Posts

Speaking Spanish in Mexico

Image
I’ve worked for most of my life to learn Spanish. Languages don’t come easily to me. In fifth grade, I had classmates and friends who were daughters of migrant farm workers and spoke very limited English. This was back in the day when immigrant kids were placed in classrooms depending on their language skills, not their age (we didn’t really do bilingual ed back then) so at ten, I had classmates ranging from nine to sixteen years old. No kidding, sixteen. She had been placed in kindergarten at ten when she came to the US. I’ve always wondered what happened to her; I’m assuming she didn’t finish school because who wants to stay in high school into their mid-twenties? I spent time at their homes, which were often one-bedroom apartments for families of five or more. My friend had her own room—it was a closet. And not a walk-in closet. And they said it was better than they had in Mexico. Obviously, Mexico has all levels of income, just like the United States, but many who came to the US we...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Beginnings

Image
My origin story of traveling in Mexico; I wrote this as a facebook post ages ago and just found it. In 2000 I was a brand-new teacher and wanted to volunteer somewhere in the summer. I called my college pastor who was well connected and said I wanted to volunteer somewhere, I sort of spoke Spanish, and I didn’t want to do something where you volunteer and never see them again but where I could develop a relationship. Very idealistic, but I was barely 25. He connected me to a friend who found a friend who knew of two orphanages in Mexico that could use a teacher to help in the summer. Did I want to go to the one run by Mexicans or Americans? So I ended up flying to south Texas in July (that is a terrible idea) and meeting someone I didn’t know who drove me across the border to Reynosa, Mexico to go to an orphanage. Reynosa is not a tourist spot, to put it mildly. If you’ve heard of it, it’s because of drug violence. It’s very industrial and the climate is... well, it’s basically South ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Recuerdos: El Chepe (Parte Seis)

Image
  I did not expect to love Chihuahua City. I expected it to be an ugly, boring town that was just a stopover before the plane right home. I was wrong. The train station in Creel was small and had very little information in any language. But it was an actual train station, unlike the others which were just wooden platforms. There were no employees there at all until the train got there, almost four hours late. None of the Mexicans seemed to care that the train was that late but everyone else was pretty annoyed. It was a long (6-hour) ride to Chihuahua City and we didn't get in until 1 am but the next day we were out exploring and WOW is there a lot to explore! I'd love to go back (of course) From February 22, 2020     I absolutely love being in places in Mexico that get very few Americans. People are generally so very welcoming and honestly excited that I visited their part of the country, and pepper me with questions about how I like it and if I’ll come back. The answers:...
Post a Comment
Read more

Recuerdos: El Chepe (Parte Cinco)

Image
Someday I'll finish writing about the Chepe train trip and move on. That day is not today.  This is from Creel, an adorable Pueblo Magico in the state of Chihuahua. It was COLD at night and it was definitely the off-season so things closed down early and we ended up having to go to a pizza place for dinner because there really wasn't anything else. But the pizza place specialized in queso menonita (Mennonite cheese) which is a cheese specifically made in the state of Chihuahua, and came from the Mennonite community there. From February 19, 2020 We took an amazing tour today, covering things outside Creel. We went to Valle de los Monjes (Valley of the monks; beautiful rock formations), a waterfall that I forgot the name of but that involved many many many stairs to get to the bottom of, Elephant Rock, and a Jesuit church in the area where the Tarahumara/Raramuri people live. They, of course, tried to convert the indigenous people, as the Spanish padres tended to do. (An aside; i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Recuerdos: El Chepe (Parte Cuatro)

Image
This trip was epic and is turning out to need plenty of blog posts! This one is mostly just photos though, and photos which really don't do the place justice. I want to go back. February 18, 2020   We got on the train again today and I just stared at the view until it was time to go. I've seen a lot of beautiful nature in my life (it helps to live in California) but this is one that I feel like changed me, even though I can't explain how. It is maybe like when people see the ocean for the first time (I was a baby so don't have that experience) or Yosemite for the first time (too young to remember that one also). The train station was just a cute little wooden platform with an awning and many many women and girls selling baskets. This leg, from Divisadero to Creel, is not nearly as long as the others, Creel is a "Pueblo Magico," one of the cities or towns that the Mexican Tourism Department designates as having a special history or tradition or something like t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Recuerdos: El Chepe (Parte Tres)

Image
More from our trip on the Chepe train. Even three years later, looking at the photos on a screen, I am captivated by the views. I really really hope to go back here. February 17, 2020 This is one of the times I wish I had a better camera and some decent photography skills, because sunset at 8,000 feet over the Barranca del Cobre is one of the more beautiful things I've seen in my lifetime. However, I am a sea level kind of person. I was born at sea level and I live at sea level, and doing anything at 8,000 feet is hard on my lungs. I was trying to read a book from our patio but these views were so stunning that I kept getting distracted, so I just stared. The pictures are all from our hotel, except the one where you can see the little orange building—that was our hotel. It is clearly pretty inaccessible—not the kind of place you stay and go out to shop during the day or clubbing at night. They serve meals there and otherwise, there's nowhere to eat. It was about $200 US a night...
Post a Comment
Read more

Recuerdos: El Chepe (Parte Dos)

Image
 from February 16, 2020 I love trains. I love Mexico. I’m at 8000 feet now and it looks like Tahoe. I’ve never been in a forest in Mexico before! Americans, even those of us who travel to other parts of the country besides Cancun, have ideas about what Mexico is supposed to look like. Usually those images include a tropical beach, a desert with cacti, or Aztec or Mayan ruins. This looks like none of those and I'm so happy that this country can still surprise me. The train was over an hour late and no one seemed like they care.At first we had our choice of seats and tried to sleep for a bit, since we had to be up before sunrise. Soon it filled up and we alternated between watching out the window and going to the dining car. Trains really are my favorite method of travel. There were different classes of carriage although none of them were more luxurious than a nice bus seat. Even though there wasn't a huge difference in class, I definitely feel uncomfortable and vaguely guilty wh...
Post a Comment
Read more