Weeks 20 & 21: Monday, January 8, 2024 – Sunday, January 21, 2024

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 precipice of a vast valley. So needless to say, I took a couple of dramamine pills and knocked myself out for the ride. And although I missed the beautiful views of the Sierra, it was a good idea, because I arrived to Querétaro in one piece and without being completely nauseated.

Anyway, after getting off the bus, I made my way to an adorable café called La Dulce Compañia, where I drank a latte and ate Shakshuka (a dish made by poaching eggs in a rich tomato sauce) and enjoyed a delicious pastry filled with figs. Afterwards, I made my way to my Airbnb where I got my self settled in, showered, and made plans for my evening. 

After a dinner of vegan tacos (yes, I really lived my best life in the city), my friend Luis — who was born and raised in Querétaro — and I met up around 8pm and headed to the movie theaters to see Mean Girls! 

Some of you might be confused, asking yourself, wait, wasn't Mean Girls a movie made in 2004? And the answer to that is yes, however, in 2018, Mean Girls the movie was made into a broadway musical, and then the broadway musical was made into a movie. 

If I've lost you, let me sum it up. 

Yes, Mean Girls originated in 2004, but now 20 years later in 2024, we have a revamped, even more campy, musical version of a movie that has been an iconic part of pop culture for the past 20 years. So if you're on the fence about seeing the movie, or even if you weren't considering seeing it, let me tell you, it's worth it. It's a funny, modern retelling of a fan-favorite movie — and the songs are pretty catchy, too. 

So after the movie, Luis and I met up with our friends Cole and Jake (two Peace Corps Volunteers who started their service in 2022) and we all went to a bar in the city center called Maximiliano, named after Maximilian of the Habsburg family who ruled in Mexico during the 19th century. I highly recommend reading up on some Mexican history if you're curious to learn more about Maximillian and the Habsburgs and why they were in Mexico in the first place.

But anyway, Friday night was a fun night of dancing and singing and drag shows (oh, did I forget to mention Maximiliano is a gay bar?) and spending time with good friends. 

Saturday morning, the same group of friends — Luis, Cole, Jake, and I — met up and spent the day walking around el centro, visiting small museums, of which the city has many. We visited a museum dedicated to Maximiliano and a modern art museum with interesting exhibits on masculinity and the perils of a society dominated by the patriarchy. 

In the evening, I made my way to meet my friends Rachel and Kay for dinner before heading to their house to spend the night, as they so generously offered to host me for the night. 

Querétaro is such a different world when compared to Neblinas. I had Pad Thai for dinner that night and I got the chance to spend a wonderful few days eating in cute cafes and visiting beautiful cultural exhibits. But I really do love both places. The contrast has a way of reminding me that there are many different ways to live life. And sometimes living life at a slower pace can prove to be healthier. Oftentimes, we get so caught up in the action of city life, we forget to take a step back and think.

But enough philosophizing. Let me give you an update on what's been happening in Neblinas for the past couple of weeks.  

Before heading to Querétaro last week, Rayanne and I hit the ground running with meetings with our friends at El Maíz Más Pequeño and teaching in the middle school and elementary school and organizing members of the community to start our biodiversity monitoring brigade. It was a good week of planning and preparing and really digging into the work that we are so eager to get started on in the community.

I've written about El Maíz Más Pequeño before, but I just have to reiterate how helpful they've been to us as mentors and partners in our work. Using their educational model, we have a new way to think about how to best teach about climate change with our students. And we have become allies with individuals who know the nuances of what it's like to live and work in the community of Neblinas.

This week was the second week of working with our students in the primaria (elementary school), and can I just say how much I love working with elementary school students? They're so eager to learn, and I couldn't be happier with the enthusiasm they've shown for the projects we've giving them and the understanding they already have about the environment and how we as humans are impacting it.

I'll leave this week's update there. But I will be sure to write again at the end of next week. 

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead!

Best,

Ilana

And per popular demand, I'm including pictures from this week's cool biodiversity finds. (And of course my favorite cat)