Hey all, I´´m writing from an internet cafe in Txlcala, about two and a half hours from DF (Districto Federal) or Mexico City to the gringos. This is my first day back in the real world, if you want to call living ontop of a mountain with blue clouds, a view of two of Mexico´s largest mountains, one of which is an active volcano, and eating amazing food and walking tons and talking to people, then I´ve reentered the real world.
We left Oventic two Fridays ago to begin our vacation week. It was a parting filled with songs and scattered notes of appreciation in slightly broken Spanish and picture taking with pasa montañas (the Zapatistas for reasons of safety and intimidation wear bandanas or ski hats to hide their identity). That place was really phenomenal. No were else can you find a place were high school aged students care about each other so much and show so much affection and understand what it means to struggle. The promotores have given thier lives to the lucha. To a lucha that acknowledges the importance of having control of your life and your community and remaining close to everything you appreciate. I ate butterflies, made puppets, cooked a meal for 250 people, spoke to government officials del buen gobierno (how many people have spoken face to face with thier representatives?) The thing about this fight, about the caracol, about EZLN is that it´s all coming from the people. They recognized that something needed to change and did something about it. The unity they have and the dignity they see amongst each other I think is key to thier fight. I miss it there a lot. But I plan to go back, with lots of people. Maya, KellyAnne, Katie, Julia, everyone should see the murals, the mountains and especially the people. Not just see them, talk to them. Being there made me realize how fortunate I am because I have never really lived the struggle, I have a choice to make in what struggle I join. I think in some ways that´s extremely priveleged, but I won´t deny at the same time it makes me really excited, I have great deal to share with a lot of people and they may be vague ideas at times, but its something to show for it all. Plus Lauren and I are going to write and illustrate a children´s book!
There is a lot more to write, but I have to go eat some ant eggs. I´ll write some more mas tarde. Hope everyone´s smiling!
lunes, 29 de octubre de 2007
domingo, 14 de octubre de 2007
Dos, Tres y Cuarto!
CHELLO! Hope everything is treating everyone really well! I realized this week how much I miss the fall and changing leaves and lots of people. But Mexico has been treating me really well. I'm learning a lot about social movements and popular education and Zapatismo and how to take a cold shower and totally enjoy it. I've been in Oventic for four weeks now, this upcoming week will be our last. It has gone by so fast- I've been in Mexico for more than a month now! Oventic is a region about an hour from San Cristobal. We've been staying more specifically at a Caracol, which is an autonomous community completely run by Zapatistas. The one we're staying at is covered in murals dedicated to the beautiful faces of the students of the secondary school, the luchadoras, the women of the cause, the men of the cause, the message that is the Zapatistas: todo para todos y nada para nosotors, which roughly translates to everything for everyone and nothing for us. They are anti-capitalist, autonomous, as in they reject the Mexican government, which has been deemed el mal gobeirno, which is how I've started to refer to it as well. This program is a lot about looking at history and the current condition from the bottom up, as in how people have been exploited and where we all fit into the picture; the picture of change and of exploitation.
Anyways since being in Oventic I've climbed a huge hill/ slash mountain which has a pueblo at the top and the only way for people to come and go is to climb the path which is about a 30 minute walk, but that was without bags of things. I've visited a river and had class there- most of my classes are outside and only with four-six people. We're usually in circles without shoes on. Sometimes we look at picture books other times we're playing board games. We've visited a woman's cooperative, where indigenous women sell all the amazing clothes and jewelry they make and get the money directly- there is no middle man. The women were incredible. They saw the manner in which they were being exploited and did something about it. So they no longer have to sell on the street and sell at unfair prices. There is also a clinic in the caracol and two men talked to us about everything they've been working on, including prevention measures in the various pueblos because treatable conditions, such as diarrhea continue to be serious conditions.
But on some happier notes, we've all worked with students from the high school and made a radio show (all in Spanish- which is the students' second language, an indigenous language called tsotsil being their first). It was great and I worked with three students, Ana, Rosa and Mauro. Mauro is from a community about seven hours from the Caracol; its a long trip to from the school. These kids are motivated, beautiful, inspirational. They live all together in large dorm style rooms and they are so affectionate towards each other; the environment here is like none other I've ever experienced. The kids take care of washing their own clothes, cooking food (for the 200 students), cleaning their living areas, functioning as a collective; I sometimes have a really hard time imagining this kind of place existing in the United States.
I'm trying as hard as I can to appreciate being here each day and taking in the food, the murals, and most importantly the people. We leave on Friday morning for a week of vacation, but sometimes I feel like I still have so much to learn from the Zapatistas.
On Thursday we're going to throw a huge party! Una fiesta! WITH A PINATA! AND FOOD FOR 250-300 PEOPLE! AND GUESS WHOSE COOKING? ME! haha just kidding. All twelve of us are cooking all day Thursday. Peeling, cutting, dicing...its going to be great! And we're putting on a puppet show. Its going to be really busy! We did all the cooking, I wish you call could see the mass amount of food we have!
Then after the fiesta, on Friday we're coming back to San Cristobal for one night and then driving the 12 hours to Mexico City to start vacation week! We'll spend like 2 nights there and then off to Michoacan, where five of us will spend an amazing week looking for turtles and lying in the sun!
Miss you all
Anyways since being in Oventic I've climbed a huge hill/ slash mountain which has a pueblo at the top and the only way for people to come and go is to climb the path which is about a 30 minute walk, but that was without bags of things. I've visited a river and had class there- most of my classes are outside and only with four-six people. We're usually in circles without shoes on. Sometimes we look at picture books other times we're playing board games. We've visited a woman's cooperative, where indigenous women sell all the amazing clothes and jewelry they make and get the money directly- there is no middle man. The women were incredible. They saw the manner in which they were being exploited and did something about it. So they no longer have to sell on the street and sell at unfair prices. There is also a clinic in the caracol and two men talked to us about everything they've been working on, including prevention measures in the various pueblos because treatable conditions, such as diarrhea continue to be serious conditions.
But on some happier notes, we've all worked with students from the high school and made a radio show (all in Spanish- which is the students' second language, an indigenous language called tsotsil being their first). It was great and I worked with three students, Ana, Rosa and Mauro. Mauro is from a community about seven hours from the Caracol; its a long trip to from the school. These kids are motivated, beautiful, inspirational. They live all together in large dorm style rooms and they are so affectionate towards each other; the environment here is like none other I've ever experienced. The kids take care of washing their own clothes, cooking food (for the 200 students), cleaning their living areas, functioning as a collective; I sometimes have a really hard time imagining this kind of place existing in the United States.
I'm trying as hard as I can to appreciate being here each day and taking in the food, the murals, and most importantly the people. We leave on Friday morning for a week of vacation, but sometimes I feel like I still have so much to learn from the Zapatistas.
On Thursday we're going to throw a huge party! Una fiesta! WITH A PINATA! AND FOOD FOR 250-300 PEOPLE! AND GUESS WHOSE COOKING? ME! haha just kidding. All twelve of us are cooking all day Thursday. Peeling, cutting, dicing...its going to be great! And we're putting on a puppet show. Its going to be really busy! We did all the cooking, I wish you call could see the mass amount of food we have!
Then after the fiesta, on Friday we're coming back to San Cristobal for one night and then driving the 12 hours to Mexico City to start vacation week! We'll spend like 2 nights there and then off to Michoacan, where five of us will spend an amazing week looking for turtles and lying in the sun!
Miss you all
First week in Mexico
The first week in Mexico was spent at Uni Tierra (University of the Land) where indigenous youth live, work and learn. They learn hands on skills like making doors and windows, sewing, cooking, building, and once they graduate they return to their pueblos or stay at the school for however long to become teachers. Its great and everyone there was so friendly. Saturday of that week was Mexico's independence day and they had a fiesta with a marimba band (drums and guitar and a marimba). Lots of dancing and bbq chicken for dinner! I'll try to find some more pictures and my trusty disposable pictures are waiting to be developed!
The campus there was amazing. You could see so far and so many rolling hills. Most of the time we ate beans and rice with really sweet coffee and tea. Cold showers and toilets that you flush with buckets of water. Everyone there works really hard and are really self motivated.
The campus there was amazing. You could see so far and so many rolling hills. Most of the time we ate beans and rice with really sweet coffee and tea. Cold showers and toilets that you flush with buckets of water. Everyone there works really hard and are really self motivated.
Arrived in Mexico!
Hey all! Although this is going to be really out of order, I'm going to give a brief storyline of what I've been up to the past month.
I got into Tuxtla-Guitierrez on Sunday, September 9 without too much to report aside from the fact that I'm in Mexico. The airport there was incredible. Glass walls that made the looming storm seem all that much more amazing. I met three others from the trip- Daniel from DC who goes to Evergreen; Cely whose Mexican-American and has beautiful hair and is from Indiana but goes to school in Chicago; and Grace from California who goes to CaliPoly.
Our teacher/who has now become more like our dad, Tom, met us at the airport and drove us down to San Cristobal de las Casas, where we spent our first night. It was quite a drive- about an hour with cars passing in every direction- I'm glad I wasn't the one driving!
San Cristobal is a little city and is where the EZLN (Ejercitio Zapatista Liberacion Nacional, basically the army of the Zapatistas) took over on January 1, 1994. The city is basically surrounded by mountains which are inhabited by indigenou people. Its a great city but there are a lot of tourists, big churches, bright colors and tons of people selling things everywhere. I've walked around the city a good bit, but its only been on the weekend seeing as how we're all in class and so much more during the week we only have a chance to come here on the weekend. We've had some good food, some okay food, and some not so good food. haha. A bunch of us tend to head out to bars and dancing on the weekend, but we've had our fair share of community dinners at the house and late nights getting to know everyone.
There are twelve of us altogether, one of whom is from MD and went to Springbrook! That's Lauren, she totally rocks! There are two from Philly (the burbs), one from CT, one from Texas-Ameilia! And another from Washington state and two more from Cali. A good group, sometimes its a little hard to be around the same people for class, sleeping, eating, and going out, but its all about learning to work as a group, eh?!
There are twelve of us altogether, one of whom is from MD and went to Springbrook! That's Lauren, she totally rocks! There are two from Philly (the burbs), one from CT, one from Texas-Ameilia! And another from Washington state and two more from Cali. A good group, sometimes its a little hard to be around the same people for class, sleeping, eating, and going out, but its all about learning to work as a group, eh?!
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