Ahorita estoy escribiendo mi esayo para la clase de politicas, pero encontre a esa historia en uno de mis libros. El libro se llama "Si uno come, que coman todos" y es sobre una ONG que se llama DESMI y que trabaja para la economia solidaria.
This story/poem is about a little boy who is discovering life around him. One day I might translate it but it's so much work.
"Hubo una vez un nino de ojos muy tiernos y profundos, con un cuerpo y manos agiles, pies veloces, oido atento, buen olfato, que se encontro ante las cosas:
Vio que las plantas crecian,
Que los arboles eran mecidos por el viento,
Que la auraora era el principio de los dias,
Que el agua corria,
Que la lluvia fertilizab a los campos,
Que era verde el color de las hojas y que habia frutos,
Vio que la dureza de las piedras tenia utilidad,
Que los animales cazaban para comer,
Que otros ninos reian y jugaban con las cosas,
Que las cosas tenian un nombre.
Vio que la vida crecia, que los hombres vivian,
Juntandose y construyendo, generando las nuevas cosas y los nuevos hombres.
Hubo una vez un nino, de ojos tiernos y profundos, que comenzo a pensar y buscar una razon a todo lo que veia y percibia a traves de todos sus sentidos e invento las razones, imagino las causas, creo las explicanciones, sugirio el sentido de las cosas, construyo un modelo, una categoria que explicara parte de los sucesos, parte de los hallazgos que hacia con sus manos.
domingo, 25 de febrero de 2007
jueves, 15 de febrero de 2007
learning, sunburns, scrabble and boys
so this past while has been a whirlwind of learning.
my paper is due in a few days and I've learned a lot since I began thinking about everything.
theres too much to write about. i have a lot of work to do on my paper.
i've been learning a lot about the political aspects of agriculture and resources.
its funny, i thought of it today, that my sister would always tell people that i was going to mexico to study organic agriculture...and i would correct her, saying that i'm studying "latin american studies", but so far everything that I've learned about is so relevant to what i want to do with my life. Today we had a presentation from Maria Elena about global resistance movements and food sovereignty...it was wonderful, she is such an amazing woman, and she is very nice and easy to talk to, I know that I'm going to learn a lot from her.
yesterday we went to carnaval in Chamula and I got sunburnt, but in the worst pattern ever.
my paper is technically due on friday, but we may have an extension till sunday. I'd like to get it done soonish because we may try to make it to the beach soon.
I was sorta dating this guy for like 9 days. His name's Adrian, but he left for good for Playa del Carmen on Sunday. He's a salsa instructor so I'm now a pro dancer, but dancing till 3 on a school night was a bad idea, so its kinda good that he left. He also worked at Mayambe, the thai/indian/arabic restaurant in town, which meant free samosas and salad rolls. I hope that I can still make that work now that he's gone. It was also kinda strange cause I had a date on valentine's day, which never happens... we went to a bar and played Scrabble, in Spanish. I didnt lose by that much, but I had a bit of help. Valentines day isnt as big here, but here its sponsered by coca cola, not Hallmark, but coke kinda sponsers everything. Then last weekend we went to el chiflon, which is a waterfall about 2 hours from here. That was pretty nice, went swimming and stuff. Then we played Scrabble, him in english, and me in spanish. I won that time.
My first weekend with Adrian we went to this big underground house party on Sunday night, all the cool stuff happens on school nights. There was a dj and a band in the patio of the house, it was all outdoor and there was a bonfire, cheap beer and veggie tacos with soy. the dj played some sweet dancing tunes and the band had a cello in it. the singer of the band sounds like he has a digeridoo in his throat and can make the craziest sounds ever. Everyone whos anyone was at the party, the town must have shut down. And, there was lots of weed (shhhh), but we've all vowed to stay away while we're here so we just breathed in deep.
Alright, this cafe is about to close, I should probably wrap this up. I promise to write more next week, when my research paper is all done. Hope all is well wherever you all are!
my paper is due in a few days and I've learned a lot since I began thinking about everything.
theres too much to write about. i have a lot of work to do on my paper.
i've been learning a lot about the political aspects of agriculture and resources.
its funny, i thought of it today, that my sister would always tell people that i was going to mexico to study organic agriculture...and i would correct her, saying that i'm studying "latin american studies", but so far everything that I've learned about is so relevant to what i want to do with my life. Today we had a presentation from Maria Elena about global resistance movements and food sovereignty...it was wonderful, she is such an amazing woman, and she is very nice and easy to talk to, I know that I'm going to learn a lot from her.
yesterday we went to carnaval in Chamula and I got sunburnt, but in the worst pattern ever.
my paper is technically due on friday, but we may have an extension till sunday. I'd like to get it done soonish because we may try to make it to the beach soon.
I was sorta dating this guy for like 9 days. His name's Adrian, but he left for good for Playa del Carmen on Sunday. He's a salsa instructor so I'm now a pro dancer, but dancing till 3 on a school night was a bad idea, so its kinda good that he left. He also worked at Mayambe, the thai/indian/arabic restaurant in town, which meant free samosas and salad rolls. I hope that I can still make that work now that he's gone. It was also kinda strange cause I had a date on valentine's day, which never happens... we went to a bar and played Scrabble, in Spanish. I didnt lose by that much, but I had a bit of help. Valentines day isnt as big here, but here its sponsered by coca cola, not Hallmark, but coke kinda sponsers everything. Then last weekend we went to el chiflon, which is a waterfall about 2 hours from here. That was pretty nice, went swimming and stuff. Then we played Scrabble, him in english, and me in spanish. I won that time.
My first weekend with Adrian we went to this big underground house party on Sunday night, all the cool stuff happens on school nights. There was a dj and a band in the patio of the house, it was all outdoor and there was a bonfire, cheap beer and veggie tacos with soy. the dj played some sweet dancing tunes and the band had a cello in it. the singer of the band sounds like he has a digeridoo in his throat and can make the craziest sounds ever. Everyone whos anyone was at the party, the town must have shut down. And, there was lots of weed (shhhh), but we've all vowed to stay away while we're here so we just breathed in deep.
Alright, this cafe is about to close, I should probably wrap this up. I promise to write more next week, when my research paper is all done. Hope all is well wherever you all are!
sábado, 10 de febrero de 2007
vamos a bailar
Salsa dancing till 4:30 am is really quite exhausting, which is why I attempted to sleep before I go out to do it again. We've only been here about 2 weeks, but we've already become regulars, since there's only a few clubs in town and the same people go all the time.
We went shopping today, I tried to buy pants, but apparently I'm too tall for this country. I did manage to find one pair that fit me, but I wasn't sure if purple flared cords fit into my wardrobe.
I'm really excited to get started on my research for my poli sci paper...real life research is way better than reading books or e-journals.
Well its almost 11:30, gotta get ready to go out. Our first week here we made the mistake of going to the club before 10:30...and we were the only ones dancing, I don't think last call exists in Mexico.
We went shopping today, I tried to buy pants, but apparently I'm too tall for this country. I did manage to find one pair that fit me, but I wasn't sure if purple flared cords fit into my wardrobe.
I'm really excited to get started on my research for my poli sci paper...real life research is way better than reading books or e-journals.
Well its almost 11:30, gotta get ready to go out. Our first week here we made the mistake of going to the club before 10:30...and we were the only ones dancing, I don't think last call exists in Mexico.
POLI 332 Research Paper Proposal
Research Question: How have free trade agreements, such as NAFTA, affected the food sovereignty of Chiapas?
My research question has evolved and changed a lot over the past five days. I knew from the start that I wanted to focus my research on food and agriculture, however over the course of a few days I had many experiences and met many new people that helped me to narrow down my topic.Wednesdays class and discussions about neoliberalism and free trade made me realize the politics of food, especially in a less developed country such as Mexico. After class, at La Casa del Pan, Marella and I ran into Robyn, a friend of a friend who is writing her undergraduate thesis on food sovereignty as a form of resistance for Dalhousie’s International Development program. I had never heard of food sovereignty before but Robyn got me interested in it and gave me some good sources of information contacts. Friday during class, we went back to TierrAdentro and met Peter Rosset and Maria Elena Martinez from the organization La Via Campesina. Peter has written a lot about food sovereignty and Maria Elena has just published a book on organic coffee production in Chiapas. I also found out that one of our neighbours is writing a thesis on coffee production for a university in Norway. Since this assignment is to be very much based on what we have learned from the people around us that we have met, I decided to research the effect that free trade has had on Chiapas’ food sovereignty, with a focus on coffee production.
When I began to look into agriculture in Chiapas, I found out that Chiapas is the biggest producer of organic coffee in Mexico and that Mexico produces the most organic coffee in the world, which made me think about coffee and free trade. People of all countries and cultures drink coffee, however, only a few parts of the world have the necessary climate for growing it. What affect has the North American Free Trade Agreement had on the food sovereignty of Chiapas? The concept of food sovereignty which was developed by the group La Via Campesina in 1996 argues that food and agriculture are about more than the trade of economic commodities. La Via Campesina explains food soverienty as the right of rural peoples to define their own food and agriculture, to regulate trade in order to achieve sustainable development and to determine their own level of self-reliance. Food sovereignty promotes trade policies that will help people to achieve safe, healthy and sustainable food production. Do the policies of NAFTA promote sustainable food production? Do they impede people from defining their food and agriculture?
I decided that coffee would be a good case study for this research since Chiapas produces such a large amount of coffee. I realized that a farmer in Chiapas, when deciding to grow coffee beans, is entering the global market by default, since the amount of coffee that Mexico produces is far more than the country itself could consume. Therefore, what would make a farmer in Chiapas decide to grow coffee instead of another crop? Does free trade have an effect on his/her decision? How does this affect food soveriegnty, as the right for people to define their agriculture? Has the amount of coffee production increased in Chiapas since 1994? Has organic coffee production increased as a result of NAFTA? How have free trade agreements affected the world price of coffee and thus the income of Chiapan coffee growers?
Perhaps free trade has decreased Chiapas’ food soveriegnty insofar as that it made export production easier and more profitable and thus forced people to revert to production for the world market (ie coffee) instead of producing for the local market. Another hypothesis is that since NAFTA, the farmers of Chiapas have become more aware about their food soverienty and their right to define their own agriculture, thus supporting resistance movements that emphasize these rights. Or perhaps free trade agreements have not influenced farmers’ actions or decisions at all and they have always been aware of their need to be self-reliant.
It is obvious that many questions exist surrounding this issue, and I also have many possible answers to these questions. To find answers to thsee questions I will look to other people’s research as conduct my own research first hand here in Chiapas. Through my connections with Maria Elena from La Via Campesina as well as my new neighbour, I hope that I will be able to talk to some coffee growers of Chiapas to get their perspectives on the issues of free trade and food soveriegnty.
My research question has evolved and changed a lot over the past five days. I knew from the start that I wanted to focus my research on food and agriculture, however over the course of a few days I had many experiences and met many new people that helped me to narrow down my topic.Wednesdays class and discussions about neoliberalism and free trade made me realize the politics of food, especially in a less developed country such as Mexico. After class, at La Casa del Pan, Marella and I ran into Robyn, a friend of a friend who is writing her undergraduate thesis on food sovereignty as a form of resistance for Dalhousie’s International Development program. I had never heard of food sovereignty before but Robyn got me interested in it and gave me some good sources of information contacts. Friday during class, we went back to TierrAdentro and met Peter Rosset and Maria Elena Martinez from the organization La Via Campesina. Peter has written a lot about food sovereignty and Maria Elena has just published a book on organic coffee production in Chiapas. I also found out that one of our neighbours is writing a thesis on coffee production for a university in Norway. Since this assignment is to be very much based on what we have learned from the people around us that we have met, I decided to research the effect that free trade has had on Chiapas’ food sovereignty, with a focus on coffee production.
When I began to look into agriculture in Chiapas, I found out that Chiapas is the biggest producer of organic coffee in Mexico and that Mexico produces the most organic coffee in the world, which made me think about coffee and free trade. People of all countries and cultures drink coffee, however, only a few parts of the world have the necessary climate for growing it. What affect has the North American Free Trade Agreement had on the food sovereignty of Chiapas? The concept of food sovereignty which was developed by the group La Via Campesina in 1996 argues that food and agriculture are about more than the trade of economic commodities. La Via Campesina explains food soverienty as the right of rural peoples to define their own food and agriculture, to regulate trade in order to achieve sustainable development and to determine their own level of self-reliance. Food sovereignty promotes trade policies that will help people to achieve safe, healthy and sustainable food production. Do the policies of NAFTA promote sustainable food production? Do they impede people from defining their food and agriculture?
I decided that coffee would be a good case study for this research since Chiapas produces such a large amount of coffee. I realized that a farmer in Chiapas, when deciding to grow coffee beans, is entering the global market by default, since the amount of coffee that Mexico produces is far more than the country itself could consume. Therefore, what would make a farmer in Chiapas decide to grow coffee instead of another crop? Does free trade have an effect on his/her decision? How does this affect food soveriegnty, as the right for people to define their agriculture? Has the amount of coffee production increased in Chiapas since 1994? Has organic coffee production increased as a result of NAFTA? How have free trade agreements affected the world price of coffee and thus the income of Chiapan coffee growers?
Perhaps free trade has decreased Chiapas’ food soveriegnty insofar as that it made export production easier and more profitable and thus forced people to revert to production for the world market (ie coffee) instead of producing for the local market. Another hypothesis is that since NAFTA, the farmers of Chiapas have become more aware about their food soverienty and their right to define their own agriculture, thus supporting resistance movements that emphasize these rights. Or perhaps free trade agreements have not influenced farmers’ actions or decisions at all and they have always been aware of their need to be self-reliant.
It is obvious that many questions exist surrounding this issue, and I also have many possible answers to these questions. To find answers to thsee questions I will look to other people’s research as conduct my own research first hand here in Chiapas. Through my connections with Maria Elena from La Via Campesina as well as my new neighbour, I hope that I will be able to talk to some coffee growers of Chiapas to get their perspectives on the issues of free trade and food soveriegnty.
miércoles, 7 de febrero de 2007
los ninos
I really like what my friend Marella wrote the other day when we did that exercise in the plaza:
"There are many children here but there is a division. Some are in school uniforms attending institutions of learning, the others are selling handwoven belts and blankets, and cleaning shoes. Why do some have the ability to be children? To play and learn while others have acquired more struggle and maturity than me? I think inequality is more evident here or maybe I am less numb to it because of my intention here."
When we got back to class that day we found that many people had written about children and that it is something that we have all thought about. There really is almost a strategy to the work that these children do. They all seem to whine when they ask you to buy things, or when they ask for money for their tortilla. Matea, a fellow student, also pointed out that when we respond to the children’s whining, we ourselves also whine, saying things like “lo siento” and “son muy bonitos pero no gracias” in the same manner and tone as the children.
My first experience of this was in Cancun at the bus station. A little girl asked me for one peso, so I gave it to her. She went back to her mom and 3 sisters and then a few minutes later returned to ask me for my water. I ended up giving her my litre of water, knowing that it would quench her whole family’s thirst and that I could easily buy a new bottle for 6 pesos.
So last night I was sitting and eating at TierrAdentro when about 6 little Mayan children came up to me to try to sell me their bracelets and belts. I had a table to myself and had all of my work and things spread out on the table and a chair. Anyway, I had a bunch of bread, tortillas, rice and curried veggies left from my gigantic meal. I introduced myself to Elena, a very beautiful Mayan girl who’s probably about 10, and asked her if she would like some food.
Elena, her sister and about 5 little boys, the youngest probably being about 4 joined me for food. Three of the boys climbed up on the chair, on top of my books and stuff, to eat some bread, tortillas, rice and vegetables. I fed all of us on about 40 pesos.
Then, Jose, a boy of about 10 or 11 who walks around selling candy and cigarettes , came up to try to get me to buy some stuff. When I told him no, he tried harder and whined more. Then he told me that he was thirsty and that he wanted juice. So I told him to go order a juice and say that I’d pay for it. The waiter, already having seen me feed the village, came to make sure that I’d pay for it, and then Jose sat with me and we drank juice. He’s from Chamula, a town outside of San Cristobal and he comes into the city everyday with his brother to make money. He said that his dad is a carpenter in Chamula. I asked him if he eats a lot of candy and he said no, but I didn’t really believe him since he was chewing a huge wad of bubble gum. I told him I was from Canada and he asked me “tienes mucho dinero?” This was a really hard question because by North American standards, I don’t feel like I have a lot of money…but what do I say to Jose?
Elena and a bunch of the other girls sell their crafts in the market and one night last week when we were going out they tried to get us to buy their blankets. They used the voice and say "Compra, compra esa manta" and then we say no they started to joke with us. They threw the blankets on our shoulders and ran away, then it became a game of us throwing the blankets at each other and giggling. It was a really interesting experience to see these kids laughing and playing, as normal children should do.
"There are many children here but there is a division. Some are in school uniforms attending institutions of learning, the others are selling handwoven belts and blankets, and cleaning shoes. Why do some have the ability to be children? To play and learn while others have acquired more struggle and maturity than me? I think inequality is more evident here or maybe I am less numb to it because of my intention here."
When we got back to class that day we found that many people had written about children and that it is something that we have all thought about. There really is almost a strategy to the work that these children do. They all seem to whine when they ask you to buy things, or when they ask for money for their tortilla. Matea, a fellow student, also pointed out that when we respond to the children’s whining, we ourselves also whine, saying things like “lo siento” and “son muy bonitos pero no gracias” in the same manner and tone as the children.
My first experience of this was in Cancun at the bus station. A little girl asked me for one peso, so I gave it to her. She went back to her mom and 3 sisters and then a few minutes later returned to ask me for my water. I ended up giving her my litre of water, knowing that it would quench her whole family’s thirst and that I could easily buy a new bottle for 6 pesos.
So last night I was sitting and eating at TierrAdentro when about 6 little Mayan children came up to me to try to sell me their bracelets and belts. I had a table to myself and had all of my work and things spread out on the table and a chair. Anyway, I had a bunch of bread, tortillas, rice and curried veggies left from my gigantic meal. I introduced myself to Elena, a very beautiful Mayan girl who’s probably about 10, and asked her if she would like some food.
Elena, her sister and about 5 little boys, the youngest probably being about 4 joined me for food. Three of the boys climbed up on the chair, on top of my books and stuff, to eat some bread, tortillas, rice and vegetables. I fed all of us on about 40 pesos.
Then, Jose, a boy of about 10 or 11 who walks around selling candy and cigarettes , came up to try to get me to buy some stuff. When I told him no, he tried harder and whined more. Then he told me that he was thirsty and that he wanted juice. So I told him to go order a juice and say that I’d pay for it. The waiter, already having seen me feed the village, came to make sure that I’d pay for it, and then Jose sat with me and we drank juice. He’s from Chamula, a town outside of San Cristobal and he comes into the city everyday with his brother to make money. He said that his dad is a carpenter in Chamula. I asked him if he eats a lot of candy and he said no, but I didn’t really believe him since he was chewing a huge wad of bubble gum. I told him I was from Canada and he asked me “tienes mucho dinero?” This was a really hard question because by North American standards, I don’t feel like I have a lot of money…but what do I say to Jose?
Elena and a bunch of the other girls sell their crafts in the market and one night last week when we were going out they tried to get us to buy their blankets. They used the voice and say "Compra, compra esa manta" and then we say no they started to joke with us. They threw the blankets on our shoulders and ran away, then it became a game of us throwing the blankets at each other and giggling. It was a really interesting experience to see these kids laughing and playing, as normal children should do.
martes, 6 de febrero de 2007
first poli sci class
yesterday was our first class, POLI 332.
Max, our prof, asked us to sit in the main plaza for 30 minutes and write a paragraph of what we saw and felt, to emphasize the importance of documenting this observations.
This is what I wrote:
I've been thinking a lot lately about power and priviledge, and how they affect life in San Cristobal. Sitting here in the plaza for five minutes, I've seen lots of different people from different social groups. As we came to the plaza 31 de marzo, we saw two large military vehicules driving down calle Guadalupe-Victoria. We wondered why they were here, downtown on Monday afternoon and then we supposed that maybe its just to remind everyone that they exist. This to me was such an open display of power, which is more present in Latin America than North America. An example of this is the armed police in the streets. The large guns that they carry may never be used and are probably not necessary, however they are a constant reminder of the military/police presence and power here in Mexico, maybe as a reminder to the citizens to oblige/behave. This brings me to the point of priviledge.
As foreigners, and like all of the backpackers and tourists that I see here in the plaza, we are able to observe the police presence without really feeling its reprocussions. As long as we play by the rules, we as outsiders will probably not see much of the military. For this I guess we have the power and priviledge as foreigners to come, observe and return home when we want.
Max, our prof, asked us to sit in the main plaza for 30 minutes and write a paragraph of what we saw and felt, to emphasize the importance of documenting this observations.
This is what I wrote:
I've been thinking a lot lately about power and priviledge, and how they affect life in San Cristobal. Sitting here in the plaza for five minutes, I've seen lots of different people from different social groups. As we came to the plaza 31 de marzo, we saw two large military vehicules driving down calle Guadalupe-Victoria. We wondered why they were here, downtown on Monday afternoon and then we supposed that maybe its just to remind everyone that they exist. This to me was such an open display of power, which is more present in Latin America than North America. An example of this is the armed police in the streets. The large guns that they carry may never be used and are probably not necessary, however they are a constant reminder of the military/police presence and power here in Mexico, maybe as a reminder to the citizens to oblige/behave. This brings me to the point of priviledge.
As foreigners, and like all of the backpackers and tourists that I see here in the plaza, we are able to observe the police presence without really feeling its reprocussions. As long as we play by the rules, we as outsiders will probably not see much of the military. For this I guess we have the power and priviledge as foreigners to come, observe and return home when we want.
sábado, 3 de febrero de 2007
So we got the sweet apartment! Tonight we went to talk to Senor Licenciado Amedor Gonzalez (our new landlord) aobut the possibility of taking the apartment March 1st for 2 months. So we talked to him and his cool with it. Tomorrow we are going to go back to sign a contract and to pay the rent to assure that March 1st it is ours!
But, in the meantime we are going to stay here with Alica and her mom in this wonderful apartment and pay part of the rent. Today I went with Alica and her mom to the big mercado to buy food. We bought beets, couliflower, green beans, black beans, potatoes, tomatoes, avocados, mamey, mandarins, plantains, onions, limes…what a wonderful place! Then we bought some jicama, coconut, ripe mango and green mango for a snack from a little old woman on the corner. Its been great to make food here all together, as we did last night and are doing right now. Tonight, being our first Friday, we’re going to go dancing with all of the other group members...should be interesting!
But, in the meantime we are going to stay here with Alica and her mom in this wonderful apartment and pay part of the rent. Today I went with Alica and her mom to the big mercado to buy food. We bought beets, couliflower, green beans, black beans, potatoes, tomatoes, avocados, mamey, mandarins, plantains, onions, limes…what a wonderful place! Then we bought some jicama, coconut, ripe mango and green mango for a snack from a little old woman on the corner. Its been great to make food here all together, as we did last night and are doing right now. Tonight, being our first Friday, we’re going to go dancing with all of the other group members...should be interesting!
viernes, 2 de febrero de 2007
I wrote this last night but didn't publish it...
Well, we’ve almost settled ourselves in San Cristobal. I guess that tonight will be my third night in the magical town…the first night I stayed in a hostel but then for last night I moved to the amazing apartment of Alica and her mom, Sara. They are from Tepic, a town near Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific side of central Mexico, but Alica has been studying in Vancouver for a few years. Her mom decided to take time off and live in Chiapas for a few months to be with her daughter. So anyway, they found this great place right in the centre, one balcony overlooks the Plaza 31 de marzo, which is the main plaza, and the other balcony overlooks the main Cathedral. The building is beautfiul and colonial with very high ceilings and the balcony doors are of a very old dark wood. Anyway, this apartment has 2 bedrooms, each with 2 beds, theres 3 bathrooms (2 showers) a huge livingroom/diningroom, kitchen and big hall area, so its fin for four people. After not having much luck finding apartments here and with such a desire to get settled, Sara has offered that Andres and I set ourselves up here until we find a place. So far we’ve had 3 possiblities. The first was too far away, it was nice, with a nice balcony, but we just didn’t feel right about getting home from downtown. Anyway the landlord of that place is this big lawyer guy, and he has another house, he tells us. I was so happy to be with Andres during all this, because while I trust my Spanish, I’m not sure if I trust my polite Spanish…to say the proper things in a situation like this…I trust my dear Colombian friend Andres. So anyway this Licenciado starts talking all this good stuff about the other place that may become availble as of the first (today). From what he’d said, I’d told him that we’d for sure be interested in it. So he says, the people who are there now have been there for 4 years…and that he’s not sure when they’re leaving…he will find out tomorrow at 8 am, and could we come back in the morning? So we go this morning at 9 and in typical mexican fashion, he hadnt heard from the senores, how about we call him back at 5. So at 5 he tells us that these tenants want to stay for one more month! Ay que lastima, decimos. Anyway this place is perfect…I can’t describe it, and I don’t want to becausse it will make me want to live there even more and it may not work out. Maybe I’ll take a photo.
I’ve been in Mexico for 9 days now, and my Spanish has both returned to its previous state and gone past the point where I was when I was in Costa Rica last, its so exciting. I am in love with Mexico and the Spanish language…but I didn’t need to come here to know that.
Well, we’ve almost settled ourselves in San Cristobal. I guess that tonight will be my third night in the magical town…the first night I stayed in a hostel but then for last night I moved to the amazing apartment of Alica and her mom, Sara. They are from Tepic, a town near Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific side of central Mexico, but Alica has been studying in Vancouver for a few years. Her mom decided to take time off and live in Chiapas for a few months to be with her daughter. So anyway, they found this great place right in the centre, one balcony overlooks the Plaza 31 de marzo, which is the main plaza, and the other balcony overlooks the main Cathedral. The building is beautfiul and colonial with very high ceilings and the balcony doors are of a very old dark wood. Anyway, this apartment has 2 bedrooms, each with 2 beds, theres 3 bathrooms (2 showers) a huge livingroom/diningroom, kitchen and big hall area, so its fin for four people. After not having much luck finding apartments here and with such a desire to get settled, Sara has offered that Andres and I set ourselves up here until we find a place. So far we’ve had 3 possiblities. The first was too far away, it was nice, with a nice balcony, but we just didn’t feel right about getting home from downtown. Anyway the landlord of that place is this big lawyer guy, and he has another house, he tells us. I was so happy to be with Andres during all this, because while I trust my Spanish, I’m not sure if I trust my polite Spanish…to say the proper things in a situation like this…I trust my dear Colombian friend Andres. So anyway this Licenciado starts talking all this good stuff about the other place that may become availble as of the first (today). From what he’d said, I’d told him that we’d for sure be interested in it. So he says, the people who are there now have been there for 4 years…and that he’s not sure when they’re leaving…he will find out tomorrow at 8 am, and could we come back in the morning? So we go this morning at 9 and in typical mexican fashion, he hadnt heard from the senores, how about we call him back at 5. So at 5 he tells us that these tenants want to stay for one more month! Ay que lastima, decimos. Anyway this place is perfect…I can’t describe it, and I don’t want to becausse it will make me want to live there even more and it may not work out. Maybe I’ll take a photo.
I’ve been in Mexico for 9 days now, and my Spanish has both returned to its previous state and gone past the point where I was when I was in Costa Rica last, its so exciting. I am in love with Mexico and the Spanish language…but I didn’t need to come here to know that.
Suscribirse a:
Entradas (Atom)