Hey, even here on what may seem like an extended holiday, I get the "TGIF!" feeling. These are long full weeks of spanish classes and homework (when I do it) and trying to cram way too much information into the rusty old engine one could call a brain. My brain is like an outdated car that still gets around but it shudders and stops and starts abruptly and needs a lot of rests! I do think age and early exposure plays a lot into the rapid acquisition (just stating the obvious) but it is interesting to see it in action. The older folks have more difficulty with pronunciation and get crankier and more frustrated (thats me!) than the younger ones. The only thing I have going for me at this point is my sheer stubborn persistence!
Well, I guess that has always been true about me!
Today was Dia de la samaritana (day of the samaritan) another christian thing (surprise!) but it was a fun, tasty (kind of) and a colorfully decorated day at the school and all over town. Its a tradition on this day to make these fruit waters (among other ingredient still undertermined) and hand them out freely at schools, parks and work places. It represents the day when Jesus was hot and thirsty and given water by the good samaritan. Look, I don´t really know the reference so that's all can say about that and truthfully I couldn't get the stringy textured waters down the old hatch so I probably wouldn't look forward to this holiday if I lived here.
I love english! I love that I can write these words in various orders and you will one way or another understand and make some sense out of this. So refreshing to have a language that fits, even with all the gramatical errors I make, like a glove! I am starting to sign more in spanish class at times becasue as I try to challenge myself and I hit another level of difficulty I again revert to signs hoping that it will fill in the gaps and clarify. Often it does. This tangent is because from the excessive focus on language study it makes me marvel anew at the way the symbols of language make understanding each other possible. Its so great we don't have to grunt and point because otherwise I wouldn't be able to share one story from our travels and if I had to write it in spanish it would take so much more time I would probably write very little.
Another tradition here that happens every friday during lent is that men buy woman they like or want to be with flowers. So if woman hangs out in the parks you may just find yourself handed some flowers by an (lets hope a cute one!) admirer. Would you believe my own guy after spanish class presented me some beautiful white easter lilies! Just in case your wondering this may be only the 3rd time I have gotten flowers from Andy in 17 years! Although I may have joked (like everyday the preceding week) that I was going to hang out in the park and wait for some flowers I didn't think he would come through with such a dramatic bouquet of flowers. He actually got some tears out of me on that one! He was suprised that my expectations of him are so low in the romance department that I would actually cry over that! I think thats pretty funny. I will post pretty flower pictures later.
Zarha finally started to open up to the two other children that have been in Oaxaca studying spanish for the past five weeks, on their last day here! Those kids will not be at the school next week and it is usually rare to find kids at immersion programs so it was nice she got to connect with them before they continue their travels. They were in differnt classes but they made time to climb trees and chase each other and thats what kids should do. I told their mom "your kids are so childlike!" because they seem to laugh and run and throw and frolick a lot. Apparently Andy (Zarha too) thought that was abusrd to say because they ARE kids. Those kids brought that out in our kid and it was nice to see. They are traveling for one year heading to all the places we would go if we had more time. I love meeting families like that, they are fun and adventurous!
que mas??
There was an article in the main newspaper here about Brad Will's parents traveling to Mexico City to pursue the investigation of Brads murder and to see the killers brought to justice. I am so impressed with his parents! They are really doing amazing things to keep pressure on the government and it helps the case of many involved in the oppressive situation down here. His parents have have gotten absurd answers about who killed Brad and they are determined to see this through. They are not just accepting the lies and cover ups of the government. I can imagine how hard this would be for parents dealing with this issues during a time of such grief.
This is our big friday night out and I should get ready to do what I always do, roam the streets and eat too much yummy food!
We have some weekend explorations planned and we are starting to think about our route back north out of mexico. We have one more full week of Spanish classes and then we want to go to the beaches and towns on the east coast as well as Mexico City so we have a lot to do in our last week of travel!
Happy leap year! and happy leap day! I only know one person born on this day our Aunt moe! She is only like 12 years old this year because luckily she only has a bday once every 4 years! Happy bday moe! we love you!
we are moving into the ides of march and I sure hope its bringing nicer weather to all you in the NorthEastern parts of the states!
I plan to post some photos of the day to day views of Oaxaca and the life we see walking to school and roaming around. I havent been able to take the kind of photos I see so many shamless tourists take. These tourists rove in packs with school or tour groups and shove huge lenses in the faces of the people on the street. I am embarassed to even watch them and we have thought of taking pictures of them taking pictures of the local Oaxacans. However now that I know some people that I purchase things from regularly (like my favorite elote stand!) I may just ASK for a couple pictures to remember my favorite places.
Much love to all,
for those who send us comments and emails, we really love it!
love dawn
1 comment:
US Parents Seek Answers in Mexico Death
By JESSICA BERNSTEIN-WAX –
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jTV-2mvkPnu1I9MvqkQbk88C71uQD8V30F6O0
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The parents of an American journalist slain in
southern Mexico said Wednesday they were unsatisfied with the progress
authorities have made in the case and will have outside investigators
review video footage and forensic evidence.
Bradley Roland Will, a 36-year-old journalist-activist from New York,
was killed in October 2006 while filming unrest in Oaxaca state, where
protesters had been fighting for months to oust Gov. Ulises Ruiz for
alleged electoral fraud. Will recorded video and wrote dispatches for
indymedia.org in the month before his death.
"It's been a year-and-a-half now," said father Hardy Will, who
traveled to Mexico City and Oaxaca with Bradley's mother Kathy Will to
meet with authorities and human rights groups. "We would expect some
progress and concrete results."
He said the couple met with investigators on Tuesday from the federal
Attorney General's office and officials there agreed to let four
experts from Physicians for Human Rights examine Will's autopsy,
various photographs, video footage and ballistics evidence.
The family is particularly interested in having them study the video
Will filmed of his own death to rule out a close-range shooting.
On the day of the killing, Will was videotaping a group of protesters
in the Oaxacan slum of Santa Lucia when a gunbattle erupted. Will was
shot in the abdomen and died before he reached the hospital.
Investigators arrested two town officials in the killing but released
them after state Attorney General Lizbeth Cana suggested Will may have
been shot by a protester standing near him.
"The hypothesis up to this point is that it was somebody next to Brad,
and we feel that is totally ridiculous," Kathy Will said.
A spokeswoman for Mexico's federal Attorney General's office, which
has taken over the case, said Wednesday it had no statement to make
about the investigation.
The National Human Rights Commission said 11 others died as a direct
result of the violent confrontations, which ravaged Oaxaca from May to
November 2006.
"He was killed in the exact same way as the others," Kathy Will said.
"We feel it's our duty to follow his path — to not allow him to be
another victim of exactly what he was trying to uncover."
___________________
One year after Brad's murder Bush/Calderon announced the proposal to
offer $1.5 Billion in USA military aid and surveillance equipment to
the very same people who killed him and numerous others. This would
reward the impunity of human rights violations. The "Meridia
Initiative", known as "Plan Mexico" would include $60 million to the
very same federal prosecutor's office who seems to have covered up
Brad's and many murders in Oaxaca, Chiapas and Atenco. Members of the
nation-wide Friends of Brad Will have been stepping up a lobbying
campaign to impact Congress on this issue, with postcards, letters,
meetings, some having been arrested during hearings in Washington, DC
chaired by Representative Engel on this matter.
For more information:
http://www.friendsofbradwill.org
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