Volunteer Stories | Leonie
This was my first time in Mexico, my first time away on my own and my first time teaching and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience than I had in Xalapa. I arrived at the bus station at 3 in the morning and was met by Adrianna and taken to my Mexican home and introduced to the lady who would become my Mexican mum for the time I stayed in Xalapa! It was all so efficient and friendly that I totally forgot I was miles away from home! I was given my timetable, teaching equipment and Mexican mobile phone that night, everything just seemed so organised!
I was pleasantly surprised actually, because in all honesty I had been a little worried because compared to a lot of other volunteering companies T2T was extremely cheap and so I had thought that maybe this meant it was lacking in some other way-but that was completely not the case! It is a really low key and personal organisation, that is truly non-profit and without all the administration that most organisation like this have.
Adrianna was really helpful in helping me prepare for my lessons and as she is a teacher herself she had lots of advice and methods of teaching to share. The timetable you get in Xalapa is really great because each lesson is around an hour long and you have something between 2-3 lessons a day and so you always have some free time to look around the city or plan lessons etc. The main places I taught at were two orphanages (one all boys and one all girls) and a primary school. There are also other places like rehabilitation centres or separate little projects that you can ask to be involved in and also plenty of adult classes as well. Mexican children are absolutely brilliant! They are so full of life and enthusiasm and are so loving. When I started I could barely speak any Spanish but that wasn’t a problem at all and they ended up teaching me too!
The actual city of Xalapa is a really nice, proper Mexican city and isn’t touristy at all. It’s really easy to get around whether you take buses, taxis or walk! It has some lovely shops, parks, cafes, restaurants (La Sopa is the best!) and some really great bars if you search a bit! One of the highlights of my time there has to be the cooking lessons which were held at Adrianna’s house! Everyone slightly involved with the company would gather whilst you cook up a yummy Mexican feast with Adrianna! Just such fun nights of eating and drinking and having a brilliant time!
The main thing that made my time so great and easy was the homestay. Most people tend to stay at the same house in Xalapa if you apply for a homestay and you are really part of a family! The food is amazing and totally Mexican, and Conchita (my Mexican mum!) is really flexible about eating hours etc and just the friendliest person I could have asked to live with along with her son Hector. My room was perfect with everything you could want (shower and toilet!) which meant you could still have your privacy when you wanted. I would really recommend the homestay because as well as the food and family, it’s also a brilliant way to practice your Spanish!
Teaching (and socialising!) with T2T in Xalapa was such a brilliant experience and you really felt you had support or advice from the T2T people whenever you needed it and it was just the chance to work with some of the best children in places where your help and also your friendship is really needed.