Coming to Carrillo is an unforgettable experience. Last year I traveled to Carrillo with my mom and spent a mere five days with a host family. Immediately after leaving last summer, I felt a connection to this place like no other I ever had before. Maybe it was the people, maybe the calm nature of the city and the strong cultural pride, but this town stood out to me in a way that I couldn’t explain. I knew I wanted to go back, and this time with a greater purpose in mind. I didn’t just want to immerse myself in a host family’s culture that they so graciously opened up and shared with me, I wanted to get to know people personally and bring a piece of my passion to them as well.

Before my 2019 visit to Carrillo, I worked with Catherine, to design a program about photography for the school. I knew that many of the kids in the town would not have the resources to afford fancy digital cameras or photography materials, so I set up a GoFundMe and crafted a group email to my community at home asking for camera donations. The plan was a total success and some very generous family and friends donated 8 cameras, 2 iPads and over $200 for our GoFundMe to buy an extra 2 cameras for the class.

The first class, two days after I arrived, was a learning curve for not only the group but for me as well. The class was in English but the students were still learning and my Spanish was rusty. One obstacle that set the class in Carrillo apart from my other teaching experiences was a lack of comfort. I had never taught formally before and the language barrier made communication much more difficult than it would have been in a classroom in the States. Nevertheless, the class went smoothly and in the last two hours, the students were coming to me asking questions about technique and validation about the quality of their images. However, the most rewarding part of the first class was not watching the students experiment and have fun with the cameras, it was my wrap up statement. I thanked everyone for allowing me to teach and listening attentively to what I was sharing, despite my introverted nature and inexperience in this new environment. I expressed how impressed I was with their progress in a mere couple of hours and told them that when the class wrapped up at the end of the two weeks, they would get to keep the cameras they had chosen and continue their photography journey after I left. That was a moment I will never forget. Smiles lit up on the faces of the kids one by one. The students whispered softly amongst themselves in excitement, pointing at the cameras in amazement. Their excitement was a confirmation that my passion had transcended into a blossoming passion for these ten students in front of me and over the next two weeks, I only watched that passion bloom more within each one of the students. 

Over the next three classes, the shy students began to approach me more often and ask more questions about photography. The students began to grasp the concept of color theory and spacing in their images, leading them on their way to becoming great amateur photographers by the end of our classes. Their enthusiasm for the class material and well-made efforts to constantly improve helped them to progress immensely and become amazing photographers in only a short amount of time. This class not only helped the students to discover a new way of expressing themselves but it pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me to discover a newfound passion, teaching. Teaching the class encouraged my hope that what I love so much could soon become the dream or passion of another kid because I had the opportunity to introduce them to it. This time though, that kid just happened to live in a small town in Mexico called Felipe Carrillo Puerto. 

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The best way to experience the Mexican lifestyle is in person, with a Na’atik Immersion experience. Not only do you live with a local Mexican-Maya family, sharing home-cooked meals and free time, but also receive expert instruction in your chosen language at our school. Best of all, every immersion experience helps fund our subsidized and free local education program, helping local students to access opportunities and make their own futures.