Thanksgiving

For the next two weeks, I continued working at COMI and started to organize my project. Every student had to write a 25-30 page investigation about what we had learned while working for our organization. This meant that I had to start reading a few secondary sources (books and articles) while organizing everything that I had learned at COMI. During the weeks at COMI, the office gained another volunteer (Jackal) and continued working with any migrant who stopped by the office. We had quite a few migrants from Ixtepec and alot of them needed to visit the doctor... some with injuries from robbers and others with injuries from walking for such a long way without proper shoes...

Padre Alejandro (a priest in charge of a migrant shelter in Ixtepec... where 50,000 migrants pass through almost every year) came to COMI for the first meeting between the two organizations. I was really happy that I met him because he was such a patient and loving man. He truly loved all people... not only the migrants but even the people that tried to hurt and extort the migrants. He came to COMI to discuss what the future role of COMI would be. The violence against migrants has been steadily increasing for the past few years but there are more and more migrants every year. Padre Alejandro told the workers at COMI that he would be sending more migrants towards Oaxaca, which also means there woule be more danger for COMI. Right now the migrant shelter is well hidden and not many people in the city know that migrants stay in the house. The reason Padre Alejandro came to COMI was to ask if the workers were ready to accept the more dangerous position as a shelter that houses more and more migrants... the workers at COMI said they were ready to do whatever was needed. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to interview this amazing man and I used his words in my final project.

One of the best parts of working at COMI was the wonderful staff that supported me and helped me get involved with so many experiences. For example, instead of spending Thanksgiving alone my advisor Susie and her husband Randy invited me to their friend's Thanksgiving party. There was a really great group of Americans at the party (all of them have worked in Oaxaca for quite a while... some with organizations like Witness for Peace and others with missionary organizations like Maryknoll). We had turkey and pumpkin pie and sang Mexican songs while looking out over the mountains of Oaxaca. It was a really nice evening and even though I missed my family in Ohio it was good to have a 'family' in Oaxaca.

After the party with the friends of my advisor, I went to one of the student's apartments. All the students who stayed in Oaxaca met up for a late Thanksgiving dinner. We all made different dishes to share (no turkey but still some really tasty food). It was really nice to see everyone especially after having time apart (with our independent projects we had been seeing each other much less). We ate, danced, and enjoyed our Thanksgiving in Mexico...

Pics of the family in Espinal

A few pictures at Denisse's house and with the family.

ABOVE: Baby goat that was born while we were there... It was soooo cute.

ABOVE: Field of sheep behind their house.

ABOVE: Some of the roosters and chickens at their house. There was a really big turkey as well that was going to be their Christmas dinner... yum

ABOVE: Mimi, a cute little chihuahua who had become Denisse's replacement while she was at school. She wasn't very friendly at first but she eventually warmed up to me (Mimi).

ABOVE: Denisse and I supporting Cruz Azul (a Mexican soccer team who came in 2nd this year)

ABOVE: Jennie, Rosario (Denisse's mom), me, Denisse

ABOVE: Christian, Jennie, Denisse's mom, me

Bull fight!!!

Here are a few pictures from the two days of bullfights. Starting out with a picture of the stadium... you can see it in the background of the first picture.

This was a stylish popular thing that that bullfighters would do (picture above and below)... they would get on their knees in front of the bulls like this. It was usually towards the end of the fight when the bulls were a little more tired. Even though the bulls were a little more tired it was an impressive thing to see... a man kneeling in front of such a powerful animal.

Some of the tasty food we had while we were watching the bullfights. And below that you can see the guys who were selling the food in between fights.

In the next four pictures there are pictures of the campesino (farmer or country man) who was a pretty popular bullfighter. He seemed like a pretty crazy guy but the crowd really loved him. In one of the pictures... if you look closely... you will see when the bull got the better of him and knocked him to the ground. Luckily he just rolled over and hopped to his feet ready to keep fighting. After that fight the crowd went wild and threw flowers and money at him. You can see the flower necklace that he has around his neck...

ABOVE: Nice flowery necklace for the bull....

ABOVE: Dog wanted to fight the bulls too...

ABOVE: Many of the bullfighters used this wall as a barricade to hide behind when the bulls got to close or too aggressive.

ABOVE and BELOW: As you can see, to get the riders in place many of the guys would hold the bulls by their tails and tie their heads to the pole... Doesn't look too comfortable... I think I would be mad too!

ABOVE: Yuxi, Denisse, and Christian eating some of the tasty free food!

ABOVE: Yuxi and I sitting in our box at the bullfight. (Her mom did her braids that morning)

ABOVE: Jennie talking to Yuxi.

ABOVE: The whole family and Christian... starting from the bottom left: Hector (Denisse's dad), Christian, me. Top left: guy in a brown shirt I don't know, Juan Carlos, Juan Carlos's fiance, Hortencia (my host mom), Virgen (her sister)

ABOVE: Christian, Yuxi and I

ABOVE: Denisse and Christian

ABOVE: Christian, Yuxi and I

ABOVE: Adrian (Virgen's grandson)

ABOVE: Me with one of the tasty snacks

ABOVE: Jennie with an orange

ABOVE: Denisse and Yuxi

Denisse making a silly face

Fair in Espinal

For a break in work, I decided to go to Espinal (a community in the Isthmus where my host mom grew up) for their annual fair. I went with my cousin Denisse (who lives there when she is not at school) and my two friends from school, Christian and Jennie. To get to Espinal, Jennie, Christian and I took a bus from Oaxaca. We left the city around 11 pm and arrived in Espinal at 5:30 a.m. It wasn't the most comfortable ride, but I was able to get a few hours of sleep. When we arrived in Espinal, we went to Denisse's house and got a few more hours of sleep before waking up for breakfast.

Denisse lives in a small Zapotec town. Although the majority of the youth speak only Spanish, there is evidence of the Zapotec culture and community all over the town. Many older women still wear the typical Zapotec dresses (the ones with all the flowers) and many adults still speak in Zapotec. Denisse can understand Zapotec but she doesn't speak it. This seems to be pretty common but recently there has been more of a focus on saving the language and many people are teaching their young children to speak it. The Mexican schools used to forbid children from speaking indigenous languages but now the language is used in some schools.

It was cool to see my host mom in such a different environment. The whole weekend she seemed a bit more animated and excited to be with family and in the community of her childhood. (She left the town in high school because there was no high school in Espinal. After high school she went to a Univeristy in the city and then went on to get her masters and became a chemistry professor in the city). That morning I woke hearing her voice in the kitchen but she wasn't speaking Spanish. Christian and I joined her for breakfast and then we went to a bull fight!!!

I was really nervous when we walked to the stadium because I had no clue what to expect. I didn't want to see any animals killed and I also was not looking forward to any humans being impaled... Luckily, it turned out to be more of a rodeo than a bull fight. The people brought the bulls out into the middle of the rings and tied them to a post. Then they would attach a saddle (which was really just a rope tied around the bull) and sometimes put on a flower necklace. Next they would find a rider... sometimes they were schedules riders and other times they were volunteers from the crowd. The rider would mount the bull and then it would be released from the pole. Usually the bull would go crazy for about 15-20 seconds and if the rider held on the guys with the capes would come out and taunt the bulls. There were a few guys who were thrown by the bulls (a bull hit one guy in the head with his horn and he started to bleed pretty badly. The other guys pulled him out of the stadium).

After I realized that they weren't going to kill the bulls, I felt a bit more relaxed... The stadium itself made me a little nervous because it didn't seem like it was as sturdy as most of the stadiums that I am used to. Our family had rented a box on the second level of the stadium and about 20 people crammed into the box. They were nice enough to let me sit close to the ledge so I could be closer to the field. It was pretty scary when the bull would pass under us because some of the people would lean out and kick the bulls... If I had felt the desire, I also was close enough to lean out and touch the bulls... but I didn't. When I got back to Oaxaca, my host dad told me that about five years ago a bull ran into the wall of the stadium and the whole thing collapsed... I'm glad I didn't know that while I was there...

Throughout the day people would pass by with different food... papas fritas (freshly made potato chips) and some sea food because we were pretty close to the ocean. I spent lots of time talking to Yuxi (a very friendly and talkative 10 year old) and Denisse. Yuxi wants me to come back to Espinal for her quincinera in five years. I told her that it was a pretty good possibility and I would try and make it back. She told me that she wants a better quincinera than Denisse's four years ago. I really got along well with the family. Most of the family was pretty excited when I was able to say hello to them in Zapotec (thanks to my host mom who had taught me a few words). I guess learning the Zapotec accent is easier for a native English speaker than a native Spanish speaker... maybe I will have to learn how to speak it one day.

After the bull fight, we went back to Denisse's house to get ready for the ball. Denisse, Jennie, Christian and I all dressed up (in Denisse's dresses) and went to the town center for the ball. At first, as four girls without dates it was kinda hard to dance... because everyone had partners. But after a while we all got up and started to dance. One of Denisse's aunts was dancing with us and some of her other relatives got up to dance as well. There were two live bands that would trade off playing time. The music was really great and it was a fun dance environment with people of all ages dancing. We got back to the house around 3 in the morning and got some much needed shut eye.

The next day we went to the second day of the bull fight. During the breaks in between the bulls there was a little bit of entertainment (two six year olds who played the drums and sang). It was really funny because they were screaming more than singing but the whole crowd knew the songs and sang along with the kids. Day two of bull fighting was pretty much the same as day one. In the middle of one of the fights a dog snuck out onto the field and the guys tried to chase it off the field and away from the bull. One of the strongest bulls almost escaped into the crowd... Three guys had lassoed him and were about to guide the bull out of the ring but the bull decided to run. Two of the guys let go of the rope and the third guy was dragged across the ground as the bull ran towards the exit. Luckily he slowed the bull down enough for a few other people to grab their ropes...

After the bull fight, we walked around the fair... It was pretty much the same as most fairs in the US with lots of games, food, and scary fair rides. We ate some garnachas which are tiny little tostada looking things. The tortilla is a mix between a soft and hard taco and really small. It is eaten like a mini pizza. After eating, we walked around the fair and played a few games with my host mom. She had played bingo with her sister a few times and had no luck. Like my host dad said later... If you have luck with gambling you aren't lucky with love, and if you are lucky with love then you aren't lucky with gambling...

Even though the fair lasted for 3 days longer, Denisse, Christian, Jennie and I had to get back for school and work. We left Espinal at 1:00 and arrived in Oaxaca around 6:30 Monday morning ready for another week of work and school...

First COMI incident

My adviser Susie told me that the work at COMI sometimes can be very demanding and other times very slow (as it depends on the migration of other people, it is sometimes very difficult to predict). The migrants are typically allowed to stay in the shelter for three days and nights but depending on their situation this limit can be flexible. For example, if a few Salvadorians arrive that need special medical treatment, the staff at COMI allows them to stay until they feel healthy enough to move on. During my month at COMI, quite a few migrants passed through Oaxaca and Susan always told us (Wendy, Jack and I) how much she appreciated our help.

The first week of my volunteering, Nancy (the secretary) and Susan were really busy with accounting. Because they were so busy with paperwork, I had to jump right in with my responsibilities as a volunteer.My third day, I walked a group of three woman from the Casa de Buen Samaritano (House of the Good Samaritan) to the office in the north of the city. It was about a 20 minute walk and I was pretty nervous at first... I wasn't sure what we would talk about and I also didn't want to run into any trouble. The migrants were from Guatemala and not legally residing in the country and I didn't want to create any problems. The work that COMI does is permitted by the government because it considered to be supporting human rights. Back to the walk, everything went well with the three ladies and I helped them make phone calls to their families when I got to the office. It was nice to be able to spend time with them and hear their stories about Guatemala and why they were leaving their homes...

That Saturday, we received a group of migrants that were traveling from the Casa del Migrante (Migrant Shelter) in Ixtepec. The group came to Oaxaca instead of continuing on the train (many migrants choose to travel by jumping on the trains that head towards the north. It is really dangerous and many people die or lose limbs by falling onto the tracks. FOR SOME REALLY GOOD PICS CHECK OUT THIS SITE http://www.enriquesjourney.com/latimesphotos.html).






This group of seven men were very special because they were serving as witnesses against criminal activity close to the train in Oaxaca. Many of the migrants had been waiting for 3 days for a train to arrive and when it finally did arrive the migrants began to climb onto the train. Four men with AK-47s showed up in a pick-up truck and started to chase the migrants. The men kidnapped 12 female migrants (one of which was a 21 year old girl who had been traveling to meet up with her husband in Texas). One of the young migrants in the house showed me a picture of her and told me how he had been running beside her when one of the kidnappers grabbed her by her hair and pulled her back.

Although it seems like this kind of abuse couldn't exist in the modern world, kidnapping of female migrants is becoming more and more common. Sometimes the woman are forced into prostitution, others are ransomed and still others are sometimes used for their organs. Part of the work of COMI is to try and change the system of impunity (police and officials do little to punish or stop these crimes against migrants) and reach out to these migrants who have seen so much abuse. Specifically Padre Alejandro (the father at the migrant shelter in Ixptepec that is really close to the train and sees over 50,000 migrants a year) fights to denounce the crimes against migrants. I was fortunate enough to meet this inspiring and wonderful man and even got an interview with him for my paper.

Back to the witnesses, that night a film crew from Mexico City came to COMI to interview the men. Three of the men testified to the crimes against migrants even though they were nervous about what the consequences could be... It was an incredible experience to listen to the denouncement and try and understand how they felt after such a horrible experience. All three men spoke about the faith they still had in God, how they believed that there are good people and bad people everywhere in the world, and how they wanted to speak out against the crimes to help all the migrants who would be following them. I couldn't help but think of the picture of the young migrant girl who may never have the opportunity to see her husband in Texas.

Picture of some of the migrants on COMI's website...

ISP Period begins...

Once again, to all my readers, I apologize for taking so long to update this blog. For the past month I have been volunteering with an organization called COMI (Center for the Orientation of Migrants in Oaxaca). Part of the SIT program involves participating in an organization that is working for positive social change and I chose to work with COMI. (If you want to check out the website, here it is… http://comi.giving.officelive.com/english.aspx). In general, the organization is a shelter for the Central American migrants who are passing through Oaxaca. There is an office in the center of town, where I worked from five to six days a week. At the office, the migrants can come to make phone calls to be in contact with their families (who are usually pretty worried about them). COMI also has a shelter called La Casa de Buen Samaritano or the house of the Good Samaritan. Usually the migrants stay in the house for about three days to rest and build back some energy to continue along their way. I plan on talking more about COMI in the next few blogs but I will let you read the background information on their website if you are more interested… or maybe you can read the paper that I had to write at the end of the experience.

My advisor for the period was a lay missioner named Susie. She and her husband had been coming to Oaxaca for about 14 years. In 2003, their friend Father Fernando (the founder of COMI) wanted to start a center to provide a safe place for the migrants… so they started COMI. I worked with Susie, Randy and Fernando, but there were also a few more workers and volunteers that I got to know pretty well during the experience. I really enjoyed working for the organization and all of the people involved. Nancy, the secretary, and I spent a lot of time laughing… there was one time that she was trying to get some medicine out of a clogged bottle. She ended up trying to squeeze out the medicine and it erupted all over her face and clothes… unfortunately it smelled like garlic so she smelled like garlic for the rest of the day. We also had a volunteer named Wendy who is a doctorate student from the University of Arizona. She helped me so much with both my written research project and advice for what I could do in the future (as an anthropologist she has been able to live in Mexico and research as a profession… it could be a possibility for me…)

During this last month, I lived with my host family from before. Some of the students decided to stay with their host families, while others got apartments with students. I really got along well with my host family and wanted to be able to practice my Spanish, so I decided to stay with them for the last month. Although the first day was a little bit of an adjustment (after being away for two weeks), it quickly felt very comfortable and normal to be living with them again. I was happy to have my double bed back with my balcony and beautiful view of Oaxaca. I even noticed that the loro (the parrot) had learned my name and kept shouting it whenever it was bored… I also spent a lot of time with my host cousin Denisse (who, thanks to my improvements in Spanish, I could finally understand a little bit better)

For the next few weeks, my life was pretty well structured. Although some of my friends did their project through research and interviews, I chose to act as a volunteer for COMI… that meant that I worked almost everyday. My schedule was pretty similar every week day… I woke up at 7:30 then went downstairs for breakfast with my host mom Hortencia. We chatted and ate breakfast (usually fruit and juice followed by quesadillas or eggs) for about an hour then I went to work. From 9:00 - 2:00 I worked as a volunteer (answering phones, escorting migrants, helping them contact their families, giving them orientations). After working, I would usually stop by SIT (my school) and check the internet… then head home for comida (lunch). Once we finished eating, I would do a little bit of research and update my work journal (I took detailed notes after everyday at work). Then, if my friends were meeting in the center or just hanging out at a café, I would usually go and meet them for an evening snack.

One night, I helped my host mom pluck the legs off of chapulines grasshoppers… don’t worry… they were already dead. We needed to take off the legs so we could re-cook them with some garlic and hot sauce and also because apparently chapulines look more appetizing without their legs… It was a difficult task to pull the legs off without ripping their little bodies apart (except for the bigger ones because they were a little more resilient). As an award for my hard work, my host mom shared some of the tasty chapulines with me… They weren’t too bad. The tasted like chicken but were a little bit crunchier.

Another night, my host dad decided to treat me with some tastier Mexican food. There was a little hole in the wall restaurant that sold tlyudas (huge tortillas that are folded over like quesadillas). We walked about two blocks from our house to a little restaurant on the corner (which was really a house that operated as a restaurant during the night). Inside, we ordered two tlyudas and went into the kitchen to sit and eat our meal. I could tell that my host dad knew the family pretty well and he told me that his mother and the lady who owned the house were good friends. She came to eat with us and listen to her nightly radio soap opera (she was almost completely blind so she listened to radio shows instead of watching tv). The tlyudas were delicious. Mine was filled with cheese, beans, chicken, hot peppers, and guacamole. It was a really good night, being able to spend some time with my host dad (who can sometimes be a little more reserved and quiet).

Istmo de Tehuantepec and Puerto Escondido

On our way to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and Juhitan, our two vans with tourist plates were stopped at almost every military stop (product of the US war on drugs in Mexico). At one of the stops they had us get out of the vans and searched through some of our bags. And then at another stop, a soldier asked for our passports, but our directora Sarita said “pardon me, but don’t you have to have a special license to ask for our passports, and you don’t have it.” The soldier didn’t react visibly but just nodded and let us pass through. (Sarita explained that the soldiers like to try and abuse their power on people who may not know they laws). But, after 6 hours of travel in hot vans through the mountains, we arrived at our hotel in Juchitan, which is a part of the Isthmus.

Once we were in the hotel, Rosario (the mother of Denisse… who is my host cousin from Oaxaca) called my cell phone because she wanted to take me to Espinal (the town where the family is from). She came and picked me up at the hotel and we took a colectivo (a group taxi) to the town of Espinal. The ride was only about ten minutes, but by the time we arrived it had started to get dark. Rosario and I walked to her house, which was located towards the back of their little town. I met Denisse’s little Chihuahua named Mimi and her parrot named Paco. Like almost every other Mexican mother that I have met, Rosario insisted that I sit down and eat something. I ate some really tasted empanadas and washed it down with a Coca-Cola while I was waiting to meet Denisse’s dad (the brother of my host mom in Oaxaca).

After a few minutes of waiting and about four empanadas, I met Denisse’s dad and we headed out to meet the rest of the family. In the next house over, I met Denisse’s cousins and Hortencia’s (host mom) other brother. We sat in their house and talked for a few minutes then headed to meet Hortencia’s older sister. Almost everyone in the family speaks both Zapotec (indigenous language) and Spanish. In Oaxaca, Hortencia had taught me a few Zapotec phrases, including Jimodnolu (hello). So when I met the family, they were all really excited when I greeted them with the Zapotec expression. They kept talking about how my accent in Zapotec was really good (I guess it’s easier for English speakers to have a natural accent because the sounds of Zapotec are closer to English than Spanish).

At the house of Virgen (Hortencia’s older sister), the family welcomed me really enthusiastically. I was able to see Juan Carlos (Denisse and Rossy’s cousin) again because I had already met him in Oaxaca. We interrupted the family in the middle of preparing food for el dia de los muertes. Juan Carlos (as a teacher by profession) felt obligated to take me around and show me what was happening. Virgen was making a sweet traditional food to put on the altar for her mom and dad.

Dia de los muertes is a day to remember all of the people in your family that have died. Most Mexicans celebrate it by creating an altar with flowers or vines (decorated with sugar skulls and sweet treats that are hung like ornaments). On the altar they usually put a picture of the loved ones and also their favorite food and drink (some people get a shot of their favorite drink too).

But, I was able to see Virgen making some sweet tostadas covered in coconut. There were a few different stations and at each station the family did something else to prepare the sweets. They had a big pile of coconuts that had been chopped with an axe. Next to the pile of coconuts, there was a shredder that they used to shred the coconuts in small pieces. Once the coconuts were shredded, they put them in a large kettle that was sitting on a fire pit. They added sugar and red dye and stirred the coconut with a really large spoon (they also insisted that I stir it so I could be a part of the process). The final step was just putting the coconut on the sugary tostadas. I was lucky enough to get to try one and it was really sweet.

Even though I was really enjoying myself with the family, we had a class that night and I had to go back to the hotel. As I was leaving, Juan Carlos gave me a book about Juchitan and Rosario gave me a doll with a traditional dress. She wanted me to bring it back to share the culture with my friends and family. Adrian (Juan Carlos’ five year old nephew) asked me if I would come back to the fair in November. It sounded like it would be really fun so I told him that I would try.

Later that night, we had a class back in Juchitan about the mushe population in the Isthmus. Of all places in Mexico, the people from the Isthmus are the most accepting of different gender identifications. There is a mushe population (mushe’s are men that behave as women and they usually dress in the traditional flower dresses like the dress on my doll). I’ve heard that the isthmians accept five different gender classifications and have a festival every year where many people come from all different countries to participate. Our speaker was actually a mushe and talked about some of the rights of mushes and showed us a documentary that showed different people who support mushes and others who do not.

The next day we went to an organization that was protesting the development of many windmills in the Isthmus. At first,

I wondered why an organization would protest against wind

technology because I thought that wind power is so much more ‘environmentally friendly’ than other forms of energy. We learned, however, that the wind fields are really affecting the crops and levels of dust in the area. In addition, many of the transnational companies are using the government to force people to sell their land for very little compensation. This land is then used for building windmills and the energy doesn’t even go to the people… it is sent to Mexico City to be used by the big factories surrounding the city. So the people are upset because they are losing their land and not even getting to use the energy that is being produced. After our chat with the organization we went to the windmill fields and talked a bit more… here are some pictures of us enjoying the windy day…

After the talk with that organization, we went to a chat in a town called new-Jalapa. Old Jalapa is now about 60 feet underwater… As an attempt to ‘develop’ the area, the government decided to construct a water dam.

Unfortunately, the location of the dam happened to be where the town was located. Like the windmills, the people are upset that they are being forced off their land and not seeing any of the benefits that come from the electricity (all the benefits seem to be going to the big factories in Mexico City). It was strange to see the dam, because in many ways it was very beautiful, but at the same time, we knew what it has cost the community….

Thankfully, after working and learning for almost two and a half months, we finally had a break. Our whole group went to Puerto Escondido (the beach of Oaxaca) for a few days of rest and relaxation. We went to one organization that was protecting the crocodiles (but that organization was more like a boat tour… it felt like something I would do on a vacation). As a group of students, we went to two different very tranquil beaches. At the beaches, we played in the water, made a sand castle, soaked up some rays, and just relaxed… We definitely needed the break because when we got back to Oaxaca we had to start our month long independent study project.