I had a love affair with Mexico in high school that lasted for 11 short months. It ended abruptly the day my exchange was over, when I staggered down the aisle of an airplane, fell into my seat, and sobbed uncontrollably. I stared out the window as the small bustling town of Zihuatanejo, the palm-studded back roads, and the sandy bay that held the happiest memories of my life faded away.
My life as a Mexican was over. It was time to face the cold Montana winter and finish high school. Though I was sure I’d return to Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo someday, I had no idea when. Back in Montana, I cried for Mexico often. I longed for the sunny beach, my dark bikini tan, and my crazy, beautiful Mexican friends.
On a cold November night a year and a half later, I sat in my Beloit dorm room, struggling to begin a Venture Grant proposal for Chuck Lewis’s Writing 100 class, “Writer as Traveler.” I knew this could be my opportunity to return to Mexico and do something meaningful, but my imagination was failing me. Then I thought to look through Beloit’s Venture Grant Web site to see what past recipients had done.
To my excitement, I found that Lauren Birge’07 had worked in a Mexican children’s home—an orphanage—called Casa Ayuda, in San Miguel de Allende. I found her on Facebook and asked if I could volunteer there as well. She told me I could, and that she was still living there. I submitted my proposal and received $600 from the Venture Grant board, enough for my plane ticket and a $200 donation to the Casa. I left for Mexico on the last day of school and lived at Casa Ayuda for a month with Lauren and her friend Hannah Fredrickson’07.
Sometimes it was hard for the three of us gringas to maintain sanity at Casa Ayuda, with four dogs tearing around the house and 11 children chasing after them. The Mexican government also placed an angry, mentally ill woman with us, who became so impossible that she had to be locked outside one night, after which she began throwing rocks at the door.
I overcame a period of adjustment at Casa Ayuda. But I grew to find the daily overdose of chaos amusing, discovered a strong love in my heart for the children, and learned to look at everything unpleasant or unexpected that happened as more to write home about.
Volunteering at Casa Ayuda was the perfect contrast to my previous experience in Mexico. As an exchange student, I had lived in an adobe mansion on a golf course in a coastal resort town among some of Mexico’s most privileged. At Casa Ayuda, I had the opportunity to see life through the eyes of children who would have been among Mexico’s least privileged without the help of the home.
After the children repeatedly asked me to teach them words in English, I decided to schedule daily lessons. I later realized that these language sessions were more important as a vehicle through which the children could receive my undivided love and attention. Lauren, Hannah, and I became much-needed big sisters to the children, brightening their lives and bringing them energy from outside their community of 11.
They gave me bracelets and letters the night before I left, and I cried leaving Mexico for the second time. But I promised myself I would spread the word about the children at Casa Ayuda, who are waiting for more teachers, more big sisters and brothers, and more love from Beloit.
Rachael Wogsland (Missoula, Mont.) has not yet chosen a major, but she wants to return to Mexico someday to live. Venture Grants are financial awards that support Beloit College students in special projects they undertake the summer before or during their sophomore year. The Ayuda Foundation, which supports the casa, is located in Denver, Colo.
