This Week in Copales, Ayotoxco

(Originally posted July 2007)

Hi Friends and Family,

I’m enjoying a sunny, Sunday afternoon in Cuetzalan to go shopping, grab a bite to eat and of course, catch up with all of you via Internet for a few hours. I traveled here with half my group this morning, which for us is a 45 minute walk through the mango trees to arrive at the paved road where we wait for a bus to take us to Rayon and then another to Cuetzalan. Sometimes the bus comes, sometimes you wait. Today it took us about 2.5 hours. Well-worth it.  

I feel like I’ve been eating all morning all of the foods I’ve been craving all week. I started with a 30 cent ice cream cone then moved on to my new favorite food here in Mexico: Elotes. I’ve been taught never to eat food off the street cause it could make me sick, same with brushing my teeth in the water here, but forget it,…it’s too good and my stomach is pretty tough (so far). Sorry, Mom. I might need to pass by another elotes stand before we leave to have another cob of corn, covered in mayonnaise, then powered cheese sprinkled with chili powder. The coca cola I drank was also very fabulous.

The food in Copales is also quite good. I’ve been eating lots of tortillas…lots. We eat lots of fruit and juices, there’s not a market to buy fruit, you just go pick it off the tree. If it’s high up in the branches, one of the twenty kids that follow us around everywhere is usually more than willing to climb to the top of a tree to knock some down. Of course, there’s lots of beans and rice and sometimes eggs. Families have been serving us chicken from time to time as well. The coffee is really good here, I’ve already bought some to share with you all back in Minnesota.  

This week has been pretty relaxed as we’ve mostly been doing the prep work for the projects, getting to know more people in the community and beginning daily workshops in the afternoons.  

To prepare for the projects, we’ve visited all the houses that will receive stoves or watch catchments to make sure we place them in the best location and to get the materials like gravel, sand, soil and ash to each place. Getting to know the families has been fun, we get to chat with them, play with the kids and we’ve been eating many of our meals in their houses. We´ve also made a few trips into the city of Ayotoxco (35 minute walk + 15 minute bus ride or a 2 hour walk) to purchase the other materials (like cement, wire webbing etc).

Hauling the gravel, sand and soil has been a new challenge for us. I usually think of gravel as something that comes in a dump truck or at the very least in a wheelbarrow. But, in Copales, gravel comes from the river and is carried up a large steep hill and carried 2km to the houses of Copales. I feel so weak when Claudio, a 78 year old man sprints past me carrying double the load that I’m carrying. Or when a barefoot small child, arrives at the top of the hill and heads back to the bottom for more while I’m still recovering, huffing and puffing (not to mention, reapplying sunscreen).  

Another peak of life in Copales and having a river nearby are afternoons at the “beach”. Copales is hot, really hot, really hot and sunny. The river has a quick current but is fabulous to rinse off the sweat and dirt in the afternoon and play with the kids. Although, the sweat and dirt are promptly returned to my body as we climb back up the hill again.  

The views from around the town are amazing. The whole area is covered in hills as far as you can see. Everything is lush and green. The community is spread over several hills which means lots of walking up steep hills on small paths. My legs are getting stronger but the kids still beat us all to the top. They have no problem sprinting up and down.

The transportation around the Sierra Norte de Puebla is getting us where we need to be. We walk…a lot. Other than that, we catch rides when we can. I’ve spent more time in the back of a pick up truck than I expected. But then again, the pick up truck is the bus, the public transportation between some towns. And anyone or anything is allowed to ride. I’ve sat next to chickens, roosters and other cargo.  

I’m starting to learn a few words of Nahua, but the language is really difficult. I can follow conversations which are in Spanish and Nahua. My Spanish has certainly been put to the test here. Only one of my group members speaks Spanish as a second language, the rest are all native speakers. I’m doing pretty well, I think. The only problems I’ve had communicating are with some of the elderly women that don’t speak any Spanish (only Nahuatl). Even that hasn’t been a problem since Claudio (the President of the Elders Committee) visits those houses with us and my co-facilitador, Yssel, studies Nahuatl too. I’m picking up a lot of new vocabulary in Spanish, well, honestly, I don’t even know the words for the construction materials that I’m buying in English, but I’m learning them in Spanish.  

I think that’s all I have to share this week. I hope ya’ll are enjoying the weekly Updates. I’ll have another next Sunday or Monday. We’re attending a conference/event for one of the big indigenous rights organizations here in the Sierra Norte next weekend and hopefully I’ll find some Internet again after that. I hope you are all week and enjoying summer! Talk to you soon!

All my love,

Megan