I actually wrote the following post back in February on a rickety bus as we drove in the mountains of Chiapas, and completely forgot to post it. But I’m back in the United States and very busy! I promise I will write an update on the last few days of my trip soon however! I have a lot to say!
I am confident to say that this weekend has been the greatest weekend of my life. For the past five days we traveled to the state of Chiapas which borders Guatemala. The scenery, people, cities and villages that we experienced were absolutely amazing. The area was extremely mountainous and held a very strong Mayan community. The area was the other major Mayan area other than Merida. The differences between the Maya in Merida versus Chiapas are extremely stark. The Maya that reside in Merida are much more liberal. They believe in taking modern traditions that they find to be productive or beneficial and will reject ones that they do not agree with. However, in Chiapas they are much more traditional and continue to hold onto their ancient traditions as tight as possible. One such example is their strict rejection towards the photography of their people. The Maya believe that when you photograph them you are taking from their soul. Depending on the town you travel to, they oftentimes will smash your camera if you take a picture of one of them. I went to a bookstore and had a discussion with the owner about photography of the Maya and I asked him how it was possible for me to take pictures of them without being offensive, as I have seen many photographs of the Maya from these communities. He said many photographers will simply do it anyways, disrespecting the deterioration of the culture they are tearing at. He also said oftentimes you can give them money which I did on one occasion. However, after I did this I began to feel guilty. The people who accept money for their photograph are children who come up and repeatedly ask, “Foto? Foto?” as if they were selling you a bracelet or souvenir key chain. As they are children, they are softer, and less aware of upholding their culture.
We visited the friend’s house of Miguel which is a co-op of several Maya women. Here we experienced the typical lifestyle of the Maya. It was one of the most interesting and wonderful experiences of my life thus far. One of the women taught me how to make the table runners, clothing, and blankets that you often times see in touristy areas when traveling. It consists of putting this belt around your hips while leaning back and then attaching the other end to a pol. You sit and lean with the distance that will make it tight and weave a strong pole back and forth and then repeatedly and strongly push the fabric down to create the designs. I’m sorry to disappoint on my abilities to perform a typical women task in the Maya community, but I was quickly dismissed of my task.
Towards the back they had a room where fresh tortillas were made from scratch. Several bowls with beans, tomatoes and cheese lay out for us to make our own tacos. I have been in Mexico for two months now, and let’s just say I have yet to experience tacos that are even in the same league as the tacos I ate on this day. I was able to snap a couple of pictures here before my camera died, as these women were much more liberal in taking photographs. I think I am submitting one of them to the study abroad office!
We went to a church that was unlike any church I have been inside before. It was a fusion between paganism and Catholicism. It possessed the architecture like that of a Catholic church but instead of benches, it was all open. The floor was covered in a thick bed of pine needles. This represents a state of Heaven. People praying will sit wherever on the floor and clear some space from the pine needles to place candle sticks and pray. It was all so extremely beautiful. The light poured in casting a foggy light through the thick incense in the earthy yet colorful room. Out of respect, people are extremely quiet and the only sounds to be heard are the peppy strums of a guitar, scattered children crying, and people praying underneath their breath.
I really admire the way the Maya are determined to uphold their traditions and culture despite globalization and government suppression. Each different village we visited are extremely unique to one another in practicing their traditions and way of life. The fashion extremely varies from sleep colorful skirts to thick wooly rectangles of cloth that are wrapped around the hips and tied with a sash.
We drove several hours a day through the mountains taking in one of the more breathtaking views I have seen. A close second to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, but hey, I’ll admit I’m a little bias. We were unable go to Palenque on our scheduled day because of my obstacles we experienced along our trip. But it was all part of the experience and I don’t look at our trip with one drop of annoyance or distaste. It was an absolute incredible adventure. Although, I was one of the few that enjoyed the trip because most people got really sick. We had to pull over about 10 times over the span of two hours so people could throw up. The voyage started with a student down from Salmonella in the morning, went into an afternoon of sitting in a roadblock on the middle of a dirt road atop the mountains for several hours, and ended in lines of people puking along the side of the road. I still do not know how I have been in Mexico and gone this long without throwing up… knock on wood. Although I did step in a large amount of animal droppings. But back to that roadblock. We were in an area where many Zapatistas reside, who are a group of people that live in the woods and fight for the rights of indigenous people.****** The roadblock was formed in wanting more power for the indigenous people. *** Seeing as we still got to visit the Mayan ruins of Palenque the following day, I still look at the experience with a secret smile. Walking down a dirt trail and squatting to form a ladies room amongst friends and sheep, running from a barking down in a rural mountain region while witnessing an actual event in the struggle for Indigenous rights is not something I can learn about in a textbook. Can I also add that I widdled my first earring out of a twig and it is currently resting inside my earlobe? Just a little souvenir to the day.
In the small village my sandals broke which was an absolute adventure to say the least. It can be really tough predicament when You are shoeless in the middle of a city whose shopping is based on the barter system and you are clearly in desperate need of a pair of shoes. Especially on the college budget. At first I didn’t care and decided to just remain barefoot until I was able to find a pair of shoes that wouldn’t cost me that week’s budget, but after a couple hours of walking through a small Mexican city I soon realized my callused feet just weren’t quiet callused enough. By the way, I have some impressive photos of the current state of my feet about 2 weeks ago, if anyone is interested in me posting pictures just leave a comment, our ancestors from hundreds of years ago would be proud! Kevin and I made friends with these hippies selling jewelry on the middle of the park and hung out with them for a couple of hours. One had made these beautiful shoes that were replicas of Aztec sandles made of leather and large turquoise rocks, but despite his drastic price cut, I just couldn’t justify buying them because, while they were the cheapest shoes I had been able to find they were still 40 USD and a half a size too small. Sigh, I’m borrowing a friends pair of sandals in the meantime until we get back to Merida and I am able to wear my sneakers. Between experiences like this, and the fact that the weather in Mexico is about 20 degrees less than I expected I have came to one life lesson that I will always remember and never let anyone tell me otherwise: NEVER PACK LIGHT. I’m telling you, it’s a bad idea. Always fill every nock and cranny of your suitcase with as much as possible and if you buy souvenirs then just donate some of your clothes to those in need. Why make yourself go without warm clothes or a backup pair of sandals? Your just putting yourself out. I’m sorry to the men in my life who always end up carrying my suitcase, I’m sorry Dad, I’m sorry Zachary, I’m sorry Weston, but if you haven’t already, I hope you get used to my heavy suitcases, because this whole pack light thing was a onetime deal and on my next trip, I plan to pack triple than what is needed! Kidding… but not really…
Oh! For those interested in archaeology I saw the Colossal heads of the Olmecs this weekend! The Olmecs were the first state-level society from Meso-America. The Colossal heads were originally believed to be Maya but were soon discovered to date back much further than the Maya.
I know I already said this, but those tacos from the Mayan women’s house were so friggin’ good. Seriously, if you were to buy a plane ticket to come to Chiapas, just eat one tortilla from this women’s house, then fly back to the States, it would be money well spent. Hands down the best thing I have ever tasted, and I don’t even like beans.
My Carnaval article was printed in the DePaulia along with a photo I took last week. I know I had written that it had been published, but at the time I was unsure if it was put into print. So, Extra! Extra! Read all about it! You will be able to pick up a copy until tomorrow when a new issue goes out.
The pictures have definitely been rolling, although I am at that overwhelming stage where I have so many that who knows when I will be able to go through them and select the ones I am going to keep. Mom, I am so sorry to disappoint or upset you, but not only do I think I am taking after Dad in the copious amount of pictures taken, but I think I may be acceding him. Although, I am too impatient and loving of food to take the time to photograph every meal I eat, and for that, I am grateful.
I have also experienced my first real world journalism experience. Someone tried to steal one of my story ideas. Sigh. Fool. N00b. Uncreative copy-cat. When I first arrived to Mexico I was corresponding back and forth with a couple of story ideas I had to write for the newspaper while I was down here. When the assistant-editor who is filling the editors position while she is in Vancouver emailed the journalism students with the week’s newspaper topics, I saw he had changed my idea from writing on the effects of tourism on Mexico to places to go to for Spring Break, I silently backed away from writing the article. Yesterday, in a conversation with my professor, I came to find out that a journalism had contacted him writing an article that was exactly on my original plan. Sigh. I contacted the assistant editor who apparently had no idea, it still has not been written for the newspaper. The person must have taken my idea to write for another publication.
So much of what I wanted to experience in Mexico happened this weekend. It was five days of adventure, experiencing different Maya culture, a completely different region than Merida. As I have yet to experience tourist season in Merida, I had not considered it to be a relatively touristy place considered to other parts of Mexico I had been to. The atmosphere in Chiapas was completely different to Merida. Chiapas seemed a lot more artistic with less of a city vibe. The types of people that gathered in the area were much more uniform than in the big city of Merida. While it was still a large collection of Mexicans, Mayans, Europeans, etc., the people possessed a much more consistent vibe.
Another first-hand experience we saw that we had been taught about was the consistent drinking throughout the day that the Mayans partake in. We were warned not to give money to children because more often than not, the money goes towards alcohol for their parents. We saw several wasted people… before 10 am. While by no means it is a rowdy drunken state of the populace, it is nonetheless a significant problem.
