CHIAPAS

Written during the trip in my notebook:



Here I am in Chiapas, writing in my notebook so you all can get the experience firsthand and my feelings up front. I'll tell it from the beginning.... First we came to the touristy city of San Cristóbal de las Casas in which was absolutely beautiful and cute and with TONS of street markets. We had a variety of meetings in Chiapas with different organizations to hear and learn more about what has happened in the past politically within the state of Chiapas, as well as learning about the Zapatist movement, other peaceful organizationas, and human rights issues. But right now, I'm in a small community. We left on Sunday the 16th and we're staying until Tuesday. So, we came to this small community called Tzajalchen which is surrounded by beautiful mountains.. It's only a few hours from San Cristóbal, and the ride was fine until the last hour which was all dirt roads. We were bouncing up and down, and there were tons of curves. I had tried dremamine once before and hated the feeling of it so I decided not to take it this time, and when I started to get carsick (which usually doesn't happen to me!), one of the Witness for Peace (WFP) leaders gave me her pressure bracelets as well as a lime to suck on that are supposed to help with the nausea . Surprising, after about 15 minutes, I felt almost 100% better. The only thing is that after sucking on a lime for almost the entire time, my mouth and lips were completely raw, and part of my lip was swollen! Haha ... great look to have while meeting new people. Immediately, once we reached the community, I felt completely comfortable and while we are staying in a school building with cement floors and dirt that never seems to be able to be swept up, I feel at peace. The community is surrounded with amazing and beautiful vegetation; I feel so connected with the nature even though I can't name a single plant. The mountains are incredible and the valleys so deep. Also, immediately when we pulled up, there were all these curious faces peeking around corners, through windows and doors, and simply looking from the front yard with their bare feet in the mud.... These tiny faces = the children = so full of life, full of smiles, and full of games. The boys are so rambunctious while the girls are timid, sometimes just watching from afar with their little sisters or brothers on their backs in a shawl. Most of the children could speak Spanish but some (as well as the women in the community) only speak their native tongue, tzotzil. Oh! And the first morning ... we woke up to all those tiny faces peeking in through the windows of the school building, waiting to play!!! :)

(I wrote this once we had returned to San Cristóbal): The second day we were there, we decided to go to the fields of corn and coffee beans. The man that we went with told us that it would take about an hour to get there, and two hours to return since we would be doing a loop. Well, after two hours all up and down (mostly down) in the mud, we finally reached his property where we were able to eat mandarins and oranges off the trees. At one point, right before we had reached the fields, I heard Amanda up ahead scream "Las hormigas pican! Corren!!!" [The ants bite! Run!!!] So once we saw millions of ants swarming our feet, we began sprinting which happened to be up this steep and muddy hill! It's a miracle that I never fell at any point during this hike. Also, we were thinking ... ok, if it takes us two hours to hike what takes these men one hour, what's the return trip going to look like??? Yep. ALL uphill in the mud. I LOVE it, but it was a slow hike and I don't really enjoy hiking in jeans. Although when I was breathing hard (altitude is 2300 meters), I was motivated by the two little boys that accompanied us who were each carrying half their weight of firewood on their backs ... or rather by a strap that was on their foreheads (yeah, check out the pics! I'll have them up soon!) ... and they were smiling the entire time, shouting "foto, foto!" I was completely exhausted afterwards but sooo happy ... you know me and hiking. I couldn't be happier than being in the nature with my heart pounding. And I think it would've taken us four hours to get back if we didn't catch a ride once we got to the main road leading to the community.

Well, the reason we went to this community in the first place was because they are members of this organization called Los Abejas (the Bees). They are a pacifist group that is trying to work together to keep an autonomous community and who are fighting for the human rights of the indigenous people. The told us that they chose the name Los Abejas because as they watch the bees, they can see how they are always working hard and how they are all equal with the exception of the queen bee. And it's true that these people work SO hard. I mean, we were all completely exhausted by our hike that is an easy, everyday stoll for these men. And the women as well are up at 5am making food every morning and working on weaving shirts to sell. They work harder physically and emotionally than anyone I've ever met. After visiting Tzajalchen, we went to a neighboring community called Acteal who are also a part of Los Abejas (which by the way was founded in 1992). And we heard this story.... On December 22, 1997, in Acteal, soldiers from the government entered, planning to kill everyone. The community had heard ahead of time that they were coming but just in time to know that they were already surrounded. They started to cry while Alfonso, a man in the community, encouraged them by saying that God would protect them. That even if the soldiers killed them, their souls would not die. So this peaceful group of people began praying in their small church. When they heard the shots they began running and tried to hide. With no physical armor but the prayers from their lips, 45 innocent people were killed. Five men, 25 women (five of which were pregnant), eight children between the ages of 5 and 10, two toddlers, and five babies under the age of one. Listening to this makes me sick and it makes me realize how much injustice there is in this world. I'll post some links as well for anyone who'd like to read more. There are so many indigenous communities who continuously have their rights violated and who continue to live in poverty while they work so hard to harvest and make a living. Many times, during the off seasons, the men travel to the bigger cities to find jobs which are usually low-paying. the national minimum wage in Mexico is $5 per DAY. And sometimes these days consist of 9-10 hours of work.

In one of the reflection meetings with WFP, I started talking about how I'm so frustrated because right now my role is to just listen to these stories as a witness without being able to do anything, and I honestly have little hope about doing something later. Too many times I return from a heart-breaking trip like this just to return to my "normal" life. I'm so afraid to go back to the US, to find myself faced with all my bio classes, internship, ad senior thesis, and to forget about the other lives that I have seen. And what can I do? How can I help? We talked about how we can be the voice for them ... but I feel like I can tell these stories I've heard, I can touch hearts, but I'm afraid that my words will stay in the hearts and minds of my family and friends without motivating any action. I hope not. I was thinking about our country as well ... Obama's speach consisted of the words, "Yes we can." And yes ... we CAN, but will we? We need to motivate ourselves to actually work hard to make some changes within our own country, our own communities. We can't just sit back and see how Obama will change things but rather, what can we do? I began crying after I expressed my frustrations with the group and couldn't really stop sniffling the whole rest of the time, and after the meeting, I realized I had told a littler 13-year-old girl that I would buy a necklace from her. And there she was patiently waiting for me. Trying to blink back the still-threatening-tears, I sat down and invited her to sit with me to show me her necklaces, and along with her, I was surrounded by all these little girls. One little four- or five-year-old, who couldn't speak Spanish, kept rubbing my back while smiling at me. I was incredibly touched by their shy but warming love. It was very remedial.

And so the point? I just keep thinking about how much poverty exists in the world and how much injustice still occurs everyday even within our own communities. I keep looking at my future, thinking "What can I do?" Some may think we just need to let life unfold and let the pieces fall where they may, but I encourage you to look and see what you can do, whether it be near or far in the world. We can all do something; it's just whether we take the initiative or not. We've only got one life to live and we don't know how long this one life will last.... Something I said during the meeting is that I don't want to just listen, I want to do something NOW. So let's try to do something now ... not tomorrow, not something within the next year ... let's start planning, getting involved, and helping today, in this moment that we live.

checking in : Day of the Dead!

Hey everyone... so I´m WAY behind in letting you all know what`s been going on. So I`m going to start off with Day of the Dead although it was almost a month ago.... Day of the Dead was amazing. On Friday night (October 31st) my classmates and I went to two different cemetaries in which were surrounded by what seemed like a fair. There were tons and tons of marigolds everywhere, people dressed up as "the dead", stands to buy whatever type of food you wanted (including hot cakes with nutella and caramel!), and tons of festivities. First, something that every family does is build an altar in their house. It`s completely filled with bread, food, coka cola, mezcal, marigolds, as well as other flowers, and the pictures of the loved ones who have passed away. It`s very beautiful, and on the 1st of November while I was reading in my room, old music and the smell of incense floated upstairs. So, I decided to see what was going on and my host mom had opal burning at the altar and was looking through photographs while listening to her parents` favorite music. She started showing me all the different photos from when her mother was young as well as her extended family. It was really cool for me to be a part of this time of remembering because usually the family is pretty private. When we went to the cemetaries the night before, there were tons of sand murals in which depicted a variety a images such as Jesus, the Virgen Mary, images of death, simple designs, and more. Also, the cemetaries where completely filled with candles and flowers. It was beautiful. It made me start thinking of my grandparents. I had never really understood how beautiful and meaningful Day of the Dead really is... it`s a time of remembrance, getting together with family, and celebrating that our loved ones are in a better place. I wish in the US we had a day to really remember and appreciate those who have passed on. We have Memorial Day, but sill ... it seems to go by forgotten. I was just thinking how many years have gone by since I`ve visited my grandparents` graves, and while although I remember them and will think of them from time to time, it`s always a fleeting thought in my busy day. So, I really truly enjoyed Day of the Dead. On Saturday evening, I went with Daniel and his mom to a little town where their family came from. We stayed at Daniel`s uncle`s house, and that first night felt like Thanksgiving to me. The smells, eating with lots of people, eating lots of food, and there was just a cozy feeling that reminded me of one of my uncle and aunt`s house. The only difference is that later that night, I got to listen to all types of scary stories! (And really! By the end, I was a little shocked!) Oh, and the food.... Ok, where to start? So, before I left for San Pedro Añañe (the town), I ate what`s called "mole negro" which is a sauce made from chiles and served with chicken. Very delicious! That night at the uncle`s house ... mole negro with chicken again ... the next morning, we woke up, ate lots of bread with hot chocolate and then went to visit friends in the town. While although I was full from the bread and hot chocolate, when we arrived at the friend`s house, we had MORE mole negro with chicken. At this point, I seriously thought I was going to puke and be completely ashamed in front of all of Daniel`s mom and family friends.... I mean, every second I was telling myself,"Don`t puke, don`t puke, dont puke!" So you`re probably asking, how did I reach this limit in which my stomach was literally almost overflowing? Well, the first night I refused a second serving by saying, "Oh it`s delicious but I`m already full. Thanks so much!" And Daniel looked at me with this smile and said, "Mom, tell Michele about how to have good manners in the towns." Well, found out that it`s considered bad manners to refuse food in the smaller, traditional communities. You`re always supposed to accept whatever they present to you and what you can`t eat, you take home with you. Oh no... my problem is that 1) I eat too fast and therefore am receiving my second serving right away, and 2) I have a small stomach. Bad combination! Well, the good news is that I didn`t puke! (But I definitely should start running again!) That evening, after visiting other friends` houses (and receiving more refreshments and mezcal) we were looking for someone, who had gone out into the cornfields, to say goodbye before we left. We ended up spending much time walking in the country side and when we finally found them, they insisted that we eat with them. So, while sitting amidst the cornfields, we ate roasted corn (I ate about 4...), with rice, chicken, tortillas, and AMAZING salsa. Again, I was SO full but completely satisfied. And it was such a beautiful sight; I love the country. We were all sitting, eating, and talking (with my shyness, I listened more thatn spoke), and as the sun was starting to set, the cornstalks had kind of a goldish glow. I felt completely happy and at peace and so comfortable sitting there, absorbing everything around me. Hopefully I`ll get to return one more time before leaving Oaxaca! Oh, and the pics are really cool! I`ll be posting them later this week, so check them out!

Love and miss you all, especially during this week of Thanksgiving. Take care of yourselves, and I really can`t wait to see you!!!