Thanksgiving has always been a fun holiday for me, though perhaps celebrated differently in my childhood home than in a typical American household. Growing up outside of the US, my family would often celebrate Thanksgiving with people from all over the world. My mom would invite friends from all over the place to share Thanksgiving with us in our apartment in Amman, Jordan or Nicosia, Cyprus. These memories of giving thanks with people from a variety of countries and cultures are special to me, and serve as a reminder to me of the original reason for the holiday. Sometimes traditional … [Read more...]

In this season of thankfulness, Ciudad Nueva is thankful for our amazing volunteers! Each of our programs at Ciudad Nueva has its own unique personality and focus. They each have different aims and require different resources. But there is one thing that all our programs depend on: people. There are so many people that make Ciudad Nueva programs successful—the staff, the volunteers, and the participants all bring their unique gifts and desires. I sometimes picture it as a huge, beautiful, complicated jigsaw puzzle that is constantly being re-painted by new experiences as we all grow … [Read more...]