some pictures from our hike

at the top of the mountain, after bad boy had left. everybody was more relaxed...


hiking up the mountain with aiyana in the back carrier (she loved it, although she did hike quite a bit by herself too)


views from the path


ixtlan in the valley below us

houses sprinkled along the mountainside

the santo tomas cathedral

people

one of my favorite things to do here is speak to people about little things in their every lives. so far, there are 3 people i speak to quite a bit, and with who i feel comfortable: Flor, the woman who owns the juice ba; our landlord, Pedro; and Halle's mom, whose name is also Flor. i spoke to her quite a bit, but not as much as the other 2.

Flor, the juice lady, and i talk about different aspects of local women's lives, which i am interested in. i asked her where women give birth, whether in hospitals or at home, how many children they have, how long they nurse them, stuff like that. she told me that nowadays, most women give birth at the local hospital, and very few do so at home. she said there are some few midwives around, but it sounds like not many. i want to ask her how much intervention there is duting birth at the hospital; i think not much, given the small size of the hospital, and the fact that it is the only one in ixtlan, but i want to check with her. she told me also that our generation of women (she is about my age) has 2, maximum 3 kids. the previous generation used to have a lot more, 8 being common, but now women are chosing to have less. many of them work outside the house, so maybe that's one reason. another reason, my friend Laura said, is quality of life. Flor told me that after 2 or 3 kids lots of women have tubal ligation, or start taking the pill, which is apparently not too expensive, in order not to get pregnant again. as for breastfeeding, she said that 3 years is common, which made me feel comfortable about aiyana still nursing.

with Pablo, i talk mostly about local people, their origins, and the ways they organize themselves. he told me that most people in ixtlan are zapotec, and so are most people in oaxacaa, but apparently zapotec is a broad category, with several languages. he also told me of other people who live in this region, who are not zapotec. some of them, you can only reach by foot, after a hike of 10hrs or more. this sounds really interesting, and makes me want to come back to explore the region further. pablo also tells me about different fiestas, what they mean, and what's expected of people. he told me, for instance, that he had to pay 4000pesos for the big fiesta celebrating ixtlan, which just took place a few days ago. this fiesta occurs yearly, and lasts 4 days. everyone is expected to contribute, although i'm sure that not many people can afford 4000 pesos, and i'm not sure how it's decided who contributes what. i've learned from pablo and some books i read, that fiestas constitute the main entertainment and relaxation for people here. but they also often put significant financial stress on families. there are so many different fiestas, private (weddings, birthdays, funerals, etc.) and public (celebrations for different saints, for the town, for the day of the dead, etc.), and people are expected to conform to certain standards, in view of maintaining or increasing their social status; so people will often go into debt and spend significant time working to recover from the expense of a fiesta.

the other Flor, Halle's mom, i don't see as much. but one night i had a really nice experience at her house. it was during ixtlan fiesta, and she asked us to come by. when we got there, a long table was set up outside. she asked us to sit and brought us dinner. several other people walked in and she also did the same with them. the people talked to her a little, ate, said goodbye and left. it turns out that she was having a sort of "open house" that day, and whoever wanted could come in and have some of her delicious food.i didn't leave after i ate, since sena and aiyana were playing with Halle, having a great time. Flor invited me to come in her house, for coffee. it was i and 7 other women, all related to Flor, sitting at the kitchen table, having coffee and sweet rolls. Flor's mother, grandmother, sisters, and aunts were there. i didn't understand everything that was being said, but i enjoyed the atmosphere a lot. these women know how to laugh! they were having so much fun, i really wished i could say something funny and join in. i felt incredibly relaxed around them, and i laughed even though i didn't understand many of the words. it was hard not to laugh when they were laughing. this was definitely one of the nicest experiences i had here. it reminded me of my women's circle back home, which i miss and can't wait to be a part of again.

friends

the girls have been making some friends, which we're all very happy about.

these two boys are our landlord's youngest sons, aged 4 and 9. they are really sweet, and their names are Pedrito (the litle one) and Jesus. we went with them to La Posada, which I wrote about earlier, and this picture was taken by the nativity scene, in the house that was hosting Baby Jesus at the time.


a tree in bloom, by our house


sena and pedrito


sena, aiyana and halle. we've been also making friends with Halle's family, but unfortunately they live a couple of blocks from us, so we don't get to see tyhem every day. their family is very warm and hospitable though, and treat us really nicely whenever we go.

halle's grandma braided her hair earlier that morning, and when we arrived sena was very impressed and she wanted her hair braided like that too. so the grandmother obliged, and i watched so now i know how to do it too.

La Posada

Christmas in Ixtlan is a little different than what we’re used to at home. To be honest, it feels good to be away from the craziness and stress of the holidays at home. I do miss being with family, and I miss the peace and silence of a snowy night at our house, but other than that I’m grateful to be here, where we can set our own rhythm, and where the commercialism and shopping frenzy from home are inexistent.

Here, Christmas is celebrated mostly on December 24th, at night. This is called La Posada, and we took part in it last night. Each village here has its own baby Jesus (which is a baby-size doll), and during La Posada what happens is that baby Jesus is brought to different villagers’ houses. At each house, he is placed in the nativity scene which is prepared in advance, and the people whose house it is are supposed to take care of him, as well as take care of the many visitors that come to their house to see him. The family whose house we went to last night provided food, drink and deserts for us and other people who stopped by. They also had a piñata for the kids, and in general they were very hospitable and opened their house up to everyone. This is expected from a family who requestes to have baby Jesus in their home during La Posada. After spending time with one family, baby Jesus is brought to another house, and then another, until at the end of the night, around 10pm, a procession of people collects him and marches (with great fanfare) to church, where the birth is finally celebrated in a religious ceremony.
We only participated in the early part of all this, the march to church being too late for Sena and Aiyana. Sena also came down with a cold last night…

Today, everyone sleeps in late, tired after last night’s festivities. Aiyana and I went for a little walk, and everything was deserted. It was very uncharacteristic, even the market was closed. Everyone is at home taking it easy with their families. I found the empty streets depressing, so we quickly returned home. Our neighbors and owners of the apartment we live in, are here, and they’re very friemdly. Music is playing, their kids are playful and come over constantly, the mother sends us food every once in a while, and in general, our place feels nice and homey and quite lively.

Sena slept quite a bit today. She has a fever, but if she follows her usual pattern, she should be feeling a lot better by tomorrow.

Happy Holidays and Peace to everybody!

celebrating Sena's birthday in Mexico

we celebrated sena's birthday yesterday, with presents, a special meal she requested (carrots, alomonds and juice made with banana, papaya, oats, and milk), a popcorn cake with 5 candles, and at night, with rides and trampoline jumping at the Ixtlan fair. sena said that she really liked her birthday, and made a special drawing to thank us for everything.

here are some pics of her and aiyana in their new outfits, which they picked at the big monday market.

aiyana sang to us...

"bad boy"

We had a weird experience today. To put it in context, I have to say that all the people we’ve met so far here in Ixtlan have been very friendly and helpful. Well, anyway, today we decided to go for a hike to the top of a nearby mountain, where there’s a lookout. Several people told us how to get there, and we followed their advice. The path to the top was beautiful, with great views of the surrounding mountains and Ixtlan in the valley. Eventually we made it to the top, which is at en elevation of 2300m. The hike took about 1hr, and the kids did surprisingly well. They were having a good time, and really enjoying the views. When we got to the lookout at the top, I was taking pictures of a monument that was put there to commemorate a fight between Zapotecs and Aztecs, which took place in the fourteen hundreds; then a man showed up, and asked us, in an unfriendly way, if we had a permit to be there. We didn’t know anything about a permit, although now both Ed and I recall reading in our tourist books that the lands here belong to the community, including the forest, and permits may be needed. Anyway, nobody we spoke to here, including the people who gave us directions, told us anything about a permit. We told the man we didn’t know about it, but we’d be happy to buy one. His manner got more aggressive. His whole demeanor was very mean and hostile. He said we’d have to pay a fine, and tried to contact someone on his radio. He then asked us where we are from. We said the US, and he got even angrier. He said that he doesn’t like the US; he said that when he was there, he wasn’t treated well, and that he doesn’t want us here, in his land. I told him in my best Spanish that we are sorry that he had a bad experience in the US, and that we would not treat people poorly. I tried to tell him that we’re peaceful people and respect others, but he was angry at Americans, and told us we shouldn’t be treated any better than he was when he was in our country. Then I told him I was actually Canadian, and showed him my passport, which he took. At this point, 7 kids in their 20s also arrived at the lookout. He went to them, and without saying anything else, started harassing them about a permit. They didn’t know anything about a permit either. They were pretty taken back with his behavior, just as we were. He gave them a hard time for a while, and then started walking away with my passport. We started walking after him, and I asked him for my passport, and he said that he’d give it to me when he is ready to. By this point, Sena and Aiyana were scared, and started crying. Ed wasn’t scared at all, and he thought that this guy couldn’t do anything to us. But I felt threatened. I told him we wanted to go now, but he said that we had to wait until he contacted the commissariat, or the police station down in Ixtlan. Hearing this was actually a relief for me, bc I was sure that the police would be much nicer than him. He was still trying to get his radio to transmit, and every once in a while, he’d repeat to us that he doesn’t like people from our country and doesn’t want us here. The kids were crying still, and I could smell alcohol in his breath. I asked him where he was in the US and what happened to him there, but he just kept repeating the same lines over and over. I told him again that I was sorry about what happened to him, and that not everyone treats Mexican poorly. He wasn’t moved though. Finally, he got in his truck and told us to wait there, bc another truck would come to get us and bring us to the commissariat in Ixtlan. He left with my passport. This was a great relief (that he left), and the kids stopped crying. We went to where the other people were (the Mexican kids he was harassing), and stared talking to them. They were also upset by his behavior, and soon enough, we were all laughing and everyone felt better. Aiyana kept referring to the man as the “bad boy”, and everyone thought this was funny. The Mexican kids ended up being really nice and helpful. After half hour wait and no truck, we all decided to walk down to Ixtlan. 10 minutes into our walk we heard a truck coming up; it was the truck he had called for us, and the driver ended up being super nice and friendly. He was smiling, and told us almost apologetically that yes, we did need a permit, but he knows that there’s no way to know about it until you get to the top of the mountain (where there is a sign). We told him about the other guy’s behavior and he just shook his head. He said that he was drinking. He asked if we wanted a drive back down the mountain, and we all got in his truck. Things were going really well, when we saw “bad boy” on the side of the road. Now he also had a huge machete hanging at his waist. Our driver got out of the truck to talk to him and get my passport. Again, the guy was talking in a very angry tone, and soon he started arguing with one of the Mexican kids that were with us. Things cooled off pretty fast though, bc it was clear that he was the only one who was out of line. The driver got my passport from him and we started driving again. When we got to Ixtlan, we went to the ecotourism office, where I guess we should’ve gotten our permit, and we spoke to Yesenia, the woman who’s in charge there and who knows us well. She was appalled to hear about what happened to us, and she said she’d speak to her boss about the guy. She made us pay 60 pesos, about 5 dollars, for the permit, but then when the driver left, she gave us our money back, which was a little weird. She said she just wanted them to see that we paid, but that we don’t really have to. Finally, I told her that I did not want to get “bad boy” in trouble; it seems that he’s got enough problems already, but clearly his behavior was over the top, and maybe someone should talk to him about that.

So I have a lot of feelings about this incident. I felt fear at the time, especially when it was just us and him on top of the mountain. Ed said that he wasn’t afraid at all, and I know he wasn’t. But I’m not used to people being so aggressive, and I felt intimidated. However, once we were physically away from him, I feel really sorry for this guy. It was very clear that he is angry and hurt about what happened to him in the US, and he’s dealing with it by taking control the only way he can, by harassing us because we’re American. I’ve been thinking about how unfair it is, that when we come here, people are so friendly and nice to us, so respectful and giving. Yet when a Mexican comes to the US, their experience is so very different. Most people around here that have gone to the US have done so illegally; they’ve worked hard while they were there, and got paid very little money, most of which they send back here to their families. There’s so much discrimination and negativity towards Mexican people when they go to the US. Ed and I both spoke to different people, all of which had a difficult experience in one way or another. Now that I think of it, I am upset at how some people in the US treat Mexicans, and how this gives a bad name to everyone. I am actually very surprised that more people here do not feel animosity towards Americans. Too bad that “bad boy” picked us to take his anger out on; as Ed said, people who travel like us are probably less likely to mistreat people who come to the US.

some random pics

aiyana made a little friend while i was buying groceries one day

altar for the Virgen de la Soledad

time to myself

today i have 2 hours for myself. i went and found a spot with a good view of the mountains and sat there. i just like to stare at the mountains. it brings me so much peace. it's like staring at the ocean. i lose track of everything else...

around ixtlan

ed took some of these pictures early in the morning, around sunrise

this is the view from our apartment (oh yeah, we moved again a few days ago, hopefuly for the last time. we are now in a fully furnished apartment, with private bath and kitchen)

the mountains, shortly before sunset

sena and aiyana, walking around, looking for a fiesta

how cute are these kids?

here are some pictures from yesterday's kids parade. some of the children were dressed in traditional costumes, and some were carrying live rabbits and ducks as they marched through the streets.

these are taken in the kindergarten, before the march began

one fiesta after another

i guess we came here at the right time. there's a party, or fiesta, going on every day it seems. over the past 2 days, it's been fiesta de la soledad, a celebration of a local saint. they had fireworks, marching bands (very loud, and we followed them around on the streets of ixtlan because the kids wanted to); yesterday they had a thing for the kids at the soledad church, where they gave out tons of treats. sugar and artificial colors were abundant once again, but fortunately they also gave out tangerines and popcorn, and i was able to persuade the kids to only have one sweet and give the rest away.

tonight starts the fiesta of ixtlan. each village has its own fiesta, and ixtlan's will last 3 days i think. vendors have already set their stalls in the streets, and the carnival rides are being prepared. sena and aiyana are especially excited about the rides, and they'll get to try them tonight when the fiesta officially begins.

this morning there was a little party at the kindergarden. it was really cute, some of the kids were dressed up in costumes; the kids had a procession on the streets, and everyone stopped to look at them. sena and aiyana participated too, and i took some pics, which i will post later.

market day in ixtlan

aiyana, in front of a small convenience store, with a bag of potatoes we just bought at the market


the market, which is at its busiest on mondays, is both in and out of doors, as you can see in the following pictures.

pictures from the fiesta

lollypops for the first time. aiyana was a huge mess afterwards, with sticky drool running all down her chin, neck and chest.


sena was really good at hitting the pinata. she made a dent in its head, and got one leg off. no candy fell out though...


playing games with all the other kids. the big girl next to aiyana is simone, our american neighbor. she is 10, and loves playing with sena and aiyana. her little brother hobbs, who is 5, also plays with them.


the woman in the red shirt is the owner of the hotel we were staying at. she is also the grandmother of the litle girl whose bday was being celebrated,

and here is the birthday girl, sofia, and her mother. she was really sweet and wanted to give everyone kisses.

ocean dream

last night, i had a beautiful dream that reminded me of this line from Ikkyu:
"We live in a cage of light, an amazing cage"

my dream was called "Love is an ocean"

in my dream, you and i were walking on a road, out into the ocean
a road with incredible views of light reflecting off blue, calm water
i could not believe it, a road out in the ocean?
i knew it would have to end, which it did, eventually
and then there we were, at the end,
you and i looking out into the ocean,
looking into all that Love

fiesta

we were invited to a birthday party for a one year old girl last night. her grandmother was the owner of the hotel we stayed at, and she asked us to come to the fiesta. wow, what a party!!

it was really fun for the kids, and it was crazy. they had 3 or 4 pinatas, made of ceramic, and the kids were hitting them so hard with some wooden bats, and when they finally broke, everybody rushed over in a mad stampede. they also had all kinds of games, which were really fun, and borderline dangerous, especially for the smaller kids. only one kid got hurt, when a pinata fell on his head (remember it is made of clay), and he was slightly bleeding. he was the son of the american professors, but nobody was too upset bc they are used to it. i have to admit i was feeling pretty protective of the kids...

the other thing about this party was the amount of gifts being given out to the guests, and most of all, the amount of sugar being consumed by everyone. wow! i have never seen so much sugar eaten in one sitting...
it started off with softdrinks (water was not available, until i got a bottle), then sweet tamales, then a huge cake with pink icing, then multi-colored jello colored with synthetic colors, then two types of very sweet hot drinks, and i think that was it. oh, no, i missed the prizes that fell out of the pinatas: lollypops, candy, andother sweets i didn¨t recognize except for the artificial colors.

i kind of expeceted this, so i told the kids before the party that they can have one sweet thing, whatever they want. so they had their first lollipops ever. they were really good about not asking for all the other stuff.

but in any case, the party was really high energy, really fun, and we all feel that it was a great experience. sena wants to have a party like that for her birthday, but with a carrot and bean cake instead of sugar. i don¨t know if i am up for that, but we¨ll do something special for sure.

is it really december?

i've never had a december like this. even though it's dry season, flowers are blooming and they're beautiful. yesterday i saw a peach tree in blossom - it was so lovely agaist the clear blue sky.

the girls and i, walking around the village

early morning - a street near our hotel

these little flags are strung everywhere. i find find them so joyful, the way they blow in the wind on the clear blue background

lovely flowers in a garden

peace

falling in love with ixtlan

i'm really starting to like this place. i loke the simple rythms here, the people, the food. i like how small it is, how everyone knows each other (although i do like my privacy too); mostly though i like the mountains, the clear air, the blue sky, and the incredible views. it almost feels unreal...

here are some more pictures:

iglesia santo tomas, stands in the ceter of ixtlan

i love this picture of sena sitting by the church

sena asked me to take this picture of her and aiyana

a man walking in front of our hotel

the mountains, before sunset