I spent a Saturday afternoon and evening with Monica's family, friends, and cousins. I discovered that they really are all cousins...and brother-in-laws, but that's another mexicanismo.
A few notes:
Monica's adorable nephew who LOVED to make faces
Her uncle's birthday party: 50 people in the yard, a band, and a HUGE bull tethered a few yards away
Bean Tamales (YUMMY!...Karla's mom ate 6 :)
Grandpa's bulls
Yellow wall
Picking oranges
martes, 28 de agosto de 2007
Chamba
Work. Finally I'm uploading pictures from this month at the ranch.
I really feel like I've done a little bit of everything (and alot! of other things ;)
Upstairs in the office:
Counting bags
Counting labels
Folding labels
Counting codes to go on labels
Putting codes on labels
Counting and organizing all the materials for each order
Downstairs in selection and packing:
Selecting/cleaning/weighing/packaging herbs
Packing the bags of herbs into boxs
Labeling the boxes
Sorting and taping the boxes together by each store's order. (Think Walmart: Oaxaca City, Mexico 1, Mexico 2, Mexico 3, Cuernavaca, Acapulco...etc.)
In the field:
Harvesting
Weeding
Seeding
Propagation
Transplanting
Hanging out with Baldemar and Alejandro while they:
Identify and record the pests and disease we find in each field
Checking on the tractor, aka mules ;)
Mix-up chemicals and supervise fumigators
Check-up on the fertilization via the irrigation system
Send flats of herbs to contractors
...Explain everything to me and answer my questions.
I'm loving my time here. And now, el rancho...
I really feel like I've done a little bit of everything (and alot! of other things ;)
Upstairs in the office:
Counting bags
Counting labels
Folding labels
Counting codes to go on labels
Putting codes on labels
Counting and organizing all the materials for each order
Downstairs in selection and packing:
Selecting/cleaning/weighing/packaging herbs
Packing the bags of herbs into boxs
Labeling the boxes
Sorting and taping the boxes together by each store's order. (Think Walmart: Oaxaca City, Mexico 1, Mexico 2, Mexico 3, Cuernavaca, Acapulco...etc.)
In the field:
Harvesting
Weeding
Seeding
Propagation
Transplanting
Hanging out with Baldemar and Alejandro while they:
Identify and record the pests and disease we find in each field
Checking on the tractor, aka mules ;)
Mix-up chemicals and supervise fumigators
Check-up on the fertilization via the irrigation system
Send flats of herbs to contractors
...Explain everything to me and answer my questions.
I'm loving my time here. And now, el rancho...
miércoles, 22 de agosto de 2007
Cocos y mangos
Imagine orderly-spaced palm trees with mangos alternately-placed beneath; las palmas stretch up to the blue cielo and the mangos reach a quarter of the way up their trunks.
This weekend's experience took me to the tropics of la costa de Guerrero: Tecpan de Galeana. I spent three days with Heather and Jesus, their son Geovani, nephew Francisco, and mother Fredelina. Here are a few pictures of our time: highlighting a day absolutely alone on the beautiful beautiful beaches of playa ojo de agua, playa vicente guerrero, y la lagoon.
A day later at the ranch I'm called the rojo camaron: red shrimp. I'm just missing my chimpanzees (Laykin, Jonicka, y Kiana) who picked off my peeling skin last year. Yes, gross.
This weekend's experience took me to the tropics of la costa de Guerrero: Tecpan de Galeana. I spent three days with Heather and Jesus, their son Geovani, nephew Francisco, and mother Fredelina. Here are a few pictures of our time: highlighting a day absolutely alone on the beautiful beautiful beaches of playa ojo de agua, playa vicente guerrero, y la lagoon.
A day later at the ranch I'm called the rojo camaron: red shrimp. I'm just missing my chimpanzees (Laykin, Jonicka, y Kiana) who picked off my peeling skin last year. Yes, gross.
Los torros
Alma y Carla (tambien, los hijos de Alma: Jorge y Eric y primas Lorena y Maria) me llevaron a los torros: montadores quien montaron con ambos manos arriba, un payaso que me recordaron de Cantinflas, una banda que toco canciones rancheros, torros quien se pararon para permitir los montadores a dejar...los torros mexicanos.
Alma y Carla (along with Alma's two sons: Jorge and Eric, and cousins Lorena y Maria) took me out to bull riding: cowboys who rode with both hands in the air, clowns that reminded me of Cantinflas, a band playing ranchero songs, bulls who stopped to let the cowboys off...Mexican bulls.
Note: I couldn't get my camera settings right this night, so the pictures that are in focus are that way because the bulls really are standing still.
Alma y Carla (along with Alma's two sons: Jorge and Eric, and cousins Lorena y Maria) took me out to bull riding: cowboys who rode with both hands in the air, clowns that reminded me of Cantinflas, a band playing ranchero songs, bulls who stopped to let the cowboys off...Mexican bulls.
Note: I couldn't get my camera settings right this night, so the pictures that are in focus are that way because the bulls really are standing still.
miércoles, 15 de agosto de 2007
Weekends in Mexico
Weekend 1: see earlier blog entry with my and Heidi's pretty blue eyes ;)
Weekend 2: I arrived from Oaxaca early in the morning Saturday with the purpose of meeting up with Thomas and Teresa in the Zocalo for the small Guelaguetza that was to be held there (one of Oktavio's friends was supposed to sing!) But, the Guelaguetza was canceled and I never found T&T so instead I had a nice day solita: a walk through the park, cheap great breakfast (this amazing fusion tea) and finally the Frida Kahlo exhibit. I wish I could say I loved it. However, being toward the end of the exhibit, and a saturday: I spend hours (no exaggeration) in lines. To enter the building first --for my ticket, then exiting the building to wait in another line to...enter the building again--for the exhibit. Oh wait, for the first floor; for the bathroom, for the second floor, for the bathroom. The sala/room with the paintings: a line that streamed all the way around--a line for every painting. And I'm glad I went. It was a very nice exhibit. A nice day.
I arrived at the Aceve's house in time for Pepe's birthday party: a fun tres leches foto sequence to follow! The next morning Richard Wolf brought along a couple from New Zealand. Richard asked me to translate his sunday morning testimony for them--I was scared to death, my translation was literal --but they got it all :) A kind of benchmark, really. Hey, I do understand absolutely everything--sometimes.
That afternoon Richard dropped me off at the bus terminal and I had about a two and a half hour wait for a bus direct to Chiconcuac. This is the place of my impossible second encounter with the same Columbian, Diego...as if running into the same person twice in Mexico isn't impossible enough, Diego was arriving from Oaxaca just as I had the day before. This is a bus terminal were there are literally buses leaving every minute. Apparently: Impossible is nothing. (work cited: yes, i totally stole that phrase.)
Weekend 3: Patty arranged to met me at the same bus terminal. When we found each other, we both expressed our previous thought (in my case thoughts) that we might not actually find each other amongst the crazy crowd. Does that help to explain how unbelievable it was to run into Diego? Tacos, dropping my bag off at Patty's apartment, and then Patty took me to one of her favorite spots in Mexico: la plaza de Coyoacan, where there is a bazaar, that more than anything should be described as "hypie". Yes, this is one of those words in Mexico that is English with a Spanish pronunciation. It was fun to spend the evening with Patty. I saw some really neat art pieces that subsequently found their way onto my buy-in-the-future list, and listened to several different music artist street performers. And yes, you'll see in the fotos that the night ended in churros y chocolate.
Sunday we spend driving. Wait, Patty and I started out in a Taxi, then the metro, then Randy met us- to begin the long day of driving. 8 in the morning until 10 o'clock by the time I arrived back home in Chiconcuac. Sunday morning meeting, tacos, a siesta at Patty's, a quick stop at Chedraui's (where along with a tres leche pick-up...I found agrinafta herbs), gospel meeting, and a huge potluck (huge describing the amount of food more than the number of people :). Another weekend in Mexico.
Weekend 2: I arrived from Oaxaca early in the morning Saturday with the purpose of meeting up with Thomas and Teresa in the Zocalo for the small Guelaguetza that was to be held there (one of Oktavio's friends was supposed to sing!) But, the Guelaguetza was canceled and I never found T&T so instead I had a nice day solita: a walk through the park, cheap great breakfast (this amazing fusion tea) and finally the Frida Kahlo exhibit. I wish I could say I loved it. However, being toward the end of the exhibit, and a saturday: I spend hours (no exaggeration) in lines. To enter the building first --for my ticket, then exiting the building to wait in another line to...enter the building again--for the exhibit. Oh wait, for the first floor; for the bathroom, for the second floor, for the bathroom. The sala/room with the paintings: a line that streamed all the way around--a line for every painting. And I'm glad I went. It was a very nice exhibit. A nice day.
I arrived at the Aceve's house in time for Pepe's birthday party: a fun tres leches foto sequence to follow! The next morning Richard Wolf brought along a couple from New Zealand. Richard asked me to translate his sunday morning testimony for them--I was scared to death, my translation was literal --but they got it all :) A kind of benchmark, really. Hey, I do understand absolutely everything--sometimes.
That afternoon Richard dropped me off at the bus terminal and I had about a two and a half hour wait for a bus direct to Chiconcuac. This is the place of my impossible second encounter with the same Columbian, Diego...as if running into the same person twice in Mexico isn't impossible enough, Diego was arriving from Oaxaca just as I had the day before. This is a bus terminal were there are literally buses leaving every minute. Apparently: Impossible is nothing. (work cited: yes, i totally stole that phrase.)
Weekend 3: Patty arranged to met me at the same bus terminal. When we found each other, we both expressed our previous thought (in my case thoughts) that we might not actually find each other amongst the crazy crowd. Does that help to explain how unbelievable it was to run into Diego? Tacos, dropping my bag off at Patty's apartment, and then Patty took me to one of her favorite spots in Mexico: la plaza de Coyoacan, where there is a bazaar, that more than anything should be described as "hypie". Yes, this is one of those words in Mexico that is English with a Spanish pronunciation. It was fun to spend the evening with Patty. I saw some really neat art pieces that subsequently found their way onto my buy-in-the-future list, and listened to several different music artist street performers. And yes, you'll see in the fotos that the night ended in churros y chocolate.
Sunday we spend driving. Wait, Patty and I started out in a Taxi, then the metro, then Randy met us- to begin the long day of driving. 8 in the morning until 10 o'clock by the time I arrived back home in Chiconcuac. Sunday morning meeting, tacos, a siesta at Patty's, a quick stop at Chedraui's (where along with a tres leche pick-up...I found agrinafta herbs), gospel meeting, and a huge potluck (huge describing the amount of food more than the number of people :). Another weekend in Mexico.
Buenavista Birthday
My third trip to Buenavista: each time for a cumpleanos celebration. This weekend it was Dona Nieve's birthday and we ate, yet again, Pozole (and yes...I enjoyed it!). It was around the time of this trip I realized I was so lucky last summer; of the many pueblos I could have lived in, I lived in Buenavista. The hills surrounding it, the streets tucked in and around the base of the hills, and the people. This particular trip my walk up to the house included about an hour chat with Lola at the new restaurant where she works (before her boss returned) and nearly another hour chat with Marcos in front of the paleteria (okay, Mark, but I've taken to Sandra's translation). The following day I met an entire new family when I went with Mode who cooked the family tacos made with all the inner-systems: liver, heart, intestine...and two organs I'm not sure how they translated to english, perhaps for the better. Believe it: the tacos were great. I also played the jumping-in-sequences-over-the-rubber-band-stretched-between-two-nina's-legs with four cousins. Fun, but eventually liver became perferable to the yelling of the cousins over cheating and rules and levels. On my way down (this family lived up up up the side of the mountain) I surmised the woman cutting up the coconuts was Mode's sister, stopped to introduce myself, and we had a nice conversation before the kids with me tired of waiting. Off to the paper store to buy a bag for the present, and then to Dona Nieve's kitchen. The entire extended family from Tequesquitengo had already arrived (who we visited last year for Dona Nieve's sister's birthday). This year's celebration had a sweet little twist at the end. Sona hired a man to provide live music: esta son las mananitas...
miércoles, 1 de agosto de 2007
Ciudad de Oaxaca
Three full full days of discovering only a part of Oaxaca.
There are many things that can't be captured by pictures. The sounds: the section of stands in the market where all the pirated CD stands seemed to converge; the smells: like the lucha libre stand ;), okay so I'll stick to the Oaxaqueno mole and chocolatl; and then there are the sights: the bus ride. Six hours on the autopista south and I'm certain I've never seen such diversity of geography: a pine forest, a desert, and back to the tropical. Mountains and valleys. Agriculture: the women in their layers of dresses, moving around the mountain with a few goats; laborious terraces surrounded by vast tough land. And that land in every color of soil: white, yellow, red, green, pink...tierra hermosa.
Thank you Oktavio for sharing your beautiful, beloved Oaxaca.
There are many things that can't be captured by pictures. The sounds: the section of stands in the market where all the pirated CD stands seemed to converge; the smells: like the lucha libre stand ;), okay so I'll stick to the Oaxaqueno mole and chocolatl; and then there are the sights: the bus ride. Six hours on the autopista south and I'm certain I've never seen such diversity of geography: a pine forest, a desert, and back to the tropical. Mountains and valleys. Agriculture: the women in their layers of dresses, moving around the mountain with a few goats; laborious terraces surrounded by vast tough land. And that land in every color of soil: white, yellow, red, green, pink...tierra hermosa.
Thank you Oktavio for sharing your beautiful, beloved Oaxaca.
Morelia
Cafe y conversacion con Patty
A evening with Maya, the boys, and Arturo
El grupo: Teresa, Thomas, Oktavio, Javier, y I
International philosophy conference
Live music
Corundas
Zamora
Pazcuaro
Interviews
Copper shop
Viejitos dance
A evening with Maya, the boys, and Arturo
El grupo: Teresa, Thomas, Oktavio, Javier, y I
International philosophy conference
Live music
Corundas
Zamora
Pazcuaro
Interviews
Copper shop
Viejitos dance
Cuernavaca
Exploring Cuernavaca. This is a slideshow in progress-- to be updated over my last two months.
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