night quiet, clear, streetlights and moonlight. day break and long mornings that begin early. sun rays and shop doors. my first impression was that it all appeared a little too clean, a little too safe, a little too perfect. where was the garbage and the chaos? the starving dogs? the dirty children? why did i expect these things from Mexico. why did i want them. not to worry- a little curiosity and a lot of walking brought me into the chaos, garbage, stink, dirt, and poverty that i was searching for. just like the US- it's all there- the wealthy, the nice schools and strip malls, the run down nieghborhoods, hungry kids and broken windows.
so...we are here in San Cristobal de las Casas. beautiful colonial city. full of heart and zapatistawannabes. backpackers and social justice live amongst the freshly made cheeses and yogurt, the tortillerias, organic coffee, twisted delicious vegetables and mountains of mangoes. drive at your own risk. bike at your own risk. walk at your own risk. definately eat at your own risk. and love every last minute of it. after a couple weeks of meeting our new city we are moving forward. spanish classes and research. allready...i am taking deep breaths and knowing that language is a VERY long journey. and the end of that road is not within my sight.
we opted to spend the month of May at Posada(inn) Dona Rosita's.....where the floors are tile, the walls chalky yellow, the kitchen forever dirty and the price.....right. simple room. nice morning sun through the almond trees and bougainvillea. so- we have our own little space. reading about Mexico, studying Spanish, an occasional film on the laptop, meeting people, talking culture and politics, discovering our favorite places: squares, cafes, views, tamale venders, and corner markets. we are here. safe. sound. superfluous. Mary (first San Cris pics in "more photos")
7 comments:
Well, the two of you are certainly striking a chord deep within me and I am most certainly green with envy. Not that Della and I don't have enough adventure in our lives in the six weeks since Rya entered the fray but...well, let us suffice it to say that things just are. It's all every bit as different as they tell you it's going to be and yet not much has changed. We're still fighting the good fight against the facist regime and it appears we're winning but I'm too much of a cynic to believe it's not all just part of some well orchestrated plan. It makes me want to fly away to some far off land to raise our child in a place where people treat each other with common courtesy and basic human respect. A place where the almighty dollar is not the bottom line and people are kind to the earth. That naive thought sustains me for but a moment before the realization sets in that while such a place may actually still exist today, it will surely be gone tomorrow if we don't act now. I am tired. I don't like to fight and I've spent most of my life outside of competive sports avoiding confrontation. Who am I to say that one battle is more important to fight than another? Everything is so interconnected and there's nowhere to start because you have to start everywhere, it seems, if you have an earnest desire to save the world from people, for people. I am not an organized person. I don't want to be an organized person. I guess that's why I'm writing this at 1:01 AM and my alarm clock is set to go off at 4:32. Today is another day. Today I will go for a walk in the woods. Today I will get a little closer to the source of it all. Today my soul will be nourished. Today I will bring that home and share it with my wife and daughter. Today I am already smiling because my good friends are living their dream and gaining valuable knowledge and skills. I hope to draw from those experiences someday but today I am thinking about San Cristobal de las Casas and how nice it probably is in December. Tomorrow perhaps I'll sleep but I've been saying that for a little more than six weeks now. Your cynically naive friend should probably sign off for now and let things be. Live well, be safe and may the force be with you.
Peace and love,
James
You know, your pictures really are gorgeous. Reminds me of when I was in Haiti and all my photos came out effortlessly beautiful. I think it had a lot to do with the brightly painted walls, or the quality of the light, or, something. I don't quite know what. I'm curious whether you are experiencing the same phenomenon. Of course, it is equally possible that you just happen to be much better photographers than me in general. Either way, they're lovely.
Great site loved it alot, will come back and visit again.
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Super color scheme, I like it! Good job. Go on.
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Hmm I love the idea behind this website, very unique.
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Hallo I absolutely adore your site. You have beautiful graphics I have ever seen.
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Dona Rosita also teaches a natural medicine course that is very interesting and she helps people with natural remedies, very nice and active woman. And one of her sons runs the escuela de cacao - chocolate school - about how natural cacao beans can be drank, better than hershey.
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