Crossing the Mexican border...

So, after my hurried afternoon of a week ago, I set of early last Tuesday morning with a friend from ICA (Alicia) toward San Cristóbal, Mexico. The original impetus for this trip was the fact that I needed to renew my passport before the 13 of May and wasn´t going to be out of the country until the 18th-plus, thanks to the CAFTA agreement, it no longer "counts" as leaving the country if I go to Nicaragua, Honduras, or El Salvador from Guatemala...only Mexico, Belize, or Costa Rica. Anyway, I´m so glad I had an excuse that made me go check the place out! The day of travel there was long, 10 hours overall, about 8 1/2 or 9 on a bus (4 different buses and one taxi), but overall, uneventfull. It was incredible to me how different this city was than Guatemala (or Mexico in general). The difference could be felt crossing the border. The streets and roads were a million times cleaner in Mexico, the buses smaller, more economical, comfortable and efficient. Even the terrain was different. Driving back to the border from San Cristóbal on Sunday, it struck me how I could see Guatemala approaching as the mountainous volcanos drew nearer.

Alicia and I took it pretty easy and just enjoyed the city for most of the time. I´ve been told that it is similar to Antigua in terms of being an old colonial type town and I really liked the feel of the place. Compared to anywhere I´ve been in Guatemala, it felt down right mellow, clean, and uneventful. There are 5 or 6 churches in town, several parks and open public spaces and it was very pleasant to just walk around or sit and people watch (although, we were disppointed at the lack of good ice cream in town, I guess I´m being spoiled by Sarita´s here in Guate). One day we had lunch at this place called Los Amigos (recommended to us by one of the workers in our hostel) whose entrance we almost missed because there were no signs and just a small door. Behind this however there was a very large room bustling with activity, 5 or 6 TVs playing music videos and many locals drinking and eating. I think it is really the first time that I´ve been somewhere (or eaten somewhere) where I felt like the only gringo around, like I was in a local hangout. The popularity I believe is due to the 2 for 1 deal on beers every day plus all the food you can eat for 30 pesos-and they really mean all the food you can eat. They just kept bringing us more and more stuff! At first, some chips, then peanuts, then a little meal, then fajitas, then guacamole...we weren´t sure how to make it stop!! It was definitely probably one of my favorite eating experiences on the trip so far though.
One morning we took a (guided) horseback ride to a nearby pueblo (San Juan Chamula) where the locals practice a very interesting combination of Catholic, Mayan and other beliefs. The church floor was covered in pine needles and idols of saints lined the walls, with candles lit everywhere. Here they believe that Saint John is more important than Christ and his idol held the upermost position in the church. People make chicken sacrifices all the time to cure diseases among other things. Also, we couldn´t take any pictures because the locals believe that if a picture is taken of them, they have been robbed of their soul...all in all an interesting experience. Plus, the horseback ride was probably the best ride I´ve ever been on (and yes, the number is limited) and the best part is that I was hardly even sore afterwards!

We were a little disappointed on Saturday (Cinco de Mayo) to discover that the town could of seemed to care less. I had been given this impression before-that in some ways Cinco de Mayo is a bigger celebration in the states than in Mexico, and everyone we asked confirmed that. I think it is maybe celebrated a bit more up north, and San Cristóbal is in the center of Chiapas that has a love hate relationship with Mexico anyway...but, alas, we came up with no crazy Cinco de Mayo stories, although we were in Mexico for the event.

After all that, I am now back in Xela for truly the last time, although I´m not sure that is really hitting home. I´m ready though and am getting more and more excited to see my mom and sister in Honduras. Sometimes the realization hits me that I´ve been down here for almost 3 months, living in a completely foreign country that now feels a bit like home. I realize that I speak a different language at least 50% of my day, find it normal to buy things like soap, shampoo, and food at an open air market, look forward to having beans and eggs for dinner (because that´s what it always is), and am no longer phased by the watered down, unexciting flavor of the instant coffee everyone drinks here. I own 2 pairs of shoes, do my own laundry by hand and hang dry it (50% of the time I guess, when all 10-20 items I own-counting socks and underwear etc, are dirty, I pay a Lavendaria to was everything). I pay to use a public computer and sometimes go days without checking my e-mail. I have no cell phone, walk everywhere, and when it´s too far to walk, I takce a chicken bus. i think in Quetzales when I spend money (rather than converting to US $) and even found myself a bit taken aback at the "high" prices in Mexico (While others we met raved about how cheap San Cristóbal/Chiapas is in comparison to the rest of the country). There is even a part of me that almost likes ranchera music nowdays and I don´t remember when I ever heard anything other than reagaton, salsa or merengue in a discoteca...Cobblestone streets, women selling handmade goos on the street, shoeshinners in the park, fireworks early in the morning to celebrate birthdays, street dogs, bus fumes...all of it seems so normal and natural and am often shocked to realize that I feel this way. There are of course things about here that still strike a dischordant string somewhere internally like everytime I see someone carelessly toss a plastic bottle out a bus window or drop a wrapper on the ground as if the nature has a maid or the catcalls on the streets when I walk around ("Hola gringa, tsst-tsst-" "Esatás hermosa" "ch-ch-ch" etc), but even these things I´m used to, even if I don´t like them much. Aren´t we human beings amazingly adaptable creatures? Honestly, I sometimes worry about readjusting to America when I go home...they often say culture shock is worse coming back than going...

Anyway, I have to run, I´m late for dinner (eggs and beans anyone?) but, in Guatemalan fashion, I´m guesssing it is being served late also...


Completely unrelated to anything here, I just finished reading a book called Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides that I thought was fabulous is anyone out there is looking for a good read.