Letter from México #3

Greetings from Tepoztlán in the state of Morelos, México.

Brian here. We've been in Tepoztlán for six weeks now, so we're about halfway through our trip. Wow. When we told folks at home that we were going to be here for three months, many commented on how long a stay it was. When we tell folks here that we're staying for three months, they remark on what a short period of time it is! Often, they want to know when we'll be back. I wish we knew!

Looking back on our decision to take this trip (OK, it was originally my dream and Kimberly and Lea agreed to come along for the ride), I wasn't exactly sure WHY I wanted us to take this trip. Somehow, I thought it would be good to do so, but I just didn't know in what ways. I think we're gradually understanding why it has been good. Perhaps the highlight of the trip so far has been the relationship we have built with folks here.

Across the street and a few meters up the hill from us live José Vargas Gomez and his wife Aurora Cortés Pavón, and their two children José Jr (4) and Lisett (8). José's grandfather also lives with them. And José's brother Eduardo works here in José's metalworking workshop (which is in their home). They build metal gates, iron window frames, steel doors and sturdy furniture. José Jr (Josecito) attends the same private school as Lea, but does so on scholarship.

Every weekday, we walk with them to school. Along the way we greet a dozen other neighbors walking or selling freshly-slaughtered chicken or making tortillas by hand or selling milk and beans from a tiny shop. We also stop and pick up José Jrs cousin, Abi (5) who attends their school.

I have spent a fair amount of time hanging out at Jose's workshop. He has been good enough to share many of his thoughts, generously repeating himself more slowly or in different words so that I might understand him. I've learned a lot about what life is like down here. It was he who suggested I teach some English to his relatives and friends, many of who will spend time working in the US, perhaps gardening in the Phoenix area, or harvesting tobacco in Virginia. Work is hard to come by here and decent paying working still more difficult to find.

His brother Eduardo (who has two kids of his own and lives in a nearby village) told me that he earns roughly the same per week here that he makes per day in tobacco fields in the US, where he spends four months away from his family every year. He wants to learn a few more phrases in English because his bosses in the tobacco fields will treat him with more respect if he understands and speaks more English.

Aurora, José's wife, has a warm and open smile and a heart to match. Their daughter Lisett has taken to Lea like an older sister, holding her hand and being sure that Lea understands the games, resorting to complicated role playing and hand gestures when Lea doesn't understand the Spanish version.

The other night we were invited to dinner at their home. We sat outside, next to heaps of scrap metal and washing buckets. The family of five (counting the grandfather) live in three tiny rooms. Aurora brought a steady stream of food to the table: pasta with crema, nopali cactus with onion, tortillas, salsa, and bifstek. We sat for hours talking and joking (or trying to: it was all in Spanish!) and learning more about each other and our lives and this place. (I've brought postcards of Madison to give to people here and I enjoy the looks on their faces when I tell them the lakes pictured there are ice presently).

On Saturday, finding myself with a chunk of time on my hands while Kim and Lea were teaching English to some children at Kimberly's Spanish school, I considered going for a long walk. But then I decided to see if I could help José and Eduardo with a project. And so found myself scraping and sanding paint off a huge old water tank that they had mounted on a truck for Feliciano's new business of trucking water to homes here during the dry season. (Feliciano is Mari's husband. Mari is Aurora's sister. They live just down the street and have three children, Aidé, Feliciano Jr, and Abi. Many are pictured in our blog.) We worked hard and it was a good way to help them out and to spend more time in the company of "la gente" (the people) here.

On Sunday we accompanied José and his family to his fútbol game in Ocotitlán, a village outside of our little town. The playing field is surrounded by mountains. (See photos in the blog.) Then they brought us to their friends' house where we ate on a balcony overlooking the pueblo. One highlight from dinner: Kimberly managed to tell a couple of jokes in Spanish that had everyone laughing!

This town has some incredibly inspiring history; I will post some details about that in the blog. For now, I will mention that the town barricaded itself against outsiders, big business, and the federal government for years in the mid 1990s. It is a revolutionary tale.

Qué suerte (what luck) that we landed in this place, with these people. The government named Tepoztlán a Pueblo Mágico or "Magic Village," and we are inclined to agree.

We send our best wishes to you,
Brian, Kimberly & Lea

PS Our blog is at http://brianlavendel.blogspot.com/