Las Mariposas Monarchas

“What is Mexico famous for?” cactuses? tequila? Speedy Gonzalez? These are all great answers. One more however, is what has been called the most famous insect of North America: the monarch butterfly.

This past Friday Amy, Caleb and I were invited by the pastor of the local English church to make the two hour drive east of Mexico City to one of the butterfly’s wintering grounds. This mountain near the town of Toluca is located within the state of Mexico and one we cleared the city limits, the drive proved to be quite beautiful.

As an added bonus, on the way out of the city we saw some the most compelling evidence of global warming that we’ve seen yet. The pastor commented that in the past 13 years he had never observed so much snow in the highlands.

The bright sun was a welcomed treat after two solid days of rain and after Caleb’s most recent battle with car sickness subsided we all had a great day. Above is Caleb holding one of Mexico’s winter residents.

The monarchs arrive in Mexico around the end of October each year and reside in/on the Oyamel trees that normally grow between 7,000 & 13,000 feet above sea level. I believe that these trees were somewhere around 10,000 feet. Here are a few pictures of how concentrated the butterflies were on these trees.

Out of Kilter

Something seems a little upside down tonight…

Things are always a little different down here in Mexico City but this evening, “bizarre” would be a better description. Currently, I’m seeing/hearing reports that the New Orleans Saints have defeated the illustrious Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. Thankfully, my stint in this city has steeled me with a healthy degree of skepticism so I’m sure this hearsay will eventually prove fallacious. Additionally, I’m sure that there are many of you stateside that can confirm my suspicions, so feel free to confirm.

On the other hand, in the incredibly unlikely event that these rumors prove factual, I trust that the world will, in short order be righted once again.

Bright Eyes & Warm Hearts

This past Monday Amy and I had a break from classes. This holiday was in recognition of “Constitution Day” in Mexico. (While our language skills continue to show evidence of improving, there’s still a lot of room for growth in the history department. As it was, the resulting four-day-week was a nice surprise.) With a day off from the university Amy, Caleb and I were able to accompany one of our local pastors and his wife in visiting a women’s and children’s home that operates in the north-west of Mexico City.

Fundación Dar Y Amar (“to give and to love”) was founded 12 years ago as a home for girls and adolescent mothers and their children. All of these young women have been placed into DAYA’s program through government, social-aid workers and each comes from a background of either virtual homelessness or abusive families. Above is a picture of the exterior of their facility. At present this building serves as a home for twelve young Moms and their children ranging in age from a few months old through roughly 10 years. The program’s mission is to offer physical protection and shelter for the young women while instilling in them basic family values (the awareness of said values is something that I often wrongly presume are common knowledge). Additionally, the program offers both education and therapeutic services to the Moms and children that are enrolled in the program.

Here’s a picture of one of the local kids, Viviana. She had a good deal of energy about her and loved to prattle away to anyone who would lend an ear. Below is a picture of Caleb and Viviana playing together.

Another one of the residents just hanging out.

Our family really enjoyed this brief visit. In a city where dirt, despondency and depression accurately depict much of the scenery it was refreshing and uplifting to see smiles and purpose behind the eyes of the staff, young ladies and children that call DAYA home.