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.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Whooah, were half way there (Livin on a prayer)
Saludos from San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico!
If I were a truck driver (aka taxi for the area in which paved roads do not exist), I'd be greeting you with some sort of code name such as Black sparrow, Huracan or Pluma roja. (You know how taxis communicate with each other through the radio).
Anyway, we are embarking upon our last couple of weeks in Chiapas. As of now all pre-measurements are done! Farah and I completed the last of the particulate matter measurements and spirometry this past week in Chuchtik, a small community consisting of 28 families. It is much more similar to Quexalhukum, and spirometry was more of a challenge here. The women are extremely shy, which makes it much harder for us to convince them to perform the lung function test. Basically with spirometry, you have to inspire until you lungs are absolutely full, and forcefully expire all of the air in your lungs in the first second (FEV1), then maintain that residual flow of air for 6 seconds. For many, it is an uncomfortable experience, and you also look like you're going to explode in the last 6 seconds. For this reason, the women get very embarrassed and cover their faces in the process. Some women can get it within the first 5 tries. For others, 10+ tries still isn't enough. Fortunately, women are also persistent so we've got a lot of data to work with.
A large part of the work has been done, and now we are waiting for word from Rudolfo so that we can hire a big-rig (rabon) to pick up the stoves in Hidalgo, a city near the border of Mexico and Guatemala. We are going back today and will be distributing cement blocks on Monday or Tuesday. To build the ONIL stove, you need 11 cement blocks as a base along with the stove parts. Thus, although we are receiving the stoves later than we expected, we can still use the time to buy and bring blocks to the families so they can start building the base of their stoves. We hope all goes well with the border, as history has proven that there is plenty of room for complication (like last year's Chiapas group experienced). Fortunately, we have their guidance and the help of Jaime from Medicos del Mundo to faciliate this process.
Looking beyond this, we still have to perform all post-stove measurements sometime in November or December. This will likely take 2 weeks. Afterwards, we will have to analyze the results and make sense ofour data. The stove project is large and a long term commitment, but we are already looking forward to our return trip. Building relations here has made this experience incredibly worthwhile and fulfilling.
After we are done distributing stoves, Anna, CB, and I may head on over to Oaxaca to explore more of Mexico! I am currently searching kayak.com for a plane ticket from Oaxaca to DF, since I made the mistake of buying my outbound ticket out of DF instead of Tuxtla, the capital of Chiapas. As for now, we will return back to Q and will likely be back to San Cris on Tuesday night or Wednesday to rent the truck and drive to the border. Hopefully, all of our GI issues will be resolved by then.
A little blurb about Junax and hippieland: Junax is a hostal for volunteers in San Cristobal. Thus it draws the hippiest of the hippies from all over, including Spain, France, Argentina, Mexico, Canada, New Zealand...many of who have interesting stories and projects. It seems as though most people are working with the Zapatista communities in some way, documenting human rights abuses. Junax is very communal, and we got to bond a little with the Junax kids last night playing this random game called Psicologia. Anyway, it is actually nice getting to do something like that since we are usually running around on trying to get errands done when we are in San Cris. After the game, we went to this "party" that some guy CB and Anna knew from an electronics store. He told CB that he would bring his female friends to the party. This party consisted of Anna, CB, me, and the guy and his wife. He was dressed up like he was going out to dance, cowboy boots and hat with a matching jacket. His wife was also dressed up. This guy, (Juan?), is like a man with ADD on crack...very very nice and friendly, but definitely strange and cartoonlike. They invited us to go to this place called Palace, a discoteca with lots of salsa, mariachi, and durangesa. It was a very peculiar experience, and I fell asleep on the couch when we were all talking, so we went home about an hour later.
That's all folks, updates will come again this week.
Con amor,
Yaquelina
If I were a truck driver (aka taxi for the area in which paved roads do not exist), I'd be greeting you with some sort of code name such as Black sparrow, Huracan or Pluma roja. (You know how taxis communicate with each other through the radio).
Anyway, we are embarking upon our last couple of weeks in Chiapas. As of now all pre-measurements are done! Farah and I completed the last of the particulate matter measurements and spirometry this past week in Chuchtik, a small community consisting of 28 families. It is much more similar to Quexalhukum, and spirometry was more of a challenge here. The women are extremely shy, which makes it much harder for us to convince them to perform the lung function test. Basically with spirometry, you have to inspire until you lungs are absolutely full, and forcefully expire all of the air in your lungs in the first second (FEV1), then maintain that residual flow of air for 6 seconds. For many, it is an uncomfortable experience, and you also look like you're going to explode in the last 6 seconds. For this reason, the women get very embarrassed and cover their faces in the process. Some women can get it within the first 5 tries. For others, 10+ tries still isn't enough. Fortunately, women are also persistent so we've got a lot of data to work with.
A large part of the work has been done, and now we are waiting for word from Rudolfo so that we can hire a big-rig (rabon) to pick up the stoves in Hidalgo, a city near the border of Mexico and Guatemala. We are going back today and will be distributing cement blocks on Monday or Tuesday. To build the ONIL stove, you need 11 cement blocks as a base along with the stove parts. Thus, although we are receiving the stoves later than we expected, we can still use the time to buy and bring blocks to the families so they can start building the base of their stoves. We hope all goes well with the border, as history has proven that there is plenty of room for complication (like last year's Chiapas group experienced). Fortunately, we have their guidance and the help of Jaime from Medicos del Mundo to faciliate this process.
Looking beyond this, we still have to perform all post-stove measurements sometime in November or December. This will likely take 2 weeks. Afterwards, we will have to analyze the results and make sense ofour data. The stove project is large and a long term commitment, but we are already looking forward to our return trip. Building relations here has made this experience incredibly worthwhile and fulfilling.
After we are done distributing stoves, Anna, CB, and I may head on over to Oaxaca to explore more of Mexico! I am currently searching kayak.com for a plane ticket from Oaxaca to DF, since I made the mistake of buying my outbound ticket out of DF instead of Tuxtla, the capital of Chiapas. As for now, we will return back to Q and will likely be back to San Cris on Tuesday night or Wednesday to rent the truck and drive to the border. Hopefully, all of our GI issues will be resolved by then.
A little blurb about Junax and hippieland: Junax is a hostal for volunteers in San Cristobal. Thus it draws the hippiest of the hippies from all over, including Spain, France, Argentina, Mexico, Canada, New Zealand...many of who have interesting stories and projects. It seems as though most people are working with the Zapatista communities in some way, documenting human rights abuses. Junax is very communal, and we got to bond a little with the Junax kids last night playing this random game called Psicologia. Anyway, it is actually nice getting to do something like that since we are usually running around on trying to get errands done when we are in San Cris. After the game, we went to this "party" that some guy CB and Anna knew from an electronics store. He told CB that he would bring his female friends to the party. This party consisted of Anna, CB, me, and the guy and his wife. He was dressed up like he was going out to dance, cowboy boots and hat with a matching jacket. His wife was also dressed up. This guy, (Juan?), is like a man with ADD on crack...very very nice and friendly, but definitely strange and cartoonlike. They invited us to go to this place called Palace, a discoteca with lots of salsa, mariachi, and durangesa. It was a very peculiar experience, and I fell asleep on the couch when we were all talking, so we went home about an hour later.
That's all folks, updates will come again this week.
Con amor,
Yaquelina
Saturday, July 19, 2008
more photos!
Just uploaded quite a few photos. . . lots of spirometry action shots and little kids.
Hope you enjoy: http://picasaweb.google.com/aumorgan/ChiapasWeeks23
Hope you enjoy: http://picasaweb.google.com/aumorgan/ChiapasWeeks23
My last blog from Chiapas...for now
My flight back to California leaves from Tuxtla this afternoon, so I have to say goodbye to San Cristobal around 10 am today! I already left Quexalhukum yesterday...it was hard to leave. The only consolation is knowing I´ll be back for post stove measurements at the end of the year. But still, this has been an amazing few weeks and I´m sad to see the adventure and learning experience end.
This week in Q was hectic but very productive. On Wednesday, we started working in Chuchtik. It´s not as far as Puebla but the houses are very spread out, so more walking is involved. One house was so far I left to place a filter and didn´t return for two hours. We basically went up and around a mountain and then crossed a valley. How are 11 cement blocks and various stove parts going to make that trek? They call such houses ´tiradito´which means thrown, and they literally seem like they´re thrown in the middle of a mountain range. But the important thing is that just as planned, 8 filters were placed in 8 homes in Chuchtik, and 8 vichins (young women) came for spirometry on Thursday. Amazing! All that despite the fact that the health promoter from the community mysteriously failed to show up one day and left us without a list of names of stove recipients (our translator on Wednesday forgot to tell us that the promoter was going to the city for a couple of days...fantastic).
We also placed the very last filter and redid some aberrant spirometry tests in Q, and tried to do some spirometry on women who had been too ill to perform the test last Sunday in Puebla. Unfortunately, two women were still sick, but one was able to give us three repeatable data points, so we considered it a small victory.
Jackie and I got back to San Cris last night and finally got to eat Tacos Al Norteno which is my new favorite thing in the entire world. I´m so sad I can´t eat them every night until school starts again...they´re that good. There is nothing like carne asada! Then, we came back to Junax to have chocolate cake that Anna and CB made...we had a little bon voyage cake cutting for me, which was really sweet. I think I ate half of that cake--with extra frosting--which in my book is excusable, considering the dearth of chocolate all week in Q (it was really only 3 days, but whatever). Then we went out to celebrate another productive week!
I went to bed at 3 am but I´m up early to go to the bank, get coffee, and do a little bit of last minute shopping before I leave for Tuxtla. I´m already nostalgic for Q and this whole experience. One of the things I will miss the most is definitely my three Chiapas family members: Anna, Jackie and Chris. One of the absolute best things about this trip is working together with them. Good luck with the stoves next week you guys! Like I said, I´m photoshopping myself into all the stove party pictures once the installation is over!
This week in Q was hectic but very productive. On Wednesday, we started working in Chuchtik. It´s not as far as Puebla but the houses are very spread out, so more walking is involved. One house was so far I left to place a filter and didn´t return for two hours. We basically went up and around a mountain and then crossed a valley. How are 11 cement blocks and various stove parts going to make that trek? They call such houses ´tiradito´which means thrown, and they literally seem like they´re thrown in the middle of a mountain range. But the important thing is that just as planned, 8 filters were placed in 8 homes in Chuchtik, and 8 vichins (young women) came for spirometry on Thursday. Amazing! All that despite the fact that the health promoter from the community mysteriously failed to show up one day and left us without a list of names of stove recipients (our translator on Wednesday forgot to tell us that the promoter was going to the city for a couple of days...fantastic).
We also placed the very last filter and redid some aberrant spirometry tests in Q, and tried to do some spirometry on women who had been too ill to perform the test last Sunday in Puebla. Unfortunately, two women were still sick, but one was able to give us three repeatable data points, so we considered it a small victory.
Jackie and I got back to San Cris last night and finally got to eat Tacos Al Norteno which is my new favorite thing in the entire world. I´m so sad I can´t eat them every night until school starts again...they´re that good. There is nothing like carne asada! Then, we came back to Junax to have chocolate cake that Anna and CB made...we had a little bon voyage cake cutting for me, which was really sweet. I think I ate half of that cake--with extra frosting--which in my book is excusable, considering the dearth of chocolate all week in Q (it was really only 3 days, but whatever). Then we went out to celebrate another productive week!
I went to bed at 3 am but I´m up early to go to the bank, get coffee, and do a little bit of last minute shopping before I leave for Tuxtla. I´m already nostalgic for Q and this whole experience. One of the things I will miss the most is definitely my three Chiapas family members: Anna, Jackie and Chris. One of the absolute best things about this trip is working together with them. Good luck with the stoves next week you guys! Like I said, I´m photoshopping myself into all the stove party pictures once the installation is over!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Stuck in San Cris
Chris and I are still in San Cristobal. We bid farewell to Jackie and Farah on Tuesday evening. Hopefully they are faring well and aren't having too much trouble completing spirometry and PM in Chuctik (the 3rd and final community they are working in). They should be back on Friday.
We spent Monday and Tuesday trying to navigate the buraucracy of getting stoves across the border. Right now, it seems that Helps (the organization who is donating the stoves), will be paying the importation tax, which is very helpful. They tell us that the stoves will be ready for pickup on the Mexican side of the border probably mid-week next week. We were hoping to start installing stoves on Monday, so this delays us a bit, but it should be fine overall.
Chris and I stayed behind in order to be able to communicate with Helps and any border agencies as quickly as possible (and to let my GI tract recuperate). So far it has been pretty boring. I'm sort of restricted to Junax due to need for bathroom proximity, and we basically wait around for one particular email or phone call. Today Fernando is supposed to be in San Cristobal, so we are going to try to meet with him in order to figure out the best day for us to go to the border to pick up the stoves, and if it is possible to rent a big truck in advance.
I know some of you have been wondering what type of stove we are installing. It is the ONIL stove. More information can befound here: http://www.onilstove.com/
. .. . and as a follow-up from my last post, I forgot to include another one of my favorite aspects of last week.
5. We ate dinner with Antonio and Maura this week. Antonio is a health promoter and Maura is one of Fernando's younger sisters. They live in a pretty painted house, and only use the estufa. They don't have an open fire, which is quite exciting. It is great to hear Antonio's perspective on things. He is one of the only people in Quehalhukum who we talk with regularly who isn't one of Fernando's siblings. He is in his early 20s, and I think Maura is 17. They don't have any children yet. Antonio is a 'multiplicador' health promotor which means, like Roselia and Fernando, he can teach health promotion. He showed us the books that are used to teach health promoters and, as Chris already described, they are very detailed. I described Antonio as an 'old soul', bu I'm not really sure what that means, exactly. He seems quite serious, and is very religiuos. He didn't finish primaria, and learned Spanish while working construction in Mexico City. He is going to go back to Mexico City on Saturday to find work for 3 months, which unfortunately means I may not see him again before we come back to take post-measurements. I asked him why he is going now, and he said it is becasue the corn has all been cleaned, and, basically, there is little farm work to do, so it is best to go to the city now. He is saving up to build a separate kitchen.
Its kind of amazing. When I'm in San Cristobal, Quehalhukum and Puebla seem to exist in another world. Like part of a dream. I guess it can seem too discordant to keep all these different ways of life in my mind at the same time.
When Farah and Jackie return with the computer, I will try to post more pictures.
We spent Monday and Tuesday trying to navigate the buraucracy of getting stoves across the border. Right now, it seems that Helps (the organization who is donating the stoves), will be paying the importation tax, which is very helpful. They tell us that the stoves will be ready for pickup on the Mexican side of the border probably mid-week next week. We were hoping to start installing stoves on Monday, so this delays us a bit, but it should be fine overall.
Chris and I stayed behind in order to be able to communicate with Helps and any border agencies as quickly as possible (and to let my GI tract recuperate). So far it has been pretty boring. I'm sort of restricted to Junax due to need for bathroom proximity, and we basically wait around for one particular email or phone call. Today Fernando is supposed to be in San Cristobal, so we are going to try to meet with him in order to figure out the best day for us to go to the border to pick up the stoves, and if it is possible to rent a big truck in advance.
I know some of you have been wondering what type of stove we are installing. It is the ONIL stove. More information can befound here: http://www.onilstove.com/
. .. . and as a follow-up from my last post, I forgot to include another one of my favorite aspects of last week.
5. We ate dinner with Antonio and Maura this week. Antonio is a health promoter and Maura is one of Fernando's younger sisters. They live in a pretty painted house, and only use the estufa. They don't have an open fire, which is quite exciting. It is great to hear Antonio's perspective on things. He is one of the only people in Quehalhukum who we talk with regularly who isn't one of Fernando's siblings. He is in his early 20s, and I think Maura is 17. They don't have any children yet. Antonio is a 'multiplicador' health promotor which means, like Roselia and Fernando, he can teach health promotion. He showed us the books that are used to teach health promoters and, as Chris already described, they are very detailed. I described Antonio as an 'old soul', bu I'm not really sure what that means, exactly. He seems quite serious, and is very religiuos. He didn't finish primaria, and learned Spanish while working construction in Mexico City. He is going to go back to Mexico City on Saturday to find work for 3 months, which unfortunately means I may not see him again before we come back to take post-measurements. I asked him why he is going now, and he said it is becasue the corn has all been cleaned, and, basically, there is little farm work to do, so it is best to go to the city now. He is saving up to build a separate kitchen.
Its kind of amazing. When I'm in San Cristobal, Quehalhukum and Puebla seem to exist in another world. Like part of a dream. I guess it can seem too discordant to keep all these different ways of life in my mind at the same time.
When Farah and Jackie return with the computer, I will try to post more pictures.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Chiapas: 3 weeks deep...
We are back in San Cristobal de las Casas, and in retrospect, I must say that we accomplished a lot this week. We hit the ground running and look to finish ahead of schedule, able to finish all of the premeasurements of particulate matter and spirometery (almost) in Colonia Puebla, the largest community.
More and more, next week looks to be another hectic one, balancing spirometery, filters, and platicando with Fernando and Helps International to ensure the safe and timely arrival of the ONIL stoves for the communities. To be honest, I am looking forward to it. To see how far we have come and the great relationships we have created with many of the people of Chenalho, I am amazed. We arrived to Chiapas a complete mess: we were told that the stoves were not as helpful as we once thought and that the communities probably wouldn't use them, to being told that we had to compromise the people's solidarity by accepting donated from the Mexican government.
Granted we are nowhere near done with this project, however to be standing here saying that the stoves will be coming as a true donation with no strings and that those families that are signed up to receive them truly want to use them is exciting.
This week not only meant a lot of work, but also a newfound respect for the education of the health promotor. We had the opportunity to take a glance at the texts the promotores had to learn in order to receive their accreditation and it was truly amazing. The amount of knowledge and clinical applications mirrored, if not surpassed, any high yield text needed for the first two years of American medical school. And to see that some of these health promotores have ingested and put to practice this huge volume of information at the age of 18 (!) is truly humbling. These trusted individuals bear the huge responsibility of tending to the health needs of the community with limited "education" (many have not completed grade/middle school). Interestingly, these promotores care for their own rural pueblo better than any physician, nurse, or other health proffesional from the city can ever do. When I was 18 all I cared about was partying and trying to get into college to improve MYSELF. These people have the interests of the ENTIRE COMMUNITY on their minds.
This mindset speaks to one of the largests contrasts between American and rural Chiapan culture. There is no ME in Los Altos, there is only US.
More and more, next week looks to be another hectic one, balancing spirometery, filters, and platicando with Fernando and Helps International to ensure the safe and timely arrival of the ONIL stoves for the communities. To be honest, I am looking forward to it. To see how far we have come and the great relationships we have created with many of the people of Chenalho, I am amazed. We arrived to Chiapas a complete mess: we were told that the stoves were not as helpful as we once thought and that the communities probably wouldn't use them, to being told that we had to compromise the people's solidarity by accepting donated from the Mexican government.
Granted we are nowhere near done with this project, however to be standing here saying that the stoves will be coming as a true donation with no strings and that those families that are signed up to receive them truly want to use them is exciting.
This week not only meant a lot of work, but also a newfound respect for the education of the health promotor. We had the opportunity to take a glance at the texts the promotores had to learn in order to receive their accreditation and it was truly amazing. The amount of knowledge and clinical applications mirrored, if not surpassed, any high yield text needed for the first two years of American medical school. And to see that some of these health promotores have ingested and put to practice this huge volume of information at the age of 18 (!) is truly humbling. These trusted individuals bear the huge responsibility of tending to the health needs of the community with limited "education" (many have not completed grade/middle school). Interestingly, these promotores care for their own rural pueblo better than any physician, nurse, or other health proffesional from the city can ever do. When I was 18 all I cared about was partying and trying to get into college to improve MYSELF. These people have the interests of the ENTIRE COMMUNITY on their minds.
This mindset speaks to one of the largests contrasts between American and rural Chiapan culture. There is no ME in Los Altos, there is only US.
post Puebla
We are back in San Cristobal (of course). We spent longer in Q than expected, and our mothers' reacted in full force--mine called John, and Chris' called the hostel searching for their children.
We stayed in Q in order to finish up a good week of work. We have completed filters and spirometry in Q and in Puebla. Puebla is about 50 very rocky minutes from Quexalhukum. It is a "colonia" so it is semi-urban. There are tiendas everywhere, and the houses are close together. The fact that they are closer together has helped us--we were able to turn over filters quickly--but it also means we got lazy. We had days where we only had 2 hours of work, and then nothing for the rest of the day. On Saturday and Sunday, though, we worked hard. We did spirometry on 5 women in Q and 24 women in Puebla. We only have 8 more houses to do in the next community--Chuchtik. We are starting there on Wednesday at 8 am. It shouldn't take more than 3 days. Fortuitously, we met Tomas, the health promoter in Chuchtik, this morning at Medicos del Mundo, and arranged to meet him at the cooperative tienda on Wednesday. Everything here seems to happen sort of magically--people appear when you need them, and things somehow get done. I don't quite understand it.
Our latest next challenge will be getting stoves across the border. We are working with the administrator of Medicos del Mundo. He is amazing. He does everything so quickly and efficiently. He knows how Mexico works, and calls up lots of people (e.g., customs agencies) and fixes everything rapidly. But, he also has the patience to wait for an email to arrive and chat with us about our lives, and how he has seen San Cristobal change over the past several years. He also knows a lot about Las Abejas, but because he is not part of them, just assisting them, he can tell us what we need to be concerned about. We all have the same interest--assisting Las Abejas in their work--but he has more inside knowledge than we do, so he can warn us of any missteps we could potentially make. He also speaks Spanish a mile a minute, so I have to pay close attention to figure out what is going on.
All in all, we have had a pretty impressive week. The people in Puebla have been amazingly hospitable. They gave us at least one meal a day, at least. We ate lots and lots of eggs and beans. LOTS of eggs and beans. We try to replace as much as we can with beans and rice and vegetables. The children area also fabulous. They are very gregarious and like to say my name and follow us around and carry our bags with machines. The name Anna is very useful here--everyone remembers it easily and calls me Ana all the time. They pick it up faster than Chris, Jackie or Farah.
Spirometry has been a challenge, but also really cool because we get to spend more time with the women, and see them interact with each other. It is really hard to explain how they have to breathe in and then exhale as fast as possible and not breathe back in. In some ways, they are happy to do it, but some just don't really get it. The older women are troopers--they give it their all and it usually works. Its impressive. It is shocking how young some of the women are. Many of them are younger than I am and have several children. And many of the women in Puebla didn't know their birthdate at all--they just gave us a rough estimte of the year.
We have some great pictures. I have some regular ones, but Jackie has some spirometry in in action shots. I'll try to post them sometime soon.
Some of my favorite moments from the week:
1. Playing "bs" with Fernando and Eriberto. We had to tell them that we didn't play cards for money, and then they were happy to play with us. We called it "mentira (liar)," and we played it on the porch of the casa de salud while waiting for the rain to pass. They were both terrible liars, which was wonderful. We also learned how to count to 10 in Tzotzil. I practice my numbers every day with the sisters who live down the hill from us.
2. Playing string games with our neighbors. There is a family who lives down the hill from the casa de salud where we live. They have lots of daughters, and one son who is 2 years old (Juan Alberto), and who rides around on the back of one of his sisters. The girls are Margarita (9), Juanita (8), Angelina (5 or 6), and Senaida (4). They love to watch us. They are getting bolder and bolder and even peep through the cracks in the wall to watch us. I found some string and play cat's cradle with them. They also teach me their own string games. They are pretty complicated and mine never look quite right. On Friday, a brigade of vaccinations came to Quexalhukum. I somehow remembered how to make oragami balls out of construction paper, and played with Fernando's children with the balls. They put them all together to make batman.
3. Doing spirometry. Spirometry is really hard. Its stressful because sometimes we can't get repeatable tests, and we feel horrible making the women blow into the tube over and over and over again. But its also amazing because we get to interact with the women on a one on one basis. We take their height and weight and blood pressure, so we are physically closer to them. Then we demonstrate the test for them, and we try to explain everything that is happening on othe computer. We taught Eriberto and Roselia how to use the program, so they know what to look for, and they can explain to the women in Tzotzil. The women try really hard. Some of them won't give up until they get 3 repeatable tests, others just can't, so we ask them to rest and try again if they want. Usually they will come back and try. Some are sick, so we are going to go back and try again next week if they are better. One of my favorite ladies was older--probably 65. She was ready to go, though. She stuck the nose clip on her nose, and everyone laughed, even she. It was great for everyone to laugh together--probably about 20 of her children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, etc. Then she just took a deep breath and blew out as hard as she could.
4. Music--Eriberto lent us his CD of Mana and DVD of Vicente Fernanez, who is a classic. He says his dad likes Vicente Fernandez, but he doesn't. In exchange, we make him 4 CDs of our favorite music. He says he likes all the CD's equally (rock, hip hop, alternative, and misc), but I think he may not like any of them and is just being diplomatic!
We stayed in Q in order to finish up a good week of work. We have completed filters and spirometry in Q and in Puebla. Puebla is about 50 very rocky minutes from Quexalhukum. It is a "colonia" so it is semi-urban. There are tiendas everywhere, and the houses are close together. The fact that they are closer together has helped us--we were able to turn over filters quickly--but it also means we got lazy. We had days where we only had 2 hours of work, and then nothing for the rest of the day. On Saturday and Sunday, though, we worked hard. We did spirometry on 5 women in Q and 24 women in Puebla. We only have 8 more houses to do in the next community--Chuchtik. We are starting there on Wednesday at 8 am. It shouldn't take more than 3 days. Fortuitously, we met Tomas, the health promoter in Chuchtik, this morning at Medicos del Mundo, and arranged to meet him at the cooperative tienda on Wednesday. Everything here seems to happen sort of magically--people appear when you need them, and things somehow get done. I don't quite understand it.
Our latest next challenge will be getting stoves across the border. We are working with the administrator of Medicos del Mundo. He is amazing. He does everything so quickly and efficiently. He knows how Mexico works, and calls up lots of people (e.g., customs agencies) and fixes everything rapidly. But, he also has the patience to wait for an email to arrive and chat with us about our lives, and how he has seen San Cristobal change over the past several years. He also knows a lot about Las Abejas, but because he is not part of them, just assisting them, he can tell us what we need to be concerned about. We all have the same interest--assisting Las Abejas in their work--but he has more inside knowledge than we do, so he can warn us of any missteps we could potentially make. He also speaks Spanish a mile a minute, so I have to pay close attention to figure out what is going on.
All in all, we have had a pretty impressive week. The people in Puebla have been amazingly hospitable. They gave us at least one meal a day, at least. We ate lots and lots of eggs and beans. LOTS of eggs and beans. We try to replace as much as we can with beans and rice and vegetables. The children area also fabulous. They are very gregarious and like to say my name and follow us around and carry our bags with machines. The name Anna is very useful here--everyone remembers it easily and calls me Ana all the time. They pick it up faster than Chris, Jackie or Farah.
Spirometry has been a challenge, but also really cool because we get to spend more time with the women, and see them interact with each other. It is really hard to explain how they have to breathe in and then exhale as fast as possible and not breathe back in. In some ways, they are happy to do it, but some just don't really get it. The older women are troopers--they give it their all and it usually works. Its impressive. It is shocking how young some of the women are. Many of them are younger than I am and have several children. And many of the women in Puebla didn't know their birthdate at all--they just gave us a rough estimte of the year.
We have some great pictures. I have some regular ones, but Jackie has some spirometry in in action shots. I'll try to post them sometime soon.
Some of my favorite moments from the week:
1. Playing "bs" with Fernando and Eriberto. We had to tell them that we didn't play cards for money, and then they were happy to play with us. We called it "mentira (liar)," and we played it on the porch of the casa de salud while waiting for the rain to pass. They were both terrible liars, which was wonderful. We also learned how to count to 10 in Tzotzil. I practice my numbers every day with the sisters who live down the hill from us.
2. Playing string games with our neighbors. There is a family who lives down the hill from the casa de salud where we live. They have lots of daughters, and one son who is 2 years old (Juan Alberto), and who rides around on the back of one of his sisters. The girls are Margarita (9), Juanita (8), Angelina (5 or 6), and Senaida (4). They love to watch us. They are getting bolder and bolder and even peep through the cracks in the wall to watch us. I found some string and play cat's cradle with them. They also teach me their own string games. They are pretty complicated and mine never look quite right. On Friday, a brigade of vaccinations came to Quexalhukum. I somehow remembered how to make oragami balls out of construction paper, and played with Fernando's children with the balls. They put them all together to make batman.
3. Doing spirometry. Spirometry is really hard. Its stressful because sometimes we can't get repeatable tests, and we feel horrible making the women blow into the tube over and over and over again. But its also amazing because we get to interact with the women on a one on one basis. We take their height and weight and blood pressure, so we are physically closer to them. Then we demonstrate the test for them, and we try to explain everything that is happening on othe computer. We taught Eriberto and Roselia how to use the program, so they know what to look for, and they can explain to the women in Tzotzil. The women try really hard. Some of them won't give up until they get 3 repeatable tests, others just can't, so we ask them to rest and try again if they want. Usually they will come back and try. Some are sick, so we are going to go back and try again next week if they are better. One of my favorite ladies was older--probably 65. She was ready to go, though. She stuck the nose clip on her nose, and everyone laughed, even she. It was great for everyone to laugh together--probably about 20 of her children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, etc. Then she just took a deep breath and blew out as hard as she could.
4. Music--Eriberto lent us his CD of Mana and DVD of Vicente Fernanez, who is a classic. He says his dad likes Vicente Fernandez, but he doesn't. In exchange, we make him 4 CDs of our favorite music. He says he likes all the CD's equally (rock, hip hop, alternative, and misc), but I think he may not like any of them and is just being diplomatic!
You may think we're crazy to spend our summer in Chiapas, but we think you're crazy not to!
It has been 7 days since the last visit to San Cris, and oh, what a long week it has been. Actually, it feels more like a conquest. The largest community that will be receiving stoves, Puebla Colonial is basically done! 24 meticulous particulate matter measurements later, 21 trials of spirometry- (some quick, but some painfully long tries) have put us over our largest hurdle on this trip so far. But in Chiapas, there will probably be more challenges to come.
There have been a handful of times in the past couple of weeks in which I thought to myself ¨Why didn't I stay in Newport Beach, where I have the luxury of eating whatever I please and have the ability to walk to the beach on a whim?¨ Generally these wistful thoughts happen when the rain is pouring down hard and we are walking up a steep, slippery hill of mud, or bouncing around in the back of a Nissan, bones colliding with the side of the truck bed. Or when I got a bug bite on my forearm, which became sausagelike and swollen x2 from wrist to elbow. But now that it has been over two weeks, these strange and sometimes uncomfortable scenarios have become a part of everyday life. Quexalhukum has become our home, the botoquin is now our bedroom, and Fernando's family is ours as well. We are not necessarily ¨assimilated" by any ethnographist's standards, but we have gotten to know some people well enough to appreciate what life is like as a Tzotzil in Chiapas, Mexico.
There have been a handful of times in the past couple of weeks in which I thought to myself ¨Why didn't I stay in Newport Beach, where I have the luxury of eating whatever I please and have the ability to walk to the beach on a whim?¨ Generally these wistful thoughts happen when the rain is pouring down hard and we are walking up a steep, slippery hill of mud, or bouncing around in the back of a Nissan, bones colliding with the side of the truck bed. Or when I got a bug bite on my forearm, which became sausagelike and swollen x2 from wrist to elbow. But now that it has been over two weeks, these strange and sometimes uncomfortable scenarios have become a part of everyday life. Quexalhukum has become our home, the botoquin is now our bedroom, and Fernando's family is ours as well. We are not necessarily ¨assimilated" by any ethnographist's standards, but we have gotten to know some people well enough to appreciate what life is like as a Tzotzil in Chiapas, Mexico.
Where am I getting with this? You wouldn't think that people living in poverty, with homes made from wooden planks, with chickens running amuck in the home, and most of the population lacking access to education past the 5th grade, would have formed this sophisticated form of social structure and health organization. Health promoters make major decisions together "platicando" (via discussion). They push for improvement of their communities, striking a balance between the vertical and horizontal structures of donation and service. i.e. they will work with outsiders like us, who want to donate stoves in a manner that allows them to take ownership of the project. However, they will not accept welfare or donations from the a government that has oppressed them for years.
As a whole, I have found that my experience here has shifted many paradigms I've had in the past, about people, race, culture... If I walk down the streets of LA, and I see Mexicans working on a construction project, I may think of people like Antonio, one of the health promoters in Q that has to leave for months at a time to find work that will pay for his wife, Maura's needs back in Q. I may think of the amazing work that Fernando, leader of the health promoters, basically THE MAN in Las Abejas that has helped the communities take immense strides with regards to progress and health. As a small man in stature, wearing the typical button down shirt, belt with large buckle, and a large cowboy hat, one would never guess that he is a large contributor to the health of Chenalho, an essential player in the struggle against the odds of poverty. Some may think that we are nuts to spend our last summer running around in rubber boots, lacking regular access to showers and toilets. I'd say that people are crazy to not experience what we get to see everyday. Having a million dollar view of gorgeous green valleys and mountains ain't half bad either.
Cross your fingers for us while we try and manhandle stoves at the Guatemalan/Mexican border.
El termino de semana dos, segun Farah
Week 2 was probably the longest week we will spend in the communities. We left for Q Sunday night last week, and were planning to return on Friday. This week we worked in Colonia Puebla, a very rocky 45 minute ride from Q. This was the biggest community included in our project, as we are working with 24 families there. Placing the pumps most efficiently required a lot of planning, and we decided that if we stayed through the week and worked all weekend, we could place all the particulate matter pumps and finish spirometry by Sunday (yesterday). The thought was enticing enough to push back our San Cris return date, and thankfully, we did everything we set out to do. We even fit in spirometry in Q. The only problem was that our protocol in Q was a little off, since it was the first day we did it, and in Colonia Puebla, three women were sick (one of them was hacking away and still wanted to try, but we held off). I have to confess to feeling somewhat greedy/ambitious for data, but we also have to protect our participants from our own research because if we dont, who will?
Anyway, it was kind of exhilarating doing spirometry over the weekend in Colonia Puebla. In the midst of this village in the mountains, with rain and clouds and an extension cord so we could do the testing outdoors (with what seemed like half the community watching), and babies and chickens and horses wandering around, we had this machine worth a couple thousand dollars and these barefoot women with cloths covering their heads blow really hard into a tube to measure their lung function. With a Tzotzil translator explaining the graphs so the women could understand and see their progress with each trial. It was madness, mostly in a very good way.
Next week we start up in Chuchtik, with 8 participants. Initially we thought there were 9, but we are finding that what we expect rarely corresponds to what actually happens. And that is okay. It is exciting to start in a new community each week. Colonia Puebla was so different from Q, with the houses very close together and lots of little tienditas selling Pepsi and galletas. In CP, the kids are always eating fried snacks and cookies, to our dismay. They seem to have less land for farming than Q families. This is an unscientific opinion, but I wouldnt be surprised if health indicators in CP are poorer than in Q, as a result of less walking, more access to junk food, and worse sanitation. People throw garbage wherever they please, and with all the packaged food items available in CP, trash is everywhere.
Today and tomorrow are a break from field work, but we have a lot on our to do list. We still havent figured out the logistics and financing of stove transportation from Guatemala. We also have to print photos that we took for the families we have met. As Anna wrote, they love having their picture taken and we owe a lot of photos to eager families. Plus, there´s always the usual chores of laundry, groceries, email, etc. It´s been a long week of peanut butter and jelly so we´re all hoping to get some carne asada before going back, too.
We also took some good photos this week, and will try to post them before we leave tomorrow.
Anyway, it was kind of exhilarating doing spirometry over the weekend in Colonia Puebla. In the midst of this village in the mountains, with rain and clouds and an extension cord so we could do the testing outdoors (with what seemed like half the community watching), and babies and chickens and horses wandering around, we had this machine worth a couple thousand dollars and these barefoot women with cloths covering their heads blow really hard into a tube to measure their lung function. With a Tzotzil translator explaining the graphs so the women could understand and see their progress with each trial. It was madness, mostly in a very good way.
Next week we start up in Chuchtik, with 8 participants. Initially we thought there were 9, but we are finding that what we expect rarely corresponds to what actually happens. And that is okay. It is exciting to start in a new community each week. Colonia Puebla was so different from Q, with the houses very close together and lots of little tienditas selling Pepsi and galletas. In CP, the kids are always eating fried snacks and cookies, to our dismay. They seem to have less land for farming than Q families. This is an unscientific opinion, but I wouldnt be surprised if health indicators in CP are poorer than in Q, as a result of less walking, more access to junk food, and worse sanitation. People throw garbage wherever they please, and with all the packaged food items available in CP, trash is everywhere.
Today and tomorrow are a break from field work, but we have a lot on our to do list. We still havent figured out the logistics and financing of stove transportation from Guatemala. We also have to print photos that we took for the families we have met. As Anna wrote, they love having their picture taken and we owe a lot of photos to eager families. Plus, there´s always the usual chores of laundry, groceries, email, etc. It´s been a long week of peanut butter and jelly so we´re all hoping to get some carne asada before going back, too.
We also took some good photos this week, and will try to post them before we leave tomorrow.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Week 1 Photo Update
I've created an album to some of our photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/aumorgan/ChiapasWeek1Update
I've tried to annotate most of them so you get an idea of what is going on in each one. We have given copies of all the photos to the people who are in them. We need to figure out how to get more photo paper and ink--photos are very special in Q.
I've tried to annotate most of them so you get an idea of what is going on in each one. We have given copies of all the photos to the people who are in them. We need to figure out how to get more photo paper and ink--photos are very special in Q.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
The End of Week 1 in Chiapas
We're back in San Cris for a night, after finishing the adoption study in Naranjatik and collecting the particulate matter pumps from houses in Quexalhukum. It feels really good to shower even though Jackie and I just left San Cris yesterday. We are going to celebrate the Fourth of July tonight. This means beer and/or wine and/or carne asada, depending on which of the four of us you ask.
Our first week in Quexalhukum is over. It went by slowly, or rather so much happened that time didn't exactly fly by. I think we were all a little homesick, but really glad to be here having this experience. For me, I never could have imagined the kinds of challenges and learning opportunities this project would present, but I'm so grateful for them.
There hasn't been too much time for reflection since we've had pretty much constant work and issues with our equipment, but a lot that happened made me think about all the things we discussed before we left: social justice, public health, the effects of imperialism, indigenous rights. Meeting Manuelito in Acteal, the 22-year-old who survived the 1997 massacre because the dead bodies of his family members fell on top of him, was definitely one of those moments that struck me. Anna and CB talked to Alberto, one of the health promoters, about the massacre. 45 people died and the community put the dead bodies into coffins and traveled all the way to Tuxtla with them to show everyone what had occurred. How is it possible that this happened, and life is still going on? Atrocities like this have occurred and are taking place right now, so it's nothing new. Life goes on, injustice or no injustice. But it made me realize right now that to get the most out of & put the most into this experience, and to truly integrate myself into this project and the people we are sharing it with, I have to understand this history and what it means to the people who it affected. It's a profound task.
Other random thoughts...drinking among men in the community seems to be a common issue. While hanging out in the casa de salud in Q, we have been approached on many occasions by drunk men. Today, on the way to San Cris from Yabteclum, we saw a little girl waklking with her dad who was clearly drunk. She was basically supporting him as he staggered. We were approached by another drunk man last Sunday, who chatted to us in front of his undoubtedly embarrassed wife and three daughters. Anna and CB went to do the adoption study in a home in Q yesterday and found that the senora of the casa was hiding in the bushes from her drunk husband. This is sort of a gross generalization, but it made me think, no wonder Muhammad Yunus decided it should be the women who get microcredit and not the men.
We ate higado del toro (bull's liver) for dinner last night, which is supposed to be special (any kind of meat dish is very special). It was quite an experience. In an attempt to be more self-sufficient up in Q, Jackie and I bought a pot, a pan, and utensils so we can cook breakfast for ourselves and eat pbj's for lunch. Today we broke out the pan and Jackie made scrambled eggs with canned meat and instant coffee. I had eggs and tuna and that will probably be the last time that happens. The rest had eggs and vienna sausage. I think we are all decidedly over the canned meat and huevos plan. But with some sugar, salt, pepper and onions, I think we'll be able to make some truly edible meals with that handy hot plate. As soon as the electricity gets fixed again.
Our first week in Quexalhukum is over. It went by slowly, or rather so much happened that time didn't exactly fly by. I think we were all a little homesick, but really glad to be here having this experience. For me, I never could have imagined the kinds of challenges and learning opportunities this project would present, but I'm so grateful for them.
There hasn't been too much time for reflection since we've had pretty much constant work and issues with our equipment, but a lot that happened made me think about all the things we discussed before we left: social justice, public health, the effects of imperialism, indigenous rights. Meeting Manuelito in Acteal, the 22-year-old who survived the 1997 massacre because the dead bodies of his family members fell on top of him, was definitely one of those moments that struck me. Anna and CB talked to Alberto, one of the health promoters, about the massacre. 45 people died and the community put the dead bodies into coffins and traveled all the way to Tuxtla with them to show everyone what had occurred. How is it possible that this happened, and life is still going on? Atrocities like this have occurred and are taking place right now, so it's nothing new. Life goes on, injustice or no injustice. But it made me realize right now that to get the most out of & put the most into this experience, and to truly integrate myself into this project and the people we are sharing it with, I have to understand this history and what it means to the people who it affected. It's a profound task.
Other random thoughts...drinking among men in the community seems to be a common issue. While hanging out in the casa de salud in Q, we have been approached on many occasions by drunk men. Today, on the way to San Cris from Yabteclum, we saw a little girl waklking with her dad who was clearly drunk. She was basically supporting him as he staggered. We were approached by another drunk man last Sunday, who chatted to us in front of his undoubtedly embarrassed wife and three daughters. Anna and CB went to do the adoption study in a home in Q yesterday and found that the senora of the casa was hiding in the bushes from her drunk husband. This is sort of a gross generalization, but it made me think, no wonder Muhammad Yunus decided it should be the women who get microcredit and not the men.
We ate higado del toro (bull's liver) for dinner last night, which is supposed to be special (any kind of meat dish is very special). It was quite an experience. In an attempt to be more self-sufficient up in Q, Jackie and I bought a pot, a pan, and utensils so we can cook breakfast for ourselves and eat pbj's for lunch. Today we broke out the pan and Jackie made scrambled eggs with canned meat and instant coffee. I had eggs and tuna and that will probably be the last time that happens. The rest had eggs and vienna sausage. I think we are all decidedly over the canned meat and huevos plan. But with some sugar, salt, pepper and onions, I think we'll be able to make some truly edible meals with that handy hot plate. As soon as the electricity gets fixed again.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Another Emergency Trip to San Cristobal
Farah and I have returned to San Cris after 5 nights of no showering. We came back two days earlier than expected because the charger for our particulate matter pumps short-circuited this morning. Murphy's law. Anna Mo and CB told us that all we had to do to get a truck to Yabteclum (to get to San Cris) was go down the hill and go left, then wait for a truck to pass by. We walked an hour with all our laundry, a computer and our broken equipment up and down the hills but nothing came. We tried to make conversation with people we saw on the road, which was probably really entertaining for them since we know about ten words in Tzotzil, one of the native languages in Chinalho, the municipal area where we are staying.
We finally caught a truck to Yabteclum. I never thought I'd be so happy to ride in the back of a dirty truck, standing up with over half my weight strapped to my back with about ten other people. We made it to Yabteclum and then got a taxi to San Cristobal. The whole thing took us about 3 hours.
Being in San Cris is like a breath of fresh air. We tested the pumps to make sure they were still not working (they weren't) and then tried to reach Rufus, our PI. He wasn't available so we decided to get some coffee and food, and then go do laundry and wait for siesta time to end (a lot of shops close from 2-5pm). On our way to the laundromat, with all our dirty clothes, we found an electronics store and decided to stop there and ask for help. Of course, we had brought all our equipment with us. He referred us to an engineer a couple of stores down who ultimately was able to fix our problem, amazingly enough. Meanwhile, we bought a surge protector so that the inconstant voltage in the mountains won't wreck our machines.
A couple of days back, while Anna Mo and CB were here dealing with the pumps, Farah and I started the adoption study for last year's project. Up until then, we'd always been questioning whether we were doing the right thing installing stoves in these homes, essentially changing a cultural tradition that's been in place for thousands of years. It was a relief to find that the women are using their stoves and that it does make a difference in their quality of life. They save wood and have less symptoms associated with the smoke that fills their kitchens from the open fire. They still continue to use the open fire (fogon), because it heats up faster, enabling them to make more tortillas. The stove is not a perfect solution for these women, but it has made an appreciable difference. We also found that younger women tend to use the stove more than older women, so perhaps this is a cultural change that will occur over generations.
Doing the adoption study enabled us to get to know the community better, too. Farah and I learned some more Tzotzil words and how to greet and ask basic questions. We greet the women by saying "miliote" and they respond by saying "li ayun" in a high pitched singsong voice characteristic of the language. The women and children are very shy but are starting to open up to us. We took pictures of the families and the children who we met, and then printed them out on our photo printer, which they loved.
One of the things that make us glad to return to San Cris is the amount of hiking we had to do the past two days. On the first day, the houses we hiked to were nearby so it wasn't so bad. The second day, Farah and I split up. When I asked where we were going for the day, the health promoter, Alberto, pointed to casitas on another mountain. Farah ended up going to another community across a canyon, and ended up only benig able to do one house there. We are becoming masters at navigating steep, muddy, rocky, narrow trails in our knee-high rubber boots.
Now we are off to dinner. Fernando's wife, Carmela, cooks for us in Q and could not be more generous. Her meals are the best after a long day of hiking. Although we love rice, beans and tortillas, we are very excited to change up our meals here in San Cris. Hopefully, while we're here, we can also bring something special back to Carmela and her family.
It's been a long week, and I am incredibly homesick and miss everyone back at home. Hopefully, I will get used the rugged lifestyle (aka camping 5 days a week) and not being able to get in touch with the people I care about for extended periods of time. All in all, I'm having a great time. Thanks to Gregorio, I sleep like a baby in my cot in Q. We will blog again soon. As John Rose says, salud y justicia.
(Jackie y Farah)
We finally caught a truck to Yabteclum. I never thought I'd be so happy to ride in the back of a dirty truck, standing up with over half my weight strapped to my back with about ten other people. We made it to Yabteclum and then got a taxi to San Cristobal. The whole thing took us about 3 hours.
Being in San Cris is like a breath of fresh air. We tested the pumps to make sure they were still not working (they weren't) and then tried to reach Rufus, our PI. He wasn't available so we decided to get some coffee and food, and then go do laundry and wait for siesta time to end (a lot of shops close from 2-5pm). On our way to the laundromat, with all our dirty clothes, we found an electronics store and decided to stop there and ask for help. Of course, we had brought all our equipment with us. He referred us to an engineer a couple of stores down who ultimately was able to fix our problem, amazingly enough. Meanwhile, we bought a surge protector so that the inconstant voltage in the mountains won't wreck our machines.
A couple of days back, while Anna Mo and CB were here dealing with the pumps, Farah and I started the adoption study for last year's project. Up until then, we'd always been questioning whether we were doing the right thing installing stoves in these homes, essentially changing a cultural tradition that's been in place for thousands of years. It was a relief to find that the women are using their stoves and that it does make a difference in their quality of life. They save wood and have less symptoms associated with the smoke that fills their kitchens from the open fire. They still continue to use the open fire (fogon), because it heats up faster, enabling them to make more tortillas. The stove is not a perfect solution for these women, but it has made an appreciable difference. We also found that younger women tend to use the stove more than older women, so perhaps this is a cultural change that will occur over generations.
Doing the adoption study enabled us to get to know the community better, too. Farah and I learned some more Tzotzil words and how to greet and ask basic questions. We greet the women by saying "miliote" and they respond by saying "li ayun" in a high pitched singsong voice characteristic of the language. The women and children are very shy but are starting to open up to us. We took pictures of the families and the children who we met, and then printed them out on our photo printer, which they loved.
One of the things that make us glad to return to San Cris is the amount of hiking we had to do the past two days. On the first day, the houses we hiked to were nearby so it wasn't so bad. The second day, Farah and I split up. When I asked where we were going for the day, the health promoter, Alberto, pointed to casitas on another mountain. Farah ended up going to another community across a canyon, and ended up only benig able to do one house there. We are becoming masters at navigating steep, muddy, rocky, narrow trails in our knee-high rubber boots.
Now we are off to dinner. Fernando's wife, Carmela, cooks for us in Q and could not be more generous. Her meals are the best after a long day of hiking. Although we love rice, beans and tortillas, we are very excited to change up our meals here in San Cris. Hopefully, while we're here, we can also bring something special back to Carmela and her family.
It's been a long week, and I am incredibly homesick and miss everyone back at home. Hopefully, I will get used the rugged lifestyle (aka camping 5 days a week) and not being able to get in touch with the people I care about for extended periods of time. All in all, I'm having a great time. Thanks to Gregorio, I sleep like a baby in my cot in Q. We will blog again soon. As John Rose says, salud y justicia.
(Jackie y Farah)
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Chiapas- My Perspective
It is Tuesday and I have been here for the better half of a week. I am not going to lie, there have been times in which I thought to myself -Why am I here? Are we wanted here? Are we going to make life at all better for the communities we are working with?
These questions ran through my head as I sit in the back of a camioneta, exposed to the harsh daily rains of the Chiapan climate, sitting next to a Tzotzil man carrying Coca Cola to likely sell in the community. I feel it when I talk to the native people of Chiapas, speaking to them in a language that is foreign to them in Spanish-the language that marks the centuries of oppresion. At first I thought I would have a benefit, maybe even a connection to the Tzotil people, in that I speak Spanish and that there is indigenous blood that runs in my family, but here they serve as no benefit. We quickly realized that we are outsiders, and no matter what mastery we had of the Spanish language, it did not bridge the wide gap between us and them. Here in Chiapas there are two types of people- Those native to these lands (the Tzotzil and the Tzetal, etc) and everyone else (including us).
To the people of Chenalho we are outsiders and no matter how much we try to extend to them we will always be. We do not know understand what it is to be truly poor and oppressed. The years of discrimination, oppresion, and of being marginalize show in all of their faces. It is like this unspoken truth that envelops the community.
Our group came with the goal to make life a little better for the people of rural Chenalho, and in the process, learn from the community and remind us that what needs to be changed in this world. Even with the advances we make with this project, I feel that we will take away more than the people will ever take from us.
I never saw myself priveleged in comparision to my peers, actually, I have been at a disadvantage to the vast majority of them. However, with the support of my family and the grace of God I have found myself pursing an education and career in which only 1% of the world has a privelege of pursuing. What is to be said for the oppressed people of this state and country, and of all the world? Is it enough to say that I am lucky to have been born here in the US and to have these oppotunities within grasp? Why cant this be the case for them?
These thoughts have been in my mind the whole trip. And with them come the feeling of sadness and guilt. It is not right for these people to be in this state, it is not right for such poverty to plague anyone. Everyone deserves to live a life that is fulfilling and free from oppression, fear, and anxiety that you may not be able to feed your family.
Chiapas is a battleground of social justice and the struggle of the oppressed. There are many entities out here that are looking to empower the marginalized people of Chiapas. I just hope that what we are able to work with the people of rural Chiapas to hopefully make life better for them...
These questions ran through my head as I sit in the back of a camioneta, exposed to the harsh daily rains of the Chiapan climate, sitting next to a Tzotzil man carrying Coca Cola to likely sell in the community. I feel it when I talk to the native people of Chiapas, speaking to them in a language that is foreign to them in Spanish-the language that marks the centuries of oppresion. At first I thought I would have a benefit, maybe even a connection to the Tzotil people, in that I speak Spanish and that there is indigenous blood that runs in my family, but here they serve as no benefit. We quickly realized that we are outsiders, and no matter what mastery we had of the Spanish language, it did not bridge the wide gap between us and them. Here in Chiapas there are two types of people- Those native to these lands (the Tzotzil and the Tzetal, etc) and everyone else (including us).
To the people of Chenalho we are outsiders and no matter how much we try to extend to them we will always be. We do not know understand what it is to be truly poor and oppressed. The years of discrimination, oppresion, and of being marginalize show in all of their faces. It is like this unspoken truth that envelops the community.
Our group came with the goal to make life a little better for the people of rural Chenalho, and in the process, learn from the community and remind us that what needs to be changed in this world. Even with the advances we make with this project, I feel that we will take away more than the people will ever take from us.
I never saw myself priveleged in comparision to my peers, actually, I have been at a disadvantage to the vast majority of them. However, with the support of my family and the grace of God I have found myself pursing an education and career in which only 1% of the world has a privelege of pursuing. What is to be said for the oppressed people of this state and country, and of all the world? Is it enough to say that I am lucky to have been born here in the US and to have these oppotunities within grasp? Why cant this be the case for them?
These thoughts have been in my mind the whole trip. And with them come the feeling of sadness and guilt. It is not right for these people to be in this state, it is not right for such poverty to plague anyone. Everyone deserves to live a life that is fulfilling and free from oppression, fear, and anxiety that you may not be able to feed your family.
Chiapas is a battleground of social justice and the struggle of the oppressed. There are many entities out here that are looking to empower the marginalized people of Chiapas. I just hope that what we are able to work with the people of rural Chiapas to hopefully make life better for them...
first days in q
The past few days have been crazy busy and eventful. Chris and I are in San Cristobal to deal with technical issues, so I will take the opportunity to update on what has been going on, and, if possible, reflect a little bit on our experiences.
Saturday we finally made it to Q with all our belongings. It actually wasn't as harrowing a journey as I expected. We took two taxis all the way. We went to dinner at Fernando's house, where we were given beans and rice and a nice chicken they had bought from the city. It actually all seemed normal, until I would catch a glimpse of a chick underneath Farah's seat, or my own, and realize that I was in a totally different life. We spoke with Fernando about the possibility of getting stoves from Sedesol vs. working on a donation, and he told us we should talk with all the promotores about it.
Fernando has 4 children. The eldest is 11 and the youngest is 4. She is adorable, and her names is Carla. They are extremely well behaved and help their mother, but they also play with each other the same as all siblings. All the children stare at us, but they think it is funny when we try to speak Tzotzil words. We play peek a boo and kick around the soccer ball with them. It all seems normal until you see the 11 year old come home with a machete and a huge bag of greenery on his head, and he tells you he has been working all day since he is on vacation from school.
On Sunday morning we presented ourselves in church. The whole mass was in Tzotzil, and Fernando translated for us when we greeted everyone in Spanish. We told them our names, and that we were friends with the group from last year, and that we were doing a similar project. It seemed to go alright, but it is hard to tell. Then we went to Chenalo (the bigger city, the "municipio") for the fiesta de San Pedro. San Pedro is the patron saint of Chenalo, so there was a big party with a ferris wheel and lots of bands. Nobody danced very much, but they seemed to like the music. Fernando was excited to hear the band "Pumas del Norte," but we went home with his wife and sister (Roselia, a promotora) before they came on. There were also lots of drunk men after the fiesta.
In the middle of the day, we thanked Carmela (Fernando's wife), for the breakfast she made for us. She apologized for the small portion, and said that it was because she didn't have the money to buy food for us. That was a seriously awful moment. I have rarely felt worse. All of us set into a panic, and managed to buy rice and beans and gave them to her. The next day we bought some tomatoes, onion, and mangos. Before we go back, Chris and I want to buy more rice and beans and eggs. It still feels awful to eat there, especially when we can see all the children watching us. Food is, relatively, very expensive here. It seems to be almost what I would pay in the US, but the average income is so much less.
When we got a ride back to Q (in the back of a truk, which Chris, Farah and I are too tall for), we had to walk about 30 min back to Fernando's house. I felt like dying. It was all uphill, and I was seriously miserable and lagged 5 min behind everyone. It was pretty embarrasing to see Fernando's mother, who has borne at least 12 children and has several grandchildren, walk up the hill carrying goods on her head. She had to stop to wait for me to catch up.
On Monday we went to Acteal for a meeting of health promoters. We were able to present the options regarding the stoves, and they had a good discussion and told us that they would prefer if we were able to get a donation from HELPS, but if not, that we could try to take the responsibility for the stoves, and then give it to them. We told them we would try to get the stoves donated. It was also interesting to see how they planned how they were going to distribute vaccines to all the communities over 4 days. They all divided up. It is nearly impossible for them to communicate outside of the monthly meetings they have, so they plan ahead.
While we were waiting outside for Las Abejas to finish, we met Manuel. Manuel is a 23 year old from Acteal. He remembered the massacre very well, and his family, and most probably his parents, died in the massacre. I think it affected him a lot. He was clearly unwell. He said he had Typhoid, but he was otherwise affected. He was somewhat glazed over, and kept moving his armes. He said that when he was sad he made up jokes and songs to make himself feel better. He told us some jokes. We asked him to sing a song, and he did. It was about the massacre. He said he wrote it in December to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the massacre. It was very short, and I don't remember all the words, but it started like this "el 22 de deciembre, el ano 97" then he mentioned that his parents and cousins died in the massacre. It ended by talking about the little girls who were killed, ages 4 and a half, and 8 months. Despite what I have learned about Chiapas and the massacre, it didn't really hit home for me until I heard his song. When we left he said he had a surprise to show us, but we didn't get to see it because a truck came to take us away. I feel awful that we left him. I hope we can go back to see him again and give him my Spanish-English dictionary. He likes to learn English. We were walking up some stairs, he waited and walked at my pace, and told me "take care."
On Sunday night we tried to charge the pumps, and realized that they weren't charging. It was a fairly awful feeling because we felt sure that we were delayed at least a week. Chris and I came down to San Cristobal this morning to sort out all the issues. Jackie and Farah stayed back to do the adoption study in Q. We spent the whole day running around to various shops, realizing they were closed for siesta, trying another one, thinking the problem was solved, realizing it wasn't, and looking for another solution. We now think we have figured it out. We tried to go back tonight so that we could start placing filters tomorrow, but, after walking 20 min with our huge bags in the rain, we missed the last truck to Yabteclum by about 30 seconds. We tried to chase after it, but it was hopeless. I think it is probably for the best, given the dark and rain, but it is annoying to be delayed another day.
One very good thing that happened out of today is that we heard from Rodolfo that the stoves will be donated by Helps, though we have to figure out the border issue. Somehow miraculously, Fernando encountered us on the street, after his phone cut off. He said he recognized my voice :) Anyway, within 5 min, he had organized a meeting with the administrator of Doctors of the World, who we met with, and who is helping us hire an agency to transport the stoves across the border, so that we don't have to go there ourselves. I'm hopeful that it will work out.
I guess this is more of a recounting of events than a reflection of my experiences, but hopefully now you have a little bit of an idea of what we are witnessing. Life for the people in Quexalhukum is hard. Harder than I realized, though they could probably point to people for whom life is much more difficult. Some things are easier, of course. I suspect for people like Manuel, life is more promising. He lives in community where he can just float, and people look out for him.
But for others, life is hard. Carmela has to worry about how to feed her family. Everyone has to walk for hours in rain and mud to get anywhere. They have to work together to clear the roads.
Enough for now. I'm going to sleep. Tomorrow promises to be equally strenuous.
Colabal (gracias en Tzotizl)
Saturday we finally made it to Q with all our belongings. It actually wasn't as harrowing a journey as I expected. We took two taxis all the way. We went to dinner at Fernando's house, where we were given beans and rice and a nice chicken they had bought from the city. It actually all seemed normal, until I would catch a glimpse of a chick underneath Farah's seat, or my own, and realize that I was in a totally different life. We spoke with Fernando about the possibility of getting stoves from Sedesol vs. working on a donation, and he told us we should talk with all the promotores about it.
Fernando has 4 children. The eldest is 11 and the youngest is 4. She is adorable, and her names is Carla. They are extremely well behaved and help their mother, but they also play with each other the same as all siblings. All the children stare at us, but they think it is funny when we try to speak Tzotzil words. We play peek a boo and kick around the soccer ball with them. It all seems normal until you see the 11 year old come home with a machete and a huge bag of greenery on his head, and he tells you he has been working all day since he is on vacation from school.
On Sunday morning we presented ourselves in church. The whole mass was in Tzotzil, and Fernando translated for us when we greeted everyone in Spanish. We told them our names, and that we were friends with the group from last year, and that we were doing a similar project. It seemed to go alright, but it is hard to tell. Then we went to Chenalo (the bigger city, the "municipio") for the fiesta de San Pedro. San Pedro is the patron saint of Chenalo, so there was a big party with a ferris wheel and lots of bands. Nobody danced very much, but they seemed to like the music. Fernando was excited to hear the band "Pumas del Norte," but we went home with his wife and sister (Roselia, a promotora) before they came on. There were also lots of drunk men after the fiesta.
In the middle of the day, we thanked Carmela (Fernando's wife), for the breakfast she made for us. She apologized for the small portion, and said that it was because she didn't have the money to buy food for us. That was a seriously awful moment. I have rarely felt worse. All of us set into a panic, and managed to buy rice and beans and gave them to her. The next day we bought some tomatoes, onion, and mangos. Before we go back, Chris and I want to buy more rice and beans and eggs. It still feels awful to eat there, especially when we can see all the children watching us. Food is, relatively, very expensive here. It seems to be almost what I would pay in the US, but the average income is so much less.
When we got a ride back to Q (in the back of a truk, which Chris, Farah and I are too tall for), we had to walk about 30 min back to Fernando's house. I felt like dying. It was all uphill, and I was seriously miserable and lagged 5 min behind everyone. It was pretty embarrasing to see Fernando's mother, who has borne at least 12 children and has several grandchildren, walk up the hill carrying goods on her head. She had to stop to wait for me to catch up.
On Monday we went to Acteal for a meeting of health promoters. We were able to present the options regarding the stoves, and they had a good discussion and told us that they would prefer if we were able to get a donation from HELPS, but if not, that we could try to take the responsibility for the stoves, and then give it to them. We told them we would try to get the stoves donated. It was also interesting to see how they planned how they were going to distribute vaccines to all the communities over 4 days. They all divided up. It is nearly impossible for them to communicate outside of the monthly meetings they have, so they plan ahead.
While we were waiting outside for Las Abejas to finish, we met Manuel. Manuel is a 23 year old from Acteal. He remembered the massacre very well, and his family, and most probably his parents, died in the massacre. I think it affected him a lot. He was clearly unwell. He said he had Typhoid, but he was otherwise affected. He was somewhat glazed over, and kept moving his armes. He said that when he was sad he made up jokes and songs to make himself feel better. He told us some jokes. We asked him to sing a song, and he did. It was about the massacre. He said he wrote it in December to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the massacre. It was very short, and I don't remember all the words, but it started like this "el 22 de deciembre, el ano 97" then he mentioned that his parents and cousins died in the massacre. It ended by talking about the little girls who were killed, ages 4 and a half, and 8 months. Despite what I have learned about Chiapas and the massacre, it didn't really hit home for me until I heard his song. When we left he said he had a surprise to show us, but we didn't get to see it because a truck came to take us away. I feel awful that we left him. I hope we can go back to see him again and give him my Spanish-English dictionary. He likes to learn English. We were walking up some stairs, he waited and walked at my pace, and told me "take care."
On Sunday night we tried to charge the pumps, and realized that they weren't charging. It was a fairly awful feeling because we felt sure that we were delayed at least a week. Chris and I came down to San Cristobal this morning to sort out all the issues. Jackie and Farah stayed back to do the adoption study in Q. We spent the whole day running around to various shops, realizing they were closed for siesta, trying another one, thinking the problem was solved, realizing it wasn't, and looking for another solution. We now think we have figured it out. We tried to go back tonight so that we could start placing filters tomorrow, but, after walking 20 min with our huge bags in the rain, we missed the last truck to Yabteclum by about 30 seconds. We tried to chase after it, but it was hopeless. I think it is probably for the best, given the dark and rain, but it is annoying to be delayed another day.
One very good thing that happened out of today is that we heard from Rodolfo that the stoves will be donated by Helps, though we have to figure out the border issue. Somehow miraculously, Fernando encountered us on the street, after his phone cut off. He said he recognized my voice :) Anyway, within 5 min, he had organized a meeting with the administrator of Doctors of the World, who we met with, and who is helping us hire an agency to transport the stoves across the border, so that we don't have to go there ourselves. I'm hopeful that it will work out.
I guess this is more of a recounting of events than a reflection of my experiences, but hopefully now you have a little bit of an idea of what we are witnessing. Life for the people in Quexalhukum is hard. Harder than I realized, though they could probably point to people for whom life is much more difficult. Some things are easier, of course. I suspect for people like Manuel, life is more promising. He lives in community where he can just float, and people look out for him.
But for others, life is hard. Carmela has to worry about how to feed her family. Everyone has to walk for hours in rain and mud to get anywhere. They have to work together to clear the roads.
Enough for now. I'm going to sleep. Tomorrow promises to be equally strenuous.
Colabal (gracias en Tzotizl)
Saturday, June 28, 2008
So it begins! We're on our way to Q.
This morning we woke up at 7am and packed everything and waited outside for Fernando, who we had planned weeks ago to meet at 8am. We waited until about 12pm, when he finally came. In the meantime, we made ourselves useful by cleaning our equipment and talking to Antonia, an employee at Junax who cleans the rooms. She is from Tenjapa, a Tzeltal village outside of San Cristobal. Antonia was born in Tenjapa and was raised by her grandparents. She came to San Cristobal at the age of 11 by herself to find work, and started cleaning houses. She was only able to finish fourth grade. She is a single mother of three children.
Antonia is part of a group of 15 women who work cleaning houses. They are organizing themselves to lobby for better treatment (they are sometimes treated poorly by employers) and fair wages. She attributes some of this maltreatment to the fact that she is a migrant worker. Not only is it difficult to work in San Cristobal as a migrant, but it's also hard to travel back to Tenjapa because it is costly ($3.50USD each way).
It was really interesting to meet Antonia. She has worked for EAPSEC for 13 years, which was exciting because they are a health promoter organization we are hoping to meet with while we're here. Since we're all thinking about social justice right now, it was also interesting that Antonia said she sometimes thinks of going back to Tenjapa, but because she is a woman, she cannot own land. So she has nowhere to go.
We're waiting for Fernando to come back with the taxis that will take us to Quexalhukum. We have no idea what to expect but we're just anxious to finally get there!
Antonia is part of a group of 15 women who work cleaning houses. They are organizing themselves to lobby for better treatment (they are sometimes treated poorly by employers) and fair wages. She attributes some of this maltreatment to the fact that she is a migrant worker. Not only is it difficult to work in San Cristobal as a migrant, but it's also hard to travel back to Tenjapa because it is costly ($3.50USD each way).
It was really interesting to meet Antonia. She has worked for EAPSEC for 13 years, which was exciting because they are a health promoter organization we are hoping to meet with while we're here. Since we're all thinking about social justice right now, it was also interesting that Antonia said she sometimes thinks of going back to Tenjapa, but because she is a woman, she cannot own land. So she has nowhere to go.
We're waiting for Fernando to come back with the taxis that will take us to Quexalhukum. We have no idea what to expect but we're just anxious to finally get there!
Friday, June 27, 2008
estamos en chiapas!
Greetings from Chiapas.
We arrived yesterday safe and sound, and completely exhausted. We have since had an extremely busy few days. Yesterday, after ariving, we met with Rodolfo from HELPS (who makes the ONIL stove), Will, a doctor who is a friend of a friend of mine, and who works in La Universidad de la Tierra, a university which trains indigenous peope in medicine and health.
Today we spent the day in Zinacantan, a town close to SCLC, in which the Sedesol-Federal (the federal government social development agency) is instaling 100 ONIL stoves. We learned how to install the stoves, and even learned a few words of Tzotzil. The day was much longer than expected, though, and in the evening we rushed, in pouring rain, to meet Diane Livingston, a woman who works with stoves here, to pick up our equipment.
We have so much to think about that we can't keep it all straight.
Tomorrow morning at 8 we meet Fernando. Mexico definitely functions at all hours of day and nights.
We will write again in a week when we return to SCLC from Quexalhukum. Hopefully then we will have more time, and will have been able to process our thoughts more thoroughly.
We arrived yesterday safe and sound, and completely exhausted. We have since had an extremely busy few days. Yesterday, after ariving, we met with Rodolfo from HELPS (who makes the ONIL stove), Will, a doctor who is a friend of a friend of mine, and who works in La Universidad de la Tierra, a university which trains indigenous peope in medicine and health.
Today we spent the day in Zinacantan, a town close to SCLC, in which the Sedesol-Federal (the federal government social development agency) is instaling 100 ONIL stoves. We learned how to install the stoves, and even learned a few words of Tzotzil. The day was much longer than expected, though, and in the evening we rushed, in pouring rain, to meet Diane Livingston, a woman who works with stoves here, to pick up our equipment.
We have so much to think about that we can't keep it all straight.
Tomorrow morning at 8 we meet Fernando. Mexico definitely functions at all hours of day and nights.
We will write again in a week when we return to SCLC from Quexalhukum. Hopefully then we will have more time, and will have been able to process our thoughts more thoroughly.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Leaving for the airport tonight! Pre-flight thoughts.
It's 9pm and we're all getting ready to meet at Anna's in an hour to do last-minute packing and drive to LAX. Today has been a little less stressful in terms of running around getting things done, so at least for me, it's been good to just let what is about to happen sink in.
And there's a lot to think about. Today John Rose presented us with a more comprehensive history of the social justice movement in Chiapas, and how it relates to 16th century colonialism, modern globalization, indigenous rights, and health promotion. Maybe it's because our departure is so imminent that everything seems more palpable right now, but the gravity of what we are trying to do with this project is really finally sinking in. I don't just mean the stove intervention study, but the fact that we are taking ourselves from OC, inserting ourselves into this community with this rich history of structural violence, and trying to "do some good".
On the other hand, I do believe in our study. I didn't know that John Rose had approached Fernando (a member of the group Las Abejas-more on this later-and a key health promotor contact in the first Chiapan community UCI partnered with) three years ago asking if stoves would be something his people would need and/or want. The fact that we are responding to community-driven needs/wants is encouraging.
The cultural differences are going to be challenging. Aside from getting shigellosis, that's probably next on my worry list. It's not like we're tourists in Cancun, where people tell you "the Mexicans are friendly". This is a very different atmosphere, and we are playing a very different role. These are communities that have been massacred (eg, the Acteal massacre of 1997), sterilized (a 2005 government mandate was proposed to sterilize indigenous women), and severely marginalized in the global market. We don't realize that the shifting demand from wheat to meat means that farm workers in Chiapas are out of jobs. Or that when they switch to working on coffee plantations in response to this first devastation, the falling price of coffee due to global competition results in yet more economic violence. We don't realize because it doesn't affect us the way it affects them. Not realizing doesn't make us any less responsible.
Anyway, this is what's running through my head right now. So many people have tried to prepare us for what our experience in Quexalhukum will be like. I don't usually think too much before I end up where I'm going. When I get there, I just figure it out as I go. But today's talk with John Rose about the history of Las Abejas and the state of Chiapas was a welcome reminder of the bigger picture and where we and the community we plan to work with fit in.
I think the next time we update will be from Chiapas!
And there's a lot to think about. Today John Rose presented us with a more comprehensive history of the social justice movement in Chiapas, and how it relates to 16th century colonialism, modern globalization, indigenous rights, and health promotion. Maybe it's because our departure is so imminent that everything seems more palpable right now, but the gravity of what we are trying to do with this project is really finally sinking in. I don't just mean the stove intervention study, but the fact that we are taking ourselves from OC, inserting ourselves into this community with this rich history of structural violence, and trying to "do some good".
On the other hand, I do believe in our study. I didn't know that John Rose had approached Fernando (a member of the group Las Abejas-more on this later-and a key health promotor contact in the first Chiapan community UCI partnered with) three years ago asking if stoves would be something his people would need and/or want. The fact that we are responding to community-driven needs/wants is encouraging.
The cultural differences are going to be challenging. Aside from getting shigellosis, that's probably next on my worry list. It's not like we're tourists in Cancun, where people tell you "the Mexicans are friendly". This is a very different atmosphere, and we are playing a very different role. These are communities that have been massacred (eg, the Acteal massacre of 1997), sterilized (a 2005 government mandate was proposed to sterilize indigenous women), and severely marginalized in the global market. We don't realize that the shifting demand from wheat to meat means that farm workers in Chiapas are out of jobs. Or that when they switch to working on coffee plantations in response to this first devastation, the falling price of coffee due to global competition results in yet more economic violence. We don't realize because it doesn't affect us the way it affects them. Not realizing doesn't make us any less responsible.
Anyway, this is what's running through my head right now. So many people have tried to prepare us for what our experience in Quexalhukum will be like. I don't usually think too much before I end up where I'm going. When I get there, I just figure it out as I go. But today's talk with John Rose about the history of Las Abejas and the state of Chiapas was a welcome reminder of the bigger picture and where we and the community we plan to work with fit in.
I think the next time we update will be from Chiapas!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Greetings from the balance room
This was drafted two hours ago, but couldn't be posted de to technical difficlties:
Welcome to the first post on our blog.
Jackie and I (Anna) are about 5.25 hours in to a hopefully 6.25 hour stint in the balance room. We have weighed 35 filters so far, and have 48 to weigh in total.
What are filters? Why are we weighing them? Why does it take so long?
These are questions you may be asking yourself, and they are good ones. As part of our project, we are measuring improvements in indoor air pollution as a result of using the ONIL stove. The way we are measuring indoor air pollution is by measuring particulate matter (PM). We assess particulate matter by placing a filter in a contraption called a cyclone and sucking air through it with a pump for 24 hours inside the home. In order to figure out how much particulate matter was collected in the filter, we need to weigh it before and after.
In order to prepare the filters, we had to set them out in petri dishes over the weekend. Now we are weighing them, which sounds easy and fast, but is actually extremely TEDIOUS. We have to calibrate the scale, pass the filter through a strange de-static contraption, put the filter on the balance, wait for it to settle on on a number, record it, take it out, and then start the whole process again. TEDIOUS.
It is also very cold (20 degrees C), and I'm waring gloves on my feet to keep them warm. Jackie is much faster and more accurate at this than I am. This should not come as a surprise to any of my old chemistry lab partners.
In other news. . .
Welcome to the first post on our blog.
Jackie and I (Anna) are about 5.25 hours in to a hopefully 6.25 hour stint in the balance room. We have weighed 35 filters so far, and have 48 to weigh in total.
What are filters? Why are we weighing them? Why does it take so long?
These are questions you may be asking yourself, and they are good ones. As part of our project, we are measuring improvements in indoor air pollution as a result of using the ONIL stove. The way we are measuring indoor air pollution is by measuring particulate matter (PM). We assess particulate matter by placing a filter in a contraption called a cyclone and sucking air through it with a pump for 24 hours inside the home. In order to figure out how much particulate matter was collected in the filter, we need to weigh it before and after.
In order to prepare the filters, we had to set them out in petri dishes over the weekend. Now we are weighing them, which sounds easy and fast, but is actually extremely TEDIOUS. We have to calibrate the scale, pass the filter through a strange de-static contraption, put the filter on the balance, wait for it to settle on on a number, record it, take it out, and then start the whole process again. TEDIOUS.
It is also very cold (20 degrees C), and I'm waring gloves on my feet to keep them warm. Jackie is much faster and more accurate at this than I am. This should not come as a surprise to any of my old chemistry lab partners.
In other news. . .
- Today we learned how to use the spirometer!
- We are gathering equipment, supplies, etc slowly but surely.
- Our IRB was approved on Friday.
- We leave on Wed in the middle of the night.
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