Seguro...?

Okay! Back!

Whew, what a weekend!!!! I'm still trying to get used to the social schedule here...people don't go out until around 12 am and no one starts dancing until about 12:30 or 1...! Que loco!

To completely switch gears...I knew this Mexican man in the U.S. who told me there's no welfare in Mexico...at the time I found it hard to believe. After living here for just a week, let me tell you that I no longer question the validity of his words. He described his life in Mexico as a place where you make it because you have to...there's nothing to catch you if you slip. Looking back on that conversation, I'm finding more truth in it every day...especially in my experiences. Just visiting the neighborhood that VAMOS serves was an eye-opening experience. There's obviously nothing to catch these people or else they wouldn't be living in aluminum lean-tos that most Americans would describe as unpleasant outhouses. This is not a "safe" country...and I don't mean that in the sense that I'm expecting to be mugged around every corner...I mean this is a place far removed from my culture in the U.S. I feel like in America, there is a proper place for everything and a very proper way to act in every situation. Americans, at least in my experience, adhere more or less to speed limit signs and generally view the police as trustworthy. Here I feel like for many people there is no safety net...I'm thinking of the story of Lupe's son in Mexican Lives. He was driving around with his friend in a pick-up truck when the police pulled him over and ticketed him for no apparent reason. When he couldn't pay the fine, they threw him in jail and his mother had to scrap together the funds to get him out. Apparently it was (is?) a common practice in Mexico for the police to pull people over and try to get their victims to pay them off so they won't end up in Jorge's situation. As a read that story, I found it hard to believe...but yet, there it is. There is no safety net here...no certainty that life will continue in any kind of sensible order.

LOS NINOS!!!

Okay...back from Xochicalco. It was rainy but at last the sun peeked through, and for a bit we enjoyed the most terrific view of an ethereally beautiful landscape. No hay palabras...a picture's worth a thousand, right? I'll try to post some if I can figure it out. Anywhos...the school. Ugh! It's so frustrating feeling like nothing I write can come close to describing it. I was so excited to go because I'd felt like I hadn't really seen the "real Mexico" yet. I live in a gated community here with what I consider to be an upper middle class family...and while I know the middle class is as much a part of Mexican society as the lower classes, I feel that what I came here to see and become a part of was the lower class. Now that I'm re-reading that, it sounds awkward and weird. I guess what I mean is that the Mexicans I have known in the United States come from communities like the one VAMOS serves. I came here to see the places they call home. I've seen countless films and photos documenting Latin American poverty...but it didn't seem so real to me. Holding an idea in your mind that you know must be true and experiencing it firsthand are two very different things. I wanted to come here and see for myself the kinds of communities that produce the complicated personalities that I struggled to make sense of in the U.S. Anyway...here I am off track again...VAMOS! I know this sounds SO cheesey but it felt a bit like coming home...like finally THIS is what I've been looking for and waiting to find. The kids are SO sweet and adorable. I wish I could get to know them all, but I'm helping Rosi with the youngest group of four and five year olds. Some of them are so shy (mostly the little girls) and I found myself so frustrated that I couldn't really communicate with them. I need to work on my pronunciation because even when I would speak to them in Spanish, they would look at me funny like they didn't understand me. It was very difficult to understand them as well...It's funny though, even without being able to understand exactly what they're saying, their personalities shine through. I think Jaziel is probably the most outgoing one...he's always pulling Genaro and Alan into his mischeivous activities. They'll be a handful...I've never worked with such a large group of such young children before...but I'm really looking forward to hopefully making a difference in their lives, however small it may be.

Historia de Maggie...

Whew! Or as Minnesotans would say, "Ufta." (I'm learning more than Spanish here ;)) What a week! I can't believe I've been here that long, and at the same time it seems like so much longer. One week ago today I was on my flight to Houston, and that girl already seems a little foreign to me. I came here for adventure and to be melded and re-formed by this country and already I can feel it happening.
Enough of the sentiments...time to catch up on the events of the week. Thursday we went to VAMOS, the school where we'll be doing our service learning. I wish I would have written about it right away while it was fresh in my mind. It's one of those things that I don't feel my writing skills are up to describing.
Maybe first you should know a little bit about me before I try to explain. For example...it might be useful to know that if you ask my friends, "What makes Maggie do her crazy happy dance?" there is about a 94% probability that you will get one of two answers, "Anthropology" or "Mexico." The anthropology obsession dates back to about sophomore year of high school when my parents bought me A Very Short Introduction to Cultural Anthropology for Christmas. (Good book! Find it and read it!) Oddly I can't remember why I asked for that book to begin with...probably because as an adolescent I spent way too much time pondering the strange behaviors of my peers (I was kind of an awkward kid). But anyway, cultural anthropology and I have become very good friends over the past five years ;).
Mexico on the other hand is a more recent preoccupation. At the risk of sounding cliche and naive, I will say that I've always wanted to help people. That's why I became an anthropologist...because if we can understand the people who need help, we have a whole lot greater chance of getting them what they need, right? Junior year of high school, a friend dragged me into a history fair project with her about Che Guevara...and so began an ongoing love affair with all things Latin American. After about two years, when I graduated from high school and needed to find an extra summer job, I snagged one as a waitress (server? to be more p.c. I suppose) at a local family diner. Almost the entire back-of-house staff was Mexican....many of them undocumented immigrants who spoke limited English. I remember being a bit disappointed that everyone was Mexican and not from a more "exciting" country like Honduras or Nicaragua that I didn't know much about :O. I guess that's because when Americans think of Latin America, Mexico is foremost in their minds...I think we know more (or think we know more) about Mexico than any other Latin American country, I suppose because there are so many Mexicans in the U.S. Anywhos...I suppose the greatest influence was that I dated a Mexican immigrant for about a year and got to know his family and friends in the immigrant community. I think just seeing that and being a part of something so foreign to my own life experiences was what hooked me :). I've lived a pretty sheltered life in a very conservative area, and seeing the real lives and real concerns of a marginalized subculture just made everything so much more human to me I suppose...
UGH! I'm not done but we have to go meet Charlie for our Xochicalco tour.
To be continued...(Ser continuado...? I think I may just be making up Spanish words now...:P)

No hay palabras...

This is weird.
It's been what...? Sixish years since I've had anything akin to a blog...not since the glorious days of xanga...! Who remembers that nowadays? I guess I should resign myself to the fact that I'm going to be rambling a lot these first few days as I stumble around trying to re-encounter my voice. I feel like I haven't really written in years...
Okay...so for whoever is reading this and cares to know...I'm starting this blog as a class assignment. I'm studying abroad in (!) Mexico (!) this semester and as part of a service-learning course, I have to keep some kind of journal about my experiences, thoughts, etc. Anywhos...so here I am about to embark on what I hope will be a an enlightening experience. So far Mexico is beautiful of course y no hay palabras para explicarlo.
Well now I'm tired...buenas noches!