Three girls, a beautiful city and one hell of a task – to take it all in!
We stared today’s Quest with a delicious breakfast and a list of directions around the breath taking city of San Cristobal de las Casas in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. The three of us worked together to figure out these directions, find our way in an unfamiliar area, we worked together as a team and encouraged each other. We explored not only what was around us but what was inside of us.
We saw numerous of the beautiful churches and cathedrals around the city, spent time in a public library, purchased groceries in a foreign grocery store, walked through the peoples market and the Zocalo. We spoke with strangers, encountered street kids and even ran into mutual friends of people on the trip who we would later be introduced to. We tested ourselves in more ways than we knew and it wasn’t until we got back to the hotel and started talking about it that we started to see the big picture by connecting all the dots.
We did more than just ‘navigate around this city.’ When we sat down to talk about it at our debriefing session, as we like to call them, it took more than 3 hours. We talked about our challenges and our observations, what was difficult, what we saw, what we heard, three hours later we had talked about not only what we had encountered that day but what it all meant.
We talked about indigenous rights, colonization, NAFTA, the Zapatista’s, women’s rights, children’s exploitation, education, health, social justice, individuality and personal growth. It was a conversation at home we probably never would have started but here never wanted to end.
This task brought us together and metaphorically speaking, took us from standing in the field and seeing what was right in front of us to flying over it and seeing the big picture. We started to understand how everything is connected and what roles we play.Today was exhilarating – so full of life, learning and growth. Not only as an individual but as members of an organization and as a team. In ways it was even more than that, the day was full of positivity and filled me with good energy to continue believing in the power of people and positive change.
On our Quest today we met another group of vibrant young people. We exchanged contact information and met up later in the evening.
They are a group of about 20 travelling from the United States to Costa Rica in two vans, a truck and are pulling a trailer. The group consists of young radical people from the United States, Mexico and Costa Rica, perhaps others but those we did not meet.
They are all members of a Christian organization called Youth With A Mission. Their goal is to bring supplies and equipment to a community center called Foundations of Community Development in San Jose, Costa Rica.
It was awesome to sit down with people, exchange stories and learn from one another's experiences. I find that on adventures such as this every encounter is special and holds a certain magic.
They were a great group of people and I wish them all a safe and happy journey, enriched with adventure and well being!
Some General Information on Chiapas
ReplyDeleteFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chiapas is the southernmost state of Mexico, located towards the southeast of the country. Chiapas is bordered by the states of Tabasco to the north, Veracruz to the northwest, and Oaxaca to the west. To the east Chiapas borders Guatemala, and to the south the Pacific Ocean, Chiapas has an area of about 74,211 km2 (28,653 sq mi). The 2005 Mexican census population was 4,293,459 people.
In general Chiapas has a humid, tropical climate. In the north, in the area bordering Tabasco, near Teapa, rainfall can average more than 3,000 mm (120 in) per year.[citation needed] In the past, natural vegetation at this region was lowland, tall perennial rainforest, but this vegetation has been destroyed almost completely to give way to agriculture and ranching. Rainfall decreases moving towards the Pacific Ocean, but it is still abundant enough to allow the farming of bananas and many other tropical crops near Tapachula. On the several parallel "sierras" or mountain ranges running along the center of Chiapas, climate can be quite temperate and foggy, allowing the development of cloud forests like those of the Reserva de la Biosfera el Triunfo, home to a handful of Resplendent Quetzals and Horned Guans.
The state capital city is Tuxtla Gutiérrez; other cities and towns in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las Casas, Comitán, and Tapachula. Chiapas is home to the ancient Mayan ruins of Palenque, Yaxchilán, Bonampak, Chinkultic, and Toniná.
As of the mid 1990s, most people in Chiapas were poor, rural small farmers.[2] About one quarter of the population were of full or predominant Maya descent, and in rural areas many did not speak Spanish. The state suffers from the highest rate of malnutrition in Mexico, estimated to affect more than 40% of the population.[citation needed] "Without roads, cities or even small towns, eastern Chiapas is a kind of dumping ground for the marginalized, in which all of the hardships peasants confront in the highlands are exacerbated."[3]
The increasing presence of Central American gangs known as Maras, and illegal immigration from Central America in general (mostly immigrants on their way to the United States), stresses an already poor state.[citation needed] These immigrants are subject to human rights violations from Mexican authorities.
Information found on wikipedia.org
Better blog reponses will come, but I wanted to atleast get some information up and going so I didn't miss too many days, but I will do more indepth when days become less chaotic.
Melanie