Hail Storm

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.

Bus trips

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.

Adios, Farewell, So Long

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.

Cerro de Gallo

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.

Baking Group

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.

Adventures in Shopping

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.

Copan Ruinas

On the western side of Honduras, a few hours from the Guatemala border, lies Copan that traces its foundations to the Mayas. Now a hot spot for tourists, Copan boasts some of the best preserved Mayan ruins in Central America.

The immense plaza of lush green is dotted with different mounds, alters and stelas.

This is part of the ball court.

This is the second largest ball court, the first being in Chichen Itza, Mexico, in Central America. The goal was for the players to get an 8 pound ball to hit the protruding stone, toward the right of the photo.

The lucky winners were sacrificed. Sometimes it is good to be a loser.

The 63 steps and two thousand glyphs tell the history of the royal house of Copan. The stairway is the longest known text of ancient Mayan civilization.

The Jaguar Court is the site of the ball court sacrifices.

Beautiful macaws enliven the ruins.

Are we a People of Peace?

This month will mark the 90^th anniversary of the founding of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) that was formed when several Mennonite conferences met in Elkhart, Indiana. MCC began by delivering aid in Russia, Ukraine and Turkey. Since then, thousands have served with MCC in more than 50 countries, working alongside local churches and communities to carry out disaster relief, sustainable community development and justice and peace-building work in the name of Christ. MCC workers attempt to build bridges to connect people and ideas across cultural, political and economic divides. From the beginning, MCC has been grounded in the Mennonite Church that at its core, values peacemaking.

Peacemaking is when Colombian communities, divided and devastated by civil war, are able to tell their stories through a peace quilt. Peacemaking is when the Honduran Mennonite Church works together to understand what it means to be a peace church so that as one body, it can be a witness in a politically divided country. Peacemaking is advocating for communities impacted by the mining companies in Guatemala. Peace is political, BUT….

Have we forgotten that peacemaking is building relationships with our neighbors? Peacemaking is sharing a meal with those of different faiths and cultures. Peacemaking is helping to create viable economic markets for small farmers. Peacemaking is supporting education opportunities for children without access. Peacemaking is encouraging reforestation efforts.

MCC is an organization that seeks peace through the work of churches and partners around the world. All of the work is fundamentally based in peacemaking. Please join MCC’s efforts to be a people of peace both locally and globally.

Worlds Apart

It is easy to identify the differences and to do it quickly. When I arrived in Mexico I had the pleasure of testing all kinds of new foods, very different from the Tex-Mex food that passes for Mexican cuisine in States. Now I eat picante on freshly made tortillas or quesadillas filled with nopales or rajas for lunch served between 2:00 and 3:00 in the afternoon, and I can buy a variety of fried foods from any number of vendors that crowd the streets. I am resigned to the idea that waking up early to finish errands before work is impossible since businesses do not open until at least 9am and more often 10am. I rely on the corner store for quick access to milk or cheese and on the markets that spring up around the city selling fresh fruits and vegetables. I take for granted the extensive and secure bus system that reaches all the vast parts of Mexico. The education experience for the children I know in places like the state of Guerrero includes rote learning and months where classes are held less than 50 percent of the days. And this passes as normal. While I am one border crossing away from my home, I feel worlds apart.

After more than a week in Honduras, comparisons abound. Again it is easy to identify the glaring differences between two countries that while sharing a language, seem worlds apart. The hot and humid days begin before 8am with a heavy breakfast of eggs, refried beans, cheese and tortillas. I do not have to wait until mid afternoon to lunch on baleadas (large flour tortillas filled with beans, eggs and dry crumbly cheese) or tejadas (fried plantains). In talking with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) workers, I quickly realize that it is not safe to be out at night alone in cities like San Pedro Sula, especially as a woman. Most have been mugged at some point during their time, losing only material wealth like money, cell phones or cameras. There is a heightened sense of insecurity. The bus system feels chaotic with people shouting destinations, luring us to repainted school buses for long, hot bus rides across a country a quarter of the size of Mexico.

And yet, underneath these obvious differences, are we worlds apart? What is it that tips the balance in society? What does it take to create a breakdown in trust in communities or lack of faith in the legal and judicial system? Thus far shielded from the violence of the narcotraficantes (drug traffickers), will this violence permeate Mexican society and filter through communities in the US? How can we respond in our communities, worlds apart, yet connected and dependant on one another?

Regional Retreat

It was a short night of sleep after Friday evening’s talent show that included our lucha libre skit, a tongue and cheek commentary on Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). I said goodbye to my beloved equipo fuerte (strong team) this morning at 3am. Equipo fuerte, as we Mexico workers named ourselves for the week, stems from our airport experience on Monday. The airline offered food and lodging for the night plus an additional $200 USD to two people willing to change flights. It was definitely enticing, but I told Alejandro, the TACA representative, that it was all seven of us or none at all because we were un equipo bien fuerte (a very strong team), which produced plenty of laughter. The team did not let me forget my statement that made an appearance in our skit.

While the week’s morning workshop sessions were less than inspiring, I was impressed with the quality and dedication of workers that MCC has working in the region. In a region that is plagued by insecurity and a widening economic gap, there is much reason for hope through the MCC work with partners and communities. MCC supports food security projects in western Guatemala that includes advocacy surrounding the impact of Canadian mining in the region. MCC supports the Honduran Mennonite Churches in their quest to be a witness for peace in a country reeling from political instability after Zelaya, the country’s president, was forcibly removed from power a year ago. MCC supports youth and children in Nicaragua through education projects.

Despite geographical proximity, we all live in a different reality shaped by our context; however, we are drawn together by our desire for mutual transformation, a process of sharing and learning together. The work of MCC will not change the course history, but I do have hope that the work of MCC will plant seeds of hope in individuals and communities that has the potential for change.