Volunteers in Chacala

Chacala is having a beautiful, sunny day, and the ocean is a beautiful green today. Haven´t seen any whales from the shore lately, but everyone who goes out in the launchas seems to see them.

I have been getting some interesting emails from people saying they would like to ''volunteer" in Chacala. I have been thinking about that alot, and remembering what I was thinking about when I first started thinking about coming to live in Chacala. And trying to imagine how I could be of use here.

It's hard to get back into my mindset then, but I think I thought that because I was from a wealthy nation, and had the "advantages" of education, etc, that I was in the position to offer my expertise or experience, or knowledge to people in Chacala. And I don't think it occured to me that what I had to offer could possibly be damaging or disrespectful of the culture or families here.

Now I wonder if maybe people who come here with the idea of "helping" people who live here are often unaware that there is a strong culture and set of values here about which they, as gringos, have little knowledge of. That it would be hard to "help" here until you have learned about what is already happening here.

And that maybe the first step to "helping" here is to learn about the history, culture, language, values, and mores here. Like what is polite behavior in this society. Maybe try to make some friends, and observe what it going on. Or at least learn how to be polite here.

Well, for me it has turned out that I have been learning from Chacaleans since the day I arrived and the learning and lessons haven't stopped after two years.

For example, I have been learning Spanish, (although not very quickly), and how to garden here, and how families can spend time together and get along, and how kids are happier being surrounded by adults and siblings and cousins, grandparents and aunts and uncles , as opposed to going to daycare. And that there are lots of plants that can help relieve the symptoms of various illnesses and injuries. I have been learning to pay attention to the body language of other people, and to make eye contact, and to say "buenas dias" first, before speking, and to acknowledge everyone I run into around town. And I am seeing how polite people are in Mexico and Chacala, how talk to each other, greet each other, offer to help, etc etc. And how to make jokes, and what is an appropriate gift and how various holidays are celebrated. And how births and deaths and marriages are experienced. And how to deal with my picky eating habits and to try not not offend people because of them.

Sometimes I think coming to Chacala is giving me a chance to learn or re/learn all the social skills I didn't learn or understand before. It's pretty humbling to realize that alot of the "givens" I brought to Chacala are not "givens" for people here. And that it works better if I try to pay as much attention as I can to how people are reacting to me. I hope I am getting to be a more respectful and nicer person since I came here. Who knows. I hope so.

I am trying to figure out how to say what I am thinking, but it's hard. I have been watching how different people approach coming to Chacala, from the Habitats and Rotary groups, to gap/year type volunteers, and particularly, to people who seem to think they know what's best for people in Chacala

I think there are alot of visitors who seem to think that people here need to be just like them. I think generally gringos don't realize that very few people here want to be like gringos. That they are often seen as rude, selfish, pushy, not generous, and disrepectful, etc.

I think the main upside for Chacaleans from gringos coming to Chacala is when they bring and spend money in Chacala. And, unfortunately there are lots of people that come here with the idea that they will enjoy the beautiful setting, the beach, the sunshine, and spend has little money as possible.

If you are interested in arranging for whale and dophin watching tours, or boat rides to the surfing beach, La Caleta, go to boat rides for more information.

And, I can't help wonder about any project here that bypasses parents as valued and respected participants. Any activity that tends to reduce the strength of positive family bonds probably should be reconsidered. Or maybe revaluated in terms of the impact of a project on the family structure and the culture.

Blah, blah. I think I am tired of hearing visitors expound on Chacala and the people that live here. And here I am doing the same thing.