days 18 and 19.

day 18.

an incredibly peaceful moment last night, listening to good music, drinking good wine, and surrounded by good people.

last night, i went to a venue that i haven't been to in a while, but used to go often during my freshman and sophomore years. my good friend katie was playing a show there, so a few of us went to listen. at one point, while katie was playing, i had this intense moment of nostalgia. i started thinking about when i met katie, over four years ago, and how we've both changed since then. then, i began thinking about who else was around the table, and how we've all changed in that time. i also started thinking about who wasn't around the table, friends that had moved and started new lives elsewhere. and so i began thinking about where we, those of us around the table, might be in 4 more years. it would be altogether possible that not only are we not all in the same city, but that we are not all in the same country. it was as if i was feeling nostalgia not just for the past, but for the future as well.

as the night went on, with the wet snow falling outside, another musician played after katie. he was very good also, and did a cover of the song 'blood bank' by bon iver. and the entire night seemed to come together, at least in reflecting the moment i just described, when he sang the line, "ain't that just like present? to be showin' up like this?" i've been thinking about time a lot lately, and that line really expressed how i was feeling at that moment.

it also made me think of the vonnegut quote written to the side --> that i've written about before here. actually, i think it was the way i began this blog, almost 2 years ago exactly.

day 19.

this song: christmas light by keegan dewitt and the sparrows

busted. day 17. and a few others.

so, i've officially been called out by three people now, which is what i told myself it would take before i would jump back on the wagon here. why do i always start things during finals week that i don't really want to finish? and why have i been busier in the past couple weeks than i was during the semester? life.

well, i'm going to start with today and then write a bunch of other beautiful things from the past couple weeks. i'm not going to number them because i don't want to be limited either way.

day 17: while i was working as a corporate gift-wrapper today in the suburbs (i know, i know), we were listening to a 24/7 christmas radio station (again, it's been a long day), and a song came on that immediately brought me back to 8th grade show choir, when i sang that song. it was such a fun moment of immediately jumping to that time in my life: short, blond hair, lots of sequins and blush, and the belief that this was a really, really important thing. oh, nostalgia.

other things:
--on one of my last days around loyola, i went up in the afternoon to this big ballroom in one of the buildings that is used for big events, where there is a piano. it's a huge room, with an amazing view, but closing my eyes and playing for a while gave me a short time to completely escape within myself.
--sufjan christmas music!!! especially the song 'sister winter.'
--i had a couple nights last week where i just turned up the radiator, poured a glass of wine, and read on the couch. it was beautiful and restful
--seeing old friends--i got to go visit my friend anna last week and it was lovely to feel so comfortable with her. i also spent time with a couple of the girls i studied abroad with last night, which was great as well.
--making new friends--i have met some really cool people in the last couple weeks, which has been really refreshing.
--i just finished the book "holidays on ice" by david sedaris. it has kept me laughing over the past few days of consumerism madness.
--i've watched a few great movies recently: 'no country for old men,' 'city of god,' 'mala educacion,' 'vicky cristina barcelona,' and 'food, inc.' i really enjoyed all of them for very distinct reasons.

okay, i feel like my brain is a mush of poinsettia-patterned paper, green and red ribbons, discussions of the intricate politics of one's daughter's cheerleading squad (i shit you not), all to the soundtrack of 'carol of the bells.'

i promise to try to me a little bit more faithful to this, most of the time.

peace.

day five.

emailing in my last final for the semester and spending the evening celebrating with amazing friends. few things make me happier.

day four.

this quote, from the book Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is a Better Way for Africa by Dambisa Moyo:

"Scarcely does one see Africa's (elected) officials or those African policymakers charged with the development portfolio offer an opinion on what should be done, or what might actually work to save the continent from its regression. This very important responsibility has, for all intents and purposes, and to the bewilderment and chargrin of many an African, been left to musicians who reside outside Africa. One disastrous consequence of this has been that honest, critical and serious dialogue and debate on the merits and demerits of aid have atrophied. As one critic of the aid model remarked, 'my voice can't compete with an electric guitar'.

day three.

a kid at the y, probably 10 or 11, with what i wouldn't call a kool-aid "moustache" so much as a kool-aid "clown's mouth." it was quite amazing. seriously, i wish i could have seen him drink that juice. it must have been a show.

day two.

a random song in portuguese playing at a cafe that (i think) was about life.

if you know me, you know that i really want to learn portuguese. (that might not be true. i don't really talk about it that often.) but, i do. and i also really like a lot of music in portuguese, often brazilian. (love ceu, check her out.)

the song wasn't overly beautiful, but the moment was. i was sitting in a cafe (okay, i admit, it was a starbucks) in downtown chicago, with a mess of books and papers scattered in front of me as i worked (more happily than i should admit) on the final paper for my education class, sporadically people watching out the window (or inside, where i caught a woman in the corner smoking a pipe as she sucked down her espresso), and this random song came on, in portuguese, that i could kind of understand. it was really lovely.

the chorus sounded something like "la vida no para." which, in spanish, means "life doesn't stop." but for a second, it did.

peace to you.

ps. why do i ALWAYS blog more during finals? without fail.

december musings. day one.

it's been quite some time since i've posted here, so i'm not sure if anyone is still checking. but, regardless, i'm going to start something for december.

for each of the 31 days of december, i'm going to write (probably briefly) about something that happened/that i saw that day that i found particularly beautiful, inspiring, or worthy of gratitude. i'm not sure where it'll take me, but i'm interested to find out.


day one.

the view from the pink line (train) just as it pulls out of the loop and opens up over the chicago river.

every time i'm facing the north and see this view, especially at night, i smile. i can't control it. there is something about that moment when the city seems to open up a bit, to seem less busy, less cold, less hurried. i've begun to look forward to it at the station before. and tonight, as i saw it, i felt really grateful to get to see it almost every day. and decided i should document it, inspiring me to do this experiment during december.

if you're so inclined, please feel free to do the same. i would love to know what is making you happy to be alive.

peace.

here are some fotos from the last few weeks (which have been amazing, minus the whole shennanigan below).

be back in the states 2 weeks from today! crazy...

"the great escape" or "trapped in the office (part 1)" or "how to catch a white girl in your backyard"

note: the following story is true and happened to me yesterday.


it had actually been a pretty good day. i had a lot of things to get done, and i was relatively productive in getting them done. and my friends dany and lalo, who normally have to go work in the community, needed to do office work as well. so, i even had company during the day. my boss was out of town for a couple days, so i was excited to make good progress on some projects to show her when she returned.

in the afternoon, as everyone was starting to pack up and head out, i decided to finish a little early and head to the back of the house (the office where i work is in the house where i live), where there’s a little gym, to run on the treadmill. it’s the time of day when i get to expend all the energy that’s built up by sitting in front of the computer for 8ish hours, and i tend to look forward to it quite a bit.

after a good workout, i started to head in, through the backyard towards the house, planning to take a quick shower before getting a cup of coffee with a friend. but, as i walked back through the outdoor patio, i realized that door to the laundry room, the door i would enter, the door with a deadbolt on the other side, was closed.

shit.

seriously, shit. whoever was still in the office when i went back to the gym didn’t realize i was there and closed and locked the door.

well, one of the offices has a door to the back patio, so maybe that would be open. but alas, it wasn’t. deadbolted as well.

shit.

this couldn’t really be happening, right? everyone was definitely gone by this point. my boss (and the owner of the house) wouldn’t be back until the following day. i was in the backyard, in my gym clothes, with the two dogs. no phone. no people nearby. and even if i could somehow yell to someone to help, i would need to get someone with a key to open the front door of the house to come in and let me out. and then the clouds starting to form for the afternoon rain. shit.

the door to the back office was at least somewhat cracked, even though it had a deadbolt. there had to be some way to get it open. i was never in girl scouts, but i’ve seen a lot of movies. i figured i had to figure out a way to get open. plus, i mean…i am a grad student afterall…

i found this big knife/tool thing in the back yard and began scraping it against the deadbolt and amazingly enough it moved! after a few minutes of scraping and prying, i got it open! i couldn’t believe it. for a while there, i honestly thought i would just have to sleep in the backyard for the night. but no. my exact thoughts were, “i totally just ‘man vs wild’-ed that shit!” i was really impressed with myself.

so i entered the office, laughing at the almost-catastrophe, and walked through until i reached the other door. the OTHER damn door that only opens from the inside. you’ve got to be kidding me. and this one, an older, wooden door, has this weird-ass metal lock on the outside that involves twisting this spiral piece through another piece, etc, etc. ridiculous.

but, i got the first lock, right? so i figured i could get the other one without having to tell anyone i was trapped in my own house. plus, i had at least reached a place with shelter, a bathroom, and water, not to mention a phone and computers.

at first, i thought maybe i could just knock it loose, but after a couple strong shoulders to the door, i heard a few cracks and realized that that was probably the worst idea. but, above the door was open, with a row of wooden poles. i figured that if i could just find something with a reflection to see it and some type of pole, i might be able to get it. i went into the back closet and found a broom, from which i untwisted the pole, and a spatula. damn straight.
but, after about 10 minutes and one terrifying second where i thought my arm was stuck, i realized that wasn’t going to work. (i was increasingly impressed throughout the whole ordeal to learn how many Spanish curse words i’ve picked up, though…)

but i was in an office! i had a phone, computers, etc. this couldn’t be that difficult, i would just have to swallow my pride and let someone know what happened. but i quickly realized that i didn’t know anyone’s numbers. they were all in my cell phone, in my room, about 50 feet away. computer. in the first, no internet. good lord, you’ve got to be kidding me. the second worked and i immediately signed on to email and facebook (thank you mark zuckerburg!) after a quick email to my brother jake explaining why i couldn’t currently talk to him on skype (which, i found out later, he told my nephew oliver that “aunt kait is trapped in a room in her house,” and he promptly began to cry. we had to skype today so he could see i was okay), i signed on to facebook and sent a message to my 4 best friends who live in this city to ask for help. “ayudame—en serio, or ‘help me, seriously” was the subject line. i sent a few emails, again realizing that i had to reach one of about 3 people that have a key to the house, while trying to tell as few people as possible what was going on. and then, with no phone numbers and no responses, i started imagining how funny it was going to be when the people showed up for work in the morning and i was balled up under their desks sleeping on the floor.

but, i hadn’t yet given up. i went back in to the really full storage closet of stuff and looked for other things to try to work on the lock. i taped a pen to the pole for more precision. i taped the spatula to another pole. i took a long, heavy mirror from the back of a cabinet and prayed that i didn’t drop on the other side of the door. but after at least another hour trying to open and randomly checking the computer, making it about 2 hours in total now, i officially gave up on the door. i wasn’t going to be able to “man vs wild” that shit. so, i went back to facebook.

and praise the lord, my best friend here, Dany, answered my facebook message.
dany: “katy, que te pasa???? hablas en serio? o es chiste?”—“kait, what’s going on? are you serious? or is this a joke?”
me: “i know you would think it’s a joke, but i’m serious. please please please help me.”
dany: “ok, how do i get in to the house?”
me: “well…that’s the thing. we have to find someone with a key. or else you can’t get into the house.”
dany: “okay, what are their phone numbers?”
me: “well, that’s the other thing. i don’t have any of them.”

suddenly, my other friend who lives at the same place came on:

lalo: “kait, it’s lalo. i don’t believe you. you’re joking.”
me: “lalo, i’m going to kill you. i’m not joking. you have to figure out how to get me out of here.”

after another 30 minutes of them calling anyone they could think of to get the numbers of more people to call to find someone with a key, ensuring that everyone in the state found out what was happening (except my boss, of course, because she refuses to use a cell phone), they got the address of someone nearby who would have the number of my boss’s brother, who has a key.

dany: “we’re heading out right now for the house. we’ll call you in the office to update you. i’ll leave facebook on in case you need anything. do you think you’ll make it?”
me: “at least i have water…but hurry.”

as it was coming close to 830, making it about 3 hours in the damn room, the phone rang. dany told me that they got a hold of the brother and he would be there as soon as he could, in about an hour.

so, after disassembling and putting away my various tools, i sat in the office, talked on facebook, and watched ‘daily show’ clips while i waited--just like the pioneers probably did when they were trapped in the wilderness…

about 40 minutes later, he showed up, and freed me.

mmm…i breathed in deep and kissed the ground. like a new lease on life…
and then my boss’s brother explained that when i go out the first door, that i originally went out for the gym, i have to put out the deadbolt because otherwise the wind will blow it shut like that.

you’ve got to be shitting me. the only thing that made me feel a little bit less like an idiot was the thought that someone unintentionally locked me out. but no. the wind closed the door that i had left open.

as i was about to get into the shower, (i was filthy from digging through the storage closets), dany and lalo ran up to the house.

“no! he already let you out!? we wanted to take pictures of us coming in to save you!!!”

“shut up.” i said. “but thank you so much. i would have been completely screwed without you two.”

and thus, i am officially the ‘gringa that got locked in the back of the house.’ today, around the office, the maid and one of the other employees mentioned a couple other times that it had happened to various people in the past couple years, but i’m not sure if it was true or they were just trying to make me feel better.

the next time i hear someone say, “ay, katy” (as in, “ay ay ay” and “kah-tee” because they can’t say kait), with a mixture of pity, annoyance, and laughter, i’m going to go crazy.

estas en tu casa

this phrase, which means "you're in your home" is one i have seriously heard so many times while traveling. as in, when we visit people and/or stay the night in their homes, and they're saying, 'make yourself at home.' and usually, the visit ends with them saying, 'tienes tu casa' or 'you have your home', as in, if you ever come back to this area, you are welcome to stay here.

i mention this because i am continually reminded of the incredible hospitality that i have experienced in latin america. it really is unlike anything i've ever experienced in the states. for instance, this weekend, when i went to guadalajara with some friends (which was fantastic, more pictures and stories to follow), we stayed with the friend of a friend and her brother. but also, her parents were visiting. so, the first night, there were 8 of us in their tiny 2 bedroom apartment. the parents slept in one full-size bed, the brother and sister slept on the futon in the living room, and the rest of us slept a couple of twin beds in the other bedroom. when we woke up in the morning (pretty late, i'll admit) the mom cooked us all eggs for breakfast, with fresh vegetables, even when we insisted that she didn't. and she doesn't even live there, nor know us! and as we left, they assured us that we were welcome any time, and it really is sincere. to the point that if i went by myself or with other friends, i would feel comfortable calling them up.

also, last week we had dinner with one of the board members of the foundation whom i've met a couple times. it was a really great dinner in her amazing house--overlooking the whole city. and she assured that i was welcome anytime i wanted to stop in and INSISTED that i bring my dad there when he comes to visit in a few weeks--which we will totally do.

and one final example that is always the best for me of 'latin american hospitality' is when i was traveling in chile. we stayed with my host dad's brother and his family for a couple nights, and the entire family of 4 slept in the parents' tiny bedroom so that we 4 girls could have the sons' rooms to sleep in. and they of course fed us and drove us around. and again, i feel like if i'm ever back in that city, i wouldn't hesitate to call them.

this is something i think a lot about and really want to bring back to my life in the states. because, really, it's not just about being willing to let people stay in your home, to crash on your couch. people here willingly sacrifice quite a lot for their guests, often times people they don't even know! in fact, i have never been offered a couch, always the bed. and like i've mentioned before, anytime we go to any of the small, poor communities where we work, we are ALWAYS offered food. and NEVER rushed out the door. which, is probably the thing i'll most have trouble with in the states. even if i welcome people in unexpectedly, i'm always looking at the clock, waiting to get back to my day and all the things i had planned.

just one of the many things i'm learning and hoping to take back with me.

my soundtrack

since i'm at a computer for a large part of most days, and not necessarily always with things to do, i try to be productive with my time. i've been writing a lot more. but also, i've been searching for and listening to a lot of new music. so, i thought i'd share with you all the music i've been learning and loving and living during my time here this summer. most of it's not in english. but, who actually knows the words to the music they listen to? so don't write it off just because it's in a different language.

1. ximena sarinana--album "mediocre"
this album came out last year, and i'd heard her before coming here (in fact, one of her songs is my favorite to play/sing on guitar, called 'las huellas'). she has a really unique, jazzy, soulful voice. this album is a kind of satirical criticism of a "woman's role" of mediocrity.
sample: mediocre

2. 'dark was the night' by various
this is a compilation album put together by 2 brothers from the band 'the national', one of my favorites. they have their own label and for this, they also worked with an organization that does aids relief work. it's a double album, 31 songs, half of which was their attempt at capturing some of the best blues today. the other half (it's all kind of mixed, actually) is their attempt at capturing the best independent music today. it has all the highlights. you can hear each song on youtube, but here are a couple links to my favorites. of course i have to put the sufjan on there, because he is my favorite artist.
sample: 'train song' by feist and ben gibbard
'you are the blood' by sufjan stevens

3. 'youth novels' by lykke li
this is a great, unique album. she has a very unique sound, with a mix of electronic and hip hop beats, with her light, young voice on top. some songs lyrically emotional, others just fun to dance to.
sample: 'little bit'

4. 'vid og vid' by olof arnalds
i know. it's crazy. this is an icelandic artist that i actually learned about by listening to an npr podcast with bjork, another icelandic artist. she mentioned arnalds as one of her favorite new artists and they played one of her songs and i really loved it. she has almost a similar voice to bjork (maybe it's the crazy language too) but much more of a folksy sound. it's been very peaceful for me the last month or so.
sample: 'i nyju husi'

5. 'the spirit of apollo' by N.A.S.A.
nasa stands for 'north america south america' and they aim to capture the best sounds of both continents on this debut album. and i can't say i know the best sounds on both continents, but they definitely have a great mix. with a stellar list of cameos--david byrne, chuck d, method man, rza, krs-one, karen o from the yeah yeah yeas, odb, tom waits(!), kanye west, santogold, lykke li, george clinton, mia, the cool kids, etc. the first song below is one of my favorites from the album--talks a lot about the history of hip hop. the second is probably the most famous from the album, with kanye, santogold, and lykke li, all faves of mine.
samples: 'hip hop'
'gifted'

6. 'hu hu hu' by natalia lafourcade
this is another brand new one that i just got a few days ago, and just came out about a month ago. i reallllly love it. i actually started listening to her in high school, thanks to my amazing spanish teacher, barb lipnick. she has a very similar style to ximena, very similar to what i like to play/sing/write. in fact, i thought they were the same people for a while...it's a really great album that i'm still discovering, and listening to constantly.
sample: 'hu hu hu'

ok. i could go on, i'm sure. but for now, those are the highlights. i hope you enjoy them and give them a chance! they might just change your life...

just fotos

here

mexico does a blues fest and a circus

this past weekend was a GREAT one. i went, along with 4 of the Mexican students i work with and one of the other gringos to the town called Pozos that the fundacion works in for a blues festival. it was soooo much fun. the Mexican students that are living/working there in pozos are some of my favorite people too, so it was great to see them. plus, it was a blues festival. sitting there, at the festival, really filled me with a strong sense of peace and nostalgia. anyone reading this knows how much i love music, especially live. and outdoor festivals? beautiful. plus, the scenery there was incredible. the pictures show that pretty well.
here's a couple of the venue:





it did start raining after a while, which was freezing, and caused us to huddle under the 3 tents they had for about a half hour, but after it passed, we put on jackets and went back out and listened to music and danced for about 4 hours. it was really great. and the music was good as well. i mean, being from Chicago, i was somewhat skeptical. but it really was good. i mentioned to ian, the other gringo, that i kind of wished they wouldn’t sing in English at all, because that did detract a bit. my favorite? “i’m gonna bang all the pretty womens.” ha. plus, it was free and a liter of beer was about $2.50. you can't find that in chicago.
here some "pretty womens" all bundled up from the rain--




and two of my FAVORITE mexicans, dany and mario:



and then, last night, those of us in irapuato decided to go to the circus! it was pretty fun. the barley circus—the biggest in the country. they did have lots of animals, but it kind of depressed me a bit. some were clearly not happy. but, it was fun to look around at the kids faces that were watching. we weren’t supposed to take pictures, so i only have a few, but they give the general idea.
here are a couple of the circus:





this weekend is Guadalajara with my friend Daniela. i’m realllllly excited.
here's a picture of us!

mas fotos

first--some clarification--in the picture from the last post, i'm not about to hit that guy in the head with a sledgehammer. there were 4 of us hitting the same piece of copper, and he was right before me. he chose to wear the kick-ass spartan-style helmet while we "worked."

and then, here are a couple more pictures. (i think everyone that reads this is pretty much on facebook, so you've probably seen them, but just in case...)

the first is a group of my good friends here. these are all the people that live in the same city as me and work in the community called tamaula that's nearby. and the second one i just think is hilarious. it was one day that we were working in tamaula. the "mexico" version of me. jajaja.

one more

this is me getting to hit hot copper with a sledgehammer. i love it, and couldn't resist putting it up.

a couple pics

these are a few pictures taken by one of the other girls here. she's a photography student and she's really talented. i liked these and thought you might as well. they are all from our trip to michoacan a few weeks ago. enjoy!

i've been doing a lot of traveling, and it's been fantastic. since i last wrote, i've traveled to guanajuato city (again), mineral de pozos (again), and mexico city.

in guanajuato city, we did a few more touristy things that we missed the first time, like going to the mummy museum, and the pipila monument. i have descriptions of both of these along with pictures here on facebook. we also hung out with some of the volunteers from mexico city, who i'm now pretty good friends with. it was a really fun weekend.

the trip to mineral de pozos was the beginning of a "tour" with a professor from the university in mexico city where the volunteers are from, who has to come see the projects they're doing. it is a FEDERAL LAW in mexico that all university students must do a semester or summer-long social service before graduating. the interesting thing is that, although i feel that the average college student in the states may be naturally more willing to do this kind of service, i can NEVER imagine it being made into a law. it really is fascinating because i've learned a lot and had a number of discussions on the problem of philanthropy in mexico (no tax-deductible laws, high levels of religiosity/giving to the church, low levels of money to feed one's family, etc), and yet they have a program like this. it's really been interesting to discuss.

and mexico city. incredible. huge. unfathomable, really. the first day we went downtown to see the zocalo (main plaza), the catedral, the templo mayor, and the immense amount of life there. it was incredible. the second day we went to the pyramids outside the city, where i got significantly sunburnt. but, i was standing on the temple of the sun, so it's only fitting right? and both nights...lots of dancing. it was really a great trip, that i'm still recovering from. pictures from that and a birthday party for one of the men in one of the communities can be found here on facebook.

the tour, starting in pozos and going through all the communities was both good and bad for me. it was good because i got to see and be in the communities with the people, which is always fantastic. it was bad because 1)it made me wish again that i was living in the communities instead of the city, so i could really know the people. and 2)it made me be aware of some of the incredibly difficult realities of the communities, like depression, alcoholism, and crazy high rates of dropout (from really shitty schools to begin with). pero, sigo aprendiendo. i keep learning.

this weekend i'm traveling briefly to a town called queretaro, then next week quickly to guadalajara, the next weekend back to pozos, and the next weekend to guadalajara to really see the city. i know, it's a rough life i lead.

thanks for checking in!

a profile

this is francisco. i would guess he's around 60 years old and he works primarily in tending goats that are used for various purposes. however, he is also a prominent leader in his community, Tamaula, made up of about 50 families, in which the most prominent problem is the lack of a clean water source. (the goats were donated, partly through the work of the foundation i'm working with.)

francisco founded Tamaula when he was 18. i imagine he hiked up this hill, with a few other people and the few animals he had, and began living. there were no roads. in fact, there was no road up to the community from the nearest highway until about 5 years ago. when the director of the foundation first went to see it, she had to go on donkey. (11 years ago.)

over the years, things had their ups and downs in the community. and at times, Francisco had to migrate to the states. and he depicts it like that: if things were going well and he could support his family, he didn't have to migrate. but, when things weren't going as well, he was forced to go.

he told us of one trip at some point in the 90s, which began with the dangerous hike through the desert with a coyote for guidance. most of us can have NO idea how horrible of a journey that is. many people go with the understanding that they may die, but figure they have very little to live for anyways, so it's worth a try. how many of us (people reading this blog) can even understand that mind set? there is an amazing organization i'm learning about called no mas muertes (no more deaths) which works by training volunteers to be in the desert where people typically walk, and giving them water and food to help them survive. one of the guys i'm volunteering with here is going directly from here to work there for a month and has done it before. he's taught me a lot. did you know that the primary strategy of the border control helicopters is to fly close to groups of migrants in the desert so that they scatter, lose each other, and die? these aren't the crazy "minutemen" with rifles (although a lot of them do exist), but rather the employees of the US government.

anyways, back to francisco. when he made it through the desert, he was put into the back of a truck with 40 people. he said it was the most terrifying and painful thing he's ever experienced. he thought for sure he was going to die in the truck. he made it out, and was put on a plane (proof that this was a while ago, and pre-9/11). he didn't speak any english, so he didn't know that the food on the plane was free. he hadn't eaten for 3 days, but he didn't eat it because he didn't have any money.

during that trip, he stayed for a couple years, sending the money back to his family in Tamaula, and returned as soon as he was able. i believe he has gone to the states a total of 3 or 4 times (in the same manner), for a total of 6 or 7 years.

francisco is a very intelligent and eloquent man. he explained clearly that he and his family are very happy in tamaula, they just need to figure out a way to find clean water and buy a tank to store it in. he didn't complain, he wasn't angry, and he offered our group a really delicious lunch.

i don't want to idealize the situation. tamaula isn't perfect. there are issues between francisco's family and the family that owns the other half of the goats. i'm also not proposing a solution to US migration or saying that everyone should be allowed to enter the states. i'm simply trying to offer up a realistic example of a migration story, like the ones i hear every day, rather than many of the things reported in the news of drug-traffic-ers and swine-flu-carriers.

i hope to add more of some of the things i'm learning through the people that live them. thanks for reading.

michoacan

so, this past weekend, all the current summer volunteers (me, 3 students from UNC, 3 from notre dame, and about 15 from iberoamericana in mexico city) went with adriana to a nearby state called michoacan. we went to visit some of the small towns around and to meet some of the local artists. it was a really great time and i took a TON of pictures. so, i'm going to post a couple here and write about them, and then i'll put the rest up on facebook later.

this is a town we visited on the first day (after driving for like 4 hours in an '89 volkswagon van, which didn't have any type of stereo, of course, so we decided to sing the whole way there. the guys driving led the songs/yells, including screaming WOODSTOCK!, so they were mostly in spanish, but every once in a while they'd switch to either beatles or disney songs so we could sing along. we called it the "coche feliz" "happy car").

anyways, this town is called patzcuaro, and this was a performance of a dance called the dance of the viejitos (old men). it's a traditional folkloric dance in this state. it was really fun to sit in the plaza and people watch. and it made me think a lot of cuzco, peru, for some reason.




this was the tiny little town we stayed in over the weekend. they were celebrating the catholic holiday of corpus cristi, which, in this town i guess, entails putting up this HUGE pole/cross thing the night before and then letting people try to climb it the next night, during the fiesta (see below). we went to watch them put this up (with one tractor and mostly by hand with ropes) because people kept screaming when it seemed like it was going to fall, and we wanted to see what was going on. fascinating.


this is a mural facing the plaza. it is INCREDIBLE. this is only a small part of it, but it had a lot of indigenous images (there are still many people who speak an indigenous language in the town) and also an image of emiliano zapata, along with phrases like "this community has said ENOUGH" and "restoration of communal lands."


after visiting a small tequila/mezcal distillery, on the second day we went to this mask workshop/store. every mask is made by hand, and many of them out of one piece of wood. they were really beautiful. the second pic is to give you all a bit of my "kait" personality that i'm sure you're all missing.





and this is a copper workshop that we went to after. again, everything is made by hand, and we even got to help hammer some pieces of copper fresh out of the fire. it was really interesting.


this is a shot of where we stopped for a quick lunch after the workshops and got these amazing, although pretty greasy, cheesy quesadillas for 10 pesos, which is less than $1US. a beautiful thing.


this is a shot of the guy that we saw get the highest on the pole thing. he was also the first and he was pretty built. he's about a THIRD of the way up, if that. so, at that point, we realized that as it got darker and everyone got drunker, there was NO way anyone was going to make it up. eventually people started trying to do pyramids and stand on each others shoulders, but it still didn't work. we DID however talk the guys in our group into giving it a try. "cmon!" i said, "don't you realized how much this crowd would love to see a bunch of gringos get up and try it! they're already staring at us as the only white people in town, you might as well give it a go!" they didn't make it very far. the picture below is everyone watching.




this was when we tried to talk our boys into trying. don't you especially love jack--the guy in the pink polo? he's this quiet guy who doesn't speak a ton of spanish and while we were just standing watching, this guy came up to him and said (in spanish), "excuse me, but my niece would like to take a picture with you. is that okay?" ja, that's what i mean by the ONLY white people there.



and then these last two are the final fiesta for the corpus cristi thing. there was a live band playing "banda" music, which is a style of dance that is basically running in place, sometimes with a bit more flare. and we did it for about 3 hours. it was really really great. (and ps--i think both of these pictures were taken about at eye level.)






ok, so that's a summary of a long but great weekend, in which i took 200 pictures. thanks for checking in on the blog!

more fotos

check them out here

it didn't take long...

well, as i should have prepared for after my experience in chile, i realized that when i'm in travel mode, a guitar is really important to me. i don't even write that much, but there's something about playing, and especially singing, that is a huge comfort for me. it was handmade in a nearby state here in mexico. which means, it's pretty, but it's not of top quality sound. but luckily, it was really cheap. so, it'll be a nice souvenir if i decide to take it back with me. a quick foto below.

a few more pictures

click here for some pictures with descriptions from last week.

besos!

happy birthday mama! feliz cumpleanos!

so much.

i'm honestly not usually one to take a ton of pictures. in the last 2 days, i took 125. i was surrounded by so much beauty. it was impossible not to. i'll post a few below.

yesterday, we started by going to a government meeting in a school in one of the communities to discuss some projects--an interesting look into mexican bureaucracy. then, we went immediately to a hotel owned-by and primarily for gringos. i have to admit, i would get married there in a second (they do weddings, although almost all canceled for the summer because of swine flu.) it is really a paradise. incredible. i put some pictures up of it before, at least on facebook, if not on the blog.

next, we went back to the community called 'el gusano' that i stayed at last week. we went to drop off some other US students that will be working there and to have lunch. the girls cooked for us and it was delicious! and from there, we went to another community, this one a bit larger (about 2000 ish people) and with a bit more wealth in select parts. there are a good number of americans there, working on forming it into more of a tourist spot, which would actually be pretty great for the people there. we stayed in one of these peoples houses. and i kid you not, AMAZING. it is the most beautiful house i have ever been in. there were either plants or art or both covering every inch. it was really incredible. i was more in awe than i have ever been of a home before. he even had a signed picture of the rat pack. unbelievable. and most of the art and plants are local. cactii (?) everywhere. oh, and they made us pina coladas when we got there to sip on as we rested/toured.

in the morning, we got up slowly, had an amazing breakfast, left the other US student that will be staying there and working for a couple weeks, and then went around the community to meet some people and see the projects they're working on. the main project there is doll-making. i was really taken aback by how beautiful the dolls where. hand-made.

okay, some fotos below.

ok, this first one is of the gringo hotel. this is where they have weddings. i'm totally filing it away.


this is a few of the kids in el gusano watching a movie. they are really great.


this is the foyer area of the amazing house. the green plants everywhere was almost too much. but not, of course. it was at that table that they (it was actually the couple that helps take care of the house, mexicans, as the owners were in a different town for a couple days), made us dinner, including grilled tuna fillet for adriana and i since we are vegetarians. (we were still sipping on the pina coladas). as much as i dog capatalism sometimes, there are times when i am okay with reaping the benefits...
NOT pictured: the huge TV and unending moving selection, the life-size statues of pirates and a wizard (the owner has a thing for pirates), the signed rat pick or al pacino/scarface pictures, the swimming pool, the horse corral, the random outdoor dining room thing, the two little side houses, etc, etc, etc.


this was the view from my room in the morning. i also got some amazing shots of the sunset, but i seriously couldnt pick just one...



and yes, mom, they even had a chihuahua. (along with a HUGE german shepherd.)


these are the dolls that are made. the pictures arent great because they were behind a plastic sheet thing. im sure i'll get better ones in the future.


and this is a hand-made and -carved drum from another art shop. the art in this town was incredible.


and these were the ruins of what used to be a mine/mining house thing. it was a big mining town until the 50s.


okay, i just had to update. if i didnt get some of it out, i knew id get backed up. plus, i'm thinking about traveling this weekend, which would mean no blog updates. i'll be in touch though.

thanks for reading. feel free to email me with stories or fotos of immense beauty in your own lives!
besitos.
kati

week one.

i´m not sure where to begin. i can´t believe i arrived only 6 days ago. i have experienced more life in those past six days than i could ever have imagined. taking into account all that i have experienced and the advice of a few good people reminding me to be present here, i´m not going to write much. and i´m not sure how pictures are going to work. i still don´t have internet on my computer, so i´m using the one in the office at the fundacion. but, considering i spent significant time with people this week that don´t have doors or bathrooms in their homes, i simply can´t complain.

the one thing i will say is that this is really a different experience than my time in chile. i know i probably shouldn´t compare too much, but it´s difficult not too. i´m sure by my 3rd, 4th, 5th stays out of the country i´ll be better about that. because chile was my first time abroad, it took quite a while to adjust. i had to adjust to living with a family, to the language, to a different culture, to sticking out, etc. with that experience under my belt, i´ve been able to adjust much quicker here. i´m already completely comfortable with the language, the idea of another culture, etc. and although i´m used to sticking out, in chile, there were at least a good amount of other tall people and white people. here, there really aren´t. so, there´s really no chance of being confused for a local. but that´s okay.

i´m not sure how pictures are going to work. facebook is pretty painfully slow right now. so, i´ll post a few here, and put the rest up when i can. i´ll give explanation along with the fotos.

overall, however, things are great. i am learning so much. in fact, i was thinking and writing the other day that i don´t think there´s really any other way (at least for me, i guess) to learn about what it means to be human than by meeting people that live completely differently than me. when you throw out all those other variables, all the institutions we´ve come to associate with ¨being a person,¨ the human spirit seems so much more...visible. i was going to say understandable, but that´s not true. at least not for me. but, i´m not sure that´s something i´ll ever achieve.

ok, a few fotos, with some explanation.

this is a picture of the house i´m living in. sorry it´s sideways, but i just don´t have the energy to figure that out right now. it´s this amazing colonial-style house. very open, which is great. it´s the house of adriana, the executive director, and has been passed down in her family for generations. and it´s right near the centro (downtown), so that´s great. again, i´ll try to put up more pictures when i get a chance.



This is Adriana (in the red) giving some soccer/basketball/volleyball uniforms to the women working in one of the communities that the fundacion works with. the community is called el gusano. we (adriana and i) actually stayed out there one of the nights. the people are absolutely wonderful and welcoming. i´m sure i´ll write more later.


i just love this one. i took it outside one of the schools in another community that we visited to drop off uniforms. that´s there soccer field and basketball court their walking on there. and of course, a church. one interesting adriana told me was that although they don´t have buildings for schools, they ALWAYS find the money to build a church. and don´t be alarmed by the mask. although some people wear them, there has yet to be a case of the flu in this state. in fact, any time the topic comes up, everyone laughs at the crazy gringos for freaking out about it. (about 75% of the people that were supposed to come help at the fundacion this summer cancelled, making things really difficult.)


this one, taken in el gusano during the day that we stayed there overnight, is a perfect example of me being stared at as ¨that tall, light-skinned, red haired girl with a ring in her nose.¨ kids are the funniest about it. this family was really sweet too.


this is the reason we went out to the community--they brought in a priest to do a benediction of some new sewing machines they had donated. the priest (yes, with a total mini-mullet) was an interesting guy. he told a lot of jokes, tried to speak some english to me, talked about knowing che guevara and silvio rodriguez and how much they loved him, and found any excuse to break out into song. after the benediction (he walked around sprinkling holy water on everything) we ate, which was delicious, and then sat around to have a ´tequilita.´ that´s right, tequila straight. it was tough. and as the priest sat there with about 10 women, he had them eating out of the palm of his hand. it was pretty interesting. (there aren´t many men around, especially my age, because most of them are in the states. much of the community is actually funded off of migration dollars. although, many of them are returning as well because they can´t find work there either.)


this is the kitchen where our big, incredible meal was cooked. the woman who lives here (the house without a bathroom) is named angeles. in the morning, she made me a cup of orange tea that she made herself. delicious.


the night we stayed, i played jenga with these girls for like 2 hours. their giggling was completely contagious. in fact, at one point, the girl on the right with the HUGE smile was giggling so much that she farted. (some things are universal). we were all dying we were laughing so hard. i even had tears down my face from laughing. what a great moment.


this was a class for the elderly that i think is sponsored by the government. i kind of have a girl crush on the girl who was teaching it. she´s really great.


this is one of the main plazas right by my house. i generally take a walk around the area everyday in the late afternoon, sometimes stopping for a cafecito or cervezita.


okay, so go here for more pictures on facebook, with less description.

latin america-bound

i'm going to mexico on sunday! i'm pretty excited, and i thought i should give a heads up to anyone who may read this from time to time that the blog will be back and running for the next few months.

i'll keep you updated.

paz y amor!

pictures

here are some recent pictures. some are from frank and emily's reception, which i got from my dad so i assume the majority of you have seen them. the rest are from a party i had at my apartment this past weekend. the theme was "anticipatory 10-year reunion, come as yourself it 10 years." i was sufjan stevens' (my favorite musician) wife and bandmate. it was a really fun night. a bunch of the people i was in chile with came, so it was great to catch up with them.
peace.

another thing to make me happy

im heading to DC for spring break in a couple weeks! i'll be driving out with friends and staying with one of my best friends/former roommates, so i'm pretty excited.
but, i've never been before and i'm going to have a few solid days exploring alone (which i'm super excited about). so, i need suggestions. if you've been and there was a museum/site that really left an impression on you, please let me know! thanks.

6 things that make me happy

1. leslie.
for tagging me to do this post. she knew full well i would have to do it once i saw she tagged me, so she knows that i still read her blog. ha. and because she wrote that i'm "one of her favorite people to #4 with." that just sounds weird. i love that she reminds me to spend some time thinking about things that make me happy. they've been somewhat difficult to come up with, but i've enjoyed thinking about it. and i needed it.

2. solitude.
weird, right? this weekend, i went with a couple friends up to a cabin in the middle of nowhere wisconsin (bon iver, anyone?) to relax a little and get some work done. it was a fantastic weekend. i really loved it. i loved the cabin. i want to try to go back again if i can talk anna's relatives into letting me. i got a lot done (even though i lost about two hours of work by saving it in the wrong place. ouch.), i played guitar and sang, i slept, i watched a movie, (all things i don't really do to often in the city), and i listened to a lot of music (something i do no matter where i am.) for someone that is often considered extroverted and social, i really enjoy some solitude sometimes.

3. the following artists (all come highly recommended):
seabear
bon iver
santogold
the streets
cat power
radiohead

4. journals.
since it's officially been a year since i arrived in chile and was even traveling, i've been pretty nostalgic lately. (who am i kidding, i've been continually nostalgic). so, i've been really enjoying reading my travel journal from chile and even looking through all the little momentos i saved: bus tickets, a rock from the national park, cards people sent me, etc. but more than anything i'm enjoying the journal. (thanks again to leslie for that. 1, for encouraging me to write, 2, for buying the actual journal i used.)

5. this quote by rumi:
"look carefully around you and recognize the luminosity of souls. sit beside those who draw you to that."
for discussion, see below:

6. i heart huckabees
i love this movie. it's in my all-time top 3, which makes it one of the few i can watch any time, an unlimited number of times. i watched a part of it this weekend with the commentary on. good stuff. and i put it on here because it relates really well to the previous quote by rumi. the movie deals with a philosophy explaining that everything, and especially every living thing, is connected. not only physically because there is no such thing as empty space, but spiritually in that we are all part of the same spirit. and in the movie they talk about what it's like when you "recognize the luminosity of souls" and how most people only want to do that when it's convenient, rather than all the time, because it can be exhausting. (imagine trying to recognize the luminosity of someone who just cut you off in traffic or that crazy, smelly person on the train?)
anyway, i highly recommend the film. and recognizing the luminosity of souls.

click HERE for recent pictures