Finally got a meeting with a person from the Union! Yay!!!

wow, so i'm getting really bad about keeping up on this blog. But basically, i've been thouroughly enjoying my time here in Santo Domingo, Mexico City. I love the family, and i've made some really nice friends. Last Saturday was crazy. In the morning, my host brother taught me how to box, with the gloves and everything! So cool, and kinda fun. I guess he's been boxing for 5 years, and before he did karate and ti kwon do. But boxing was always his favorite, and he got pretty dang close once to going to the olympics! Wow! Pepe is really cool, and he calls me hermana (sister), and is just a really nice guy. It's really nice to have a brother, and a guy my age around the house (he's actually to turn 21 in january). He's been gone with his girlfriend all this week, and I have to say i kinda miss him.
After this, I went to a baby shower for one of my mom's sister's. All the other 7 sisters were there, and a couple others, and it was quite a party. I crossed my legs once, and had to wear a towel diaper, a bib, and a baby hat. That was one of the games, that u couldn't cross your legs. Absolutely hilarious!
Then that evening, i went with a couple friends to a huge concert of music Banda. It's a little like mariachi, but different. I can't really explain it. But it was a lot of fun, and we got home at around 4am.
Since then, i've just been hanging out with my family and friends here, and am beginning to get a little more comfortable. Not that I was really uncomfortable before, but now it's becoming even better! Everyone's soo nice and accepting. : ) I've also discovered some more stuff for my project, which i hope won't take too much time out of the days to hang out here. But i'll hopefully get ahold of the union sometime soon, and that sounds really fascinating. Also, my host mom taught me how to cook a little today. So maybe I can bring some stuff back. and the want me to cook something from the US, so i'm thinking Apple Pie, and maybe some cc cookies, at somepoint. This weekend is a big fiesta for some saint i think. Should be fun. Happy thanksgiving everyone!

Santo Domingo!

So basically, the rest of the week after the elections on tuesday was very stressful with work, project, and housing/travel plans. Too much. but, we all made it through, and I headed out of Oaxaca back to Santo Domingo, Mexico City. Yay! Back to the best host family ever! Flavio and Luisa are my host parents, and I have three host siblings. Jose is 22, the oldest. He studied to be a optomotrist. Juan is 20, and married to Concha, with a 7 month year old baby named I don't remember right now, but he's absolutely adorable. And Tania is almost 15, and so is practicing the walze for her quincieañera. I'm not quite sure what's wrong, but she can't really walk very well, so she has to use a walker. But it's very cute and awesome to watch. My host uncle choreographed it, and 6 guys, her cousins, dance around her and she's the star in the middle. It looks like she has to work pretty hard to do it, but she does it very well. It's so wonderful to watch! The whole family is absolutely wonderful, and I think it'll be hard to get myself away to do my project. They want to take me places, etc (like maybe a soccer game?), and I just love to hang out and talk with them.
However, I have done some work by wondering around on the buses and talking with students in the university, and I just met my advisor today. He seems very cool, and is working on a masters in Human Rights through the liberation theory at the university.
I've also been hanging out with some cool people around the community. It's kinda weird, some of the girls that i'm hanging out with are my host mom's sisters. They're of a family of 8 kids. But it's a lot of fun, and i'm speaking spanish a lot more, which is good. However, I still definitely have lots of awkward moments. Ah well, así es la vida.

Isthmus and Costa

So, I have to agree with Mike that I'm not really in the mood to sit down and write more in the blog. However, I am two weeks behind, and I finished two essays today, and a project info thing, and I don't want to start on my third essay yet, so I am now writing. : )
Anyway, in my last post, we were heading to the isthmus, so I will go from there. The isthmus is the shortest stretch of land between the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific Ocean. It is the place where the US, and a lot of other countries/huge companies are trying to push the Plan Puebla Panama, which is to create a huge system to transport things there, rather than going all the way down to Panama. This includes a lot of other projects that are skrewing over the people, such as building windfarms, dams, and trains, etc.
We were only there for a few days, but we did tons of stuff in those few days. First we visited windfarms. In the isthmus, it is windy for at least 10 months of the year, with winds up to 130 mph. There are four of them, huge operations, all by different multinational companies. The people are pushed off their land, with promises of payment for rent, but they only recieve $300 a year, if that, which is barely anything. Also, the windmills mess up the water table, and dry the land out, so the people can't farm or ranch. They also catch chemicals in the wind that causes a lot of new diseases for the people that live there, and kill and or injure thousands of migrant birds. Also, rather than having cheaper energy, electricity, etc, they actually have to pay higher taxes to fix up the problems that come with having windfarms there, and all the energy is sent far away to stores owned by the companies. I always liked windmills, and thought that they were our hope for the future. And maybe if we treat people right, and work it correctly, they might work. But hearing all of this, I get kinda depressed. I think our only real hope is to just stop using so much energy. Take some initiative and limit ourselves, rather than just finding other "good" ways to satisfy all the energy that we use. I realize that I'm probably a hipocrite, cause I use lots of energy, even right now on the computer, but I will try to use less.
We also went to a place that got ruined by a dam. The government put it in there for some reason, I guess to provide more energy for somebody. Anyway, the whole town of Jalapa was submerged in water. Sometimes when the water is down, you can see this whole catholic church. So sad. I don't like dams, except for the tiny ones. Although I do like to swim in reservoirs. But seriously, natural reservoirs are so much better.
We also visited a few other organizations there, that were working against Plan Puebla Panama and for indigenous and campesino rights. But then we headed off to the coast. Gorgeous places. They looked like paradise beaches. It was hot, humid, and GORGEOUS! I got kinda excited about the sun, and didn't put on enough sunscreen, so I got burned kinda badly. But I caught a lot of waves, and we had some delicious beach drinks (mainly consisting of Malibu and various tropical fruit juices : ) ) It was great. But it was also kinda funny because their large wal-mart-like chain was called Súper Ché. So ironic.
We had two and a half days at the beach. Those were absolute, pure vacation days. We all really needed it. Kinda funny because at school, I always get excited about a 4 day weekend or something. And here, I'm excited about a 2 day weekend. But it was a marvelous place to rest. (Although I was kinda sad we weren't in Oaxaca for Day of the Dead. Next to nothing happened there, since it was a very tourist town). Oh, and we also met and hung out with for a little bit, with some english speaking guys. Two from British Columbia, one from England, and one from New Zealand. I have to say that it was so nice and kinda weird to be speaking to guys at all, and in English. With 17 girls and 1 guy on the program, we don't get that opportunity very often.
Then we headed back on a 6 hour, long, windy van ride back to Oaxaca. We got back to the hostel, where we were the first week of the program, and were immediately submerged with 3 essays, our final independent project proposals and figuring out our situations. Very stressful. So, on election day, most of us spent all day doing that stuff, then at 7pm our time, we became glued to the TV screen (CNN in Spanish), and the computer screen for the elections in the hostel. ahhhh, so exciting. When it was announced that Obama was the winner, we all hugged each other, screamed, laughed, everything. It was amazing. We sang the national anthem, and a few other patriotic songs at 12ish am. We felt kinda bad for keeping up everyone else in the hostel, but then again, this only happens once, so, we had kind of a right. SO amazing! History! Unbelievably wonderful! So that was on tuesday. and now I think I'm gonna go to bed. I'll continue this later. Good night all!

Saints, Zapatistas, and a few other adventures cont.

Ok, now I will try to continue from where I left off in my most recent post.
So on I think the 3rd or 4th day, we left for our excursion to a community of Las Abejas, and then the government place of the Zapatistas. Both were rather amazing experiences. Las Abejas were a group that started in 1992, because of a conflict going on between the government and the community over some injured people, and some people blamed wrongly for the crime. A group of them joined up, walked to Mexico City carrying crosses, pictures of the Virgin Mary, and praying the whole way, and in a rest time they decided to call themselves Las Abejas (The Bees), because they always work together to save the whole "hive" or community if they were ever in danger, and a few other things as well. The are a totally nonviolent group, and always follow what God tells them to do by placing the bible in the center, and waiting and listening for the word of God. It's very impressive. Also, something that strengthened their movement was a massacre of a community in 1997 by the government military. I don't remember exactly why the military attacked them, but I think it was because they were indigenous, and because they were supposedly causing problems between them and other communities. They knew the military was coming, so set to pray in the chapel, but the military came and massacred them anyway. It was soo sad and hard to hear, and I'm sorry that I have to be the messenger of this really sad, but very real news. It hit very deep. From this especially, they gained a lot of solidarity from other groups in Mexico, and around the world. They're an amazing people.
We went from this to the Zapatista government headquarters area, called el Caracol (the Snail), where their Junto de Buen Gobierno (Joint of the Good Government) meet. The Zapatistas are also an amazing group of people. They decide everything by total accordance of everyone (called an asamblea, and indigenous term and idea), are nonviolent, and are trying to create a whole new world where anyone and everyone of any race, religion, gender, beliefs, etc, can exist without discrimination, and in accordance. There are 7 Juntos de Buen Gobierno in all of Mexico, and each one covers a different area and different communities. In this one, there are 23 communities. There are always 7 people in the government at a time, and they rotate through every week for 3 years. However, they make sure that not everyone leaves office at the same time for those 3 year periods, so that the new people coming in can learn the system from the older members. A really smart idea. Also, everyone that is actually in the office has to wear a ski mask. That way, they will be completely anonymous. As somebody said, it is one of the few jobs where somebody can become important for awhile, and then go back to their house just as poor as they left. It is also for security reasons. It was a little intimidating at first, but on meeting with them, and listening to them speak, we discovered they seemed very amiable, and like really nice people.
It was really interesting because every decision they made, had to be discussed by everyone in the group. For us to be allowed into the community, we had to give them our passports, Julio had to explain exactly what we were wanted to do there, and then they discussed among themselves in an indigenous language, to see if it was ok or not. Also, we had to write questions for them the night before, so that they could prepare their answers. The next day, when we met with them, we also asked if we could tape record them. They said that since they didn't recieve this request earlier, we weren't allowed to do this. It was too rapid a request. They are known for being a slower paced social movement, because they have to wait for everyone to be of accordance, but I think that this is a safer way to work it. They are trying to make a new world, which is a big process. So far, it sounds like it's working at least in their areas. The good thing is that, instead of saying that they are the best organization possible, they admit that they are not the best, and are still developing, and need the voice of everyone to continue, and that it will be a long process. I was very impressed, and encouraged at all the good things they are doing.
This was a great experience, Zapatista level wise. However, for many in the group, that night we stayed there was horrendous. Somehow, in the food we had eaten for lunch that day, there must have been some type of food poisening. I somehow managed to escape getting sick, but a good half of our group (7 or 8 people out of 18), got sick that night. It was rather like a nightmare, and yet also absurdly funny. I've never been in a situation like that. Every hour, another person went down, it seemed. Eventually, they took the sick people in a van down right next to the bathroom, so they could just run there if needed, and it was probably a bit warmer and a little more comfortable than on a cold concrete floor. It was really insane, and really gross.
We went back to San Cristobal de las Casas the next day where we went out a few times, hung out with our families, aaand, on sunday and monday, spent all day working on our Independent Study Projects. That was rather intense. Me and Megan were in the internet cafe for 4 hours monday morning/noon. Luckily, that evening, we went to a really good presentation, right afterward of which, we had a hugging/humming session. A glorious break. And that evening me and Megan stayed in, talked with our family, and our maid (I considered her more of a sister, she was very sweet), and played with some kittens that didn't seem well loved in the household. I was sad to leave them, especially the maid, she was not having a good time with the family. Which was so weird, because they were so nice to us. It was a very strange dynamic.
The next day we all had breakfast together, said bye to Julio, our guide (We were all very sad to leave him), and headed off for the Isthmus, a good 5 hour, rather windy drive.

Surrounded by Saints, Zapatistas, and a few other adventures

Ok, so it's only been a few days and already it seems like soo many things have happened here in Chiapas. So my family is quite wonderful. The host dad is one of the first saints that is around this place. He goes to mass every night, is friends with priests, works as a doctor with traditional herbal medicines, and is just an absolutely lovely, gentle man. He's a little bit older, and I think he's kinda sick, but I'm not exactly sure with what. It seems like the kids (there are 8 of them), take turns coming over to say hi every evening. They're all grown up, and married with children, but most of them live near. I've met 3 of them so far, in the 3 days I was there. The mom is also very sweet, and I've had some lovely chats with her. There is also a maid, who's only 14 and lives with them. Her story is her story, so I don't feel allowed to tell it, but it sounds very hard and difficult, especially since her family lives 5 hours away. But she's very sweet, and me and the other girl staying with me in this house, Megan, have spent the last couple of nights chatting with her and watching soap operas.
The first night we ate dinner with a catholic priest! Wow, that was amazing, I was kinda in awe at simply the idea. He was from france, had been in an indigenous community for around 30 years, and recently moved to San Cristobal de las Casa a few years ago. The life of a priest sounds very difficult, because they don't have any real family, except those that invite them in. And they only live off the money they get from offerings. This priest eats with my family every monday, friday, and i think sunday. Very lovely, and really interesting. He was also quite amusing, and really friendly. It was cool to actually get to know him.
On the third full day in Chiapas, we went to another alternative university, called Universidad de la Tierra, Chiapas. However, we had to get there ourselves. So, me and Megan took a taxi, told the guy what it was called, showed him the map, and then had a lovely talk with our taxi driver while he took us there. When we arrived, we were kinda confused because we didn't recognize anything. (We had gone to Unitierra the day before for a brief orientation about Chiapas). We asked the guy if this was really the place, and he assured us that is was. So we got out, and he left. We then asked some students if this was the university. They said yes, but kinda laughed at us. Then we asked some other people and they said that it was the Universidad Multicultural de Chiapas. Shortened to Unich. I guess it sounds kinda the same? Anyway, it did sound like a really cool place where both indigenous and mestizo people attend school, and they learn indigenous languages, and about other cultures. Pretty sweet. However, it was NOT the place we were supposed to be. So we had to wait for a good 30 mins till another taxi came (that we called especially), and got to Unitierra a good hour late. Also, for breakfast that morning, we'd gotten chincharron (pig skin deeply deeply fried), which I hadn't eaten a whole lot of, because I just couldn't stomach it, but I still did not feel great for a little bit of the time. It was kinda a fun adventure tho!
Once we made it to Unitierra, we heard the last bit of talk, then went on a walk around the place. At this university, people, mostly indigenous people, can come and choose what they want to learn, then take an on hands class where they learn about it. Also, they make all their own food by having a garden/miniature farm, and by having various animals. It's right in the forest and absolutely beautiful. It kinda reminded me of home. It was about a 2 hr walk or so, and is where I got to know Julio, the other saint that is in Chiapas. He's also very gentle, very easy going, gets along with and accepts everybody, quite funny, knows how to speak very well and sincerely (which I found out in later visits to Las Abejas and Los Zapatistas), knows a lot about life and everything, has seen a lot of life, including things that are very difficult, and would be a very good director of this program because he's very aware of what's going on in the group, and knows a lot. For example, at every new location he points out where the bathroom is. Ok, so that's rather funny, but hey, it makes sense. He's one of our drivers, but is basically our guide around Chiapas. He's an absolutely great man.
Afterward the whole group went and heard a speaker about capitalism, neo-liberalism, and all the crap that has happened because of this system. It was actually fascinating, and the guy was a really good speaker and teacher for economics. I think that I understand (kinda) economics, because he explained it so well. He described capitalism as a train that is heading for a crash into a ditch. The closer we are to it, the more worried people get and try to make a change (or at least talk about it). but if they find out that we're actually farther than somebody had said, then they just decide to forget about it. Hence, this is why the crashes, and more recent crash, has happened. Wow! I liked it. It also gave us a bit of an orientation to the Zapatistas, who are working totally outside of the system.
After this, our amazing chofer, Julio, took us to this great artisan chocolate shop. This is where I ate what I think is the absolute BEST pure dark chocolate I've ever had. We didn't do too much that evening, (altho I do have a great story which I will add later), and the next day we left for Las Abejas community, and then to the Zapatista government place. But now I have to leave. To be continued...

Chiapas!

Hi! So I haven't posted for awhile because not much has really been going on for the past week or so. Just chillin out in Oaxaca, doing various stuff. Last night we left our host families in Oaxaca, and aren't going back to them, and made our way down to San Cristobal de las Casa, Chiapas (a state further south east of Oaxaca.) A really pretty mountain town. But we had to get here by a 12 hour, really windy bus ride. ( by windy I mean like very sinuous, through mountains, etc. I'm not sure that's the right spelling). That was the first time I ever took dramamine, something to keep you from getting motion sick. That helped me, and put me to sleep, but the first hour or so was terrible. So yeah, we'll be here for 8 or so days, visiting different NGOs, and the Zapatistas! then we're heading over to the coast for a week or so (at the isthmus). It's a bit colder here as well. And that's about all.