Calli in Xalapa

The other Cloud Forest

2011-02-15T14:35:00.004-06:00

Another nice trip we had a chance to get in was the Puebla Cloud Forest, specifically the town of Cuetzalan, for New Year's. Cuetzalan is situated relatively close to Xalapa, but since there are high peaks in between, you have to go around to the State of Puebla and turn back to get to it! The best part is that most of the road is Toll freeway, but there are very narrow stretches up the passes on the mountains that might seem a little bit daunting. Of course all these mountains make the setting incredibly dramatic and there is no lack of waterfalls, caves and other interesting adventure spots. We did a lite trip… not going for the overly adventurous things, but visited a waterfall (La Brisa), did some spelunking in one of the caves (Grutas Aventura) and just chilled in town.

The town is amazing, most of it is built in rock: streets, stairs, walls, houses, you name it. The stonework in new and old construction is immaculate! But so it seems most of the workmanship is amazing in everything made in Cuetzalan. We spent a whole morning buying textiles and basketry from local artisans (they actually travel from small mountain towns to sell their wares in Cuetzalan- the biggest town) at very low prices (cheap!) and of wonderful quality. I left wishing I had taken more money along to get some more rebozos! We all agreed that even the quality of the food was above and beyond. Even from little street vendors, the "Tlayoyos" (local specialty) are very good.

The caves are really an adventure. We decided on the easy cave since I am really not in shape anymore, and I could just visit the entrance of the cave! Yep, they are not for the faint of heart or the weak of heart. It is quite a workout and there are no luxuries involved. These are really spelunking caves, not a tennis shoe stroll. The boys had an incredible time and the guide (there is no way you can go without a guide in here) was happy to cater to the young. The baby and I had a blast just hanging out with the cows and dogs outside the caves!!

We later tried our luck at the "easy" waterfall: La Brisa. It might be easy, but it is quite a stroll and somewhat of a descent to get to it. The water was cold, so no real swimming in the water hole (but it must be nice in warm weather). It is very nice just to skip stones while you get the breeze from the waterfall. And, even though the climb back to your car can be tiring, there are crafts being sold all the way up. The crafts were consistently well made and the prices seemed to be even lower than some in town. BTW, we had a couple of kids be our guides to the waterfall and they were the best guides ever. The people of the region are a mix of Nahuatl and Totonac, both languages are still spoken throughout, they are beautiful people that, unlike the mountain people of Veracruz, are chatty, curious and friendly.

The highlight of the trip was the voladores (like Papantla, the voladores tradition lives here because of the Totonac roots). The boys, now older, really enjoyed the original daredevils. They sat speechless while the voladores descended in their own very special way.

I can't wait to get another trip to get a closer look at the Spas and eco-lodges in the outlining cloud forests of Puebla!

More than a year later…

2011-02-15T14:15:00.001-06:00

Such a long silence! And not really because there was not much to write about, but very little time to write… We have covered some more ground and visited very interesting places, including a new visit to the hospital by me!

We visited Actopan in early 2010. Extraordinary place! We did go at an off season time, it was chilly for the region (wonderful 75 degrees F) but perfect for us. Actopan is, per se, a very sleepy and non charming town, but the road is filled with the most interesting plantings! It seems Actopan, famous for the great mangos they grow and export, also has extensive Chayote (Mexican prickly squash) plantations. What is fun about Chayote plants is that they are creeping vines. The mango growers have managed to plant the Chayotes between the Huge Mango trees in elevated trellises which remind me of grape country. The difference is that the trellises are lower – about 40 inches off the ground- and the fruits that hang are big pear like squashes covered with spines… would not like to have to harvest that crop.

But the real charm is in Nace el Río, the birth place of the river Actopan. It is not really the birthplace, since it starts high up in the mountains and runs subterranean, but it is in this little reserve that the rivers comes out into the open. It is here that the white water rafters come to catch the first currents that will take them through cannons and valleys. But the reserve also has its charm for the not so adventurous; it boasts an endemic species micro zoo and botanical garden, and a few streams and water holes to wade (or swim in). The best is the secret island –hard to get to but very cool- that sits between two currents of the river where you can bask in the sun while your family swims or boards a raft!

The trip was short, and the water was a bit chilly because of the air temp, but we will hopefully go back in warmer weather to take advantage of the swimming holes and, why not, the white water rafting.

Way behind!!!!

2009-12-01T20:45:00.004-06:00

This should have gone up a month ago...

What with Day of the Dead, a birthday, family visiting (from both sides) and bimestral projects for the kids -amongst many other no so fun things- time flew by and I hardly had a chance to breathe!!!

Day of the Dead was really nice. My parents were here for a visit and enjoyed the time they had with the grandchildren. We took them around a little bit, they are elderly, so not too much for them. They loved going to the market to get all the Day of the Dead stuff for the altar. My dad, especially, is very proud that we carry the tradition that not even them have been able to carry with them. They so much enjoyed setting the offering with the boys; and even when we ended up without transportation for two days, they enjoyed their down time here!

We had the chance to take them out for really good breakfasts both at Casa de Campo and Finca Andrade (Coatepec), and they stayed at a wonderful hotel near downtown: Clara Luna- an undiscovered jewel! Our little (mini-house) has way too many stairs for them to be able to stay comfortably with us, but that gave my mom the best rest ever (she did not have to help around the house- not that I make her... she just has to!)

And then the colds hit us! All of us were down for a long, uncomfortable spell of colds. It started with baby boy... he had a miserable B'day thanks to a very clogged little nose! By the time my parents left, I was very miserable, and not able to take medicine either (perks of nursing).

Then, even before my own cold was gone (everyone else got healthy right away), my inlaws arrived! Hubby had to take a bus ride to Mx City at 4 a.m. to pick them up at the airport, which was with no woe for him- since he took the ocassion as a great photo opp... filled with woe for me, still nursing a terrible cold.

My inlaws visit was probably the best we've had so far! They were here for two weeks and enjoyed a lot of time with the boys. They hiked (I had asthma... so no hike for me), they shopped, they ate and had a good time over all. I think the biggest highlight was the hike to the Granada waterfall in Coatepec. It has (finally) been revamped and now has better steps (still 900) of them, and a well marked path to get to the water hole.... I hear the water is pretty cold!

We also took time to drive down to Jalcomulco so that the inlaws checked it out. They really loved it and had a nice time just walking around town. Unfortunately, La Antihua -a little hotel we like to stop at for lunch and a swim- was closed, so we had to eat downtown... but then the boys jumped in the river- all the boys including baby... Guess I have another water baby!

Feeling gray

2009-10-23T20:41:00.005-05:00

By one of our ancestors!

It's been a long week. I am still not sleeping well, and the weather keeps changing.

Today it is raining, no, downpouring. It is not chilly at all, but the temperature is dipping since we just got hit by a cold front. I was hoping for sun this weekend, but no such luck.

This week we decided to take a day trip sans boys (only baby) to the museum of anthropology. I had already forgotten how amazing the MAX is in every way. The collection is wonderful, not too huge, but really nicely displayed and very complete. Mostly focused on the State of Veracruz and it's precolumbian inhabitants, it is a reminder of the thousands of years of history we walk on every day!

Then the building... I think I could just live in that jewel. It won, once upon a time, architecture prizes for an outstanding design. It is not only beautiful in it's lines, materials and details, but it also boasts one of the best regional/site concious designs I have ever seen. Wish more Mexican architects learnt to do architecture as great as this museum and not the obscenely grotesque blocks of concrete that are no more than self glorification of their own ignorance of place and people...

Back to the museum. It was a great day to visit since it was pretty much empty and we had the spaces all for ourselves. One of the greatests highlight is going around the gardens, both interior and exterior, with their amazing array of plants from the region. And the book store is unique in itself with a wonderful collection of Art books and music.

Now, after a wonderful trip a couple of days ago, it all seems far and distant... I think the fatigue is making me grumpy and I really hate it. Hope the weekend is not too soggy since we should start our Day of the Dead shopping. It is my very favorite Holiday and it is also a very special B'day... Incredibly, one year has gone by!

We're on a roll

2009-10-19T22:01:00.003-05:00

Funny as it seems, we have been on a roll to do all American things that we miss and can find around here. I guess we really don't miss all that much, but once in a while we do crave a hamburger and a bubble tea!
So off to the Mall we went this weekend. Usually, weekends are not the days we choose for the Mall... we keep away from it! But it was Saturday and an overwhelming need overcame all of us to go have the full experience: shop, eat and browse. And so we did.
It was incredibly refreshing when you do not go with certain expectations and let things just flow. The Mall usually becomes packed by late afternoon Saturday, but middle of day the day is still a good time to go enjoy it. The cleanliness of the spaces does help on dilluting the crowds, but we just don't do crowds too much.
Lunch was very fun, not special, just fun. Kentucky Fried Chicken, Subway, Carl's Junior and the local favorite Dim Sum King with a chaser of DQ (yeah, there is one at the Mall). The biggest treat was the Bubbe tea. Some entrepreneaur opened a little stand in the middle of nowhere (in the Mall- away from the food court) where they sell the concoction. Unfortunately it is frappe and very small... but after two years of not having the joy of slurpping the oversized Tapioca balls... well, it was really good! Personally, I can't wait to go back for more.
The day ended with a trip to Zara for a little shopping for Mama and Baby. Dad opted to go to the Movie theatres to get caramel corn (the best in the city) while the boys relished in video gaming... Yeah, very much the whole American experience.
Apart from the super Kitchy new addition to the Mall (soon to be populated by tacky high end stores), even the growing crowd did nothing to damper a pretty good day at the Mall. We even missed a torrential downpour that, thankfully, decided to drench Xalapa while we were safely inside Sanborn's browsing books, videos and music!

Fast food that taste like not fast food

2009-10-11T22:49:00.003-05:00

A different DQ

I think I have mentioned this before, way in the beginning, two years ago… but I will have to mention it again because it is still mind blowing!
Last weekend we got the whole troupe together and set out to find a good, non-Mexican food restaurant to have a Sunday meal. We never do this anymore since Sundays are “crazy day” for restaurants, seems the whole city and a few towns around converge in the few restaurants in the city on Sundays! But, needing a break from Mexican food (yeah, I cook Mexican style most of the time too), we set off to search for the elusive Asian diner. We have heard comments here and there about Chinese buffets in the City, which did not impress us, but the boys were anxious for one. After almost an hour of going around town, and the grim discovery of a buffet with 4 dishes… we finally went home to eat pasta.
OK, so the outing was a disaster and the very slim variety of eateries was depressing! About 90% serve traditional Mexican fare (which is probably very good), the other 10% is divided between the American fast food chains (McD’s, BK, Dominos, etc.), the mall eateries (DimSumKing- which is pretty decent, and other really bad Chinese style stuff) and… well, maybe sushi and pizza. Yeah, not a very cosmopolitan place to eat a meal.
This Sunday we opted for a smarter move, we just went out for dessert.
Bear with me. After two years in Mexico, an American treat is very well received by all, so we drove to our local (not closest… since there are only 2) Dairy Queen. Have not seen the boys so excited for an ice cream in a while. You would swear that we keep them in a closet…
Here is where it gets interesting. Your average US Dairy Queen is housed in a cookie cutter, bad, red and white, barn house with a huge parking lot around it and a drive thru window that sounds (if it sounds) like static. The inside of an average US Dairy Queen is drab, even dirty at times, not a place to hang out. The service, well teenagers are really not the top of the service industry so, even though they make sure the Blizzards are not going to pop out of the cup (or they get it cut from their salary)… service is iffy at best. Yeah, and the toppings, the last time I had a Blizzard in Texas the toppings were still toppings, shouldn’t they be perfectly blended?
Now for the Dairy Queen in Xalapa: It is housed in an ultramodern building with windows all around. At two stories, it houses a Dairy Queen and it’s Mexican partner: Bola de Oro coffee. No, we did not try the drive thru, although we were tempted since there is no parking lot, but it seemed to be working fine for the BMWs and other luxury cars going through. We parked on a side street and walked in the ample lobby, scantly furnished with modern stainless steel and honey colored wood, modern chairs and tables. The shiny white marble floors were quite clean and the smell of fresh brewed coffee filled the air as we approached the DQ counter to order. It took us a little bit of time to decide since the menu is a tad bit different to that of the US but, blizzard decision finalized, we all walked up the stairs to the mezzanine with our perfectly blended, thick and overflowing cups. The Mezzanine has a killer view of the Teatro del Estado and nice modern plasma TVs for those not interested on the view. There is added comfort provided by oversized, lime green, leather chairs where a kid can curl up and actually take a nap. Now for the actual product…
As the title for this post states… not like the fast food we are used to in the US. Apart from the DQ ice cream (which I will suppose is the same used Worldwide), the ingredients they put in are very fresh and flavorful. There mixes are different than those in the US and the extra ingredient that they offer… well: fresh cheese cake chunks, toasted coconut, etc. Clearly, the prices are outrageous for Mexico, but they are the same as in the US.
So we have been out for burgers, we have been out for fried chicken, we have been out for Blizzards, and it continues to surprise us the higher quality that they offer in Mexico. Yeah, the burgers take and extra minute to be ready, but there is actually non wilted lettuce in the bun… and the bun is not flat as a pancake. Somehow, maybe because the Mexican public is pickier since they have to pay higher prices for the product, or maybe because they enjoy fresh flavors (not super processed and over preserved), food from the fast food chains has to be better: more flavorful, fresher, but not greasier or starchier… Maybe if the US public was more discerning… I don’t see that happening any time soon.

Figuring out life

2009-09-22T20:17:00.003-05:00

Not much is new in the city of the eternal rain...
Well, everything is still really green which is very rare for this time of year. It is a treat to look out the roof top "garden" and witness the sea of green traveling towards the cloud forest. Still no fog, though, we hope that it will come later on in the year when the temperature drops a little.
A few new people have e-mailed me about the possibility of moving to Xalapa. I try to respond to their doubts as thoroughly as I possibly can, but I also realize how little I have been able to travel in the city this past few months. I did not remember how involved it was to take care of a baby and, oh, is it coming back to me now! I don't complain, though, he is my Sun, my North and my South, somedays my whole reason to go on. The other boys have grown so much and become so independent that I rarely spend much time with them anymore... yeah, they grow fast!
Back to life in the midst of the rain... people have written before about their doubts on the humidity levels on their arthritis. Well, I can say there is no correct answer anymore, there is no way of knowing if winter will be dry anymore or as wet as it has been this month! Usually, winter is the dry season... but fall is not drying out yet! Now, it is looking as the umbrella will be a constant in our everyday bag from now on. I do have to add that I look forward to the fog if this rain heralds it for the colder months!

A quick one

2009-09-11T21:15:00.002-05:00

It's been about three weeks of classes and it's been about three weeks of non stop rain! Don't get me wrong, rain is wonderful, it keep all nature green, lush... but this is not normal Xalapa rain. Thanks to global warming, there is no more chipi-chipi... it is now an unseasonal downpour that drenches everyone and disrupts the normal course of life.
In years past, here in Xalapa, people went on with life rain or not rain. Rain was a very thin, constant drizzle that lets people do about everything... just a little bit moister. The last few weeks have had rains that hinder even the normal task of walking anywhere, and Xalapa is a walking city!
The City government decided to finally pave the street where school sits (24 years after the neighbors asked them to). Of course, they had to wait until classes resumed to start the digging, leveling, etc. Well, the plan was not too bad since September is the end of the rainy season, WAS. So, no parking even close to the school, mud pits everywhere and torrential downpours right at drop off and pick up... it has been trying for most kids and parents! But then again, when you look at it from another perspective: after 24 years of waiting, a few months of more mud cannot be too bad!

Back online

2009-08-30T21:57:00.002-05:00

Picnic at the bluff overlooking Playa Muñecos.

Ok, so I've been back on line for about a week now, but I am barely getting back on track with life!

We moved again! We are still in the city of Xalapa, this time on the other side of the city. We are now residing near the nature park called El Haya close to the exit to the old highway to Coatepec. It was a long move, but we are finally settling in and making time to do some family trips.

This summer was interesting. It started with the non-anticipated search for another home. Usually this has taken a good month or so to find anything remotely acceptable in a decent location, it was different this time! We actually found a home in the first week looking, which could have been a relief if the house had been in better shape! It is recession times everywhere in the World, we were hoping to save some money rent wise… we found what could be called a fixer upper. It took us a good month and a half to restore the house to livable conditions, but we also shaved a good 100dlls off the monthly rent! It really impresses me how truly uninterested people are of giving any kind of upkeep to rentals (even while they are living in them!). Then again, when you think about how tight the family that lived here was (they even took every single light bulb with them!), no surprise that they would not spend a penny on hiring a handy-man to fix the leaks, broken gas line, broken roof tiles, etc. BTW, most people in Mexico will hire a handyman even to change a light bulb! So after fixing seven years of virtual abandon (it was rented all that time and no one did any repairs!!) we finally moved in!

We did take a trip up to the States and are happy to report that the road has gotten much better since our first trip down two years ago. We can also say that it is a road not to be driven on a weekend since the traffic is terrible. We are also very happy to report our baby is a traveler! He did outstandingly well both on the way up and down!

And since he is such a great taveler… well, as soon as we finished the move, and while we waited for TelMex (Mexican Phone Company) to install our phone line, we took a side trip to the beach. Without internet connection and no real weather forecast, we took our chances and headed to the Gulf. We were hoping for overcast but no rain. We left Xalapa with drizzle –very appropriate Xalapa weather-. We got to the beach (Playa Muñecos) with no rain but very overcast and with ominous clouds in the horizon. We still had a good time having a picnic on the bluff overlooking the Gulf and the boys had a blast building with driftwood and jumping waves. Unfortunately the rain cut our trip short when it finally reached our beach!

At the hot springs in Carrizal

Last week we decided to take the boys for one last trip before classes resumed. We planned on a trip to Carrizal, the water park/mineral springs by the coast. The boys love the huge water slide and then to soak in the thermal waters, but it was not to be. I guess that Carrizal closes its pool on Fridays to clean it! The boys were pretty heartbroken but eventually decided on a good mineral soak. We, on the other hand, were pretty disappointed with the whole package. The prices have gone up on admission and the water is way too hot all over the open pools (80+F water in 95F weather). We left the park early and headed to Jalcomulco for lunch and maybe a cooler pool. We arrived at one of the small resort hotels in the area –La Antihua- and were surprised to find we were the only guests around. At the restaurant the cooks got our order and sent us off to enjoy the grounds while they prepared our meals, they would call us when ready! The boys enjoyed the grounds as much as the wonderful meal that was prepared from scratch for us. We are planning to go back soon and spend more time there and can Carrizal!

Back from Mexico City (part 3 and final)

2009-04-30T21:58:00.002-05:00

Four and a half hours on a bus with a surgical mask is a little too much for a 5.5 month old baby. It was an incredibly long bus ride and, unfortunately, we did not manage to keep the facemask on Santi the whole way home. I took off my mask in hopes that if something was actually going to be caught... I would catch it first and produce antibodies for Santi to fight it off.
As we got into Xalapa, medical personnel entered the bus and asked everyone if they felt sick in anyway... I had a headache, but that was not the kind of symptoms they were looking for. They actually did not look twice at us since we were about the only ones in the bus (that was pretty empty to start with) that had kept their mask on the whole trip!
Xalapa was almost oblivious of the Mexico City epidemic it seemed. No face masks about the streets. Not much local coverage of any Flu. Sunday was just another normal day in Xalapa with funky news coming from Mexico City. It was until Monday when things started changing a little.
School was ongoing in Xalapa even though I would have gladly kept the boys home. It was until the middle of the day, when the Government of Mexico started pondering the way the sickness was spreading throughout the country that they decided to cancel classes Nationwide. And even if it meant having two very bored boys at home, I was happy to minimize any contagion possibility, more so because of the littlest one of us.
The Flu is called swine flu but really a mix between human, avian and swine, and is otherwise known to the World as N1H1 or North American Flu or Mexico Flu. It is still a new bug and everyday more news come out about its “mottus operandi” , but it is pretty much a flu.
I had never had the Flu before living in the US for a few years. In all my life in Mexico, I never had a Flu shot or contracted the Flu. I actually think much of the Mexican population has never had either even today (no Flu and no Flu shot). I find it almost logical that with the poverty levels, bad nourishment and awful hygiene in Mexico, the population is prone to catch this bug with a vengeance and, unfortunately, succumb to it. Our bodies (ok, I already have had both shots and flu itself) have never experienced any kind of Flu bug so there is no precedent in our immune system... Ugh, that reminds me of our bleak history, when the Conquistadores came to America bearing gifts... And chicken pox! We had no chance then, we are not doing too good now. And add to the mix the fact that most Mexican inhabitants do not go to the doctor (at all) unless they are about dead. No wonder most of the deaths in Mexico have been due to complications of patients who wait to go to the hospital until the illness is way on the way!
So, we are still at home, playing it safe and sharing time together. We go out to get groceries and don our blue facemasks. I have stopped taking Santi around (he hates being cooped up!), but it is too hard to keep the blue mask on! We have more antibacterial in the car than at home and live our lives washing our hands... And consuming big amounts of vitamin C.
In all, Xalapa is far from worried about the Flu it seems. Jevon went downtown yesterday and it was like a big Holiday. All the streets were packed, the Park was bustling, the stores full and no sign of face masks. The news report no real cases of the Flu in the area, but we know better. Its here, as it is in many other places, but that person who has it has not gone to the doctor yet...
I keep receiving mails filled with rumors and propaganda.... These people really need to get a life! Or start getting informed and keeping from adding to the misinformation that is already spreading (it spreads more than the actual facts do!!!!). I just think it is important to keep it in perspective: prevent getting the sickness and not get sick worrying over it.
A) The (so called) Swine Flu is treatable and curable. (deaths have occurred due to complications for not seeking timely medical attention)
B) There is no immunization for the Swine Flu available anywhere in the World- it is a new sickness (some people are flocking to places where they are “selling” the immunization- poor dopes)
C) The illness is transmissible through droplets (sneeze, cough, saliva) from human to human- use facemask in places where you will be at a proximity of 1.5 meters or less from someone. (it is not flying in the air in aerosolized state)
D) The dried particles of saliva on objects will keep the virus alive for a while so wash, wash and disinfect your hands before touching your face (and after touching anything outside your home- supermarket carts, money).
E) It is not transmissible through pork meat, so you can have ribs.
F) Avoid crowded spaces
G) Keep your immunity (defenses) up - sleep well, eat well and stop stressing
H) You don’t get the Flu if you stand out in the rain and get cold (people still think viruses appear if you get cold!)
I) It is everywhere... Not only in Mexico... Viruses migrate better than mosquitoes! Not all cases ever get to see a doctor or go to the hospital. So prevent and don’t think no one has it in your city.
And by all means: avoid gossip!

Any who... We are still being watchful to see if any of us develop any symptoms from our Mexico City trip since they are not sure what the gestation period is in this bug- 24hrs, 48 hrs, 5 days, 7 days-. We’ll hope to stay healthy.

Back from Mexico City Part2

2009-04-27T21:49:00.000-05:00

Photo: Outside a pastry shop in Polanco

Back from Mexico (Part 2)

So the day at the Embassy was a looooong one... Hail to the very slow bureaucratic process made worse by people not knowing how to deal with a case as simple as ours... It was here we started noticing the blue surgical masks being passed around.
For the very short part of day left after the Embassy visit, we decided to take a taxi ride to the neighborhood of La Condesa: the most up and coming neighborhood in the City. It is here where beautiful Deco and French Colonial buildings coexist with the newest, most hip architecture and design. The best restaurants have chosen to open their doors on the streets of this neighborhood. Minimalist apartment buildings rise around small mansions and urban parks making the mix wonderful and pleasant. The boys had a blast at La Condesa. First, because we got a Taxi drivers who had never driven there (first day on the job) and we had to give him directions- good thing Jevon knows his way everywhere! Second, we found an awesome rock store. The boys got nice fossils to brag about and I got some nice turquoise and labradorite to make nursing necklaces for Santi (I wear them, he plays with them). After our little shopping spree, we found an amazing playground at Parque España were the boys climbed a bit. Unfortunately, I thnik my boys are getting too big for playgrounds! We eventually made our way back to the Hotel after a great Gelato break.
Saturday was creepy quiet. We had already heard about the outbreak of Influenza but were not really sure about its reaches. We knew most public places (museums, libraries, theatres, night clubs) were closed starting Friday evening. As we waited for our breakfast at a lovely little street cafe, a convoy of military trucks drove by. Each truck had six soldiers covered with surgical masks and five big bundles (three feet by three feet) of new surgical masks. I started getting a little bit nervous.
When we arrived to the center of the Coyoacán neighborhood that afternoon, I had already asked around stores for the little facemask with no luck. Then we got another random act of kindness from the locals: I saw a family with a baby around Santi’s age wearing a facemask. I stopped the mom and asked how she had placed the mask so that the baby was not complaining about it. She said that she could help me and right away grabbed a new mask from her purse, her Mom tied an expert knot and instructed me on how to put it on Santi. She said soldiers would go by eventually with more masks for all of us and said goodbye... Santi wore his mask till lunch and then afterwards...
Coyoacán has a wonderful Plaza and it fills up on Saturdays for a street market. Most of the vendors have bad imported tiedye and Indian style clothes, some bad beaded jewelry (locals call them the Hippies), but you can find good arts and crafts and incredible hand woven blouses. We just devoted ourselves to walk around, have some juices, ice creams and pies from the stores I used to go to when I was little and living there.
When we took our cab back to the hotel, the soldiers and a good amount of volunteers from the Department of Health were giving out facemasks to all people... Actually, they were shoving a good bunch of masks at everyone and telling them to wear them.
Sunday, we had a nice breakfast at the little outdoor café and pondered the news that streamed on the old TV set inside the dining room (we sat outside). Schools were closed until May 6th, clubs, movies, libraries, museums... You name it! If it was a place of social gathering, it was closed. And us Mexicans that are such a Social breed! We use packed beyond packed urban transport (buses and subway), we live in tight knit communities and neighborhoods, we love to congregate for strikes, meetings and parties... The Government was asking for the Parks to be vacated too... No human contact unless it is part of your family.
Well, the ride to the bus station was surreal... I had never (in all the 17+ years I lived there and later visits) ever seen the streets of Mexico City with no traffic. No traffic jams is one thing.. No cars, that is kind of creepy. But it was an amazing way to actually see the city. Reforma looked amazing, green, magnificent. The air quality was better than on the days prior. Mexico City was almost too quiet to be true.
TAPO, the bus station, was pretty quiet too. The buses were running as usual, but not too many people were traveling. There were soldiers everywhere giving out facemasks and everyone at the station was wearing one. We all were wearing ours. We had a long bus ride ahead with facemasks.

Back from Mexico City (Part 1)

2009-04-26T21:11:00.004-05:00

Photo: Diego at Chapultepec Castle (gardens)

So, after having a very quiet first 5 months since the birth of our little son, Santi, we had to go on a trip to Mexico City required by the US Embassy. We were lucky enough to start our trip the 23rd of April... just before the outbreak of Flu was announced!
Our trip began a tad bit stressful being it was the first long trip for Santi and our first bus trip in quite a while. We decided to take the bus since it is really tricky do drive in Mexico City, it is even trickier to actually enter! For some years now, Mexico City has a program called “hoy no circula” in which cars with certain license plate endings cannot be on the streets certain days of the week. This program is supposed to help curve the terrible pollution problems the city has. Since the dates were not really our choice either, we had to go when the Embassy told us to, we had no way of going around the “no circula” restrictions.
Buses are a very good way to travel in Mexico as long as you take the right one. The first class service is prompt, comfortable and inexpensive. Then there is the Executive service which offers more space than First Class and drinks, maybe snacks, on your trip. Finally there is the Deluxe which pretty much has seats that turn into beds. Unfortunately for us, the time that was best for our trip only had first class leaving... It was not bad at all, just filled to the gills. It arrived at a great time in Mexico City, but we had to carry the extra weight of drinks and snacks for the boys.
We had a pretty uneventful ride to Mx City and Santi was a trooper: no long bouts of crying! The TAPO terminal (bus station) was very quiet when we arrived. I had never been in this terminal (there are three in MxCity) and I was very surprised at the size and the cleanliness! As in all of Mexico, there were the normal twenty well armed police officers here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Taxis are a great way to go when going around a city like Mexico. Driving is never a good choice if you are not a Chilango (Mexico City inhabitant) driver! Like a tourism brochure says: Drivers are crazy, but they know how to subsist with each other... Besides, there are no such things as good signaling and maps... Well, we are talking about the biggest city on Earth! Unfortunately, it is also one of the most dangerous cities on Earth, so you should never take just any Taxi, there are “safe” taxis which are easy to find, safe and very inexpensive. These taxis are available through a SITIO or Taxi central throughout the city.
Our hotel was a couple of blocks from the Embassy in the neighborhood of Polanco. Beats me why it is called like so, but that is were most of the Embassies are and it is very close to the main monuments and Parks of MxCity without being Downtown.
The first afternoon was rather tense since we had not much of an idea what we could do with the kids without exhausting them totally. No matter how out of shape I might be, Mexico City just beckoned a good long hike! We did not go very far on Reforma (the Champs Elysee of MxCIty) before the boys started complaining about being starving- Santi was sacked out on his carrier. They had been very entertained by the “Bench Sculptures” of the Urban display of usable art down Reforma (sitting on bronze couches, checking out the metal grass bench and the three story chair), but their stomach was starting to make them really uncivilized!
We ended up entering a small “fonda” (small restaurant) that was packed with locals and got the daily menu... Eat up like a king -soup, rice or pasta, meat and salad- for a mere 4dlls. And the service is super fast, too! From there we continued the hike down Reforma to Chapultepec.
Chapultepec is a 4 square km forest within the city. It is an enormous park that houses zoo, aquarium, lakes, a castle, etc. We decided we would, at least, take the boys to the Castle -residence once upon a time to Maximilian of Austria, when Mexico was under French rule-, check out the gardens and take some panoramic photos of the City. The hike up to the Castle was hard. I tend to forget Mexico City is at a really high altitude which makes it harder to breathe (then add the smog). Besides, we had not taken our umbrellas with us on our long walk and it rained on us twice! The first rain was soft and we took refuge under the canopy of the Century trees of Chapultepec, the second hit us hard at the Castle.
You tend to hear about how unfriendly people in Mexico City have become because of the violence and insecurity... Let me prove this wrong! As I was walking for cover (can’t run with Santi on his carrier) shielding him as well as I could with my arms, a local family walked by and promptly offered us a rain poncho! I accepted it and covered Santi. They smiled, waved and went on their way. This was just the first random act of kindness we received in MxCity!

March 3rd. Afterthoughts

2009-03-04T21:32:00.003-06:00

Photo: Little toes

Well, as we face another cold at home and the tail end of another cold front, I look forward to a very warm weekend. Warm days bring little naked toes out! Oh, I had forgotten the joys of a little baby! And the hardships... The good news is that the newest addition is definitively related to us... He wants to be on the move all the time, discovering new things and visiting new places! So this last weekend we went on a day trip to Coatepec.
It is so strange to be going on a trip to the place we called home just last year. It brings back good memories, but it also reminds us why, oh why, we left Coatepec for Xalapa. Such a charming, quiet, quiet, quiet, quiet town! That is until the gas truck or the newspaper guys or the tortilla vendors blare their adds over their loud speaker attached to the top of their cars ... But still we like to drop by our favorite places, say hello to friends and enjoy the quiet, just for a little bit.
This time we visited the Coatl Organic Market at the Casa de la Culture (Cultural Center) and found that not much has changed. Change here is good and bad. Good, because change could mean more prosperity, more vendors, more products, more buyers. Bad, because it could mean not finding the products you are there to find, or the familiar faces. So, unfortunately, no, they are not doing too much better than a year ago, but, fortunately, they still carry our all time favorites! My eldest and husband went for the organic, homemade, German sausage with red pepper and onion. Baby and I went for my spices.
My sole reason to visiting last Saturday was to get a good amount of Cardamom. This is one of my very favorite spices and a must for making a killer Chai, and we are lucky that this region is the perfect climate for growing it. I have to say that I find it rather strange in many ways that, being Mexican, I can’t seem to be able to live without my Indian spices: ginger, turmeric, mustard, cardamom. I also find it even stranger, but very serendipitous, that all those spices are grown here or very close to here, so I can always find them.
So, Cardamom acquired (and a good amount of other goodies), we headed for another one of our favorite places for lunch. It is a little Japanese restaurant by the plaza called Sakura. No, it’s not much to look at and the owner just opened another similar but nicer one in Xalapa, but we keep coming to the one in Coatepec. Some people find it strange that we head to Coatepec for a Japanese lunch, but the food is good and the prices are great. Besides, my eldest is a fan of Ramen (thanks to Naruto) and there is no better place for a huge bowl with fresh veggies and shrimp. I wonder if the littlest one will embrace our diverse tastes when he gets older.

Finally, March!

2009-03-01T20:17:00.004-06:00

Photo: Dry weather takes a toll on Bromeliads and the inhabitants.

It just dawned on me this morning that I have not written anything in more than a month! I have been slipping more and more, writting less and less. I do have an excuse, last year was a really bad pregnancy, this year is a really cute little baby...

Anyway, Febraury went by as a mirror image of last Feb. Sickness struck everyone as the last remnants of January were fading away. The first one to go down was Diego, which is normal, but he quickly came back, as is was not the case last year. Then it was Armando's turn. He usually gets them really bad and excerbates his asthma. We were expecting bronchitis for both, only one got it. In turn, Jevon had his share and finally me, which was good because baby got antibodies and escaped the cold. But as we were about to start celebrating the end of the "sick season", the vomit started.

This time it was the baby and, lo and behold, it was a nasty case of Amoebas! So everyone, minus the dog, had to get medicine to kill Amoebas.

Then, one week gone by, vomit overtook Armando and a friend of his. That one passed with no more victims... then the Chicken Pox hit!

Well, we are really not too sure it was the Chicken Pox, but it looked like it, sort of acted like it, but it was really mild. Good thing, since the only one that had not had it before was the baby. He is fine now.

Today both the oldest woke up with a cold... yeepee!

So, we enter March counting our blessings and taking our vitamin C. We are finally off the radiator heat, or at least we hope, as the Cold Front number 38 passes by. The days are getting lovlier but also drier: Xalapa looks dreadful when it gets this dry for a long time. The rain will come soon enough and then green will be living everywhere... even on our shoes and clothes!

Sometimes I wonder... does anyone actually read this blog?

NEW YEAR 2009

2009-01-15T17:57:00.004-06:00

Photo: Aqua X pool.

Christmas was a success for our boys. They really were very happy for staying and just relaxing without having to undertake the grueling two day trek to Texas! They even had fun at their end of the cycle party at school and made jokes about singing “la Rama” around the old neighborhood in Coatepec. ( “La Rama” is a tradition of the area in which kids decorate a dead tree branch with tinsel and other ornaments and go around the neighborhood “caroling”. The neighbors then reward them with money, candy or small trinkets. The “Rama” later on will decorate the Nativity scene that every home has.) There was no Rama for us, but a very funky Christmas tree (I call it our shag tree) and a quiet and peaceful Christmas and New Years.
We just finished celebrating Día de Reyes (Epiphany) and filled our bellies with traditional bread. No tamales for us this year, there was no way I was going to make some, but we managed to have good meals for the holidays including a big turkey I roasted, some cod fish and a delicious meal at the best Italian eatery in the region: Casa Italia.
Ok, maybe we are partial to this place, but I have not had a better Pizza or Penne al Fungi this side of the Atlantic! Guido, the Chef owner, is also a good friend and really knows his food. He only uses fresh ingredients and makes sure Italian music is always blaring off the TV in the dining room. We hear from his wife (a wonderful, gorgeous Cuban woman) that they are offering Cuban food on the weekends. We are definitively going back for Cuban soon since we already tried her cooking and it is as good as her husbands! What a couple!
We also took a little trip to Veracruz to visit the beloved Acuario (aquarium). It was fun, but they are building a new dolphin enclosure so part of the outdoors is closed. It turned out to be a short visit due to construction so we decided to go eat at another favorite: La Parroquia. It is a restaurant that has been serving the Port of Veracruz for almost 100 years (my grandmother and my father used to go there in their youth). It is famous because of it’s café lechero (café au lait) that is served from steaming pots right on your table –I can’t have caffeine right now!-, still, we enjoy eating the shrimp and fish and the many people that pass by.
The boys just returned to school today and had a great day. They also enjoyed their marathon swimming at AquaX and felt elated. We all had good Holidays, but there is a certain peace in getting back to the routine, whichever it might turn out to be this year!

Volcancillo (Dec 20th)

2009-01-07T22:01:00.004-06:00

Photo: Exit of a lava spout inside the crater.

Since we needed a little hiking, we decided to visit Volcancillo. Close to El Ciclo Verde, the Christmas tree farm, there is a signal off the main road into a little town. There you kind of have to ask around to find the beginning of the trail… yeah, the ever non existent signage!
We got really lucky on our adventure since there was a mountain biker at the beginning of the trail and he actually showed us the way to the Volcano. Although the trail is wide and mostly marked, there are no actual signs or maps that explain what the marks look like (blue paint on some trees) nor that there are other trails that farmers have made that intersect the trail! We had heard from the workers at the tree farm that the trail was about an hour’s hike, the bike guy said about 30 minutes… I think the tree guys were closer! It was a lovely hike up pine forests and lava flows, but it probably took a good hour up hill.
Volcancillo is a volcano that erupted a mere 800 years ago. The lava flow has been great seeding ground for all sorts of pines and firs, but it is still sharp, rugged and almost surreal in some areas. The crater itself is breath taking, and Vertigo inducing. It is surrounded by a series of caves and lava spouts that end up in the impressive sheer walls of the crater. Some hikers actually go into the lava spouts and come out on the precipice edge, but they come with more equipment than we did! It’s quite a view, but for the looks of some little white crosses on the edge of the crater, it is also a dangerous view!
After a nice hike (easier if you have not had a baby in precious months!) we stopped at La Joya, a town on the road back to Xalapa that is famous for its cheeses and other milk products. It was a great drive home sharing delicious La Joya Cheese and Butter Bread!

A Christmas Tree (Dec 9th)

2009-01-07T21:50:00.003-06:00

Photo: Searching for the right one! At Ciclo Verde.

Our first Christmas in Xalapa! We just decided not to try to brave the road North with a new born, so off to get the gear ready for the Holidays in Mexico.
Since we left all our Xmas stuff back up North, it was all new for us. It was fun going as a family to get ornaments for our future tree, it was hilarious when we noticed we were picking the colors of the Cleveland Cavaliers… Go Cavs! (ok, we do miss the NBA). But it was rather depressing when we drove to four different stores to buy our tree and they had run out of them! It seems in Xalapa trees start arriving as early as November 15th. We did not want to buy it too early so that it would survive the Holiday season which spans from the 12 of December (Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe) to January 6th (Epiphany), so we had waited as long as we could. Unfortunately, by the 8th of December, there were no trees around. The boys were bummed… and then we discovered Xalapa’s best kept secret… which is not a secret since even buses have ads for the place!!!
El Ciclo Verde (the Green Cycle) is a Xmas tree farm about 30 minutes out of Xalapa towards Puebla. It sits on the mountains on hundreds of acres of land that is used solely to grow pines, firs, etc.
The experience was extraordinary! We drove on a great sunny afternoon in the middle of the week and took a nice little picnic with us. We got to El Ciclo and at the gate they give you a little saw and a map, then they told us which areas were open. We headed to a parking area and started climbing the hill side were hundreds of Nordic Pines were planted. A little bit further, there was another area with hundreds of firs, and further off more and more and more acres of trees. It was not an easy task to decide which tree would come home to celebrate the season with us, but it was fun to measure the beautiful trees and try to have the kids agree on one. Finally, we found the ONE. Dad cut it as we gave thanks to the land for it. A guy from the Ciclo took it, packed it in protective net and tied it to our car. Then the funnest part began: as you drive out of the Ciclo, you get to the picnic area and a big corral with reindeer. We ate, the boys played and checked the deer for a while before it was time to head back home and decorate our beautiful tree.
We were so lucky stores ran out of trees! We wouldn’t have had such an extraordinary experience out in the mountains!

Rafting Jalcomulco (Nov 29th)

2009-01-07T21:42:00.002-06:00

Well, with a month old child, no rafting for mom. But the boys had a great adventure in the nearby town of Jalcomulco, epicenter of ecotourism and extreme sports in the area.
Early November, a little girl from school invited the boys to go with her to brave the white waters of the Pescados River to the town of Jalcomulco. Jalco (as the locals call it) is a sleepy town about an hour away from Xalapa and is the HUB for Ecotourism in the area. The town itself is charming and has nice little eateries, but the main attraction is the Río Pescados that runs through it.
So, Dad and the boys drove to Jalco with friends from school, hooked up with a very nice outfitter: “eXplorando” (small, very professional and great with kids… oh, and cheap) and rode a bus with the equipment up river. There, after a thorough tutorial on how to use the gear and what to do if you fall in the “drink”, they embarked on a raft and a kayak (the kayak for one adult and a guide) and started paddling to get to Jalco.
Well, I was absent from the adventure, but for the raving review I got as soon as the boys got home (and the photos), I’d say the three hour trek was way cool, or as the boys would put it: Totally Wicked!
The Pescados only has a few times of the year that are good for kids’ rafting: not too dangerous. Still, I hear that there was a stretch that the kids had to walk on land while the adults passed a certain area of pretty advanced rapids. There were other areas where they stopped the raft to let the kids swim in very quiet waters and even jump from cliffs.
The boys can’t wait until the next White Water season!

A Thanksgiving Story

2008-12-10T13:54:00.002-06:00

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!

…And the rain keeps coming

2008-10-09T07:58:00.002-05:00

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.

Still tripping

2008-09-29T09:14:00.004-05:00

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

2008-09-20T10:11:00.003-05:00

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

2008-09-14T09:12:00.004-05:00

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

2008-09-04T12:55:00.003-05:00

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.

On Education and the Year in Coatepec

2008-08-29T14:20:00.007-05:00

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.

Second Part of One Year

2008-08-26T19:02:00.004-05:00

(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).

NEW YEAR

2008-08-26T08:41:00.001-05:00

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...)

Almost there

2008-08-23T19:00:00.000-05:00

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.