Hello friends, I'm back in the states and preparing for a new adventure in Santiago, Chile. I'd love for you to join the ride. Come visit me at:
http://apoorvainchile.blogspot.com
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Farewell Suchilquitongo...
The last day in Santiago Suchilquitongo - it`s time to bid farewell to my home for the past two months. It`s been a summer of many emotions and many memories. From the morning announcements to the smell of fresh hot chocolate to the marvelous view, you don`t forget things like this anytime soon.
There`s so many people to thank and so many things to say goodbye to, but today is a day just to take it all in and look back. The summer was a success and Project TECHNO made it through it`s guinea pig run. I hope it lives on, for it`s a project with enormous potential.
So many people told me what AMIGOS is like and what to expect, and they were all absolutely right - even when they contradicted each other. But yet, the experience I had no one else will ever have. I hope you have enjoyed seeing this summer through my eyes.
Perhaps one day, I`ll come back here and feel some nostalgia about that summer. The beautiful thing is that here, I have a feeling that things will stay just about the same. Sure the animals will get bigger, people will get older, and modernity will slap this community in the face some more, but something about this place makes me feel like it will always be the Suchil I knew. That`s an awesome thing.
Thank you for being a part of my summer. I will leave you with this view. It says everything I never could.
There`s so many people to thank and so many things to say goodbye to, but today is a day just to take it all in and look back. The summer was a success and Project TECHNO made it through it`s guinea pig run. I hope it lives on, for it`s a project with enormous potential.
So many people told me what AMIGOS is like and what to expect, and they were all absolutely right - even when they contradicted each other. But yet, the experience I had no one else will ever have. I hope you have enjoyed seeing this summer through my eyes.
Perhaps one day, I`ll come back here and feel some nostalgia about that summer. The beautiful thing is that here, I have a feeling that things will stay just about the same. Sure the animals will get bigger, people will get older, and modernity will slap this community in the face some more, but something about this place makes me feel like it will always be the Suchil I knew. That`s an awesome thing.
Thank you for being a part of my summer. I will leave you with this view. It says everything I never could.
With love and final greetings from Santiago Suchilquitongo, Oaxaca,
Apoorva
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Pinche tecnología
Google Earth is ridiculous. Here´s a satellite shot of my AMIGOS Community:
So here when there´s women you see walking around with umbrellas, it´s not because of the sun. They´re just worried about their privacy.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Cue credits
Yesterday we had our final computer class for kids. Overall, the classes went very well and the children´s progress was remarkable. I hope they use the skills they have learned positively and not just to find "video juegos" online. But I´m not too worried, when it comes time to do a presentation for class, they´ll be the ones busting out the Powerpoints. And that makes me proud.I had another highlight for the summer yesterday. The teacher of the women´s cooking class at the Casa de la Cultura was interested in learning how to make Indian food. So yesterday evening, I spent a few hours with the women teaching them how to cook a typical Indian dish I would eat at home - green beans and cauliflower spiced to the max with mustard seeds, curry, cumin, cloves, red chili pepper, onions, garlic, cilantro, lime, tomato, etc.
It was ridiculously fun and it smelled like home. The best part was that all the women couldn´t stop snacking on it, and many said they would make it at home for their kids! I have officially accomplished the "cultural exchange" part of the AMIGOS Mission Statement.
Cue credits for AMIGOS in Suchilquitongo, I can count the days left in community on one hand.Love,
Apoorva
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Far too long to not have blogged
I can´t believe I haven´t blogged in more than a week. Apologies! Since my last post I have seen the festival of the Patron Saint Santiago Apostol in my town, been to a workshop in Oaxaca City, and attended the Casa de la Cultura Guelaguetza.
If my last post appeared as too negative and disheartening, I certainly did not mean it to be so. While the criticism was necessary, I do not think that this summer has been a failure or anything close to one. In reality, despite all the circumstances working against our mission, we have been successful. It´s fine for expectations and realities to be distinct.
The Guelaguetza last night was a presentation of dances from all the seven regions of Oaxaca and from our community as well. It was certainly an event, turnout was wonderful, and you could see once again that Oaxaca and culture go together like butter and toast.
Here is a video about El Baile del Guajolote (The Turkey Dance) that is traditional at weddings in Suchil. I worked on it with my host brother and host uncle, and it was presented to the whole community last night at the Guelaguetza. (The narrator is a friend of my host uncle - what a badass voice!)
The social movement still continues here in Oaxaca, but nothing seems to be as bad as news sources make it out to be. I even found this article about the situation in the Houston Chronicle - it made the front page! But I guess sensationalism comes from many sides here in Oaxaca. Some of the messages spray-painted on the streets assure that this movement will certainly become a Revolution with a capital R (I don´t think so, Tim).
But no worries, the teachers have taken their opportunity of owning the Zócalo to let vendors set up shop and sell anything imaginable - it´s capitalism at its purest. Strange that vendors supporting such an anti-capitalist movement would sell trinkets and crafts that no local would ever buy. Oh, the irony.
Very little time left now, less than two weeks. Will keep you updated!
Cheers,
Apoorva
If my last post appeared as too negative and disheartening, I certainly did not mean it to be so. While the criticism was necessary, I do not think that this summer has been a failure or anything close to one. In reality, despite all the circumstances working against our mission, we have been successful. It´s fine for expectations and realities to be distinct.
The Guelaguetza last night was a presentation of dances from all the seven regions of Oaxaca and from our community as well. It was certainly an event, turnout was wonderful, and you could see once again that Oaxaca and culture go together like butter and toast.
Here is a video about El Baile del Guajolote (The Turkey Dance) that is traditional at weddings in Suchil. I worked on it with my host brother and host uncle, and it was presented to the whole community last night at the Guelaguetza. (The narrator is a friend of my host uncle - what a badass voice!)
The social movement still continues here in Oaxaca, but nothing seems to be as bad as news sources make it out to be. I even found this article about the situation in the Houston Chronicle - it made the front page! But I guess sensationalism comes from many sides here in Oaxaca. Some of the messages spray-painted on the streets assure that this movement will certainly become a Revolution with a capital R (I don´t think so, Tim).
But no worries, the teachers have taken their opportunity of owning the Zócalo to let vendors set up shop and sell anything imaginable - it´s capitalism at its purest. Strange that vendors supporting such an anti-capitalist movement would sell trinkets and crafts that no local would ever buy. Oh, the irony.
Very little time left now, less than two weeks. Will keep you updated!
Cheers,
Apoorva
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Frustrations and adventures...
Frustrations
Hello friends, as you may or may not know, the Casa de la Cultura has been kind of on thin ice recently with the local municipal authorities. The town government wants to stop funding it, and everyday the people involved in the Casa try to do everything they can to save it. Last night, my host mother/director of the Casa met with the President and his Regidores (the Cabildo) to make the final push to keep funding and support alive for the Casa.
As she came in at 11 PM last night, the first thing she said to me was, "¡Nos fue mal!" in a very dejected tone. I then heard from her that the Cabildo essentially ignored the requests of the Casa and said that they would rather use the money to pave streets instead of preserve the culture of the town. All I heard from her, her brother, and her son was about how these men are total machistas, drunks, and care less about the goals of the Casa de la Cultura.
This part of Suchil has been a pretty consistent dark cloud over the atmosphere here. Everything that AMIGOS and the Casa de la Cultura does here lacks any type of support from the government, and sadly, power politics and corruption are the law of the land in the Palacio Municipal.
This is the part of the AMIGOS experience no one ever wants to talk about. In this case, there´s no cultural exchange nor leadership development. The only lesson from these events is that politics is always in play, even in a small town. Sometimes its forgotten that a corrupt president or a drunken secretary of health is more than just a quirky aspect of the AMIGOS community that you go home and tell your friends and family about.
For Suchiltecos, this is their life. We leave in 3 weeks, yet we have been affected by these politics. I can´t even imagine what it feels like for my host mother or one of the students at the Casa de la Cultura who live here and will have to deal with this for who knows how long. It´s a downer to talk about this, but I feel this is part of the experience and thus must be talked about. I´d love your comments on this topic.
Adventures
On a different, happier note, my host mother, brother, and I took a trip to Oaxaca City this morning. I wanted to see what a typical day at the market is like, and I asked to be taken along. It was a fun adventure and nice to see the city again.
A few highlights included:
Until next time,
Apoorva
Hello friends, as you may or may not know, the Casa de la Cultura has been kind of on thin ice recently with the local municipal authorities. The town government wants to stop funding it, and everyday the people involved in the Casa try to do everything they can to save it. Last night, my host mother/director of the Casa met with the President and his Regidores (the Cabildo) to make the final push to keep funding and support alive for the Casa.
As she came in at 11 PM last night, the first thing she said to me was, "¡Nos fue mal!" in a very dejected tone. I then heard from her that the Cabildo essentially ignored the requests of the Casa and said that they would rather use the money to pave streets instead of preserve the culture of the town. All I heard from her, her brother, and her son was about how these men are total machistas, drunks, and care less about the goals of the Casa de la Cultura.
This part of Suchil has been a pretty consistent dark cloud over the atmosphere here. Everything that AMIGOS and the Casa de la Cultura does here lacks any type of support from the government, and sadly, power politics and corruption are the law of the land in the Palacio Municipal.
This is the part of the AMIGOS experience no one ever wants to talk about. In this case, there´s no cultural exchange nor leadership development. The only lesson from these events is that politics is always in play, even in a small town. Sometimes its forgotten that a corrupt president or a drunken secretary of health is more than just a quirky aspect of the AMIGOS community that you go home and tell your friends and family about.
For Suchiltecos, this is their life. We leave in 3 weeks, yet we have been affected by these politics. I can´t even imagine what it feels like for my host mother or one of the students at the Casa de la Cultura who live here and will have to deal with this for who knows how long. It´s a downer to talk about this, but I feel this is part of the experience and thus must be talked about. I´d love your comments on this topic.
Adventures
On a different, happier note, my host mother, brother, and I took a trip to Oaxaca City this morning. I wanted to see what a typical day at the market is like, and I asked to be taken along. It was a fun adventure and nice to see the city again.
A few highlights included:
- Seeing a band from the coast of Oaxaca playing at the maestro´s version of the Guelaguetza in the Zócalo - they were very lively and you could sense the tropical flavor in their music
- Learning what foods and items are legit and authentic and what´s not (in the city, there is authentic and pirated versions of everything - CDs, DVDs, artesanías, and even cheese)
- Buying cacao beans which we will later prepare and mix with sugar and cinnamon at my house so that I can have a nice pack of freshly made chocolate to take home
Until next time,
Apoorva
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Spanish vocabulary lesson
Life and classes continue here in Santiago Suchilquitongo. Here are some points of note from recent days (you will also learn some good vocabulary en español):
Clases llenas - Our technology classes for kids have gotten massive. We have 6 computers to use, and today 30 kids showed up! That means not a second goes by where you don´t hear "maestro!" or "maestra!" because they want to ask you any type of question imaginable.
They are great students and work very well together. But it´s a zoo in there. They have been getting better at typing now that we have been using the Mavis Beacon typing program, and they certainly have Microsoft Paint down. I´m enjoying it. It´s exhausting, but not as exhausting as sitting around waiting for people to show up! (Note that in the picture the computer is barely visible behind the throng of eager Mexican children)
La presa - Today confirmed for me that our community has everything. One of our friends from town, Heriberto, took us in his car to the presa, which is a pretty huge lake surrounded by mountains and cliffs. It´s majestic. There´s a small waterfall, and its completely tranquilo. It was a wonderful getaway for the afternoon, and it was fun talking in English to Heriberto, for he is an English teacher in the Istmo of Oaxaca.
So here´s a list of things in community: Food out of this world, pre-Colombian ruins, high-speed internet, a huge cultural festival (Guelaguetza) coming up next week, beautiful mountains, a secluded lake, and all 45 minutes from Oaxaca City. Superb.
Los Jardineros - Today we also began to prepare a piece of gardening area to do an amaranth planting demonstration for women in the community. We are working with the women in the cooking class, and did a little bit of digging and cleaning the area so we can plant the seeds. It was strange being on Project TECHNO and using a shovel, but it will be fun. It was clearly obvious I have done very little to no gardening in my life. Perhaps I should stick with the blog.
Three weeks from today, we shall we leaving community. It´s going by fast!
Love,
Apoorva
Clases llenas - Our technology classes for kids have gotten massive. We have 6 computers to use, and today 30 kids showed up! That means not a second goes by where you don´t hear "maestro!" or "maestra!" because they want to ask you any type of question imaginable.
They are great students and work very well together. But it´s a zoo in there. They have been getting better at typing now that we have been using the Mavis Beacon typing program, and they certainly have Microsoft Paint down. I´m enjoying it. It´s exhausting, but not as exhausting as sitting around waiting for people to show up! (Note that in the picture the computer is barely visible behind the throng of eager Mexican children)La presa - Today confirmed for me that our community has everything. One of our friends from town, Heriberto, took us in his car to the presa, which is a pretty huge lake surrounded by mountains and cliffs. It´s majestic. There´s a small waterfall, and its completely tranquilo. It was a wonderful getaway for the afternoon, and it was fun talking in English to Heriberto, for he is an English teacher in the Istmo of Oaxaca.
So here´s a list of things in community: Food out of this world, pre-Colombian ruins, high-speed internet, a huge cultural festival (Guelaguetza) coming up next week, beautiful mountains, a secluded lake, and all 45 minutes from Oaxaca City. Superb.Los Jardineros - Today we also began to prepare a piece of gardening area to do an amaranth planting demonstration for women in the community. We are working with the women in the cooking class, and did a little bit of digging and cleaning the area so we can plant the seeds. It was strange being on Project TECHNO and using a shovel, but it will be fun. It was clearly obvious I have done very little to no gardening in my life. Perhaps I should stick with the blog.
Three weeks from today, we shall we leaving community. It´s going by fast!
Love,
Apoorva
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