The cost of things…

I`ve mentioned before that things are a lot less expensive here.  My apartment for example.  Or a meal in a restaurant.  Here are some more examples:

Movies: Movies generally cost about $3-4.50.  And these are American movies.  I can`t think of any reason why they would be so much more expensive in the US.  If anything, they should be more expensive here.  After all, they have to translate the dialogue into Spanish in order to add the subtitles.  Sure, the employees of the movie theatre get paid less here than in the US but there has to be more than that.  All I know is that Americans are getting robbed when the go to the movies.

Food:  This is what I bought at the grocery store the other day: 4 avocados, 3 onions, 4 green peppers, 2 mangos, 18 oranges, 1 pineapple and 11 bananas.  Cost?  Nine dollars.  And that was at the grocery store.  Had I gone to a market, I´m sure it would have been less.

Dance lessons:  I`ve seen flyers all over town for salsa dance lessons.  So I decided to sign up.  I don`t expect to get very good, but I figure I`ll have some fun and get some exercise.  Cost of the lessons?  About $45-50 for 8 weeks.  Now you probaby thought that was for one class a week.  If so, you`d be wrong.  That`s for 5 classes a week!  So a total of 40 classes for only $45-50.  The same number of classes in the US would probably cost $400-500!!!

Finding my rhythm

Mark Twain is quoted as saying “My life has been filled with terrible misfortunes…..most of which never happened.”  A quote I can relate to quite well.  This is a preface to saying that yesterday I didn´t go to Estancia Infantil.  I chickened out.  I couldn´t figure out how to explain, in a langauge I can barely speak, “I want to help here but I don´t know what I can do because I can barely speak the language”. 

So today.  Today normally would have involved Janet teaching English to the kids and me helping her however I can.  But she and her husband Paul are back in the States for two weeks.  So today was another day in which I could show up and try to explain what I want to do. 

I dawdled.  I finally arrived around 11:00 and saw the one thing I didn´t think existed, the one thing that could make this all easier – another volunteer!  Her name is Clare, she´s from England and she normally volunteers at Estancia on Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning (not sure what she was doing there today on a Tuesday).  Anyway, she told me that she normally plays with the kids.  Perfect!  If there´s one thing I´ve always been good at, it´s playing with kids.  And I came prepared with a frisbee and a jump rope, both of which were big hits with the kids.  And since there´s already another volunteer doing what I like doing, I don´t need to explain this to anyone.  I can just show up and do my thing.  Funny how we worry about things and then they turn out much better than we could have ever expected.

Taking out the garbage…

Garbage:  Here in Oaxaca and perhaps everywhere in Mexico, you have to take the grabage out yourself and put it in the truck.  But how to know when to do that?  Fortunately, my neighbor (Fernando) speaks good English so I was able to ask him.  Garbage days are Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.  Sometime between 8-11.  Fernando told me that I should just listen for the bell from the garbage truck.  Sounds simple enough but given how far back from the street my apartment is, I´m not sure that´s possible.  I may have to just stand outside some Sunday morning and when I see the garbage truck coming, run back inside and grab mine.

Fernando:  Speaking of Fernando….I don´t know much about him.  He looks to be in his early 40s.  It´s quite rare for a Mexican to live on their own.  Perhaps he´s not Mexican and is actually from another country and that´s why he has his own apartment.  Anyway, when I moved in the landlady showed me where Fernando broke a window to get into his apartment when he forgot his keys.  So how did I meet Fernando?  He had once again locked himself out!   

Ice Cream:  My guidebook mentions several interesting flavors of ice cream in Mexico including avocado, corn meal, beer and one I wouldn´t try even if I wasn´t vegetarian – pork rind.  Until I got to Oaxaca though, I hadn´t seen any interesting ice cream flavors except for Cheese which one of my teachers in Guanajuato said was more of a cream cheese than say swiss cheese.  Here in Oaxaca, I have finally encountered some interesting flavors.  Notably several variations of Mezcal ice cream (mezcal being an alcohol drink similar to Tequilla).  Also a tequilla ice cream.  I´ve also seen Tuna ice cream (I´m really hoping that Tuna in Spanish doesn´t mean what it does in English; otherwise that sounds like one nasty tasting ice cream).  The other day, I decided to give one of the Mezcal ice creams a try, specifically Mezcal Cappuccino.  How did it taste?  About what you´d expect.  Something that was worth trying just to say you did but never again.

A note on photos:  BTW, I wanted to mention that my photos in Mexico have focused on things that I find beautiful.  I sometimes fear that I am giving a false impression of Mexico.  There are certainly plenty of ugly things – piles of litter, run-down buildings, etc.  I´ve decided not to take pictures of those things.  I tend to agree with Renoir who stated that he painted “pretty things” because there was enough ugliness in the world – what was wrong with bringing more beauty into it? So…you probably won´t see many photos of Oaxaca.  Although there are many wonderful things about it, I definitely wouldn`t describe it as an attractive city.

Responding to comments/questions

I wanted to start by responding to a few comments/questions that have been posted: 

• My sisters were wondering about the woman in the photos.  Yes, that is my friend Hazel.
• My Aunt Marilyn wondered if there was a video of me dancing.  Sadly no.  Afterwards, a Canadian couple approached me and said that they thought I did quite well on the dance floor.  But they didn`t have their camera with them to take photos.  There are photos of me dancing with the belly dancer but I don`t have copies of them.
• My Aunt Marilyn was also wondering about the hot chocolate.  Honestly, it didn`t taste any different than any other hot chocolate I`ve had in Mexico.  But I also haven`t had authentic Oaxacan hot chocolate.  I keep ordering mine with milk.  Authentic Oaxacan hot chocolate is made with water.
•  Finally, there`s this comment from my Aunt Marilyn (whose daughter Dani has lived in Chile for about 13 years).  “The poverty is sad, and yet, in my experiences with poverty in Chile, I have learned that, even though people are very poor, they are often very content and happy. They learn to be content with what they have, unlike those who have so much more than what is needed. That often leads to a desire for more & more, instead of appreciation for what there is & contentment therein. So it is not all bad. But education is so important, so that part it sad.”

I agree.  Studies have shown that the average Mexican is just as happy as the average American.  So I think we need to be careful in assuming that someone who is poor can`t also be happy.  Still, it´s hard.  There`s so much poverty here in Oaxaca, much more than I`ve seen in other places in Mexico.  It`s hard when you see little kids wandering around at all hours selling stuff.  Or asking strangers for money while their mom or dad sits nearby, playing a musical instrument.  What does that do to someone`s psyche to hear repeatedly “no, no, no, sorry, not interested”.  And the wasted potential is hard to take as well.  Children that are eager and gifted but have no chance of gaining an education because they can`t afford it.  Or maybe their parents need them to work to help support the family.  I don`t know what the answer is.  I have heard that the elite in Mexico like things the way they are.  After all, if you don`t educate the poor people, they have no way of taking your place (or your son or daughter`s place)

Monday = V-Day: Tomorrow I start my volunteering in earnest.  I hope.  I`ve been fighting a nasty cold so it really depends on how I feel tomorrow.  Regardless, the whole situation feels a little odd.  There`s not a single person who`s expecting me to show up tomorrow.  The first time I was at Estancia Infantil, the adults were mostly in meetings.  The second time, they didn`t seem to be there at all.  I did talk with the doctor (who provides medical care to the children and their parents) and he seemed to think my volunteering was fine.  But I have no idea if he actually works at Estancia or if he just shows up occasionally to help out.  And there´s still the question of what I can do.  The language barrier makes it so hard.  Playing with the kids is one option since that doesn´t require much language.  I can also help the older kids with their English homework and possibly the younger ones with Spanish homework.  I could also help with math homework since math is a universal language.  And I could teach the kids more English.  So there are options.  But I have a feeling that it will be a while before I get into a good rhythm.   

Photos from Guanajuato

Finally got around to posting photos from Guanajuato.  I gave up on Flickr.  After trying a bunch of other sites, I went with Webshots.  Still not happy with it so I`m going to keep looking.  Couldn`t figure out how to add descriptions to the photos so if there are any that you`re curious about let me know.  I think the “dog” photo may be the best picture I´ve ever taken.  Just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562774538MMNEpK?start=0