Fighting obesity with zumba

I have previously blogged about obesity in Mexico but today I read this article that reaffirms what I already knew. So in the two years since I have lived here, America is still fat but Mexico is getting even fatter. Today, in an effort to curb our own polaktal (that is the Mayan verb that means “to become fat”), a few of us gringas joined the free zumba class in the park. I have done zumba in the States and was on the cardio dance train for several months at Duke but I usually find the classes to be boring or ridiculously easy. This class (especially for being free) was actually pretty fun! Maybe it was just needing a break from studying and speaking Maya, or maybe it was just feeling ridiculous knowing that we totally stood out in the crowd, but I enjoyed it. Plus, it’s so hot here that I felt like I got a great workout! I wish I had photos but basically it looked like this (but with really white people and in a park and to Enrique Iglesis and Justin Timberlake…oh, and Gangam Style):

My dream house

On Sunday we visited the most beautiful home I have ever been in, La Casa de los Venados (House of the Deer). It is a private home right in downtown Valladolid that was bought by an American couple from Chicago, the Venators, and restored into a mansion that is also basically a private art museum. They collect Mexican folk art and their home is filled with the pieces that they have commissioned and collected in their travels. They live in the house but they have also opened their home up for tours. They ask for donations that go to charity (tours are every day at 10pm– we just showed up and there was no one else there and we got a tour in English). The owner was actually there while we were there and we stopped and chatted with him.

If I were to have an unlimited amount of money this would be how I would decorate my house (minus a few of the tacky/creepy pieces). The La Catrinas, the calaveras, the furniture with hands and feet, the monkey lamps, the colorful crosses….it was so beautiful. I wanted to Pinterest the entire house. They even have matching suites called the Frida and Diego suites (the owner’s elderly mother was staying in the Diego suite so we couldn’t see that but the Frida suite was everything I dreamt of and more). I have actually visited the Casa Azul, the home of Friday & Diego in Mexico City, and this rivaled that home (although the Venators probably have a couple million on Diego and Frida, not to mention a swanky swimming pool).

All of my photos can be found here. But here is a video that is a bit long (and uses a ridiculous vocabulary) but gives you a much better idea of both Valladolid and the house itself.

Mexico taught me to run for my life

The tree that is beside the running water is fresher and gives more fruit. — Saint Teresa of Avila

I mentioned several months back about taking up running while in Mexico. Well, that all paid off as this morning I finished a half marathon! Lindsay and I both ran 13.1 miles. We can officially say that we have burned off all of those tacos. My time was around 2:18, not sure exactly but I was satisfied with it. So a big gracias to Mexico who got me started running long distances. I never could’ve done it without you.

El fin y el comienzo

“I hope the exit is joyful and I hope never to return”.— the last words of Frida Kahlo’s diary

Ok, so my farewell blog for this portion of Mexico is not as dramatic as Frida’s. But I have to  be honest in saying that I am very excited about the group from Duke arriving tomorrow. Today is my last official day at the church and I would be lying if I didn’t say I was looking forward to traveling with the comforts of a hotel and Duke Endowment budget as well as being comfortable in one’s native language and culture. This morning I managed to complete one of my goals which was running 10 miles. It was difficult but as I ended my last quarter mile I started sprinting and the sun was shining. I thought about all the things I had gotten thru here and all the things I have done that I thought I would never do (like running 10 miles). The song “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence + the Machine was playing and I realized that the dog days are over. Not necessarily in the literal sense (it’s actually fairly chilly here as compared to the heat wave that I hear about in the US) but in the larger sense. I made this slideshow to the song as a sort of farewell to our time here in Mexico City. Lindsay & I have had quite a few adventures together and I have greatly enjoyed the fellowship with her congregation and my own (and Lindsay herself, por supuesto). From annual conference to museums to weddings/baptisms to tacos stands– It’s been real D.F. (I know there’s been a lot of videos on the blog lately. This one is for everyone who hasn’t seen all my Facebook pictures):

I hope to eventually blog about how I have grown and changed but I think that doing that now would be premature. I could speculate, but I won’t know the fruits of my labor here until I look back on this experience. I came here hoping for discernment and I can’t say I have found a lot within myself despite any spiritual disciplines I have tried but I do hope to find guidance from someone wiser than me when I return (probably my mentor). I have heard preaching I disagree with, I have seen some of the difficulties of the Methodist church and I have seen injustices in which I wished I could do something as a Christian and part of humanity but was unable to help. I have also realized that I really like preaching and writing sermons and, for all of its faults, I still believe in the reconciling and restorative power of the church universal. Hopefully some career discernment will follow whatever spiritual and personal growth I experience when I get back.

I also want to give an introduction to Encuentro because I have mentioned it several times without an explanation. Encuentro is seperate from the Field Education Office and is actually a joint program with the Hispanic House of Studies and Thriving Rural Communities Initiative. Encuentro means “I find” or “encounter” and this is a 10-day trip to Mexico in order to encounter Christ in Mexico. This is done by visiting a variety of towns (from the sprawling metropolis of the DF to an indigenous village in the mountains of Guerrero). We focus on both culture, history, and worship in that we do such “toursit” visits as the pyramids of Teotihuacan and the Museo de Antropologia as well as worshipping at churches, visiting the seminary and even visiting the Basilica of the Virgen Guadalupe. I should also mention that its not just students but also local pastors, professors and lay persons. Here is a slideshow from the Encuentro trip two years ago.

I am very excited for the trip not only to see familiar faces and speak English again (several of the people on the trip are part of the rural church program at Duke and don’t speak Spanish or haven’t been outside of the country), but also to continue the process of learning about Mexico. Just beacuse I have been here for 10 weeks doesn’t mean that I am an expert. While I think Lindsay and I have both improved our language skills and are fairly culturally knowledgeable, there is still much about the history that I am unfamiliar with. Likewise, I hope to gain a stronger conception of the church as an international part of the body of Christ as well as be challenged to reflect more deeply with my colleagues about issues such as violence and immigration. Here’s a brief intinerary. I am not sure how often I will have internet so I might not blog until I arrive home.

Aug 4-8: Duke group arrives to Mexico City! We visit the pyramids, museums, Basilica, Zocalo and Templo Mayor. We also worship at Gante as well as my church on Sunday (my last time there) and visit the seminary and Episcopal offices.

Aug 9-11: We travel to the rural village of Huitzapula through the mountains of Morelos. Huitzpula is in Guerrero which is controlled by narcos and I am a bit wary of going there. I know we will be safe as a group but the violence has been escalating there so please keep us in your prayers.

Aug 12-13: Going to do some retreating to the beach. Yes, Acapulco amigos. I might actually not come back pale after these 10 weeks of rain everyday!

Then it’s back to Durham. I have about 2 weeks before classes start and I am pretty excited to get back! I am sure I will write on all the things I have missed and am looking forward to (ie Britney Spears concert) later. But this is not adios, just hasta luego. There are still all of the adventures of Encuentro to come (although I am not sure when I will blog about them).

Tolerance and tourism

What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. 

El movimiento que hace andar los mundos está hecho del juego de las diferencias, sus atracciones y sus repulsiones. Vida es pluralidad, muerte es uniformidad. — Octavio Paz

Today marked the end of Lindsay and I being tourists on our own and we tried to go out in style. Last night I went over to Lindsay’s and her “host mom”, Bersabet, and her granddaughter had offered to take us out to dinner. They are really sweet people and I have enjoyed their hospitality immensely. Bersa ended up not going but we joinined her granddaughter and friends for an evening at a German place. And if you know how much I love the German place in Durham (and how much I loved Germany in general) that was a great choice.

The next day we woke up and started out with a breakfast of Mexican champions: atole and tamales. Atole is a hot drink made of masa with cinnamon and vanilla. I had the chocolate flavor and it was so good. I also had a mole tamale made into a sandwich and Lindsay had a hot pink dulce tamale. Oh, and I put on the surgical mask to appear more Mexican (they wear masks here a lot like in China). Then Lindsay and I went to the Museo Franz Mayer. It is basically a collection of this rich guy who liked Spanish furniture, portraits and fancy things. It wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever seen but it was free.

Then we met up with Emma and we all went to the Museo de Memoria y Tolerancia. The first thing you notice about the place is the design. It’s HUGE and the outside has all of these tiny statues (kinda creepy like) that represent immigrants. The inside revolves around a “floating” children’s memorial representing the tears of child victims of genocide. There are also huge reflective spaces and windows which lend to the atmosphere. The museum has so much information that if you watched and read everything you could literally be there for the entire day.

Once inside you start at the 5th floor which is focused on the history of genocides. It starts with a large exhibition on the Holocaust. Then it follows with smaller exhibitions on the genocides in Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, Guatemala, Cambodia and Darfur. I have been to several Holocaust museums (DC & Houston) and these exhibits impressed me because they had a much different tone to them. While other museums rely on memorials and visuals that appeal to emotion, this museum is much more graphic. Likewise, it’s approach was different. It wasn’t just telling the story, it focused on WHY genocide happens and how society plays a role in genocide. The museum asked a lot of good questions about who is to blame and why genocides continue to be repeated. Several also made mention of the role of the church (or lack thereof) which I thought was very interesting.

The next floor changed focus and talked about tolerance. It was much more sociological and less historical. It focused on a lot of things that I already knew from sociology classes such as what is a stereotype, the difference between racism v. discrimination, etc. Some of the highlights for me included a video on Mexican stereotypes, an exhibit about the role of mass media in discrinmination (it showed how Disney reinforces cultural stereotypes in its films) and a film that showed a “love story” but then rewound to demonstrate how much of the poverty around us is invisible to us. It had an emphasis on education of future generations and an appeal to children which I think is really important.

Looking into "the mirror"

The last floor had a temporary exhibit on indigenous peoples of Mexico which I again found really interesting giving the work on indigenous cultural preservation that I did in Costa Rica. It had a part about indigenous identity and women’s rights. All of the photography was by a guy from Texas and it was gorgeous. The museum was really interesting and well worth a visit. I also think its really important to have a museum of this type in Mexico for several reasons. Namely there isn’t a lot of cultural diversity here. For example, I went to see Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Nights (don’t recommend it) and the audience was dying laughing at a scene of a Japanese religious ritual even though it was almost identical to a Catholic religious ritual in that there was a priest and he chanted in a different language and wore a special type of dress. There are many immigrants from other parts of Mexico to Mexico City but not from other countries (and we don’t see many tourists either). I have written many times that Mexico is in a difficult situation but this museum encourages nonviolence as a solution to problems in society. It looks for answers to difficult questions. I think one of those answers in Mexico includes tolerance and a respect for the life of all individuals. After this visit we felt a little down so we went for lunch and coffee at Starbucks. I also preached my last message to the women’s group tonight about the name’s of God and expanding our vocabulary in terms of speaking about God. Now just one more service tomorrow night before the Duke group arrives!

Metro iconography

“We take it for granted that Jesus was not interested in political life: his mission was purely religious. Indeed we have witnessed . . . the ‘iconization’ of the life of Jesus: ‘This is a Jesus of hieratic, stereotyped gestures, all representing theological themes. In this way, the life of Jesus is no longer a human life, submerged in history, but a theological life — an icon.” — Gustavo Gutiérrez, “A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation”

Since my entry on “Catholic Iconography” is my most searched for blog post by far I thought I would write on a different type of iconography. Mexico City’s metro is different from any other city’s metro that I have ever visited in that its stops are designated by an icon or symbol instead of just by their name. This is because when the metro was first created in the 1960s there was widespread illiteracy so the people had to have some other way of identifying the metro stops. Thus, each stop has a specific icon based on an icon of reference, history, nature, etc. This likewise makes it easier for foreigners like me who can’t pronounce the indigenous names Taxqueña, Popotla o Cuitláhuac. Instead when I go on the metro from my house to Lindsay’s I can just think “fish, fisherman, fruit” (I’ll explain the last one later).

Some interesting facts: The guy who designed these logos is actually an American named graphic designer, Lance Wyman, who designed the famous Mexican Olympic logo “68” as well as the emblematic Metro “M”. Also, the band Cafe Tacuba (named after the Cafe Tacuba where we ate last week) has an album called “Cuatro Caminos” that shows the actual Mexico City metro map on the front but with different icons for each of the stops.

 

 

Some of the metro icons are really obvious. Bellas Artes has a picture of Bellas Artes, Zocalo has the Mexican symbol of the vulture & snake since it is the seat of government. But others are a bit more complicated. For example, Merced is a box of apples because it is located close to one of the largest markets. And I found out Pino Suarez is a picture of an Aztec pyramid that was unearthed while they were building the metro station. I first realized that each of the metro stations has a story when I asked about the MetroBus one near my house, Tlacotal, which is a horse and they explained that this area used to be outside of the city where ranchers would take their horses to graze. Well, that’s not very obvious. Likewise, Tacuba (not the same as Cafe Tacubaya) is a jar of water because in Tacubaya is a nahutl word meaning “place where the waters meet”.

 

I tried to do some research to find out other cool stories about metro station names. Wikipedia is somewhat helpful at listing the basics but you have to search by individual stations. The only comprehensive resource I could find was this blog (in Spanish). From it I am listing some of the metro stations near my house or that I have encountered and their symbols:

Chabacano (the station where I have to change to go most anywhere)- Chabacano actually translates to “apricot” (a lot of fruit vocabulary is difficult because it changes from country to country; ex: avocado is aguacate in Mexico and palta in other countries). Spanish missionaries first brought the apricot to Mexico in the 18th cen. (it’s indigenous to China). The apricots grew well around this area because of its proximity to the river Piedad (which is not a street because Mexico used to be all water and they built on top of it). There is also a street named after the fruit.

Xola (Metro & Metrobus)- So the name Xola is actually more interesting than its figure of a palm tree. The name is said to originally be the names of the owners of estates in the area “Sola” and that over time as people mispronounced thier names (X is pronouced as “sh”) it became changed to Xola. The station is at the exact place where in the 1920s the owner decorated the front of his house with a palm tree from Guadalajara that grew overtime into a huge palm tree that people came to recognize. While the house and palm tree longer stand, the legend of his palm tree still does.

Metrobus Doctores (on the way to Walmart)- I was really confused why there was a picture of 2 doctors. Some metro stops are named after famous people (Juarez, Hidalgo, etc) so maybe there were some famous Mexican doctors I didn’t know about? Nope. Actually all of the streets in this colonia are named after doctors. I am not sure why that is but it has something to do with the person purchasing the land from the railway company and them losing the file. Mexican bureacuracy at its finest.

Salto de Agua (on the way to Lindsay’s)- this is a good example of where Wikipedia just says “named for a nearby fountain.” Which is true, but there’s a cool story to the fountain. The fountain was created in 1779 by the viceroy of Spain at the end of the aqueduct and is considered an architectural treasure. The names means “waterfall” and refers to the water falling over the three children riding dolphins on the fountain. The fountain is much more than that:  the front shows a large relief depicting the arms of Mexico City wish Spanish flags and eagle’s wings and such.

Indios Verdes (all the way at the end of the line that we used when we went to Conferencia)- the name means “green indians”. Huh? Well, it actually refers to a nearby statue that depicts two Mexican warrior kings, Itzcóatl y Ahuizotl. The bronze statue, however, has turned green over time due to rust.

There are a few other distinguishing features of the Mexico City Metro. I already mentioned the chivalry of the metro but also there is gender segregation. On the MetroBus the women are always separated from the men and in the Metro it is only during certain rush hours (they put up a barrier that is guarded by a policeman. And police will come on the car and kick men out). At first I thought it was weird and something “machista” but now I really appreciate it. The women’s car is very quiet and friendly. People still push and there’s a lot of primping that goes on in the morning but in general its a much more relaxing atmosphere during rush hour. I did find one weird news story about a guy who dressed as woman to ride the metro and sexually assault women (he was going to Tacubaya might I add). Creepy but I guess there are perverts in every city. In general I have never had a problem on the metro and there really are a lot of security cameras to at least make you feel safe. So while riding the metro can be a negative experience during rush hours, there are pretty pictures to look at and you can hang out with your girlfriends.

Por fin! Xochimilco!

Two drifters, off to see the world
There’s such a lot of world to see
We’re after the same rainbow’s end, waitin’ ’round the bend
My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me-– Johnny Mercer, “Moon River”. Listen below to a beautiful version in Spanish from the Almodovar film, “Bad Education”.

(Side note: I love Johnny Mercer who is from Savannah and I love Gael Garcia Bernal who is in “Bad Education” and from Mexico. I do not love the movie “Bad Education”.)

The one tourist attraction that I have wanted to do since I got to Mexico City is Xochimilco. Xochimilco is called the “Venice of Mexico” and it is basically an entire city of canals and islands. Mexico City is built on water and Xochimilco makes use of this geographic feature. The people there live on floating islands and use boats to get back and forth. You basically rent a gondola and then take off– other boats approach you to sell food (see below for me eating elote or corn-on=the-cob), drinks (micheladas!), souveniers, take your picture and mariachis will even get into your boat and play music!– we did all of these. We went with a group of about 15 people from Lindsay’s church. We bought a feast of carnitas to eat on board and it was like a Mexican floating picnic. It was a great Sabbath afternoon!

We got off the boat and went to the artisan market and picked up a few souvenirs including trajineras (gondolas) with our names written on them! At the end of our tour the group even called the mariachis over who played a few songs including a traditional goodbye song just for us (see video at the bottom)! I really liked Xochimilco because it was touristy but full of Mexicans, not American tourists. It just had a different flavor to it. It is by far the most “Mexican” thing I have done so far and I absolutely loved the colors and the music.

I should note that not all of our adventures are this succesful. On Friday Lindsay, Emma and I went on an excursion to the University (UNAM) and it turned out to be a lot harder than we expected. The campus is huge and we had trouble navigating the bus system. We ended up going to the art museum (the MUAC) and I was not impressed. It was really weird and depressing. But they had a nice restaurant and Lindsay & I got to see Harry Potter before since movies start really early here! The Duke group arrives Thursday so Lindsay & I have about one more touristy day in us before the serious turismo begins (I will do a pre-Encuentro post to explain a bit more about the purpose of the trip and why it is that I am not coming home sooner).

We still have some turismo left in us

“I’m of a fearsome mind to throw my arms around every living librarian who crosses my path, on behalf of the souls they never knew they saved.” — Barbara Kingsolver, author of 2 of my recent favorite books “The Poisonwood Bible” (evangelical missionaries in Africa make me feel better about my life) and “La Lacuna” (about Frida, Deigo and Trotsky).

Lindsay continues to be there for me to make me feel better and convince me that together 2 gringas are safer than 1. This past Tuesday we hit the town again, this time with Jazael, a teenager from Lindsay’s church. First we went to one of the most breathtaking libraries I have ever seen (Lindsay found it on a list of cool libraries in the world). It was so pretty I almost felt like studying.

After that we headed over to the Zocalo and we hit up the Palacio. I had been there before 3 years ago when I studied abroad but they have a new exhibit for the bicentennial. It was a lot of Mexican propaganda and standing in lines, but some of it was really cool like the large Diego Rivera mural. Then we had a coffee at a cafe overlooking Bellas Artes before having lunch at Cafe Tacuba. Cafe Tacuba is very traditional and is famous for tourists (there is also a band by the same name). As we were leaving Cafe Tacuba we passed “El Museo de la Cerveza” (the beer museum) and I of course wanted to go in. We came to find out that it’s actually just a bar with beer from around the world but that didn’t stop me from having a Stella Artois. As we were leaving we debated trying to do another actual museum but then the daily afternoon rain-shower came. And it did not just rain it literally hailed. We ran to get to the metro but we got soaked (at least we didn’t have on an all white outfit like Jazzo did). We headed home and made a night eating pizza and watching documentaries online (we wanted to see Harry Potter but worried about taking a taxi at night). I am sure there is some cliche about thunderstorms and rainbows that I could reference here.

The Duke group comes in exactly a week and there are still several things that Lindsay and I want to do. Seeing Harry Potter and going to Xochimilco are at the very top of my list.

Somebody had to say it…

“Mexico… is the most Christ-awful place in the world to be in any form of distress.”— Malcolm Lowry, “Under the Volcano”

The video above comes from a ad campaign here in Mexico called “Alguien tenia que decirlo” (ie. somebody had to say it). “Pinche” is a slang profanity here so I apologize if I offend any of the hispanohablantes reading this for vulgarity. The first time I saw it I was waiting for the metro and there was a billboard across the street that said “Merecemos un mejor sistema de transporte” (we deserve a better public transportation system). And I thought “yeah, that’s for sure”, although I really do appreciate the chivalry on the metro when men give up their seat for you, maybe that makes me a bad feminist. I really like the ad campaign because it basically points out all of the things that are wrong with Mexico City. And trust me, after surviving the great shootout/knife fight on the corner last weekend, I can’t say that I am too fond of  pro-Mexican propaganda. There are a lot of things wrong with the city- some of which I have already blogged out: crime, pollution, overpopulation, etc– and this way of addressing the problem gives a voice to these complaints. One of the things that I have been shocked by here is the way people don’t complain. So what if the checkout line at Walmart is so long you have to wait for an hour? Complaining isn’t going to do anything. Likewise, Mexicans have been criticized for not complaining about the increasing violence in their country and demanding that the government do something (Lindsay is planning a blog on this so I am not going to steal her thunder). But it’s definitely a problem that bad things are happening all around and Mexican citizens really do not have a voice in government.

Lindsay is going to blog about this but I am going to go ahead and post it (although I will look forward to her commentary). It’s a TED talk by Emiliano Salinas about “A Civil Response” to the violence in Mexico.  His talk is very controversial as he says that the response of most Mexicans to increasing violence is to stay at home in fear. Now, I can’t speak for all Mexicans but I have most certainly stayed at home in fear since the shooting. I would disagree when he claims that Mexicans “think like victims” and that is because they are victims and not just playing the roles of victims, but I do agree that there needs to be a non-violent solution and action. He doesn’t mention the poet Javier Sicilia whose son was murdered and he went on to found the National Movement for Peace. He is an example of a Mexican who has taken his anger about the current situation in Mexico and turned into a nonviolent means of criticism and manifestations. You can read his “Open Letter to Mexico’s Politicians and Criminals” here.

Well I realize that wasn’t the most uplifting post but I promise that the next one will be about Lindsay and I having another tourist adventure with sunshine and rainbows (after we got trapped in a rainstorm). It’s also ironic that this Sunday I am preaching on worrying. The thing is that Mexicans don’t worry like we do in the States because the things that they have to worry about are so much bigger. They worry about their safety and the safety of their children. whereas we worry about trivial things. I am having trouble writing it in a way that will transcend cultural differences.

Shots in the night

But all we wanna know is “Where the party at?”
And can i bring my gat?
If not, I hope I don’t get shot— Notorious B.I.G.

Tonight we were eating hot dogs downstairs on the patio as Zuri and her husband Jacob sell hamburgers on the weekends out of the house to earn some extra money. It was a very cold night after it rained today. We had been talking about movies as Eliud and his girlfriend saw Harry Potter today and then we  switched to discussing Lost which I love and Eliud hasn’t finished yet. That’s when we heard it. BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG. About 7 shots. They couldn’t have been more than about 10 yards away on the corner where the drug users hang out. Everyone froze. I knew this wasn’t new. I have heard shots at night before but never before 1 AM. I could see the others were scared too. There was a woman buying a hot dog for her daughter. She pushed her inside as we closed and locked the front doors. The shots began again. Another round. BANG BANG BANG BANG. Everyone rushed me into the sanctuary where we turned on just one light. We crouched down. All I could think of was the word “sanctuary” and how this holy place was now acting as a different type of refuge. I stupidly asked why we were hiding in the church and they told me that it has thicker walls and glass should there be a stray bullet. I prayed. I was scared. After about 10 minutes we saw the familiar lights of the police car. They told me to go upstairs to my room where I would be safer. I did just that. Someone must have gone outside for the gossip (since gossip is essential to the Mexican way of life there were a lot of people hanging around outside). No one was hurt. We aren’t sure if they were aiming for anyone or just trying to scare someone (anyone). While the family seemed scared at the time they quickly went back to their usual routine. I am still shaking. Dangerous countries are not foreign to me– my parents took me to Cuba when I was 15, I went to Venezuela when I was 16. I have been in some dangerous places and probably some not very safe situations. I have been offered drugs and have been worried someone might steal my purse but never ever have I been that close to gunshots. I thought I understood the gravity of the problem of violence in Mexico from hearing other peoples’ stories, but you can’t begin to grasp it until it affects you personally. Maybe I was wrong in my sermon last week that it’s harder to pray for things that are close to you because I was praying harder for peace in Mexico than I ever have when I was selfishly worried about my own life. Maybe I have been naive thinking that I can go about Mexico doing what I please as if being American makes me immune to other social ills. But I also don’t want to live my last two weeks here in fear when there is so much more to see and experience. Pray for Mexico:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console,
not so much to be understood as to understand,
not so much to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
it is in dying that we awake to eternal life.

— St. Francis of Assisi

I realize that this was a post written hastily and emotionally but I think it represents fear and anxiety in the midst of danger. Also, most people don’t quote both Biggie Smalls and St Francis in the same post. I also updated my post below with pictures to try and occupy myself.