Weeks 106 – 109: Monday, September 1, 2025

Good morning, everyone,

I hope you are doing well.

September has been a good month here in Mexico. I spent most of this month in Neblinas, working on finishing my grant project and soaking up as much time as possible with my host family and community before I finish service in just a couple of weeks. (More on that reality later).

As you all know, for a few months now, I've been working on a project at the casa de cultura in Neblinas. The goals of the project are to promote biodiversity conservation and plastic waste reduction as well as beautify the outside space at the casa de cultura to make it more inviting and welcoming to community members.

At the beginning of this month, we were able to complete the construction of an eco-bench with the help of individuals who work for the municipality. The construction took 2 days and ultimately resulted in a bench that, while not exactly as envisioned, serves its intended purpose and provides the casa de cultura with a permanent structure for community use. The goal is to build more eco-benches in the future to continue making the space inviting and accessible for community members when they visit the space.

The project is so close to being finished. All we need to do is create the frame for the bottle-cap mural to be able to hang it on the front wall of the casa de cultura as well as hang up the posters with my photography and information about different pollinator species and things will be finalized.

After completing the main components of the project, I decided to take a short break from the community to visit my friends Emma and Sean at their sites, both of which are *relatively* close by. And by relatively I mean that they are also located within the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, though it still takes about 3 to 4 hours to get to either of them.

During the first part of the trip, I visited Emma at her site in La Florida, Arroyo Seco. Emma and I met up in Jalpan on Friday and spent the night there before heading up the mountain early on Saturday. Jalpan is unbearably hot no matter what time of year, so we decided to get out as soon as possible to avoid melting and to get to La Florida—where it is significantly cooler—earlier in the day.

The funny thing about La Florida is that it is closer to the next big town Concá than Neblinas is to El Lobo, but there is no public transit to get between the two places. The only way to get up to La Florida is to hitchhike, which may sound suspicious, but Peace Corps approved Emma's placement in La Florida, so they must have deemed hitchhiking in that region safe enough to be done. As a side note, I will say that everyone who lives in the towns in the mountains above Concá are accustomed to hitchhiking, and so it's become a part of the culture of the region.

On Saturday, however, it's a bit trickier to get a ride up the mountain. Emma and I must have had good luck that day, as we were able to get a ride after waiting only 10 minutes in the designated "hitchhiking spot." We made it up to La Florida around mid-day and got ourselves situated in Emma's host family home before going to her neighbor and good friend's house for lunch.

I only spent the weekend with Emma in La Florida, leaving on Monday to head back to site, but I really liked what I saw. The town of La Florida has about a third of the population of Neblinas and is much smaller geographically. Despite being up in the mountains, the land that the community occupies happens to be flat, making it easier for people to get around. The people are super kind and friendly, as people tend to be in the communities I've visited in the Sierra Gorda. (I've had the same experience when I've visited my friend Sean in his community of Rio Blanco). And I felt incredibly welcomed and accepted by the people, despite only knowing them for a couple of days.

After saying my goodbyes to Emma and her host mom on Monday morning, I made my way down the mountain to Concá and then to Jalpan, intending to retrace my steps from Friday and return to Neblinas that afternoon.

Upon arriving in Jalpan, I had plans to meet my friend Sean at a café to deliver to him a GRE test prep book that Rayanne had used and ultimately left in Neblinas upon her departure from the community. Sean had originally asked me to leave the book with one of the volunteers who live in and around Jalpan, but coincidentally, the day I got to Jalpan, none of the volunteers were in town, and so I brought the book with me to Emma's site. Sean and I agreed that he would come to Jalpan on Monday morning to get the book from me to be able to start studying for his exam sooner.

So Sean and I met at Kawa, a cute café in Jalpan. We did the book hand off. And then, spontaneously, I decided to go with Sean to Pinal de Amoles—a town an hour or so up the mountain—to escape the insufferable heat of Jalpan and to pass the time while I was waiting for my ride back to Neblinas.

After lunch and walking around town, however, I couldn't imagine taking the windy road back down to Jalpan, and instead, I asked Sean what he thought of the idea of me going with him to Rio Blanco. He said "why not?" and so, instead of returning to Neblinas on Monday, I spent the week with Sean in Rio Blanco and returned to Neblinas on Thursday.

The other exciting piece of news from this month that I have to share with you is that in just a few short weeks, Neblinas is going to get two new volunteers!

In fact, on Thursday, the two of them came to Neblinas for their "future site visit," a short trip intended for new trainees to get to know their communities before officially swearing in as volunteers. (You all likely remember that I also came to Neblinas for a few days about a month before officially swearing in as a volunteer).

The two new volunteers were super sweet. They seem eager and excited to get to know the community and to make the most of their next two years in Neblinas. It was exciting for me to get to show them around the community and introduce them to the key institutions and individuals. Guiding the new volunteers around served as both a way for me to present them to the community and at the same time let people know that my time is coming to an end. I think the prospect of having new volunteers in the community helps to make the transition of Rayanne and me leaving a bit easier.

Speaking of which. Can you believe it? Two weeks from today is my official last day living in Neblinas. Two weeks from Friday, I officially end my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I can hardly believe it. After two years of living in Neblinas and getting accustomed to life as a Peace Corps Volunteer, my time is coming to an end.

I don't have too many insights at this very moment to share about my time as a Peace Corps volunteer and what it has meant to me. It might take a while for the actual reality of leaving service to hit me. But I do know that this has been an unforgettable time in my life, and I am truly grateful for the lessons I have learned and the people I have met. I know I have memories to last me a lifetime.

Thank you again for so dedicatedly following along with my journey. It's been incredible.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

Lots of love,

Ilana