Passports, FM2’s and FM3’s…these are our words…the words of foreigners and expats who have discovered their own personal paradise tucked away in Bucerias, Nayarit. We know well the struggle, the cost and the time spent acquiring these necessary passports to make Mexico a part of our lives, and yet the time, cost, and dedication required to obtain these is small compared to the passport our Mexican friends must acquire to enrich their lives.

For the Spanish speaking children and adults of Bucerias it is not a piece of paper, but a language that is their passport to a richer life. In Mexico, being able to speak English offers better job opportunities, potentially higher wages, and in the eyes of many parents a better future for their families. But for many of these families English lessons have not been readily accessible.
 

It is not always easy, but these determined children and adults return class after class in an effort to improve the quality of their lives. They know being bilingual is important here. The synergy is exciting as volunteer teachers experience the joy of hearing students utter their very first sentences in English and the students are so pleased with their personal success. Together they are creating a passport to future opportunities.

For expats and foreigners money and time buys our passports. For our Mexican friends, it is time and hard work, an open mind and knowing how important it is to speak English in today’s world.

 

Some of us understand what they are experiencing as we are also in the process of learning Spanish in an attempt to participate more fully in our new community.

 

Thanks to the willing volunteers of the Bucerias Bilingual Community Centre, English classes are growing in size. The word is spreading. Without our teachers and our wonderful donors, and without our beautiful school, none of this would be possible.

 

As another session of English classes ends, congratulations are definitely in order. To our beautiful Mexican students, congratulations on adding to your passport, and to the volunteers who help teach, congratulations on making a difference in the lives of many. We know that each of us gains when we share with each other. The opportunity to learn from our students enriches our lives as well. Truly, LEARNING is the real passport that can take us anywhere! Don't hesitate to donate, ask how?

The Teachers
 

The fairy woman, a beautiful, curly blonde, animated woman, she captures the attention of the children with her love, warmth and inner beauty. She loves these children, so much so that when they are missing from class, she walks the dusty streets to their homes across the arroyo to see if they are okay. She lets their parents know they are missed. And soon they are back in class.

When she arrived she knew her mission. She was here to teach children English, to share with them everything she could. She walked those same streets, inviting children, talking parents, letting them know their children could learn English at BBCC. Starting with four beautiful little girls, who brought more children, her classes grew.. She took flyers written in Spanish to the streets, handing them out, letting people know what the centre could offer them. And by one night in February twenty eight children were attending her class.

Reta is the consummate teacher. Knowing she would have to buy it herself, she found an effective program for teaching English and purchased it. Hours were spent creating pages, laminating, and learning the materials so that these children could have the best learning experience possible. And it is a wonderful experience. You know that when you see children arriving with big smiles, running to hug her. These children come because they want to, not because they have to. Often they come to class bringing younger brothers, sisters and friends. Arriving early and wanting to stay after the daily session is ended. You see it on the street when you witness their excitement as she walks past their homes and stops into visit. And you can’t miss it in the eyes of their parents where the appreciation and acknowledgement of her work is so evident.

This is the teacher who struggled with a lively 11 year old who couldn’t sit still and wanted to talk all the time. Trying everything she could, she finally put on meditative music… soothing and quiet, hoping it would help. When nothing changed, she stopped playing it. Imagine her surprise, when his first question was, “Reta, why don’t we have the music on? I like that.”

Come in and watch her work… she is an actress, acting words out, being silly, anything to enhance the learning experience for her children. As the consummate teacher, these ARE her children. And she is becoming one with them… loved and respected, she spent her new years eve celebrating and dancing with the children and their families. She is no outsider; she has been invited in, just as she invited them into her life.

It has not been all joy for this loving woman. There was a time with her classes growing she experienced such frustration at not being able to surround these children - to meet all their needs, and in her lovely warm way she asked for help and had faith it would come. And when help came in the form of one volunteer, and then another, and another, she shared her children and her love of teaching with them as well. The frustration was gone and replaced with more love and the knowledge that once again her children were surrounded.

The fairy woman with her long curly blonde hair, her ankle length dresses with puffy sleeves, her beautiful smile, and sparkling eyes will be missed this summer. But as her friend and co teacher, I know she has a dream. Next year she will return to teach. But there will be a difference. When she returns she will look for a home here. She dreams of teaching English, of walking streets where she is not a visitor but a local, of having her own horse to ride, and neighbors who will be part of life forever. She knows she will return to these children and share more of her language, her joy and her love. It is people like Reta who are part of amazing places like BBCC.