazar el Sabado. There was a cascade of vendors, one after another, lining the sidewalks, offering their touch of Mexican culture through souvenirs. There were native crafts, such as ceramics and textiles, jewelry, and original art by both seasoned and aspiring young artists alike. There was just so much stuff! As our first purchase, we all bought pendants and bracelets from a woman who made jewelry from delicate flowers sheltered in a silver encasement. Some of the most memorable items were ornamental paper cutouts made from tree bark, earrings made of coffee beans, and key chains made of various barbed wires. As we walked further into the outdoor market, we came across more displays from artists and sculptures, with wonderfully abstract and colorful works. There was one sculpture of a man holding onto a woman who dangled precariously from his reach, over the edge of the table on which the sculpture was set.

As Jesse and I perused the square, we heard someone speaking English to a seller. We were quite ecstatic, as this was the first time we had seen another foreigner, and hoped that the gentlemen would be American. So, Jesse walked over to him and inquired about his nationality. The man responded, “No, I am not American, I am English.” He continued, “Do you believe in reincarnation?” Thinking that he was some sort of anthropologist or a savant of Mexican culture, I expected him to begin explaining aspects of Mexican culture or traditions relevant to reincarnation. I glanced at Jesse curiously, and responded, “Mmm…I am not sure.” The gentlemen then said, “Well, if you do, try to come back as an Englishman. It is marvelous.” Then, he tersely turned around, and continued no further conversation. Hmpf. How mah-velous indeed, mister.

The rest of the day was spent wandering the stores within the colonial building of the Bazar. Again, we were bombarded with a smorgasboard of jewelry, clothing, decorative pieces, and other gizmos and gadgets. It was such a breathless experience that tickled every sense of my body. I could smell the burning incense that lingered throughout the premise, run my fingers along various textured fabrics, savor the rhythmic melody of a mariachi band, and mostly importantly, fill my tummy with delicious tacos.

After a day of shopping, we journeyed back from San Angel to our apartment. After a brief respite, we gathered in the common room to work on materials for THP (complemented by cheese and crackers). For the rest of the evening, we were able to determine the scope of our project, and outlined the three deliverables which we could complete by the end of the month. We divided our work by three subject areas: marketing THP, “selling” the NGO to investors, and sustaining a steady-stream of investors and cash flows for THP. To commence our work, we decided that we needed to benchmark the methodologies of other NGOs in the area in how they communicate with the public and corporations. We also plan to investigate the demographics of a stereotypical Mexican investor, and also explore investor-donor psychology, and determine why people donate to nonprofits on a continuous basis. On Monday, the country director, Lorena, will be coming into the office, so we hope to show her everything that we have determined to complete by the end of the project. I cannot wait! After learning more about THP, and experiencing the inspiring VCA workshop firsthand, we have all been extremely motivated to leave a lasting impact on the operations of THP. Let’s make it work!

This is Julie, signing off.

Buenas noches!

Day Two (Flora)

Waking up to aching knees after sleeping without covers, getting up at 7 AM (earlier than I ever wake up at school), and reminding myself to use bottled water to brush my teeth so I don’t get Montezuma’s Revenge wasn’t ideal. However, out the door at 8 AM and off to the tiny office, and experiencing a moving workshop that not only helped the PIBV team sympathize with the Hunger Project’s cause more, but also helped us further understand our purpose in Mexico City, made it more than worth it.

We walked to the office on our first day of work in “business casual” dress, worried that we would be underdressed (“is business casual cross-cultural?” we wondered), only to arrive and find that they had casual Fridays as well. Nonetheless, we arrived at approximately 8:30 AM and got straight to work, researching various aspects of Mexico including its economy, culture and social enterprise organizations. Claudia, our project supervisor, had said the day before that before we began the marketing materials for The Hunger Project (THP), she wanted us to really understand the culture in which we were working. At first, it seemed redundant to research these again: after all, hadn’t we already conducted research on its culture and the NGO before we even pursued this trip? However, it was only after Claudia walked us through one of the workshops that they administer to the participants of The Hunger Project, when we really understood how we would be able to help THP achieve its goals.

The Hunger Project isn’t an organization that simply hands out food, to satisfy poverty’s hunger for a day. To quote Claudia: “when you [simply] give people things, you are stealing their dignity.” Hence, THP is committed to promoting self-sufficiency and sustainability for their participants. In particular, it promotes gender equity and empowerment among women because their typical role in the Mexican household is to provide food and an environment for healthy well-being for the family. One of the major obstacles that these women face is that they are stuck in a vicious cycle of day-to-day living, and as a result, do not have the means to find a long-term goal to work towards. To help instill this mindset of desperation in us, Claudia walked us through a workshop, pretending we were all middle aged Mexican women (with the exception of Jesse) who were dealing with similar circumstances as many women around the country. In doing so, we were not only exposed to the receiving end of THP’s efforts, role-playing as actual participants in the workshops, but we were also exposed to the work that THP does, and to the work to which we would be contributing for the next four weeks.

One of the major points of the workshop was the point of Vision, Commitment and Action (VCA). In order to help Mexican citizens, THP propagates the idea that it is possible to achieve your goal, with devotion and motivation. Part of our PIBV team’s assignment is to facilitate this approach, with marketing materials, as well as a presentation. In addition to this marketing aspect, PIBV will also be working on helping THP with its pursuit of investors and maintenance of investor relations. (Claudia was quite insistent on the group’s use of the word ‘investor’, and not ‘donor’ because unlike donors, who seemingly try to rectify their apathy with mindless philanthropy, investors stay with the project because they want the project’s success and are willing to work to achieve it.)

At the end of the almost 6 hour meeting with Claudia, we created a temporary timeline, that not only included when we were to have the beginnings of our presentation and marketing materials (the date is Friday May 23^rd by the way), but also included visits to Mexico City’s cultural sites such as Teotihuacan, Templo Mayor, Chapultepec castle and the Museum of Anthropology. According to Claudia, these visits (which we were already planning to do) would constitute as “research” because we’d be learning about Mexico’s culture….. *sigh* we’re really being worked to the bone here! Did I mention she also bought us all sweet bread for our breakfast?

At 2:30 PM, after establishing what we would be working towards for at least the next 2 weeks, Claudia drove us to Coyoacan Mercado, which is a small market with numerous food, dessert, trinket and clothing stands. Claudia brought us to a stand with tostadas, which are hard tortillas covered in meat (usually), tomatoes, onions, lettuce, avocado, sour cream and cheese. Then, she brought us to a canteena (Mexico’s equivalent of a bar/hang-out place), where we all ordered (what else?) non-alcoholic drinks. After that, we walked around the market, shopping for souvenirs and mementos for a short while before cabbing over to the office to pick up our laptops and walking back home.

It is Friday night and our first weekend night in Mexico City……were we about to stay in? I think not. Four hours later, we were out and about on the town, for our first night out since arriving. Craving some cultural influence, we went to Mama Rumba, a well-known salsa bar, with the recommendation of our colleagues at the THP office. The environment was definitely quite different from what we were used to but with 50 peso ( only 5 dollars!! That’s almost the base fee of Philly cabs!!) cab rides, stress-free weekends and good company, we welcomed the change.

Next up: the Saturday Bazaar…….with 4 girls and only 1 Jesse. Ay, pobrecito……

Over and out,

Flora

Day One (Sruthi)

Descending upon Ciudad de Mexico from the air was the perfect summary to the second largest metropolitan area in the world – located in a valley, half a mile higher than Denver, Mexico City was a blur of sprawling buildings and striking colors behind a thick sheet of pollution. A really helpful man named Leonel from The Hunger Project (the organization that we’re working for) was waiting at the very front of the entrance to meet us with a huge smile and large, endearing sign stenciled in with: THE HUNGER PROJECT, WELCOME STUDENTS OF PENN. I think the most impressive part was their recreation of the Penn Logo, complete with dolphin or whale…or water horse. After exchanging money and a few awkward bilingual smiles (thankfully Diana spoke Spanish, because he spoke no English), we found a van, we set out on a long journey into the city – a ride of about 40 mins, during which we probably saw less than an 1/8 of what there is to be seen.

The office of El Proyecto Hambre was, as all the girls rightly called it, “charming.” It had yellow walls, red accents, and various office rooms, with a kitchen and two bathrooms completely decked out with toothbrushes (I think the best part was when they invited us to leave our toothbrushes there as well…maybe they brush their teeth after every meal?). We met Alejandra and our project leader, Claudia, but our infamous Odin, the man we had been in contact with for so long, was unfortunately away. He recently got into an accident and was on leave. Claudia, who spoke English almost flawlessly, was warm and full of laughter, but we could easily tell that under all that hospitality was definitive drive and passion for what she did. She sat us down and very directly drilled us on our backgrounds and our reason for picking the Hunger Project and within a few minutes, we had a swanky list of research to be done before work the next morning at 9am.

After the introductory meeting, they walked us to our apartment, a mere five minute stroll from the office. It’s lot larger than we had imagined, and personally reminded me of houses in India – very minimalist and extremely practical, furnished with the only the most necessary things (a couple of desks, beds, a dining table). We had ordered pizza in and strangely enough, I think we inadvertently stole some unassuming Mexican’s pizza because Alejandra whistled down a random passing pizza man and just paid for it on the spot. He just shrugged and accepted the money. When we opened the box and realized that it was not Pizza Hut (as we had ordered), but Dominos, and definitely not the plain and veggies flavors either, we concluded that we had stolen unknowingly. I mean, we paid for it. $40 actually for two pizzas – a definitive proof that purchasing power parity does not hold and that the Big Mac Index is flawed. Who buys $20 pizza in the US (it was Domino’s too)???

Alejandra then walked us around town for a bit, familiarized us with the neighborhood, before she finally let us loose in the metro, and where we made our way to Zocalo (the center of the city). The Plaza de la Constitucion was striking to say the least – it was such a stark reflection of an obviously strong and proud culture, heavily reminiscent of what I’ve seen in Madrid, yet somehow holding itself above with a unique sense of self. We made a complete round around the amazing Cathedral, posing for cheesy pictures in front of large monuments as the natives stared shamelessly at us. I suppose we’re not the typical group of American kids – 3 Asian girls, an Indian girl, and a white boy.

Flora and I, on a silly silly whim, made a stop at the Starbucks for iced tea and frappucino. I think about 3 sips into each of our drinks, we both began panicking that Starbucks used tap water for their ice and that we were both doomed to spend the next two weeks in the water closet with Montezuma’s revenge (the deathly attack of diarrhea). Flora complemented our fears with colorful stories of a friend who had suffered similarly and became so pale that he couldn’t even walk – yes, direct correlation between the lack of color and inability to walk. I think it was the deities punishing us for our shameful American fancies, but it’s been a good couple of hours since that fateful sip, and we’re still holding strong, so thank you. Thank you (with clasped hands and upturned eyes). Knock on wood.

We left Zocalo before night fell to retrace our steps back to our neighborhood, and find the supermarket so that we could stock up on necessities such as toilet paper, snacks, hand soap, trash bags, etc. I think we must have walked up and down the same street 4 times (since four different people pointed in four separate directions), but ultimately a really sweet lady in a charming tea shop (we made a note to go back there to express our gratitude) spent a few minutes sketching out a map. It was a great help, because we finally made it to the elusive El Superama, stocked up on brie cheese, whole wheat crackers, fresh baked bread, honey bunches of oat, and LaLa Light pasteurized milk.

We celebrated the end of the day with boiling showers, cheese and crackers, and some good candid shots of Sruthi pouring coke into a glass.

Signing out,

Sruthi