Mexico

We just got back from a 4-day trek to Mexico to renew our visas and take a little vacation. Although there are thousands of language students in Guatemala, it is recommended to obtain a 90 day tourist visa when entering the country(a lot less paperwork than a student visa) and simply cross the border into Mexico before those 90 days are up...a little sketch, but really common.

We left Xela Thursday morning (I made peanut butter and tortilla sandwiches for the road), and after about 4 border/passport checkpoints we made it to San Cristobal, Mexico about 9 hours later. Unfortunately we had to take a large van/small bus that had the EXACT number of seats for our group (using the fold-out asile seats as well). Although we managed to get by, not having an aisle made shuffling 23 students in and out of the bus at every checkpoint a little bit tedious.

Photo: All of us inhaling our fruit as we were not allowed to take it with us across the border.

On Friday the day was ours to explore the city. San Cristobal is absolutely gorgeous. We LOVED seeing public garbages (since there are none in Xela) and seeing people use them! It was so nice to be able to walk in the streets without stepping through garbage or smelling urine. We all agreed that we would miss the fresh air that accompanies a clean city. The drivers were also noticably nicer and more courteous in Mexico. Not a day goes by in Guatemala that one of us doesn't almost get hit by a car (pedestrians NEVER have the right-away), suddenly in San Cristobal, the cars would actually stop for us...what a strange phenomenon! We were blessed with perfect weekend weather, and spent anytime that we could outside. After finding an ATM and exchanging Quetzales into Pesos, we were determined to find some decent shopping. The exchange rate is nearly 15 pesos to 1 U.S. dollar at the moment and we wanted to take advantage of it (although for Mexico's sake, I hope it reduces soon). We ended up finding an incredible market spent almost our entire day bartering, it was a blast. I went with four other girls and other than a quick lunch break (four tacos for less than $2) and an ice cream stop, we literally spent the entire day shopping. After an exhausting day of deals, our entire group (all 23 students) went out to a Mexican restaurant where we were given free welcome tequila shooters...sometimes being a foreigner has its perks:)

On Saturday we woke up early for a delicious breakfast buffet at our hotel. This was our first buffet since being in Central America and we definitely got our money's worth. I don't think the hotel realized just HOW much Americans love their buffets. Lesson learned. After breakfast we had the incredibly rare opportunity of visiting a Zapatista village. The Zapatistas are a group of revolutionaries that run villages completely autonomously of the Mexican government. The villages are entirely self-sustaining and more or less cloistered. To enter, we had to bring a large offering of school supplies, give them out passports, and go through an interrogation concering the purpose of our visit, etc. The men and women wear either ski masks or bandanas at all times to conceal their identity, as they are still recognized by the government as a rebel group. Upon entering the village (through a locked gate) we saw beautiful murales depicting men, women, children, even the Virgin Mary all with covered faces. Because they are such a discreet group, before talking with them, we had to write our questions down on a sheet of paper. They then conferenced for about an hour and a half in private deciding which questions to answer and the best way to do so, and then allowed us into a small office to hear their responses.

Dubbed the EZLN (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional) or Zapatista Army of National Liberation, the group was named after Emiliano Zapata, an agrarian reformer. The group has declared war with the Mexican government since January 1st 1994, a day symbolically chosen to protest the signing of NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) as Mexican farmers are unable to compete with U.S. subsidized crop prices. The group has managed to abstain from using their arms since the initial revolt, although they still posses them. The Zapatistas revolted initially due to the lack of land and rights given to them by the Mexican government. Today they are known for their stance against globalization and neo-liberalism, as both work against the peasants way of life and only further oppress the oppressed. Using a mix of libertarian socialism, anarchism, and Marxism, the Zapatistas have created a government structure that works for them, and is extremely progressive in terms of women's rights, which I was really impressed by. The visit was truly a once in a lifetime experience for me...it's not everyday you get to speak with post-modern revolutionaries.

After the Zapatatista village we headed to Chamula, a township in Chiapas, that too has an autonomous status with the Mexican government, meaning that no police or military forces are allowed to enter. Instead, Chamula has its own police force (a group of men who carry guns and can be indentified by their white fur vests). The people of Chamula kicked out thier Catholic preist many years ago, so its famous church of San Juan hosts a unique mix of Catholic and Mayan traditions (leaning more on the Mayan side, although the people call themselves 'traditional' Catholics). There are no pews in the church, instead families gather in small groups to kneel. They light prayer candles, chant, and use bottles of soda (usually Coca Cola) to cast away evil spirits, no joke. When I saw the pop bottles in front of the first family I assumed they must have just brought drinks with them, but after looking around, EVERY family had two bottles of pop properly placed in front of their candles as sacrificial items. So weird. Everyday there are sacrafices of either chickens or their eggs, and everyday a carpet of pine needles is spread out on the floor of the church. It was something I had NEVER seen/experienced before. Unfortunately photos are strictly forbidden within the church so I can't really share:(

After arriving back in San Cristobal we all headed bafck to the market for last-minute shopping and then splurged on Subway for dinner...it was my first tast of pickles and ranch dressing in two months. For those of you who know me, to reunite with those flavors was absolute heaven.

Today (Sun.) we headed back to Xela and are now officially allowed to stay in Guatemala for another 90 days:)

(yay for public garbages!)