Thursday, January 30, 2014
Julio Angel Pacheco Pacheco...A Fisherman
As I was walking back from lunch, I hear a man yell out, "Hola!", from behind me. It was Julio! I didn't recognize him because he wasn't in his work uniform anymore, but dressed in shorts and a t-shirt and baseball cap. We talked for a bit and I told him I had wanted to interview him, but couldn't find him. Now was my chance...so I put on my Spanish cap, which doesn't always fit, so excuse the mistakes....
Introducing, Julio Angel Pacheco Pacheco, a fisherman, in his own words...published with his permission...Gracias, Julio! Y muchas buena suerte!! - Rose
Even tiny ants...
love flowers...As I was headed back to my hotel room, from the beach, I looked down at the ground. There were two little ants carrying flowers on their backs. Perhaps to decorate their tables at home...? Or give to their sweethearts...?
Photo forthcoming
Photo forthcoming
Fishing for a living...
First of all, let me say that a blog post really should have a photo, but I'm having issues with transferring photos from my iPhone. The photos will have to wait...
This morning on my walk on the beach I met Julio, a fisherman, who makes his living off of what he can catch in the sea. He sells at the market but also works to feed himself and his family.
I spoke with another fisherman a little later on my walk and I asked him if he liked his work. He said he did. I asked if it was easy or difficult. He said it can be both. I wondered if it were dangerous...and he said that at times it can be. If the waves are really high they can crash you against the rocks and some fishermen have died...
These aren't the usual fishermen we see in the states, with fishing poles. They use nets and cast them out while standing waste deep in the warm water. There are several men, ranging in age from teenager to middle age, all working together. Once their net is full of little sardine type fish, they run it up to the bucket they have waiting on the beach. I noticed they keep it under a makeshift shelter of dried out palm fronds. I think this is to keep the seagulls away from their catch. I've watched these fishermen every day. To me, it looks like they are having fun and really have great passion for their work. If I am right, I think they are very lucky.
A picture IS worth a thousand words...I can't wait to upload my photo of Julio, who makes his living from the sea...
This morning on my walk on the beach I met Julio, a fisherman, who makes his living off of what he can catch in the sea. He sells at the market but also works to feed himself and his family.
I spoke with another fisherman a little later on my walk and I asked him if he liked his work. He said he did. I asked if it was easy or difficult. He said it can be both. I wondered if it were dangerous...and he said that at times it can be. If the waves are really high they can crash you against the rocks and some fishermen have died...
These aren't the usual fishermen we see in the states, with fishing poles. They use nets and cast them out while standing waste deep in the warm water. There are several men, ranging in age from teenager to middle age, all working together. Once their net is full of little sardine type fish, they run it up to the bucket they have waiting on the beach. I noticed they keep it under a makeshift shelter of dried out palm fronds. I think this is to keep the seagulls away from their catch. I've watched these fishermen every day. To me, it looks like they are having fun and really have great passion for their work. If I am right, I think they are very lucky.
A picture IS worth a thousand words...I can't wait to upload my photo of Julio, who makes his living from the sea...
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Hola, buenos dias...
Puerto Escondido, Mexico is a small beach town, a 45 minute plane ride from Oaxaca City. In the area where I am staying, in order to get to a small business district with shops and cafes, you must walk in the street, as there really aren't many sidewalks. There are a few, but they stop and you are forced to walk on the road. It is always a pleasant walk from my hotel, anyway. It's not just the beautiful flowers, or the sun beating down on me, or the view of the ocean, but the locals that always give a smile and say, "Hola, buenos dias". I love this. It reminds me that people seek connection all over the world. In comparison, many times I have walked a Seattle street and said "hello" only to have the person say nothing and leave me with my own crazy thoughts of, "Is it something I said?!" Maybe it is the gray, the rain, or people preoccupied with their thoughts about their next meal or funding their kids education....who knows? All I know is that I find the exchange of a greeting on the street to be one of life's little pleasures...
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Travelers Help Each Other...
You know your Spanish is coming along just fine, when a fellow traveler from Finland shares a cab with you and asks you to translate for him. I just hope the cab driver understood my translation!
All in a Day's Work...
I had been looking for a new bedspread for months, but I could never find the right one, so I went without. However, I just found the perfect, cotton, pink and yellow, (yes, I said pink and yellow) colcha (bedspread). And, I met the family that made it! It takes one day of work to weave via loom, a bedspread. I was astonished that it only took one day. Just look at the demanding physical work required...Imagine doing this from 8:30am - 6pm six days a week...#amazing...
All in a day's work...
Sunday, January 26, 2014
The Hairdryer Dilemma
As I was drying my hair the other day, my hairdryer malfunctioned. I had had it for years, so the motor had just bit the dust. As there are no Rite Aid's in Mexico, I thought it would be an adventure to find a shop to buy a hairdryer. I asked someone where I could buy one and I was directed to a store near the Zocalo. There were hairdryers alright, but they were very expensive, like $30 USD starting price. I thought there is no way I am going to spend $30 for a hairdryer when I can get one at home for $10 bucks. For the duration of my stay, I will let my hair air dry!
I put my hairdryer guiltily in the garbage and then a few minutes later, I fished it out. I thought, this is Mexico! They can fix everything here. Last year I had remembered seeing many a fix it shop in Guadalajara, though I didn't see any thus far in Oaxaca. I asked the people at the language school where I could get a hairdryer fixed. They laughed and said, "Everything is really cheap from China now, nobody fixes hairdryers! Buy a new one!". But I said, "This is Mexico, you can fix everything here! It's one of the things I love about your country!" His reply, "Not anymore. That's part of the past." I understood, of course. How could I not? Who wants to fix a hair dryer when you can buy a new one for "cheap" and throw the old one away. Back in the bin it went. But...when I think of all the hairdryers piling up in the many landfills around the world...it pains me...
I put my hairdryer guiltily in the garbage and then a few minutes later, I fished it out. I thought, this is Mexico! They can fix everything here. Last year I had remembered seeing many a fix it shop in Guadalajara, though I didn't see any thus far in Oaxaca. I asked the people at the language school where I could get a hairdryer fixed. They laughed and said, "Everything is really cheap from China now, nobody fixes hairdryers! Buy a new one!". But I said, "This is Mexico, you can fix everything here! It's one of the things I love about your country!" His reply, "Not anymore. That's part of the past." I understood, of course. How could I not? Who wants to fix a hair dryer when you can buy a new one for "cheap" and throw the old one away. Back in the bin it went. But...when I think of all the hairdryers piling up in the many landfills around the world...it pains me...
Monday, January 20, 2014
Once Upon a Time, in a Peublo Far, Far Away
...There lived a young woman who had a dream. Her name was Ariadna Elisa Vasquez Torres and she lived in a village of 6,000 people, called Diaz Ordaz, in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. She had a husband and a beautiful, little two year old daughter, who didn't really know what her dreams were yet, but that is for another story...
Ariadna runs an abarrote, or general store. She was able to start her business with a microfinance, zero interest loan, provided by the non-profit organization, En Via. This organization was started as a project in 2008 and has since then provided over 1500 small business loans to over 260 women, in five different communities. En Via also provides opportunities to tourists to be involved first hand in "socially responsible tourism". Thus, the money we pay, goes to fund the loans, education and small administrative fees.
One of the key goals of the organization is to provide affordable credit to women who have the drive and talent to start a small business, just not the access to affordable credit. The organization loans only to women, as it has been statistically shown, says Mickey, an En Via volunteer, that "women invest in their family, thus investing in the community".
The businesses vary, from Ariadna's general store, to small chicken farms, to the old art of weaving traditional tapetes (rugs) and so on. In order to secure the initial loan, the women must first do a presentation about their business. They then receive 1300 pesos ($130 USD) to purchase the raw materials or supplies needed for their business. In Ariadna's case, she would use this money to purchase merchandise to sell. The women pay back the first loan over a few weeks time and then can apply for a larger loan, i.e. 2000 - 3000 pesos, ($200 - $300 USD). They use this money to grow their business by purchasing even more raw materials. At the time the first loan is acquired, the women must also take a total of six business courses, provided by En Via. The payback success rate is 99 percent!
Ariadna's abarrote is open every day from 7am - 11pm at night. She is expanding her business by crafting little woven purses to sell, to pass the time at the store. When our group was there, a little boy came in to buy a couple of eggs and some cooking oil. Oh, the days of old, when you could send your kids to the store and not worry....yet, I digress. I asked Ariadna what her hopes were for her daughter and she replied that she wanted her to study so she could have more opportunities in life.
It was inspiring and moving meeting Ariadna and the other women. The 600 pesos I paid to go on the tour ($60USD) was well worth it as it gave me the opportunity to see first hand the good work of En Via, an organization that helps so many women establish a good livelihood for themselves and their families.
Ariadna runs an abarrote, or general store. She was able to start her business with a microfinance, zero interest loan, provided by the non-profit organization, En Via. This organization was started as a project in 2008 and has since then provided over 1500 small business loans to over 260 women, in five different communities. En Via also provides opportunities to tourists to be involved first hand in "socially responsible tourism". Thus, the money we pay, goes to fund the loans, education and small administrative fees.
One of the key goals of the organization is to provide affordable credit to women who have the drive and talent to start a small business, just not the access to affordable credit. The organization loans only to women, as it has been statistically shown, says Mickey, an En Via volunteer, that "women invest in their family, thus investing in the community".
The businesses vary, from Ariadna's general store, to small chicken farms, to the old art of weaving traditional tapetes (rugs) and so on. In order to secure the initial loan, the women must first do a presentation about their business. They then receive 1300 pesos ($130 USD) to purchase the raw materials or supplies needed for their business. In Ariadna's case, she would use this money to purchase merchandise to sell. The women pay back the first loan over a few weeks time and then can apply for a larger loan, i.e. 2000 - 3000 pesos, ($200 - $300 USD). They use this money to grow their business by purchasing even more raw materials. At the time the first loan is acquired, the women must also take a total of six business courses, provided by En Via. The payback success rate is 99 percent!
Ariadna's abarrote is open every day from 7am - 11pm at night. She is expanding her business by crafting little woven purses to sell, to pass the time at the store. When our group was there, a little boy came in to buy a couple of eggs and some cooking oil. Oh, the days of old, when you could send your kids to the store and not worry....yet, I digress. I asked Ariadna what her hopes were for her daughter and she replied that she wanted her to study so she could have more opportunities in life.
It was inspiring and moving meeting Ariadna and the other women. The 600 pesos I paid to go on the tour ($60USD) was well worth it as it gave me the opportunity to see first hand the good work of En Via, an organization that helps so many women establish a good livelihood for themselves and their families.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Freedom is...
An interesting way to get a lesson in the Spanish language is to be sitting in a hostel in Mexico, trying to blog, and using a Spanish language interface on BlogSpot.com! All that aside, la vida es en Mexico! I have been one week in Oaxaca, in southern Mexico and will look forward to spending the next 6 weeks here. Last year, while living in Guadalajara for a month, I fell in love with the Mexican people, the culture, the land, and, of course, the sun. When I created this blog a few years ago, I named it, without truly having a grasp on the "freedom" part of the name "folk, farming and freedom". I knew it was in me somewhere, just as much as the "folk" and "farming" part, but I wasn't quite sure how it was going to unfold.
Skip ahead a few years later....now, it is unfolding. Freedom! After a couple of years of embracing frugality I set forward on a plan to exit the corporate world for a spell in order to embrace la vida. We have one life, last I heard, and I am going to make the most of it. As a childless person, (whether by choice or by circumstance), one has more time and money to do as we wish. Some of us even do what would be crazy to many, like up and leave a job. But, preparation is always key and I firmly believe that baby steps will get you to where you need to be.
I embraced frugality because it wasn't that I didn't want to spend money, I just wanted other things more. I. Wanted. Freedom. To do as I wished. If even for a little while. I look forward to posting some stories about my adventures in Mexico and I hope that you enjoy them. Today in the streets of Oaxaca, I enjoyed outdoor markets, artists painting in the street, flamenco dancing, Jicama on a stick, the sun....la vida!
Skip ahead a few years later....now, it is unfolding. Freedom! After a couple of years of embracing frugality I set forward on a plan to exit the corporate world for a spell in order to embrace la vida. We have one life, last I heard, and I am going to make the most of it. As a childless person, (whether by choice or by circumstance), one has more time and money to do as we wish. Some of us even do what would be crazy to many, like up and leave a job. But, preparation is always key and I firmly believe that baby steps will get you to where you need to be.
I embraced frugality because it wasn't that I didn't want to spend money, I just wanted other things more. I. Wanted. Freedom. To do as I wished. If even for a little while. I look forward to posting some stories about my adventures in Mexico and I hope that you enjoy them. Today in the streets of Oaxaca, I enjoyed outdoor markets, artists painting in the street, flamenco dancing, Jicama on a stick, the sun....la vida!
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