As I was, you may be wondering where in the world is Puerto Escondido? It’s a small surf town on the Pacific coast of the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. You’ve probably heard of Puerto Vallarta—keep heading southeast along the coast. Eventually you’ll hit another city you’ve probably heard of—Acapulco. Keep going and just … Continue reading
Day five. It’s Friday. Hard to believe our last day of work has arrived and the build is coming to a close. We, the team, are our own family now and grateful to have spent this week getting to know our partner family, Habitat staff in Puerto Escondido and a few members of the community. … Continue reading
Usually by the time Global Village teams get to day four, we are all feeling the effects of doing jobs that we are unaccustomed to. After the shorter workday on Wednesday and a break for some fun, Thursday tends to be the longest and often most difficult day of work. That should have been the … Continue reading
Day three often signals a midweek break, in that we usually end the work day a bit early to participate in a cultural activity, usually relating to the community. In our case we broke for lunch and Arlet and Hilda, another future homeowner in the group, showed us how to make tlayudas, which are basically … Continue reading
Day two and the same jobs continue: moving and laying bricks, sifting sand and mixing mortar and our newest task, cutting and bending rebar. The house will have a bathroom, kitchen, two bedrooms and a dining and living area inside, and a small front porch on the outside. In total about 50 square meters or … Continue reading
If you are like me, when you hear the words Oaxaca, Mexico thoughts of Rick Bayless walking through crowded weekend markets in search of chilies, cinnamon and chocolate and encounters with short, leathery-faced abuelas making the perfect mole might come to mind. Indeed, Oaxaca is known as the food capital of Mexico, and it was … Continue reading
Sunrise at Tongariki Santiago is quite literally the jumping off point to get to the most remote inhabited island in the world, Rapa Nui. The island’s first recorded European visitor, Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, give it the name Easter Island when he landed there Easter Sunday 1722. I prefer, and so does almost everyone who … Continue reading
Chile, the longest country in the world, is incredibly diverse topographically and culturally. There is so much to enjoy. The primary reason for my visit was a Global Village build with Habitat for Humanity in Santiago, but I was fortunate to be able to also visit the Atacama and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) while I … Continue reading
Chaxa Lagoon I didn’t want to travel all the way to Chile and miss the driest place on earth. What a superlative! I also didn’t want to go home without visiting Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and I was lucky enough to do both. First spending a few day in the Atacama, then on to Santiago … Continue reading
What would your life be like if you gave a little bit? You don’t have to give everything, but maybe you could give a little bit more of your time, your money, your knowledge, your encouragement to help someone else. How would your giving affect the lives of those in your family, neighborhood, community, country—the … Continue reading
Global Staci 