For two years, La Vida Idealist.org has reached audiences in over one hundred and fifty countries and discussed the highs-and-lows and ins-and-outs of nonprofit work in Latin America. We’ve discussed the g-word (gringo!) and the ethics of “poverty tourism,” wondered how much impact teaching English really has in the long run, and dispensed dozens and dozens of tips on working and living abroad. We’ve fostered connections and collaborations between volunteers and social change organizations all over Latin America. And speaking for myself, we’ve had a blast while doing it!

Now we’re looking for new writers to share their stories, experiences and insights with us and our readers. Whether you’re a temporary volunteer or running your own organization, a photographer or photojournalist, or someone traveling abroad and making volunteer stops along the way, your anecdotes and acquired wisdom can continue to facilitate connections and enrich the ongoing dialogue of “just what does nonprofit work in Latin American mean?” If you’re interested in contributing to this conversation and joining our team, check out our Opportunities page! We look forward to hearing from you soon!

I recently went to teach two girls in my youth group how to make cheesecake. The setting was one that made me thankful it wasn’t my home sweet home. No running water. The bathroom was a dark and stinky room with a curtain as a door. Though there was a toilet, it was connected to no plumbing, and I was thoroughly confused as to how showers were taken. As the cheesecake was being mixed, I saw a large cockroach climb up the unfinished concrete wall next to the stove. Finding a bowl big enough to mix all the ingredients was a bit of a challenge. The house had a one-room floor plan: kitchen, living room, and bedroom (for the three generations living there). The bathroom was off to the side, the door to outside was covered with a curtain. The outdoor dish sink was also the laundry sink.

And I started thinking: why me? Why am I the richer one? Why her? Why does this 14-year-old girl have to live like this? And I am reminded of the struggles other expats go through. But then I am reminded of my great aunt, a nun that has been serving the poor in upstate New York my whole life. She once told me (as we both discussed the personal effects of this economic dilemma) that if we don’t have more than the people we are helping, we would be in the same place they are — we’d never be able to help them. C.S. Lewis, in his book, Mere Christianity, said something similar:

“If I am drowning in a rapid river, a man who still has one foot on the bank may give me a hand which saves my life. Ought I to shout back (between my gasps) ‘No, it’s not fair! You have an advantage! You’re keeping one foot on the bank’? That advantage—call it ‘unfair’ if you like—is the only reason why he can be of any use to me. To what will you look for help if you will not look to that which is stronger than yourself?”

Please don’t get me wrong. I am not saving anyone’s life by teaching them how to make cheesecake. I am only trying to teach them something that might be useful in life. But generally speaking, the guilt we expats/volunteers can often feel has no roots. We’ve only been helped in life by others who were more educated, more experienced, stronger, more financially stable. (And I continue to be helped by such people.) But the cycle must continue: we cannot let guilt be our excuse for anything. It simply seems to stop us from doing and forces us to pity those around us. We stop helping and start over-analyzing. I have a flushing toilet, electricity and an array of bakeware in the place I call home. If I didn’t, I’m not sure I would have had this experience.

Gena Thomas is an English teacher and faith-based coffee shop co-manager with her husband in Mexico. For more on her experiences, check out her blog.

Do you ever wonder what you were thinking when you made a decision? I’m sure you have.

If I could go back and speak to myself six months ago, when I was keen and excited about giving up my job and going to train as a diving instructor, I wonder what I would say. I really do wonder sometimes if I would say, ‘you’re doing the right thing.’

It’s not that I’m not enjoying myself; it’s just that I think I am perhaps too tired to say that what I’m doing here is enjoyment. The course here is intense and, having the personality types that Alex and I do, we make it more intense still.

Unlike a couple of others here who go to the beach the minute class is over, we study more, get back in the pool to practice skills, and worry about not being good enough when exams come. We’re not the only ones.  There is a girl here, Liza, who is equally as driven, but the others not so. It’s not that they are not keen on diving, but I guess this kind of profession doesn’t usually attract the anally retentive, uber-planners that Alex and I tend to be.

I think that’s why we have struggled here more than we would have liked, and why we have learnt so much. Mexico is not Britain, Mexicans are not British and it is hot here – very, very hot. This requires a different pace and, it seems, a three-hour break in the middle of the day.

I think I am all about the schedule, about having my days planned so I know they are the most productive they can be – I hate time-wasting and lazy people. I think this latter part is because I hate laziness in myself — so when I see it in others, I react badly. Of course, they might not actually be lazy, they might just be responding to the slower pace, the heat, and the cultural differences that are more than apparent.

I have chilled, though; I am letting remarks wash over my head that, only a few months ago, I would have bitten back on, viciously. I think, even with five years of psychotherapy training, I have perhaps learnt more about myself and how I can temper my interactions with others from these last two months.

I get very caught up in my mood and forget the bigger, more amazing things and only now is this starting to change.

Amazing thing to see this week - a rescued baby seal

With this in mind, I want to focus on some cool stuff that’s happened this last week.

Alex and I passed our wreck-diving speciality training and went on an overnight adventure to do four dives at a shipwreck, learning how to go inside it safely.

We sat and watched an octopus walk around and do ‘behaviour’ for more than ten minutes.

We have both been getting excellent pass marks in all our instructor prep (exams and presentations)

And, best of all, Alex did his 100^th Dive!

Dante Harker is currently living in Mexico and training as a dive instructor. To hear more about his experiences, check out his blog.

Oh, also, we’ve finished our First Aid Instructors course, so both Alex and I are now both First Aid instructors. Again my brain was on form and managed to get me through the written exam while only dropping two marks.

More also’s: we’ve done seven ocean dives. Plus (I got bored with also), Alex did an Italian food night for the students at the school.

When I look over it now, no wonder I’m tired. I am late with this blog, too, should have been done yesterday, bad me, though I did want to wait for perhaps the coolest thing I’ve done this week:

I did my 100^th Dive!

Amazing octopus, sadly I didn't see one this big on my 100th dive, but soon I'm sure!

Sometimes I look at my life now and it doesn’t seem real. I feel so far away from where I was three months ago.  I wonder where I’ll be in another three months?

Dante Harker is currently living in Mexico and training as a dive instructor. To hear more about his experiences, check out his blog.

Yum

Now, this was actually my very first experience of the “true” buffet (i.e. 5 different kinds of food areas including starters and desserts) as, in the UK, we have Chinese buffets, breakfast buffets, pizza hut buffets, Sunday roast buffets…but very rarely will you see all of those combined. This is where the American-style buffet really reigns supreme; the choice was huge, the quality actually very good and, even more surprising, a dessert/pudding selection that was actually edible! Anyone who has ever been to an all-you-can eat Indian buffet in Britain will know all about the nasty soap-flavoured cheapo sweet section.

Our buffet of choice was called The Sirloin Stockade here in Puerto Vallarta. I believe it is a chain with sites all over the US, and on my visit, it appeared very popular with Mexican families…barely any western tourists at all (which, for me anyway, is a bonus).

The best part of a buffet I think is the strategy you adopt…I rely on the old moto “proper planning prevents poor performance”. The “performance” bit meaning how much food you disgustingly manage to fill yourself up with, and the “planning” needs to begin with breakfast. Now, as a person who is not only obsessed with food, but has a need to share also, I have decided to put together some buffet tips for those unfamiliar…so here goes:

1)      plan your day

Why fill up on meals like breakfast and lunch that will only sate your appetite and reduce capacity for buffet deliciousness? Have an apple at breakfast time and starve yourself the entire day so that you are ravenous by the time you get your first round.

2)      Visualize your strategy

Before you even arrive, you should be planning in what order you will tackle the edibles…be prepared to make last minute detours if the family in front of you is (quite literally) hogging the sushi counter.

3)      Be realistic about capacities

Greed is greed, but there is sadly only so much a person can digest, so my tip is to go mainly for the kinds of foods you don’t cook at home, or don’t always have access to. For example, my buffet experience was completely devoid of pasta and potato items, as that’s the kind of cheap staple I survive on at home. Not only that, but pasta has that annoying habit of making you feel full far too early. Ditch the spaghetti and dart straight for the chicken wings.

Sadly, they don't let you pull up a chair!

4)      Do not be embarrassed

Everyone is there for the same reason…don’t feel ashamed that it’s your third helping of deep-fried onion rings. Nobody is keeping count, and only you have the power to truly judge yourself (did I sound a bit like Oprah then?)

5)      Pace yourself

Two reasons for this really…not only is a buffet over far too quickly if you rush, but also, you find too early on that your appetite is lost. My suggestion is to start with the very light items, like soup and salad, and then build up. Don’t forget, a plate piled high will seem like a huge challenge and will likely make you give up half way; small portions of the best options with repeat trips if necessary!

6)      Choose your company

There is no point in attending a buffet with someone who eats like a bird. It’s awkward, and it’s a shame to make them pay for such a pathetic meal. If you hear the words ‘I am so full’ within the first 5 minutes, you are in a losing battle.

7)      Don’t waste

A friend of mine has a peculiar strategy when it comes to pizza buffet- he asks staff for a clean plate and then proceeds to eat only the pizza parts that have topping. By the end of a session, his plate is piled high with unwanted, un-loved pizza crusts. This concept is a novel one, but for me, it strikes me as far too wasteful. Remember, we are in an enviable position having such amounts of food at our disposal…let’s not dispose of it!

8)      Finally, leave room for pudding

As soon as you start to feel full, leave it at that. The buffet I visited actually had some lovely desserts and soft-serve ice cream. It would have been a massive shame to miss out! I was so split over the decision, that I chose 5 different smallish bits of pudding for my plate…you might call it a quintet of puddings.

So, if you are still reading and haven’t given up due to hunger or disgust, you are now equipped with the life skills necessary to fully enjoy your buffet experience…you might call it buffet-know-how. Yeah, that sounds about right! Bon apetit!

Dante Harker is currently living in Mexico and training as a dive instructor. To hear more about his experiences, check out his blog.

Actually, the above was just a side note. The big news this week is that we are now Divemasters! We passed our exams earlier this week. Because there is so much to the Divemaster course, we’ve passed a bunch of things over the last two weeks – but the two biggest, the stamina tests and the written exam, were done over this last week.

I am very glad that I did lots of swimming practice before we left the UK, as the stamina is hard work. You have a timed 400m swim without fins and mask, a timed 800m swim with fins, mask and snorkel (where you fail if you take your face out of the water). You have  100m tired diver tow, where you are in full SCUBA kit and you have to tow another diver in full kit, 15 minutes treading water, with your hands out of the water for the last two minutes. Plus you have to exchange your dive kit with someone else while underwater, hard enough by itself exchanging your jacket and tank, weight belt, fins and mask, but for this challenge you have to both be breathing from the one regulator (the bit that goes in your mouth to give air) – which means that half of the time you are without an oxygen supply! You scored points for each of the tasks with a total possible of 25, I scored 23 – which is respectable.

Couple of points with this picture: the smile is what happens if you stick a camera in my face when I'm not wanting a picture (either this crazy look or I glare). Plus, I do look happy, sort of, which is the overall theme of this blog.

The written exam is 120 questions that cover decompression theory, dive physics, physiology, equipment and environment. I’m not sure why (perhaps 8 hours of revision the day before the exam), but I managed to get 100%, a first for here it seems. I think I was perhaps channelling someone much smarter than me.

This is all very cool and feels like our first major accomplishment since leaving the UK.

I do think, given that there are only four students currently at the school, that the school could have made a slightly bigger deal of us passing. A quick handshake and then being rushed into our next (really boring) class is a bit weak. I think it’s a missed opportunity to get some much-needed publicity for the school, but that’s their short-sightedness. Alex and I, plus the other two students who passed, went out and had a great meal to celebrate.

The other pretty momentous thing this week is that I have now done 92 dives! There is a tradition in SCUBA that you’re meant to do your 100^th dive naked. I’ve decided that keeping this tradition would be far too cruel on my fellow students, though I do want to do something to mark the dive.

I have mentioned it to the lead instructor at the school so you never know.

Dante Harker is currently living in Mexico and training as a dive instructor. To hear more about his experiences, check out his blog.

The deceased sea creatures got me thinking about not only my livelihood as a diver, but also about the crazy amount of seafood that must be served up all over Puerto Vallarta. On a daily basis, I scuba dive in and around Bucerias and am guaranteed to spot the comical looking puffer, as well as the spotted and seemingly grumpy eels local to the area…seeing them lying so sad on the beach reminded me that every fish I see on the shore is one less the paying customers get to see on your average fun dive…and for that matter, every brightly coloured snapper char- grilled in a posh tourist restaurant means one less to gaze in awe at, as a huge shoal glides gracefully past!

Perhaps the world's most amazing creature.

Now, I am not a vegetarian, and could never be described as any kind of eco-warrior, but it strikes me as ironic that anyone interested in diving could that very evening tuck into an exotic platter of colourful local wildlife…the critters living in the sea are, for many divers, the reason that we have a job, so doesn’t it seem crucial that we keep the fish in the water and well away from the frying pan?

Maybe most divers have the same opinion, and that’s probably why the concept of sport-fishing also makes me cringe…now, popping them back in the ocean after a mammoth struggle, maybe that feels ok; but what about those tour companies that offer to cook your catch of the day? I sat in a café today filling in my dive log, and saw a (rival) dive company bring their fun divers to shore…they unloaded all the gear and tanks as usual, then proudly dumped a huge, beautiful (albeit dead) fish on the deck…it had clearly been speared by someone on the boat. Am I the only person to find that a little daft? (not to mention tragic). Now, we all must eat, and subsistence fishing is of course, a way of life for some people. However, as diving professionals, we are meant to conserve and protect the ecosystems we make our wages from…is this a little preachy? Yes, it is. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t true! Yesterday whilst diving with my team, I saw a magnificent octopus curled up under the reef…its mottled body pulsating gently. I was blown away. But just hours later, walking down the seafront, I saw fresh pulpo (that’s Spanish for octopus) for sale by the Kilo to rich Americans…I don’t know about you, but as a diver, the whole idea leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Dante Harker is currently living in Mexico and training as a dive instructor. To hear more about his experiences, check out his blog.

Both Alex and I have ear infections which have really taken it out of us both, and not just physically (the usual infection stuff: aching, headache, generally feeling rough etc). We have been hit financially, too – the visit to the doctor and some horse pill-sized antibiotics have stripped our rapidly shrinking bank account of another £50.

Added to this we can’t dive or go in the pool for at least four days and it all leads to a sorry state of affairs.

The amazing beach that we got to dive from - it's not all bad.

We are still doing classes.  I would rather be resting in bed, but the training must go on.

Plus, we have just been told that our instructor exams are going to be a week later than we were originally told. That is not a huge issue in itself, apart from now having to budget for another week’s spending money to stay here for a week longer than we expected .

Do I sound miserable? It’s amazing how being ill can really strip you of a decent mood.  And keep in mind that I only travel the middle of the happy road on the best of days.

Actually, I don’t feel too bad; I am worried more than anything. We’re about a month into our training and we only have a vague idea what we are going to do when we finish it – whenever that might be given the moving goal posts.

Ideally, we would get jobs as instructors as soon as we finish. And we do now have access to the diving job website which seems to have five or so jobs listed each day. However, what seems more common is that you go to the area that you want to work and start spreading your CV around.

Another wonderful, if slighly wonkey beach

But we are not sure where we want to work or if we can afford to just head in a general direction and hope for the best.

In the UK you can usually make plans while you have a job and an income, I think it’s rare that you just watch your bank account drop from week to week.

We know that there are several things that we will happily do before going back to the UK if we can’t get jobs as diving instructors – teach English, volunteer etc – but everything at the minute sits firmly in the vague category.

I think it’s really important for me, at the minute, to try to concentrate on the here and now. The more I forward plan and rush ahead, the more worried I’ll become, which is never good.

On the plus side, the weather is still wonderful and a new girl has moved into our apartment who is really lovely and is making the place feel a whole lot more social.

Alex Harker is a pastry chef from Cardiff, Wales, living in Mexico and training as a dive instructor. To hear more about his experiences, check out his blog.

Well, actually we knew it would be grueling at times and I guess one of the trickiest transitions has actually not been getting up at 7 a.m., then scuba diving for two hours, then practicing life-saving in the sea, then a lecture, then homework followed by revision notes. The more demanding task has been switching from holiday/travel mentality to ‘this is my job, and this is our life now therefore there isn’t the time or budget to eat like a tourist and nibble all day on little treats.’ Yes, this new mindset has been very difficult to take on board.

The Mexican version of a Spar

Turns out, the regime of a trainee diving instructor is not only physically and mentally demanding, but it also takes a while and, unless one has an unlimited supply of shiny bank-notes, you have to really reign in those frivolous food purchases that normally are dotted around every day whilst traveling. That means those random trips to the 7/11 or Oxxo (that’s Mexico’s answer to a Spar for those British out there) have to stop, and, even though those golden crispy churros look darn good, you have to hold back a bit to stay on the budget.

Mexico has lots of major supermarkets including the ubiquitous ‘Mega’ as well as global super-power Wal-Mart…this is where, in places like Puerto Vallarta (or, Bucerias to be precise) you can pick up pretty much everything you might need in bulk. In my experience, I’ve found that given the prices of meals in even the cheapest diners, if you want to eat well, you should cook at home. Being a greedy person makes it almost impossible to make do with a few tacos or a burrito…so putting together a couple of meal plans really helps.

Mexico seems to be all about the packet mix (and sugar in everything) - it's not real baking in my eyes.

This doesn’t mean that I’ve forgotten my appetite…it just means that you have to choose a day that is a ‘free’ day, and then stick to it (Oh god!!! That sounds like the kind of thing a diet-person would say!) I bought a nice fresh Pineapple for less than 60p (12 pesos) and made a double apple crumble (that’s pineapple and cooking apple). There’s nothing like putting a fresh and fruity Mexican twist on an old classic!

The same goes for a little trip I’ve got planned this Sunday as a reward for passing our ‘Rescue Diver’ qualification…a trip across the road to the legendary ‘Pie in the Sky‘ bakery that has been in Puerto Vallarta for a few years.

UK prices for the cake, but also lovely UK standard cakes

Apparently, their specialty is a melt-in-the-middle beso cake as well as fresh mango pie. I think after a whole week of budget meals and brain-bending hard work, I will deserve a bit of that…maybe I’ll get one of each!

Alex Harker is a pastry chef from Cardiff, Wales, living in Mexico and training as a dive instructor. To hear more about his experiences, check out his blog.

We are well into our second week now and today we qualified as Rescue Divers. This is something that, if I wasn’t so tired, I would be over the moon about – perhaps tomorrow I will have the energy to celebrate it.

As I mentioned last time, we work 6 days a week, start at 8am and finish at around 6pm. We have classes, training in the pool, sea training, diving and tons of reading. It’s a great experience but my body and mind don’t know what’s hit them.

Alex and me training in the pool - I am the one with the uneven arm tan.

If you are thinking of doing this kind of training, you really don’t want to go into it half-hearted.

We started our Dive Master training today – this is the first level on the diving qualifying body, PADI’s, professional qualifications.

If you look at the picture below, those in black are the professional qualifications. We have all the ones in light blue now and, by the end of this training, we will have done the ones in black, too, down to specialty instructor.  We also aim to complete eight of the specialties that are in the dark blue boxes by the end of the course.  It is going to be a lot of work.

So much (exciting) work to do.

If we pass everything, we should be done at the dive school in ten weeks’ time. We are not 100% sure what we are going to do at the end of the training but, over the next few days, we are going to work up some possible scenarios based around what we want to do and what we can afford to do.

Ideally, we want to get diving instructor jobs ASAP but, whatever happens, we want to work out a way not to have to go back to the UK for at least a year – it’s such a long way to get to this side of the world that rushing home after three months would just seem silly.

This links to a lovely video of us – gracefully – getting out of the water during our Rescue Diver training.

By the time I write my next blog we hope to have a plan – until then it’s more aimless drifting from one amazing dive to the next, which isn’t so bad.

Dante Harker is currently living in Mexico and training as a dive instructor. To hear more about his experiences, check out his blog.