Ilana in the Cloud Forest

Hello my dear family and friends, Happy Sunday! I’m writing to you from Tilaco, a cute town about a 2 hour drive from Neblinas, where I am staying in the home of the daughter and son-in-law of my host. I’m currently sitting, swaying comfortably in a hammock underneath a beautiful pine tree. It’s a bit chilly here, but sitting in the hammock is too nice to let a bit of cold air to keep me away.  Let’s see, what happened this week? Well, I spent most of the week in Neblinas, teaching English classes and environmental science classes at the elementary school and middle school. Currently, my schedule is as such: Monday is a free day, Tuesday, I teach English at the middle school at 9am, Wednesday, I teach environmental and climate science at the middle school in the afternoon, and Thursday, I take the morning shift of classes at the elementary school (Rayanne takes the afternoon). Friday, as of now, is another free day. So while things are starting to pick up, I still have a good bit o...

Happy Sunday, everyone, Please excuse my absence last week. I had a busy week that did not lend itself to finding time to write. So this week I will write to make up for last week.  Last week, I spent a good few days back in the city of Querétaro. And it was lovely getting the chance to see friends and enjoy the amenities a city has to offer. So I'll start by telling you about that experience.   Last Friday morning, at the crack of dawn (4:30am), I woke up and caught the van making its way out of Neblinas to El Lobo. From El Lobo, I caught the bus heading to Jalpan. And from Jalpan I took the bus all the way to Querétaro — about an 8-hour journey from the time I left Neblinas to the time I made it to Querétaro.  I'm sure I've described the road from Neblinas to Querétaro to you at some point. But just in case I haven't, to get from Neblinas to Querétaro, I have to traverse practically the entire Sierra Gorda, which means a road full of twists and turns on the precipi...

Good morning, and Happy 2024! I hope you all had a wonderful first week of the year. I certainly had a good week. Family from out of town left for their respective homes, and I started to feel a sense of normalcy — a sense of routine.  On Monday, I went on a nature walk with my friend Jair and his brother Tito and cousin Fabian. The three of them make up the founding members of the eco group Neblinas Vivo, which I believe I have mentioned in a previous newsletter, but I thought I'd mention again. Those three were high schoolers when the previous Peace Corps Volunteer, Sierra, was in Neblinas, and with her abrupt exit when things U.S. shut down at the beginning of the pandemic, the three of them formed the group Neblinas Vivo to continue fostering an importance around protecting the natural environment and adapting to climate change.  So the four of us went on a nice walk along the carretera , the road leading in and out of the town, which is surrounded by beautiful trees and o...

Dearest family and friends, Happy Sunday and happy last day of 2023!! After a week of complete grayness, I awoke to a clear blue sky dotted with a few wispy clouds and the mountain outside of my window pink with the glow of the sun rising from the East. How beautiful for the last day of the year. Apologies for not writing to you last week. I decided to take the week off for the holiday festivities, and to be completely honest, there hasn’t been much note-worthy activity to write about. But I didn’t want to leave you out of the loop for another week, so here I am, writing to you again. So, what have I been up to in the last couple of weeks? Well, for starters, last Tuesday (December 19), Rayanne and I made our way to Jalpan again to celebrate the end of the year with our counterparts at CONANP. After arriving in Jalpan, we went to our favorite café (really the only café in Jalpan) to drink coffee and eat some good food, and spent the afternoon shoppi...

Dear beautiful friends and family, Apologies for sending this later than usual. Yesterday, I went for a beautiful hike down to the river just below the community of Neblinas, and between being out all day and being super tired when I got back and not having electricity all day, I couldn’t get around to sending my update, but here we are now. Hope you enjoy! The countdown to the end of the year has begun. And in my community, the countdown to Christmas has begun, with posadas every night and festivities to honor this special time of year. Last night, I went to a posada , which I thought was just a party, but turned out to be a lay-led service with songs and prayers. Not what I expected, but an interesting cultural experience, nonetheless. As I mentioned above, yesterday, I finally got the chance to go to the beautiful Rio Tancuilin! With a few of our ecochavo friends (members of the youth-led environmental group Neblinas Vivio), we hiked down to the river and spent ...

Dear friends and family, Another week has passed in the beautiful town of Neblinas, and I can officially say I have been in site for a whole month! One down, 23 to go. But, in all honesty, I’m just super excited to see what the next 23 months bring — adventure, creativity, new experiences, long-lasting change on the part of myself and on the part of the community. This is just the beginning, and I know there will be lots of chapters ahead, so thank you for continuing on with me while I am on this journey. This week brought with it a few exciting opportunities, mostly related to working with the schools in the community. On Tuesday, Rayanne and I went to the primaria (elementary school) and the secundaria (middle school) to speak with the teachers and get a sense of their interest and willingness to have us work with the kids come January. Well, I’m happy to report that starting in January after winter break, Rayanne and I will be full- fledged maestras de ciencias ...