je ne sais quoi

“The gold in you does not rust.”

blue layers & San Cristóbal

Have you ever heard of Chiapas? Chiapas is the southern-most state of Mexico. I had the blessing of being able to visit Mexico for the first time this past June, and such a beautiful area of it. If you ever have the opportunity to go, don't hesitate. To get there, either go from Guatemala by shuttle, or fly to the Mexico City airport and then connect to Tuxtla, Chiapas. From there a vibrant and buoyant town, San Cristóbal de las Casas, is a 45 minute drive. What I remember upon first entering the town in the evening was the flattery of the perfectly lit town, comprising of warm, cream-colored buildings, against the carrying blue layers of twilight.

I learned of this area from my earlier visits to Antigua, Guatemala from helping to run mobile women's health camps there with Humanity First. Travel excursion offices frequently advertised shuttle rides to this beautiful city. After Humanity First Guatemala began making contacts there, through confirmation of some local socially active women, we soon realized the same women's health problems exist in Chiapas, too.

Chiapas has a very similar culture to Guatemala and is unique from the rest of Mexico--it was even annexed from Mexico for a year. It has a complex history filled with brilliant civilizations, war, and oppression. Chiapas had a long history of pre-Mayan civilizations, and this society had even developed a calendar hundreds of years before the Mayan people. The Mayan people then settled there and built a successful empire. After the decline of the Mayan empire, the rule changed between many different groups. Notably, Spanish colonists violently conquested the indigenous population through constant warfare and disease. The Tzotzil group were among the most resistant bur eventually succumbed forming the town that I visited.

The natives there still speak Tzotzil today, as we saw in our Women's Health Camp. This was the reason for my visit. After we conducted several successful women's health camps in central Guatemala, we decided we were ready to initiate these women's health initiatives in Chiapas, Mexico. Like in Guatemala, we provided preventative health services along with medicinal treatment, as needed. We provided cervical cancer screens, topics on preventative health education, and collected research to better customize to the needs of this population, all while using Tzotzil to Spanish and Spanish to English translators. We found new cultural barriers that we had not previously experienced in Guatemala from the Tzotzil culture. It's an ancient and fascinating culture, and we hope to understand it accurately in order to progress in an educated and sensitive way.

Culturally, Chiapas has contributed richly. Jaimes Sabines is a Mexican poet from Chiapas who is regarded as the "sniper of literature" and one of the greatest contemporary poets.

After learning more about this area and seeing images of this magnetic place with similar looks of my beloved city of Antigua, Guatemala, I had no doubt that I would be there soon. I had complete certainty that I would love it at first sight. I did.

My first photo on the drive from the airport in Tuxtla, Chiapas.

A couple of photos from the first Women's Health Camp by Humanity First Guatemala-USA

Morning walks in the beautiful San Cristobal de las Casas

Some main sights around central San Cristobal.

A lemonade and parque central morning in San Cristobal. Sigh. 

"What are you looking at, though?" Little boy playing in a very impoverished rural area of Chiapas.

Breakfasts in San Cristobal de las Casas

PS: Carajillo Cafe is a requirement for anyone who appreciates coffee.

Also, if you love chocolate, you will love Cacao Nativa, a charming and ADORABLE Mexican chocolatier.

"No es que muera de amor, muero de ti. 
Muero de ti, amor, de amor de ti..." 
Jaime Sabines

-AB

For more information on women's health efforts abroad with Humanity First and/or to volunteer, please email womenshealth@humanityfirst.gt

Cavatina & Quenepas

 if I touch

near the fire

the impalpable ash

or the wrinkled body of the log,

everything carries me to you,

as if everything that exists,

aromas, light, metals,

were little boats

that sail

toward those isles of yours
 that wait for me. - Pablo Neruda

Well, hello beloveds. AWOL bloggers here. I have run out of good reasons for our lack of posts except school, which is just an aged excuse at this point. So let's just look past it, shall we?

A few weeks ago, the two of us fulfilled our desire of traveling together by going to Puerto Rico and Guatemala with a group of some of our favorite people and friends. We spent most of our time in Puerto Rico in Old San Juan, which your eyes could never tire of. Every hour is warm, colorful, and filled with music. Also, can I just say that being in any place with native spanish speakers during the World Cup is an experience in itself?? We watched a number of games in small cafes and really loved the camaraderie/pretending we were all rooting for the same team. Anila and I also have recently been reading a lot of poetry by the Chilean Pablo Neruda...his intensity, somewhat tormented but vastly beautiful words are, in fact, everything we love in good poetry. Safe to say that we read a lot of his poems to our friends on this trip in both spanish and english, even if met with the occasional eye roll. We did it anyway.

Old San Juan, PR

Fort Cristobal

Verde Mesa - one of the most magical dinners we have ever had. The decor was something out of Alice in Wonderland, sans the acid trip feel. The flavors in our dinner was so fresh and married each other so well, my goodness. Felt like a dream.

 

Quenepas/Spanish Limes. We were, of course, very excited to try this new fruit which tasted a bit like sour candy.  

The guitarist, Felix Rodriguez, at restaurant Aji Dulce, decided to leave his post and come sit at our table and play for us for about two hours. Can't say that we didn't hope he would. He was exquisitely talented, a "master guitarist" as he called himself. Played some beautiful pieces that I had never heard before, 'Cavatina' being my favorite. It's from the 1978 movie, The Deer Hunter, and it is something that will give you peace, sadness, and chills all at once.

Ponce, PR. Kimono Cardigan:Forever 21

Ponce, PR.

endless color paired with beautiful cobblestone

How pretty are the streets at night??

Flamenco singer; Voice that carried its own soul.

Ruins of the old spanish fort

One should go to Old San Juan just to see all the beautiful doors.

“By hook or by crook, I hope that you will possess yourselves of money enough to travel and to idle, to contemplate the future or the past of the world, to dream over books and loiter at street corners and let the line of thought dip deep into the stream”

Besos,
S

isla del encanto part II

One of the gladdest moments of human life, methinks, is the departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands. Shaking off with one mighty effort the fetters of habit, the leaden weight of routine, the cloak of many cares and the slavery of home, man feels once more happy.
Richard Burton

What I love most about this country, are the people. I love that the children initiate smiling and waving at you and when you greet them first, they return the pleasantries without a hint of mistrust (even the 12 year old boys!) I love that the women walking with their men would pass you by with a smile, without protectiveness (even if one accidentally were to glance upon her companion). I love that the men are not afraid to sit with their legs crossed or show vulnerability. I love that they may just tango in a tea cafe, and that they will tango with their eyes closed and with succinct talent, exactly in step, despite how distant the sound of the music may be. I love that a person will leave their job to walk you to a place that you asked directions for. I love that young men may just come up to you and start a conversation without a comprehensible ulterior motive, and then pleasantly walk away, without even asking for your name. I love that you can just share the snack you are eating with the Puerto Rican lady behind you, and she will accept it, wordlessly. I love that when you speak an inarticulate Spanish, the people respond as if you were fluent. I love that cafe owners will close their shop and still not kick you out. 

In summary, regresaremos.

M.A.

M.A.

M.A. (what a beautiful child)

M.A.

M.A.

T.W.

M.A.

M.A.

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.
Lin Yutang

the great affair is to move -- isla del encanto

For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move. 

Robert Louis Stevenson

Last month, three lovely companions and I traveled to Puerto Rico. My thirst to travel is starting to be an inconvenience to my life, or the necessities of my life are starting to be an inconvenience to my thirst. The fulfillment from finding beauty in movement is lush but brief, and I am soon back online role-playing a ready traveler, until the credit card page appears.

I am debating if there is worth in explaining the details of the trip, or to just post photos and let it be just that. I think the latter is sufficient for this avenue. I can just say that it felt unbounded. 

credit: Maleeha A.

credit: Tasneem W.

credit: M.A.

T.W.

The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land.

Gilbert K. Chesterton