I end my time in Mexico and my work with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) after a flurry of activity in August. This past week as I attempted to give a brief orientation of the MCC work and the city with Luke and Sarah Roth-Mullet, new workers who will be in the Connecting Peoples position in Mexico City, I have hope and faith that the vision and mission of MCC will continue seamlessly in Mexico.
MCC seeks to accompany local organizations and to support the work of the churches. Over the weekend, I traveled by bus, two hours more than probably necessary due to long rest stops, to Campamento Mazahua with members and leaders of the Mennonite Churches of Mexico for the 2nd Anabaptist Convention of Mexico. During our four days together, where about 150 members of the Mennonite Churches of Mexico from the states of Mexico, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Sinaloa, and Sonora, I sang praise songs with the more than ample amplification, shared meals and interesting conversations about the work and vision of the churches, and listened to the dialogue related to the Conference theme, ¿Cómo ser y hacer iglesia? (How to be church and do church?). Sharing this experience with many faithful and dedicated people gives me hope for the future work of the Mennonite Churches in Mexico.
I leave tomorrow morning with a deeper understanding of the work and vision of MCC and of development and all its complications and contradictions. I am so thankful for the opportunity that MCC has given me this year to serve and work along side incredible people. I am so impressed by the dedication and passion of MCC workers, and it has been an honor to a colleague in this organization.
Do not let the white stuff fool you. It is not snow, rather a rare hail storm in Mexico City that left me without power for several hours this evening.
The road in front of the apartment had a layer of hail that later created a small river on the street.
I am so thankful that my last overnight bus from Olinalá arrived promptly this morning at the Tasquena bus station in Mexico City at 4am despite the driving rain for the first two hours of the trip along the sharp curves of Guerrero. I attribute the success of the eight hour trip to the driver’s sidekick / relief driver, sketchy though he was.
On my Sunday evening bus ride to Olinalá, the bus driver’s sidekick was his 10 year old son, who did a good job of keeping him company despite the distraction from Rambo in the background. The noise from this highly plot-driven movie (joke) drowned out any possible sounds from other passengers, including the cat. I only heard the cat when he first boarded the bus. The distinct, desperate meows for help and jumping garbage bag were the only clues of the cat’s presence on board. Thankfully I was not sitting close to the pet’s owner, as it was no doubt a lively ride.
I am sure the driver also appreciated the last hour or two of the trip when one of the passengers regaled all of us sitting near the front of the bus with a monologue of tales from his drug smuggling days. He was coming home to Temalaquilcingo, a pueblo outside of Olinalá, after two years of living in Sonora. The bus driver disappointed him when he said that this bus was not carrying any drugs. I was thankful. I have no idea what the driver sidekick thought of the whole scene.
Last night, on the return trip to Mexico City, I traded listening to drug smuggling stories for a lesson in swearing. The driver’s sidekick showered his speech with every profanity that I know in Spanish and many more new variations of the words and phrases. The rich vocabulary was not want expedited the trip. With three hours of highway driving remaining, the bus driver sprawled out across the first two seats, while the sidekick drove. That is why we arrived at 4am on the dot. I should mention that there was a quick and shifty change of drivers as we pulled into the station, the original driver quickly wiping sleep away from his eyes.
It was a perfect farewell combined with a birthday celebration on my last day in Zacango and with Bruce, Jaime, Zam, Hizee and Ziko. I am so grateful for their friendship and kindness during this year. Thank you. I will certainly miss you.
In the States, hiking Cerro de Gallo, 1740 meters or about 5700 feet and accessed via Chiaucingo, a 15 minute drive from Olinalá, would require all the latest gear in outdoor clothing, hiking shoes, energy snacks and all the fashionable hiking accessories. In Zacango, it requires the nearest pair of shoes that you own, be it flip-flops or jelly shoes, whatever you felt like putting on when you woke up in the morning, hotdogs and lots of candy.
Yesterday I played a rousing game of football with the kids who are part of the children’s summer program that Bruce and Jaime are leading in Zacango. Today I climbed a mountain with a group of ten excited children, ranging from 5 to 15 years old, and a handful of adults. By 9am, we began our assent, which we soon found out was no Sunday afternoon walk in the park.
The highest peak on the left was our goal.
Plenty of energy at the beginning.
We walked by farmers' fields and animals.
Beautiful, lush green scenery.
Again, our goal was the far left peak.
We followed the ridge to reach the top.
A bit deceiving that this was only the first of three or four peaks that we had to climb to reach the absolute top.
Three hours later, including several sugar shock dips into the candy bag, we achieved our goal. I was super impressed with the children who taught me all about the flora on the mountain. It is no secret that I am the least inclined to be able to identify plants, but the knowledge that these young people had truly surpassed expectation. Growing up in the campo means that the children are well aware of their surroundings and without a complaint on a fatiguing hike in the sun.
The view from the top.
Elvira and Gloria started a fire with damp firewood in under 10 minutes. Impressive. Those with patience and interest roasted hot dogs.
An impressive group at the top of Cerro de Gallo.
Celebrating our return.
Please note the hiking gear, especially the footwear. Elvira, left, relieved the mountain of numerous plants and even scrap metal for her next creative venture. The future benefits of carrying all that extra weight most of the way up and all the way down did not seem worth it to me.
Resting after a long, but fun hike to Cerro de Gallo.
I have great memories sharing this experience with the children from Zacango, and a physical reminder for the coming week with red shoulders and face, thanks to a fierce afternoon sun.
Pizzas, breads, muffins, cakes, and now oatmeal raisin cookies. The women of Zacango who have been attending the weekly baking group since the spring would be more than happy to make any of these delicacies for you. Almost twenty women gathered in a small room, once dust covered and dilapidated, that they converted into a community bakery. Several women brought flour, sugar and other baking ingredients to restock the group’s supplies.
This week Jaime guided them through the cookie recipe that she had printed on a large poster. Several copied the recipe into a notebook for later use; even though, all the recipes are hanging on the walls. On days when the group does not meet, women pay a small fee to cover the cost of the gas to use the oven. Most women do not have an oven at home, and if they do, it is used for storage. The cost of a gas tank, about 300 pesos, is limiting for most in the community, aside from simply not being accustomed to using an oven.
Jaime guides them through the recipe, encouraging everyone to help measure the ingredients or stir the batter or grease the baking sheets. And while there are definite leaders who potentially could take over the entire process, there is good camaraderie among the women who talk and laugh together. It was a privilege to be a part of this group of women this afternoon.
Walmart has upwards of 50% of the retail market in Mexico with Walmarts and Sam’s Clubs, in addition to grocery stores such as Superama, restaurants such as VIPS, and clothing stores such as Suberbia. The nearest Walmart is two metro stops from the apartment, and the easiest place for one stop shopping. But where is the adventure and fun in that?
At the Portales market, a 15 minute walk from my house, my choices of vegetables, fruit, dried beans, chiles and assorted house wares abound. The fruit vendor hand picks the avocados and melons to be ready for the week or for that day. I buy one peso worth of cilantro that is more than enough for the week. The woman selling cream and cheese allows me to taste test the cheese before buying. And for being a vegetarian, I have dallied in the meat section of the market to buy bacon for the team meeting. I had to walk past the pig heads, all sorts of innards and plenty of meat parts that I could not identify, but I managed to find bacon by the kilo. I asked for thinly sliced, but that was a difficult task given that the 15 year-old welding a large knife was individually slicing each piece.
Lina is my usual café where I buy freshly roasted and ground coffee. I know exactly where the fruit vendor is who sells real honey, and around the corner, the stall where I can buy real butter. My favorite store near the market is Alpina. I have learned to go early, or expect to wait in a long line. As far as I know, the store has everything you might want to buy in bulk. I can not say for sure since I have to have my exact order ready at the first window, pay at the second window, and wait patiently as the employees troll their long aisles, shelves to the ceiling, filling my order. One the same street, I buy fresh chipotle tortillas and potentially any shape or size of piñata.
Time consuming. Yes. Always an adventure with new things to see and discover. Absolutely.
