Yesterday we went to a village not far from here, called san juan chamula. It was a small indigenous village and we started by going to their church, which was amazing beyond words. I have never seen so much passion and belief in one place, there were thousands of lit candles throughout, and dry pine needles on the floor. They were performing cleansing rituals on children while we were there and it was all really amazing to see. We really saw the effect of coca cola's influence on mexico (they sell it cheaper than water, so everyone has really horrid dental decay and diabetes, etc.) Overall it was an amazing experience. We then took a hike up a hill, up more stairs and then up to a lookout to look at the village. We then came down and toured a cemetary and another parts of the village, there were such small puppies in the streets, i'm having such a hard time with the street dogs. They're all so sad and malnourished and adorable and they just want some food, and i can't pet them or give them food and i just can't do anything for them and its really breaking my heart. It also makes me really miss my Zuko more everyday. We also saw what an impact tourism is having on this village and its culture and its disgusting. People pulling up in groups of 40+ on tour busses and big cameras around their necks and gawking at the locals (this village has been really terrorized by media, look them up to understand more.) Anyways, then we came home and a few of us had a debrief in our room and it was really nice to just sit around and have that time together before we moved in with the families.
Today we moved in with the families and we are so close to the classes "home base" its really awesome, and we're close to the market too. Our host mother is Clara, her brother Samuel (i think) and her nephew (i believe) Carlos are all kind of our family, although she is the only one who is around all the time. She doesn't sleep here at night, her mother's is next door so ultimately after 10pm we have the place to ourselves. Its a small home with a courtyard with an open roof in the middle, our room next to the entrance garage type area and the kitchen and bathroom across the courtyard. The beds are plenty comfortable and the family is making us really feel welcome. We helped Clara prepare some sandwiches to sell in the market, they smelled good but there was no way i could eat today with a still tossing and turning stomach. We're in an alright part of town, its a little loud but whatever, our bedroom has what used to be a door outside in it, so we can hear the street and people's music when they drive by. Overall i'm happy with our situation, me and janet share a room which doesn't bother me in the least. We did some more exploring today just wandering around and hanging out, it was nice to relax a bit for a couple hours. At 4 we had a guest speaker and then a debrief, we got home around 7:30, and clara had dinner for us but we couldn't eat dinner, i was feeling nauseous just at the sight of food so we felt really bad but it was either eat because we feel bad, or feel bad because we barfed all over her kitchen while trying to eat. Hopefully i will feel better in the morning.
I have no pictures to update with because we weren't allowed cameras in San Juan Chamula, and no pictures of my family just yet. Today was a really homesick day for me but i'm getting through it one day at a time, once it hits midnight, only 24 days until we fly home. <3
love and miss everyone!
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