Stephanie Ryan and Megan Matty had been to Mexico before. At resort towns they enjoyed the warm weather and beatific scenery south of the border.
Jill Connor / The CitizenAuburn natives Megan Matty and Stephanie Ryan, on the right, enjoyed the art projects that some of the children they worked with made them when they went to Mexico for two weeks on a service trip with Canisius College.
When they returned to the country May 19 to aid the poor residents of Mexico City as part of a college program, the Auburn natives might as well have been new to the land.
“The Mexico we saw on vacation was very different from the one we saw there,” Ryan said.
Ryan and Matty - both senior special and childhood education majors concentrating in English at Canisius College in Buffalo - were excited by the chance to work with children in another country. After writing an essay to apply, the two were chosen with 23 other Canisius students to take the trip.
They were permitted only two pieces of luggage, and the larger one was packed with items Ryan and Matty would use to help organize an after-school camp, such as soccer balls, jerseys, diapers, craft materials and T-shirts. With only a carry-on bag to serve them for two weeks, the students adjusted to a far lower-maintenance lifestyle than they were used to in Auburn.
“There were no cell phones or technology, so it was nice to have that break,” Matty said.
Ryan added, “It really made us appreciate what we have here.”
Due to the unsanitary water supply, the two students brushed their teeth with bottled water. They struggled with the food, which consisted of corn flakes, tasteless tortillas and cheese thrown on everything. The experience led Ryan and Matty to empathize with the enduring poverty of their host community.
“They don't even have a millionth of what we have; there are no job opportunities,” Ryan said.
Matty added, “They live day-to-day and we can live for the future.”
Despite feeling out of place among the conditions, the two found themselves welcomed by the Mexico City public. Ryan recalls the bus ride their student group took to an orphanage every morning and the absence of negative attention it received from the residents. A bus of 25 Mexicans in America would draw a less friendly response, she said.
Ryan and Matty felt the most welcome at work in the Dominicas de la Doctrina Christiana convent, where they helped orphans, adolescents and elderly women by performing everyday chores, like changing diapers, brushing hair, mopping floors and doing laundry. Many of the people in the students' care were disabled, but Ryan and Matty's special education studies prepared them for the experience.
Each young woman developed an attachment to one of the orphans they cared for. Matty grew fond of Mario, a malnourished baby who looked to weigh about 10 or 12 pounds at 2 years old. His and several of the babies' heads were bald in spots from lying on the convent floor for so long.
Because Ryan's baby had Down syndrome, she emerged from the trip with a newly positive attitude toward adoption.
“The hardest part was that we couldn't change anything,” Ryan said. “At the end of the two weeks, we went home and they're still sitting there.”
At a Mexico City middle school, Ryan and Matty could also apply their interest in education as English teachers each morning of their stay. Afternoons in Mexico City were spent at the day camp, which opened its doors to anyone in the city who wanted to partake in the activities. The pair's days were rounded out by dinner and reflection time with the nuns of the convent.
Only on the weekend could the two find time to savor the area's sights and history, such as the Aztec ruins and the Basilica de Guadalupe, a spot so holy to Mexicans that they walked in on their knees.
“Those places really helped us learn about their culture and their land,” Ryan said.
When it was time for the students to leave Mexico City at the conclusion of their stay, they were overwhelmed by the connections they had made in their short time there. Their nun hostesses clutched Ryan and Matty's hands and thanked them for volunteering, and the babies they had cared for cried and stretched their arms out as the students tearfully bid goodbye.
“It was sad but comforting,” Matty said.
Ryan added, “It really made us want to do more.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
“The Mexico we saw on vacation was very different from the one we saw there,” Ryan said.
Ryan and Matty - both senior special and childhood education majors concentrating in English at Canisius College in Buffalo - were excited by the chance to work with children in another country. After writing an essay to apply, the two were chosen with 23 other Canisius students to take the trip.
They were permitted only two pieces of luggage, and the larger one was packed with items Ryan and Matty would use to help organize an after-school camp, such as soccer balls, jerseys, diapers, craft materials and T-shirts. With only a carry-on bag to serve them for two weeks, the students adjusted to a far lower-maintenance lifestyle than they were used to in Auburn.
“There were no cell phones or technology, so it was nice to have that break,” Matty said.
Ryan added, “It really made us appreciate what we have here.”
Due to the unsanitary water supply, the two students brushed their teeth with bottled water. They struggled with the food, which consisted of corn flakes, tasteless tortillas and cheese thrown on everything. The experience led Ryan and Matty to empathize with the enduring poverty of their host community.
“They don't even have a millionth of what we have; there are no job opportunities,” Ryan said.
Matty added, “They live day-to-day and we can live for the future.”
Despite feeling out of place among the conditions, the two found themselves welcomed by the Mexico City public. Ryan recalls the bus ride their student group took to an orphanage every morning and the absence of negative attention it received from the residents. A bus of 25 Mexicans in America would draw a less friendly response, she said.
Ryan and Matty felt the most welcome at work in the Dominicas de la Doctrina Christiana convent, where they helped orphans, adolescents and elderly women by performing everyday chores, like changing diapers, brushing hair, mopping floors and doing laundry. Many of the people in the students' care were disabled, but Ryan and Matty's special education studies prepared them for the experience.
Each young woman developed an attachment to one of the orphans they cared for. Matty grew fond of Mario, a malnourished baby who looked to weigh about 10 or 12 pounds at 2 years old. His and several of the babies' heads were bald in spots from lying on the convent floor for so long.
Because Ryan's baby had Down syndrome, she emerged from the trip with a newly positive attitude toward adoption.
“The hardest part was that we couldn't change anything,” Ryan said. “At the end of the two weeks, we went home and they're still sitting there.”
At a Mexico City middle school, Ryan and Matty could also apply their interest in education as English teachers each morning of their stay. Afternoons in Mexico City were spent at the day camp, which opened its doors to anyone in the city who wanted to partake in the activities. The pair's days were rounded out by dinner and reflection time with the nuns of the convent.
Only on the weekend could the two find time to savor the area's sights and history, such as the Aztec ruins and the Basilica de Guadalupe, a spot so holy to Mexicans that they walked in on their knees.
“Those places really helped us learn about their culture and their land,” Ryan said.
When it was time for the students to leave Mexico City at the conclusion of their stay, they were overwhelmed by the connections they had made in their short time there. Their nun hostesses clutched Ryan and Matty's hands and thanked them for volunteering, and the babies they had cared for cried and stretched their arms out as the students tearfully bid goodbye.
“It was sad but comforting,” Matty said.
Ryan added, “It really made us want to do more.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
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