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.

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

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).

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 much 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 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.