Known as the “City of Eternal Springtime,” Cuernavaca has long been renowned for its natural beauty. In our Eco-Tour of the city, we were able to explore some of the city’s springs and ravines. Led by a local community leader and environmental activist, we were able to see the ways that the city’s natural resources have been affected by human activity. The difference between the two ravines we toured were shocking: one was pristine, preserved, and breathtakingly beautiful, and the other was devastatingly polluted. After seeing the damage that an urban population’s waste and sewage could do, we met with the proprietor of a recycling center, one of many Mexicans working toward a cleaner environment.

Students get ready to embark on a hike across a forest northwest of Cuernavaca

According to 2010 estimates, the population of Cuernavaca was approximately 340,000 people. Our tour guide explained that Cuernavaca’s population grew out of control after the 1985 earthquake, which devastated many rural areas and pushed many residents into the cities. The city’s urban plan was not prepared for this population growth, and there was no system in place to manage the waste and sewage from all of these new residents. As a result, pollution found its way into the ravines the city depended on. Our tour of Salto San Antón showed exactly what these damages were: a ravine that once provided water for many residents and a tourist attraction to the majestic waterfalls was filled with trash and greenish brown water.

The prettiest part of the ravine. But not far below is garbage that flows from upstream.

Our tour guide stressed the importance of change on a societal level to prevent these problems. He also spoke of a former mayor of Cuernavaca who attempted to pass many environmental protections for the creek. These protections were rolled back by his successors who did not recognize the importance of protecting the city’s natural resources. Additionally, our conversations with the director of a local recycling collection center revealed that government support for recycling projects has been eliminated in recent years. Our experience on the eco-tour allowed us to realize and validate the importance of preserving natural resources, both to protect the planet and the livelihoods of the people who rely on their environment on a daily basis.

One thing many people from the United States and other first world countries think when first visiting Mexico is that everything is very inexpensive. In order to understand this idea better, we took a trip to Cuernavaca’s central market area.  It has everything from toiletries to fruits, vegetables, and meat for sale. In groups, we priced items such as milk, beans, and bananas. These items totaled an average family’s food and basic supplies salary for a week. At first glance, it seemed that these items were very inexpensive and affordable. However, after much calculation and observation, we realized the significant difference between the purchasing power of the US dollar and the Mexican peso.

Students gather together to go to Cuernavaca markets for basic commodities

To better illustrate this, it’s important to take into account the minimum wage in Mexico. According to federal law, one person working a minimum wage jobs makes approximately $88.36 MX pesos per one, nine-hour work day. Needless to say, for each hour of work, one worker will be paid nearly $9 MX pesos each hour; that’s about $4.60 US dollar per day and less than fifty cents per hour. And on a grander scale, that’s $110 US dollars per month and $1,320 US dollars per year. (These calculations are based on the January 2018 currency exchange rate of $19.30 MX pesos per $1 US dollar.)

Though the cost of living is different between both Mexico and the US’s economy, the interesting fact is that the Mexican minimum wage is not a livable income for a basic family – a family consisting of two parents and two children – as defined by the government of the States of Mexico.

 Please consider the chart below.

Cost of Living in Mexico in comparison to USD

Tortillas are essential necessities to the Mexican culture. In place of poor metaphors, tortillas are just important as bread is to the American culture. With a continually rising price, one kilogram of tortillas sat at $15 MX pesos (approximately $0.77 US dollars) in 2017; today it costs $18 MX pesos (approximately $0.93 US dollars). Again, though these numbers seem fairly cheap to those who possess US dollars, for a person working minimum wage in Mexico, to afford one kilogram of tortillas today, he/she must work at least two hours of work. That’s the equivalent of a US minimum wage worker earning the federal wage of $7.25 US dollars paying $14.50 US dollars per kilogram of tortillas (or bread). Please see the chart above to learn more about relevant costs between earnings in Mexico and the United States.

I’m heading out tonight (actually at 3 AM Wednesday morning) to start my Global Educator Semester Abroad.  I am so excited and also a little anxious of what lies ahead!  I am most excited for the “change maker” Education students who are pioneering this semester abroad in Cuernavaca, Mexico.  I hope you find out “what is worth knowing” in finding yourself and defining your vocation within the larger world.  It is important to understand the world as it is, but also see the world as it could be.  I hope this semester helps you see yourself in that light of “seeing things that never were and asking, “Why not?”

This will be a semester of challenge, wonder and wondering, joy, disorientation, ah-Ha! moments, questioning everything and redefinition for all of us.  I end my career in teaching where I started: experiencing the world and wondering what will happen to the world as we face challenges and opportunity in education, and the drivers that affect education throughout the world.

Take a few moments to share your thoughts about heading into this semester away, abroad!  Post a picture.  I would love to hear about your journey!