"For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin- real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one." -Souza
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
A REMINDER...
Some people have asked me why I've chosen to live in a country where I'm living "in poverty". I think immediately, "in poverty"?!?! Hmm, interesting. I guess if I look at my monthly salary here and compare it to what a language professor gets in the states, it would appear that I'm living in poverty. I don't make much. Then, I take a look at where I'm living here in this little town ... a small room, cement floors, no kitchen, just a bed and a table, and what's attempting to be a closet. Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen a room like this in the states. And when I think back over the past two years, I've definitely had some difficult times. So, why am I so happy living here???? A while ago, I came across this quote about "life". It's a nice reminder for everyone to think about what happiness truly is....
Thursday, June 9, 2011
STAY INFORMED!
I've recently posted a compilation of photos from when I first studied in Oaxaca in the fall of 2008, and it has led me to reflect and think about a lot of the issues we talked about during that semester. As a group, we had three main trips that we spent with Witness for Peace, and I recently started looking through their site. Here are some interesting links to read through:
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Ojalá
Back at PLU, I listened to a man from Oaxaca give a lecture and I distinctly remember him poetically talking about getting to know “los rostros y los corazones de la gente;” à the faces and the hearts of the people. It gave me this new perspective of meeting and getting to know someone. When meeting new people and developing new friendships, I’m seeing their faces while getting to know their hearts and who they are deep inside. This is especially evident as I’ve ventured out on my own, moving to Ixtlán. I never expected to meet such great friends in such a short period of time especially within the last four months here in Mexico. Sometimes friendships emerge in the least likely moment and with the least likely people … or maybe it’s just perfect timing while others say it’s fate. Who knows? :)
While covering a variety of topics during our lunch-time chats, there’s one theme that has touched my heart … the talk of poverty within Latin America and the injustices done to people, many being indigenous. While I have yet to develop my thoughts and deepen my research on this topic, this theme has come up again and again since I started studying Spanish at PLU, during my study abroad trip in Oaxaca, and now with the conversations I’ve shared with new friends. I feel moved and somehow empowered to do something, yet I still don’t know what that could be.
Along with these talks, I’ve finally dived into the book “Pedagogy of the Oppressed,” which I encourage everyone to read, and I’ve been introduced to some new music that coincidentally relates as well. One of the artists is Silvio Rodriguez, a Cuban musician who started the genre of music called trova. His songs are very powerful, and I’d like to share one of his most popular songs, Ojalá (Hopefully) written in 1969. Most forums claim that the song is about the Cuban government under Fidel Castro, and others claim that Silvio Rodriguez was looking at a picture of Uncle Sam and that it's about capitalism. Both seem plausible seeing how the Cuban way of living has been greatly affected by both governments. What do you think? Ideas? Discussions? I tried my best to translate the song … but if there are any other bilingual people out there, feel free to correct me, please! :)
OJALÁ – SILVIO RODRIGUEZ
Ojalá que las hojas no te toquen el cuerpo cuando caigan
para que no las puedas convertir en cristal.
Ojalá que la lluvia deje de ser milagro que baja por tu cuerpo.
Ojalá que la luna pueda salir sin ti.
Ojalá que la tierra no te bese los pasos.
Ojalá se te acabe la mirada constante,
la palabra precisa, la sonrisa perfecta.
Ojalá pase algo que te borre de pronto:
una luz cegadora, un disparo de nieve.
Ojalá por lo menos que me lleve la muerte,
para no verte tanto, para no verte siempre
en todos los segundos, en todas las visiones:
Ojalá que no pueda tocarte ni en canciones.
Ojalá que la aurora no dé gritos que caigan en mi espalda.
Ojalá que tu nombre se le olvide a esa voz.
Ojalá las paredes no retengan tu ruido de camino cansado.
Ojalá que el deseo se vaya tras de ti,
a tu viejo gobierno de difuntos y flores.
English version:
Hopefully the leaves won't touch your body when they fall
Hopefully the rain, from being a miracle, will pass through your body
Hopefully the moon can rise without you
Hopefully the earth won't kiss your steps
Hopefully your constant stare,
your precise word, your perfect smile will be put to an end
Hopefully something happens so that you'll be erased soon
a blinding light, a shot of snow
Hopefully at least I'll be brought to my death
so that I don't have to see you that much, so that I don't have to see you ever again
in any second, in any vision
Hopefully you can't even be touched in songs
Hopefully the screams of dawn won't fall on my back
Hopefully that voice will forget your name
Hopefully the walls won't retain the sound of your tiring walk
Hopefully the desires will run after you
your old government of the deceased and flowers
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
BITS & PIECES OF MY DAILY LIFE
When first moving here, my days started very early unfortunately…. I was woken up by roosters “singing” at 3:30 in the morning! For a week, I’d send angry thoughts to them, “What are you thinking? The sun’s not even up yet! SHUT UP!” The amazing thing is, for most families here in Ixtlan and definitely in smaller neighboring towns, the roosters are their alarm clocks. So if your rooster decides to wake up at 3:30 in the morning, that’s what time you’ll be waking up! But if your rooster wakes up at 6:00, well lucky you. They have a saying here in the town for people who aren’t punctual or show up late to a meeting: “Se quedó dormido tu gallo esta mañana?” à “Did your rooster sleep in this morning?” Well, now I’d be in trouble because I don’t even hear the roosters anymore and sleep soundly until my alarm clock goes off.
The only sounds I haven’t been able to tune out are the wrestling matches. That’s right, every other week there’s at least one wrestling match that takes place above my head. You see, my cabin roof is made out of some sort of metal which transforms soft sprinkles of rain into what sounds like a full on downpour. So at night, as I’m going to bed, I can hear the pitter-patter of cat paws walking across the roof. The first time two cats went rolling across my roof, I almost had a heart attack … I thought someone had kicked my door in! Now, even though they still wake me up out of the deadest sleep, at least it doesn’t jolt me out of bed like the first couple of times.
The next thing on the agenda once I’ve woken up in the morning is to get ready for my shower. In the states and even in the city of Oaxaca, we just undress and jump on in, but here it’s a different story. To save as much gas as possible (aka money), I actually open the gas and light the pilot of my hot water tank every morning. I then have to wait about 10-20 minutes for the water to heat up. During this time of waiting, I’ll sweep my room since dirt and dust seem to collect every day and I’ll do some yoga to wake myself up. One morning when I woke up and stepped outside, there was a scrawny-looking chicken just pecking around outside my door. Ah yes… this is a part of my daily life here.
Once showered, dressed, and ready to go, I head out for my ~2.5mile walk to the university. (Although when I’m running late, there are always the “moto-taxis” that can give me a ride for a price of 5 pesos, the equivalent of about 40 cents.) Occasionally as I’m leaving, there’s a little occurrence that puts a smile on my face. Remember the scene in “Lady and the Tramp” where they sneak into the chicken coop to steal some eggs? While watching that Disney-movie scene, I never actually thought how it could be so realistic. But here I am, leaving to go to work, and a dog (who actually has a very similar appearance to “Tramp”) slinks out alongside me with his tail between his legs and a very guilty expression. Just sneaking out of the chicken coop! Either that or the garbage can.
In Mexico, there are so many street dogs that solitarily roam or run around in packs, and you’ll see them in the cities and towns. For some reason, their company in the streets warms my heart while at the same time I wish I could give them a home with plenty of food and love. One dog greets me every day with his tail wiggling to and fro and his eyes blinking sweetly at me. I can tell he wants to be pet so badly, but I've noticed he has some sort of infection on his neck and throat. So I try to give him attention with sweet hellos and kissing noises while keeping my hands to myself!
Now that you’ve had a little peek as to what happens from the moment I wake up until about 8:30am, who wants to come visit? J
Sunday, May 1, 2011
CHANGING SKIES, DIFFERENT EYES
Over a year has gone by, and I'm finally writing again. No matter where you are in life, the events you experience from day to day suddenly just become ordinary daily life ... but should we really have that kind of view?
With the realization that my daily life in Oaxaca soon wouldn't be so daily, I had the epiphany that I should, no I MUST, appreciate every minute, every second I experience here in Oaxaca. And my "adventure within an adventure" has helped me do exactly that!
I'm now living in a little town called Ixtlán in the mountains of the "Sierra Norte," a region of Oaxaca. I had applied to a university located here in Ixtlán over a year ago but received the response that there were no positions available. Then, this past January, when I stopped working at the university here in Oaxaca, I found myself panicking ... how would I have enough to pay for rent AND save for my future? Am I seriously back in this situation where I'm making exactly what I need to pay? While this goes into another story that I'll share another time, the short version is that February came around and I received an email saying that the UNSIJ, the university in Ixtlán, was looking to hire a teacher ASAP.
I took it!
I have now been living here for almost two months, and I love it. Every day I wake up to the view of the pine-filled mountains, I walk either up or down (since the town is literally set in a mountain) to get to the university, and at the end of the day, I look out at the sunset that seems to whisper a different poem each evening.
Looking out at static mountains, I'm walking beneath changing skies and living through different eyes.
And loving every minute of it!
Check out the new pictures I've posted. The views are honestly amazing. I'll be posting again soon to give you an insight on what my new daily life consists of.
Sending you all love.
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