Day in Tlapa

The Freisen-Pankratz oldest two children and their good friend Miguel from Zacango tried to sleep in the back of the truck for much of the 1 ½ hour trip to Tlapa through the mountainous and curvy roads. At one point Zam, the oldest (8 years old) and most prone to motion sickness, leaned over the side of the truck to get rid of his morning breakfast. Bruce maneuvered through the large holes in the roads and the periodic speed bumps as Jaime held Ziko, their youngest (3 years old), in the front seat of the truck. Ziko’s stomach and breakfast did not appreciate drive either.

By the time the road had straightened out, we were stopped at an intersection for a car check by the military patrol. We all filed out of the grey Nissan truck as they checked Bruce’s ID and completed a superficial search of the truck. No drugs or illicit items found. The rest of the trip to Tlapa was uneventful except for the near head-on crash with a van that we narrowly escaped with nothing more than increased heart rates and relieved laughter.

Our first visit was to a biologist who manages an aquaculture program. Her compound has ten or more pools each with fish at various levels of maturity. We talked with her about the process and possibilities to begin fish farming in Zacango. She was extremely knowledgeable about ways to use the resources and expertise already in the community.

Super Che, a large Wal Mart type store, was our next destination in order to buy a printer for the office. I was immediately struck by the amount of different items available and the variety of options. I felt like a kid in a candy store, overwhelmed by the amount of choices. After living in Olinalá for less than a month, I have become accustomed to having limited selection and simply not having access to a variety of cheeses, breads or specialty items that I take for granted in Pittsburgh. I began to appreciate how overwhelmed people would feel walking into a US store if they had never had these kinds of opportunities previously.

My last meeting was with Tlachinollan, a human rights organization that began in the mid 90s with the encouragement and accompaniment of MCC workers. Their founding corresponds to the beginning of MCC’s work in the state of Guerrero. It is exciting to see the strength and value of this organization in the region, with at least ten lawyers and staff working in the areas of education, migration and communication. While MCC has had placements with the organization in the past, currently there are no short or long term placements with the organization. www.tlachinollan.org

Leaving the dusty city behind, we drove through Tlapa rush hour and through the windy roads to return to Olinalá and Zacango. We arrived soon after 6 to Zacango just in time for Jaime and me to lead the women’s literacy class.