Mitla Ruins

The day after visiting the Tule tree, I went to Mitla (30 miles outside of Oaxaca city), which has also been on my list for a while.  I'm really lucky that I was doing all this sight-seeing with a friend who has a car, it would have been much more difficult to get to these places without his help!

Mitla was an important religious center for the Zapotec people, and was at its peak around 1350 a.d.  The main characteristic that these ruins are known for is the "mosaic" stonework, which shows influence of the Mixtec people (from the north).  There are 14 different geometric designs, representing the sky, earth, feathered serpent, and other important symbols.  The church was made from stones that were taken from the original buildings of the site.  

This was a pretty common occurrence at many places I've visited...  Upon conquering a city or civilization, the Catholic Church would either dismantle the former religious site and use the pieces to construct a cathedral on the holiest spot (Mexico, Rome), or use the existing building and "convert" it into a cathedral by means of statues, paintings and lots of gold (all over Spain, particularly with mosques in southern Spain).

FYI - the Zapotec and  Mixtec languages are still spoken in the state of Oaxaca, they are the 2 most widely used of the 17 indigenous languages still spoken here.  I hear people speaking Zapotec all the time in Miahuatlan, especially on Mondays (market days) when many people come down from the surrounding mountain villages to sell their crops. 

El Árbol del Tule

I spent last weekend in Oaxaca city, hanging out with friends, eating good food, and visiting some of the local attractions still on my list. There are so many things to see in and around Oaxaca city, little by little I'm checking them out.

A few miles outside of the city is a small town called Santa María del Tule, known for a big-a** tree that is over 2,000 years old. As you can see in the fotos, it makes the church next to it look tiny! And I assure you, it's a decent-sized church. Stats on the tree: it's a type of cypress called ahuehuete and measures 58 meters (64 yards) around, 42 meters (138 feet) high, diameter of 14 meters (46 feet). My guidebook says its branches reach 15 stories overhead, and the estimated weight is 636 tons!

The trunk is really interesting, it's not circular like most tree trunks. Walking around it is like walking around a weirdly-shaped house, the trunk divides into separate out-growths and is very ridged and gnarled. I can only imagine how difficult it was to get approximate measurements!! You can find shapes of animals and faces naturally occurring in the grooves and ridges of the trunk, I definitely saw a deer, an elephant, a T-rex (for Gavin!) and an ogre's face.

It was obvious that the tree had seen better days... Oaxaca has been facing a water shortage for a number of years, and it was clear that the lack of sufficient water was affecting the health of the tree. Certain groups are trying to protect the tree and its water sources, and are pushing for long-term solutions like reforestation in the mountains around Oaxaca.

Interesting article written by Pablo (ex-boyfriend's brother)

Where we were coming from
By Pablo Ros
(South Bend Tribune)

The summer before my senior year in college, my brother, Diego, his former girlfriend, Erica, and I were driving through Oklahoma on our way back to South Bend from Mexico City. The three of us — along with a friend of Erica’s, Amanda, who had taken a flight home to Massachusetts a few days earlier — had spent a couple of weeks vacationing in Mexico. We had visited museums and treaded on ancient ruins, bought souvenirs at outdoor marketplaces and climbed the Tepozteco.

But most of all we had relaxed in our swimsuits under the sun. It had been a carefree time.

I was at the wheel of my father’s Indiana-plated Hyundai when the police pulled me over in Oklahoma. A police officer told me I had been speeding.

Back then, my dark hair came down below my shoulders, and I kept it off my face while driving with the windows down by tying it in a red bandanna.“Where are you guys coming from?” he asked.

I would regret my answer soon enough.

“Mexico.”

Like a magic word, it quickly conjured up an almost surreal scene. First, I was asked to step out of the car, where an officer frisked me for weapons. Then, a swarm of police patrols arrived at the scene and surrounded us on every side. I consented to a search of the car. Before long, a drug-sniffing K-9 unit was inside our vehicle.

Diego - to his credit, delicately and discreetly - pointed out to me the fallacy and idiocy of my honesty and told me I shouldn't have consented to a search of our car without a proper warrant. So I went back to one of the officers and told him I had changed my mind.

We had nothing to hide, but what we were being made to go through was ridiculous. The police had found no indication that we had drugs in the car. It was clear I had been profiled.

And in the end, the police didn't even issue me a speeding ticket. It turned out I had been going just 5 mph over the speed limit.

In whichever form, profiling is an act of prejudice. And law enforcement when carried out through the eyes of prejudice isn't law enforcement.

Which is why I was appalled last week when I listened to Bill Smith, prosecutor of Decatur County in Indiana, during a talk he delivered on illegal immigration at the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council's summer conference, held this year in South Bend.

Smith used "Mexicans" and "illegals" interchangeably and referred to the Japanese as people who "love to drink and drive." That was enough to prompt me to raise an eyebrow. His dislike of foreigners became evident when he suggested that even law-abiding, tax-paying immigrants are not "local residents."

Smith told the 100 or so people in his audience, including prosecutors from more than half of Indiana's counties, that if a driver had never been licensed and was not carrying any other form of ID, then he must be an illegal immigrant.

The event was not open to the public.

At one point during his talk, in a moment of self-reflection, Smith admitted that he sounded like "some draconian a-hole."

I wouldn't have put it that way, but I approached him after his talk to clarify a few of the points he had made.

When I told him I was Mexican but that I was in the country legally, he defended his use of "Mexicans" to mean "illegals" by saying that most undocumented immigrants are Latinos.

When I asked him to clarify his comment about the Japanese, he simply replied that it was true.

When I asked him about the possibility of law enforcement officials coming across a legal immigrant or even a citizen who had never been licensed and who lacked any other form of ID, Smith stood by his earlier statement.

Finally, I asked him whether he considered his comments racist. His first reply wasn't clear. After I pressed him a second time, he replied, "They probably are, but I don't care."

As I walked away after thanking him for his time, Smith said to me that I was "biased anyway" because I'm Mexican.

Stephen Johnson, the executive director of IPAC, told me that Smith, like the other speakers at the conference, had been chosen to speak on their respective topics because they had expertise in them.

"It's something he's taken an interest in," Johnson said of Smith's expertise on illegal immigration.

Decatur County in southeast Indiana is home to about 25,000 people, of whom 98.5 percent are white. Although the most recent ethnographic data is from 2000, the population has only slightly grown since then.

In 2000, only 0.5 percent of the population was Hispanic and 0.7 percent Asian. Only 12 African Americans lived in the entire county.

Staff writer Pablo Ros: pros@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6357

Pictures from the beach wedding - they speak for themselves!!

Playing Oxen: A Mexican Standoff

Late last week, while riding the bus back to school after my lunch break, we had a bit of an incident. But in order to explain the bus ride, you first have to have an idea of what the road is like... And I found this great description on my former co-worker's blog (thanks, Emily!), and I don't think I could describe it better...

the roads that lead the universidad de la sierra sur to the main roads are not paved. they are both pathetic attempts to connect the university – out in the middle of cornfields and cacti - to the town of miahuatlán, and look like the only vehicles to be rolling along them should be horse-drawn (which, incidentally, is not all that uncommon). fist-sized rocks, grooves of eroded soil, and potholes that small children could hide in are just a few of the fun features awaiting travellers to the university. one road takes the bus 15 minutes on its lumbering journey to the town center, only because to go over 10 mph would cause all the passengers’ heads to repeatedly hit the ceiling of the rickety steel box on wheels. the other road, which leads to my house, is slightly less potholed and bumpy, but traverses an arroyo (dry eroded river bed) that is carved with unnavigable grooves and ridges and that turns into a mud pit after 10 minutes of rain.

So that's what the roads are like. And last week was a particularly rainy week, so there were a number of days when the bus took the alternate route to avoid crossing the arroyo. On this particular day, we were en route back to the university, about to turn on the final stretch of muddy road when the bus driver stopped. All of us looked at each other, knowing the bus driver was considering turning back and using an alternate route, rather than risk the bus getting stuck in the mud. We started chanting "¡sí, se puede!" (you can do it!), usually saved for more monumental decisions, but he began to turn the bus around. Everybody groaned, knowing how long it would take to backtrack and take the other road, we would definitely be late. In a stroke of genius, a woman yelled for him to take a little side path, by no means a road, but she assured him that it would lead to the university in less time. So he did.

It was an adventure. The path went between corn fields, and had deep tracts of mud that the bus somehow managed to slip and slide its way thru (felt like we were on ice at times). We were so close to the university, our destination in sight, when we saw an obstacle in our path: a pair of oxen yoked to a cart, trudging their way thru the mud. There wasn't room for us both (I think the bus was widening the path as it went). But who would move first? It was a classic Mexican (or maybe Oaxacan?) version of playing chicken, rickety steel box on wheels vs. horned beasts of burden...

In the end the farmer steered the oxen down a row of corn (gallantly granting us passage), and put an end to this round of Playing Oxen...

*Note: No oxen were harmed in the writing of this post*

Welcoming Massachusetts

I just want to take a moment and a little bit of blogspace to plug an initiative that I was working on back in the US of A.

It's called Welcoming Massachusetts, and for me the main point is that people speaking with messages of hate and fear have been speaking in a louder voice than those of us that believe our state should be respectful, tolerant and welcoming. This is not a "pro-immigrant" initiative; it is calling for open and honest discussion about immigration issues, rather than reacting from a place of ignorance, fear and hatred.

www.welcomingma.org/form/sign-pledge

Take a minute and check out this website, it explains the initiative in much more eloquent terms and allows you to add your name to the list if you so desire.

I'm currently helping them comb thru the list of signatures and eliminate repeat entries (I'm listed 3 times!!), make corrections, etc. I'm happy to help, especially during these weeks before classes start when I have so much free time on my hands...

Good thangs

Here are some of the good things about living here, as promised, to give a more accurate picture of my overall experience. This list isn't complete (and it is growing, bit by bit), but it's a good start...

• Location - this is definitely one of the best parts about living in Miahuatlán. I'm surrounded by beautiful mountain vistas (apparently we are 5,000 feet above sea level). In 2 hours I can be in Oaxaca city, in 4 hours laying on the beach, in 30 minutes I can be snug in a cabin with a fireplace built along the side of a mountain...
• Climate - NO WINTER!!! I can't overstate how important this is to me. I don't want to feel cold for months in a row, or drive in snow or slip on ice... Here they have rainy season and dry season. Either way, it gets nice and warm during the day (70s or 80s), and cools down at night (high 50s), which is perfect for me. The beach is warmer, the mountains are cooler, this is my kind of weather.
• Transport - I don't drive here. And it's great! Especially with the crazy gas prices these days...I love being dependent on public transportation, especially in a place where it is plentiful and inexpensive. Walking, local buses, vans, camionetas, collective taxis, long-distance buses, domestic and international flights to/from Oaxaca... It's easy to get around without ever wishing I had a car.
• Improving my Spanish - I can feel every day that my Spanish is getting a little bit better. New words and phrases keep popping up, and slowly they become part of my vocabulary. Even guilty pleasures - bad telenovelas, trashy Spanish-language magazines, watching pirated copies of movies with Spanish-subtitles on - it's all helping my Spanish, which was one of my goals in coming here.
• Food - okay, I know that the food situation has been one of my main complaints here. But now that I'm not suffering from stomach illness, I'm really starting to enjoy the local cuisine. The cafeteria here serves a few (usually) tasty options for my mid-morning meal, and on my weekend travels I have been eating great local specialties... Tacos, enchiladas, tlayudas, chilaquiles, tamales, huevos rancheros, flautas... Served in various salsas (roja, verde, different kinds of mole) and yummy fillings (quesillo, nopales , chorizo, eggs, potatoes, bacon).... And there are always hamburgers, salads, french fries and other comfort foods in the city.
  
• Cooking - I'm actually starting to cook new things, out of necessity and (some) interest... The limited nature of the grocery stores in Miahuatlán is forcing me to be creative, and I'm starting to feel comfortable and a wee bit more confident in my kitchen. Now that I've learned how to navigate the Monday market, I have access to really fresh fruits and veggies, at cheap prices. Mangos, avocados, potatoes, tomatoes, pears, apples, bananas, plantains (which I've now learned not to eat raw!!), zucchini, onions, garlic, and all sorts of other things, known and unknown, are available. I don't ever plan to buy meat at the market (scary stuff, whole pigs/chickens/turkeys hanging skinless, or sometimes they sell the fowl live and people carry them around by their feet)... So I eat plenty of meat when I'm traveling on the weekends and for my mid-morning meal at the cafeteria. And I found out that they sell regular bacon in one of the grocery stores, so I'm all set!!
  
• Down-time - As many of you know, I'm at heart a pretty lazy person. So it's really nice to have so much time to read and sleep, to watch movies (usually in Spanish) to meditate and exercise (I'm trying to do these things a bit more!!)
• Self-sufficiency - I'm learning some of these lessons the hard way, but I AM learning them. There are people that I can ask for information and assistance, but most things I have to do for myself. With the arrival of my newest co-worker, I am realizing just how resourceful and self-sufficient I have become. And how much I've already adjusted to the huge list of challenges I made a couple of weeks back... It's really nice to feel like you're getting the hang of life here, especially remembering how tough it was at the beginning! Things are looking up!
  
• New experiences - this is one of the main reasons I'm hooked on traveling... Meeting new people, learning the customs of different places, experiencing the festivals and food... And all of this is so easy to do from here. Before I leave Mexico I'm hoping to visit Veracruz, Guadalajara, Chichen Itza (one of the 7 Wonders of the World)... I want to see the parades and fiestas for Independence Day (Sept 16), Day of the Dead, Carnaval, Semana Santa (Easter Week)... It's so easy to experience these things now, I feel really lucky to have made this move and be living close to so many amazing places. It's much more than what I could do in a few weeks of vacation, instead I have a whole year to do these things...
  

The good life...

I've been wanting to write a post that shows the good things that I'm experiencing here, to balance the posts of my trials and tribulations, and show how the tide is turning. Because it really does feel like my life here has survived a crucial moment, and now it feels like every week I am that much more adjusted and optimistic and happy.

So my next post will be a list of the good things, just like I made a list of the difficult things a while back...

But first I want to look at the very best thing (so far), which is the beach. I began my last post intending to talk about my experience at the beach this past weekend, to show certain concerned individuals (Grandma!) that things here are not so bad. But in telling about the beach, it was necessary to talk about transportation to the beach, and then I got all side-tracked. And at the end I realized it was probably going to be added to the list of things that Grandma is worrying about!!

Once you survive the highway to Pochutla, you are within easy reach of so many amazing beaches. Puerto Angel, Mazunte, San Agustinillo, Zipolite... And a little further, Puerto Escondido in one direction, las Bahias de Huatulco in the other...

This weekend I was in San Agustinillo for the wedding of 2 former English teachers here at the university. I had only worked with them for a few weeks before they left, so I was pleasantly surprised to get invited to the celebration. I'm so glad I was, for many reasons. It was the most non-traditional, respectful partnership ceremony I've ever witnessed. Because of the travels of the bride and groom (she's from Illinois, he's from Australia), guests were from all over the world. It was informal and comfortable, with great food and dancing under a full moon into the wee hours of the morning...

I had a few hours on the beach before the wedding, alternating between reading on my stomach and laying on my back in blissful silence as the waves crashed a few feet away, occasionally getting into the water to cool down and wash the sand off... This is the water I was meant for, none of the chilly waters of Massachusetts lakes and beaches, which even on the warmest days feel too cold for me. (The kids can call me "Wimpica" all they want, I refuse to suffer in cold water when I know these perfect beach spots exist!!) I got back to the hotel in time for a short siesta and a shower in water that didn't need to be heated, because it had been warmed by the sun and so was the perfect temperature.

The next day, after sleeping late with the sounds of the waves and the heat lulling me comfortably, I headed out to the beach again. I had a coffee and read in a shady spot with a great view. I walked up and down the beach, declining offers of seashell necklaces, gluten-ous baked goods and snorkeling tours of the coast. I ate delicious ceviche (fish "cooked" in lemon juice and prepared with tomatoes, olives, cilantro, etc). It was like the perfect dream. Only I was really living it.

My only regret is that I didn't have a camera, so I have no pictures to attempt to document how beautiful it was. I plan to get another camera this weekend in Oaxaca City, so the next time I go to the beach I'll take some fotos.

My only remaining co-worker from the "old regime" has crafted an incredibly descriptive map showing how to get from Pochutla to each beach, and the preferred method of transport. It's easy to get to the first 4 beaches mentioned on any given weekend, leaving super early Saturday morning I can be on the beach by 10am. And walking off the beach at 3pm on Sunday, I can be back in my apartment in Miahuatlán by 9pm.

So my plan is to go at least once a month, probably every 2-3 weeks. I think 2 weekends in a row would be a bit much, my skin needs to take the sun's powerful rays in moderate doses. My burnt knee-pits can attest to that fact! : )

But I definitely intend to make the trip regularly. It is so relaxing and peaceful, and at the same time it feels like it forcibly strips your mind and body clean of everything it doesn't need, and just leaves the important stuff. I felt my patience and energy recharged. I was told that once you experience the beaches here, that embody the very essence of what a beach can and should be, you can put up with all the challenges of living in Miahuatlán and working at the university. And I can see now that it's true, the beach alone makes everything else worth it. Even if there weren't other good things. But there are...

Carretera 175

This past weekend I finally made it to the beach. Two of the former English teachers here (who I only got to work with for 2 weeks!) celebrated their wedding in San Agustinillo, one of the many beautiful beach towns on the Pacific Oaxacan coast.

Highway 175 connects Oaxaca City with a town called Pochutla, which is linked with all the beach towns. 175 goes right thru Miahuatlán, so I live in a great location for getting out of town. The best way to get to either Oaxaca or the coast is to take a "suburban," which is really a 15-passenger van. (The "15" part is more of a minimum than a maximum.) There are 3 companies that offer these services, so you can always be assured of transportation. Apparently there are good and not-so-good van-driver combos, it's pretty much hit or miss. It takes about 2 hrs to get to Oaxaca, and between 3 and 4 hours to get to Pochutla (depending on the driver, weather, and if there are any unplanned stops).

The drive to Oaxaca is not very far in distance, but it takes 2 hours because there are so many speed bumps (called topes, reductores, or vibradores). I believe someone told me there are 186 speed bumps in the less than 100 kilometers (so 60 miles) between Miahuatlán and Oaxaca city. And these are no ordinary speed bumps, they are the kind that will easily blow a tire, or take a chunk out of the undercarriage of your vehicle... So the vans go from full throttle to 0 in order to inch over the bumps, then speed up as much as they can before the next one. It's an interesting process. That with the curves makes it pretty impossible to sleep. At least without your head lobbing back and forth and whacking the people next to you...

The journey to the coast is around 120 kilometers (75 miles) but takes an unbelievable amount of time! Speed bumps are definitely playing a part in the 3-4 hour ride. But the main reason is that Highway 175 takes you on a crazy windy path that goes up and over the Sierra Sur. I don't know why they bothered with so many road signs warning of S curves ahead, they were repeated every mile or so... I had read warnings that this trip was not for anyone even remotely prone to motion-sickness. Which I'm not, thank goodness!

In order to get to the coast in time to enjoy most of the day on the beach, I woke up at 4am to catch the 5am van to Pochutla. I had bought my ticket the night before, which assured me a good seat (front passenger seat, where I can actually put on a seatbelt!). Everyone loaded in, and we were on our way. The first hour and a half was in darkness as we went up the mountains, with everyone attempting to sleep. But it's seriously impossible for more than 30 seconds at a time, with the speed bumps and the precarious turns and the bold passing of other vehicles...

Right when glimpses of the sun were starting to peak thru the pines, and I was getting excited for the amazing mountain views I had been promised, an old man in the row of seats behind me asked the driver if he could stop. I couldn't catch why... So after a few more hairpin turns taken at higher-than-necessary speeds, the driver found a safe place to pull over. And the little old man got out and proceeded to be sick for a long time. It was pretty gross, particularly when he got back in the van and proceeded to alternate between weird hiccup/burps, ragged breathing, and urgent requests to pull over again... I was relieved to be in the front seat, close to the window. I have to admit that I was also somewhat pleased that it wasn't the only gringa on the van to get sick. In fact, I felt quite good (besides a few times when the smells from the poor old man were less than pleasant)...

Needless to say, this trip took quite a bit longer than it should have, and I was extremely happy when we finally got close to Pochutla, with the warm sun and fresh coastal air flowing thru the van...

Despite the discomforts of this particular ride, I won't hesitate to do it again. The views going up and over the mountains really are breathtaking, and the foliage that you pass is so markedly different as you pass thru the high coniferous forests and then dip down the other side en route to the coast, with tropical flowers and beautiful birds and butterflies increasing with every mile... And of course the beach...

Thanks for all the comments!!

I was originally planning to respond to each comment that people left with a follow-up comment... But I am a bit lazy (does that surprise anyone??) and also the comments have taken on a life of their own... So I just wanted to take a few moments and a little bit of space from the blogsphere and say THANK YOU to everyone who is reading my posts.

There was about a week when I was sure it was just Mom reading my blog, but then I started getting e-mails that referred to my blog posts, and more people started leaving comments. For me it's the closest method I have for being "social," which you know I love to do... When I'm writing the posts it's almost as if I am with you guys, telling stories, talking in long run-on sentences that occasionally make sense. And when I know that you've come and visited and read about this little slice of the world that is mine right now, it makes me feel good. A little bit closer to you all, listened to, supported, and a bit more understood.

So thanks. And even thanks for those of you who are using the "Comments" section to send messages (that have nothing to do with me or Mexico) to other blog-readers... And you know who you are (Mom, Claudia!!!) : )

Die Punishment

I thought a title like that would catch some eyes!!

I have been tutoring a student who has one semester left here at UNSIS, but has finished English Level 7, which is apparently the highest level we offer. Most students enter Level 1 their first semester here (having ZERO English exposure), and then progress thru the levels, with no English their final semester. This guy was one of the few who tested out of the 1st Level. So he started with Level 2, and quickly became one of the top English students thru all the levels (despite not doing homework). He purposely failed the final for Level 6 so that he could continue studying English an extra semester. Now that he's finally finished the last official course we offer, he came to our office to see if anyone had time to help him work on conversation and writing skills. Little did he know just how much time I have!! So I've been tutoring him every day this week for an hour, and we'll continue until I start teaching classes.

He's a really smart guy, and is quite motivated. He's even doing homework for me! I gave him a writing topic the first day as homework (write a letter to a friend from another country telling them about Miahuatlán), and then we went over it the next day. He told me he wanted to write another assignment for me as homework, but he said he didn't need a topic. So today he came in with his essay titled "Die Punishment." You know, where people die as punishment for their crimes. He was very surprised to learn that this is called the death penalty, even though it's a literal translation from Spanish...

One of the joys of teaching English is the (sometimes smile-worthy) mistakes that students make, not surprising considering what a crazy language English is!!

(Like my dear friend Ruby who told me the story of working at McDonald's and ordering the "Big & Nasty" for weeks before a co-worker told her it was called the "Big & Tasty"!!)

I'm sure this is just a small slice of many more student quips in the coming months...

Guatemala Pictures (courtesy of Josie)

My camera went MIA while I was in Guatemala a few weeks ago. In all likelihood I left it on the tour bus back from Antigua, or in the restaurant bathroom where we had dinner. Luckily, Josie was taking beautiful fotos, and has shared them with me!! It was my plan to carefully pick thru the fotos, and only upload a few from each place, but it's just too difficult to decide!! So here's the address for Josie's Photobucket album:

http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd99/josita76/

I hope it works!! (looks like you have to copy and paste it into a new window).

When you open it (if it works), you'll see 4 albums listed on the left:

• Antigua - the old "antigua" capital of Guatemala, you'll see fotos of colonial buildings, the remains of a cathedral destroyed by earthquakes (and some of us emerging from its underground catacombs), and other good stuff
  
• Chichi & Atitlan - Chichicastenango is a very famous market town, and is where the Popul Vuh was discovered. Lago Atitlan is an amazing site, surrounded by volcanoes. I've heard many people talk about the energy of this area, it's definitely a place that deserves much more than a few hours!! The pictures show the market, a coffee enterprise that we visited (and taste-tested!!), and lots of pictures with the lake in the background. FYI - some of the stars of the lake fotos are little parrot friends, we each got one (thanks Silvia!!)
  
• Guate - these are fotos from Guatemala City, lots of eating going on! There are some fotos from a special dinner that was at the Palacio de Cultura, to honor the participants in the 5th annual "Feria del Libro," so we got to go because Josie's dad was a presenter. It was a beautiful dinner, very fancy, and entertainment was the "official" women's marimba group of Guatemala. There were usually 6 people playing a giant marimba at a time, it was incredible to watch...
  
• Tikal - I was back in Mexico for this part of the trip. But it looks amazing, and I'll have to get there one day... (jungle and ruins, who could resist??)
  

Animal tales

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

There are some snippets about my life here that involve animals in one way or another, which I've been meaning to post. Mostly anecdotal, to help paint the picture of my experience here in Miahuatlàn... But I'm going to go ahead and get the bad (and most recent) story out of the way first.

Yesterday I arrived home to my apartment for my "lunch hour," (which is technically a break from 2-4pm, but works about to be a full hour at home when transport and waiting for buses is taken into consideration). It was sunny and warm outside, so I went straight to the door of my balcony to open the door and get some air flowing. I also wanted to check on my yoga mat, which had gotten soaked over the weekend when excessive rain caused water to come in under the balcony door into my living room. As I was repositioning the yoga mat to allow it to get the sun's rays, I suddenly saw that there was a little black bird lying in the far corner. It was definitely dead.

My first thought was, "who can I call to help me get rid of this??" But there was no Dad and no Fritz anywhere close enough to realistically call. : ) I briefly considered the punky teenage boy who lives across the hall, but immediately discarded that option (he's usually too hung over to do much of anything, anyway!) I eventually mustered up the courage/stomach to get it into a little cardboard box, which I closed and wrapped in a bunch of plastic bags, and put it in the garbage. I then proceeded to wash my hands excessively. Thankfully this morning they pick up the garbage (I bring it down to the end of the driveway), I have never been so happy for a garbage day!!

So on to happier tales...

Our apartment building has a pet, a German Shepherd named Madonna (I'm pretty sure as in the mother of Jesus, and not the world-famous pop star). She looks scary and barks a bit when people arrive, so she's a pretty good watch dog. But she's actually a big baby (as many dogs are), and loves for you to throw rocks for her to fetch. Her home base is on the landing between the 1st and 2nd floor of our building, so when I come down the stairs she is usually waiting there, with a few of her favorite rocks around her. I say "Buenos dìas, Madonna" and then she jumps up and runs out into the driveway, hoping I'll toss a rock for her to chase...This reminds me of Heidi, our German Shepherd in Florida, who would carry around a coffee mug like a doofus. They're not the smartest breed, eh?

Some of our neighbors have more interesting pets. My first few nights I heard so many strange noises, and I couldn't figure out what was making some of them. Directly next door, our neighbors have a huge stone wall, but from my balcony I can see over the top, and I was finally able to answer some of my questions. They have all sorts of fowl: chickens (including a few roosters, a sound that I know only too well!); a gaggle or so of turkeys; and some other types of (presumably edible) birds that I don't recognize. Maybe some sort of Mexican pheasants or partridges? It's impossible to describe the cacophony that results when all these birds get riled up (which usually gets Madonna and the other neighborhood dogs all excited)...

Things that are hard to get used to...

I know my last post was positive and emphasizing the ways that I am feeling comfortable and settled in... But I have to be fair and honest, and in the interest of full disclosure, I must share the following list of things that are really hard to get used to:

• The water situation - clearly this is one of the main things that all visitors to Mexico have a problem with. You certainly can't drink water from the tap, so you buy bottled water. I have a stand and dispenser for 5-gallon bottles of water, which I buy from the little store at the end of my driveway. Costs $10 pesos ($1 USD). The main issue is it's pretty heavy, and carrying it up the 2 flights of stairs is NOT fun. But the same tap water that you know is full of bacteria, this very same water is what you take showers in, what you wash dishes with, and what most people are using to wash vegetables and fruit... So there are all sorts of survival tricks you have to do to avoid ingesting the bad water. Keeping your mouth closed in the shower, letting washed dishes air dry (which apparently kills any bacteria from the water), being careful brushing your teeth, using anti-bacterial drops and clean water to wash fruits and veggies... The list goes on and on...
• Hot water - to get hot water, I have to light a flame under my water tank (using ridiculously short matches!), and once it finally catches on it takes about 30 minutes for the water to be ready. When the tank is empty (which I have no way of preparing for, it will just suddenly be gone) I have to call the gas man to have him deliver another one. I haven't had to do it yet, but I'm hoping he will bring it up the stairs to my apartment, disconnect the empty tank and connect the new one for me. So I don't blow anything up... : )
  
• Plumbing issues - you can't flush toilet paper, because the plumbing systems aren't made for this, and the paper will clog the pipes and cause major problems (this was true in Peru and Costa Rica, as well). So you put the used toilet paper in the garbage bin. Which is really hard to get used to, and pretty disgusting, particularly when you're having major stomach issues. (luckily I am over this phase, maybe that's why I'm finally ready to write about it!)
• Grocery stores - they're just totally different here in Miahuatlàn. I went to a big store in Oaxaca, and it was pretty similar to a US store. But in Miahuatlàn the stores are small, and they are mostly selling staples (rice, flour, beans, religious votive candles), and so it is particularly hard for someone who is cooking-impaired. Although, for the record, I am starting to cook some stuff, and I have some big plans...
• Insect alert - You have to constantly keep an eye open for scorpions. My former co-workers said that they've seen maybe 5 or 6 during a whole year, and usually pretty small ones. I shake out my clothes before I put them on, and definitely check my shoes. And I make sure there's nothing in my bed before I get in it! (this part is not so new, when we lived in Florida I had to be on the lookout, too). I have been thinking of this blog post for a while, kind of crafting it in my head as things occur, and this was originally going to be titled "scorpion alert." But I was surprised by a cockroach that came running out of my bathroom sink yesterday, after my weekend in Oaxaca. It scared the crap out of me! I just wasn't expecting it. I don't have the stomach or the heart to squash them anymore, so I trapped it in an empty yogurt container and closed the lid. It went out with the garbage...
• Feeling like an outsider, with good reason - I don't know if this feeling will ever totally go away. This morning as I was walking into the market, 2 little boys were pointing and laughing at me, and it was not in a nice way at all. I try to greet everyone with a smile and a "Buenos dìas," expecting the best even though I get burned about 30-50% of the time. Sometimes it feels so unjust, but I am trying to be aware of all the ways that "my people" have (mis-) treated Mexico and Mexicans, and particularly these largely indigenous groups, who have had their land stolen and their customs stifled by people with light skin for over 500 years. And here I waltz in, expecting to be welcomed with open arms... I'm trying to be more understanding of how that must feel for them, and what I must represent to some people. So I am trying to redeem myself, one person at a time.
  

Settling in

Yesterday marked a full month since I arrived in Mexico. And almost like magic, this past weekend Oaxaca started to feel like mine, or like I was a real part of Oaxaca. I've had some rough weeks, struggling with homesickness and "la turista" stomach illness, feeling lonely and alienated... But the past few days have been really great.

I got an approved day off (after only a small mountain of paperwork and 4 signatures) on Friday to go into Oaxaca city and pick up my completed FM3 work visa. This makes me officially NOT a tourist (no matter how many pictures I take!) and allows me to work legally. I navigated the immigration office sola, and then went to the US consular agent to get a document notarized. This guy is my country's representative in Oaxaca, and I am not afraid to say that he was surly (definitely NOT burly) and not at all friendly. I was rather disappointed, but I got the task done.

Friday night I went out with my friend Katharina and an assortment of other people (including some Mexican professors), for her friend's going away dinner. Saturday I met with a friend from Great Barrington (Humberto!) who was visiting his family in Oaxaca. It was SO great, and rather strange, to sit and talk with a friend from GB, in such a different environment. While I was waiting for Humberto in the zocalo, a co-worker from my University came up and introduced himself. Seeing as I am so very visible on campus (being the new gringa in town), he recognized me, and we had a nice conversation.

Later in the day my landlord picked me up for ice cream (and for me to pay the rent). At all of the ice cream places they have "helados" which are traditional ice cream made from milk, and "nieves" which are made from (hopefully purified) water. I have given up on avoiding dairy, since EVERYTHING is served with cheese inside and out here, but I'm still trying to keep it to a minimum, so I order nieves. My favorite flavors so far are pineapple, lemon, and mango... Yum!!

Then I went with Katharina and 2 of her students to a cine-cafe, where they have 2 small rooms and you can have the movie of your choice projected on a big screen while you eat... And later that night we went out dancing, which I was really needing! I got picked up by one of the professors I had met the night before, and it ended up being a large group of us dancing for hours... And did I mention the special on mojitos??

Sunday I made my way back to Miahuatlàn, and stopped in at the internet service provider that I have been trying to work out scheduling with. He said he could do it right then, so we drove to my apartment (which was great because it was POURING), and he hooked up internet in my apartment!! Right now it's not very fast, I'm going in this evening to work out a deal on fast internet. So hopefully I'll be able to Skype from home.

And this morning I woke up early to walk the 10 minutes into the center of town to buy fruits and veggies at the Monday market. Every Monday is market day, and the streets are full of vendors selling everything from fresh produce to hardware supplies and clothes. I spent about $50 pesos ($5 USD) and came home with about 8 bananas, 10 tomatoes, a bag of little potatoes, 5 avocados, 3 little zucchinis and 6 mangoes. And I think I got charged too much for the avocados. It's amazing the variety of produce that was available, I don't even know what 25% of it was.

Now I'm in my new office, moving things around and getting settled. I'd been holding off on choosing which office I wanted as mine because Friday was the last day for 4 of the teachers, and I didn't want to crowd anyone out of their space early. So this morning I came in and checked them all out at my leisure, and now I'm in my real office.

So all in all, things are feeling a bit more settled. I'm getting the hang of how to do things in this corner of the world, and slowly but surely, I'm making friends. I might just survive here after all...

Guelaguetza

Guelaguetza is a celebration of the different regions and customs of Oaxaca.  It's a very diverse state, with 17 (I think) distinct languages that are spoken, besides Spanish.  This festival is the biggest event in Oaxaca, and people come from all over to watch the performances.

Top foto shows me waiting in the crowds for the gate to open.  There were 2 sections that were free for those willing to get there very early and wait standing up for a long time...  We were those people!!  What the foto doesn't show is the creepy old lady who was using my love handles to support her full body weight (and her husband who was behind her pushing to try to get ahead in line)...  Or the guy who ended up right behind me (once I finally broke free of the little old lady, who ended up way ahead of us in line), and was definitely getting more enjoyment out of the situation than I was...  

But we made it in, and it was phenomenal!!  The auditorium is high up on a hill that overlooks the city, so it was an amazing view.  Part of the tradition is to throw out free gifts ("obsequios")  to the crowd, and many many hats were thrown out.  I resisted and resisted, but the truth is that it was REALLY sunny, and I was starting to fry.  So I gave in and wore a hat, the bottom foto  documents this historic moment.  Katharina (who I met in Great Barrington when she was studying at Simon's Rock) and her boyfriend Ruben are also in the foto.

The rest of the fotos show some of the dances...

Phone situation

I have a cell phone here in Miahuatlán. I purchased the phone along with many other items from the woman whose apartment I took over, a former teacher here at the University. It's on a Movistar (woo-hoo, look at me!!) pre-pay plan, so I add pesos to the balance when it's getting low. Luckily I finally figured out how to check the balance, so that's a plus!

I can make calls to the States, 11.5 pesos for a 20-minute block (so it's the same for 3 minutes as it is for 20). That's like $1.15 USD (I'm sticking with an exchange rate of 10 pesos = $1 USD, even though it fluctuates from day to day, that is usually pretty darn close). So it's a good rate, and worth it for me to call home. I can also send and receive text messages, but I haven't figured out how much that costs.

Here's the catch - the woman I bought the phone from said that she never successfully received calls from the US, she just made outgoing calls. Apparently when her mom tried to call the phone number, she ended up reaching someone in Burma (aka Myanmar) and it ended up being a REALLY expensive and confusing phone call!! So her advice to me was to only use it for outgoing calls, and to receive calls made from within Mexico (which I have done with no problem).

I'm going to share the number, but my warning is "use at your own risk" and don't be surprised if someone answers speaking Burmese. Dialing from the States, the number is 011.52.951.15.442.99

I am hoping to eventually have internet in my apartment, and make Skype my main phone method. I'm all set up with a Skype account and username: ericalynnmielke so I really just need the hookup in my apartment to be ready to go.

In case of an emergency (or something serious or time-sensitive, doesn't have to be for life-and-death only situations!!), the number to reach the Centro de Idiomas here at the University is:
011.52.951.57.241.00 (apparently the University has the phone numbers ending in 00 thru 06, they will all send you to the same place). You'll get an automated system in Spanish, dial our extension 206. There is only one phone in our building, the secretary Flor is the only one who answers it. She speaks very little English, but if you ask for me (keeping it simple), she will figure it out. If I'm not available, one of the other teachers should be around to be able to take a message in English. Nobody is around from 2-4 Mexico (Central) time, FYI.

Slowly but surely I am posting all the things I've been wanting to get out there!!!

Know of any good correspondence courses??

It has come to my attention that even when classes are in full-swing, the teachers in the Centro de Idiomas have plenty of down-time. We have to be here 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, but the most that anyone teaches is usually 4 or 5 hours a day. There is a certain amount of time needed for meeting with co-workers teaching the same level, to coordinate the curriculum and develop exams, etc. But there is always time to go to the cafeteria for "breakfast," and apparently plenty of time for online activities... One of the teachers has been pursing his Master´s in Applied Linguistics online, and another has been taking Spanish courses.

That´s the scenario when classes are up and running. The semester officialy begins at the beginning of October, but usually there are preparatory classes that are held in August and September, for new students to get some basic English skills, and also to determine which level they should be in (there are 7 class levels overall).

Right now, however, the Centro de Idiomas is in an unusual position. The previous Director of the department left unexpectedly, and the woman they originally hired to take her place had to decline because of health problems.

(let the record show that as of the moment I am typing this update, I am receiving e-mails from the Director of Academics saying he wants to speak with me this afternoon, I am positive that he is going to offer me the job. And I am 90% sure I am going to decline, for many many reasons. To be continued...)

So we are now without a boss, and so it appears that the prep classes have been cancelled, at least for our department. So what that means is that I have 2 months of coming to work everyday, but no actual tasks to do. At least that´s what it looks like right now.

So one of my co-workers asked me this morning if I had considered looking into correspondence courses online... I laughed, thinking she was kidding... But now I see that she was not. Now I really am thinking about some sort of course or certification that I can do online. I had been thinking about becoming a certified court interpreter-translator, maybe now´s the time...

Any other suggestions??

Workin´ Girl

Today was supposed to be my first day of work here at the University (people call it "la UNSIS", pronounced "oon-sis"). Through a serious of fortunate events, I actually got put on the books starting July 18th, which was really great because it was the last day of work before 2 weeks of vacation! So I am going to be paid for the 2 weeks of traveling I just did! And it also means that this initial 6-month contract ends January 18th, and my year anniversary will be July 18th, rather than August 4th...

La UNSIS has lots of rules and regulations that all staff have to follow, and apparently it can be very cumbersome and frustrating at times. Earlier today a woman who just left the University introduced herself, and then continued to complain about all the things wrong with the system here... But the bottom line is that there has been a lot of "corruption" and abuse in other university systems in Mexico, and to counter and avoid that, la UNSIS has resorted to over-regulation. So that explains some of what I´m experiencing here...

My working hours are 9am-2pm, and 4pm-7pm. Most people leave campus during the 2 hour break, to eat lunch at their homes (I´ve found that if I eat something quick I have time for a short siesta!). The time clock system is run by fingerprint, so I scan my right index finger when I come in and when I leave. It´s IMPERATIVE that we clock in before 9am, and that we clock out not a minute before 2pm. As in there is a line of people (all staff, not just the English teachers) waiting for the time clock to click to 2.00 so that they can leave for lunch). Same deal for the last part of the day, I MUST clock in before 4pm, and clock out not a second before 7.00.

It reminds me a little bit of when I was working at Ford, my hours were SO fixed that I remember we would just be staring at the clock waiting for it to be 4pm so that we could leave... Hopefully that will be the only thing these jobs have in common!!

More description to come later...

Quick Question

Here´s a question for all of you loyal blog-readers... Are the colors on the blog okay? I have been using so many different computers to update my blog, and sometimes when I log in the colors hurt my eyes a bit, whereas other times they look really dark...

Any input you have would be great! I don´t want people´s eyes to be hurting when they´re reading my blog...

Gracias

Le Club (and other snippets from Guatemala)

My 5 days in Guatemala flew by. Of course I had known that 5 days isn´t nearly long enough to "do" a country like Guatemala, but I figured that something was better than nothing, and certainly I wasn´t going to pass up the chance to visit Josie and her parents outside of the States...

Josie´s dad was presenting a paper he wrote on Miguel Asturias (a Guatemalan writer) at the 5th Feria del Libro (a book festival for the whole country). He spoke on the first day that I was there, and the rest of that day was full of books. There were hundreds of vendors and organizations with book tents set up, I´ve never seen so many books! We also heard some other presenters talk about some really interesting books and poems, I took notes so I have some ideas for what books to read next.

We also went on some organized tours to Antigua, Chichicastenango, and Panajachel (on Lake Atitlan). These places were all amazing and deserved much more time than I was able to spend there. Overall I feel like this trip to Guatemala served as a teaser, to make sure that I go back for a longer time at some point... (ah, the travel "to do" list just continues to grow...)

So here´s the title story. Josie and I were determined to go out dancing, and we were getting thwarted left and right. I got in on Sunday, and the whole city felt like it was shut down (never mind that we were all tired from travels). We soon discovered that our hotel wasn´t really in a "going out" district, but that it had a bar and a separate "disco club" that were open Weds thru Saturday. On Wednesday night we went to the downstairs night club to participate in free dance lessons (salsa), which were supposed to be followed by just open dancing, but everyone went home directly after the classes ended.

Feeling a bit defeated, we made our way down the hallway to our room on the 10th floor. We heard loud music and looked out the window, to a bright pink neon sign advertising "Le Club." It was very encouraging, having this dance club right around the corner from our hotel! So we rallied ourselves, got all gussied up, convinced Josie´s mom that we would be careful, and we ventured out.

We made it to the door, and at the entrance a surly bouncer says that we couldn´t go in, we needed a caballero (gentleman) in order to go inside. I was very surprised and frustrated that machismo was going to keep us from finally dancing, and I asked (a bit peeved), if he seriously meant that we couldn´t go in unless we had a guy with us?! And it was repeated, that was the rule. So we started to walk away, feeling thwarted again, and that´s when we started to notice a few other details... The full marquis (underneath Le Club said "show internacional", and there were only men going in, many coming out of shiny black cars with tinted windows. On the other side of the bouncer, there was a "security guard" holding a large gun (I´m no gun expert, but it was definitely NOT something legal in the US!!)... So we made our way back to the hotel, sorry we couldn´t go out dancing, but sure that Le Club wasn´t exactly where we wanted to be dancing... (someone at the hotel confirmed that Le Club is a strip club!)