The School of Life

Gene and I are now in day 4 of our 2 weeks of Spanish classes. So far, this has been a good experience. We have been put into "small groups" of other students at our level and their assessment of our skills feels realistic. Gene's group is larger and is comprised of several world travellers who are here for one week only enroute to other adventures. My group is really only one other young woman who is single and has been here for approximately a month in order to do some project work for women's issues, poverty in the schools and other very socially commendable ideas. She is also very attractive and every morning can come with a new story of a "Caballero"she has met the night before. Gene and I have realized that what we lack in quick functioning neurons can be made up for by earlier bedtimes, homework completion and arriving on time with a full stomach. It's a bit like the tortoise and the hares...there are a lot of flashy hares in our school and we are the elderly tortoises who are doing our work poco a poco!

But enough about our Spanish...the real adventures have been in learning about this town and the wonderfully amazing people who live in this part of Chiapas. Like last night when our "school" arranged an opportunity for us to visit the private "museo" of a local man who is quite a hero here in Chiapas. Sr. Sergio Garcia has created a showpiece of local traditional clothing and is a wealth of knowledge about the various indigenous people who compromise almost 1/3 of the population of Chiapas. The details of the fabrics and art so clearly arranged by village and tribe was beautiful but the really amazing part was seeing the work he is doing and has done for many years to treat the various major injuries, skin diseases and horribly crippling afflictions of the people who live without access to any modern medicine and lack resources to get care.

The sun is shining, we are seeing more and more each day of the town, the people and the local area, and life is easy. We miss our friends, our family and Cori, but will treasure this opportunity forever.

Oh, and did I mention that for the first time in Mexico we ate Thai and Lebanese food in a 2 day period....this is an international culinary expo. with live music in almost every cafe. It makes asking for the bill interesting when you have just eaten a "shwarma'...the cafe has a Spanish guitar playing and the waiter is speaking French to the table next to you.... and tells you that he moved here from London.