In 2023, I applied for volunteering in Mexico. I chose Mexico as the program country because I wanted to learn Spanish and I was very interested in Latin America and the cultures there. I hadn’t taken Spanish classes in school, so I went there with zero Spanish skills. I knew some Mexicans who lived in Finland and they encouraged me to apply there. I had heard that in Mexico, holiday celebrations, such as the Day of the Dead and the Independence day, are important for many people, and I was curious to learn more about this. I also had heard that food is a very big part of the culture and I love food, so Mexico seemed like a perfect place for me! In addition, I loved how Mexicans appeared to value their family very much and how their outlook on life seemed.
I decided to take part in international volunteering because I wanted an extra year after finishing upper secondary school studies to think about what I wanted to study in university and thought I could do something else than work nearby home. I had wanted to do an exchange year in the upper secondary school but I hadn’t been able to do it. When my school advisor told me about Maailmanvaihto, I thought that volunteering would be perfect for me. I wouldn’t need to find a place to live or find my project and I could do something meaningful.
I spent ten months in Puebla where I lived in a host family. Puebla is one of the biggest cities in Mexico with six million people in it. It’s a two hour drive away from Mexico City. There were a lot of things to do and it is an important city in Mexico’s history. There is an animal zoo, multiple options for hobbies, museums, great food and restaurants, beautiful stores, an airport to visit other cities and 365 churches! In Puebla, there are three volcanoes near. At the end of my trip, a couple of times they erupted and there was a small earthquake. It was very interesting to see how it affects people because in Finland we don’t have any dangerous natural phenomena. Also, Puebla has had very big and dangerous earthquakes before, so I needed to learn how to act in those situations. It really made me think how lucky we are in Finland in this sense.
My project was in a nursery school in the centre and it was a pretty small school. I was helping teachers to perform classes and took care of the kids, tried to teach them a little bit of English and prepared for the celebrations. For example, for Christmas we made 4 different Christmas tree decorations for each child and for The Day of the kids we made pinatas for everyone. There were three classes and I was in the class where the youngest children were. They were 3-4 years old. And the oldest class had children from 5-6. In my class there were 12 children. In the whole nursery school there were approximately 30 children. I chose the project because I love working with kids and they bring so much joy and happiness to the world. I had been working in a kindergarten in Finland and I really enjoyed it. I also have younger siblings so I was used to taking care of them.
I loved the school I was working in and there I learned most of my Spanish and the staff of my project helped me a lot to adjust in there. The teachers and staff were super encouraging and kind, they always made sure I was feeling welcome. I just loved the feeling I had when I was at work, it was peaceful and safe. And the kids really made my worst days better when I had home sickness. I became very close with the kids and they became a very important part of my experience. At first I struggled with the language and communication with my host family and project. It was hard but after some time I started to learn and speak Spanish. It was fun to learn spanish with the kids because they also were just learning to speak.
I enjoyed my time in Puebla, it was a great city, it had a lot of things to do, museums of Mexico’s history, monuments, the food and the climate was perfect. In the winter it’s not too cold, at least for someone who comes from Northern Europe hahaha. In my spare time I took salsa, bachata and cumbia classes which was an amazing opportunity to get to know different people and learn to dance because of the celebrations Mexicans love to dance. I also traveled inside the country and it was very easy too and cheap. For example, I went to Grutas de Tolantongo, Los Cabos, Puerto Escondido and the most famous one, Cancun. The nature in Mexico is something extraordinary, the most beautiful scenery and crystal blue water. In my time there, I really learned to be independent and sometimes I traveled alone and sometimes with friends.
The Mexicans I met were very welcoming and my host family helped me to find friends and to adjust into the life there. They introduced me to their families and I got a great friend from my host mom’s sister’s son. They always made sure I had everything I needed and helped me with things I didn’t know how to do, for example using the washing machine. I learned from Mexican culture and also learned to respect it. Among the people I met, elderly people were, to my view, respected very highly and I adjusted to that. For example, older people started to eat first and then younger adults could also start eating. I am a person who gets used to new things quickly so it helped me to settle down. But there were some things I never got used to. Coming from a culture that values punctuality, it was hard for me to get used to experiencing time more flexibly or visiting friends and family for a long time (usually past midnight).
I can’t even describe how much you gain from this experience and how many amazing things you get to experience. I wouldn’t change a thing in my journey, even though I had tougher times there. It made me independent, confident, and stronger. Mexico was the best choice I made, the food, the culture, the people were extremely amazing. I learned to speak Spanish, to dance salsa and even surf, I did something meaningful, I made new friends, saw the world and it changed my perspective of life for good. It really was a once in a lifetime experience. :))