Here’s a little story for all of you that read my blog:
Eight years ago, after two emergency c-sections and months of living with an open wound on my abdomen, my husband and I decided we would have no more children: I did not heal well, I was getting older. In February of this year, we found out that, despite contraception, we were very pregnant. We were happy, worried and very scared. By March, I started to lose the pregnancy. We were heartbroken. My then doctor sent me home to wait for the inevitable. I went home but to look for another doctor: I opened the yellow pages and started calling around. The first office I called gave me an appointment and in we went. I went home with hope, this time, and a very long list of medicines and care.
Months have passed by and we have never felt more support! We moved to Xalapa and people that had only known her for a month had a shower to help welcome the baby and have a circle of good hopes and positive energy. Our wonderful friends back home sent a “babyshower in a box” with all their love! People who read the blog sent emails with good wishes.
After 38 weeks of pain, scares, bed rest, etc., but with so much good energy on our side, we went to the hospital (Centro Medico de Xalapa) at 7 a.m. on Saturday, November 1st (All Saints Day). I went into the OR at 8 a.m., my husband was with me. At 9 a.m. we were blessed with the strong cries of the new addition to our family: healthy and strong. I stayed in the OR for a while longer: my stomach was fused to the uterus. If the pregnancy had been terminated, if I had had a miscarriage, went into labor or tried VBAC (vaginal delivery after cesarean), it would have torn the two organs apart and internal bleeding would have ensued.
Needless to say, this THANKSGIVING had a special meaning to us this year! We are all well, healthy, and we know how incredibly lucky we are for having so many friends and so much love!
We are THANKFUL for:
Our extraordinary Doctor (Dr. Ruiz Vargas) for his knowledge, care and being there all the time, from each scan to the OR (over 2 hours).
All the Nurses for their care and compassion.
For all strangers and friends who sent their blessings, good vibes, positive energy and good tidings.
For our families for being here, taking care of my family while we couldn’t.
For my husband, for taking all in stride and being my strength when I most needed him.
For God, for guiding our steps towards the right decisions and giving us the strength to not give up, to give a good fight.
For LIFE!
10.12.08
9.10.08
…And the rain keeps coming
Well, it had been a pretty dry year, after all, so it was bound to happen sooner or later. Xalapa is wet, very wet, one might say green: plants are green and mold is green and both are growing happily right now. Overall, the rain has been falling: with a couple of days of non stop, but not torrential. Seems, so far, that drainage is pretty good, better than in some streets in Coatepec (that resemble rivers at times) and way better than in Xico (were streets have white waters- photo).
The rest of the state, well, it is suffering. Last year (2007), floods started earlier as I recall. It was the North of the State, toward Tampico and the States of Tabasco and Chiapas. This year, it has been different. The weather patterns are turning already and States that would hardly see rain are flooding. Rivers that have been dry for over 30 years are suddenly coming out of their beds and destroying towns and fields (like in Chihuahua and Coahuila). Veracruz is no exception: the Papaloapan River overflowed for the first time in who knows how many decades flooding the town of Tlacotalpan, World Heritage site and one of our favorite towns in all Veracruz.
It is tremendously sad to see the dire need people have in the Southern parts of the State while life progresses so normally here. I shouldn't complain: we are lucky. Xalapa is lucky, the mountains are a good place. Rain falls, hurricanes pass and all we see are a few downed power lines and tree limbs, otherwise, we're good. Last year schools closed a couple of days due to hurricane winds (what is left from what hits the coast), this year it has been pretty benign for the mountains. The pot holes (baches) just keep getting deeper in some streets and kids can't go out to play at recess time, but so far no floods, no power outages, we're good.
And as far as the climate changes: what better proof than everyday in the Xalapa/ Coatepec area. Long gone are the days of the chipi-chipi, the famous non stop drizzle for months at a time. Long gone are the evenings and mornings covered in pea-soup fog. Long gone are the months of cut-with-a-knife humidity in the air. The plants are dying: Bromeliads and Orchids rely on that kind of humidity in the air to live in the wild. The ecosystem is shifting, again. Few people miss those days, though; it is nicer to go through the day dry. We never had a chance to live those days, but it must have been cool to wake up to a foggy morning and not be able to tell who was standing at the other side of your own patio.
29.9.08
Still tripping
The family kind of tripping, though! Yeah, I am eight and a bit months pregnant, but as long as I feel fine, we still get out once in a while.
Two weeks ago I got a nice reminder of why I miss College. No, it wasn't the partying, that is not the case in Mexico. As an informative parenthesis and for those who cringe at the idea of living in a College town with young kids, well, College in Mexico is a very different thing than in the US. As my husband would put it: it's more like Grad School… not that much partying and a lot of studying. Why? When you enter College (Universidad here), you enter the field you have chosen and right away get on the nitty-gritty of things. There are very few writing courses, and math is already centered on your field. So if you are going to "Mayor" (actually, there are no mayors here either, it's your degree) in Law, you take law math, law history, law everything… and you've better not flunk it. So, there is less time for having parties, more incentive for studying. And the living arrangements are different too. Most kids live at home while attending college, or live with families that rent out room and board to students, very few dorms… no way you can get away with a loud party with an old lady as your landlady….
So back to the perks of living in a College city in Mexico: culture, services, libraries, top notch Orchestra, The Book Fair. The FILU- book fair of the University of Veracruz, not any book fair, either, every editorial house in the Country (and some international) had a booth at this fair. From kid's books to specialty books to learning aides, it was really well stocked. The boys had a blast attending workshops (from kite making to puzzle solving) and having meals there, too (shrimp in ancho chile and chicken in marinara sauce). Of course, the prices for books are better than the bookstore prices, but the biggest plus: conferences. we Had a chance to listen to Elena Poniatowska, she is a legend in Mexico, and she was there, one of the topmost writers and political speakers in our little city of Xalapa. And the concerts, right in the middle of the Fair, concerts of some of the best regional artists that the State has to offer. Some of our musician friends were amongst the groups: Los Macuiles and Son de Canela. Really a treat!
Now, this weekend was a different trip: we went beach hopping. Since we had such a long time of drizzle and rain, we got in the car as soon as we saw the weather report for the coast called for a decent day. We usually head for the boy's favorite beach: Playa La Mancha, but this time we decided to check out a different beach. We headed north, past the Laguna Verde power plant, to playa Muñecos. It was dreamy but littered. Seems there had been no cleaning from the Municipio for a while, so there were bottles on the bluff over the beach. As for the beach, it was beautiful! The surf was pretty hard because of the passing Norte, but you could still see how blue it usually was. There are really nice rock formations and colorful rocks scattered on a soft sandy beach. Unfortunately, I can't really do much climbing up and down anymore, so we couldn't stay at Muñecos… So, next beach.
We went back South to Villa Rica, a few Kilometers South. This beach we had been to before and has a nice little town scattered at the edge. We drove to the Southernmost edge of the beach, where sea hits the lagoon, and set camp there. It was very nice and quiet, just us and the crabs for the longest time. The boys caught crabs in the lagoon, the dog had a little swim, I had a nice walk and hubby took some photos of the wonderful lush landscape around the lagoon. The sand is white (this always surprises me of the Gulf, since there is so much petroleum drilling) and the water started off as pretty blue, then the winds hit. Unfortunately, the sunny weather became very windy and we had to take our shade down (before it flew away) and the water got murky.
It ended up being a short and sandy outing, but it was nice to get out to the warm and sunny weather of the neighboring beaches. You can't beat driving one hour East from a 63F degree, overcast day to a 93F degree, sunny beach.
20.9.08
23 years ago, the Earth shook
Yesterday, 23 years ago and I still remember the feeling of the ground moving like jello under my feet. I had just finished breakfast and was getting my books ready for school when the Earthquake hit. Before I knew it, my father had me under the door frame of my sister’s bedroom (I was using that bedroom at the time). It probably was less than a minute, but as I stood there, looking at my sister’s hanging lamp balancing a whole 180 degrees, it seemed like hours. It stopped, we checked on each other (my mom had been downstairs at the time), my dad did a quick run through the house, only a few trinkets had fallen out of place. We left for school, just another normal day... Until we turned on the radio. The devastation was tremendous. Hospitals had crumbled, apartment buildings had crumbled, stations had crumbled... As we drove through the empty Coyoacan streets, we slowly realized it had not been “just another quake”. Not even the birds were making their usual racket.
My dad dropped me off at school, partly because he wasn’t sure what to do, partly because he knew he had to check on other people. Being at school that morning was bizarre. I still remember all the talk. Many had already been in the school building when the quake hit since some classes started at 7 a.m. It was oddly quiet, too, only the ring of the phones in the office could be heard now and then. Classes were really not happening and parents were trickling in to pick up their children as early as 9 a.m. It was taking time for people to realize the size of the tragedy. I don’t remember when was it my parents picked me up from school. I do remember our physics teacher, Mr. Dyer, going around the school (with some of us trailing him) quantifying the damages to the buildings. The Modern American School was built pretty well, just a few cracks, non of them structural. Then he left, he had been called by the President to lead the team that would check the buildings that were still standing and see if they were safe... He must have been really good at what he did, I was just 15 and did not know much.
I can’t remember if there was TV (electricity) when I got home, I do remember my mom was terrified, but showing a strong facade for me. She was worried the MultiFamiliar (Apartments) that some of her aunts live at had been damaged. Communications were not doing too good that day. And so many buildings were leveled.
For the next few days nothing was normal, it was like the whole city had gone into mourning. Solidarity, that was the first time I heard the word spoken so many times a day. Volunteers were digging, and opening their homes to strangers who had been left with nothing but their lives. Total strangers, social status forgotten, cheered and hugged each other every time a survivor was found amongst the rubble. Then hope started to fade... It was too long for anybody to have survived under the rubble, too many days had passed... and then first baby was unearthed. Under the tons of rubble of a hospital came the most amazing miracle of life: newborn babies alive, entombed for six days, but they were alive. I can still remember crying, I still cry when I remember those little babies, muddy, dirty and hungry, but alive. I remember one baby had survived suckling on his dead mother’s breast... I still remember the Swiss rescue dogs sniffing through the rubble.
And after the rescue efforts became recovery efforts, more SOLIDARITY happened. People say the biggest tragedies bring out the best in people, and it did in Mexico City, the biggest city in the World at the time.
And, then, what happened. Did we forget? Did the government forget? Were they too keen to cover up that most of the buildings that crumbled were government appointed projects?
It is terribly sad that so much life was lost, but incredibly wonderful that so many people discovered the importance of teaming together to make things better... I just wish it remained as more than a distant memory, a historic fact, something that happened “before my time”.
I lived through it, I still remember the feelings, the pain, the terror, the confusion, the solidarity.
I have never liked September.: Mexico City Earthquake, 9/11... All in my lifetime. I do not forget the feelings, the people, the value of working together, of community. I hope you don’t either.
For more on the '85 Mexico City Earthquake:
http://vivirlatino.com/2007/09/19/mexico-city-earthquake-22-years-later.php
My dad dropped me off at school, partly because he wasn’t sure what to do, partly because he knew he had to check on other people. Being at school that morning was bizarre. I still remember all the talk. Many had already been in the school building when the quake hit since some classes started at 7 a.m. It was oddly quiet, too, only the ring of the phones in the office could be heard now and then. Classes were really not happening and parents were trickling in to pick up their children as early as 9 a.m. It was taking time for people to realize the size of the tragedy. I don’t remember when was it my parents picked me up from school. I do remember our physics teacher, Mr. Dyer, going around the school (with some of us trailing him) quantifying the damages to the buildings. The Modern American School was built pretty well, just a few cracks, non of them structural. Then he left, he had been called by the President to lead the team that would check the buildings that were still standing and see if they were safe... He must have been really good at what he did, I was just 15 and did not know much.
I can’t remember if there was TV (electricity) when I got home, I do remember my mom was terrified, but showing a strong facade for me. She was worried the MultiFamiliar (Apartments) that some of her aunts live at had been damaged. Communications were not doing too good that day. And so many buildings were leveled.
For the next few days nothing was normal, it was like the whole city had gone into mourning. Solidarity, that was the first time I heard the word spoken so many times a day. Volunteers were digging, and opening their homes to strangers who had been left with nothing but their lives. Total strangers, social status forgotten, cheered and hugged each other every time a survivor was found amongst the rubble. Then hope started to fade... It was too long for anybody to have survived under the rubble, too many days had passed... and then first baby was unearthed. Under the tons of rubble of a hospital came the most amazing miracle of life: newborn babies alive, entombed for six days, but they were alive. I can still remember crying, I still cry when I remember those little babies, muddy, dirty and hungry, but alive. I remember one baby had survived suckling on his dead mother’s breast... I still remember the Swiss rescue dogs sniffing through the rubble.
And after the rescue efforts became recovery efforts, more SOLIDARITY happened. People say the biggest tragedies bring out the best in people, and it did in Mexico City, the biggest city in the World at the time.
And, then, what happened. Did we forget? Did the government forget? Were they too keen to cover up that most of the buildings that crumbled were government appointed projects?
It is terribly sad that so much life was lost, but incredibly wonderful that so many people discovered the importance of teaming together to make things better... I just wish it remained as more than a distant memory, a historic fact, something that happened “before my time”.
I lived through it, I still remember the feelings, the pain, the terror, the confusion, the solidarity.
I have never liked September.: Mexico City Earthquake, 9/11... All in my lifetime. I do not forget the feelings, the people, the value of working together, of community. I hope you don’t either.
For more on the '85 Mexico City Earthquake:
http://vivirlatino.com/2007/09/19/mexico-city-earthquake-22-years-later.php
14.9.08
Rainy Sunday
It's Sunday and the skies woke us up with loud thunder and bright lightning. It has finally cooled down a little bit and it is gray outside, more of the normal Xalapa landscape. It was starting to feel strange: hot, humid and way too sunny!
The last couple of weeks have been filled with e-mails from friends that have been most welcomed: All those voices from our lives that are always so comforting and loving and we really miss and cherish! There have also been a few emails and calls inquiring about living in Mexico with kids. Somehow, it seems people actually read my blog! I really hope I can help all these families that inquire about this adventure, reminding them it has not been as “pastoral” as it sounds... I just wrote about the good times... Although, this last entries, from the year summary on, have been a little more raw and filled with more social commentary. Maybe it is the pregnancy speaking or, that in our second year, I feel more compelled to write more about the not-so-perfect situations that surround us and this country.
This adventure has never ceased to be a learning experience for all of us, it has been harder than it seems by my entries, so I guess it is time I shared more stuff than just the landscape and good food. But I will abstain of making looong rants about the non-existent cell phone etiquette (although having 20 cell phones go off in a period of a 30 minute school meeting and people actually answering... that is ridiculous!)
But, how many times we have bee drawn to the landscape and dreamt about a little home in the middle of the Cloud forest? I have witnessed quite a few scouts falling in love with the beauty of the landscape and then get a shock once they realize the crude reality of real Mexican country living. Every time we drive over to visit some of our friends out in the Mountains (even to Xico), we encounter the most amazing landscapes and idyllic areas where we wish we could settle... Then we get hit by reality and how incredibly difficult it is to live there...
WARNING! Living in the Mountains, not for all...
That should be posted somewhere around the picturesque roads that lead outside Xalapa, Coatepec and Xico. We have very good friends that grow Macadamias 5 minutes away from Xalapa. At a five minute (4 mile) distance, you would think there is not too much difference living in the city or out in the Macadamia farm. Wrong! There are areas inside the city limits that have no electricity, no running water and no phone lines (and this happens all over Mexico, including Mexico City).
The last couple of weeks have been filled with e-mails from friends that have been most welcomed: All those voices from our lives that are always so comforting and loving and we really miss and cherish! There have also been a few emails and calls inquiring about living in Mexico with kids. Somehow, it seems people actually read my blog! I really hope I can help all these families that inquire about this adventure, reminding them it has not been as “pastoral” as it sounds... I just wrote about the good times... Although, this last entries, from the year summary on, have been a little more raw and filled with more social commentary. Maybe it is the pregnancy speaking or, that in our second year, I feel more compelled to write more about the not-so-perfect situations that surround us and this country.
This adventure has never ceased to be a learning experience for all of us, it has been harder than it seems by my entries, so I guess it is time I shared more stuff than just the landscape and good food. But I will abstain of making looong rants about the non-existent cell phone etiquette (although having 20 cell phones go off in a period of a 30 minute school meeting and people actually answering... that is ridiculous!)
But, how many times we have bee drawn to the landscape and dreamt about a little home in the middle of the Cloud forest? I have witnessed quite a few scouts falling in love with the beauty of the landscape and then get a shock once they realize the crude reality of real Mexican country living. Every time we drive over to visit some of our friends out in the Mountains (even to Xico), we encounter the most amazing landscapes and idyllic areas where we wish we could settle... Then we get hit by reality and how incredibly difficult it is to live there...
WARNING! Living in the Mountains, not for all...
That should be posted somewhere around the picturesque roads that lead outside Xalapa, Coatepec and Xico. We have very good friends that grow Macadamias 5 minutes away from Xalapa. At a five minute (4 mile) distance, you would think there is not too much difference living in the city or out in the Macadamia farm. Wrong! There are areas inside the city limits that have no electricity, no running water and no phone lines (and this happens all over Mexico, including Mexico City).
Our friends live off the land, they’ve been doing it for generations. They are well versed in nature and, most importantly, don’t rely too mu
ch on either electricity or the internet, and that is how they can live there. Hey, it’s like living in the outer suburbs anywhere in the US, with the big difference that it is more like the Amish way: There are few electric lines that easily go down with storms around here (hey, even in the city there are around 25 blackouts a year - some as long as 12 hours long). Out in the mountains, if you are lucky to have electricity, you still need to be prepared for extended power failures, since it takes the electric company an average of 3 days to get to those areas... And if there is no electricity where you happen to live, well, you can resort to other power sources, like the locals do (then again, the locals don’t have a need for refrigerator, computer, etc.). You probably want to be able to rely on other sorts of energy: tons of batteries (which are ridiculously expensive in Mexico), a generator (not very ecological burning tons of diesel), burning wood (there goes the cloud forest) or maybe solar cells (which would be useless 50% of the year with the overcast skies and rain)...gets pricey.
But our friends have little need for much electricity, and most of their energy is spent by the refrigerator, so they are cool just keeping a small generator in case of emergency.
Then come the water issues. Well, they are lucky enough to have running water since they are close enough to Xalapa and have a big Macadamia shelling plant that bring jobs and funds to the locals and local government. So they have no issue there... They also have a spring that runs in their propety. Some others have to rely on digging a well and, again, having a pump (electric) to get water in the house, oh, yes, and a septic tank. Now, if there is no electricity, manual pumping.
Finally, for those of us that cannot live incommunicado... No phone lines. Even in small towns, the phone company only has capacity for so many lines, once they are gone, they are gone and you are very lucky if you can get one! So out there, 4 miles off the city, there are no phone lines, that means zero, nil, non, nada de Internet. For some people the lack of internet is no biggie, for some it is their whole life line to the World. Cell phone reception is at best spotty (will work around 5 hours a day in different parts of the house)... So better have a well tuned, gassed car in case of emergency...and roads...well, more like impassable trails in rainy season, so all-wheel drive, gas guzzler might not be a bad idea.
They are accustomed to living in those conditions and don’t rely on most technology. US technology sounds sweet here, but expensive and virtually impossible to bring (unless you have a few million dollars to spare and good customs connections!), so very not practical.
ch on either electricity or the internet, and that is how they can live there. Hey, it’s like living in the outer suburbs anywhere in the US, with the big difference that it is more like the Amish way: There are few electric lines that easily go down with storms around here (hey, even in the city there are around 25 blackouts a year - some as long as 12 hours long). Out in the mountains, if you are lucky to have electricity, you still need to be prepared for extended power failures, since it takes the electric company an average of 3 days to get to those areas... And if there is no electricity where you happen to live, well, you can resort to other power sources, like the locals do (then again, the locals don’t have a need for refrigerator, computer, etc.). You probably want to be able to rely on other sorts of energy: tons of batteries (which are ridiculously expensive in Mexico), a generator (not very ecological burning tons of diesel), burning wood (there goes the cloud forest) or maybe solar cells (which would be useless 50% of the year with the overcast skies and rain)...gets pricey.But our friends have little need for much electricity, and most of their energy is spent by the refrigerator, so they are cool just keeping a small generator in case of emergency.
Then come the water issues. Well, they are lucky enough to have running water since they are close enough to Xalapa and have a big Macadamia shelling plant that bring jobs and funds to the locals and local government. So they have no issue there... They also have a spring that runs in their propety. Some others have to rely on digging a well and, again, having a pump (electric) to get water in the house, oh, yes, and a septic tank. Now, if there is no electricity, manual pumping.
Finally, for those of us that cannot live incommunicado... No phone lines. Even in small towns, the phone company only has capacity for so many lines, once they are gone, they are gone and you are very lucky if you can get one! So out there, 4 miles off the city, there are no phone lines, that means zero, nil, non, nada de Internet. For some people the lack of internet is no biggie, for some it is their whole life line to the World. Cell phone reception is at best spotty (will work around 5 hours a day in different parts of the house)... So better have a well tuned, gassed car in case of emergency...and roads...well, more like impassable trails in rainy season, so all-wheel drive, gas guzzler might not be a bad idea.
They are accustomed to living in those conditions and don’t rely on most technology. US technology sounds sweet here, but expensive and virtually impossible to bring (unless you have a few million dollars to spare and good customs connections!), so very not practical.
What they are now facing and will never be ok with is the new trend of robberies that started a couple of months ago. Not a good place to be where you cannot call your neighbors for help, can’t call the police either.
The landscape is still lovely, but I think I am cool with leaving it as is, and enjoying it from afar. It helps ecology not to build anymore out in the Cloud Forest, too... more so if you have no idea of how to live attuned to nature, and that... that takes a long time to learn.
The landscape is still lovely, but I think I am cool with leaving it as is, and enjoying it from afar. It helps ecology not to build anymore out in the Cloud Forest, too... more so if you have no idea of how to live attuned to nature, and that... that takes a long time to learn.
4.9.08
The Beauty of Brown
It’s almost been a week since my last post and I have been so overwhelmed with all sorts of things that had had no time to sit down and write. I am thankful that all those things have been workable, though!
We had blood drawn, the boys and I, and it was interesting. It was the first time for the boys to get blood tests and it was not helping that, as we walk in the lab, we hear the screaming cries of a 6 year old girl. Of course, the boys were pretty nervous after the first 10 minutes of screams... The lab technician still had not even touched the little girl...she was just hysterical. Needless to say, both boys were very surprised at how fast and painless the prick was and left the lab relieved and happy, each bearer of a box of juice!
We also gave in and drove back to Monte Blanco to get some bed frames for the boys. When we came down we brought inflatable beds to start with. Over time, we got so comfortable with the beds that we never switched to mattresses. Besides, with the humidity here, I am paranoid about mold growing inside my mattress! But after a year of the boys sleeping on the floor in their little inflatable beds (we have a double height inflatable), it was time to at least raise them. So we took the scenic route (there is no other route) to Monte Blanco in our search for a good alternative.
Monte Blanco is known for its bamboo furniture made by craftsmen all over town, we had been there a year before to purchase our dining room - which took forever to make since we wanted a made-to-order one. The drive was no less impressive: rising over valleys, past the town of Teocelo (that is quite a jewel in itself) and on to the ridge. The road is lined with impressive sheer walls of rock on one side and the deep, jungle canyon that houses the river. Monte Blanco was built around the road right on a ridge. There are no real side streets because there is no more “flat” land but that where little houses rest. Most of the backyards of these houses have a very impressive vista into a deep, jungle canyon.
It is wonderful just to stop in every workshop to check out the different styles of furniture each craftsman is working on: classical Pacific Beach, Asian Pacific, Bali, all interesting and with the beautiful, different browns of the lacquered bamboo. We found our beds for a decent price and even had them delivered, which was great! We also had a chance to stop at the lookout to check out the canyon below Monte Blanco. It was impressive, some vultures were gliding on currents and we could hear the rush of the river down below, a river we know becomes some of the most spectacular waterfalls of the area: the Texolo and La Monja. Of course, we had to cut it short since the no-see-ums and other mosquitoes were having a banquet with us just standing around!
The rest of this week has been devoted to meeting the teachers and parents at school. It won't cease to amaze me how different the whole experience has been in Nuestro Mundo for the boys and for us. Although the community in Colegio Calli accepted us in time, it took at least a month for them to warm up to us, while we feel already accepted and welcomed here, after just a few weeks! It has been full of very nice surprises, and I know it will be harder for the boys as a learning exercise, but much more fruitful!
One of the themes the school is going to be focusing on this year is discrimination... (Wow, have I had my share of that!) In a whole school meeting with workshop teachers (Art, Music, English, Ecology, Science lab, Gym, Theater) a parent asked the science teachers how they would explain “black skin color” to a kindergartener...
So, going back to the beautiful tones of brown... In the US, it has been an issue long worked on: help kids breach that gap that inevitably leads to bias and discrimination, starting by the skin differences. Yes, I remember my boys asking me sometime or another why their skin was so much lighter than some of their friends’ skin, but with no prejudice, just curiosity. Then again, my kids grew up with a light brown mother and a “bleached” brown (their words) father, lived in a very culturally diverse inner suburb (Cleveland Heights) and skin color was never really an issue, it was just the normal beauty of the human landscape. The school community was comprised of families that actively sought that multicultural environment for their children, and the schools per se, did a great job on guiding the kids and counseling whenever needed.
Now, in Mexico, there are many tones of brown, too. And there is discriminations within all those tones of brown, but most people that discriminate don’t even know they are doing it... They are in self-denial! Most all Mexican population has come from a mix of cultures: the European (mostly Spanish) and the indigenous, although there are also regions that have a heavy African influence because of the slave trade in Colonial times. Somehow, a lot of the “colonial” way of thinking - more European blood is better- still prevails mainly in the upper crust of Mexico and Latin America. It is the “educated” families, the middle and upper middle sectors of society, that are now fighting (although this started around 20 years ago) to eradicate this discrimination.
It is strange to hear the words “black skin” rolling off a parent’s mouth, and even stranger to find the school officials really not prepared to deal with the question (at least not in Kindergarten level); but, at the same time, it is refreshing to see that there is an interest in this community we are joining to not fall into the same mistake of just brushing it off, ignoring it, and letting it become something uglier in the future. -And since I can’t keep still... Ok, I try... I have been translating a few articles for the school about how to help children understand and bridge this issues. Oh, how I wish Amazon could overnight me a book (The Colors of Us by Karne Katz)! But, then, alas, we wouldn’t be in Mexico!- And, no, we probably can’t erase discrimination (of any kind) as fast as we would wish, but any little difference, we are more than willing to help.
It is strange to hear the words “black skin” rolling off a parent’s mouth, and even stranger to find the school officials really not prepared to deal with the question (at least not in Kindergarten level); but, at the same time, it is refreshing to see that there is an interest in this community we are joining to not fall into the same mistake of just brushing it off, ignoring it, and letting it become something uglier in the future. -And since I can’t keep still... Ok, I try... I have been translating a few articles for the school about how to help children understand and bridge this issues. Oh, how I wish Amazon could overnight me a book (The Colors of Us by Karne Katz)! But, then, alas, we wouldn’t be in Mexico!- And, no, we probably can’t erase discrimination (of any kind) as fast as we would wish, but any little difference, we are more than willing to help.
29.8.08
On Education and the Year in Coatepec
It’s Friday already! Over two week in our new home in Xalapa... time flies when you are having fun!
Today closes the second week of classes for the boys in their new school, Colegio Nuestro Mundo. It has been amazing to watch the ease in which they have made the transition to this new school, how quickly they surrounded themselves of friends and how excited they come back home after the schoolday is over. They won’t cease talking about the new classes they have and they relate to us every single thing they did at recess– in the labyrinth, at the patio, down at the forest. They are specially excited about the new ecology building down in the forest area and their weekly ecology class.
When we chose the school, we already had a good sense of what the focus of the education would be like. We were aware of the fascinating mix of philosophies and ideologies that were used to create a more unique approach to a complete education of the child. We were already very familiar with many philosophies, such as Waldorf, Montessori, Piaget, Constructivism, Reggio Emilia… and of course the useless “No Child Left Behind” that somehow leaves most children behind in overall learning (talk about stressful schooling with a very low expectations to any child in it, and even a child knows it: www.connectforkids.org/node/3336; thus we were fascinated with the more proactive approach of the school. An approach employs a mix of these philosophies to personalize education enough so that it offers the child a more complete view of the real actual world and arms him (or her) with tools to make sense of the information he is given: collecting, rationalizing and organizing information that the child will be able to use more and more as he/she develops a better understanding of the World around. Suddenly learning to read, write and do math become something more meaningful, a way to reach a realistic goal for the child. An art project, or a book do more than just fill the sensitive side of the soul, but become a path by which they can validate history, make use of skills they already posses and find more meaning to the written word.
In our time in Cleveland Heights, I found my share of teachers that shared this non-philosophy of using the tools that best fit the job. They are all great educators that, unfortunately, remained hindered by the “NCLB” policy. Even so, it was a tall order, even in a private school in Mexico, but so far it has proven to deliver even a little piece of what we were hoping: a newly found sense of responsibility and organization that usually is given prefabricated to the children, a sense of self achievement and security in themselves and the skills they posses (self-confidence).
One of the biggest reasons we moved to the area was to be able to give our kids a great education, not just a decent schooling option, but a life experience that translated into education for life. When we look back at their first two weeks we wonder if we missed an opportunity at not having found this school one year ago.
Had we found Colegio Nuestro Mundo last year, we would have set residence in Xalapa from the beginning, we would have not lived in Coatepec. The boys would have had two years of a very full school experience… Life would have been a lot easier than our life in Coatepec, but would it have been as full?
Colegio Calli was a very good transition school for the boys. Although it
followed some of the Waldorf precepts, it was not quite a full blown Steiner school. This made it easy for the boys to benefit of some of the artistic richness of the philosophy without too much discrepancy to their life. It was an easy going, small school, and the size made it less stressful for the boys to fit in with a very limited knowledge of the language. Their first six months there were vital, both for the acquisition of the language, as for the getting rid of a lot of put downs the NCLB education had left in them: artistically and academically. Their self-esteem got elevated and their artistic nature got celebrated. The second half of the year could have been equally good, but the lack of challenge and variety of stimuli seemed to weight heavy on the boys once the language acquisition was no longer a challenge. So, that second half, added to the turmoil inside the school administration and teacher’s core, did not sit well with our expectations. Then, again, that same turmoil turned us into a path of research and investigation that helped us recognizing many downfalls in the up-bringing of children nowadays (ours included), and made it clear what our priorities and our path should be for the future.
About living in Coatepec. We probably would have missed a unique opportunity to make that learning process such a productive one. We were able to immerse them in a more authentic Mexico. All of us, not just the kids, were enriched by the trueness of the landscape and the starkness of the reality of those who have very little. Each day, as we walked to school, we would experience everything from the big lump of doggie doo on the sidewalk, to the men that had been up too late trying to clear their misery with a bottle of alcohol. The boys became aware of how running water has not reached everyone when they saw how women still take their clothes to
wash to the river or carried buckets home (all this on the way to school). They also became aware of how many luxuries we take for granted are not shared by many, many people, like hot water: the first time they saw the old women go down the steep hills in search for fire wood it was strange and unreal for them. Even in Mexico, where gas is more than 50% cheaper than in the US, way too many people cannot afford to cook or heat their homes with gas. But, even with all those disadvantages, we all witnessed the beauty and strength of the human spirit.
It was a hard year to figure out ins and ends of a traditional and old culture, different in many ways to how I was brought up. It was a hard year to connect with people and landscape, but once we connected, the richness was unsurpassable. It was a hard year to partake in the hurt and struggle of an emerging school, were we left our hearts, but we knew it had outlived its potential to our children. It was a hard year to become pregnant, in the middle of uncertainty and cobbled roads, but it probably wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
In all, it was unique.
If we had found Colegio Nuestro Mundo a year ago, yes, we would have not had Coatepec. For that, our year here would have been much easier, but definitively not even remotely as rich as it was.
Today closes the second week of classes for the boys in their new school, Colegio Nuestro Mundo. It has been amazing to watch the ease in which they have made the transition to this new school, how quickly they surrounded themselves of friends and how excited they come back home after the schoolday is over. They won’t cease talking about the new classes they have and they relate to us every single thing they did at recess– in the labyrinth, at the patio, down at the forest. They are specially excited about the new ecology building down in the forest area and their weekly ecology class.
When we chose the school, we already had a good sense of what the focus of the education would be like. We were aware of the fascinating mix of philosophies and ideologies that were used to create a more unique approach to a complete education of the child. We were already very familiar with many philosophies, such as Waldorf, Montessori, Piaget, Constructivism, Reggio Emilia… and of course the useless “No Child Left Behind” that somehow leaves most children behind in overall learning (talk about stressful schooling with a very low expectations to any child in it, and even a child knows it: www.connectforkids.org/node/3336; thus we were fascinated with the more proactive approach of the school. An approach employs a mix of these philosophies to personalize education enough so that it offers the child a more complete view of the real actual world and arms him (or her) with tools to make sense of the information he is given: collecting, rationalizing and organizing information that the child will be able to use more and more as he/she develops a better understanding of the World around. Suddenly learning to read, write and do math become something more meaningful, a way to reach a realistic goal for the child. An art project, or a book do more than just fill the sensitive side of the soul, but become a path by which they can validate history, make use of skills they already posses and find more meaning to the written word.
In our time in Cleveland Heights, I found my share of teachers that shared this non-philosophy of using the tools that best fit the job. They are all great educators that, unfortunately, remained hindered by the “NCLB” policy. Even so, it was a tall order, even in a private school in Mexico, but so far it has proven to deliver even a little piece of what we were hoping: a newly found sense of responsibility and organization that usually is given prefabricated to the children, a sense of self achievement and security in themselves and the skills they posses (self-confidence).
One of the biggest reasons we moved to the area was to be able to give our kids a great education, not just a decent schooling option, but a life experience that translated into education for life. When we look back at their first two weeks we wonder if we missed an opportunity at not having found this school one year ago.
Had we found Colegio Nuestro Mundo last year, we would have set residence in Xalapa from the beginning, we would have not lived in Coatepec. The boys would have had two years of a very full school experience… Life would have been a lot easier than our life in Coatepec, but would it have been as full?
Colegio Calli was a very good transition school for the boys. Although it
followed some of the Waldorf precepts, it was not quite a full blown Steiner school. This made it easy for the boys to benefit of some of the artistic richness of the philosophy without too much discrepancy to their life. It was an easy going, small school, and the size made it less stressful for the boys to fit in with a very limited knowledge of the language. Their first six months there were vital, both for the acquisition of the language, as for the getting rid of a lot of put downs the NCLB education had left in them: artistically and academically. Their self-esteem got elevated and their artistic nature got celebrated. The second half of the year could have been equally good, but the lack of challenge and variety of stimuli seemed to weight heavy on the boys once the language acquisition was no longer a challenge. So, that second half, added to the turmoil inside the school administration and teacher’s core, did not sit well with our expectations. Then, again, that same turmoil turned us into a path of research and investigation that helped us recognizing many downfalls in the up-bringing of children nowadays (ours included), and made it clear what our priorities and our path should be for the future.About living in Coatepec. We probably would have missed a unique opportunity to make that learning process such a productive one. We were able to immerse them in a more authentic Mexico. All of us, not just the kids, were enriched by the trueness of the landscape and the starkness of the reality of those who have very little. Each day, as we walked to school, we would experience everything from the big lump of doggie doo on the sidewalk, to the men that had been up too late trying to clear their misery with a bottle of alcohol. The boys became aware of how running water has not reached everyone when they saw how women still take their clothes to
wash to the river or carried buckets home (all this on the way to school). They also became aware of how many luxuries we take for granted are not shared by many, many people, like hot water: the first time they saw the old women go down the steep hills in search for fire wood it was strange and unreal for them. Even in Mexico, where gas is more than 50% cheaper than in the US, way too many people cannot afford to cook or heat their homes with gas. But, even with all those disadvantages, we all witnessed the beauty and strength of the human spirit.It was a hard year to figure out ins and ends of a traditional and old culture, different in many ways to how I was brought up. It was a hard year to connect with people and landscape, but once we connected, the richness was unsurpassable. It was a hard year to partake in the hurt and struggle of an emerging school, were we left our hearts, but we knew it had outlived its potential to our children. It was a hard year to become pregnant, in the middle of uncertainty and cobbled roads, but it probably wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
In all, it was unique.
If we had found Colegio Nuestro Mundo a year ago, yes, we would have not had Coatepec. For that, our year here would have been much easier, but definitively not even remotely as rich as it was.
26.8.08
Second Part of One Year
(continued from ONE YEAR, previous post)
By the time we got better, it was time for Spring break and we were all anxious to do another trip! We headed South and explored the wonderful area of Tlacotalpan and Los Tuxtlas. The very edge of the real jungle, but not too much left of it either! The trip seemed short, but we all enjoyed it (even Kiwi, the dog!). We also really enjoyed the fact that all of us were speaking Spanish proficiently and our stomach had become acclimated so we could eat anywhere!
But somehow, my stomach was not doing too good… and then the surprise came… for someone who is pre-menopausic it comes as more than a surprise, more like shock, to learn that she is pregnant. After 9 years we found we had another little one on the way. Jevon was in shock, but elated. The boys were in shock and confused.
The shock subsided just in time to go back to school, and we went back to our routine as much as we could… yeah, I was kind of nauseous most of the time. I had become a very avid walker in the past year, walking at least twice a day to downtown Coatepec and twice a day to school, suddenly walking did not feel that good anymore.
Just a couple of weeks into school, I started to miscarry. Not a very happy time for anyone. It was very painful both physically and mentally, but we were lucky to find a doctor that gave us hope. It took over 5 weeks of bed rest and a hearty hormone treatment to make sure baby stayed in place. Needless to say, I stopped working for good. Even after my period of bed rest was over, I had to be no less than 60% on my waking hours laying down. OK, it was incredibly hard for me to really slow down… I couldn’t even cook! But all the sacrifice and patience and tears were all worth it the first time we saw the little one move around in the ultrasound!
So our life changed again, we were already looking up-North, but now we were faced with a new variable to add to our decision process. It would be almost impossible for me to make a move to the US… but we were also already wrapping up our year in Mexico.
The boys’ situation at school was rapidly deteriorating. With a teacher that spoke no Spanish and had no experience, and no counseling for the loss of their prior teacher, Diego’s second grade class was having really bad problems. Armando’s class had always been a tough class, but with the administration gone and the chaos with the core of teachers, it only got worse. The whole school was facing a really tough time and I was totally incapable of helping. The boys were very ready to change school by the end of April.
As it happens with any disability, the whole family dynamic had to change. The boys missed me at school, but were thrilled to be able to spend loads of time hanging out with me at home. They also enjoyed the fact that we had lots of Pizza delivered! Jevon had to stop traveling and became mom and dad at times. By the time May came around we were exploring the idea of staying in Mexico at least until the baby was born. We were (and still are) very happy with our doctor, the health care costs are 90% lower than in the US but still high quality, the boys felt comfortable in Mexico now and we had a good support system. And traveling thousand of miles to set up a home in the US seemed impossible to me.
We found another school for the boys, which they seemed happy and anxious to move to, and we started to look for an “easier” life. Coatepec is charming and quiet, but you still have to drive for a while to get to most high quality services, including hospitals and the new school. So we set our sights on moving to a more central location from where all of us had less need to travel distances to get things accomplished. It would still be a move, but only 10 miles up the road.
So we said our goodbyes to Coatepec while we searched for a Xalapa house, which was again stressful. We realized most of the things we were going to miss the most of Coatepec we had stopped doing months ago, when I went into bed rest! Our walking became minimal and no one wanted to be far from home for extended periods of time since they wanted to be close to me.
We wrapped up the school year on a sad note. Although the Principal came back from her exile, the school was in such chaos and disarray that it remained an impossible choice for us to even consider again. It was sad because of all the wonderful people, teachers, parents and kids, that we would not see on a daily basis, but the boys were ready to move on. We also had decided that they needed a more stable environment at school as well as a stronger academic background that could prepare them for a future move up North.
So, to Xalapa we moved. It was a little bit sad to leave our Cloud Forest, but we were all relieved to move on… we were ready for the next step.
The transition to Xalapa has been rather easy. The boys are elated at their new school and have quickly made lots of friends. It is still a school that foments team work more than competition, but now their focus is more on research and use of information in all areas as well as scientific experimentation. They are excited and happy. They are also taking swim lessons in a very cool new pool close to their school.
Jevon is getting back on track having had a part in an exhibition with the architecture firm he was working with. He is spending time driving more than anything, but he enjoys the time he shares with the boys and he is still making sure I move as little as possible. He also has to watch that I don’t overdo anything, which I tend to do when I feel well.
I am now very sedentary. I still have cramps once in a while and I get really scared. The move was stressful and that got me really tired, but it was a good move. The house is pretty comfortable and everyone seems to feel very content here. Kiwi keeps being my closest companion and warms my feet on my bouts of bed rest. I am now spending more useful time on the computer.
We are all getting to discover new places around the area we moved to. We just discovered a Sushi restaurant that delivers, two pizza places and even the supermarket delivers. There are a few parks we haven’t been to yet, so they are in the list of things to do. Medical facilities are closer and we finally got a pretty good pediatrician for the boys who is also an allergist (mostly for Armando). Life does seem different, but we don’t miss the no-see-ums of Coatepec and I surely don’t miss the bumpy roads that made me feel awful!
As for our families back up North: neither my parents nor Jevon’s are thrilled about us staying here. There are really concerned about my condition. We try to make them feel better, but the distance factor does not help. We are confident we have pretty good medical attention and a very good quality of life, but they still would prefer us around the corner.
We are, overall, happy, living one day at a time, learning about zen and concentrating on making the most of the time we have left here. My main focus is my boys, all of them: Armando, Diego, Jevon and the little one that still grows inside of me (yeah, another boy). We hope for a great time for the boys in school, a productive time for Jevon and a calm time for me, but most of all, we wish for a healthy birth in November!
We miss our friends and family up North, I specially miss them in this time of uncertainty and hope, but we are sure that we will see them soon. We miss our friends in Coatepec, since we can’t see them in a daily basis, but we know they are close. We have grown and we have changed and we realize how really small the World can be. Our friends everywhere have always made sure to make us feel at home anywhere and our little, growing family is grateful for all of those friendships that will go on no matter time or distance.
We miss you all, and we thank you for the love and the time you have given to our lives.
I will proceed to write as much as I can in our blog (xalapacalli.blogspot.com) and share photos of our new discoveries (flickr.com), you can always access it through our website (www.calli.us).
By the time we got better, it was time for Spring break and we were all anxious to do another trip! We headed South and explored the wonderful area of Tlacotalpan and Los Tuxtlas. The very edge of the real jungle, but not too much left of it either! The trip seemed short, but we all enjoyed it (even Kiwi, the dog!). We also really enjoyed the fact that all of us were speaking Spanish proficiently and our stomach had become acclimated so we could eat anywhere!
But somehow, my stomach was not doing too good… and then the surprise came… for someone who is pre-menopausic it comes as more than a surprise, more like shock, to learn that she is pregnant. After 9 years we found we had another little one on the way. Jevon was in shock, but elated. The boys were in shock and confused.
The shock subsided just in time to go back to school, and we went back to our routine as much as we could… yeah, I was kind of nauseous most of the time. I had become a very avid walker in the past year, walking at least twice a day to downtown Coatepec and twice a day to school, suddenly walking did not feel that good anymore.
Just a couple of weeks into school, I started to miscarry. Not a very happy time for anyone. It was very painful both physically and mentally, but we were lucky to find a doctor that gave us hope. It took over 5 weeks of bed rest and a hearty hormone treatment to make sure baby stayed in place. Needless to say, I stopped working for good. Even after my period of bed rest was over, I had to be no less than 60% on my waking hours laying down. OK, it was incredibly hard for me to really slow down… I couldn’t even cook! But all the sacrifice and patience and tears were all worth it the first time we saw the little one move around in the ultrasound!
So our life changed again, we were already looking up-North, but now we were faced with a new variable to add to our decision process. It would be almost impossible for me to make a move to the US… but we were also already wrapping up our year in Mexico.
The boys’ situation at school was rapidly deteriorating. With a teacher that spoke no Spanish and had no experience, and no counseling for the loss of their prior teacher, Diego’s second grade class was having really bad problems. Armando’s class had always been a tough class, but with the administration gone and the chaos with the core of teachers, it only got worse. The whole school was facing a really tough time and I was totally incapable of helping. The boys were very ready to change school by the end of April.
As it happens with any disability, the whole family dynamic had to change. The boys missed me at school, but were thrilled to be able to spend loads of time hanging out with me at home. They also enjoyed the fact that we had lots of Pizza delivered! Jevon had to stop traveling and became mom and dad at times. By the time May came around we were exploring the idea of staying in Mexico at least until the baby was born. We were (and still are) very happy with our doctor, the health care costs are 90% lower than in the US but still high quality, the boys felt comfortable in Mexico now and we had a good support system. And traveling thousand of miles to set up a home in the US seemed impossible to me.
We found another school for the boys, which they seemed happy and anxious to move to, and we started to look for an “easier” life. Coatepec is charming and quiet, but you still have to drive for a while to get to most high quality services, including hospitals and the new school. So we set our sights on moving to a more central location from where all of us had less need to travel distances to get things accomplished. It would still be a move, but only 10 miles up the road.
So we said our goodbyes to Coatepec while we searched for a Xalapa house, which was again stressful. We realized most of the things we were going to miss the most of Coatepec we had stopped doing months ago, when I went into bed rest! Our walking became minimal and no one wanted to be far from home for extended periods of time since they wanted to be close to me.
We wrapped up the school year on a sad note. Although the Principal came back from her exile, the school was in such chaos and disarray that it remained an impossible choice for us to even consider again. It was sad because of all the wonderful people, teachers, parents and kids, that we would not see on a daily basis, but the boys were ready to move on. We also had decided that they needed a more stable environment at school as well as a stronger academic background that could prepare them for a future move up North.
So, to Xalapa we moved. It was a little bit sad to leave our Cloud Forest, but we were all relieved to move on… we were ready for the next step.
The transition to Xalapa has been rather easy. The boys are elated at their new school and have quickly made lots of friends. It is still a school that foments team work more than competition, but now their focus is more on research and use of information in all areas as well as scientific experimentation. They are excited and happy. They are also taking swim lessons in a very cool new pool close to their school.
Jevon is getting back on track having had a part in an exhibition with the architecture firm he was working with. He is spending time driving more than anything, but he enjoys the time he shares with the boys and he is still making sure I move as little as possible. He also has to watch that I don’t overdo anything, which I tend to do when I feel well.
I am now very sedentary. I still have cramps once in a while and I get really scared. The move was stressful and that got me really tired, but it was a good move. The house is pretty comfortable and everyone seems to feel very content here. Kiwi keeps being my closest companion and warms my feet on my bouts of bed rest. I am now spending more useful time on the computer.
We are all getting to discover new places around the area we moved to. We just discovered a Sushi restaurant that delivers, two pizza places and even the supermarket delivers. There are a few parks we haven’t been to yet, so they are in the list of things to do. Medical facilities are closer and we finally got a pretty good pediatrician for the boys who is also an allergist (mostly for Armando). Life does seem different, but we don’t miss the no-see-ums of Coatepec and I surely don’t miss the bumpy roads that made me feel awful!
As for our families back up North: neither my parents nor Jevon’s are thrilled about us staying here. There are really concerned about my condition. We try to make them feel better, but the distance factor does not help. We are confident we have pretty good medical attention and a very good quality of life, but they still would prefer us around the corner.
We are, overall, happy, living one day at a time, learning about zen and concentrating on making the most of the time we have left here. My main focus is my boys, all of them: Armando, Diego, Jevon and the little one that still grows inside of me (yeah, another boy). We hope for a great time for the boys in school, a productive time for Jevon and a calm time for me, but most of all, we wish for a healthy birth in November!
We miss our friends and family up North, I specially miss them in this time of uncertainty and hope, but we are sure that we will see them soon. We miss our friends in Coatepec, since we can’t see them in a daily basis, but we know they are close. We have grown and we have changed and we realize how really small the World can be. Our friends everywhere have always made sure to make us feel at home anywhere and our little, growing family is grateful for all of those friendships that will go on no matter time or distance.
We miss you all, and we thank you for the love and the time you have given to our lives.
I will proceed to write as much as I can in our blog (xalapacalli.blogspot.com) and share photos of our new discoveries (flickr.com), you can always access it through our website (www.calli.us).
NEW YEAR
Over a year has gone by and I find myself breaking the promise I made to all, that we would be back in July. It has been such a full year: filled with stress, pain, happiness, excitement, wonder, growth, beauty, anger… you name it. We’ve had more experiences this year than we probably even dreamed about, but we still miss our friends and family who still await our trip back. So why are we still here? Some may already know, some may wonder and some may have their own hypothesis, but for all, here is a synopsis of our year in Mexico.
Finding our way in Mexico was not terribly hard, taking in consideration that I had been away for over 13 years and had really not lived in this region at all. The hard part was finding a home. School had already been pretty much set for the boys so it all revolved around our house hunting. That was the biggest set back we encountered, it was depressing enough that we actually considered the idea of just turning back. We found out, the hard way, just how incredibly hard it is to rent in Mexico: few rental properties and unrealistic requirements for a contract. As luck had it, we found two houses in Coatepec that would fill most of our needs and were within walking distance from the boys’ school. We settled on a new one where the owner gave us preference and let us sign a contract without having a co-signer.
Our first month in the house was devoted to making it livable: furniture, appliances, dishes, pots… Prices used to be sooo much better in Mexico than they are right now. There are so many imported items that even Mexico made stuff has prices very close to imports. The market is also saturated by Chinese products… it sucks! No wonder Mexico has such a big rate of unemployment! But, finally, with a living room, a fridge, a coffee maker and pots, pans and dishes, we were set for the year long adventure.
As our stay in Coatepec progressed, we took about all the hikes we could find around the town. We would go to the main Plaza many times a week just to indulge in the many delicious local snacks offered from little carts there. The boys highly favored the handmade potato chips or the churro fritters, while Jevon relished more on the homemade ice cream (specially Macadamia and rice pudding) and I preferred the fried plantains with condensed milk. As our stomach got stronger, we went for hotdogs packed with homemade string cheese and hamburgers also made there in a cart at the Plaza, and the delicious corn on the cob.
Our weekends were filled with hikes or trips to the nearby waterfalls and parks, both around Coatepec and Xalapa. We also delighted the boys with trips to the local balnearios (pools) as well as the not so local: like Carrizal closer to the coast. We also made a few trips to the beaches near the port City of Veracruz, which was a very nice contrast to the cloud forest around Coatepec.
In and around Coatepec we tried every possible roast and bean of the wonderful coffee produced in the region. We pinpointed the best roasters and a few good spots to sip on the perfect cup of Java. There are about 20 different coffee places in a tiny town like Coatepec, and a lot more in Xalapa… oh, and to our relief and the safety of our taste buds: no Starbucks in sight… no over burnt coffee here! Our favorite so far is the dark roast with beans grown in the area of Xico.
In our own backyard we discovered many interesting species of plants and animal life, but more importantly, we discovered very simple and big hearted people that helped our transition be so much smoother.
Since our house was in a construction area overlapping with the cloud forest, it gave all of us a unique opportunity to learn about the region. We quickly befriended the workers who took it to themselves to “train” us to live in Coatepec. We learnt how to behave with the stray dogs (that
really did have an owner, but lived in the street), and we pretty much adopted a few of them feeding them and giving them love. We all were taught what bugs were better left alone and which ones were harmless (from the blue and pink winged grasshoppers to the Carnivorous beetles). We were introduced to a myriad of exotic fruits and edible flowers that grew freely around the area (like the Jinequil, the Berenjena– tree tomato and the Gasparito). We learnt about coffee fruit, to suck the pulp around the bean (very sweet) and to slather the juice to deter bug bites. The boys were taught how to use a Machete and ride horses. As for us, we were busy during the week but fascinated by all the knowledge these people passed on happily and freely.
It was through these hard working people that we understood more of the real history and culture of the area than from anybody else. True, they are economically poor, but their empirical and inherited knowledge is so rich! And they hurt as much as the Cloud Forest with the devastation the area is experiencing.
In the first six months we lived in Coatepec, we saw more than 70 acres of Cloud Forest disappear in front of our eyes. In the name of progress, construction moguls and even the city government, are leveling forest area to make way to new streets and new high class housing developments… That makes me so sad and so mad! There are many projects for rescuing the ecosystem, and then, the governments turns a blind eye to the tree-cutting going on at the foot of the Municipal President’s own home!
By the end of our first six months in Coatepec, we were enamored by the simple people of the town, and very disappointed with the government and its lack of vision…
The boys had a good first semester at school. The size of the little school as well as the philosophy (Waldorf) helped them with the hard transition of a new Country, new language, new culture and new people. Diego quickly made friends and found himself in the need to finally speak the language (which he had been resisting for years now). Armando quickly grasped the language that he still was missing and found his self esteem boosted by a less stressful academic system. Overall, they both experienced very positive changes that were very obvious to us by December. The school community was a delight to be part of. It was a very multicultural, artistic community that really helped us feel part of it.
At the beginning of our first year in Mexico, the boys had experienced a very hard transition. Armando was mad, Diego was confused. They both missed home and their friends and their toys… By December, they were really enjoying the trips to the Plaza to get treats, the trips to the Market to get fruits and look at the trinkets. By January, at the end of our stay at my parents’ home in Texas, they were both happy to come back to Coatepec.
January started 2008 in a nice way. We took a trip to El Tajin and Papantla, the home of Vanilla production in the Americas, and the birthplace of Vanilla production in the World! It was a fascinating stop that tweaked the boys’ interest a little bit more about Mexican history.
By then, we were nicely established, with good friends and pretty good familiarity of the region and set routines. Then changes started to happen a little more quickly. It was not just me doodling (designing) anymore, Jevon started to do some architecture. He started traveling to other areas of Mexico to survey and design eco-friendly residential developments. It was an extraordinary opportunity for him to get involved in a whole new kind of research and design. It was also a great opportunity for all of us to widen our people pool and get to meet other fascinating individuals.
Since I took over the walk-to-school responsibilities when Jevon was traveling, I also started to get more involved in school… which I had promised not to do this time around! So, first promise broken. It was then that an awful thing happened in her life that made the school principal (also Diego’s teacher) leave to hide with her family in the US. She is part of a high profile family from Mexico City and her father received a kidnapping threat that involved the whole family. Due to the serious need left at school by her unplanned departure, I became the new administrator at the kids’ school (part time) and also devoted time to translating for Diego’s new teacher (who spoke no Spanish!) and a little bit of counseling for staff and students. A lot of the internal workings of the school had seemed off track to us from the beginning, but then, from the inside, I soon pinpointed many problems that were hurting the development of the whole community… I started to devote more and more time to trying to fix these.
Our life suddenly started to wind up again… it had been so nice to slow down at first. Even if it was supposed to be part time, school seemed to suck up most of my free time and the weeks started to get pretty hard. Weekends were very welcomed. By this time, too, Zafra was in full swing!
Zafra is the time of the year when sugar cane crops are harvested and burnt. Veracruz is a main sugar cane producer, so, by November, soot starts flying all over. As soon as coffee harvest is over (October-November) everyone in the field turns to the sugar cane crops. By late February, you just long for clean air and no more flying burnt pieces of sugar cane.
So, with the over-work environment (I really need to learn to say no!) and high stress (nothing stresses me more than those events that involve my kids!) my health became rather brittle. And it seemed all of us were due for a really bad bout of sickness, which we had escaped for such a long time! We all got colds that turned into some sort of pneumonia. I developed asthma, Diego got severely dehydrated and Armando became a cough machine… even Jevon, who is always healthy, got a really bad case of the cold. Diego even visited the doctor across the street to get a try on alternative medicine (sound therapy) and homeopathy.
(To be continued...)
Finding our way in Mexico was not terribly hard, taking in consideration that I had been away for over 13 years and had really not lived in this region at all. The hard part was finding a home. School had already been pretty much set for the boys so it all revolved around our house hunting. That was the biggest set back we encountered, it was depressing enough that we actually considered the idea of just turning back. We found out, the hard way, just how incredibly hard it is to rent in Mexico: few rental properties and unrealistic requirements for a contract. As luck had it, we found two houses in Coatepec that would fill most of our needs and were within walking distance from the boys’ school. We settled on a new one where the owner gave us preference and let us sign a contract without having a co-signer.
Our first month in the house was devoted to making it livable: furniture, appliances, dishes, pots… Prices used to be sooo much better in Mexico than they are right now. There are so many imported items that even Mexico made stuff has prices very close to imports. The market is also saturated by Chinese products… it sucks! No wonder Mexico has such a big rate of unemployment! But, finally, with a living room, a fridge, a coffee maker and pots, pans and dishes, we were set for the year long adventure.
As our stay in Coatepec progressed, we took about all the hikes we could find around the town. We would go to the main Plaza many times a week just to indulge in the many delicious local snacks offered from little carts there. The boys highly favored the handmade potato chips or the churro fritters, while Jevon relished more on the homemade ice cream (specially Macadamia and rice pudding) and I preferred the fried plantains with condensed milk. As our stomach got stronger, we went for hotdogs packed with homemade string cheese and hamburgers also made there in a cart at the Plaza, and the delicious corn on the cob.
Our weekends were filled with hikes or trips to the nearby waterfalls and parks, both around Coatepec and Xalapa. We also delighted the boys with trips to the local balnearios (pools) as well as the not so local: like Carrizal closer to the coast. We also made a few trips to the beaches near the port City of Veracruz, which was a very nice contrast to the cloud forest around Coatepec.
In and around Coatepec we tried every possible roast and bean of the wonderful coffee produced in the region. We pinpointed the best roasters and a few good spots to sip on the perfect cup of Java. There are about 20 different coffee places in a tiny town like Coatepec, and a lot more in Xalapa… oh, and to our relief and the safety of our taste buds: no Starbucks in sight… no over burnt coffee here! Our favorite so far is the dark roast with beans grown in the area of Xico.
In our own backyard we discovered many interesting species of plants and animal life, but more importantly, we discovered very simple and big hearted people that helped our transition be so much smoother.
Since our house was in a construction area overlapping with the cloud forest, it gave all of us a unique opportunity to learn about the region. We quickly befriended the workers who took it to themselves to “train” us to live in Coatepec. We learnt how to behave with the stray dogs (that
really did have an owner, but lived in the street), and we pretty much adopted a few of them feeding them and giving them love. We all were taught what bugs were better left alone and which ones were harmless (from the blue and pink winged grasshoppers to the Carnivorous beetles). We were introduced to a myriad of exotic fruits and edible flowers that grew freely around the area (like the Jinequil, the Berenjena– tree tomato and the Gasparito). We learnt about coffee fruit, to suck the pulp around the bean (very sweet) and to slather the juice to deter bug bites. The boys were taught how to use a Machete and ride horses. As for us, we were busy during the week but fascinated by all the knowledge these people passed on happily and freely.
It was through these hard working people that we understood more of the real history and culture of the area than from anybody else. True, they are economically poor, but their empirical and inherited knowledge is so rich! And they hurt as much as the Cloud Forest with the devastation the area is experiencing.
In the first six months we lived in Coatepec, we saw more than 70 acres of Cloud Forest disappear in front of our eyes. In the name of progress, construction moguls and even the city government, are leveling forest area to make way to new streets and new high class housing developments… That makes me so sad and so mad! There are many projects for rescuing the ecosystem, and then, the governments turns a blind eye to the tree-cutting going on at the foot of the Municipal President’s own home!
By the end of our first six months in Coatepec, we were enamored by the simple people of the town, and very disappointed with the government and its lack of vision…
The boys had a good first semester at school. The size of the little school as well as the philosophy (Waldorf) helped them with the hard transition of a new Country, new language, new culture and new people. Diego quickly made friends and found himself in the need to finally speak the language (which he had been resisting for years now). Armando quickly grasped the language that he still was missing and found his self esteem boosted by a less stressful academic system. Overall, they both experienced very positive changes that were very obvious to us by December. The school community was a delight to be part of. It was a very multicultural, artistic community that really helped us feel part of it.
At the beginning of our first year in Mexico, the boys had experienced a very hard transition. Armando was mad, Diego was confused. They both missed home and their friends and their toys… By December, they were really enjoying the trips to the Plaza to get treats, the trips to the Market to get fruits and look at the trinkets. By January, at the end of our stay at my parents’ home in Texas, they were both happy to come back to Coatepec.
January started 2008 in a nice way. We took a trip to El Tajin and Papantla, the home of Vanilla production in the Americas, and the birthplace of Vanilla production in the World! It was a fascinating stop that tweaked the boys’ interest a little bit more about Mexican history.
By then, we were nicely established, with good friends and pretty good familiarity of the region and set routines. Then changes started to happen a little more quickly. It was not just me doodling (designing) anymore, Jevon started to do some architecture. He started traveling to other areas of Mexico to survey and design eco-friendly residential developments. It was an extraordinary opportunity for him to get involved in a whole new kind of research and design. It was also a great opportunity for all of us to widen our people pool and get to meet other fascinating individuals.
Since I took over the walk-to-school responsibilities when Jevon was traveling, I also started to get more involved in school… which I had promised not to do this time around! So, first promise broken. It was then that an awful thing happened in her life that made the school principal (also Diego’s teacher) leave to hide with her family in the US. She is part of a high profile family from Mexico City and her father received a kidnapping threat that involved the whole family. Due to the serious need left at school by her unplanned departure, I became the new administrator at the kids’ school (part time) and also devoted time to translating for Diego’s new teacher (who spoke no Spanish!) and a little bit of counseling for staff and students. A lot of the internal workings of the school had seemed off track to us from the beginning, but then, from the inside, I soon pinpointed many problems that were hurting the development of the whole community… I started to devote more and more time to trying to fix these.
Our life suddenly started to wind up again… it had been so nice to slow down at first. Even if it was supposed to be part time, school seemed to suck up most of my free time and the weeks started to get pretty hard. Weekends were very welcomed. By this time, too, Zafra was in full swing!
Zafra is the time of the year when sugar cane crops are harvested and burnt. Veracruz is a main sugar cane producer, so, by November, soot starts flying all over. As soon as coffee harvest is over (October-November) everyone in the field turns to the sugar cane crops. By late February, you just long for clean air and no more flying burnt pieces of sugar cane.
So, with the over-work environment (I really need to learn to say no!) and high stress (nothing stresses me more than those events that involve my kids!) my health became rather brittle. And it seemed all of us were due for a really bad bout of sickness, which we had escaped for such a long time! We all got colds that turned into some sort of pneumonia. I developed asthma, Diego got severely dehydrated and Armando became a cough machine… even Jevon, who is always healthy, got a really bad case of the cold. Diego even visited the doctor across the street to get a try on alternative medicine (sound therapy) and homeopathy.
(To be continued...)
23.8.08
Almost there
OK... new year for us, I guess a new blog format too... I was really fed up of the problems I had with the other editor so I am now trying this one... for better or for worse.
It will take me a little bit to figure it out, but I will start writing soon.
It will take me a little bit to figure it out, but I will start writing soon.
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