Special Needs in Mexico

I participated in the Mexico program for two weeks in the beginning of August. I truly enjoyed my placement at Pastoral de Amor. At first, it was challenging to communicate with the residents and staff but I tried my best to speak Spanish and learn from them as well. Even though there were some mornings where I didn't feel well, it always brightened my day to spend time with the sweet residents over at Pastoral. I was able to participate in providing rehab therapy services; it extremely was helpful and eye opening to me as a student in the rehabilitation field. It will always be an experience I will cherish. I hope one day in the future, I'll be able to visit the residents again!

As far as the accommodations- I did not have high expectations for the housing. The house is essentially a hostel style accommodation. There is no air conditioning but there are fans provided. The bathroom is shared and there is no hot water in the summer (although you might get lucky if you shower at 2-3pm ..there might be about 5 minutes of hot/warm water). Also as a forewarning, there are a lot of bugs - mosquitoes and fire ants, bats, and lizards that are lurking around particularly in the bathroom. The food for dinner was typically a traditional Yucatanean dish along with veggies and rice. Since the humidity in Merida never goes away, there's a nice pool outside to cool off for a few minutes or hours :) I thought that the support staff was helpful. Marianna helped out a lot in terms of navigating around Merida through public transportation. Also, it is quite safe in Merida but always be precautious.

My tip is to Lysol everything, especially in the bathroom to avoid spreading illnesses and use a lot of mosquito repellant because those mosquitoes are really aggressive. Also, make sure you spend some time exploring Merida and other surrounding towns..it's worth it!

Overall - I had a great time getting to know other volunteers, exploring Merida, and will always value my experience at Pastoral.