This summer as I worked in rural Mexican communities, I found my experience to be one of the most memorable and rewarding summers.

It was incredible working along the side of people who are so  passionate about their jobs and simultaneously living and breathing the mission of the social enterprise. In a nutshell I was very impressed by the work ethics that employees in Ilumexico had. I was impressed by the way they went about brainstorming and going step-by-step in making sure that the solution that was going to be implemented was well thought out. Secondly, I’ve never experienced a professional environment that was so communal.  For example every day during lunch time almost all the employees got together in one big table and talked and joked around while enjoying a meal. It was the best, because you could really see the bond that they had amongst themselves.  Also during work hours they really weren’t serious all the time, they made sure work was both fun, and productive. I’ll admit there some days when I walked into the office feeling cranky because I woke early and didn’t get enough sleep or I was flustered by the metro ride there. The thing that always made my day was when my coworkers would sing to songs off the top of their lungs.

 

The best part off experiencing all this in Mexico City, was that I discovered that work environments like these actually exists out there. It’s exciting because I hope one day I get to work with individuals like employees from Ilumexico. I’m not sure where I will be heading in life after graduation but it’s nice to know that a place this exists out there. This was my experience in the city.  As I traveled with my partner to two different states, two stories stood out.

First story – Based in Oaxaca

We traveled for almost two hours in car to reach a community. Let me tell you it was not the smoothest ride. If we were lucky the roads were paved smoothly but most of the times the roads were covered with rocks and I always caught myself praying that the tires of the car wouldn’t pop as we went over sharp rocks! When we finally reached a community and interviewed almost fifteen customers, one story stood out to me.  It was a story by a man who was in his late 50s or 60s and we asked him for his feedback about the company and he said the following in Mazateco (One of the indegenious languages in Oaxaca) “Can you please tell the guy who brought these products, I say thank you! I’ve asked the government for many years that I wanted light in the community and no one has paid attention.  It’s been over 15 years that I’ve insisted, and I finally have light because of Ilumexico, tell him that I send him many thank yous!”  As a representative of Ilumexico, I’ve never been so proud to have represented a company that actually made a difference in someone’s life.  It was an incredible feeling that till this day words can’t describe how I felt.

 

Second story – Based in Campeche

We were interviewing the last community in Campeche, we were talking to a client and when we asked her, “So if Ilumexico offered other solar products, what would you want?” She replied, “You know the only thing we need in life is water and light.” This phrase took me by surprised, because even though this lady lived in the middle of nowhere and had a house that was super tiny and looked run down she had no complaints about life. She was grateful for what life had brought her. She was happy, and that’s an important lesson that western countries need remind themselves, that the simplest things in life are taken for granted, like a roof over our head, light, water, having a meal and having access to food. I feel that many times we take things for granted and it’s unfortunate that one way in which we notice how good our life is, is by traveling to another country or going away from home.

 

One of the main things I learned from this trip is the value of knowing a second language. As I worked along the side of a translator for almost two weeks, it was mind blowing to see how our work dynamic was.  Picture this, I would ask the questions in Spanish, Lety (our translator) would say them in Mazateco in order for the customers to understand. Customers would then respond in Mazateco and then Lety would tell me in Spanish what the customers said.  During interviews I sometimes caught myself taking a step and seeing the big picture.  What I saw was beautiful, here I was speaking in Spanish and connecting with customers in a different language and feeling welcomed.

 

I think knowing the native language helped me comprehend the culture, it helped me really understand peoples perspectives and really get to know people at a personal level. Even knowing the slang words or understanding jokes with double meanings people welcomed us more, we were treated differently. I felt included. It was interesting because I brought an outsider’s perspective but yet I had access to an insider’s perspective.