Update #1
So I want to post my updates here so I have a record of them. I'm going to post the first three I wrote right now. So there will be a big flood.
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Hey All!
I'm writing this while laying in a hammock in the courtyard of the Mexico
Solidarity Network house....Not a bad way to start my stay here!
I arrived in Mexico City yesterday afternoon around 4:00pm Mexico time.
During my layover in LA I met two of the people from my program, Nani and
Rachel. Nani is a vegan surfer chick from Hawaii who teaches yoga and
Rachel is a funny, assertive woman from the Bay Area. When we got to
Mexico we met up with another kid from the program, Jack. Jack is a very
down to earth guy from Washington DC. We all caught a taxi to a bus
station, found out it was the wrong station, then got into another taxi
to the right station. The bus we bought tickets for didn't leave until
9:45pm, so we hung out at the station, ate and people watched. We almost
missed our bus looking for the right gate, but managed to make it on for
the 12 hour ride from Mexico City to San Cristobal, Chiapas.
The bus ride was an adventure! The first hour was getting out of the very
congested center of Mexico City and we all fell asleep (or attempted to)
after the second hour. I remember waking up around 1 and looking out the
window just as we came out of a tunnel and looking down off of a cliff
into a valley filled with the lights of houses. At about 3 I woke up again
when we stopped at the equivilant of a roadside diner. We stepped off of
the bus into incredibly humid, 100 degree weather. I still don't know
exactly where we were, but it was all incredibly surreal, especially
walking past the private guard who had an uzi in his hands. Around 6 I
woke up again as we were driving through a very dense, very green forest.
The sun was just rising and there was a thick layer of mist in the
trees...It was beautiful. Around 7 or 8 I woke up as we passed by a
military check point.
We got to San Cristobal at about 10am and hiked over to the central house
of the program. I showered (it felt WONDERFUL!) then we went off to get
some lunch and explore. More students are arriving at 4pm and everyone
should be here by 10 or 11 tonight. There are 17 students total. Around
7pm we're heading over to La Universidad de la Tierra where we'll be
staying for the first week. UniTierra is about 15 minutes from downtown
San Cristobal. Tomorrow we're having our orientation then coming back into
the city to look around.
San Cristobal is awesome. Lots of narrow streets filled with restaurants
and stores and the occasional big plaza or church. There is still a lot of
grafitti around the town that says things like "Viva Zapata"...There are
also a lot of indigenous women and children selling things, and some who
are begging..I'll definitely start taking pictures of the town tomorrow.
The biggest things to get used to so far have been the armed guards and
police that are pretty common...Its wierd seeing a group of police
standing around in a plaza with their big guns. Also remembering not to
flush the toilet paper but to put it in the trash can next to the toilet-
Its hard to break 20 years of habit!
I'm not sure when I'll have internet access next, but hopefully the next
update will include pictures!
Hasta Luego!
Morgan Weinert
------------------------------------
Hey All!
I'm writing this while laying in a hammock in the courtyard of the Mexico
Solidarity Network house....Not a bad way to start my stay here!
I arrived in Mexico City yesterday afternoon around 4:00pm Mexico time.
During my layover in LA I met two of the people from my program, Nani and
Rachel. Nani is a vegan surfer chick from Hawaii who teaches yoga and
Rachel is a funny, assertive woman from the Bay Area. When we got to
Mexico we met up with another kid from the program, Jack. Jack is a very
down to earth guy from Washington DC. We all caught a taxi to a bus
station, found out it was the wrong station, then got into another taxi
to the right station. The bus we bought tickets for didn't leave until
9:45pm, so we hung out at the station, ate and people watched. We almost
missed our bus looking for the right gate, but managed to make it on for
the 12 hour ride from Mexico City to San Cristobal, Chiapas.
The bus ride was an adventure! The first hour was getting out of the very
congested center of Mexico City and we all fell asleep (or attempted to)
after the second hour. I remember waking up around 1 and looking out the
window just as we came out of a tunnel and looking down off of a cliff
into a valley filled with the lights of houses. At about 3 I woke up again
when we stopped at the equivilant of a roadside diner. We stepped off of
the bus into incredibly humid, 100 degree weather. I still don't know
exactly where we were, but it was all incredibly surreal, especially
walking past the private guard who had an uzi in his hands. Around 6 I
woke up again as we were driving through a very dense, very green forest.
The sun was just rising and there was a thick layer of mist in the
trees...It was beautiful. Around 7 or 8 I woke up as we passed by a
military check point.
We got to San Cristobal at about 10am and hiked over to the central house
of the program. I showered (it felt WONDERFUL!) then we went off to get
some lunch and explore. More students are arriving at 4pm and everyone
should be here by 10 or 11 tonight. There are 17 students total. Around
7pm we're heading over to La Universidad de la Tierra where we'll be
staying for the first week. UniTierra is about 15 minutes from downtown
San Cristobal. Tomorrow we're having our orientation then coming back into
the city to look around.
San Cristobal is awesome. Lots of narrow streets filled with restaurants
and stores and the occasional big plaza or church. There is still a lot of
grafitti around the town that says things like "Viva Zapata"...There are
also a lot of indigenous women and children selling things, and some who
are begging..I'll definitely start taking pictures of the town tomorrow.
The biggest things to get used to so far have been the armed guards and
police that are pretty common...Its wierd seeing a group of police
standing around in a plaza with their big guns. Also remembering not to
flush the toilet paper but to put it in the trash can next to the toilet-
Its hard to break 20 years of habit!
I'm not sure when I'll have internet access next, but hopefully the next
update will include pictures!
Hasta Luego!
Morgan Weinert