Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Aiy - Que loco!
So...life is crazy now and so much has happened since I returned from the field trip. I will have to get back to that when I have lazy, relaxing time. (That means it might never come, lol - lo siento) For semana santa I went to Tapachula to stay with some friends. Karina, Martin and Carolina and their mama. Also met lots of other really sweet people. We went to the beach one day, and to some beautiful cascadas (waterfalls) the next day. On Saturday I met with a bunch of people, celebrated a birthday and ate about 30 mangoes (not a joke). Tapachula is a land of heavenly fruits....mangoes, papaya, coconuts, cacao, caco, guyabana....everything deliciously goddess like and amazing tasteful. In Canada I am going to be extremely sad to not have fresh mangoes and may choose to never eat an imported mango again. Anyways I just wanted to write a little update to let you I am alive and kicking but Karina is visiting now, I have 6 entries to write about feminism and the subaltern voice in three texts for Spanish plus a 7-10 page essay for that class and I have a new agriculture class starting Thursday as well as I have a distance ed. course on sexuality and marriage in latin america and need to get an essay in asap and my lovely Jenna is coming to visit Thursday tambien! Muchas cosas pero esta muy emotionada! Y no preocupado, estoy feliz porque mi vida es muy bien. Entonces espero que todo esta bien en todo lugares y escribire mas en algun dias. Mucho amor (Ingles: Many things but I am very excited! And I don't worry, I am happy because my life is very good. So, I hope all is well in all places and I will write more in some days. Much love.) Are you all learning any Spanish yet?? I hope so. haha
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Starter salad - pt. one Yucatan trip
I just rolled out of bed a few minutes ago and can’t wait to start writing down my adventures. On March 14th my classmates, profs, and family started on a trip around southern Mexico. It was an amazing trip and I know that the only reason I got to go the places I did and see the things we saw is because of Marv my Art History professor and for that I am really grateful. Yes, the trip was hectic, but it was amazing and I hope to share some of my experiences with you here, although I could never do it justice. If you want to follow along on a map (my darling Aunties, related and non probably) here is the itinerary.
March 14th – leave San Cristobal 6am visit Palenque – sleep at Palenque
March 15th – head into the Lacadon jungle and visit Bonampak and Yaxchilan – sleep at Palenque
March 16th – visit Becan – sleep at Xpujil
March 17th – visit Calakmul – sleep at Xpujil
March 18th – visit a town called Felipe Carrillo Puerto – sleep at Tulum
March 19th – visit Tulum and Ek Balam – sleep at Valladolid
March 20th – visit Chichen Itza – sleep in Cancun with my family
March 21st – beach day at Isla Mujeres – sleep on bus and at Piste
March 22nd – visit Chichen Itza, Balancanche caves, Mayapan, Oxkutzcab – sleep at Ticul
March 23rd – visit Kab and Uxmal – sleep at Ticul
March 24th – drive to Campeche – sleep at Campeche
March 25th – visit Campeche museum, and Edzna – sleep at Palenque
March 26th – visit Misul Ha and Aguas Azul waterfalls – sleep at home
It probably took me more time to type that all out, with all the crazy spellings etc. than it will take me to write most of the rest of my entry. I have two classes today – it is going to be a busy day for me. On the trip we had class lectures at every site and Rita’s class 3 times in the evening, however it was enough work to just attend, take notes and do the readings so I did not finish all my assignments on the trip. Which means I have a lot to do this week but I am not complaining.
I haven’t written anything for what seems like forever. Maybe I will briefly say that my family came to visit on the 9th and I was very happy to see them and show them my city and my favourite places. We even made time to go to the Cacao house for some Chocolate drinks…mmmm. My parents are also very amazing…they helped get some things we needed for our place and also heavily assisted with the cleaning. Furthermore they bought Karyn and I a housewarming gift – a large blow up pool to put on our beautiful terrace! We are going to blow it up and fill it today – yay!
So, our trip. We were meant to be at project headquarters (Marv and Rita’s) by 6am. Most of us were there pretty much on time; however we had to send Val and James to go find Ewan and Rhett who were both still asleep when they knocked on the door. I decided to ride with my family for the first part of the journey. We had a great time listening to Nish’s Ipod through the car speakers. Dad really enjoyed the loud tunes ;) and the diving in and out around corners to try and keep up with the vans. Once we reached Palenque Marv gave us a tour of the museum and then we headed out to the site for more exploring and learning. If you want the details about each site you are welcome to check out my professor’s blog. lasom2.blogspot.com
That night we went into the town of Palenque and my family, Tina, Julie, Karyn, Heather and I ate at a restaurant on the corner of the zocalo. We walked around the plaza for awhile and headed back to get a good night sleep. That night and the next I roomed with Karyn and Julie. As Heather stated – way to mix it up! (For those of you that don’t know, Karyn is my roommate in San Cristobal)
The next day is my birthday and it was one of the most spectacular days on our trip. We had to drive way south into the Lacandon jungle. Sitting on the bus, listening to music I watched the hot, orange sun rise out of the sky. It made we wonder why I ever missed a sunrise. It is so powerful and beautiful. At one point in our trip we had to get out of the vans and load into Lacandon vans. They have the monopoly over the area and so anyone who wants to enter needs to pay to have them chauffeur you to Bonampak. Bonampak was small and I really liked it. On one of the temples was an amazing lintel and there was a beautiful tree. I think Karyn has a picture.
I thought a lot about my life that day. Birthdays are always a time to reflect, and even more so given where I was. How have I become who I am? How did I get to this place? How am I so lucky to be this person and in this place? Certainly I don’t deserve it, and so I am just grateful and content. I am so happy right now. I don’t ever remember a time when I love living in the presence as much as I love thinking about the future. Usually you are in a place where you are either really happy now and don’t want the future to come because the present is so amazing, or the present isn’t very much fun and you can’t wait for the future. But right now I am extremely happy here and also excited for the future. It is an ethereal feeling.
My birthday was full an eventful, starting at sunrise and ending after the date had changed to the 16th. After we went to Bonampak we got back in Lacandon trucks to our vans and then took our vans to where we took planchas (long skinny motor boats with thatched roofs) down the river for about 45 minutes until we reached Yaxchilan. It is an ancient pueblo situation on a bend in the river. It consists of many levels of buildings. I will try to attach some pictures because descriptions aren’t as amazing as it pictures. After our visit there we got back in the boats and headed on our way home. The river was beautiful, but as we watched the water I notices really strong whirl pools…not exactly safe for swimming – then we saw a crocodile…I’m sure you all want to swim now right? Also on our trip home we saw some young people get out of a boat on the shore and chase and shoot an iguana: dinner anyone?? I rode home with my parents that day. We listened to loud music and Dad even let me drive half the trip. While I was driving we came to a military check point. They were very cute. They asked me where I was coming from and in my fluster I thought they ask where I was going….I told them Palenque. They laughed and obviously discussed amongst themselves that it wasn’t possible because Palenque was the other way. Haha. Then they asked where we were from. I understood that properly and told them. Soy canadiense. They smiled and let us go. Afterwards I really thought a lot about how they treated us. If someone came to a Canadian or American police check or border, and they didn’t speak English (or French, in Canada) if they couldn’t answer questions they would be questioned more, probably interrogated. Pero en Mexico? We were smiled at and sent on our way. It kind of trashes some of the stereotypes about Mexico eh?
I almost got in an argument the other day with one of my classmates. It was on our second to last trip day and we came to a military check point in the vans. Our drivers were made to get out and had to answer questions about where we were coming from and going etc. They also looked in the back of our van and through Heather’s bag because she grabbed it when the doors opened so it wouldn’t fall out. Obviously all the found were her wet swimming clothes. It was about this time that a comment was made about the f-ing military. To which I retorted that they were just doing their job. He responded with something I will not repeat and I decided not to argue. It wasn’t worth it, but at the same time I was still angry. All they did was question us, they never harassed us, and although I know that sometimes military personal use their position to justify persecution and abuse and I do not like the ‘idea’ or framework of what the military stands for; that doesn’t mean that all people in the military are evil and cruel. Many people do not have a choice to be there, others choose the military over a life of extreme poverty. I cannot condemn someone for that. It always angers me when people who are meant to be open minded and humanitarian show extreme misunderstanding and hatred to those they feel are not humanitarians. It doesn’t make much sense to me.
Anyways, let me continue with my trip. :) For my birthday dinner we went to Don Mucho’s near the Palenque site. I had an amazing meal and it was awesome to share by birthday with so many of my friends and my family. After dinner we watched a live band for a bit, then we watched the fire spinners, and slowly people went home to bed. Julie and I stayed to dance outside in the dirt for a bit but we didn’t go home too late. We found Erin and the three of us walked the 2.5kms back to the hotel with the stars glittering above us.
The next morning we drove to Becan which I have to admit is one of my favourite sites. I loved the architecture. To spare you the details of the room and bench arrangements in residences I will just try to attach pictures. After I finish typing I will go to an interbet café with good connection and attach photos. We had a class that night in Xpujil – it was hot and we were tired but the class went okay. Our rooms in Xpujil were very cute and I roomed there with Maria Luisa for two nights. It was fun. I didn’t go out in Xpujil except to eat and buy groceries. There wasn’t much there anyways. We headed back into the jungle to a site called Calakmul the next day. It was a long walk into the site from the parking lot and we needed to come out to eat lunch. It was a good day though. I got to climb both of the tallest pyramids as well as others AND got to see some amazing residential courtyard complexes.
Anyways, the past week back has been hectic and although I wanted to post my whole trip at once it is not going to happen. You’d probably prefer tapas to a heavy many course meal though so here is your starter salad. Enjoy – I am going to Tapachula again tomorrow and am going to specials in Guatemala. It should be a good time. I will tell you all about it when I get back. Love the crazy Mexican.
Ps. Pictures to come soon on a better internet connection :)
March 14th – leave San Cristobal 6am visit Palenque – sleep at Palenque
March 15th – head into the Lacadon jungle and visit Bonampak and Yaxchilan – sleep at Palenque
March 16th – visit Becan – sleep at Xpujil
March 17th – visit Calakmul – sleep at Xpujil
March 18th – visit a town called Felipe Carrillo Puerto – sleep at Tulum
March 19th – visit Tulum and Ek Balam – sleep at Valladolid
March 20th – visit Chichen Itza – sleep in Cancun with my family
March 21st – beach day at Isla Mujeres – sleep on bus and at Piste
March 22nd – visit Chichen Itza, Balancanche caves, Mayapan, Oxkutzcab – sleep at Ticul
March 23rd – visit Kab and Uxmal – sleep at Ticul
March 24th – drive to Campeche – sleep at Campeche
March 25th – visit Campeche museum, and Edzna – sleep at Palenque
March 26th – visit Misul Ha and Aguas Azul waterfalls – sleep at home
It probably took me more time to type that all out, with all the crazy spellings etc. than it will take me to write most of the rest of my entry. I have two classes today – it is going to be a busy day for me. On the trip we had class lectures at every site and Rita’s class 3 times in the evening, however it was enough work to just attend, take notes and do the readings so I did not finish all my assignments on the trip. Which means I have a lot to do this week but I am not complaining.
I haven’t written anything for what seems like forever. Maybe I will briefly say that my family came to visit on the 9th and I was very happy to see them and show them my city and my favourite places. We even made time to go to the Cacao house for some Chocolate drinks…mmmm. My parents are also very amazing…they helped get some things we needed for our place and also heavily assisted with the cleaning. Furthermore they bought Karyn and I a housewarming gift – a large blow up pool to put on our beautiful terrace! We are going to blow it up and fill it today – yay!
So, our trip. We were meant to be at project headquarters (Marv and Rita’s) by 6am. Most of us were there pretty much on time; however we had to send Val and James to go find Ewan and Rhett who were both still asleep when they knocked on the door. I decided to ride with my family for the first part of the journey. We had a great time listening to Nish’s Ipod through the car speakers. Dad really enjoyed the loud tunes ;) and the diving in and out around corners to try and keep up with the vans. Once we reached Palenque Marv gave us a tour of the museum and then we headed out to the site for more exploring and learning. If you want the details about each site you are welcome to check out my professor’s blog. lasom2.blogspot.com
That night we went into the town of Palenque and my family, Tina, Julie, Karyn, Heather and I ate at a restaurant on the corner of the zocalo. We walked around the plaza for awhile and headed back to get a good night sleep. That night and the next I roomed with Karyn and Julie. As Heather stated – way to mix it up! (For those of you that don’t know, Karyn is my roommate in San Cristobal)
The next day is my birthday and it was one of the most spectacular days on our trip. We had to drive way south into the Lacandon jungle. Sitting on the bus, listening to music I watched the hot, orange sun rise out of the sky. It made we wonder why I ever missed a sunrise. It is so powerful and beautiful. At one point in our trip we had to get out of the vans and load into Lacandon vans. They have the monopoly over the area and so anyone who wants to enter needs to pay to have them chauffeur you to Bonampak. Bonampak was small and I really liked it. On one of the temples was an amazing lintel and there was a beautiful tree. I think Karyn has a picture.
I thought a lot about my life that day. Birthdays are always a time to reflect, and even more so given where I was. How have I become who I am? How did I get to this place? How am I so lucky to be this person and in this place? Certainly I don’t deserve it, and so I am just grateful and content. I am so happy right now. I don’t ever remember a time when I love living in the presence as much as I love thinking about the future. Usually you are in a place where you are either really happy now and don’t want the future to come because the present is so amazing, or the present isn’t very much fun and you can’t wait for the future. But right now I am extremely happy here and also excited for the future. It is an ethereal feeling.
My birthday was full an eventful, starting at sunrise and ending after the date had changed to the 16th. After we went to Bonampak we got back in Lacandon trucks to our vans and then took our vans to where we took planchas (long skinny motor boats with thatched roofs) down the river for about 45 minutes until we reached Yaxchilan. It is an ancient pueblo situation on a bend in the river. It consists of many levels of buildings. I will try to attach some pictures because descriptions aren’t as amazing as it pictures. After our visit there we got back in the boats and headed on our way home. The river was beautiful, but as we watched the water I notices really strong whirl pools…not exactly safe for swimming – then we saw a crocodile…I’m sure you all want to swim now right? Also on our trip home we saw some young people get out of a boat on the shore and chase and shoot an iguana: dinner anyone?? I rode home with my parents that day. We listened to loud music and Dad even let me drive half the trip. While I was driving we came to a military check point. They were very cute. They asked me where I was coming from and in my fluster I thought they ask where I was going….I told them Palenque. They laughed and obviously discussed amongst themselves that it wasn’t possible because Palenque was the other way. Haha. Then they asked where we were from. I understood that properly and told them. Soy canadiense. They smiled and let us go. Afterwards I really thought a lot about how they treated us. If someone came to a Canadian or American police check or border, and they didn’t speak English (or French, in Canada) if they couldn’t answer questions they would be questioned more, probably interrogated. Pero en Mexico? We were smiled at and sent on our way. It kind of trashes some of the stereotypes about Mexico eh?
I almost got in an argument the other day with one of my classmates. It was on our second to last trip day and we came to a military check point in the vans. Our drivers were made to get out and had to answer questions about where we were coming from and going etc. They also looked in the back of our van and through Heather’s bag because she grabbed it when the doors opened so it wouldn’t fall out. Obviously all the found were her wet swimming clothes. It was about this time that a comment was made about the f-ing military. To which I retorted that they were just doing their job. He responded with something I will not repeat and I decided not to argue. It wasn’t worth it, but at the same time I was still angry. All they did was question us, they never harassed us, and although I know that sometimes military personal use their position to justify persecution and abuse and I do not like the ‘idea’ or framework of what the military stands for; that doesn’t mean that all people in the military are evil and cruel. Many people do not have a choice to be there, others choose the military over a life of extreme poverty. I cannot condemn someone for that. It always angers me when people who are meant to be open minded and humanitarian show extreme misunderstanding and hatred to those they feel are not humanitarians. It doesn’t make much sense to me.
Anyways, let me continue with my trip. :) For my birthday dinner we went to Don Mucho’s near the Palenque site. I had an amazing meal and it was awesome to share by birthday with so many of my friends and my family. After dinner we watched a live band for a bit, then we watched the fire spinners, and slowly people went home to bed. Julie and I stayed to dance outside in the dirt for a bit but we didn’t go home too late. We found Erin and the three of us walked the 2.5kms back to the hotel with the stars glittering above us.
The next morning we drove to Becan which I have to admit is one of my favourite sites. I loved the architecture. To spare you the details of the room and bench arrangements in residences I will just try to attach pictures. After I finish typing I will go to an interbet café with good connection and attach photos. We had a class that night in Xpujil – it was hot and we were tired but the class went okay. Our rooms in Xpujil were very cute and I roomed there with Maria Luisa for two nights. It was fun. I didn’t go out in Xpujil except to eat and buy groceries. There wasn’t much there anyways. We headed back into the jungle to a site called Calakmul the next day. It was a long walk into the site from the parking lot and we needed to come out to eat lunch. It was a good day though. I got to climb both of the tallest pyramids as well as others AND got to see some amazing residential courtyard complexes.
Anyways, the past week back has been hectic and although I wanted to post my whole trip at once it is not going to happen. You’d probably prefer tapas to a heavy many course meal though so here is your starter salad. Enjoy – I am going to Tapachula again tomorrow and am going to specials in Guatemala. It should be a good time. I will tell you all about it when I get back. Love the crazy Mexican.
Ps. Pictures to come soon on a better internet connection :)
Monday, March 5, 2007
A little catching up...
March 1st
It has been a hectic few weeks. To tell you the truth I do not feel like writing now but I am feeling guilty for not keeping all my loved ones up to date so here I am. I do not know where to start though. This last weekend was a huge transition for all of us. Over the weekend our research paper for Poliscience was due and so much of our time was spent writing, or eating while writing or complaining about writing. I had planned to go to the beach during our ‘break’ between classes, but the short time frame in which to do my research and compile it basically left me with the option of staying home and writing a good paper, which I hope I did. We have decided to go to the beach this weekend instead. Yay! Also, to add to the madness Karyn and I had to move on Thursday. There were water problems in our other apartment, which were also causing water problems (worse than ours) for the people below us so ‘Senor’ offered us departamento uno on the first floor. We both have king-sized beds and we have a terrace. At first we were sad to move because we liked our old place but our new place has grown on us. There is hot water all the time, our kitchen is much prettier, we have lots of space and our own showers…plus the terrace…it is so fantastic. This week we spent a lot of time tanning. It has been really enjoyable. Occasionally we take readings out with us, to keep up with the appearance of doing work. :)
March 2nd
Yesterday I officially decided I need to change my eating habits. Lots of bread, organic peanut butter, avocadoes, tortillas and Casa del Pan baking are making me a little thick around the middle. Today we are going to Puerto Arista and there is not much for infrastructure there….perhaps this will help with my reduced food and fat plan. :) Last night we went to salsa class with Aaron. He is apparently the best dancer in San C. and from what I have seen I would agree. Maybe I am repeating myself, I always feel as if I am doing that, but he is Dirty Dancing plus more. *sigh* We had fun and learned a few new spins and steps. Then Heather, Julie and I went to Latinos for a bit to meet her friends. At Latinos they dance salsa in linea which is different than I have danced, but I have learned to follow a lead pretty good so I had a good dance there. Then I came home and wrote my assignment for ARTH 372 that is due Sunday, because I want to relax at the beach all weekend. Alica and I really want to surf but I have this feeling Puerto Arista isn’t going to have a rental shop. It is a small beach town in Chiapas that isn’t touristy at all. We were planning on taking a bus for 13 hours to Puerto Escondido but it is such a long ways to go and then I saw some pictures of P.E.’s wave and I feel that 20 feet or more is a little out of our league. We are happy with waves a couple feet high. Anyways, depending on what happens today we may need to postpone surfing to another time. It will just be nice to swim and be in the ocean.
We’ve had an interesting change of events this past week, as I started by telling you when we moved. Heather and Andres have been living with Alica and Sara until they get their new place and Maria Luisa just arrived so she is staying there now also. Heather practically lives here though, and when they move to their place near the organic tortilleria and the other Casa del Pan I will miss her dearly. She still claims she will be here for yoga and breakfast. I guess we will see what happens. Also, Peggy was living on her own but decided to move in with Alica and Sara when the others move out. I can’t imagine it is fun living alone here, and anyways she is really excited because she can speak Spanish with them. We have all been speaking too much English because it is so convenient. Even when one of us demands that we speak in Spanish somehow we revert back to English…even the native Spanish speakers! So, to continue my story, Peggy is staying with me until her room at Alica’s is available. I love it – having people around all the time is so fun…especially people like Karyn, Alica, Heather, Andres, Peggy, and Maria Luisa. What a great crowd we make.
I have taken some pictures of our new place and we have taken some pictures of us on our balcony etc. I cannot post them now because I am siphoning off internet from Italian Coffee but I will in the next few days.
I’d like to share a story with you now that I have completed updating about the less interesting things. The other day Heather and I had decided to go work at Casa del Pan and have the vegetarian buffet which starts at 2pm everyday. She had gone on ahead because she wasn’t feeling well and needed to eat and I was ‘diddle-dorking around’ as per usual. When I was across the street from TierrAdentro my favourite children selling bracelets and belts came out. I stopped to talk to them, and immediately felt guilty again that they were selling handmade things for so cheap to tourists just to afford food and here I was going to gorge myself at a buffet. So, I asked them if they had eaten and of course they hadn’t. So I asked them if they would like something to eat and of course they would. So I asked them what they wanted and they said tortas. However, I do not eat tortas so I do not know the torta shop so I asked them if they liked pizza and they said yes, so off we went up Real de Guadalupe. On the way some women wanted to look at their things. Daniel and I waited while the three girls sold some hair wraps. We finally got bored and so we told the girls we would meet them there. When we got there Daniel and I sat down with Heather. (Daniel is 5.) Our lovely waiter brought him a juice but the girls hadn’t come and Daniel started to look worried. I asked him if he wanted to go and look for the girls. He did, and fortunately as we were going out they were coming in so we all just sat down. Then came the problem of ordering. The asked for meat and the waiter explained there was none. Meanwhile I was frantically looking at the menu for something else they might like. I asked them if they wanted tamales instead of pizza. They did. Then we waited. It was painful. Heather and I were having the buffet and both of us needed to work on our papers so we did…I couldn’t have a conversation with them anyways. The only language we have in common is our second one. It makes it a little difficult, especially when my Spanish is still limited. It was awkward to say the least. Then our waiter brought the children bread but they wouldn’t eat it. I am not sure if they don’t like bread or if they thought it would ruin their appetites for tamales. I started to worry that perhaps they wouldn’t like vegetarian tamales either and I would feel like a fool. Fortunately that wasn’t the case and they ate their tamales quite quickly. The older children were conscious that they were in a restaurant and even Daniel used his knife and fork. Anita (3) used her dirty hands and I didn’t care. I got a little concerned when she dropped rice on the floor and got down to grab it and eat it but I guess the floor of Casa del Pan is probably a lot cleaner that many things. Afterwards, I told them when they were finished they were free to go. So they left, much to my relief. Of course they had to continue selling their belts etc. It’s hard to describe how I felt about the whole thing. I don’t really feel positive or negative. I am glad they got to eat, but the whole cultural barrier made me feel guilty for even being in the ‘upper’ class that I can’t feel gratified that I fed them for one meal. To pat myself on the back would be disgustingly loathsome and to criticize myself for feeding them would be stupid as well. Each day I reinforce my belief that it is impossible for any of us to make perfect choices. Sometimes I struggle with that. I never want to do anything to hurt anyone and yet just by living I am preventing someone else from receiving what I am privileged enough to have. However, I don’t regret being who I am, because with who I am comes power to change things. Perhaps I can never be perfect but I can do my best to bring issues of injustice to light and do whatever I can to be of help. Maybe by being a conscious citizen I can help and encourage others to do as well. This is not to insinuate that because I am ‘rich’ I am the one who has the right to solve all the problems. The first step is realizing that all people are of equal value. When you do that, your respect for others will help you actually listen to what they say, and solve injustices the way those being dealt injustice feel it needs to be dealt with.
March 5th
On a happier note, there is another little boy who sells Chiclets that we see a lot of. His name is Emiliano and he often comes into TierrAdentro while we are eating and typing. The other day I saw him on the street and asked him how he was.
Me: Como estas Emiliano?
Emiliano: Muy malo pero si compras mi chiclets estare muy bien.
I laughed. He is such a character. Basically he told me he was doing badly but if I bought some Chiclets he would be really good. He is quite a cheeky little kid. I think he is about 6 or 7. He has a lovely bowl cut and I am going to try to post a picture of him for you. Another Emiliano story involves him trying to sell us Chiclets in TierrAdentro. We told him No, gracias. Karyn, Heather, Sophia and I were there. He responded by looking at Karyn and I who were sharing pancakes and saying in Spanish “You are going to become fat.” Then he gave us a cheeky grin and left. Karyn and I couldn’t believe it. Yes it is alarming but it was also hilarious. However, that is not the end of it. Later he came back and tried to sell us some more. We told him No, gracias. Then he looked and me and said I WAS fat! That was the day I decided I needed to cut back on tortillas and baked goods, although the plan hasn’t been 100% effective. Primarily because we went to the beach this weekend and the food options for vegetarians consisted of guacamole (if we were lucky) canned refried beans, tostadas, tortillas and animalitos. :)
I am acquiring a pretty super tan. I have been doing about 40 min. every other day on my terrace and so I felt I was ready for the beach. When everyone lathered up I refused. So, I managed a whole day at the beach, sunscreen free, and have a minimal burn that is quickly turning into a tan thanks to Peggy’s zinc. It is really hot in Puerto Arista. It is a beach in Chiapas so it is one of the beaches furthest south in Mexico. We had an enjoyable, although crazy time. Somehow the 6 of us managed to find an adventure in the tiny, sleepy town of Puerto Arista, haha. Trust the insane Canadian girls to find something entertaining to do always. Next time we head out that way we are going to go to Boca del Cielo…you have to take a boat taxi there and apparently there is no one there which means clothing free tanning. We thought about it at Puerto Arista but alas, everyone’s family there owns an ATV and so frequently there were men and boys going by on ATV’s. We figured that the bathing suits weren’t such a bad idea after a few went by. We also played in the waves a lot. Karyn and I even went swimming at night which was super fun even though it scared the others. Unfortunately there wasn’t surfing options, however I will make sure I get my chance to surf before I leave Mexico - probably on my way north.
Anyways I have an assignment due tomorrow and so I may get started on that. Pictures are coming your way soon. Sending love to all who are reading…
It has been a hectic few weeks. To tell you the truth I do not feel like writing now but I am feeling guilty for not keeping all my loved ones up to date so here I am. I do not know where to start though. This last weekend was a huge transition for all of us. Over the weekend our research paper for Poliscience was due and so much of our time was spent writing, or eating while writing or complaining about writing. I had planned to go to the beach during our ‘break’ between classes, but the short time frame in which to do my research and compile it basically left me with the option of staying home and writing a good paper, which I hope I did. We have decided to go to the beach this weekend instead. Yay! Also, to add to the madness Karyn and I had to move on Thursday. There were water problems in our other apartment, which were also causing water problems (worse than ours) for the people below us so ‘Senor’ offered us departamento uno on the first floor. We both have king-sized beds and we have a terrace. At first we were sad to move because we liked our old place but our new place has grown on us. There is hot water all the time, our kitchen is much prettier, we have lots of space and our own showers…plus the terrace…it is so fantastic. This week we spent a lot of time tanning. It has been really enjoyable. Occasionally we take readings out with us, to keep up with the appearance of doing work. :)
March 2nd
Yesterday I officially decided I need to change my eating habits. Lots of bread, organic peanut butter, avocadoes, tortillas and Casa del Pan baking are making me a little thick around the middle. Today we are going to Puerto Arista and there is not much for infrastructure there….perhaps this will help with my reduced food and fat plan. :) Last night we went to salsa class with Aaron. He is apparently the best dancer in San C. and from what I have seen I would agree. Maybe I am repeating myself, I always feel as if I am doing that, but he is Dirty Dancing plus more. *sigh* We had fun and learned a few new spins and steps. Then Heather, Julie and I went to Latinos for a bit to meet her friends. At Latinos they dance salsa in linea which is different than I have danced, but I have learned to follow a lead pretty good so I had a good dance there. Then I came home and wrote my assignment for ARTH 372 that is due Sunday, because I want to relax at the beach all weekend. Alica and I really want to surf but I have this feeling Puerto Arista isn’t going to have a rental shop. It is a small beach town in Chiapas that isn’t touristy at all. We were planning on taking a bus for 13 hours to Puerto Escondido but it is such a long ways to go and then I saw some pictures of P.E.’s wave and I feel that 20 feet or more is a little out of our league. We are happy with waves a couple feet high. Anyways, depending on what happens today we may need to postpone surfing to another time. It will just be nice to swim and be in the ocean.
We’ve had an interesting change of events this past week, as I started by telling you when we moved. Heather and Andres have been living with Alica and Sara until they get their new place and Maria Luisa just arrived so she is staying there now also. Heather practically lives here though, and when they move to their place near the organic tortilleria and the other Casa del Pan I will miss her dearly. She still claims she will be here for yoga and breakfast. I guess we will see what happens. Also, Peggy was living on her own but decided to move in with Alica and Sara when the others move out. I can’t imagine it is fun living alone here, and anyways she is really excited because she can speak Spanish with them. We have all been speaking too much English because it is so convenient. Even when one of us demands that we speak in Spanish somehow we revert back to English…even the native Spanish speakers! So, to continue my story, Peggy is staying with me until her room at Alica’s is available. I love it – having people around all the time is so fun…especially people like Karyn, Alica, Heather, Andres, Peggy, and Maria Luisa. What a great crowd we make.
I have taken some pictures of our new place and we have taken some pictures of us on our balcony etc. I cannot post them now because I am siphoning off internet from Italian Coffee but I will in the next few days.
I’d like to share a story with you now that I have completed updating about the less interesting things. The other day Heather and I had decided to go work at Casa del Pan and have the vegetarian buffet which starts at 2pm everyday. She had gone on ahead because she wasn’t feeling well and needed to eat and I was ‘diddle-dorking around’ as per usual. When I was across the street from TierrAdentro my favourite children selling bracelets and belts came out. I stopped to talk to them, and immediately felt guilty again that they were selling handmade things for so cheap to tourists just to afford food and here I was going to gorge myself at a buffet. So, I asked them if they had eaten and of course they hadn’t. So I asked them if they would like something to eat and of course they would. So I asked them what they wanted and they said tortas. However, I do not eat tortas so I do not know the torta shop so I asked them if they liked pizza and they said yes, so off we went up Real de Guadalupe. On the way some women wanted to look at their things. Daniel and I waited while the three girls sold some hair wraps. We finally got bored and so we told the girls we would meet them there. When we got there Daniel and I sat down with Heather. (Daniel is 5.) Our lovely waiter brought him a juice but the girls hadn’t come and Daniel started to look worried. I asked him if he wanted to go and look for the girls. He did, and fortunately as we were going out they were coming in so we all just sat down. Then came the problem of ordering. The asked for meat and the waiter explained there was none. Meanwhile I was frantically looking at the menu for something else they might like. I asked them if they wanted tamales instead of pizza. They did. Then we waited. It was painful. Heather and I were having the buffet and both of us needed to work on our papers so we did…I couldn’t have a conversation with them anyways. The only language we have in common is our second one. It makes it a little difficult, especially when my Spanish is still limited. It was awkward to say the least. Then our waiter brought the children bread but they wouldn’t eat it. I am not sure if they don’t like bread or if they thought it would ruin their appetites for tamales. I started to worry that perhaps they wouldn’t like vegetarian tamales either and I would feel like a fool. Fortunately that wasn’t the case and they ate their tamales quite quickly. The older children were conscious that they were in a restaurant and even Daniel used his knife and fork. Anita (3) used her dirty hands and I didn’t care. I got a little concerned when she dropped rice on the floor and got down to grab it and eat it but I guess the floor of Casa del Pan is probably a lot cleaner that many things. Afterwards, I told them when they were finished they were free to go. So they left, much to my relief. Of course they had to continue selling their belts etc. It’s hard to describe how I felt about the whole thing. I don’t really feel positive or negative. I am glad they got to eat, but the whole cultural barrier made me feel guilty for even being in the ‘upper’ class that I can’t feel gratified that I fed them for one meal. To pat myself on the back would be disgustingly loathsome and to criticize myself for feeding them would be stupid as well. Each day I reinforce my belief that it is impossible for any of us to make perfect choices. Sometimes I struggle with that. I never want to do anything to hurt anyone and yet just by living I am preventing someone else from receiving what I am privileged enough to have. However, I don’t regret being who I am, because with who I am comes power to change things. Perhaps I can never be perfect but I can do my best to bring issues of injustice to light and do whatever I can to be of help. Maybe by being a conscious citizen I can help and encourage others to do as well. This is not to insinuate that because I am ‘rich’ I am the one who has the right to solve all the problems. The first step is realizing that all people are of equal value. When you do that, your respect for others will help you actually listen to what they say, and solve injustices the way those being dealt injustice feel it needs to be dealt with.
March 5th
On a happier note, there is another little boy who sells Chiclets that we see a lot of. His name is Emiliano and he often comes into TierrAdentro while we are eating and typing. The other day I saw him on the street and asked him how he was.
Me: Como estas Emiliano?
Emiliano: Muy malo pero si compras mi chiclets estare muy bien.
I laughed. He is such a character. Basically he told me he was doing badly but if I bought some Chiclets he would be really good. He is quite a cheeky little kid. I think he is about 6 or 7. He has a lovely bowl cut and I am going to try to post a picture of him for you. Another Emiliano story involves him trying to sell us Chiclets in TierrAdentro. We told him No, gracias. Karyn, Heather, Sophia and I were there. He responded by looking at Karyn and I who were sharing pancakes and saying in Spanish “You are going to become fat.” Then he gave us a cheeky grin and left. Karyn and I couldn’t believe it. Yes it is alarming but it was also hilarious. However, that is not the end of it. Later he came back and tried to sell us some more. We told him No, gracias. Then he looked and me and said I WAS fat! That was the day I decided I needed to cut back on tortillas and baked goods, although the plan hasn’t been 100% effective. Primarily because we went to the beach this weekend and the food options for vegetarians consisted of guacamole (if we were lucky) canned refried beans, tostadas, tortillas and animalitos. :)
I am acquiring a pretty super tan. I have been doing about 40 min. every other day on my terrace and so I felt I was ready for the beach. When everyone lathered up I refused. So, I managed a whole day at the beach, sunscreen free, and have a minimal burn that is quickly turning into a tan thanks to Peggy’s zinc. It is really hot in Puerto Arista. It is a beach in Chiapas so it is one of the beaches furthest south in Mexico. We had an enjoyable, although crazy time. Somehow the 6 of us managed to find an adventure in the tiny, sleepy town of Puerto Arista, haha. Trust the insane Canadian girls to find something entertaining to do always. Next time we head out that way we are going to go to Boca del Cielo…you have to take a boat taxi there and apparently there is no one there which means clothing free tanning. We thought about it at Puerto Arista but alas, everyone’s family there owns an ATV and so frequently there were men and boys going by on ATV’s. We figured that the bathing suits weren’t such a bad idea after a few went by. We also played in the waves a lot. Karyn and I even went swimming at night which was super fun even though it scared the others. Unfortunately there wasn’t surfing options, however I will make sure I get my chance to surf before I leave Mexico - probably on my way north.
Anyways I have an assignment due tomorrow and so I may get started on that. Pictures are coming your way soon. Sending love to all who are reading…
Monday, February 19, 2007
Flag street....
We live on Real de Guadalupe...this is it. We used to call it flag street, however sometime miraculously last week they took the flags down, much to our disappointment. Luckily Andres took this picture before that happened so we have a memory of it. I have taken very few pictures since I arrive in San Cirstobal because my camera batteries died the night we got here and I had not charged them. Hopefully I will start taking more now! This next picture is going to win me a photography contest. Aren't her feet beautiful?
This was a cool day in Sayulita. It is a beautiful place. Anyways I need to go now. We are getting ready to go to yoga....finally some exercise! It is a good thing we walk alot and do lots of salsa otherwise I would be pretty huge. haha
Saturday, February 17, 2007
hablo de nuestros escaleras
I am writing in our stairs. It is hard and cold but if I want to put some more pics up without going to an internet cafe or restaurant here is the best place. Therefore I am just going to post many pictures and few words. Hopefully they will be pretty self explanatory.
This is at a vegetarian restaurant in Tepic. We went to two very delicious veggie restaurants there. :D It is amazing what you cna find if you know someone who is from there eh? Karyn, Gizette, Alica, Me, Adriana. I probably spelled Alica's friend's names wrong, sorry. I will check with her later. :)
Well I had a few more that I wanted to post but I am going to need to wait for a better connection. Hasta manana.
Friday, February 16, 2007
scralls from TierrAdentro
Finally. A few random pictures for everyone who is still reading this. To the left is Leonardo de Vaca. We are in Guadalajara I believe. If you read a couple weeks ago you can find out all about it. :) Right now I am sitting in TierrAdentro. Heather and I just finished the vegetarian meal of the day. For 40 pesos you get agua del dia (fruit y water juice), soup, bread, rice and veggies with sauce and tortillas. 40 pesos is about $5 and there was enough food for Heather and I to split. We think that is so cheap, and yet there are children who sit out the door here who could never afford it. They ask us for money to afford their 'tortillas'. The arbitrarily decided price raise of corn has caused a lot of problems for the people here. Sophia is writing her essay on corn and globalization impacts but so far we haven't discovered the truth about who or what raised the price of corn, all we know is that it is causing huge social implications for the people in this region.
I just finished drinking a coco cappucino...that isn't chocolate by the way....it is coconut.....mmmmmmmm.
This picture is of Alica, Karyn and I in San Blas. Alica's father took us there when we were in Tepic. I haven't written about that part of our trip yet. It was a nice day though...we first went on a tour of some wetlands and saw muchos cocodrilos y despues fuimos a San Blas.
Today I think Sophia and I are going skirt shopping. The clothes I brought just aren't cutting it...they are more casual travel clothes and run out fast. I need something pretty. After we do that we are going to Compitch to talk about their objectives to recover, defend, define and develop the traditional medicine of Chiapas. When Heather found their website I just about wet myself. It is exactly what I needed for my research paper. Anyways I am going to end this here before the computer deletes it and I perform a freak show in this public place. However, now that I have my technology figured out I promise many more pictures in the next few days. Ciao.
El fin de semana
It is the end of our second week of classes. I cannot believe it. Time flies here. A typical day for me goes like this. Get up, eat homeade granola and maybe some organic peanut butter and local jam on 'Casa del Pan' bread or tortillas. Go to school at 9:30 - during our break at 11:00 I go to Casa del Pan for a snack, either cookies, muffins, pizza, empanadas, or brownies. :) Go back to class. Class ends at noon. Then we decide where we are going to 'study'. We usually go to either Casa del Pan, Tierra Verde, the cacao house (if it's Wed. - Fri.), Kinoki (after 5:30), TierrAdentro, or home. We eat, we research, we organize meetings with local NGO's and community groups. Heather does the calling and talking because she speaks Spanish well. Depending on the day we may have no meetings with people or 4 meetings. So far we have met many amazing people who have given us information that will help us greatly with our final paper. My topic is Mayan medicine. My research question is how westernization is affecting Mayan medicine practices. My hypothese are that it is affecting it negatively because more people are using Western medicine when sick, or positively because indigenous people are using Mayan medicine as a form of resistance against western culture, or it's both positive and negative because collaboration is happening. When I finish my paper I will post it for all you keeners. I apologize for not writing every day....technically I should, but the days seem to go by so fast because we have so much to accomplish in a short period of time. Yesterday I tried to post some pictures but it didn't works so well. I will try again today so hopefully you get to see some of my trip that you read about ages ago.
I may have mentioned that we live on flag street. We no longer live there, or rather we do, but they removed the flags much to our disappointment. It was how we found our way home!!! haha. I have been learning alot. It is amazing what your environment can do for the amount of knowledge you can soak up. Before coming here I knew nothing about Latin American politics. Now, you could ask me about most of the countries in Latin America and I could tell you their president, what he stands for, and what different people think of him! I also could tell you about most of the organic food initiatives in thsi town, the corn problem, the coffee issue, the poverty statistics and injustices, where to get really good italian, indian, vegetarian, lebanese, or thai food, where to find salsa dancing, yoga, midwives, carpentarias, organic handmade tortillas, gifts, good fruit and leather products. The great thing about being with a group our size is everyone has found something and it adds to our collective knowledge of all the things San Cristobal has to offer. James has called San C. hippy Disneyland. not sure where the Disneyland comes from but there are a lot of hippies here, which is the main reason there are so many cool initiatives happening. Anyways I am going to have to leave for class now. I'll try to come on later and tell another story from the past week. hasta luego!
I may have mentioned that we live on flag street. We no longer live there, or rather we do, but they removed the flags much to our disappointment. It was how we found our way home!!! haha. I have been learning alot. It is amazing what your environment can do for the amount of knowledge you can soak up. Before coming here I knew nothing about Latin American politics. Now, you could ask me about most of the countries in Latin America and I could tell you their president, what he stands for, and what different people think of him! I also could tell you about most of the organic food initiatives in thsi town, the corn problem, the coffee issue, the poverty statistics and injustices, where to get really good italian, indian, vegetarian, lebanese, or thai food, where to find salsa dancing, yoga, midwives, carpentarias, organic handmade tortillas, gifts, good fruit and leather products. The great thing about being with a group our size is everyone has found something and it adds to our collective knowledge of all the things San Cristobal has to offer. James has called San C. hippy Disneyland. not sure where the Disneyland comes from but there are a lot of hippies here, which is the main reason there are so many cool initiatives happening. Anyways I am going to have to leave for class now. I'll try to come on later and tell another story from the past week. hasta luego!
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Agua y Cacao
Agua - For a week Karyn has been trying to get a large jug of water for our apartment. She told me that the lady wouldn’t let her buy it. I thought that was ridiculous so finally I decided to go with her. Sure enough, we get the large jug up to the counter and the cashier tells us we cannot buy the water. “Queremos comprar la agua por favor.” I tell her. She rattles something off at me in Spanish. So I say “Donde podemos comprar agua?” She rattles something off again and points to the street. “No entiendo.” She looks to other people behind her and asks (in Spanish) how do you say truck in English? Ah. I tell her,
“Podemos comprar la agua de el coche de agua?”
“Si, si.”
“Perfecto.”
“En la manana.”
“Ah, a que hora?”
“No se.”
“Okay. Esta bien, muchas gracias.”
We leave the store only to remember we NEED water. We race back and are able to buy a few bottles before the store closes. Oh the wonders of language and cultural barriers. I love it though. Both of us, and the cashier need to put so much effort into the encounter but we both get so much out of it. At the very least a few laughs and smiles. I love Mexico. In Canada if you don’t speak English many people will just ignore you if you need something and can’t say it. Here most everyone tries to communicate. It is very good for us.
Right now Heather and I are sitting in the Casa de Cacao. The time has stopped here. This place, just discovered today, is one of the many treasures of San C. Here you can drink a cup of chocolate. Not any chocolate either – this chocolate is from raw cacoa beans grown locally. This chocolate comes in many types of drinks. Do you want yours with honey and vanilla? Chai? Maize and honey? Chile and cinnamon? Or a variety of other ways? This place is amazing. They have La Escuela de Cacoa here, aka. School of Chocolate. Heaven. There is also an organic store here – I am right at home. Plus the woman who runs the store is going to put us in contact with local organic farmers which not only be for our own interest and curiosity and health but will also help us to write our final paper for Political Science in three weeks.
“Podemos comprar la agua de el coche de agua?”
“Si, si.”
“Perfecto.”
“En la manana.”
“Ah, a que hora?”
“No se.”
“Okay. Esta bien, muchas gracias.”
We leave the store only to remember we NEED water. We race back and are able to buy a few bottles before the store closes. Oh the wonders of language and cultural barriers. I love it though. Both of us, and the cashier need to put so much effort into the encounter but we both get so much out of it. At the very least a few laughs and smiles. I love Mexico. In Canada if you don’t speak English many people will just ignore you if you need something and can’t say it. Here most everyone tries to communicate. It is very good for us.
Right now Heather and I are sitting in the Casa de Cacao. The time has stopped here. This place, just discovered today, is one of the many treasures of San C. Here you can drink a cup of chocolate. Not any chocolate either – this chocolate is from raw cacoa beans grown locally. This chocolate comes in many types of drinks. Do you want yours with honey and vanilla? Chai? Maize and honey? Chile and cinnamon? Or a variety of other ways? This place is amazing. They have La Escuela de Cacoa here, aka. School of Chocolate. Heaven. There is also an organic store here – I am right at home. Plus the woman who runs the store is going to put us in contact with local organic farmers which not only be for our own interest and curiosity and health but will also help us to write our final paper for Political Science in three weeks.
Reflecting my vacation pt. 1
Jan. 29th
When we were leaving the airport heading for Tuxtla we passed under a bridge. Painted on the side was Bienvenidos a Chiapas Tierra de Oportunidades. That’s how I feel. Here is different and here is the same but the point is that here there are many opportunities for me. So much has happened the past week in Mexico. Alica has taken us many amazing places and we have had a fantastic time. I love Mexico – there is so much to love, so much to see, so much to experience. I guess it’s like that anywhere, just here I feel like opening. I feel like the flower that wants to expose it’s insides to the sun. All the soft inner petals…I want Mexico to touch those parts. I think before when I was here I focused on the differences between what I was used to and what was here. This time is so different. I was just open. I’m not really picking out the differences or the similarities, nor ignoring them. Just appreciating what is.
Our itinerary for the past week is this:
We left Guadalajara and headed for Puerto Vallarta. We spent three nights there at a hotel by the beach. Then we headed north a little to Guayabitos where Alica’s uncle has a hotel and we stayed there two nights. Then we went to Alica’s hometown, Tepic, for two nights, back to Guadalajara for a night and the next night we took the bus to Mexico City. Spent part of that night and one more night in the city and flew today from Toluca to Tuxtla.
Now let me fill in the blanks. We left Guadalajara after we had sorted out our accommodation. After we took a taxi to the west end of the city we got on a very luxurious bus and headed for the beach. Muy exitando! When we arrived in Puerto Vallarta we met Emma (I nannied for her in Fernie) and I got to see her and the babies which was fantastic. Afterwards we went to our hotel. Much to our luck and Alica’s connections we got a good deal and one day free if we stayed for 3 days. So we did. That evening we went to the beach and chased the waves. How I love the ocean.
When you look at the ocean there are many things to feel. Connected – to all the other humans and living things on the earth connected by the vast expanses of water. Small – you realize how very little you are in the world, but know everyone else is in the same position and the stars wouldn’t be so fantastic if each star didn’t shine it’s brightest right? Peace – that something so large is capable of sharing with you and your life. Happiness – to just be, to see to hear, to feel.
I love the ocean.
After we played in the waves and had some guys invite us to go out with them (we politely declined and Alica decided that the next time we ran into persuasive males she would pretend she didn’t speak Spanish.) We went to the ‘main street’ in Puerto Vallarta. It’s right by the water with lots of bars, shops and tourists. In the square a sister (violinist) and her brother (piano and beats) were performing. After we ate some corn, crepes and fruit from the vendors we listened to them perform until about midnight. They are very talented. After that we walked about and checked out the entertainment elsewhere on the street. We went to bed really early. ;)
The next day we spent walking downtown looking around both new and old P.V. I bought a pair of shoes, for salsa. They are not perfect but they were very cheap, the heel is perfect height and they have straps…what else could one hope for? Along the way Karyn found a dress she liked. On the way back we planned to stop and look at it. When we got outside the store the woman she had been dealing with before saw her and came running, showing her many of the beautiful dresses. Karyn and I both tried the one we liked on. We decided to purchase them. The woman thanked us very much and Alica for translating. She told Alica her story of coming so far from her country to be here, about her many children, and how that nobody had been buying anything and she had to borrow 20 pesos to buy something for her little girl. 20 pesos. It’s a pittance to us, but to her it meant food for her 3 year old. It was so moving. You feel so disgusted sometimes at the injustice of the world, but even more that you are a part of it. Everything I do affects someone else and I never will make perfect decisions. I just hope that in my little place I can do something to make a difference for someone else. This is the purpose of our natural life I think - To touch others and to let them touch us. It is through sharing and helping and giving that we can experience the true meaning of being human.
After our sober afternoon we enjoyed some chill time and went out on the town again. Alica and I – Karyn wasn’t feeling well so she stayed in. We went to a Cuban bar with live salsa and had a great time dancing. I am now able to dance with a partner and follow! Yay! It was a lot of fun and the music was really great.
The next day we were supposed to meet a surfer we met the previous night. He had promised Alica and I that we would be standing and so of course we were super excited. Unfortunately he is English and the cell phone situation was not spectacular. We ended up going by ourselves to Sayulita and enjoying a nice relaxing day on the beach. I fell asleep and so I acquired some very interesting burn lines. At the end of the day it got cloudy and I went to get a cappuccino. A lovely guy named Jose (Pepe) made it for me. (More on him later J)
We headed back to Puerto Vallarta in good time and spent our last night on the town again. It’s not a big place and we ran into Dave (the surfer) again. To avoid phone troubles we arranged to meet him at the bus to Sayulita at noon the next day. At the last minute he appeared, which was fortunate for us because we learned how to surf! He turned out to be a fantastic teacher and I stood up the first wave I caught! Alica did fantastic as well and he said we were in the top 5% of people he taught. As you can imagine we were pretty thrilled with that. Surfing is so much fun. Alica and I have decided that whenever we have a chance we are going to the beach. From here to a good beach is probably 6 hours or more by if we leave after class Friday we can get there in decent time. We are also thinking about buying a surfboard but we’ll keep renting for awhile anyways. It’s pretty cheap, or it was in Sayulita - $20US aprox. Per day.
That day in Sayulita we had all our luggage with us (just the stuff we had been carrying from Guadalajara) and so Karyn sat with it awhile but eventually we were like let’s put all our valuables in Alica’s red suitcase and lock it. If someone wants to run off with a red suitcase we are going to see it from the water. And all was well J That night we left Sayulita early because we had to walk out to the highway to catch the bus to Guayabitos. There is always a bus right from town into P.V. but not the other way. We decided to play it safe and leave in the light. It was a good plan. We got to Guayabitos in good time, finally found Alica’s uncle’s hotel and were set up for the night. We have been so lucky this trip. Rarely have we had to pay for accommodation and we have seen so many wonderful places.
The next day we headed back to Guayabitos to, you guessed it, SURF! However, the weather wasn’t really in our favour. It was windy and therefore the waves were more powerful and came more quickly. It was tough to even get out to a place to catch a wave. After awhile I just decided to go in. I sat in the coffee shop (where I met Jose) and drank a mocha. He was there and so we communicated as much as we could. When Alica came in for a drink I told her about my little crush on him and so with a little persuasion I allowed her to ask him if he wanted to go for a walk with me after he finished work. Miracle or miracles he did. We walked along the stormy beach and did our best to communicate in Spanish. Whenever he spoke too fast I would make him write it in the sand. We had a great time. When we got back to the coffee shop and were waiting to meet Alica and Karyn he tried to teach me some capoeira. It is a Brazilian marital arts/ dance form. It involves such moves as doing standing still back flips or using one hand as a pivot point for many crazy flips. So far I am having problems just doing the basic step.
When Alica and Karyn finally came back, we went out for dinner. Jose had already made me a sandwich so I just had a few drinks. He was so sweet. He paid for not only my drinks, but Alica and Karyn’s meal as well. We stayed too late and had to make our way to the highway to catch the bus back to Guayabitos. Lucky for us Jose came with us in a taxi, paid for our taxi, and stood on the side of the dark highway with us waiting to flag down the bus. After he knew we were safely on the bus he walked back into town. Amazing guy. I hope he comes to visit me here.
The next day we basically ate chilaquiles for breakfast. Surprise, surprise ;). Then we debated whether we were going surfing again (Alica and I really wanted to) or go to Tepic. We thought that Karyn may have broken her toe surfing the day before and so with that on our conscience we decided to skip the beach and head straight to Tepic.
When we were leaving the airport heading for Tuxtla we passed under a bridge. Painted on the side was Bienvenidos a Chiapas Tierra de Oportunidades. That’s how I feel. Here is different and here is the same but the point is that here there are many opportunities for me. So much has happened the past week in Mexico. Alica has taken us many amazing places and we have had a fantastic time. I love Mexico – there is so much to love, so much to see, so much to experience. I guess it’s like that anywhere, just here I feel like opening. I feel like the flower that wants to expose it’s insides to the sun. All the soft inner petals…I want Mexico to touch those parts. I think before when I was here I focused on the differences between what I was used to and what was here. This time is so different. I was just open. I’m not really picking out the differences or the similarities, nor ignoring them. Just appreciating what is.
Our itinerary for the past week is this:
We left Guadalajara and headed for Puerto Vallarta. We spent three nights there at a hotel by the beach. Then we headed north a little to Guayabitos where Alica’s uncle has a hotel and we stayed there two nights. Then we went to Alica’s hometown, Tepic, for two nights, back to Guadalajara for a night and the next night we took the bus to Mexico City. Spent part of that night and one more night in the city and flew today from Toluca to Tuxtla.
Now let me fill in the blanks. We left Guadalajara after we had sorted out our accommodation. After we took a taxi to the west end of the city we got on a very luxurious bus and headed for the beach. Muy exitando! When we arrived in Puerto Vallarta we met Emma (I nannied for her in Fernie) and I got to see her and the babies which was fantastic. Afterwards we went to our hotel. Much to our luck and Alica’s connections we got a good deal and one day free if we stayed for 3 days. So we did. That evening we went to the beach and chased the waves. How I love the ocean.
When you look at the ocean there are many things to feel. Connected – to all the other humans and living things on the earth connected by the vast expanses of water. Small – you realize how very little you are in the world, but know everyone else is in the same position and the stars wouldn’t be so fantastic if each star didn’t shine it’s brightest right? Peace – that something so large is capable of sharing with you and your life. Happiness – to just be, to see to hear, to feel.
I love the ocean.
After we played in the waves and had some guys invite us to go out with them (we politely declined and Alica decided that the next time we ran into persuasive males she would pretend she didn’t speak Spanish.) We went to the ‘main street’ in Puerto Vallarta. It’s right by the water with lots of bars, shops and tourists. In the square a sister (violinist) and her brother (piano and beats) were performing. After we ate some corn, crepes and fruit from the vendors we listened to them perform until about midnight. They are very talented. After that we walked about and checked out the entertainment elsewhere on the street. We went to bed really early. ;)
The next day we spent walking downtown looking around both new and old P.V. I bought a pair of shoes, for salsa. They are not perfect but they were very cheap, the heel is perfect height and they have straps…what else could one hope for? Along the way Karyn found a dress she liked. On the way back we planned to stop and look at it. When we got outside the store the woman she had been dealing with before saw her and came running, showing her many of the beautiful dresses. Karyn and I both tried the one we liked on. We decided to purchase them. The woman thanked us very much and Alica for translating. She told Alica her story of coming so far from her country to be here, about her many children, and how that nobody had been buying anything and she had to borrow 20 pesos to buy something for her little girl. 20 pesos. It’s a pittance to us, but to her it meant food for her 3 year old. It was so moving. You feel so disgusted sometimes at the injustice of the world, but even more that you are a part of it. Everything I do affects someone else and I never will make perfect decisions. I just hope that in my little place I can do something to make a difference for someone else. This is the purpose of our natural life I think - To touch others and to let them touch us. It is through sharing and helping and giving that we can experience the true meaning of being human.
After our sober afternoon we enjoyed some chill time and went out on the town again. Alica and I – Karyn wasn’t feeling well so she stayed in. We went to a Cuban bar with live salsa and had a great time dancing. I am now able to dance with a partner and follow! Yay! It was a lot of fun and the music was really great.
The next day we were supposed to meet a surfer we met the previous night. He had promised Alica and I that we would be standing and so of course we were super excited. Unfortunately he is English and the cell phone situation was not spectacular. We ended up going by ourselves to Sayulita and enjoying a nice relaxing day on the beach. I fell asleep and so I acquired some very interesting burn lines. At the end of the day it got cloudy and I went to get a cappuccino. A lovely guy named Jose (Pepe) made it for me. (More on him later J)
We headed back to Puerto Vallarta in good time and spent our last night on the town again. It’s not a big place and we ran into Dave (the surfer) again. To avoid phone troubles we arranged to meet him at the bus to Sayulita at noon the next day. At the last minute he appeared, which was fortunate for us because we learned how to surf! He turned out to be a fantastic teacher and I stood up the first wave I caught! Alica did fantastic as well and he said we were in the top 5% of people he taught. As you can imagine we were pretty thrilled with that. Surfing is so much fun. Alica and I have decided that whenever we have a chance we are going to the beach. From here to a good beach is probably 6 hours or more by if we leave after class Friday we can get there in decent time. We are also thinking about buying a surfboard but we’ll keep renting for awhile anyways. It’s pretty cheap, or it was in Sayulita - $20US aprox. Per day.
That day in Sayulita we had all our luggage with us (just the stuff we had been carrying from Guadalajara) and so Karyn sat with it awhile but eventually we were like let’s put all our valuables in Alica’s red suitcase and lock it. If someone wants to run off with a red suitcase we are going to see it from the water. And all was well J That night we left Sayulita early because we had to walk out to the highway to catch the bus to Guayabitos. There is always a bus right from town into P.V. but not the other way. We decided to play it safe and leave in the light. It was a good plan. We got to Guayabitos in good time, finally found Alica’s uncle’s hotel and were set up for the night. We have been so lucky this trip. Rarely have we had to pay for accommodation and we have seen so many wonderful places.
The next day we headed back to Guayabitos to, you guessed it, SURF! However, the weather wasn’t really in our favour. It was windy and therefore the waves were more powerful and came more quickly. It was tough to even get out to a place to catch a wave. After awhile I just decided to go in. I sat in the coffee shop (where I met Jose) and drank a mocha. He was there and so we communicated as much as we could. When Alica came in for a drink I told her about my little crush on him and so with a little persuasion I allowed her to ask him if he wanted to go for a walk with me after he finished work. Miracle or miracles he did. We walked along the stormy beach and did our best to communicate in Spanish. Whenever he spoke too fast I would make him write it in the sand. We had a great time. When we got back to the coffee shop and were waiting to meet Alica and Karyn he tried to teach me some capoeira. It is a Brazilian marital arts/ dance form. It involves such moves as doing standing still back flips or using one hand as a pivot point for many crazy flips. So far I am having problems just doing the basic step.
When Alica and Karyn finally came back, we went out for dinner. Jose had already made me a sandwich so I just had a few drinks. He was so sweet. He paid for not only my drinks, but Alica and Karyn’s meal as well. We stayed too late and had to make our way to the highway to catch the bus back to Guayabitos. Lucky for us Jose came with us in a taxi, paid for our taxi, and stood on the side of the dark highway with us waiting to flag down the bus. After he knew we were safely on the bus he walked back into town. Amazing guy. I hope he comes to visit me here.
The next day we basically ate chilaquiles for breakfast. Surprise, surprise ;). Then we debated whether we were going surfing again (Alica and I really wanted to) or go to Tepic. We thought that Karyn may have broken her toe surfing the day before and so with that on our conscience we decided to skip the beach and head straight to Tepic.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Jan. 18th
Guadalajara is a lovely city. I think I could live here. The weather is grand, the city has much to see and do, there is a great university, the people are friendly and I think I even could find some organic food! Alica pointed out a restaurant today that she knows serves organic. Yay!
Today we did the Guadalajara tour on a bus. Well first we waited for the bus and listened to the reggueton and the Black Eyed Peas blasting from a truck stereo while appreciating Minerva in all her glory. You know you are in a good place where they have female statues…and not mystical half dressed artistic statues (they have those too) but one of a female warrior. Power to women yay!
We sat on the top level in the bright sunshine and listened to a recording tell us about various monuments and buildings within the city. On the Spanish recording was your average northern Mexican voice. On the English recording?? I swear he was a Texan. Especially when he started going off about the military hospital and training grounds. There was a Mexican solider there…he seemed like he was supposed to be ‘standing guard’ by a tree but he looked too relaxed.
We went to Tlaquepaque today on the tour bus. We saw everything from beautiful churches and houses to shoes hanging over the telephone wires. Alica says that’s what they do when their shoes are too old to wear anymore.
The city has recently had many artists participate in a cow exhibit. Each artist has painted a cow, much like Calgary has done but these cows are better. ;P For example: Leonardo de Vaca. Can you guess? You know the symbol with the man in a circle with his arms and legs in two different positions? Now you see a cow doing the same thing. Brilliant eh? The one I loved the most was the anti-free trade one. I will post my pictures.
Right now I am sitting on the couch in Alica’s grandma’s apartment. I am red but Karyn is redder so I don’t feel too bad. Plus the sun makes me feel so healthy. J No lecturing.
In Tlaquepaque we looked at many lovely things. It is an Artisan town and the one street is full of ‘house’ galleries. They are in the style of Mexican houses – a garden in the open centre and the rooms around and they were full of the most beautiful furniture and paintings. If only I had many houses all over Mexico to fill with all the beautiful furniture and artwork. But alas, I am a poor student and not too sad about that at all.
I believe that was the day I experienced my first paleta. Fantastic interpretation of icecream on a stick – I had a coconut one and it has been the best kind so far.
Today we did the Guadalajara tour on a bus. Well first we waited for the bus and listened to the reggueton and the Black Eyed Peas blasting from a truck stereo while appreciating Minerva in all her glory. You know you are in a good place where they have female statues…and not mystical half dressed artistic statues (they have those too) but one of a female warrior. Power to women yay!
We sat on the top level in the bright sunshine and listened to a recording tell us about various monuments and buildings within the city. On the Spanish recording was your average northern Mexican voice. On the English recording?? I swear he was a Texan. Especially when he started going off about the military hospital and training grounds. There was a Mexican solider there…he seemed like he was supposed to be ‘standing guard’ by a tree but he looked too relaxed.
We went to Tlaquepaque today on the tour bus. We saw everything from beautiful churches and houses to shoes hanging over the telephone wires. Alica says that’s what they do when their shoes are too old to wear anymore.
The city has recently had many artists participate in a cow exhibit. Each artist has painted a cow, much like Calgary has done but these cows are better. ;P For example: Leonardo de Vaca. Can you guess? You know the symbol with the man in a circle with his arms and legs in two different positions? Now you see a cow doing the same thing. Brilliant eh? The one I loved the most was the anti-free trade one. I will post my pictures.
Right now I am sitting on the couch in Alica’s grandma’s apartment. I am red but Karyn is redder so I don’t feel too bad. Plus the sun makes me feel so healthy. J No lecturing.
In Tlaquepaque we looked at many lovely things. It is an Artisan town and the one street is full of ‘house’ galleries. They are in the style of Mexican houses – a garden in the open centre and the rooms around and they were full of the most beautiful furniture and paintings. If only I had many houses all over Mexico to fill with all the beautiful furniture and artwork. But alas, I am a poor student and not too sad about that at all.
I believe that was the day I experienced my first paleta. Fantastic interpretation of icecream on a stick – I had a coconut one and it has been the best kind so far.
Jan. 17th - sorry so late :)
Out of my window I can see many buildings below. The one that I find the most interesting is the purple one. I swear there was odd happy children’s Spanish music loudly playing from it yesterday. Alica said that there is a school close by. I wish my elementary school played music loud enough for the neighbours to hear!
From up here (5 stories) we can hear the trucks go by, cars honking and squealing their tires, and every once in awhile a loud train horn. It reminds me of Fernie a bit, except here they hold the horn much longer. Probably a good thing too. On the city streets you will find an assortment of people and cars – most vehicles traveling with great speed, in and out in the traffic. The traffic circles are the most fun – you zoom around and it seems miraculously you pull away from the gravitation of the circle and pop out onto one of the various roads. After our driving yesterday and touring I started to recognize things here!
Last night we went downtown – to see the original Guadalajara. Of course there are many fascinating buildings and three town squares with people out everywhere. I love this about Mexico. We don’t have ‘central’ locations where our citizens can go and walk with friends, or kiss with their lover on a bench. Aqui, es muy social, muy hermosa.
Already I have begin to communicate in Spanish and understand. Last night we went to visit Alica’s aunt before dinner and it was awesome. She speaks a little English but confuses it with German sometimes, and of course is fluent in Spanish. She asked me at the beginning (en espanol) what we would speak and I said Spanish. So she spoke to us in Spanish. I understood a lot because she speaks clearly. I know that I have a long ways to go before I will speak and understand Spanish fluently but I am excited now that through immersion it will be easier. My only problem is that Alica and Adrian (su primo) spoke mostly English to me. I keep saying Alica speak Spanish but of course it is so much easier for her to speak English to me because she knows I will understand. J As my Spanish improves I am sure she will speak Spanish to me.
Last night we had lonches for dinner. They are a ‘sandwich’ only made in Guadalajara. They are made with a type of bread similar to French and have cheese and lettuce and tomatoes on them, however they are served in a sauce – a really good one. You take your spoon and pour the sauce over the lonche and then eat it. It is messy but tasty.
Right now I am going to have a shower…adios.
From up here (5 stories) we can hear the trucks go by, cars honking and squealing their tires, and every once in awhile a loud train horn. It reminds me of Fernie a bit, except here they hold the horn much longer. Probably a good thing too. On the city streets you will find an assortment of people and cars – most vehicles traveling with great speed, in and out in the traffic. The traffic circles are the most fun – you zoom around and it seems miraculously you pull away from the gravitation of the circle and pop out onto one of the various roads. After our driving yesterday and touring I started to recognize things here!
Last night we went downtown – to see the original Guadalajara. Of course there are many fascinating buildings and three town squares with people out everywhere. I love this about Mexico. We don’t have ‘central’ locations where our citizens can go and walk with friends, or kiss with their lover on a bench. Aqui, es muy social, muy hermosa.
Already I have begin to communicate in Spanish and understand. Last night we went to visit Alica’s aunt before dinner and it was awesome. She speaks a little English but confuses it with German sometimes, and of course is fluent in Spanish. She asked me at the beginning (en espanol) what we would speak and I said Spanish. So she spoke to us in Spanish. I understood a lot because she speaks clearly. I know that I have a long ways to go before I will speak and understand Spanish fluently but I am excited now that through immersion it will be easier. My only problem is that Alica and Adrian (su primo) spoke mostly English to me. I keep saying Alica speak Spanish but of course it is so much easier for her to speak English to me because she knows I will understand. J As my Spanish improves I am sure she will speak Spanish to me.
Last night we had lonches for dinner. They are a ‘sandwich’ only made in Guadalajara. They are made with a type of bread similar to French and have cheese and lettuce and tomatoes on them, however they are served in a sauce – a really good one. You take your spoon and pour the sauce over the lonche and then eat it. It is messy but tasty.
Right now I am going to have a shower…adios.
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