On December 1, 2015 I started my fifth year as the CEO of Destination Now, a Lifestyle Management company. In honor of this milestone, I thought I’d create what in the business world might be known as an annual report. Except in THIS case, there are qualifiers: I didn’t do one for the past four years –so much for annual–I and don’t expect to do another one ever again. Plus it is REALLY, really short. You ready?
Mission statement: To make the most of every day, occasionally to enjoy both walking down memory lane, and peering into the future, but to stay fully focused on and present in the PRESENT. Number of Employees: ONE (that would be me) Customers: One MAIN customer (my loving husband), plus a very select group comprised of family and friends (who are willing to let a control freak take charge) Revenue: Cash: $0.00; In Kind: Caboodles of wine, dinners, memories and friendship (all tax free!)
Okay, so that’s a long winded way to say that I’ve been retired for 4 years, and am having a fantastic time planning and executing fun, food, and travel for my husband, my family and friends. It’s just that occasionally, when asked the inevitable question “what do you do”, I feel compelled to get creative. Be honest–which version did YOU prefer?
More free time has allowed me to become more self aware, and I have to acknowledge that I do better with goals and objectives. Before I retired, I took to cyberspace to see what I could learn from those that had trod that path ahead of me, and I benefitted greatly from their words of wisdom. So, over the coming weeks, as a way to ‘pay it forward’, I have set a goal to post more regularly, sharing what I have experienced/learned over the past 4 years, in the hope that doing so will help others more easily transition to this new life stage. As a bonus— we will ALL learn whether I can emulate the discipline shown by some of my favorite bloggers who post regularly.
Although this is a trip that focuses on hilltop Tuscan towns, no visit to Tuscany would be complete without a stop in the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence.
My sister Sandy and I were lucky enough to spend two days in Florence in July, 2012, and Mike and I had done a day trip about 10 years ago, so we didn’t feel compelled to “do it all” this time around. Instead, we were satisfied with a leisurely and informative stroll with our wonderful local guide, Fernanda.
The evening before Fernanda had given us a fascinating overview of the Medici family, Renaissance art and the connections between the two. I’m sure I heard it all before in various history classes, but Fernanda really made it come to life during the lecture, and again, the next day during our stroll through Florence.
The Piazza Della Signoria was the first home of an important Medici couple, Eleonora and Cosimo I. This arranged match was not off to a great start. Those in the know wondered why this Spanish old maid was not spoken for? (She was 17). The groom didn’t even make it to his own wedding, so they were married by proxy. Fortunately, things improved greatly after that: it turned out to be a love match that produced 11 children.
Well, Eleanora was not happy with her “starter home”. It was devoid of gardens for the children to play in, so Eleanora used her own money (how cool is that–a woman with $$$ of her own back in the 1400’s) to purchase from the Pitti family a little “cottage” across the river.
The interior of the “starter” house
Sandy and I spent a day wandering through the Pitti Palace, a glorious edifice, which now houses 6 or 7 museums. The Pitti Palace does indeed have spectacular gardens, plus a breathtaking view of the river and the duomo. No photos of the Pitti from this trip, because there was no time to visit it. You’ll just have to take my word for it that it was grand.
But I digress. Back to the Piazza Della Signoria . In front of the “starter home” is a replica of Michelangelo’s David. The original was moved from there to the protection of the Academia, but it was not initially created for that plaza. Instead, it was supposed to be placed on the facade of the Duomo. Fernanda explained that was why the hands are so enormous. When viewed from below, the hands would be correctly proportioned.
Formulating his Goliath slaying strategy
There are lots of other wonderful sculptures, but my favorite is below–the rape of the Sabine women.
We had considered visiting a museum during our free time. Instead, we decided to take Anna’s advice not to succumb to “Stendhal Syndrome” and become over saturated with culture.
After a fantastic lunch at Boccadama, Mike and I stopped for gelato, then wandered up an alley near the church of Santa Croce to visit Italian Loves, a wonderful little shop.
The proprietor allows you to sample his wares. You can taste the olive oil, the balsamic vinegar and the wine. I was deeply regretting having a gelato BEFORE visiting Italian Loves. What to do? Why, buy a little of everything. Those near and dear to me know what THAT means. Yes, there just MAY be a gift in your future.
Yes, that wine was wonderful-and yes, we have already polished it off
Although my BLOG is only on our second day in Tuscany, WE are actually in Sorrento. The problem with posts lagging well behind the visits is one can get confused. Particularly when that “one” is me. If you are following my posts, true confession time. We didn’t stop at the American cemetery after our feast at Giuseppe’s Pianciorciano Cheese Factory. It was after this visit to Florence, which is only important if you want to find the cemetery. You’d have a hell of a time if you were looking in the Radicofani area, because it is located between Florence and Chianciano Terme. Ah well. Accuracy is a small price to pay for all the wine drinking and cafe sitting done instead of blogging, right?
Nothing would have made me happier than to have all my favorite people with me on this trip. Although I was unsuccessful in recruiting all of you (not from lack of trying), I DID manage to convince our good friends, Owen and Shirley to “double our joy”. For those of you that are making the journey with us via this blog (especially my sister, Sue, who refuses to fly), I’m so glad to have you riding along.
Now, back to our first full day in Tuscany. After Radicofani, we made our way to Giuseppi’s (Pepe’s) sheep farm. Unfortunately, according to Pepe the sheep had a “party” five months ago, which resulted in a lot of very pregnant sheep, so for a reason I have since forgotten (but was definitely connected to the party) the sheep were all in the barn. Too bad. It would no doubt have made for a lovely photo op. Instead, the photo at the top of this post just shows you the picturesque fields. Take a look at the lengths I go to so you don’t have cars or garbage cans cluttering up your view.
Back to the sheep that we didn’t see. They are Sardinian sheep, because that breed produces the milk that makes the VERY best pecorino cheese. In case you haven’t guessed, Pepe and his family are from Sardinia. Like Silvana, Pepe was highly amusing and quite informative.
Of course we had to sample some of that wonderful cheese. Eight different kinds. Washed down with wine, accompanied by prosciutto and salami and bread.
According to the official itinerary, we were done for the day, but Anna had a little surprise for us. We stopped at a cemetery for Americans killed during World War II, just in time for a brief lecture about the military campaign, the men buried there and the MIA. After taps, the flag was lowered. A very sobering experience, especially given the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It made me think about the differences: WWII was the pain and sacrifice was shared by all. The recent wars are so very different. A small percentage of our population is giving so much, while the rest of us go about our normal lives.
Normally I like to end on an upbeat note, but for this post all I can say is “Thanks for your service”.
That’s right. That’s the slogan for Chianciano Terme, our home for the next six days. Although my liver doesn’t need to be cured–at least not yet, if it ever ails me, I’m definitely coming back to this sweet Tuscan hill town. Twenty years ago, before socialized medicine stopped covering spa treatments, people came here for a week or two to drink and soak in the mineral waters. One hopes they were not drinking the water they were sitting in, but who knows? For some reason, once the treatments were no longer free, business dropped off dramatically, so now it is a much quieter place, which suits us just fine.
Our family owned and operated hotel is cute and comfortable. If you are wondering why I am including the following photo, it is because the shutter visible on the top of the door to the balcony rolls up and down with the press of a button, just like a garage door opener.
I don’t know why, but I find that enchanting.
This time, we didn’t win the room assignment sweepstakes. Our balcony overlooks the parking lot, while those on the other side view the rolling hills. But no matter. Our bus rides offer us views aplenty.
The first half of our trip focuses on hilltop towns of Tuscany. First up is the lovely hilltop town of Radicofani, a stopping place for pilgrims enroute to Rome.
Here’s Anna, our wonderful guide, pointing out the Pilgrim icon on the side of one of the buildings.
Ghino di Tacco, Radicofani’s most famous resident made his living robbing those pilgrims, but he did it with class. He made sure he left the poor ones enough to eat. But still, he was a robber. So how come he is immortalized with a statue on the outskirts of town?
Ghino di Tacco
All was forgiven after he kidnapped an Abbott, who had digestive problems (perhaps on his way to Chianciano Terme to get a liver tune up?). Instead, after living on bread, water and dried beans, the Abbott was miraculously cured of whatever ailed him, was released, made his way to Rome, and convinced the pope to make Ghino a knight of the Order of St. John. Who says crime doesn’t pay?
Here are a few more images of this hidden gem of a town.
One of the many reasons I’m loving this tour with Grand Circle is because of the experiences I never would have had if we were on our own. Silvana is one of those experiences. We stopped for a snack at her shop. Silvana not only fed us, she kept us entertained with a monologue (translated by Anna) that Jerry Seinfeld would have envied.
Anna with Silvana, Radicofani’s stand up comic. Check out those pastries!
Silvana is the youngest resident of Radicofani. Her 78 year old mama is still working, taking care of 5 of her “elderly” neighbors.
Mama, saying hello from the window over the shop.
Our trip to the sheep farm will have to wait till tomorrow, or I’ll never get this post finished!
Our first trip with Grand Circle is off to an amazing start! After an uneventful flight (and these days, uneventful is about as good as it gets), we were met at baggage claim by a Grand Circle representative who escorted us through the airport to meet our driver. What a pleasure not to have to hang around the airport waiting for other travelers to arrive.
Although we hit big city morning traffic, our driver took some “sneaky roads” that not only got us to the hotel quickly, but also gave us a little extra tour of the eternal city.
Anna, our tour director, was waiting in the lobby to greet us. When I expressed surprise at her American accent, she explained that she learned English in the USA. She IS Italian (and Greek), but it turns out her dad was a “rocket scientist” who worked on the lunar rover in Huntsville, Alabama. No, she did not have an Alabama accent. And despite graduating from Harvard, she doesn’t have a Boston accent.
Before the trip began, Anna had communicated with us via email, asking what we particularly wanted to see and do during our time in Italy. Although the group is big, (42 travelers), we are already experiencing the kind of attention you get with a much smaller group.
Much to my amazement, we weren’t tired after our overnight flight, so Anna gave us a map, marked the places we wanted to visit, gave us great directions and off we went.
The Hotel Albani is close to the Borghese garden, so we strolled through it on our way to the Museo Dell’Ara Pacis, one of the “not to be missed” places on Mike’s list.
The birthday boy, doing his Borghese prince imitation.
Anna directed us to an overlook that provided a fantastic panoramic view of the city.
A small slice of the panoramic view
And now a close up of the statue in the square
But today wasn’t just museums and statues. We also people watched. I continue to be fascinated by the ability of women to navigate cobblestone streets in unbelievable footwear.
After a late lunch at a sidewalk cafe, and a detour to the Spanish Steps, we hiked back to the hotel for a quick nap and a peek at CNN for an update on the pope’s visit in Washington DC. Time to meet the rest of our group for an introductory drink.
Mike has a milestone birthday this year, and what better way to celebrate than with Italian food, wine and scenery? I couldn’t quite get the trip scheduled so that we would be in Italy on the actual date, but then we have never been good at following calendars.
In the past, I just used to declare that according to the Mayan calendar, the date was really—-and fill in the blank with whatever date we were celebrating.
But then I thought why not start for a new tradition? Instead of Birth Day, why not celebrate Birth Month? Think about it–you would have a full month to schedule that special event. The odds that you could find a day that would allow everyone to attend just increased 30 fold, except, of course, for those born in February. Sorry.
It is especially helpful for those of us that left the Homeland (Massachusetts) for the Hinterlands (New Jersey). My family has sorta gotten used to my inability to be calendar bound, although I DO usually get the month right. Anybody ready to join the Birth/Anniversary Month movement?
To celebrate Mike’s birth-month, we will be wandering through Tuscany, ending up in Sorrento. This will be our first trip with Grand Circle, a sister company of Overseas Adventure Travel. Although the group is a bit larger than we normally choose, we liked the itinerary, which has us plopped in two towns, each for one week. Another selling point was the number of optional trips, so we can stay with the group, or choose to strike out on our own, should we feel the need.
The best part? Our good friends, Shirley and Owen, will be on the tour.
We arrive in Rome, then head for a town I never knew existed, and whose name I am probably mispronouncing: Chianciano. It will be our base for a week, as we explore the other Tuscany towns shown on the map above.
Our second week will be in Sorrento, a great base for all of the incredible area attractions.
We already received a lovely welcome note from our guide, Anna (pronounced like Donna, without the D) Costes, full of helpful information. She very kindly responded to my questions about our day trip to Florence. We are off to a great start!
That’s it. There was no “worst of times”. Lucky me. But good times do not make good novelists, so fortunately I’m content to be a sometimes blogger.
My other posts have all been about Querétaro, a delightful historic city–and I am far from done talking about it. But this post is about a SECOND undiscovered gem. Undiscovered by most USA tourists, that is.
Global Volunteers are free on the weekend, so several of us took a bus to Guanajuato, a two and a half hour ride from Querétaro.
And what a bus it was! I only wish airplane seats were so comfortable. Imagine being able to recline your seat without incurring the wrath of the person behind you. How about having a foot rest so you can stretch your legs out, just like you are in your favorite Lazy boy. Throw in free movies on your individual TV. Of course, you have to watch Renee Zellweger speaking Spanish, with her very full lips out of synch with her words. That’s the Premiera Plus ( the name of the bus company) experience. I preferred watching the countryside flash by, but that’s generally how I roll.
The bus stations In both cities had snack bars, clean bathrooms (the 5 peso entry fee gets you the best seat in the house, toilet paper, soap and paper towels), and comfortable waiting rooms, for those of you that care about such things. (I’m definitely in that category.)
Taxis to the historic center were plentiful and inexpensive — 50 pesos, or a little more than $3.00 –got us delivered to our hotel off La Plaza de La Paz.
Check out my luxurious room. The bathroom was also beautiful–complete with hair dryer, and huge towels.
Like Querétaro, Guanajuato is safe, clean, inexpensive, beautiful, friendly, musical, historic—AND it has a miradora–a panoramic view, something I can’t resist.
The pale blue building to the left of the yellow/orange cathedral is our hotel. The hotel de la Paz
I rode the funicular to the top of the hill, the site of the statue of el Pipila, who is clearly visible from just about everywhere in the city.
El Pipila
Those so inclined can climb inside, sorta like the Statue of Liberty. I decided to take one for the team, so I climbed to the top, and I’m going to tell you–the view’s not worth it.
See how narrow the stairs are? The ladder to the top is even narrower, and just a tad scary.
So, how did el Pipila get his very own statue at summit of Guanajuato? Are you getting tired of the history trivia? I hope not, because I’m going to tell you.
The Mexicans decided they had had quite enough of Spanish rule, so they started a rebellion (actually this is more of a Querétaro story, which will be a future post, but I’m drinking wine while I’m writing this, so let’s just go with it. Okay?)
El Pipila put a flat stone on his back to protect him from the Spaniards, who were holed up in a granary and tossing dreadful, dangerous things at him. He set fire to the door of the granary, which allowed the Mexicans to enter, slay with Spaniards and win the battle. Oh my God. Am I REALLY talking about battles and wars? Has it come to that?
Time to change the subject.
Guanajuato has an abundance of museums, and I was able to visit several of them. The things hanging on the walls were all very lovely, but what floats my boat are the buildings that house the exhibits. The Diego Riviera Museum is his childhood home.
I don’t know whether he and Frieda actually slept there, but who cares? The architecture is fantastic, and the cutouts weren’t half bad.
Guanajuato has its fair share of churches, and if there is a wedding happening, I never miss an opportunity to crash it. This lovely bride’s veil was pinned to her groom’s shoulder. After the ceremony was completed, they were unpinned. Don’t know the background, but I thought it was an interesting custom.
What else can I tell you about Guanajuato? The food was excellent. The Mexican wine was delicious, and of course I felt compelled to take photos of everything, so you can see for yourself.
This bread was AMAZING!
Enchiladas with mole (my guy’s favorite) and green sauce, with frijoles. For less than $12…including that great bread and a cappuccino!
Mexican wineries? Who knew their wine could be so delicious?
I could keep posting photos till your eyes roll back into your heads. But I won’t. I’d encourage you to enjoy visiting this amazing city and will leave you with just two more photos.
One of many bars in the town.
I’m not sure why Don Quixote is is so big in Guanajuato. That’s my assignment for my next visit.
I’m almost out of power, so I’ll post. Please forgive the typos…drink a little wine, and this will all make sense to you. Visit this wonderful city and fall in love with it!
Yes, THAT Santa Anna. The one who inspired the classic phrase, “Remember the Alamo”. The one who, when he lost a foot and part of his leg in battle, gave it an elaborate military funeral.
Fun fact for those of you planning a trip to Springfield, Illinois. After his foot’s funeral, Santa Anna had a cork prosthetic leg made. That very leg was captured during the Mexican-American War and is currently on display in the Illinois military museum. If you are anything like me, you are probably wondering just HOW Santa Anna’s leg happened to be separated from his body. Well, thanks to wikipedia, I can tell you, and the truth isn’t anyway NEAR as interesting as what my mind conjured up. From the military museum’s website:
In 1847, Illinois soldiers “came upon General Santa Anna’s abandoned carriage and found gold worth $18,000, a roast chicken lunch, and his artificial leg. They turned in the gold, ate the chicken and kept the artificial leg as a souvenir.
So, why am I telling you all this? Well, it just so happens that Santa Anna and I have something in common. No, I do not have an artificial leg on display in a museum. At least not yet. We BOTH have slept at the Hotel Hidalgo. But just to be clear, not at the same time.
Built in 1825, the Hidalgo Hotel was the first, and by definition, the best, hotel in Querétaro. During the war, “the refinement of the hotel made it a favorite choice” for Santa Anna. His stay ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe, “which gave more than half of Mexico’s territory to the USA.” (Actually, they didn’t GIVE it to us; we paid $15 million for it. More expensive than Manhattan or Seward’s ice box? I’ll let you be the judge.)
How do I know all this? I’d like to be able to claim that my attentiveness in history class and my truly amazing memory are responsible, but anyone that knows me would never swallow THAT tall tale. Nope, the source of my hotel knowledge came from this mural in its entry.
As one might expect of a hotel almost 200 years old, it has its quirks. For example, the size of the showers would lead you to believe that they were not a common feature back then.
As with people, each room has its strengths and drawbacks. But with the right attitude, these quirks can become rather endearing. Plus, the staff is wonderful, the rooms are very clean, it costs less than $40 per night, and the location is absolutely ideal.
If, however, you prefer to sleep in a convent, or in the house of a dead Marquesa, those options are also available. Those of you who have been reading along may recall the snarky comment I made a while back about La Casa de la Marquesa probably paying Google to show up on its maps. Little did I know that the Casa, like the Hotel Hidalgo, is a historical site with its very own legend. And you, dear reader, will soon read all about it.
It seems that Don Juan Antonio, the Marques, although a married man, had a yen for a nun, Sister Marcella Nasturtium. The good sister, despite remaining true to her vow of chastity, was still able to persuade the Marques to build an aqueduct to bring fresh water into the city, and to build the most beautiful house in Querétaro, which he then gave to his wife.
Lobby of the Casa de la Marquesa
One more hotel story then I’ll end this post. It seems that being a nun in the days of old was not a bad gig, if you managed to be born to the right family. One rich man built a convent for his daughter that was the grandest in a city filled with grand convents. The Convent of Santa Clara had its own orchards and gardens, and the rents it collected allowed the nuns to live in private houses with their own servants. Wow.
Fountain outside the conventHotel detail. What do you expect? It WAS a convent!
Courtyard inside the convent/hotel
And to think that YOU could sleep in ANY of these buildings! Is this not a cool city?!!
So, what EXACTLY do Global Volunteers do in Querétaro, Mexico? As with all other GV projects, the volunteers do whatever our host asks us to do. And boy oh boy, are we well utilized here!
Five out of our group of eleven volunteersAt the Universidad Tecnológica de Querétaro (UTEQ), we spend four to five hours a day talking with highly motivated, enthusiastic students. Our schedule varies from day to day, to ensure that the early morning and late afternoon students also get an opportunity to interact with us. For example, on Tuesdays, we catch our cab for UTEQ at 7:20 AM for an 8 AM class and are finished teaching at noon. On Wednesday, we start teaching at 5:00 PM and are done at 9:00 PM. On the remaining days, our start times range from 9 AM to 12 PM. I’m here to tell Ya–I have even more respect for teachers. It is NOT easy being 100% focused for several hours straight.
Because the demand is so great, we never work with a student more than once. Initially, I wasn’t sure I’d like getting a new group every hour, but the students are wonderful, and the time absolutely flies by. You don’t even notice how tired you are until the cab ride home.
One of my groups. I LOVED working with these wonderful young women!Group size varies. Sometimes we might each have 2 to 4 students. Other times we might have 10 to 12.
It is difficult to do much preparation, because you don’t know what you will be getting until you arrive in the classroom and start talking with the students. Some have prepared questions to ask us; others are shy, needing encouragement and gentle coaxing to get them to talk.
Pam, our leader explained that the goal was not necessarily to teach specific words or grammatical points, but to build students’ confidence. What a relief–I can do that! Once again, I discovered that patience, a sense of humor and enthusiasm were my most important tools. Oh yeah, that, plus a small white board, index cards and my iPad have been getting me through the day.
Before I left home, I raced around my house, camera in hand, taking photos of various objects that I could show on my iPad, as my back up plan. Good thing. For beginning students, it came in handy. For example, I used visuals like this, to have them practice asking each other, “what is this?”, then take turns answering.
In the midst of my pointing out objects on my iPad, I heard a chorus of “awwwwwww”. Mystified that cutlery could inspire such a reaction, I flipped my iPad around to find I had inadvertently switched the photo from my kitchen table to my sister’s granddaughter.
The students wanted to know all about “the baby”, so we talked about Bonnie–what was her name, where was she when the photo was taken, what was she wearing, what was she holding? Little Bonnie is now quite famous here in Querétaro. One student (bless his heart) wanted to know if she was MY baby. That led to a discussion about grandchildren, my sister, her daughter, all the other members of my family tree and my age!
Occasionally some of us have a break between classes. That’s the perfect time to head for the cafeteria for informal discussions. Today, I met an older student who is employed by the Swedish company Ericcson and attending school. He confessed to being a bit reluctant to approach me until he saw me smile at him and nod my head. His English was excellent–he just needed a little confidence. I felt like the Wizard of Oz!
Ericsson isn’t the only major employer in the areas. Other companies include Samsung and Daewoo from South Korea, Bombardier(Canada), Nestle(Switzerland) Siemens(Germany), Santander (Spain) and Kellogs, P&G, Bose from the good Ol USA. Querétaro is definitely an international city.
Ericsson has invested heavily in UTEC. Volunteers that had been here before mentioned that the campus had been spiffed up, buildings had been repainted, thanks to the generosity of Ericsson. They also donated the language lab, which is the building behind this sign.
What I really like, however, is the banner BEHIND the building, and not only because it is in English.
“An Everyone Everywhere World”, in which everyone gets the chance to fulfill their potential. What a beautiful sentiment. What a wonderful world that would be!
And what an amazing way to spend two weeks! Who knew work could be so much fun?
Every day, one of the Global Volunteers writes a journal entry, accompanied by a thought for the day. These are read aloud when our group meets–either in the morning at breakfast or in the evening before dinner. As I was the first to arrive in Querétaro, our leader asked me to do the first entry. Well, guess what–it made it on to the Global Volunteers website, accompanied by photos taken yesterday while I was working at school.
Yes, I know that some of you think I spend all my time cruising the ‘calles’ (that’s ‘streets’ for those of you that don’t share my oh so vast knowledge of the Spanish language; I’m easily as fluent as the average Mexican two year old) but no, I actually DO do something that vaguely resembles work. Here’s proof:
I tried to imbed a link to the site into this post, but my iPad is cranky this morning, so instead, a copy of my journal entry follows.
However, I encourage you to wander on over to GlobalVolunteers.org to check out all the wonderful opportunities for personal growth that this organization offers. I’m kinda hoping that when you see how much fun and how worthwhile the projects are, some of you will be inspired to sign on. Who knows, maybe we’ll be together on a future trip!
Journal entry for Sunday, February 8, 2015
Thought for the Day
“Before you try to change the world, let the world change you.”
Volunteers arriving yesterday were greeted by a fiesta going full blast in Hotel Hidalgo’s courtyard. A father of 15 was celebrating his 90th birthday, with 80 of his direct descendants. Perhaps the secret to a long life is to know how to party hearty? Not a bad way to kick off our time in Mexico–with music, dancing and very happy people.
The “birthday boy” is wearing a white suit. He’s waiting for his guests to arrive.
Our leader, Pam, has a dedicated group of followers who enjoy serving with her. This is the 7th time Bill has volunteered in Mexico, followed by Roger who is on his 4th tour of duty. Eunice, Mary#1, Joe and Mary #2 will be serving here for the 3rd time. You don’t have to be with Pam for very long to figure out why she inspires such loyalty.
Although this will be the first time in Mexico for Shannon, Leslie and me(Shelley), we have all served in other countries. Lorraine is our “official newbie” and we are all delighted that she has joined the team.
During breakfast in the hotel, we introduced ourselves, then got a well organized and thorough orientation from Pam. Mary and Joe very thoughtfully had obtained brochures and maps IN ENGLISH for all of us. Although Querétaro is a tourist destination, most of the visitors are from other parts of Mexico, so there is not an abundance of English materials. Thanks to Mary and Joe, we can easily view the many appealing options the area offers for our free time.
Carolina, the head of the language department at U. Tech, joined us after breakfast. A warm, inspirational woman, who speaks beautiful English, Carolina shared information about the school and described the positive impact GV has had on the students.
Our meeting concluded with GV’s traditional team building exercises. First, we described fourteen characteristics of an effective team. If our ability to quickly identify those characteristics is any indication, this team will be highly effective indeed. Next, Pam asked us to think about why we signed on for this particular project. In other words, what were our goals. We each wrote three goals on separate index cards, took turns reading them aloud, then Pam grouped similar goals into categories. These were:
Help students
Cultural exchange
Personal growth
After a wonderful lunch, we were free to settle in, explore or rest until we meet for dinner at 7 PM.
Destination NOW 