The organisation I work for is called Casa de Apoyo a la Mujer which translates as support house for women. The ‘Casa’ works mainly in 2 areas: health, which involves consultations by a doctor and sexual health promotion in communities; and support for women’s groups in communities such as micro-credit projects or a community garden.
The first week I started I was told to take a week off as they were really busy and I was quite sick. The following week started off slowly. Everyone was really busy and therefore had no time to sit down with me and talk about what I would be doing. Finally, half way through the week the coordinator and I had a chat and we worked out that I would help launch an environment campaign focused on recycling materials which we could then use in various ways, such as using plastic bottles for seedlings in gardens, or making tote bags out of plastic wrappers/bottles and encouraging people to use reusable bags rather than plastic. I was and still am very excited about this project. It’s exactly the area of work that I am interested in and was wondering before I started if the Casa would be keen to start a project like this. At the moment I’m doing lots of research on how we can use the recyclable material to benefit the women’s groups we are working with. There’s an amazing project taking place in Guatemala where they using plastic bottles stuffed with rubbish to build very much needed housing www.puravidaatitlan.org/index.html (in Spanish but has pictures!).
Last weekend I spent it in Tabasco (right next to a town called Tequila). That´s right, where the hot chilli sauce is meant to come from, but doesn’t. The name was stolen by a U.S. company and adopted as their own.
As I waited for my couch surfer to come and pick me up from Villahermosa (the capital of Tabasco) bus depot, I saw a clown sitting at the bus station, looking miserable. No one else seemed surprised to see a clown just sitting there, blending amongst the crowd. I guess clowns also need to use public transport to get to places – still seemed strange to me. I hear that clowns are quite common in Mexico. Well this was my first sighting of one here.
Also as I waited, I saw a white ute pull up and signal for me to get in. My couch surfer had told me he was coming in a white ute to pick me up so I jumped in and off we went. We said our greetings and 10 metres up the road my fellow driver asks me where I want to go. At this point I realise that maybe I got into the wrong car and so I ask him his name. Name doesn’t match. It turns out he was just passing by and offered me a lift = wrong car! No need to say that I quickly got out (clumsily dropping my bag and sarong on the road in a state of fluster) and said my adieus.
My couch surfer and his best friend had obviously decided that they would sacrifice their entire weekend to chauffeuring me around to the best sites around Villahermosa, the best food and taking me out to various bbq’s and even back to the families for lunch in a small town where one of them grew up. They were the most generous and hospitable people I have met here. I was introduced to beautiful traditional food - a local fish called moharra (cooked on woodfire) which is found everywhere here; platanos (a type of banana cooked in their skin until golden) with cheese and cream sprinkled on top; pozol – a drink made from ground corn and roasted cocoa which is more like a porridge type meal than a simple drink – this drink has been made for centuries and was/is used by field workers to sustain themselves throughout the day in very hot conditions; amazing caramelised fruits which are meant to be eaten with pozol and cocoa slices – cocoa is in abundance in Tabasco – my couch surfers family has fields of cocoa trees at the back of the house; sweet tamales (made from corn dough with lots of different fillings – these one’s had little fruits inside and were the best tamales I’ve had so far!); and last but not least, quesadillas – (tortillas with melted Oaxaca chese) eaten at one particular café called Dona Mary (highly recommended if you’re around the area!) which had pretty much any filling under the sun available including this superb mushroom called huitlacoche… mm..mm..mmmmm!
Don’t have any photos to show of Tabasco as I took with me an uncharged camera… =(
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Orientation to Chiapas
Two weeks ago I had an amazing orientation into the situation here in Chiapas. I was presented to a range of different organizations (set up by the organization who organized the internship) in San Cristobal who each gave ma a briefing on their area of expertise (all in Spanish!). I also had the opportunity to visit a Zapatista community, autonomous communities who have very well thought out ideals and political views, with someone who has been working with them for years (Julio) and therefore was able to brief me in detail about their 'lucha' (fight). They have set up an autonomous government completely apart from the Mexican government which is entirely democratic. They are attempting to be sustainable, relying as much as possible from their own communities for everything they need as well as trying to conserve their own cultural practices. But the primary goal is to have control over decisions and issues that affect them. I was able to talk to the ‘good government junta’ on my visit, after being checked by a committee to find out the reasons for my visit. I was greeted with open arms into the government building and was able to chat to the government council for an hour, answering all of my enquiries about the community with eagerness and pride. The community was located in beautiful countryside, up in the mountains in complete serenity from the outside world. This visit was definitely one of the highlights of my trip so far!
Situation in Chiapas
The military presence is extremely high in Chiapas. They're not doing much at the moment but Julio tells me they're increasing their troops and establishing themselves more and more, making their presence known. The most concerning is the para-miliatary gangs which are apparently trained by the army to attack communities.
The overall plans of the government here is to take land away from indigenous communities so as to be able to sell it to mining companies or ‘develop’ it for e.g. future tourists. They are also planning on growing 1 million hectares of bio-fuels in Chiapas by 2012.
The Plan Puebla Panama, a highway that is planned from Mexico to Columbia is already taking place – they have started work on the highway from Chiapas to Palenque (have done approx. 9 km’s) but they have encountered opposition, especially since where they’re planning on building the highway is through some Zapatista communities. They will also be destroying a very rich ecosystem which is used as a haven by migratory birds on their way up or down every year. There’s also another highway planned (under a different name – IIRSA) stretching from Columbia all the way to the South of America. The main reasons for this highway is to create infrastructure for mining companies (mainly coming from Canada) to come and extract resources as well as the opportunity to create new sweatshops, where labour will be cheaper down south and the transportation will be swifter with this new highway.
No need to say that my head hurt at the end of this week from the overload of very interesting but quite confronting information. I was taken to Palenque on the Friday to be presented to the organization I will be working with for the next 3 months. But all the travelling I had been doing ended up catching with me and I fell sick as a dog as soon as I got to Palenque. I had all the symptoms of swine flu, or so it seemed to me! I couldn’t do much more than moan about having a fever in 40 degree heat and try and sweat it out. I did go and visit the ruins in a fit of insanity with my friend Flo who happened to be in Palenque at the same time as me, but quite obviously didn’t appreciate any of the amazing archaeological ruins in my presence.
Next blog issue – my organisation – what will I be doing? Not to be missed!
Situation in Chiapas
The military presence is extremely high in Chiapas. They're not doing much at the moment but Julio tells me they're increasing their troops and establishing themselves more and more, making their presence known. The most concerning is the para-miliatary gangs which are apparently trained by the army to attack communities.
The overall plans of the government here is to take land away from indigenous communities so as to be able to sell it to mining companies or ‘develop’ it for e.g. future tourists. They are also planning on growing 1 million hectares of bio-fuels in Chiapas by 2012.
The Plan Puebla Panama, a highway that is planned from Mexico to Columbia is already taking place – they have started work on the highway from Chiapas to Palenque (have done approx. 9 km’s) but they have encountered opposition, especially since where they’re planning on building the highway is through some Zapatista communities. They will also be destroying a very rich ecosystem which is used as a haven by migratory birds on their way up or down every year. There’s also another highway planned (under a different name – IIRSA) stretching from Columbia all the way to the South of America. The main reasons for this highway is to create infrastructure for mining companies (mainly coming from Canada) to come and extract resources as well as the opportunity to create new sweatshops, where labour will be cheaper down south and the transportation will be swifter with this new highway.
No need to say that my head hurt at the end of this week from the overload of very interesting but quite confronting information. I was taken to Palenque on the Friday to be presented to the organization I will be working with for the next 3 months. But all the travelling I had been doing ended up catching with me and I fell sick as a dog as soon as I got to Palenque. I had all the symptoms of swine flu, or so it seemed to me! I couldn’t do much more than moan about having a fever in 40 degree heat and try and sweat it out. I did go and visit the ruins in a fit of insanity with my friend Flo who happened to be in Palenque at the same time as me, but quite obviously didn’t appreciate any of the amazing archaeological ruins in my presence.
Next blog issue – my organisation – what will I be doing? Not to be missed!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Travelling - not the right time?
First, here's the link to my pictures - there's been a little problem with uploading to flickr... many of the photos have lost some of their colours and contrast - but you get the drift!
I am writing to you based from Palenque, Mexico. Yes, that’s right I’ve left Guatemala (quite sadly) and am in one of the hottest towns of the country not to mention the big tourist attraction – the impressive Mayan ruins just down the road.
So to recount the last 3 weeks or so, I left Xela about 3 weeks ago (quit my bar job and said goodbye to Spanish classes) to go and see the rest of Guatemala. I traveled up to Semuc Champey, a natural wonder where the river flows under land and there are a series of stepped turquoise rock pools on top of the river. It’s a beautiful, sacred place that reminded me of Kakadu and made me realize once again, how beautiful Australia really is.
From Semuc I went up to Tikal. The journey there was the most thrilling of the trip. Two oil trucks that had taken the same route the night before had experienced leaks and therefore oil had spilled all over the road. We were driving in a chicken bus where all passengers and driver seemed quite alarmed with the condition of the road (not a good sign if locals are concerned!) The driver was being extremely careful and maneuvered our chicken minibus with great ability, sometimes driving on the wrong side where there was less oil (but on coming traffic!). An hour and a half of this and we managed to surpass most of the oil. Sighs of relief were heard throughout the whole bus.
Tikal is an extensive archaeological Mayan site which was one of the largest Mayan cities during its peak. It is still being excavated and will take years before it’s mostly uncovered. As everyone tells you, you need to go nice and early in the morning otherwise it just gets too hot and you have no energy to walk around and see these amazing pyramids. The best thing about Tikal for me is the jungle that it’s set within. It’s thick, green and tropical and makes you feel like anything could happen in the vastness of the trees. You can also hear the cries of Howler monkeys in the thick vines that surround the ruins, an impressive cry if you’ve never heard one before! At Tikal I decided that my heart wasn’t into traveling at that point and that all I wanted to do was head back to Xela. With my heart and mind set, I caught a night bus with a fellow Israeli for safeguard. We got the cheapest and nastiest bus tickets possible and were sure that we would be pushing the bus after purchasing our tickets from two very strange sales people – one being a serial smiler. Luckily enough the bus was safe, although we were cramped in like sardines. I got back to Xela and spent the last few days enjoying knowing a place, people and feeling at home.
Since then I’ve left Guatemala through a series of Chicken buses (10 hours worth) I crossed the border to Mexico with no hassles whatsoever. I don’t like border crossings. They make me nervous for some reason. I always feel as if I don’t have the right documents on me and I’ll be refused entry. You get a little piece of paper when you go through the Mexican border which is meant to be your tourist card that you have to pay for at the bank. No one tells you this of course and if you can’t read Spanish, well good luck to you! Finally at 8pm I arrived in San Cristobal, a city situated in the mountains of Chiapas with colonial Spanish architecture. There are so many churches in this town, all built on hills overlooking the city. It’s a bohemian city with many hippies flocking here for the easy lifestyle it brings. You can sit in a Zapatista café sipping your café late discussing the politics of a revolution while listening to street buskers and feeling like you’re a radical.
To be continued…
I am writing to you based from Palenque, Mexico. Yes, that’s right I’ve left Guatemala (quite sadly) and am in one of the hottest towns of the country not to mention the big tourist attraction – the impressive Mayan ruins just down the road.
So to recount the last 3 weeks or so, I left Xela about 3 weeks ago (quit my bar job and said goodbye to Spanish classes) to go and see the rest of Guatemala. I traveled up to Semuc Champey, a natural wonder where the river flows under land and there are a series of stepped turquoise rock pools on top of the river. It’s a beautiful, sacred place that reminded me of Kakadu and made me realize once again, how beautiful Australia really is.
From Semuc I went up to Tikal. The journey there was the most thrilling of the trip. Two oil trucks that had taken the same route the night before had experienced leaks and therefore oil had spilled all over the road. We were driving in a chicken bus where all passengers and driver seemed quite alarmed with the condition of the road (not a good sign if locals are concerned!) The driver was being extremely careful and maneuvered our chicken minibus with great ability, sometimes driving on the wrong side where there was less oil (but on coming traffic!). An hour and a half of this and we managed to surpass most of the oil. Sighs of relief were heard throughout the whole bus.
Tikal is an extensive archaeological Mayan site which was one of the largest Mayan cities during its peak. It is still being excavated and will take years before it’s mostly uncovered. As everyone tells you, you need to go nice and early in the morning otherwise it just gets too hot and you have no energy to walk around and see these amazing pyramids. The best thing about Tikal for me is the jungle that it’s set within. It’s thick, green and tropical and makes you feel like anything could happen in the vastness of the trees. You can also hear the cries of Howler monkeys in the thick vines that surround the ruins, an impressive cry if you’ve never heard one before! At Tikal I decided that my heart wasn’t into traveling at that point and that all I wanted to do was head back to Xela. With my heart and mind set, I caught a night bus with a fellow Israeli for safeguard. We got the cheapest and nastiest bus tickets possible and were sure that we would be pushing the bus after purchasing our tickets from two very strange sales people – one being a serial smiler. Luckily enough the bus was safe, although we were cramped in like sardines. I got back to Xela and spent the last few days enjoying knowing a place, people and feeling at home.
Since then I’ve left Guatemala through a series of Chicken buses (10 hours worth) I crossed the border to Mexico with no hassles whatsoever. I don’t like border crossings. They make me nervous for some reason. I always feel as if I don’t have the right documents on me and I’ll be refused entry. You get a little piece of paper when you go through the Mexican border which is meant to be your tourist card that you have to pay for at the bank. No one tells you this of course and if you can’t read Spanish, well good luck to you! Finally at 8pm I arrived in San Cristobal, a city situated in the mountains of Chiapas with colonial Spanish architecture. There are so many churches in this town, all built on hills overlooking the city. It’s a bohemian city with many hippies flocking here for the easy lifestyle it brings. You can sit in a Zapatista café sipping your café late discussing the politics of a revolution while listening to street buskers and feeling like you’re a radical.
To be continued…
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