What to expect

Project Mexico is a packed, fast-paced weekend experience.
Our first group leaves for Mexico early Friday morning, has breakfast in Otay Mesa, grabs a bunk at Rancho Solo mid-morning, and is at work in Colonia de San Bernardo by noon. A second group will arrive friday evening.
Driving through TJ, passing Cuahetemoc (the BIG Indian)

Saturday morning we're up early, eat breakfast and start building first thing. You'll break for lunch at the job site, then finish-up work by 5pm or so. An awesome dinner awaits you back at Rancho Solo.

Sunday morning you'll get up and do it again, breakfast early, then to the job site to finish the home. You'll likely finish the home and have your key ceremony sometime in the early to mid afternoon, then head back home, grabbing dinner along the way (In-n-Out in Carlsbad, at Palomar Airport Road is the favored hangout). You'll be home by early-mid evening Sunday night, tired and (likely) changed forever. 

A typical home in Colonia de San BernardoAn awesome, often life-changing experience.
For many, a weekend participating in Project Mexico is a life-changing experience. For some it's their first taste of true third-world poverty, and the fact that it's half a tank of gas away. For other's it's the realization that they can DO something about it, something big. For others it may be the experience of pulling off the audacious task building a home from foundation to completion in a single weekend, with a small group of friends. The stories are as wide and varied as the people that have participated in Project Mexico, and the experiences tend to change us all for the better.

Anyone can participate.
And we mean anyone. Our youngest particpant to date, 10 months. Or eldest, 89 years. No experience necessary. Heck, you don't even need to build the home if that ain't your thing.
4 yr old Stefani gets as much paint on her clothes as she does on the sheeting, but she's havin' fun. Help with the Food Team, working with the local kids, and more can be done. Of course, if you're the kind of person who's into the whole construction thing, you're gonna love it.

Now, some sobering reality... 

You'll be tired, real tired.
You will be up early and work hard all day. You'll be outside, in the sun, which can zap your energy. You might paint, hammer, carry heavy stuff and climb ladders. You'll be busy, all weekend. You'll be tired, but it's a good tired, and you'll love it.

It Ain't the Hilton.
But then, what did you expect? Our accommodations are rustic by American standards (just a step above camping, some say), but you'll stay warm and dry. And heck, you'll be so dang tired, who cares?

Bunks stack 3-high and have mattressesWe stay at Rancho Solo, located next to the home of (and owned by) Sergio Gomez, a wonderful fellow who helps run a local orphanage, loves God, and plays a mean accordian. Rancho Solo has bathrooms (separate for the guys and girls), showers that are usually hot, and kitchen facility where our food team sets up shop and provides killer breakfasts and dinners. It's rustic, but it true Mexico, it gets the job done, and we wouldn't have it anyt other way.

We do WHAT with the toilet paper?!?!
In case you haven't used the bathroom in Mexico before, here's the deal... you don't put the t.p. in the toilet. The sewage systems in Mexico are often marginal, and putting your paper in the toilet will (and I mean IT WILL) clog the commode. The dude walking into the bathroom behind you won't be pleased if you do this, so please, don't. INSTEAD,  the t.p. goes in the  trash receptical next to the toilet. Might seem a bit off-putting at first, but really, you get used to it.

Danger.
Open pits, exposed electrical wires, mangy dogs (don't pet them, by the way), sharp (and potentially dangerous) power tools, and bunk-beds that hurt when you fall off them. Welcome to Mexico, where life is still a bit wild and untamed, the roads have king-sized potholes and the stop signs ("ALTO") are often hidden. Most of the wild stories of bandidos and
El perro may be cute, but please don't touch. You get bit, you go home. shake-downs from Federalis are bogus, but this is still Mexico, and is a far cry from the safe, insured, well-manicured and maintained streets of South Orange County. Common sense and a sharp eye should keep you out of trouble though. If you bring your kids, you'll just need to keep an eye on them at all times. Otherwise, you ought to be good to go. It's also a good idea to have a cell phone with you (make sure it's set to work properly in Mexico).