swine flu is totally cramping my style

It's officially a stage 5 pandemic and it really is putting such a damper on things. I, for some reason, am being completely blase about the whole thing, which is probably not the right reaction, as I am sitting here in Mexico. I know it's a big deal, but honestly - I was supposed to go see a movie tonight at Pechote, but it's closed. I was supposed to go see a baseball game tomorrow, but it is canceled.May and June programs are officially canceled, so there's not a ton of work to do around these parts. We're all just kind of sitting around, twiddling our thumbs, answering panicked phone calls from students and parents and faculty. The ProMexico staff is trying to wait it out, see what happens in the next few days, but one by one, everyone is deciding to truck it home. My roommate is heading back to the states on Saturday, which was the earliest flight she could get out that flies direct Oaxaca to the US, bypassing Mexico City. Adam & Scott, our health intern, are both leaving on Saturday as well. Keith is planning on changing his flight (he was supposed to be here until the end of July) to get out as soon as he can as well.I'm not sure if I'm going to head back early or what the plan is. My fly date back is for June 18, but I guess I'm playing the waiting game as well.

Luckily airlines are waiving change-of-fly-dates for people who already had tickets, but now it's just a matter of getting on a flight. Continental is one of the only carriers that flies Oaxaca direct to the US and they only have 1 flight a day leaving 3 days a week, so there's not that many of them heading out of here. Most other carriers fly through Mexico City, and that's just not a place you want to be.

Rawr. Frustration. Here are some fotos from my walk this afternoon, as there wasn't really a need for me to be in the office. More on Flickr.
Peace, love, and no swine flu.

swine flu, no electricy, and no water is far less f.u.n.

So after a completely chillaxed weekend, life came back and slapped me in the face last night. As Mazunte is pretty isolated, we really didn't hear anything of the swine flu until we got to Pochutla, which is a little bit of a bigger city, where we caught the mini-van back to Oaxaca. What we heard in Pochutla was just that there was a horrible swine flu epidemic or something like that, but no real details or facts.

We got back to the city around 9PM, and were greeted by police forces roaming the main areas of the city and face-mask-wearing Mexicans everywhere. We walked back to my apartment, dropped off our stuff, and immediately went to the office so we could get online and see how bad it actually was.

As I'm sure every other connected person in the world knows, the swine flu is out and about causing panic in most parts of Mexico. It was a little scary coming back and reading about everything all in one sitting. This morning things are not looking nearly as scary, although work-wise, it kinda sucks.

Oaxaca has been relatively unaffected by the swine flu, with 8 diagnosed cases and 1 death so far. The schools throughout all of Mexico are closed until May 6, and that goes for almost everything else as well - my guitar classes, my language classes, intercambios, etc. It's kind of like I'm on lockdown - I get to come to the office (because it's literally half a block away from my apartment) and back to my apartment. Though the risk isn't high, we're supposed to avoid large groups of people (basically everywhere in Oaxaca), try not to eat out too often, etc. etc.

Again, it's not nearly as scary now that I have a better idea of what's going on, but it's really taking a toll on ProMexico. As of right now, we're not shutting down, but most of our May programs have been canceled by our partner universities (we had about 50 students and faculty arriving May 2, as well as 2 interns arriving May 6). Our June programs are currently in limbo, as our site director wants to see how this all plays out over the next few weeks.

So between the swine flu and all the news about the drug wars going on recently (none of which has really affected Oaxaca, which is in the far southern region), ProMexico has been having a rough year. We could use some positive press about now...

And with that, I am off to answer the 1,076 emails that sit in my inbox, most of which are about swine flu. Oh, and I still have no water. And the electricity in my apartment has mysteriously been shut off for some reason. Yikes. Send me some good vibes this week. I have a feeling I'm gonna need all that I can get.

Peace.

fun stuff first...and playa mazunte is f.u.n.

I know there's a lot of panic going on around the swine flu business, but I didn't want to neglect the new love of my life...

I headed to Playa Mazunte on Friday afternoon with some friends. We took a 6 hour mini-van ride to Pochutla, and then a 30 minute cab ride to the beach, where we eventually found a 3-bed, 2 hammock cabana to call our own.
For as beautiful as it was, I was amazed at how deserted it is. Wikipedia says there's about 700 people there, but I'm pretty sure we were 5 of maybe 20 people that were populating Mazunte this past weekend. The beach was beautiful - Mazunte, with it's Punta Cometa, is the southern most tip of Mexico, so aside from perfect water and sand, it had the best sunsets ever.Basically we spent 3 days sitting on the beach, playing in the water, searching for giant sea turtles and drinking agua de coco (literally just slicing the top off a coconut, poking a hole in it, and sticking a straw in). My co-workers Kate, Keith and I ran sunrise beach yoga sessions every morning, and every night we'd go to this amazing place owned by a Colombian ex-pat, his Mexican wife, and their little girl. The place was amazing, situated on the side of the cliff to overlook Punta Cometa. It was completely open air (for the best views) with solar panels to run the place and it's beautiful refrigerator full of Bohemia and the makings of delicious family-style dinners. We would head up there at dusk, eat dinner with the little family and watch the sun set over the cliffs. It was amazing and I wish I could live there forever.P.S. - If you're ever planning a trip, here is the cabanas owned by the Colombian/Mexican fam.
P.P.S. - More fotos on Flickr

agua agua SUPER agua

So this is going on day 3 of no agua in the OAX. It's getting pretty rough. 3 days is not a long time, but imagine going 3 days in 80+ weather with no showers...no washing your hands...no flushing your toilet...no washing your dishes...no brushing your teeth...it's fair to say that I'm a pretty dirty bird right now.

Today I finally washed my face and brushed my teeth with the last of our drinking water in the apartment. We're getting on in a mini van in T-minus 5 minutes to go on a 5 hour ride to the beach, and I figured it would not be pleasant if I didn't upgrade my hygiene a bit. After lathering on the deoderant, I think it should be bearable (hopefully).

Apparently, the water situation in the OAX is not good during dry season. Wet season doesn't start until the end of May, so we're in for a rough few weeks. I knew you had to buy your drinking water...some guy comes around every morning with a truck full of water jugs screaming "AGUA...AGUA....SUPER AGUA!" and you run out and get as much as you need for 16 pesos a jug (about $1.30 - $2.00 depending on the exchange rate).

What I'm learning, though, is that most of the city does not run on ground water. Buildings all have water tanks, which they have to pay to have filled up. This is the water that is used in the sinks, in the toilets, in the shower. When it's geting low, you have to call the water guys and they come with a giant truck to fill her up. However, during the dry season, when the water supply is limited, the government puts holds on the water tanks, and thus, no water.

Kacki, the ProMexico site director, says that they should have it fixed by Tuesday, when I get back from the beach. I'm sending good thoughts to the water gods that maybe there will be a slight rainful this weekend so that I can shower when I get back.

So, the moral of the story - be grateful for your flushing toilets.

Peace.

don't give me that sass, little mexican girl who plays guitar better than me

Last night was my first Mexican guitar lesson at las Casas de la Cultura. I went in with my two friends who had just finished a salsa dancing class there and as soon as we got done in the administrative office, we walked to my classroom, classroom 7. I definitely had the new-kid-first-day-of-school nervousness going on. I didn't really know what to expect because there were no levels listed for the class and I am definitely a beginner. I just didn't want to be the suckiest person there.
I was, but it turned out to be fine. And by fine, I mean, not only was I the suckiest person in the class, but I was also the oldest person in the class by at least 10 years. It was a bunch of pre-pubescent boys, and one tiny little girl who was probably like, 5 or 6. I sat next to the little girl, because the boys were all practicing their music and, of course, they were a million times better than me. I figured if nothing else, the little girl wouldn't make me look as bad.

So while we're all sitting there waiting for Vidal, our teacher, to come in and start the class, I tried to make small talk with the girl sitting next to me but she was just full of sass, and not in a good way. Anytime I tried to ask her a question or talk to her or even smile at her she was like, "Que esta haciendo aqui?" or "No habla conmigo." Basically telling me to Step Off. I obviously stopped talking to her (I thought she might resort to violence...she honestly was so brutal), but through the entire class, she kept giving me the evil side eye. And of course she was a rockstar with her tiny guitar. And I was jealous of her guitar stickers.

The guitar lesson was a little humbling. As he gave all the other kids their assignments, my assignment was literally to just pluck the strings with a certain finger pattern. I didn't use my left hand at all. Just imagine plucking the same guitar string with an index-finger-middle-finger-index-finger-middle-finger pattern for 1.5 hours. Not that exciting. But I like Vidal quite bit and he spent a long time talking to me after the class about the classes and how I will progress to playing actualy music and whatnot, so I'm going to keep going. I just won't be sitting next to sass girl anymore.

Anyway, I'm heading to Playa Mazunte tomorrow morning, and hopefully I'll be able to put that little girl's side eye behind me.

Peace.

p.s. - The pic is of me last year in S.America. I didn't want to look like any more of a guerra (ok, maybe not a guerra because I'm not white, but you get the idea) by taking a pic in my class. That is the guitar I've been using, though, and it actually has a hilarious story. I visited Bolivia during a huge festival weekend where everyone drinks all day and all night. I was waiting for lunch outside a restaurant and listening to these guys playing their guitar on the street. One of the drunken crazies was like, "Te gusta la guitarra?" and I was like, "Por Supuesto" and ducked into the restaurant to eat. While I was in there, the crazy came in and was like, "Un regalo para ti" and handed me a guitar. I tried to return it (the guitar store was across the street), but the guitar store guys wouldn't let me. They did give me a free lesson, though, and then took me dancing, which was nice since I was traveling solo that weekend. And that is how I came upon my free guitarra. The end.

el pechote guy in the NY Times

I know, another NY Times article. But I was so excited about this one because I know this guy!!
So there is this organic market every Friday and Saturday here in Oaxaca (just down the street from my apartment) called El Pechote. El Pechote has amazing produce and cheese, as well as some other vendors who sell delicious lentil salads, teas, and even sushi! This particular guy sells his mezcal there and gives out free samples every weekend. Awww...

In other Oax-based news, I am off to my first classical guitar lesson tonight, and later we are going to see some Mexico indie-folk guy play at some baresita. It should be a good time and hopefully by the time I am done with my guitar lessons, I can quit this biz and become a professional trubador or something.

Oh, and PS, I got this fare alert in my email today. I can't really do anything with it, but anyone else interested in traveling to Latin America between now and December 2009 should check it out.

Peace.

cool work stuff

The NY Times just ran this article the other day and it made me really excited because it's pretty relevant to some of the work that my organization does.

One of my favorite projects that my organization has been doing is the Clean Burning Stove Project.  Here's a video of it - it's a little sappy, especially at the end with the snotty little kid, but it gives you a better idea of what the project's like.

Since 2003, ProWorld has been implementing these stoves in the rural Andean communities throughout the Sacred Valley.  In these communities, families use an open fire to cook and heat their unventilated homes, which causes chronic pulminary disease, burns up the natural plant species, and is not all that environmentally friendly.  Each of our stoves - made entirely out of ceramic tiles for the chimney, adobe brick, and mud - ventilates the homes, burns fuel more efficiently, and releases up to 1 ton less carbon emission each year.  It's amazing the health and environmental benefits that they have, especially considering it takes maybe 30 minutes to install and they only cost a total of US$10, which includes labor and materials (ProWorld, with grant money from the Pan American Health Association, provides funding for the materials and requires that the community provide assistance with labor).  

In addition to the installation of the stoves, ProWorld also has teams of community health workers who do workshops with the communities about how the stoves are made, how they work, and the importance of proper usage.  The local myth is that the pulminary problems, or "La Toz" as they call it, are because of the constant cold in the mountains.  The community health workers will also do regular lung capacity checks.  We also do reforestation in all the communities, to replace some of the native species that were being depleted

This article came at a really cool time because we're really starting to get some recognition for our work in Latin America.  We recently sent one of our staff members responsible for the stoves project to Uganda for a conference on clean air.  There, the US Environmental Protection Agency awarded us with the 2009 Special Achievement Award for our work in Peru.  There were over 180 international organizations attending, so it was kind of a big deal, especially for a little orgnization like us.  We were all pretty stoked.

I promise to write more about our Mexico projects soon!

#82, 34, 65 and 17

Reason #82:  Mangoes.  

I don't think I can say enough about mangoes.  I could eat them forever.  I went to the little market with Augustin, ProMexico's project coordinator, yesterday and he educated me on all the wonderfulness that is the world of mangoes.  I had no idea there were so many different kinds and sizes and colors and tastes.  I basically spent a week's worth of grocery money on bags and bags of mangoes, which I am trying not to eat all in the same day.  Amazing.

Reason #34:  85 Degrees and Sunny

Now, I've only been in Oaxaca for a total of four days now, but every day since I've been here has been 85 degrees and sunny.  Perfect.  Rainy season is creeping, but that just means a light afternoon shower, which is always a nice reprieve from the heat.  Coming from the midwest "spring," rainy season in Oaxaca is just about the best thing ever.

Reason #65:  Art, Art, Everywhere

The streets of Oaxaca serve as unofficial curators to revolutionary graffiti that extols Mexico’s indigenous liberators, demands basic human rights and creates a streaming dialogue in the streets to help foster solidarity among the people. Far from delinquent, these open air frescoes inspire, incite, and foment action in a city that has often felt its first amendment rights repressed by a string of regimes that have dominated the “democratic” practice since the end of the Mexican Revolution in 1917.

On their recent trip to Oaxaca, the NYU students were lucky enough to attend a graffiti workshop with local legend “Guillermo,” whose politically and humanely motivated messages heightened his respect in the artistic community during the Oaxaca teachers’ strike of 2006. Teaching his practiced stencil design technique, Guillermo gave the students the tools and skills to broadcast their deep held beliefs and passions with nothing more than some plastic sheets, a sharp knife and some spray paint.

Reason #17:  5 Behemia Bottles for 90 Pesos

You really can't beat this deal.  The open air bar across the street from the office runs it every night.  At first I thought it was just a Tuesday night promocion, but turns out it's just how much their Bohemia bottles cost.  What better way to unwind after a day of work than to walk across the street, and drink delicious beer for $1?  

Much love for Oaxaca.  I promise to update more now that I actually have updates to send.

Peace out.