Dear reader, once again we prepare to journey together, though now it is for the final time. Our bags are packed, and we’ve eaten our last breakfast together. Somehow, in a miracle that defies the properties of physics, we have managed to fit our purchases into our luggage, which are straining at the seams. Our [...]
Archive for June, 2010
Leaving San Cristobal
Posted in Chiapas 2010 on 06.24.2010 | 4 Comments »
Chiapas Day 09—The Bees of Acteal
Posted in Chiapas 2010, tagged Abejas, Acteal, massacre, singing, tomb on 06.23.2010 | 4 Comments »
Dear reader, thank you for your dedication to following us on this journey. It has been difficult, as our hearts have broken every day, and we have wept as our eyes were opened to the horrific truths told to us simply, quietly, by the people who have suffered them. I’m afraid today’s post will continue [...]
Chiapas Day 07—Chamula, Candles, and Bare Feet
Posted in Chiapas 2010, tagged candles, capitalism, cell phone, Chamula, disease, globalization on 06.23.2010 | Leave a Comment »
Happy Father’s Day! To all the fathers who are reading along with us, we celebrated you today. Some of us were able to make a phone call or send an email, but many of us were not able to do so. Instead, we took a moment to think of all of you—the wonderful fathers who [...]
Words from the Zapatistas
Posted in Chiapas 2010, tagged Council of Good Government, EZLN, Zapatistas on 06.23.2010 | 2 Comments »
After our passports had been collected and examined, our group was allowed through the gate and asked to enter the auditorium. The building reminded me of the barn where I used to work with horses: simple wood plank walls with no insulation, cracks of sunlight showing through; many poles holding up the rafters and the [...]
Chiapas Day 06—Visiting Oventic and the Zapatistas
Posted in Chiapas 2010, tagged Magdalenas, Oventic, solidarity, Zapatistas on 06.22.2010 | 1 Comment »
What We Were Given by Cathy Pino Hello, friends! Thanks for joining us as we live and learn in Chiapas during this study trip. We are grateful for your partnership, your comments on our postings, and your presence in our lives. As we get to know each other and our hosts here in San Cristobal [...]
Chiapas Day 05—A Volcano, Mayan Medicine, and a Sunset
Posted in Chiapas 2010, tagged bromeliads, cloud forest, deforestation, pharmaceuticals, sunshine on 06.21.2010 | 4 Comments »
Huitepec Ecological Reserve The sun was out today! It may not have lasted all day, and there may have been some clouds, but there was definite sun and blue sky visible! As a result, it turned out to be the perfect day for us to go hiking up a volcano. We piled into a bus [...]
Chiapas Day 04—Interfaith Dialogue, Futbol, the “Other” Perspective, and Ecological Disaster
Posted in Chiapas 2010, tagged assassination, carbon credits, child labor, ecumenical, futbol, NAFTA, religious tolerance on 06.21.2010 | 1 Comment »
Friends, it has been a very long day. For those of you who followed Mr. Melcher’s posts from El Salvador in March, you will be familiar with his euphemism: Traveler’s Digestive Issues (TDI) have assaulted members of our group today, including yours truly. As a result, even though we had the evening to ourselves, I [...]
NEWS FLASH! TOURISTS UNABLE TO BUY THEIR WAY THROUGH MEXICO!
Posted in Chiapas 2010, tagged humanity, Oventik, Zapatista on 06.20.2010 | 2 Comments »
Indians Deny U.S. Seminarians Access to Their Town June 19, 2010, Chiapas, Mexico After seventeen seminarians and teachers from United Theological Seminary in Saint Paul, Minneosta, traveled to the troubled province of Chiapas, Mexico, to learn and share with the people, a local Zapatista community at Oventic turned them away. “We were disappointed,” a [...]
Chiapas Day 03—Cosmovision, Clowns in a Bus, and a Reunion
Posted in Chiapas 2010, tagged clowns, cosmovision, downpour, seekers of knowledge, squeegee on 06.18.2010 | 8 Comments »
I would like to mention the climate here in Chiapas, as I noticed it has been absent from my posts thus far. Since getting out of the van in the pouring rain our first night, it has been overcast. Generally, things are dry in the mornings, and then after lunch, we can expect rainfall off [...]
