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TRIP TO MEXICO AND CENTRAL
AMERICA
Notice to the
Reader: What you read here has been written mostly in
bus stations while I was waiting. So, forgive me for all the mistakes! I will
fix them some days!
Arriving Mexico City
6-1-2001, Arriving Cuarnavaca
6/7/01, Five days later
Monday, June 18,
2001
Friday, June 22, 2001
Sunday, June 24, 2001
Tuesday, June 26,
2001
Saturday, June 30,
2001
Thursday, July 05,
2001
Guatemala
Costa Rica
Political system
as I am learning it
(updated
7-20)
Important terms
and things to know
My email is kfkashef@yahoo.com
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5-31-2001, Arriving
Mexico City
This
morning, I realized that so far it has only been just a weekend and so much has
happened. Actually, so far I have not even tried to make it a very adventurous
trip!
Let’s see,
starting Thursday, I went to the El Centro of Mexico City with a friend of mine.
I met a guy from Germany, he happened to be very "UN-German," – very interesting
and fun. He has been traveling for more than 7 months going around the world.
The last part of his trip was traveling through South America and Africa. His
trip around the world had completely changed his view on everything. He was just
coming back from Pakistan, Iran, and India. He was saying that for the first
time in his life he realized what poverty is and how unfortunate some people
around the world are. He had found a passion for the rest of the people and it
was really noble. He was saying that he could not wait until he gets to Germany
and work as a social worker. He said that most people that come to these
countries, such as Mexico, their first impression is that "Wow, things are so
cheap here!" But they don’t realize that most people living here can’t afford go
to restaurants, or wear fancy cloths. When he criticized the people spending so
much on food, while other natives don’t even get the minimum nutritious, I felt
really ashamed because the same night, my friend and I, spent about $20 on a
dinner!
Anyway…this was supposed to be
my diary!
It is just
amazing how tolerance Mexican people are. People are so easy going and accept
you the way you are. They never bother each other, never intrude, and very much
aware of this – well maybe never is a strong use of word! I have too many
examples to prove this to myself…
People are
simply very warm and friendly. One of the days we went to a restaurant with some
other people. Even though, I could not even speak their language, it was still
so easy to mix with them and feel to be one of them. I still don’t know if I was
from some other country and not U.S, I would still get the same treatment but I
don’t think it has too much to do with it.
I went to
my friend’s house. He recently had a baby. It was very nice to see them. For the
first time I got to talk for about an hour and that was the highlight of the
day. Asking about my marriage status, women rights in Iran, etc.
I spent a
day going to the market and just waking. When I was walking I thought about lots
of things. Now I don’t remember many of those thoughts!
6-1-2001, Arriving
Cuarnavaca
I finally
got to Cuarnavaca. This is the place I’ll be staying for a month and going to
the language school. Everything at the school was very organized. As I arrived
they made me take a test. When I got my test back everything was marked red; I
must not have done too well! J
Then I
went to my host family. They are very nice. Later I found out that all the host
families have to be nice. It is part of the responsibilities! They eat with me.
Listen to my ultra-mal Spanish and correct parts of it. The food is very nice.
For the first time after many years I am getting three complete courses of
meals! Hallelujah! Then after the third day, I started cutting down!
A few
things about the family initially got my attractions:
Very bad
progress so far!!!
Monday,
June 18, 2001
Ok, I started the third week
of school today. Last weekend was kind of fun. I felt it was very easy. I had my
first Spanish history class. It was great. The instructor is an old University
professor who used to teach at the University of Mexico City. She talks so
slowly and clearly that I think even if you don’t know any Spanish you will
understand what she is talking about. It is also a great place to talk about the
history we know! Last week I ended up talking about Iran for about half an hour
(ok maybe talking is not exactly the precise world to use) – actually she puts
you at ease so much that makes speaking in Spanish a bit easier.
Tuesday classes are still going on. They are
about recent news and events in Mexico.
I am still not sure what to do at the end of this month. I think I am
going to Chiapas for a week. I was actually thinking of staying in Mexico and
discovering the country instead of going anywhere else. Well, that is an open
option. The more I hang around the more I like this place. Last weekend I went
to Mexico City and visited Coyacan and a few other places. In there, I met a
girl who could play “Flauta” beautifully. I bought a “Flauta” from her. She was
supposed to teach me a song the day after but I could not make it. Maybe next
week. I was thinking yesterday that if I find a Salsa, and flout class along
with a language class I might actually stay in Mexico the whole time!
Let
me tell you where I am sitting now! I am actually sitting on a balcony and it is
hailing outside. It is very dark outside and I just hear the rain. It is very
nice and it smells very good!
I
played soccer past Friday. It was an interesting experience. There were about 18
American kids and about 12 Mexicans. We had about ten girls from school. When
the Mexican guys saw the girls they choked out! They complained that we couldn’t
play with those girls! We made up two teams and boys those girls were
impressive! Toward the end the only things you could hear was “Pasela a Amy” or
“Pasela a Stacey” J By the end of the game we were
all so muddy. The field was completely wet and it was really hard to run without
clits. One the way back I got to know the Taxi driver. I offered him exchanging
my English for his Spanish knowledge and he easily accepted it. Today we had our
first study session. Overall, we spent about 2 hours but it was just English.
His English is much better than my Spanish! Talking with his was very
educational. He was saying why he illegally entered to USA a few times. U.S does
not give visa to anyone that does not have some large amount of money in his or
her bank account (20,000 pesos). According to him some days they are very easy
and friendly and give visas to all the applicants and the next day they reject
every one with no reason at all. The applicants must also prove that they have a
house or some sort of property which very much discriminate against the poor. In
addition, he was saying that he works a lot and his biggest hope appeared to be
showing to let his son experience traveling by plane
Friday, June 22,
2001
Well, the weeks are coming to end. I finished
the third week today. The instructor was very nice and very much anti machismo;
very feminist! She is very independent any believes “no woman needs a man to be
completed!” She was complaining that kids live with their parents even when they
are 40 years old. Guys are too attached to their mothers and always give their
work to them. When they come home all they do is eat and watch TV. I am not sure
how true it is but in this house that I am staying in it is definitely true.
I
learnt lots of stuff about Mexico this week. In general the progress was not
great. I am sort of getting the hang of it but everyday is disappointing in some
ways; specially when I want to have a serious conversation with someone!
This
Wednesday I went to Mexico for a soccer game. I also went to an area of Mexico
city called “Polanco.” It is very different from Zocalo. When you go there you
see lots of tall buildings and people with ties and dresses. Many high tech
companies are located in this area. With a friend of mine we went to a coffee
shop. It was very much like Star Bucks. Everyone in there was blond, tall,
carrying a book or something. Seems like all the yuppies hang in that area.
Probably the only thing they were missing was a laptop. It is funny. In Mexico
you can tell how someone lives by just looking at his face. Seems like there is
a direct relation between your height and your wealth! All (almost all)
indigenous people are short and small while all the rich and yuppie types are
skinny, better looking, blond (in many cases) and definitely tall. Figure that
out! J
It is just amazing seeing how
much people work. Most people work a good 12, 14 hours a day. Many work on
weekends. I talked to a taxi driver and he was saying that everyday, including
Sundays and Saturdays, he works from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. The son and the
father of the family I am staying with work between 50-60 hours a week. The lady
of the house works around the clock. When she wants to rest she makes little
dolls which she can sell in he market. On Saturdays and Sundays she works
outside till 5:00 o’clock. I have never seen anyone in my life that works so
much around the clock with absolutely no rest what so ever. Sometimes (as an
obligation) she sits down with me and talks to me, probably, those are the only
times she sits down and does nothing!
Most people working at stores
are working at least 12 hours (8-8). Just remember that these are the lucky ones
that have a job. Weekends are the times that little children get to work the
whole day.
Last week I also visited the
Museo de Revolusion. It is really great. It was very surprising that they have
lots of stuff about the zapatistas movement. There is a section called
“Zapatistas: Ayer y Hoy”. It was really interesting.
It is funny how Mexican guys
(workers or younger crowd) react when a woman (young lady) passes by. Their eyes
follow her for literally minutes. Then for the next minutes or so they
just talk about her.
It is just amazing how many
similarities I can see between the so-called middle class here and the kind of
life we had in Iran. How private
taxis in the morning come and picks up their children for school; how their
whole life is running around the future of the kid; and so on.
The
area that I ma living in is rather upper/middle class. So many families have at
least two cars, and imitating their American counter part, usually one of the
cars is a SUV or a VAN. Most of the houses have swimming pool at least a dog
which gets to eat dog food (dog food is very expensive).
This
weekend we went to Puebla and Cholula. Puebla is the 4th largest city in Mexico.
Spain occupied the city in the 16th century. I did not really know what colonial
structure meant until I saw Puebla. It is a city with lots of history and 79
churches. Basically we just did “church hoping,” especially since our guide
turned out to be a missionary! He took us to several stores and we tasted some
of the Dulces and Comidas, which are specific to Puebla:
·
Rompope:
Milky drink made by nuns, it has alcohol
·
Muegano:
brown cookie made by “los indigenes” in the 16th country
·
Puebla
Mole (green)
- Mole Poblano
·
Tamale
(ta-ma-lee) / Chalupa/ and etc.
Some
history:
Onyx,
marbles, and Talaveras are among the main items that belong to indigenes people
of Puebla. Lots of churches and buildings are made of these materials. Puebla is
tied to many historical events:
-
Mexicans
defeated French soldiers on 5th of May in Puebla. We saw the war zone….remember
the Cinco de maya!
-
First
Catholic group (?) Landed in Puebla in 16th century
-
2
million people are currently living in Puebla. People in this state (and city)
are very religious.
Some
of the churches only belong to the high-class society. The better the church the
more expensive it is. People have to pay a lot of money to have their babies
Baptized or have their relatives’ funerals in the church. What ever happened to
god created all of us equal?
We
also visited Cholula: there are 365 churches in this little city…I
thought Dallas was bad! A few destroyed in the earthquake of 1999 - That is
sooooooo sad!
Toward
the end of our trip we met these two kids sitting on the doorway of a pizza
place. We invited them to eat. We had a hard time convencing them to wash their
extremely dirty hands. Once we finished. We left and they went back to sitting
on the doorway.
We
also walked from Santa Maria church to San Francisco Acatpec. It was a very
interesting walk because we ended up visiting a few of the local restaurants
where the food was being recovered from underneath a crowd of flies and bees. We
bought a corn taco anyway and it was really delicious.
San
Maria Tonantzintla (church) is one of the very few churches built by the
Indians. So it has lots of the futures representing the indigenous people. In
reality what happened apparently is that due to high resistance of the
indigenous people Spanish rulers agreed to make a concession and allowing the
indigenous people to use the figures they wanted to have in the Catholic Church.
In fact some say that many of these “Santos” were actually borrowed from gods of
indigenous people. They had to resemble Catholic Church “Santos” to their figure
in order to get them to slavery and forcing them to build the churches.
Thanks
to Europeans for importing diseases and forcing indigenous work as slaves under
terrible working conditions -for example a very large number of people died as a
result of being forced in fields which were full of poisonous snakes. It is said
that within 20 years of European rulings the population of indigenous people
(Mayas) decreased from 22 to 2.5 million. Their temples were destroyed and
Churches were built!
We
walked to a Tortilla factory and a lady gave us a free Tortilla (by factory I
mean a 10 by 12-ft. room where a young lady was making tortillas)
The
highlight of the trip was visiting an Orphanage home. It was really nice. The
guy that was showing us around was working with an orphanage home and he agreed
to take us there. We went to a room with about 40 little kids all sitting on
benches watching TV. The room was dark and smelly. A few of them talked to us.
There was a wall, which had a few framed copies of diplomas. Those belonged to
kids who had left the orphanage and attended the university and eventually had
graduated.
I was thinking the other day if I could
live in Mexico. I don’t know if I can! I go broke! But then again the only
reason we help other people is just to make us feel better and have peace with
our inner self! It is easy to be here with some money and every time, after
having a $20 dinner, give 5 pesos to a hungry kid.
Ok,
It is nice to know that this little diary is being read by others. That makes me
motivated to write more and hide less! Today, I had my first hair cut in Mexico
(Cuarnavaca). It was interesting and easy. I expected him to ask me lots of
questions. It took exactly 45 minutes! Damn…. What was he doing? Ohhhh, we were
talking about everything I could talk about and I had enough vocabulary for..
After I got my hair cut, the guy invited me to a bear for this weekend.
Unfortunately I am heading out to Chiapas this weekend. I also found a good
friend through the “intercambio” program. He is a very cool guy and tomorrow we
are supposed to go out to the “Jardin Boda” I feel like there still so much in
this city that I have not seen yet. But
what can I do, time is short.
Through
some unusual twit I got invited to be a part of n international observation
group in Chiapas while the statewide election is going on next week. It is a
great opportunity but the problem is that I have to stay in one place only. I am
not sure if it is possible. I only have a week to spend in Chiapas. But then
again such opportunity dose not come around very often.
Yesterday
was my last day at school. The teacher was nice enough, to take us in the market
to practice our Spanish. So it was kind of nice. The last night in Cuarnavaca we
went to a bar and drank there with a bunch of other kids. We also watch the
football game “Cruz Azul,” once gain lost. But this time by penalty. SO I guess
because of that even though the team had lost all the people were celebrating.
It looked like the team was showing improvement not to loose 0-3 or worse!
Anyway,
I feel I have really missed the school and the city! That is against my goal
“Don’t get attached to any place and keep going.” Maybe because I was not
feeling I had accomplished what I had originally planned, I don’t know! Leaving
the family and the school was sad.
This
morning I flew to a city called Villahermosa, Tabasco. It is hot as hell
and very humid. But it is nice. I was walking around for about 8 hours. I am
getting used to it. I talked to several venders and I got some interesting
information about where to go next.
The city is presumably rich. I went to an up town mal and it was really nice. It is funny that you see all these beauty and wealth and if you walk 30 minutes you see kids begging for food! People here seem to be more frank and direct. Even the shoe-shiners hassle you. They directly tell you to sit there and let them shine your shoes. The don’t really ask you. At night in the main plaza I saw a group of people listening to these preachers. So I joined them. All of a sudden the preached comes and pushes people and they all fall down! Huh? What the hell is this! They were so intensely praying that they received the power of god and they were all blessed! I had seen these things in TV but watching it live is just something else. Now here I was trying to get out of the crowd and suddenly a lady comes to me and wants to put her hand on my forehead so I receive the power of god! I had to pass! I hope the lord is not too mad at me tonight!
Let’s see…I did a lot these past few days. There was really not too much to do in Villahermosa. So Ileft the next mornig heading to Chiapas. The first city I visited was Palanque. It is a very small city and normally full of tourists. The bus ride was cool. The roads were really nice. It was grean everywhere. In Palanque the only mail attraction was the Zócalo itself. At around 7:00 seems like the whole town gathers there. I got to know several interesting people. Two of them from France. The new morning we went to the RUINs. Man ….it was impressing. The ruins were are about Mayan civilization. The palace and all 21 pyramids were unbelieveable. Thinking that how these structures were built without usage of wheels is mind buggling. So let me say a few things about these ruins:
- The king of Mayans Kapal the short-legged dude.
- It has about 20 temples. Including the famous Incription temple. Kapal´s tomb is alsop there.
- Mayans has their own language and numbering systems. It is said that they understood about the concept of zero and their numbering system was base-20. According to their calendar the world will start a new cycle in the year 2011 and many people will die! (So watch out!)
- It is said that their architectures and structures were more advanced that even Aztects mailnly because their roofs were built with stones and they way they built their archs. Their time is divided to Pre-classic – Classic – and Post.-Classic. What we saw was during the Classic time.
- They were not too much into human scarifications and stuff. They were very peaceful people who ended up as slaves for Spaniards.
- Their use of colors has always been very important.
- Important things they believed in: Jade stones, Cebia tree, snake and Jaguare,
- Obviously the calendar and the writing scripts were only in hands of the elite people and the common people did know nothing about them.
- Escudo Pakal was the 7th century ruler
- Many of the religious days in Mexico are mixed with the same important days that Mayans observed. This way Spanish rulers literally destroyed their tradition.
- I think that is enough.
After the ruins we went to the Agua Azul and Miso-Ha waterfall. They were so interesting. We swam there and as soon as we started walking toward the waterfall it started purring. Well, it would have been a waist of time if we had waited for the rain to stop. So we took out our shirts and started walking in the rain for over 3 hours. It was really fun. We never got to the fall but the trail was beautiful.
It
was really a fun day.
The
next day we left Palanque. Heading to San Cristobal. On the way there we had a
stop in Ocosngo. (by the way there was a major battle between Zapatistas
and Mexican army in 1992 in this city. Many of the locals accused of
colaborating with Zapatistas were executed by the army) the bus ride was
terrible because the road is all curvy. We were all about to throw up once we
got out of the bus. So we started walking toward the central plaza. We walked
and we walked. All of a sudden we found ourselves surrended by about 200 people.
sitting around the main plaza and stirring at us! They were whisteling and
yelling: Americanos or HELLO! Naturally we responded with smiles! we just tried
to go to the corner. So we got out of that crowd. The main building of the town
was decorated by Zapatistas flag and a huge banner supporting their fight. By
the way, this is the city that in 1994 Mexican army killed and executed many
people for collaborating with Zapatistas.
Later
we went to San Cristobal. It is one of the most beautiful places I have
ever seen. It is much better and much more colonial than Puebla. The town is
surrended by mountain and it is very cold. I still don´t exactly know how high
we are but very high.
There
are many Europeans here. Much more than American. People say not too many
Americans visit this town.
First
say in San Cristobal I got up early with the goal of visiting one of the
neighboring villages. As I walked to the central I could see these little kids
ages between 4-10 trying to sell cigarets and candies to people. Old indigenous
women are trying to find customers for their artworks and scurffs. You can see
some of the kids literally falling sleep on the job. It is a bit passed 7:00. In
one corner the kid and the dad are both sleep with their hand out asking for
money.
The
market of San Cristobal is something to see. Many of the indigenous people live
there. The houses are made of wood logs naled together and then in side covered
by a raggedy piece of cloth. There is no running water or electricity. The only
water in the area is provided by the little river passing through the market. In
there people take baths, wash their clothes, was their babies, and clean their
dishes. 5 mile to the north people an area which has 6 public sinks and women
are washing their clothes while the girls are hanging them and taking care of
the younger ones. All these are only 2 kilometer away from all the beauty of the
town. It was funny that I did not see a single tourist there! Where were all the
curious minds?
The
people in the market were extremely friendly. Many venders were just little kids
selling corn or mangos.
In
the Zocalo tourists are chased by little boys and girls trying to sell them
gums, braces, shirts, and what ever hey have. When they find their client too
cheap they simply ask for (un regalo). When that fails too they ask for a little
food. Once you show a bit of sympathy and give one of the kids something al of a
sudden you are surrended by tens of them each asking for un regalo or telling
you comprame!
About
San Cristobal: It was captured by Zapatistas for 4 days in 1990 until
Mexican army took over. For many years the city lost its tourists.
Their
cute faces and Spanish accent (dragging every word – Compraaaaaa meeeee) is
irresistible and hard to ingor or reject and they know that. I don´t remember a
time that I had a meal just for myself. Always one kid shows up and we end up
buying something for him or her. Tonight I had to share my pizza and buy the guy
a coke!
Indigenous
little women are carrying babies and selling art works. Little girls are running
bear-feet. Most of the kids have some sort of scars on their faces. Mothers are
breast feeding their little babies. Tourist are shopping and spending money and
paying 2 pesos once in a while so they can take a picture of these little kids
wearing colorful clothes…..
So
anyway, I made it to the San Andrés Larrainzar. It took about an
hour. It is a small city on top of
the mountain. Very few people speak Spanish. Their native language is Tzotzil
(Zhou-Zil). Over 480,000 people speak this language in Chiapas. It sounds very much like Chinese! As you
get to the city you are welcomed by a huge sign reading: We support EZLN and
their demands. Long Live Commander Marcos. Once I went to the top of Iglesia de
Guadalupe on top of the mountain the scene was incredible. I met a guy there. He
was 28 with bad Spanish, just a bit better than me! He asked me about Mexico
City. He had never seen the city, neither his mom or dad. The farthest away from
his village he had ever been was San Cristobal. His biggest wish was buying a
camera. He wished to have a bike and was amazed by my watch. He constantly was
asking for prices of these things and each time he would only respond by a big
painful smile knowing that he could never afford any of these. He said that he
works from 7-4 everyday and only gets 30 pesos a day. A coke costs 10 pesos
here. He asked me how much I get and I had to lie, clearly. I invited him to
have a coke and he agreed. Along the way he suggested to go to a movie! Movie?
So we did. In a small room there were 20 kids and one 20 inch TV. They were
showing the 3-Ninjas in English. Obviously none of the kids could understand it
but they had such a good time. This was Antoño´s favorite movie. Kids were
having Mangos instead of popcorns!
Some
General Facts about Chiapas;
Guatemala:
I
stayed in Guatemala for a few days. Guatemala City is a miniature of Mexico
City. A very noisy and crowded city full of smoke and smug. The presence of
police and army forces wearing blue uniforms and carrying very efficient weapons
is striking. You can often see
younger people being held up by the police and be subjected to body search. They
normally make them stand in a corner with their hands up and legs spread while
everyone is looking, a very normal scene throughout Guatemala.
Everywhere
you go you can see made in USA sign. People wearing caps and T-shirts with USA
flag on them. The most striking thing was a big counter at the airport selling
stuff like “support our troops” or “US army wants you” signs! WHAT?! English
songs can be heard all over the main market. Many people can speak a bit of
English.
Unlike
Mexico City it is common to see so many Mayans wearing their traditional
customs. 80 percent of Guatemala are Mayans yet there is a very harsh
discrimination against them. Such discriminations are mainly toward women since
they appear everywhere with their traditional clothing. Among other things the
bus system is the craziest I have seen, yet is appears to be very efficient. It
is very cheap too.
When
I got there I found out that Guatemala is the most dangerous place to be in all
other countries in America. It has earned the number one place in
hijacking. Stealing little kids,
mostly Mayans, from their family and selling them to European families appears
to be a common practice in which the government plays an important role.
After spending a night there I went to
Antigua, the old capital of Guatemala. After the earthquake of 1770 the capital
moved to Guatemala City from Antigua. Antigua is one of the most beautiful
places I have ever seen (how many times have I said that?) It is just hard to
describe it. The whole town is surrounded by volcanoes. The combination of its
colonial style, nice weather, beautiful trees, and the mountains around it makes
the city exceptionally beautiful and unforgettable.
The
worst thing about is was the abundant of tourists and specially Americans. Ohhhh
mannnn..Just too many tourists. Actually, many of them were just taking classes
there. There are many Spanish schools in this little town. People seem to be
very nice. One lady, realizing that I don’t know all the coins (in Quetzal)
spent about 20 minuets showing me all the existing coins and bills. I ask
direction from a police and then 5 minutes later I saw him running and yelling.
I stopped to see what he wants. He tolled me that I had to take a left not
right!
One
day I went to see one of the volcanoes. It is called Capaya and it is still
active. We walked about 2 hours. The scene was incredible. We could see the red
lava. Once in a while the wind would blow and shove the choleric acid into our
mouths. A few seconds before it happens normally the guide would yell and the
more experienced ones could cover their mouths. The wind was very hard there.
For a few times I felt it is picking my up and throwing me into the volcano. I
met a few people from Argentina and Brazil there. There were so shocked to see
someone from Iran there. I happened to be their first contact with “Iranians”…so
they shock hand with me! Coming down from the Volcano was nice too. It was dark
and hard to see our steps. When I got totally dark we could the amazing scene of
the red gas on the top of the volcano. You just have to see it to admire its
beauty.
Things
are relatively cheap in Guatemala. I never spent more than 2 dollars for a full
meal. But then again I was always eating in the street. The “maiz dulce” is very
delicious. Everything with Maiz is
Mayan. It is amazing how many things they can make with corns!
As I am writing these I am sitting in a dinning room of the Hostel in San Jose, Costa Rica. This is the first time I get to have a chair next to a desk for a long time. The city is very European. It is hard to believe that it is so much different from the other places I have seen so far. It is very much like Barcelona, minus the painting museums and Goddy’s (?) architectures. People are blond and beautiful (not because they are blond!). They are very tall. In all the other places I could be considered as a tall guy. Here I am considered as a short Mexican dude. There are no foods being sold in the streets. So far I have not seen any beggars or homeless…where are they?
It is amazing how many Mc Ds and Burger Kings exist in the El Centro. It is funny. I went to a restaurant and they gave me the silver wear sealed in a plastic container…ohhh my god, where am I? There are plenty of napkins on the table…. In Guatemala the limit was one per purchase. In Mexico it is two.
Today I went to see the volcano (Poas Volcano). It was ok, too windy. Then we went horse back riding and watching the birds and monkeys in the Cloud Forest. Tomorrow I am going rafting!
Costa Rica is very beautiful but I am not too impresed. It has no culture. There is no history! I went to the oro museo de prehispanico. There was nothing about the fact that how Spanish people killed the indig. People in pursue of gold. It was upsetting!
Some facts about Costa Rica:
h A large percentage of immigrants to Costa Rica are Nicaraguans. Majority of them work in banana and coffee plantations, the ones belong to Checita (?) or Rey Coffee. They earn by baskets and have to pay for their housing. They only have temporary work permit.
h The country has no traditional army (arm forces that prepares itself for battle!) Thas is interesting, while Guatemalans, 200 miles away, are armed to their teeth!
h Education is only free up to 9th grade in Costa Rica with a 95% litaracy rate.
h It has no universat healthcare but the life expectancy is better than US: 72 years!
h 80 percent of the coffee plantations are around S.J city on the volcano soil.
h The population is 3.5 million with less than 2% blacks. Most people are of Spanish descent and white looking! Indians make up less than 1% of the population! Damnnnnn it is a white country!
h 20% of the national budget goes for education! What is the rate in US? Huh!
h Tourism plays a very important role in the economy (US$577 million rev.) The rest of the money comes from Coffee and banana!
h Min. Wage is about $146 (in Mexico it is $4!) – Mexico is 15 times richer than Costa Rica but average person earns 20 times less, huh?? – Then again Mexico has 100 million people!
->>> Political system as I am
learning it
A charity
house for the indignant people in Cuarnavaca: It was really interesting to see
these kids to have a decent shelter. Ironically, people whom created the shelter
are two Americans from Texas. I wanted to become a volunteer but my time is very
short. I am on a 4-week mission to buy, find, and steel, as many crayons and
pencils possible. Tomorrow I am organizing a committee to collect pens and
pencils. What should we call it?
Some
interesting statistics about Mexico:
-
Mexico is one of the 12 countries that together hold 80% of the poor of the
world
-
Mexico’s economy is number 12 (some say number 16) in the world
-
As far as capital distribution Mexico is ranked 80th in the world.
-
The fifth wealthiest man in the world lives is Mexican.
-
60 percent of the people in Mexico live under official poverty line.
-
About 60 percent of people in Mexico never make is to higher than elementary
school.
-
The government claims that according to their polls 70% of people of Mexico are
in favor of president Fox policies. (that is a joke)
- In 1992 (?)
President Salinas, who is now refugee and hiding in Sweden, helped to change the
constitution such that once again the church can own property and Mexican flags
can be used in churches. In addition presidents and other government officials
can be affiliated with one of the religious institutions. Constitution of 1917
had prohibited all these.
·
There
are 28 newspapers being published in Mexico City. Yet none of them is published
more than 150,000 [is it really true?]. In general, newspapers and magazines are
very expensive. Normally daily newspapers are about 4-6 pesos. Remember that the
official minimum wage is about 35 pesos. In the states this ratio “maso menos”
is the same.
·
Mexico
is one of the few Latin American countries that have a web page, which shows how
much the government is paying for different things. For example, it is found
that within the last few months Fox government has been paying 450 U.S dollars
on presidential dollars. Mexican newspapers are making big noise over this and
they call it “Toella Gate”
Apparently, other Latin American countries also have similar web page.
Cuba has the worst and Mexico has the more comprehensive page! Just imagine if
U.S government had a web page like that!
·
Today,
6/26/01, it was announced that all the indignant villages in Chiapas rejected
the modifications of the government to the Zapatistas demands. The question is
what would the government of Chiapas do!
·
As
for the Zapatistas movements, let me say a few points:
·
A
large percentage of the indigenous people in Mexico live in southern states.
Almost all of them have different dialogs and a large percentage of them don’t
speak Spanish.
·
I
don’t know if I said that before but Chiapas is one of the richest areas in
Mexico. It has many mines of precious stones, lots of oil and lots of functional
gas pipes. Yet, some 80 (?) percent of people living in this state are dealing
with poverty and literally have nothing.
·
I
will write more later!!!
Some
General Facts about Chiapas;
Each
village has a different clothing decorated by different colors, Imagine how many
different style of clothes exist.
Some facts about Costa Rica:
h A large percentage of immigrants to Costa Rica are Nicaraguans. Majority of them work in banana and coffee plantations, the ones belong to Checita (?) or Rey Coffee. They earn by baskets and have to pay for their housing. They only have temporary work permit.
h The country has no traditional army (arm forces that prepares itself for battle!) Thas is interesting, while Guatemalans, 200 miles away, are armed to their teeth!
h Education is only free up to 9th grade in Costa Rica with a 95% litaracy rate.
h It has no universat healthcare but the life expectancy is better than US: 72 years!
h 80 percent of the coffee plantations are around S.J city on the volcano soil.
h The population is 3.5 million with less than 2% blacks. Most people are of Spanish descent and white looking! Indians make up less than 1% of the population! Damnnnnn it is a white country!
h 20% of the national budget goes for education! What is the rate in US? Huh!
h Tourism plays a very important role in the economy (US$577 million rev.) The rest of the money comes from Coffee and banana!
Min.
Wage is about $146 (in Mexico it is $4!) – Mexico is 15 times richer than Costa
Rica but average person earns 20 times less, huh?? – Then again Mexico has 100
million people!
->>> General
Cultural Observations
It is just
amazing how tolerance Mexican people are. People are so easy going and accept
you the way you are. They never bother each other, never intrude, and very much
aware of this – well maybe never is a strong use of word! I have too many
examples to prove this to myself…
(1) In a
restaurant, there was a couple kissing and hugging right in front of another
couple sitting there and the sitting couple did not say a word! (2) In the
train, I accidentally hit someone in his eyes and I think it hurt him too much
but did not say a word. And many more examples....
People are
simply very warm and friendly. One of the days we went to a restaurant with some
other people. Even though, I could not even speak their language, it was still
so easy to mix with them and feel to be one of them. I still don’t know if I was
from some other country and not U.S, I would still get the same treatment but I
don’t think it has too much to do with it.
Mexicans
are so sympathetic and accommodating to each other. As an example if they feel
someone is interested in someone else they are very willing to do lots of
things. For example they think that my friend is interested to spend some times
with me they are willing to travel a to hour trip and bring him over
here!
Family
bonding: One interesting thing that is very obvious is Mexican families are a
very strong bonding that exists among families. At least as far as I can see.
The family that I am staying with includes a mid-twenty year old son and his
parents. They seem to be so nice to each other. If it was in U.S the son had
been kicked out years ago. Sons and daughters generally don’t leave the house
until they are married. It is very uncommon to leave the nest and have a
roommate or live on your own.
The other
interesting observation about families is that all domestic works belong to the
wife, no question asked. Seems like the concept has been very well accepted! It
is just unusual, for me to take my plate to the chicken. The lady of the house
gets surprised (although, by now she is ok with it!). The son and the husband do
absolutely nothing. I wonder who does the mowing and repairs…those remains to be
the discovered! J
The other
concept that I learnt to day is "dinero del gasto." This is the money
that the husband gives the wife for food and other house needs. It is
interesting that such a word exists in the language!
How
men check out women: This is just
so interesting! When a woman passes by and there are several men standing some
times she is confronted by all sorts of whistling and other strange noises. If
the men are indeed polite they only track the woman by their eyes. They
literally track her until she is completely gone from their view. There is
absolutely no discreteness in this! After she is disappeared from their eyes,
for the next minute or so, they talk about her: “oh mi presiosa”, “Chamaca”, and
many more things I don’t understand. Even when guys are walking with other women
their tracking system is still functioning. Talking about sexual
harassment!
->>> Important
terms and things to know
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