We're here!

It's Wednesday, April 30, and it's the first chance I've had to sit down and write about our adventure.

We arrived to a banner waving gang of Rotarians in Culican on April 24 and headed for our hosts' homes. The flights were uneventful except for trying to find the tiny turtle that had fled its little owner's hands on the flight from Mexico City to Culiacan. Fortunately, Annie found the thing under her purse. So, anyway, we're here and each day has been filled almost beyond capacity.

We made our first PowerPoint presentation with Amy at the helm the evening we arrived. The Rotary Club of Culican Oriente Adalberto Espinoza and his fellow (literally fellow) Rotarians introduced themselves to us. Their pledge of allegiance is quite impressive, ending with a resounding Viva Mexico. The girls did a nice job telling about themselves and our efforts seemed to be greatly appreciated.

The next morning we met for breakfast at El Gallitto ... coffee made with sugar, cinnamon, a sugar beet juice was a real treat for me ... and we were off ... and we haven't stopped.

A van of us observed vocational day as a unit. Our first stop led us to a multi-sponsored facility that rehabilitates disabled children. The mother of a teen son who has muscular dystrophy gave me a folder of information to take back to the U.S. so that I can help her contact a facility in NJ that is supposed to be the state of the art. She has tried to reach them, but they will not return her calls. The director is interested in a multi-Rotary grant for a van for their clients. The Rotary Club of Culican Tres Rios is very involved in helping this facility.

After a chat-up with the mayor's wife, who heads a non-profit program for the disabled, we visited a state/regional special ed rehab center. Lines of people needing help, from babies to the aged, were waiting for a turn for service.

One of the 3 Rivers Rotarians, Maria del Rosario Gonzales Perez is the prinicpal of an award-winning high school, and she allowed us to meet with an English class. We introduced ourselves, took a photo and gave them Pez as a thank you. One of the murals at the school says "many hands build the future" and the leaves on the trees are handprints.

Then on to the local TV station located at the highest point of Culican. The principal, Israel, and Tono and his wife have spent all or most of the day with us. We signed off on TV with the sportscasters, talked with the producer, and made contact with Jose Chepe Zazveta who is interested in being a GSE team member.

Lunch at a jam-packed Chinese restaurant, Tai Pak, and then a stroll through City Hall where murals depicting Culican history engaged us. There's a big league baseball player from Culican and his image is part of the photo history. We toured an antique building that is now a museum, ate gelato (plum, coconut ... yum) and we're taking the long way back over the black bridge that is symbolic of Culican.

For dinner we met with all the three clubs of Culican. They were proud to show us the centennial projects of Rotary and the dedication to RI's first Mexican President Conseco.

April 26: Street artists and then a hospital where a Rotarian who is a pediatric cardiologist took us on tour to see the preemie babies, heart patients and traumatic injured patients. We talked about a matching grant and accepting outdated medical equipment. Then off to a pediatric hospital of Sinaloa. More later.