We're getting ready to go back to Q after a quick night in San Cristobal. We lost CB to Tuxtla this morning around 2 or 3 am! It feels strange to be continuing without half the Chiapas crew, but Anna and I are planning out the last few days of data collection. I can't believe we'll be back in Junax ready to leave Chiapas for good the day after tomorrow. It's sad!
Last night we had a jam-packed schedule, involving (thankfully) our favorite taqueria, Tacos al Norteno, and some wild entertainment of various sorts. After dinner, we went to a posada at CIDECI where we had dinner (or strawberry atole for us) with the people staying at the center (more on that later). We had arranged to meet up with John Rose aka Jose there so it was nice to see him for the first time here in Chiapas. It was also great to see Wilifredo, our contact at CIDECI. I admire his passion and staunch support of indigenous well-being. More importantly, I like that he has gone beyond words and has actually done something about it, and is looking for ways to do more to bridge the inequalities in health in his state (he's a Chiapaneco). However, I think the desire to be completely independent of the government, like the Zapatistas, is utopic (as Wilifredo himself acknowledges) and ultimately runs the risk of being short-sighted.
After dinner, while Jose and Wilifredo tried to talk social justice theory over deafening but very lively marimba music, a lot of the dinner guests gathered around to dance(they are mostly from Zinacantan, they stay at the center and take advantage of free apprenticeships in vital trades). After trying to follow the social justice conversation over all the noise, Anna, Wilifredo's wife and I gave up and decided to join the grandmas, teenagers and little kids on the dance floor. It was awesome! Plus, it restored feeling to my toes. It's freezing here.
After CIDECI, we went to Bar Revolucion to meet up with Mariana's crew. She's the leader of a pack of upper crust Mexican students working on various projects in the highlands. She approached us in Colonia Puebla because she heard we were "trabajando en estufas". Indeed. So we met her and her swank posse last night and talked stoves, social justice and sustainability with them. It was interesting but left me frankly drained. So a little past midnight I went home and CB and Anna went to a hippie party that they said I would have really enjoyed. Bummer.
There's so much more for us to tell but no time to reflect! Greetings and love to CB and Yaqui who we miss dearly in our last few days here - Chiapas is not the same without you!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Do something significant
Greetings subscribers (aka former Chiapanecos, parents/relatives, and a few select friends ;) )
Here is a quick n dirty of our week. The others will fill in significant details later. I am back in San Cristobal and leaving tomorrow to get back to the States in the nick of time for my dad's birthday (Hi dad!)
Saturday: Arrived in San Cristobal. We did not lose any equipment, but got searched by airport security as if we were carrying detonated weapons of mass destruction. Note to self: Check in suspicious looking equipment for air sampling. OR don't pack it in a suspicious looking brown cardboard box. We ran errands and went out on the town, as it was our last official night as a group in San Cris.
Sunday: We left for Quexalhukum as normal and set up camp in the botiquin. Unfortunately, "no hay luz", which means we had to invade Antonio & Maura's house to charge all of our pumps for particulate matter measurement. They were really wonderful about it this week. We gave them a gift of an ornament, religious DVDs, and these adorable heart earrings. She later put them on display between two stuffed animals (heart breaking), and wore them with a traditional blouse (with hearts on it). That night we prepared for a week of fun and hell at the same time, taking obscene amounts of measurements, waking up before the sun would rise, and unexpected obstacles. We are basically re-doing our project of 5 weeks in 10 days, sans stove installation.
Monday: 1st day in Q was a success....quizas. Anna and I went to hang filters in the first house, and they were using 2 stoves and a fogon (are there papers with protocols for this?) The next house had a fogon blazing strong, and their beautiful ONIL was off...they said it was because of the cold weather. I fervently hoped that that was the case. Farah and Cristobal completed the rest of the houses, with one stove left to "armar" aka build. As for spirometry, we got pretty good tests done for 4/6 women. One woman even came who we didn't have a baseline measurement for. SWEET...hopefully we can conjure up some significant findings with our spirometry data...
Tuesday: We begin Colonia Puebla, our largest town/sample size. It was so wonderful to see Tomas and his family again. One word to describe them is "smiley". His wife cooks the most wonderful food (we got huevos revueltas con salsa!) and his daughters are so playful and loveable. The particulate matter sampling was done by Anna y Cristobal. Farah and I were anticipating a long day of spirometry. To our surprise, 12(out of 24) women showed up, half of whom were sick (what can you do?). We looked at Tomas and asked him if any other women were going to show up for spirometry. He glanced back at us and said quickly, "Hay detalles." We later found out that there is some scandal within the town (perhaps later to be discussed...or not at all). Basically, there is a political dispute within Las Abejas, and since Colonia Puebla has not chosen a side, they are currently excluded from much of the conversation going on among factions. Tomas said something important, "Salud is para todos." It put into perspective the selflessness of the job of the health promoters. It also solidifes the frame of mind that health is a human right. You can argue economics and politics and pragmatism (stuff I love) yada yada but it does not negate the fact that when you strip the human life to its core, the most important things are one's health and one's loved ones.
Another interesting thing happened. We ran into extranjeros! There were students from Mexico City that had formed a group that encompassed estufas, human rights, and more. It was really strange to run into other students, but they are an interesting prospect for collaboration. We wonder if they are working with the communities in solidarity, as our model of work revolves around.
Wednesday: We woke up at 8am and it felt amazing, since the previous days we were waking up before the roosters crooned at 5:30am. More air sampling was done in PC, and 1 spirometry measurement was accompished (current n = 9 out of 36). Crap happens right?
Thursday: We arrived in Chuchtik at 8am. The first thing Balentina says to us is, "nobody will come because a woman has died". This is horrific news to us in every sense. Later on, women trickle in and we complete 6 spirometry measurements. We have never been around for a death, and I am curious as to what the mourning process is. I returned to San Cristobal today. It was strange to spend time alone after being with my chiapas family for the entire time. I ate a Falafel (best falafel in Mexico) and drank some wine at this tapas place on Real de Guadalupe. I love San Cris, it's a small city, bien tranquilo (peaceful) and full of hippies that I had the opportunity of conversating with earlier. Anyway, I have many thoughts running through my head, philosophical ponderings that I will leave until tomorrow or the day after. Our Chiapas project has been a really heartening and amazing experience that I cannot put into words until I think it for awhile. Te extrano, Chiapas.
Here is a quick n dirty of our week. The others will fill in significant details later. I am back in San Cristobal and leaving tomorrow to get back to the States in the nick of time for my dad's birthday (Hi dad!)
Saturday: Arrived in San Cristobal. We did not lose any equipment, but got searched by airport security as if we were carrying detonated weapons of mass destruction. Note to self: Check in suspicious looking equipment for air sampling. OR don't pack it in a suspicious looking brown cardboard box. We ran errands and went out on the town, as it was our last official night as a group in San Cris.
Sunday: We left for Quexalhukum as normal and set up camp in the botiquin. Unfortunately, "no hay luz", which means we had to invade Antonio & Maura's house to charge all of our pumps for particulate matter measurement. They were really wonderful about it this week. We gave them a gift of an ornament, religious DVDs, and these adorable heart earrings. She later put them on display between two stuffed animals (heart breaking), and wore them with a traditional blouse (with hearts on it). That night we prepared for a week of fun and hell at the same time, taking obscene amounts of measurements, waking up before the sun would rise, and unexpected obstacles. We are basically re-doing our project of 5 weeks in 10 days, sans stove installation.
Monday: 1st day in Q was a success....quizas. Anna and I went to hang filters in the first house, and they were using 2 stoves and a fogon (are there papers with protocols for this?) The next house had a fogon blazing strong, and their beautiful ONIL was off...they said it was because of the cold weather. I fervently hoped that that was the case. Farah and Cristobal completed the rest of the houses, with one stove left to "armar" aka build. As for spirometry, we got pretty good tests done for 4/6 women. One woman even came who we didn't have a baseline measurement for. SWEET...hopefully we can conjure up some significant findings with our spirometry data...
Tuesday: We begin Colonia Puebla, our largest town/sample size. It was so wonderful to see Tomas and his family again. One word to describe them is "smiley". His wife cooks the most wonderful food (we got huevos revueltas con salsa!) and his daughters are so playful and loveable. The particulate matter sampling was done by Anna y Cristobal. Farah and I were anticipating a long day of spirometry. To our surprise, 12(out of 24) women showed up, half of whom were sick (what can you do?). We looked at Tomas and asked him if any other women were going to show up for spirometry. He glanced back at us and said quickly, "Hay detalles." We later found out that there is some scandal within the town (perhaps later to be discussed...or not at all). Basically, there is a political dispute within Las Abejas, and since Colonia Puebla has not chosen a side, they are currently excluded from much of the conversation going on among factions. Tomas said something important, "Salud is para todos." It put into perspective the selflessness of the job of the health promoters. It also solidifes the frame of mind that health is a human right. You can argue economics and politics and pragmatism (stuff I love) yada yada but it does not negate the fact that when you strip the human life to its core, the most important things are one's health and one's loved ones.
Another interesting thing happened. We ran into extranjeros! There were students from Mexico City that had formed a group that encompassed estufas, human rights, and more. It was really strange to run into other students, but they are an interesting prospect for collaboration. We wonder if they are working with the communities in solidarity, as our model of work revolves around.
Wednesday: We woke up at 8am and it felt amazing, since the previous days we were waking up before the roosters crooned at 5:30am. More air sampling was done in PC, and 1 spirometry measurement was accompished (current n = 9 out of 36). Crap happens right?
Thursday: We arrived in Chuchtik at 8am. The first thing Balentina says to us is, "nobody will come because a woman has died". This is horrific news to us in every sense. Later on, women trickle in and we complete 6 spirometry measurements. We have never been around for a death, and I am curious as to what the mourning process is. I returned to San Cristobal today. It was strange to spend time alone after being with my chiapas family for the entire time. I ate a Falafel (best falafel in Mexico) and drank some wine at this tapas place on Real de Guadalupe. I love San Cris, it's a small city, bien tranquilo (peaceful) and full of hippies that I had the opportunity of conversating with earlier. Anyway, I have many thoughts running through my head, philosophical ponderings that I will leave until tomorrow or the day after. Our Chiapas project has been a really heartening and amazing experience that I cannot put into words until I think it for awhile. Te extrano, Chiapas.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Back in Chiapas!
The four of us are finally back in Chiapas to do our post measurements and see how the stoves are doing for the people of Quexalhukum, Chuchtik, and Puebla. It is really nice to be back. We are almost done packing up our supplies for the week and will take a taxi to get to the highlands, just like old times.
There is a LOT to be done in a very short while this time around. It was a tight schedule over the summer, but now, we are trying to get the same volume of data in about ten days. We are already planning a Nazi schedule to get everything done in time.
We will be back by the end of the week, unshowered and exhausted, but more importantly, hopefully having gathered the majority of our data!
There is a LOT to be done in a very short while this time around. It was a tight schedule over the summer, but now, we are trying to get the same volume of data in about ten days. We are already planning a Nazi schedule to get everything done in time.
We will be back by the end of the week, unshowered and exhausted, but more importantly, hopefully having gathered the majority of our data!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
hombres y mujeres de hechos
Chris, Jackie and I left Q yesterday, and CB and Jackie left San Cris this morning. I miss them! Its strange not to be together, since we were together night and day for 5 weeks straight.
I'm here for one more day to sort out everything, and then am heading off to Palenque tomorrow, and then Oaxaca for two weeks for language school.
I was, and am, sad to leave Q. The past 5 weeks have been hard, but they have also been very happy. We have been welcomed into the homes of so many families. It has been amazing getting to know the health promoters, chatting about everything and nothing, and working hard together.
Brief recap of the past week:
CB and I went up to Yabteclum last Saturday at 5am to wait for the stoves to arrive. Jackie stayed behind due to her inflammed foot. The stoves, of course, did not arrive at 6am as previously anticipated, but rather at 1pm. We spent the morning going to Puebla and Chuchtik to tell them the stoves were actually arriving, and to collect people to help unload. When the stoves finally arrived in la tortuga after a hellish voyage in which Fernando was unable to sleep for 2 nights, we had about 15-20 men to unload the contents of "pinche carro viejo" into 9 nissans. The whole process was amazingly fast, with Fernando and Hermelindo coordinating everything. I was basically prohibited from participating, so there are lots of photos of this process. Rodolfo arrived around this time, and he, CB, Eri and I went to Puebla to install 4 stoves.
The next day (Sunday), we went to Chuchtik after church. . . we being CB and me. Jackie had arrived in Q on Saturday night, but unfortunately was stricken with major diarrhea, and we left her in Roselia's capable hands. Jackie didn't end up leaving Roselia's house (and Eri's bed), for two days, but now she is fine.
Monday was our major major stove work day. CB, Eri, Hermelindo, Tomas, Fransisco and I installed 18 stoves in Puebla. It was tons of work, and knocked CB and Eri out so badly that the next day they could barely lift their heads, but it was also very satisfying. Wile driving home from Puebla drinking beers and listenng to Moderatto, one of Eri's and Herme's favorite bands, CB and I agreed that we would not rather be anywhere else.
On Tuesday we were joined by Jackie, and we finished up all the houses by around 3pm. Despite the fact that CB and Eri (the hombres de hechos, no palabras), were falling asleep in their chairs, and that there was no electricity in all of Q, Jackie and I decided to invite all of Fernando's family to eat dinner with us. . . . this may not have been the wisest decision, given the circumstances, but I think in general it turned out well. We had great attendance! All of the healt promoters were there with their families, and even Fernando's parents showed up. Unfortunately, this was our first experience witht the ONIL stove, and we didn't expect so many people, and we had no electricity, so it was quite an adventure. In all, I had a great time. I wore my "vichin" blouse. It was nice to be able to cook for all of them, since they have spent so much effort taking care of us. We cooked pasta and eggs, which has been a constant here, and I think it tasted pretty good, except for the second bach, which we kind of burned. Everyone was quite gracious, though, and Hermelindo told me "lek mum, vichin" (delicioso, hermana).
We left on Wednesday morning after a luxurious breakfast send-off of beef stew, and lots of picture-taking. I can't believe it's over.
Lots of photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/aumorgan/Stoves (be forewarned, there are lots of stove pictures, mostly for Rodolfo's benefit).
I'm here for one more day to sort out everything, and then am heading off to Palenque tomorrow, and then Oaxaca for two weeks for language school.
I was, and am, sad to leave Q. The past 5 weeks have been hard, but they have also been very happy. We have been welcomed into the homes of so many families. It has been amazing getting to know the health promoters, chatting about everything and nothing, and working hard together.
Brief recap of the past week:
CB and I went up to Yabteclum last Saturday at 5am to wait for the stoves to arrive. Jackie stayed behind due to her inflammed foot. The stoves, of course, did not arrive at 6am as previously anticipated, but rather at 1pm. We spent the morning going to Puebla and Chuchtik to tell them the stoves were actually arriving, and to collect people to help unload. When the stoves finally arrived in la tortuga after a hellish voyage in which Fernando was unable to sleep for 2 nights, we had about 15-20 men to unload the contents of "pinche carro viejo" into 9 nissans. The whole process was amazingly fast, with Fernando and Hermelindo coordinating everything. I was basically prohibited from participating, so there are lots of photos of this process. Rodolfo arrived around this time, and he, CB, Eri and I went to Puebla to install 4 stoves.
The next day (Sunday), we went to Chuchtik after church. . . we being CB and me. Jackie had arrived in Q on Saturday night, but unfortunately was stricken with major diarrhea, and we left her in Roselia's capable hands. Jackie didn't end up leaving Roselia's house (and Eri's bed), for two days, but now she is fine.
Monday was our major major stove work day. CB, Eri, Hermelindo, Tomas, Fransisco and I installed 18 stoves in Puebla. It was tons of work, and knocked CB and Eri out so badly that the next day they could barely lift their heads, but it was also very satisfying. Wile driving home from Puebla drinking beers and listenng to Moderatto, one of Eri's and Herme's favorite bands, CB and I agreed that we would not rather be anywhere else.
On Tuesday we were joined by Jackie, and we finished up all the houses by around 3pm. Despite the fact that CB and Eri (the hombres de hechos, no palabras), were falling asleep in their chairs, and that there was no electricity in all of Q, Jackie and I decided to invite all of Fernando's family to eat dinner with us. . . . this may not have been the wisest decision, given the circumstances, but I think in general it turned out well. We had great attendance! All of the healt promoters were there with their families, and even Fernando's parents showed up. Unfortunately, this was our first experience witht the ONIL stove, and we didn't expect so many people, and we had no electricity, so it was quite an adventure. In all, I had a great time. I wore my "vichin" blouse. It was nice to be able to cook for all of them, since they have spent so much effort taking care of us. We cooked pasta and eggs, which has been a constant here, and I think it tasted pretty good, except for the second bach, which we kind of burned. Everyone was quite gracious, though, and Hermelindo told me "lek mum, vichin" (delicioso, hermana).
We left on Wednesday morning after a luxurious breakfast send-off of beef stew, and lots of picture-taking. I can't believe it's over.
Lots of photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/aumorgan/Stoves (be forewarned, there are lots of stove pictures, mostly for Rodolfo's benefit).
Friday, July 25, 2008
Ciudad Hidalgo-A Reflection
Back in San Cristobal it is hard not to look back at our long trip to Ciudad Hidalgo, the Mexican border city with Guatemala, as anything but frustrating. Starting on Wednesday morning with Anna suffering from abdominal cramps (they way she was reacting I was worried), the day did not go right. JHo and I got to the agencia aduanal to meet with the driver and el camion, and right off the bat I saw that only 3 people could fit in the truck. I guess it was a good thing then that Anna couldn't come-as they say, everything happens for a reason.
For the first hour of the ride to the border I sat in the back of the camion, which lacked a roof so I sat on a tarp staring into the predawn sky-it was beautiful, but cold! As I was abuot to fall asleep, I felt the truck stop and Fernando call to me to come in the truck because Juan the chofer saw rain clouds up ahead. I agreed, reluctant to give up the open space but also looking not to get wet on a <6> hour drive. So I agreed and sat uncomfortably in the truck with Fernando, the driver, and JHo with the shift knob in between her legs to allow enough room for hte four of us. All the while, a metal bar kept on wedging on my crack, smashing into my coccyx with every tope (road bump), and there were many! The first chance I got I hopped back in the trailer and tried to sleep. All the while I was dealing with GI issues-very uncomfortable.
By the time we got to Ciudad Hidalgo, it was nearly 4pm (11 hours on the road) and the change in climate hit us hard. In the cabin of the truck, Fernando, Juan and I were all perfusely sweating (I swapped with JHo after lunch) due to heat and humidity. After a month in the highlands, I got used to the mild, dry climate. As we entered the city, the camion began to stall every 2 minutes, a sign of things to follow.
We finally arrived to the agencia aduanal to meet Rodolfo (the Helps Intl-Mexico representative) and Romeo (administrador aduanal). We were also met with bad news- the stoves would not be ready until 9am the next day. I guess there was an issue with the payment not coming in on time. So we had no other option but to stay at a hospedaje and play the waiting game. The rest of the day was spent at the internet cafe and at a comedor, the only resemblance of a restaurant anywhere near where we were in Hidalgo. Expecting to leave the followign day by 9am, we went to sleep early, by 9pm, or at least I should say I tried to. Don Juan the driver snored THE WHOLE night and I couldn´t get anything more than 1 hour of rest without waking up. Considering I was up, I am surprised I didnt notice all of the bugs biting my arms, legs and other exposed parts of my body...
The next morning we were greated with even more bad news-the stoves were still not ready and probably would not be until 5pm that day sue to the caravan on trucks trying to cross the border from Guatemala to buy the cheaper Mexican gas. Frustration, frustration, but what could we do? We were powerless in the situation. So yet another day went to waste at the internet cafe and yet another day of telling the families in the communities that they would have to wait for their stoves. After shooting the breeze for most of the day we finally got to the wherehouse where we began to transfer the stoves from a trailer to the truck and the rest to storage in the wherehouse. All the while, JHo was asleep after taking Benadryl for her amazingly swollen ankle she had in reaction to a spider bite. Poor girl.
By 1030pm we were on our way back to San Cristobal with Rodolfo, while Fernando decided to accompany Juan in the camion. We made a quick stop at diner and rest stop at 2am til 3am, and hit the road again. The whole time I was in and out of consciousness, and I guess Rodolfo was too since he later told us that he fell asleep on the road, forcing him to find a rest stop. I guess the 500ml of Coke on top of coffee didn't help!
We got to San Cris by 930am to find Anna, who looked excited to see us (I guess she was dying of boredom here at Junax) telling us that Fernando just called telling her that the chatarra...I mean truck...broke down not far passed the border. Wow, I thought to myself. How many more issues can possibly arise from this situation? We quickly went to the transport agency to talk to the boss, Belisario, who none of us could barely understand, to try to resolve the situation. He told us that it will all be fine and that the truck would come and he would keep us in the know. Pretty reassuring. But later on in the day Fernando called us telling us that they were on the way to San Cris and hope to be in the community by 6am tomorrow morning. I hope so. We plan on leaving SC at 5am to meet them at that time. I am optimistic no other issues will arise. I can´t wait for the families to finally get their stoves.
For the first hour of the ride to the border I sat in the back of the camion, which lacked a roof so I sat on a tarp staring into the predawn sky-it was beautiful, but cold! As I was abuot to fall asleep, I felt the truck stop and Fernando call to me to come in the truck because Juan the chofer saw rain clouds up ahead. I agreed, reluctant to give up the open space but also looking not to get wet on a <6> hour drive. So I agreed and sat uncomfortably in the truck with Fernando, the driver, and JHo with the shift knob in between her legs to allow enough room for hte four of us. All the while, a metal bar kept on wedging on my crack, smashing into my coccyx with every tope (road bump), and there were many! The first chance I got I hopped back in the trailer and tried to sleep. All the while I was dealing with GI issues-very uncomfortable.
By the time we got to Ciudad Hidalgo, it was nearly 4pm (11 hours on the road) and the change in climate hit us hard. In the cabin of the truck, Fernando, Juan and I were all perfusely sweating (I swapped with JHo after lunch) due to heat and humidity. After a month in the highlands, I got used to the mild, dry climate. As we entered the city, the camion began to stall every 2 minutes, a sign of things to follow.
We finally arrived to the agencia aduanal to meet Rodolfo (the Helps Intl-Mexico representative) and Romeo (administrador aduanal). We were also met with bad news- the stoves would not be ready until 9am the next day. I guess there was an issue with the payment not coming in on time. So we had no other option but to stay at a hospedaje and play the waiting game. The rest of the day was spent at the internet cafe and at a comedor, the only resemblance of a restaurant anywhere near where we were in Hidalgo. Expecting to leave the followign day by 9am, we went to sleep early, by 9pm, or at least I should say I tried to. Don Juan the driver snored THE WHOLE night and I couldn´t get anything more than 1 hour of rest without waking up. Considering I was up, I am surprised I didnt notice all of the bugs biting my arms, legs and other exposed parts of my body...
The next morning we were greated with even more bad news-the stoves were still not ready and probably would not be until 5pm that day sue to the caravan on trucks trying to cross the border from Guatemala to buy the cheaper Mexican gas. Frustration, frustration, but what could we do? We were powerless in the situation. So yet another day went to waste at the internet cafe and yet another day of telling the families in the communities that they would have to wait for their stoves. After shooting the breeze for most of the day we finally got to the wherehouse where we began to transfer the stoves from a trailer to the truck and the rest to storage in the wherehouse. All the while, JHo was asleep after taking Benadryl for her amazingly swollen ankle she had in reaction to a spider bite. Poor girl.
By 1030pm we were on our way back to San Cristobal with Rodolfo, while Fernando decided to accompany Juan in the camion. We made a quick stop at diner and rest stop at 2am til 3am, and hit the road again. The whole time I was in and out of consciousness, and I guess Rodolfo was too since he later told us that he fell asleep on the road, forcing him to find a rest stop. I guess the 500ml of Coke on top of coffee didn't help!
We got to San Cris by 930am to find Anna, who looked excited to see us (I guess she was dying of boredom here at Junax) telling us that Fernando just called telling her that the chatarra...I mean truck...broke down not far passed the border. Wow, I thought to myself. How many more issues can possibly arise from this situation? We quickly went to the transport agency to talk to the boss, Belisario, who none of us could barely understand, to try to resolve the situation. He told us that it will all be fine and that the truck would come and he would keep us in the know. Pretty reassuring. But later on in the day Fernando called us telling us that they were on the way to San Cris and hope to be in the community by 6am tomorrow morning. I hope so. We plan on leaving SC at 5am to meet them at that time. I am optimistic no other issues will arise. I can´t wait for the families to finally get their stoves.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Milio'te from the frontera
Yesterday, Chris Brown and I drove down with Fernando to the border between Mexico and Guatemala to pick up the stoves. Anna was going to join us, but had some musculo-skeletal pains from handling very heavy cement blocks the day before. We wish she was here though!
Our drive down took 12 hours, instead of the 6 hours we anticipated. We rode in a rabon... imagine a fairly ghetto big rig type of vehicle with wooden walls and a floor painted ina dull teal color. When we arrived in Hidalgo (the border city), we met Rodolfo, who told us that stoves wouldn't be available until the next morning at around 9am. We stayed at a hostal that night, with CB in a room with Fernando and our driver Juan. My room was a creepy room about the size of a large walk-in closet with no windows and an aluminum roof. The bathroom consisted of a toilet and an open shower right next to each other (no sink). The mosquitos had a feast with my ankles last night so I am pretty excited to leave Hidalgo. The weather is HOT, a striking contrast from the cool temperatures of the rural highlands.
Unfortunately it is Thursday today, and stoves will not be ready until 5pm. The truck that is bringing the stoves from Guatemala is waiting in a long line to cross the border. Apparently gas is cheaper in Mexico, and many large vehicles cross the border to take advantage of this. Despite the delays we are really looking forward to the arrival of the stoves! Rodolfo has been amazing this entire time and has helped us finalize all the paperwork along with Jaime and Fernando. The stoves are being donated officially to Las Abejas in Fernando's name. It's amazing how much he is doing for the communities...very admirable.
Anyway, ankles itchy...will update later.
-Yaqui
Our drive down took 12 hours, instead of the 6 hours we anticipated. We rode in a rabon... imagine a fairly ghetto big rig type of vehicle with wooden walls and a floor painted ina dull teal color. When we arrived in Hidalgo (the border city), we met Rodolfo, who told us that stoves wouldn't be available until the next morning at around 9am. We stayed at a hostal that night, with CB in a room with Fernando and our driver Juan. My room was a creepy room about the size of a large walk-in closet with no windows and an aluminum roof. The bathroom consisted of a toilet and an open shower right next to each other (no sink). The mosquitos had a feast with my ankles last night so I am pretty excited to leave Hidalgo. The weather is HOT, a striking contrast from the cool temperatures of the rural highlands.
Unfortunately it is Thursday today, and stoves will not be ready until 5pm. The truck that is bringing the stoves from Guatemala is waiting in a long line to cross the border. Apparently gas is cheaper in Mexico, and many large vehicles cross the border to take advantage of this. Despite the delays we are really looking forward to the arrival of the stoves! Rodolfo has been amazing this entire time and has helped us finalize all the paperwork along with Jaime and Fernando. The stoves are being donated officially to Las Abejas in Fernando's name. It's amazing how much he is doing for the communities...very admirable.
Anyway, ankles itchy...will update later.
-Yaqui
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
blocks. . . check!
Just a quick update on what's going on, before I fall into bed.
We spent the last two days figuring out blocks. Yesterday, Hermolindo, Jackie, CB and I went to at least 5 different bloquerias looking for 450 blocks and a truck big enough to hall all of them to the communities. It was the first time we had all walked to Yabteclum, which took us about 1.5 hours. After the initial uphill, it was kind of a pleasant walk. I chatted with Hermolindo, and he pointed out what kind of house he wants (totally concrete), and how much it costs (about 100,000 pesos). At around 1, we managed to secure the blocks and trucks, and walked back to Chenalo to get a ride home, at which point we randomly ran into Eri who was in Chenalo trying to figure out his grades, found a phone, called Rodolfo and the truck driver to sort everything out for stove pickup on Wednesday, and ate some lunch. We went back to Q thinking everything was sorted out, and planned for the blocks to first be dropped in Q at 8:30am, then Chuchtik, then Puebla.
Fast-forward to this morning at 11:30. No block yet in Q. Two families had already come by around 9 to see if the block had arrived. Roselia and I were chillin' in front of the botequin, chatting about life (when people get married, who gets married to whom, why some men have two wives, why men don't want to marry women who work outside the home, and other similar girl-talk). At around noon, we saw a nissan approaching from Linda Vista (up the hill), so we walked down to meet it. Jackie, CB, Hermolindo, Eri, and 50 blocks were in the nissan. Apparently, the truck we had hired for the block needed diesel gasoline, and there isn't any deisel in Chenalo. So, off to plan B: buy the blocks in Yabteclum and ferry them to each of the communities in groups of 75 in Nissans.
In the end, I think this plan was actually a little better. . . there is a very shoddy bridge on the way to Puebla that the big rig couldn't pass anyway. And loading and unloading block from the trucks was faster than I thought. Jackie and I stayed ni the back and arranged, while the guys passed the block to us.
Arriving in Puebla with the block was one of my favorite moments of the trip so far (though I have lots of favorite moments). When we got there, Tomas (the health promoter) and a few other guys started helping us unload, but they also sent out an announcement over a loudspeaker in all directions of the community. Within 5 min, we had 20 guys helping to unload block. Tomas told me twice to stop unloading, and said they would do it (I didn't understand him the first time). While they finished unloading, I said hi to some of the women who did spirometry. There were lots of them around watching the block be unloaded.
After unloading the 2 nissans, we got back in a nissan with Eri, Hermolindo, and at least 15 guys from Puebla, and went back to Yabteclum. At that point, Jackie, CB and I got in a taxi to San Cristobal, and left the block in the capable hands of Hermolindo, Eri, and the Puebla crew, who made plans to get 3 nissans to avoid the rain (after eating tacos).
So, now we are in San Cristobal. Exhausted, a little sick, and about to go to bed. We have to wake up at 4 am tomorrow in order to start our six hour journey to Ciudad Hidalgo on the border at 5am. Fernando is going with us, and we are meeting Rodolfo in Cd Hidalgo. We hope to be back in Yabteclum on Thursday at midday to distribute stoves. Hopefully we will get to sleep somewhere (maybe San Cristobal) tomorrow night.
We spent the last two days figuring out blocks. Yesterday, Hermolindo, Jackie, CB and I went to at least 5 different bloquerias looking for 450 blocks and a truck big enough to hall all of them to the communities. It was the first time we had all walked to Yabteclum, which took us about 1.5 hours. After the initial uphill, it was kind of a pleasant walk. I chatted with Hermolindo, and he pointed out what kind of house he wants (totally concrete), and how much it costs (about 100,000 pesos). At around 1, we managed to secure the blocks and trucks, and walked back to Chenalo to get a ride home, at which point we randomly ran into Eri who was in Chenalo trying to figure out his grades, found a phone, called Rodolfo and the truck driver to sort everything out for stove pickup on Wednesday, and ate some lunch. We went back to Q thinking everything was sorted out, and planned for the blocks to first be dropped in Q at 8:30am, then Chuchtik, then Puebla.
Fast-forward to this morning at 11:30. No block yet in Q. Two families had already come by around 9 to see if the block had arrived. Roselia and I were chillin' in front of the botequin, chatting about life (when people get married, who gets married to whom, why some men have two wives, why men don't want to marry women who work outside the home, and other similar girl-talk). At around noon, we saw a nissan approaching from Linda Vista (up the hill), so we walked down to meet it. Jackie, CB, Hermolindo, Eri, and 50 blocks were in the nissan. Apparently, the truck we had hired for the block needed diesel gasoline, and there isn't any deisel in Chenalo. So, off to plan B: buy the blocks in Yabteclum and ferry them to each of the communities in groups of 75 in Nissans.
In the end, I think this plan was actually a little better. . . there is a very shoddy bridge on the way to Puebla that the big rig couldn't pass anyway. And loading and unloading block from the trucks was faster than I thought. Jackie and I stayed ni the back and arranged, while the guys passed the block to us.
Arriving in Puebla with the block was one of my favorite moments of the trip so far (though I have lots of favorite moments). When we got there, Tomas (the health promoter) and a few other guys started helping us unload, but they also sent out an announcement over a loudspeaker in all directions of the community. Within 5 min, we had 20 guys helping to unload block. Tomas told me twice to stop unloading, and said they would do it (I didn't understand him the first time). While they finished unloading, I said hi to some of the women who did spirometry. There were lots of them around watching the block be unloaded.
After unloading the 2 nissans, we got back in a nissan with Eri, Hermolindo, and at least 15 guys from Puebla, and went back to Yabteclum. At that point, Jackie, CB and I got in a taxi to San Cristobal, and left the block in the capable hands of Hermolindo, Eri, and the Puebla crew, who made plans to get 3 nissans to avoid the rain (after eating tacos).
So, now we are in San Cristobal. Exhausted, a little sick, and about to go to bed. We have to wake up at 4 am tomorrow in order to start our six hour journey to Ciudad Hidalgo on the border at 5am. Fernando is going with us, and we are meeting Rodolfo in Cd Hidalgo. We hope to be back in Yabteclum on Thursday at midday to distribute stoves. Hopefully we will get to sleep somewhere (maybe San Cristobal) tomorrow night.
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