Two months back stateside...it has been a strangely normal transition back into life here in Nashville. I was just ready for a little stability, and feeling like a productive person again. I was craving structure, and found it quickly. I was able to move into a room in my friend Sean's beautiful house, and I found a job within a week of being home. I didn't even have to look for it, which took a big burden off my shoulders. I never imagined myself being a receptionist at a small computer store, but...hey, more suprises.

I am so greatful for everything I saw and did, all the increadible people I met, over the past year. Many people are kind of shocked when I tell them what I've been doing...I get a lot of "wow, how do you just...DO something like that?". I guess you need a small quotient of insanity, and a lot of curiousity. But also, something increadible happens when we open ourselves up to the world, to newness, to being alive. A lot of times, I have felt like I have been taken care of in ways I never expected, that by just jumping with eyes open and arms wide, I have been greeted by little wonders. It's not that amazing things can't happen to us all the time...I think we're just usually not receptive to them because we've got our heads down as we trudge along the preindicated paths of everyday life. One of my favorite things about traveling is the ability and necesity to be spontaneous, open, and perceptive to the unexpected. I hope to carry this on with me back into the world of routine structure.



On a more somber note, I just got an upsetting email from a friend of mine. He is in Oaxaca, where I lived. There has been social unrest there for several months now, since May when I was living there. It started as a protest the teachers carry out annually to get a pay raise, and morphed into a cry of the general populous to bring the state's corrupt and brutal governor to justice for repressive violence and fraudulent financial dealings that have made the population of the state suffer. It is a movement that has been generally supported by a lot of the population. Yesterday, there were 5 deaths inflicted by police officers. Two of the victims were news reporters (one of whom was from the U.S.), and three teachers. Even though the police were the ones who inflicted this violence, the governer used these shootings as a pretext to say that the protesters were violent, and to call in the Federal Police. This is really bad news for the population of Oaxaca, and especially those involved in the struggle. They are the culprits in the recent oppressive violence that occurred in Atenco, I think. It is hard for me to believe that this is happening in a place where I was living just a few months ago. It is even harder for me to believe that, were it not for my friends that are still there, I would have no idea about what was going on there. Oaxaca is not that far away, and we receive almost no information about a really serious situation that is happening there. Imagine what is happening in further-away places that we don't have a clue about. Anyway, I am really worried about my friends that live in Oaxaca, and the people in general. I encourage anyone reading this to find out more about what's going on in Oaxaca. The more international awareness about what is happening, the better, because it will mean that there is more of a chance of someone demanding investigation and accountability for the repression and violence that is occuring there. Check out http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20061021213801306&mode=print
and
http://www.worldhumanrights.com/

Don´t worry, I haven't disappeared in the jungle, I am actually in Mexico City. Just arrived this morning, and it feels suprisingly comfortable here, almost like home.

The past few weeks have been full of totally random events and people. Jess, Melissa, and I went to La Paz and had a great time for about a week, doing absolutely nothing productive. Then they and all of our new friends left and I went to spend some time with this collective, Mujeres Creando. It turned out to be nothing like what I was expecting. I spent about 9 days staying at the house they have, which contains lodging, a cafe, and a health food store. I helped out in the store for a few days, and the whole time was basically quiet. I read a lot, which was great, although shifting from the pace at which we had been moving to that was a little shocking at first.

About 2 weeks ago, while I was at the collective, Jess convinced me to go to Cuzco, so I bought a ticket for the 12 hour direct bus, and went to Peru that Friday. She was with Daniel, who I haven't seen in 3 years...it was GREAT! And I got to meet his really fun family as well. He has a sister, two awesome parents, and like 1000 aunts, uncles, and cousins. I only stayed 4 days in Cuzco, which wasn't enough. We went to the Sacred Valley, where there are a bunch of Inca ruins and where Dani's family has a house. I also did some touristy things...seeing ruins, etc. It was a really great break from La Paz.

But, I did go back to that hectic city in the end, for various reasons. I wasn't excited about it, but I was really fortunate, and a friend of mine, who has a really nice apartment in the flash Zona Sur let me stay with him. This made such a difference...I don't think I could've handled another week at a hostal or the collective where I had been staying. The last week was full of random events. The funniest one was that my friend, Dan, who has lived in Japan for the past year, quit his job and came to South America. So he and I hung out in La Paz!! It was fantastically illogical. Yesterday, we left our hostal at 4 a.m. I arrived to Santa Cruz at 9, and Dan had decided to fly over too, so we hung out during my 14 hour lay over. Ah, the unexpected.

Now, after an overnight flight, I am in Mexico City again. I was really ready to leave Bolivia, but now I am feeling a little nostalgic. I am gonna miss those empanadas!

kitchen in the jungle

pR 041
Originally uploaded by em_azo.

After the most uncomfortable, enfermed bus ride of my life, we arrived to La paz this morning at about 6 a.m. after a two day trip from Villa Tunari via Cochabamba. I'll write more about this later, I am mostly trying to upload some new fotos!

This will be brief because this computer at the singular internet cafe in Villa Tunari, Bolivia, is a little slow. I have too much to catch up on, but I will send a brief update. Jess and I made our way from Potosì, where we stayed for a few days mostly because of the super comfortable hostal (Koala Den) we found, to Sucre. Sucre is a pretty town, and ended up being an extended stop...I'm not really sure why. We had a lot of fun, though! During our 5 or 6 days there, I went on a day hike that ended up being one of the best things I've done during our time here. I went with a Dutch guy and a French girl to a little transit pick up spot called Ravelo and the outskirst of town. We were going to catch a bus, but found out this would require 2 or 3 hours of standing in the isle...we decided to investigate taxis. We found one to take us to this town (can't remember the name of it) that was between Potolo and Maragua. None of us really knew what we were going to do, it had just been recomended that we go see the Crater in Maragua. I passed out in the taxi, and awoke to an increadible view into a 500 meter deep valley lined with the most amazingly colored rock faces I've ever seen. We never actually reached the crater, but found out later that the wierd swirly colored disk-like mountains in the distance were the crater walls. No matter...it was a beautiful 4 hour walk. I just wish we'd had more time.

The next day, Jess, our new friend Melissa, and I, hopped on a night bus to Cochabamba, where we planned on finding transport to Villa Tunari. We stayed a night in Cochabamba (which turned out to be a lot prettier of a city than I expected), and barely made our bus yesterday afternoon. We arrived to this random town, Villa Tunari, at about 9:30 last night. It was pretty easy to find a hotel, even in our slightly delirious states. Our plan is to do an excursion in the jungle for a few days. We asked around about guides and tours, and several hotel owners recomended this guy named "Gusano" to us. We spoke with him on the phone and we're supposed to meet up tomorrow to discuss our options for treks, canoeing, etc. Jess is feeling a little sick, though, so we'll see what happens tomorrow. We may not be able to go.

Potosi, Bolivia...Jess and I just arrived a few hours ago. We checked into a hostel called Koala Den that was recomended to us by our friend Jorgi. It's a little expensive (expensive for us here is $5 a night, so I guess that is relative), and it's so worth it after the past week we've had. On Wednesday afternoon, we got on a bus to Uyuni. There was a direct bus at 6, but we were impatient, so we got on the 3:30 bus, which required a bus change in Oruro. THis change was supposed to arrive at 7 and leave at 8, but things didnt really work out that way. We arrived and waited in the most unorganized bus station I've ever seen. It was total insanity, and nobody seemed to work there. So, another bus was in the spot where ours was supposed to be, but it wasn't actually ours. We finally figured out that it was supposed to arrive as soon as the other bus left, which took another half hour. Finally a bus pulled in, but it wasn't ours either. Eventually, we figured out that our bus was somewhere out in the parking lot, so we hopped on. We were waiting for the huge bundles and packages of the other passengers to be put under the bus, when we started hearing murmers of a refund of 5 bolivianos. I asked some other passengers, and it turns out that some people had been charged 30 bolivianos, and others 35. They asked me how much I had payed, and I told them that we'd payed 70 in La Paz. They informed me that this was a rip off, and that it should have only been 45 total. So, I hopped off the bus to join the angry mob. It was pretty useless because I had bought my ticket from another company, but it was really funny to watch. There was a woman police officer yelling at the driver, and some consumer advocate guy who had been monitering this sort of fraud, and then all these confused looking passengers. Some tourist police had befriended us earlier tried to help me, which was also pretty funny. I think they were really bored. After another 25 minutes of photocopying "evidence", yelling, and a few refunds, we were on our way. Now, let me mention that the bus company in La Paz not only charged us more, the lady who sold us the tickets also lied to us when I asked if the buses were heated. She said that of course they were! I don't know why I believed her, I have had this experience (in warmer temperatures) and should know better...I think because I couldn't image being in a bus in sub-freezing temperatures without heating, I didn't bring my sleeping bag on board, or the new huge fleeze I bought in La Paz. And of course, there was no heating on this overnight bus. It was miserable...I swear I almost lost some toes. A few passengers took pity on us and at the end of the trip, we had a bed sheet, a jacket, and a scarf. I had my feet under some guy's blanket that was out in the isle. The bus pulled in to the dusty little town of Uyuni at 5:30 a.m. (ironically, the same time that the 6 pm bus arrived). It was SO COLD outside, and we didn't know what in the world to do until everything opened. There is a tourist info center where you can check out different travel agencies that lead trips to the salar, but we didn't know where or when they opened. So, when a lady aproached us saying "you want trip to salar? I have heat in the jeep", we decided not getting hypothermia was more important than finding the very best tour. She picked up a few other recently arrived tourists, and we went to her little office to hear about the tours they offered. We decided to stick with the company, "Jhaneth tours", and that was that. At 11 a.m. Thursday, we were on our way.....

Where to begin? I am in Bolivia. Jessica and I arrived here last Thursday...well, that's not totally accurate. We are in La Paz right now. On Thursday, we arrived in Santa Cruz, Bolivia at 7 a.m., and were prepared for our 24 hour lay over. We got up at 4:30 on Friday to get to the airport, only to find that our flight had been changed to 6:30 p.m. in stead of a.m. Maybe this is what you get for flying with an airline who charged half of what all the other airlines charge. So, we spent a very delirious, sleep deprived day wandering around Santa Cruz, which was cool because we found these 30 cent fruit salads in the market. This is pretty common throughout the country actually. Food is, in general, really inexpensive here.

So anyway...we wandered around all day, watched a little World Cup soccer, made some frustrating phone calls about Jess's lost luggage. Oh right, the luggage...it was sent from Nashville to Oakland instead of to Mexico City, which is where we met up. It was rediculous, but in the end, I think a momma interviened from Nashville, and we picked up the luggage in this little wearhouse building on Saturday at the airport in La Paz. We arrived here on Friday night, and after getting the back pack, we hopped on a bus with a few new friends that we met on various legs of our flights, and headed for Copacabana, which is next to Lake Titicaca. This wasn't the most efficient way of doing things, since we are now planning on heading south and the lake is north. But it was good to get oriented that way, and we had a lot of fun during our 2 days there. We climbed a big hill, which is no easy business at 11,000 feet. But it was worth it because there were some cool altars at the top, and an amazing view. On the first afternoon, I went for a walk on a dirt road that leads from Copacabana to another town where you can catch boats to Isla del Sol, which is a major tourist spot. I just wanted to see the country side a little bit. I met up with these two girls on the road, and started talking with them a little bit. The were aged 8 and 13, and were walking out to their family's field to play soccer and then herd their sheep to the place where they sleep at night. They were shy, but eventually asked if I wanted to go with them, and I did! We got to their plot and played for a while (I was totally out of breath after like 10 seconds). Then they showed me their llamas, and one of them almost spit on me when I petted it. Yes, llamas spit. They look cute and soft, but then they turn their heads toward you and pucker up. This made us all laugh a lot, especially when I ran away. Then they started untying the sheep, and hearding them together. These girls were tough! The 8 year old grabbed some sticks from cut down lima bean plants and started whacking the sheep. She totally dominated the heard of 11! I tried to imitate them, and it was pretty fun! I may have found a new vocation. So, this was really special to me. They asked if I wanted to come back the next day, because they are always there in the afternoon. I did go back yesterday to say bye and ask them if they'd like a photo. Their mom was there, and I asked her if it was ok. She was this really cute chola, she just laughed and said it was up to the girls. They were really excited about it. So, I am going to try and mail these photos...we'll see if it works!

Yesterday, Jess and I also went to Isla del Sol, aforementioned tourist site. It was...well, touristy. But it is a really ancient site. First, the Aymara speaking Tehuaneco (?) people were there, but the Inca's came and were the most recent culture to inhabit the island. In Inca mythology, this island is where the first two Incas were born. Also, the lake is so beautiful...I had no idea what lake Titicaca would look like, but it is so big and blue, and the sky is also a more vibrant shade than I've ever seen anywhere else I think.

Today, we chilled out in the morning, and caught an afternoon bus back to La Paz. From here, we will leave tomorrow for Uyuni, where we will visit these salt flats for a few days. Internet access is a little less existent here, but I will try to write about it soon!

Well, this will be brief, because this is visit #2 to the internet cafe. During the first one, I bought my ticket to Bolivia! You thought I wouldn't actually do it? Well, I fly out of Mexico City on June 23rd for La Paz. I am excited, and I think I'm ready.

Here in Oaxaca, things are very interesting in the public sphere. The public school teachers of the state have been on strike for 2 weeks now. And striking here doesn't just mean not going to work! It means that thousands of them showed up with tents and plastic tarps and turned a 6 block by 6 block (or something close to it) radius into a giant tent city. It's like a giant festival. There are also lots of vendors selling food, pirated dvds, cheap jewelry...the main plaza has turned into a market! It´s also kind of wierd because being outside in this area is like walking through people's houses. Oh, and there are all these ropes holding up the tarps. I think they were hung with the 5 ft 1 in person in mind, because I have to walk bent over. This is especially fun at night after a few beers.

So far, things have been peaceful. The teachers apparently do this every year. Someone told me it is sort of like a subculture. But this year, it seems the government hasn't given the teachers or the unions the augmented budget they want. I don't really know the details. But they are still here, and usually they leave in a few days. Last week, there was a big march. I think there were like 4000 people, not just teachers, but people who are supporting the teachers (campesinos, parents, other unions). Tomorrow, there will be an even bigger march. People are coming from all over the country to support the teachers, from really powerful unions. I think they are going to try to pressure the current govenor to step down.

It has been interesting to see the government's response to the strike, which is...well, nothing visible. In the states, the teachers would have been beat up and thrown in jail immediately. It seems really cool that they are able to do this here, but I think it is part of the government's way to make people feel like they have power, when they really don't. Also, it pisses a lot of people off who own businesses and work where they are camped out, so it might decrease their public support some. So, this is my theory, my book should be out in the fall....

I'm sure this concerns some of you, but don't worry! Oaxaca is way too touristy of a city for the government to try to use major force here. And I'm staying out of things, I don't want to get deported like some other foreign activists have already!

I'm sitting in one of thousands of internet cafes in Oaxaca, and although the Kelly Clarkson album they are playing is less that thrilling, I am thoroughly greatful for technology right now. A friend recently asked me if I had beaten the internet addiction, since I am in a place where internet isn't accessible in the same way...and I had to say that no! I haven't. In fact, I actually spend money on in now (between 5 and 9 pesos and hour). But I have no regrets about that...it enables me to not feel so disconnected from people who are thousands of miles away. I feel like I have nothing really new to report, but I know that's not true. I just moved into a new apartment with a beautiful view of the city, and of the Iglesia Santo Domingo, which is a major tourist attraction here (although I think it's really gaudy...it's covered in gold on the inside, which was probably stolen from the precolumbian inhabitants of the valley of Oaxaca). I love my apartment, and actually spend a lot of time there. So, in comparison to the last few months, life seems tame. But then I think about the things that I've begun to take for granted, but that would be new and maybe suprising to someone who has just arrived for the first time from the states. Like the women in the markets selling "blandas, tlayudas!", which are the kinds of tortillas that are typical to Oaxaca. Or the men who wake us up at 7 in the morning yelling "agua!!!" or "gaaasss!". This morning, a truck passed by the house, selling fruit out the back. The loudspeaker the vendor was using was really obnoxious, but you can't beat 25 oranges for 20 pesos or a pineapple for 10 pesos (less than $1), delivered to your door. I can't imagine this happening in the states. Frozen dinners, yes, but fresh fruit, no. What else...yesterday, I went to this huge market, the Mercado de Abastos, which is a totally overwhelming place. I was thinking about the ways that vendors typically greet people here. You've got: "Que te vendo?", "que te doy?" or "Que vas a llevar?". Then you've got "Te muestro cualquier modelo, sin compromiso, eh." and variations of the idea. I am not making much sense right now because I just woke up from a long nap, so I think I'll pick this up later....

momentary pause

So I have been in Oaxaca for about 2 and a half weeks now, and it has gone by so fast! At the same time, my time in Guatemala seems so far away. Lets see....3 weeks ago, I was returning to Xela from the farm with my friend, Julie. We had funny times with someone we met on the bus (he lived almost 20 years in L.A. and then got deported...imagine how difficult that would be!) and his friend who was from New York, but who owns a beer/soda stand in the garbage dump that is the bus station in Xela. I saw Ellia again, which was wonderful. I was sad to leave her, but not so sad to leave Guatemala.

I had a blurry trip back to Oaxaca via San Cristobal on Wednesday, April 5. I got here early Friday morning, and got violently ill on Friday night, with a fever that made me shake uncontrollably for like an hour straight. I couldn´t get out of bed until Sunday, when I decided that I could eat potatoes and that I wasn´t going to die after all.

The next week was Semana Santa, which means that everyone who lives in Mexico city is basically on vacation and travelling. There were a lot of people visiting here. I have to rush right now, but basically, I couldn´t start the volunteer work that week because of vacations, but I decided to get a job, so I went to a restaurant and got one. I am working at this place called Los Danzantes that I would never eat at because it´s expensive! I get payed really crappily, but it is an interesting experience. Temporarily, it´s ok. And right now, I´m late!!

La Florida, pt. 1

Decomposing wooden buildings, sticks, sheet metal, and plastic composed the homes of the inhabitants/owners of la Florida. I arrived on a Monday night, at the same time as another volunteer named Julie. By the time we actually got to the farm from the town of Columba, it was dark. The community has hydroelectric energy, fed by a water wheel that has been there since before the farm was abandoned in the 90s. However, the electricity produces faint light, and doesn`t go to all the buildings in the community, just to the school/guest house (which used to be the owners house), and some houses on the main strech of path, most of which seem to have been there since before community members occupied the land. I dropped off my things, and then was guided by some one who I could barely see down a dirt road to the house of the family I was going to eat with. It was a good 10 minute walk I think. I had my flashlight, and my guide laughed and said they usually just walk in the dark. Arriving at the families house...well, I don`t really remember how things happened, because I met about 10 people, none of whom I could see very well by the light of the one candle that was lit. They sat me down at a table that was sort of outside, but under the tin roof, and ate some green beens, eggs, and tortillas, thus beginning the eating ritual that sort of dominated all other activities that week. Every morning, I ate breakfast at about 7 (yes, I got up before 7, sometimes even before 6!). Then it was lunch at 2, and dinner at 6. I really loved the family that I was eating with. It took a while to connect with them. Most of them, except for the little kids, are really quite and reserved, at least with strangers. And beyond that, it was hard to figure out what to talk to them about. This was a really good ego check for me, as I usually feel like I can connect with people "cross-culturally" as they say. But this streched me to my limits, and made me really contemplate to what extent it is possible to understand people with experiences and backgrounds that are utterly different than mine.

So...the woman who was in charge of feeding me was Rosalia, 21 yrs old, with 3 kids, who were 1, 2, and almost 3 (imagine...two 2-year olds???). Her husband, Joel, is 24, and lived almost 2 years in the U.S., in Miami, and in New York City. I can`t imagine what that was like for him...there aren`t many places that could be so profoundly different from where his family lives. After having been there, he said he enjoyed living a simpler, calmer life. He didn`t seem to have any problems readapting to living in rural Guatemala.

Also in the house lived Joel`s mother, father, and 3 teenage brothers. Everyone was really sweet to me. Sometimes when there was a silence, someone would say "desayune, hay tortillas" (eat, there`s tortillas). Which was interesting, because if there was one thing they were never lacking was tortillas, so I`m not really sure why they felt the need to remind me. But, I`ve experienced that in some other Guatemalan families that I`ve eaten with, and I think it`s just a cortesy. The tortillas are a topic in and of themselves. The family grows and harvests its own corn, and then degrains the dried corn by hand (I helped...it`s a pain!). Then, every night, they boil the kernals in water and "cal" (lye?). In the morning, at like 4, the women get up and go to the "molina" (mill) to grind the corn into masa. With this masa, they handmake like 50 tortillas a day or something crazy like that. The tortillas are really thick and delicious, cooked (like everything else) over a fire in the dirt-floor kitchen.

The tortilla making is just one example of how increadibly hard people work in this community, and in the campo in general in Guatemala. Before going, I think I had some romantic notions about what it would be like. And there were things that are really beautiful about the way people live. The work they do is increadible. But in general, after seeing 5 year old boys and 60 year old women carrying huge bundles of wood on their backs, women spending all day (from 4 am to like 9 pm) cooking and washing, men weeding and cutting down trees with machetes, and without much choice in the matter, I can say that my romantic illusions were definitely broken down. While part of me feels really weak because I know I could never work like they do, I am imensely glad I don`t have to. I think that the people there are, in general, happy with their manner of living. But I know they don`t like the fact that they are stuggling to survive, that their kids are cronically ill with parasites, coughs, etc.

I originally thought that I would be going to the community to help them out with the work they are doing on their coffee crop. But it turns out that they are still working on rehabilitating the farm after it`s 8 year abandonment. A lot of the land is very wild right now, full of thick vegitation and poisonous snakes! And it seemed like they didn`t really want us to work, unless we were going to teach English classes to the kids. They were really concerned with making sure that we were having a good time. I think the volunteer program mostly helps the community financially, and they sure do need that help. They are majorly in debt, and without much of a coffee crop to speak of to help them pay it off in the short amount of time they`ve been given to do so.

So, I have a lot more to write about my week there, but I think I will wait `til later. Oh, and for those of you who don`t know, I am no longer in Guatemala. I left last Wednesday and made my way back to Oaxaca City, Mexico, where I plan to stay for a month doing some volunteer work. Ah, how plans change...