Day 3 — Madre Asuntas

Happy Father’s Day!

We opened the morning with a catered breakfast with the group at GaryMar. A smaller group of students and adults went to a Walmart nearby beforehand to get supplies for the day. We spent the majority of the day at a women and children’s shelter, Madre Asuntas, spending time with the children and doing various activities with them, some including painting, drawing, hair styling, soccer, basketball, and Bingo. The children were so excited to play with all of us, and it was an excellent opportunity to practice our Spanish and involve ourselves more with the community. Afterwards, we gathered in a room inside and spoke with Madre Delia Contini, who explained the mission and goals of the shelter. She also explained their basic operations and history as well. It was very eye opening to see how they worked and what they were able to achieve with such limited resources.

After our time at Madre Asuntas, we had a lunch at a restaurant and headed back to GaryMar. We took a brief break before gathering in the living room to learn more about Immigration as a Moral Issue with Mar. After learning a little about its history and its impact on our everyday lives, we played a Jeopardy game with topics such as famous immigrants, questions from the U.S. citizenship test, and immigrant geography.

The day was a fun and eye opening experience. The juxtaposition of our more active and involved morning and our quieter, more introspective evening was very productive and enjoyable. Of course, we’re looking forward to the coming activities tomorrow. Again, we hope you all had a wonderful Father’s Day, and we send lots of love from Tijuana.