This week the Social Work students met with
Araceli Vallejo, who works in the Procuraduria
de la Defensa del Menor y Familia (The Office for the Protection of Children and
Families) in Morelos, which is a part of the DIF – Sistema Nacional para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (National
System for Integral Family Development), which is the Mexican public
institution of social assistance.
I really enjoyed hearing about similarities
and differences in child services programs between Mexico and the United
States. For example, we learned about programs put in place here in Morelos for
children who cannot remain in their homes. For example, in Morelos, if children
need to be placed outside of their home, depending on their age they either
live in a center for ages 0-11years and 11 months, or another center for the
ages 12-17 and 11 months. She also described a piece of the adoption process.
When assessing if a couple is a suitable for adopting a child, the Social
Worker will interview both the husband and wife’s entire extended family as
well as the neighbors.
I think this process demonstrates some of
the differences in cultural values between Mexico and the United States,
particularly the value placed on extended family. What do you think about this?
How would you react in the United States if in the adoption process all your
extended family and neighbors were contacted? Do you see a cultural difference
there?
We also had an opportunity for adventure last week! Last Saturday we had an optional excursion to the Butterfly Sanctuary in Temascaltepec in the state of Mexico to see the mariposas monarcas. A few of us rode horses up the mountain to see the butterflies that clung to the trees in the forest and flew above the treetops. Our group had a picture-taking frenzy – we couldn’t resist posing with the butterflies!
Early the next morning we explored Toluca
and visited the Cosmovitral, a stained glass mural and botanical gardens. The
murals were colorful and beautiful especially with the morning sun. The sun
shining through the stained glass had a great effect on then plants – they
looked spray-painted!
After our tour around the Cosmovitral, we
drove to the Nevado de Toluca, a stratovolcano near Toluca. Once we climbed to the
top we had an awesome view of two crater lakes, the Lago del Sol and Lago de la
Luna. For the first time this semester we had to bundle up with scarves and
jackets!
 |
| CGE Mexico students at the Nevado de Toluca |
Week 6 was fantastic and I can’t wait for
more!
-- Anneliese Dion-Kindem
