the skies opened up

Hi Everybody. Things are going pretty well down here, if you don't count the thousands of people who were killed or displaced by Hurricane Stan. I guess that's the biggest news lately. Hurricane Stan came through Central America and Guatemala with a vengance two weeks ago. You might not've heard, as 75,000+ people were killed in earthquakes in Pakistan around the same time. San Cristóbal was relatively unaffected by Stan, but I wasn't here then. I was traveling to Tapachula, a town on the border between Chiapas and Guatemala, to catch up with friends and meet with groups working on immigrant rights in Mexico's southern border region, and then head to Guate to renew my visa.

My fellow peace housers Melissa and Akane went to Tapachla on Monday Oct 3rd. I couldn't make it there that night, and spent the night in Comalapa, another sweaty border town. I awoke Tuesday morning to persistent rains and hopped into a van to begin my journey around 8 am. I had to pass through 2 or 3 other towns before I got to Tapachula, but I didn't even make it half way to Motozintla, the first one. We had already passed several areas where the hills were beginning to slide down into the highway. By the time we made it to the first town between Comalapa and Motozintla, the van driver decided to head back, as word was coming that the highway ahead was either fully or partially blocked. All the other passengers got off to try to catch rides. One man assured me that there would be passage through to Tapachula. I sat pondering my dilemma; do I take a risk and ride ahead to meet my friends, or do I turn around and head straight to Guatemala? I wasn't thinking how screwed Tapachula might be with the storm. I wasn't even aware that a storm named Stan was ravaging the countryside. I just figgured it was best to meet up with my friends in Guatemala rather than getting stuck along the road I was on.

So I turned around with the combi driver. I shared a cigarette with him as we stopped to check out the river, which was running wild. The water was frothy, rapid and brown with erroded earth. I watched as an entire tree was uprooted and battered along with the current. On the ride back to Comalapa the driver told me of the two years he worked in Florida at a nursery and garden center. We had to stop to wait for the mountain to spit some boulders on to the highway before we skirted one of the slides we'd passed before. With the landslieds, sometimes the earth moved slowly, like a mass that was in no hurry, but had a solid, unstoppable force. Other times rocks 3 to 4 times as big as my head fell rolling down the mountains to smash and crack on the highway. As I watched this I realize I'd made the right decision in turning around.

I had it easy. After six hours of chicken bus travel I made it to Xela (Quetzaltenango, Guatemala). It was getting dark and there was a chill in the air. I found my way to a small cheap hostel I knew about and spent the three days with out running water or electricity. But I was dry, I had food and water from the store, and, unlike families living mere blocks away, my house wasn't flooded. Lots of people are still suffering from this disaster. My friends Melissa and Akane had to spend 3 days walking out of Tapachula, hiking, crossing flooded bridges and catching rides to Xela. Check out Melissa's blog on her adventure. It's pretty mind blowing what she went through.

I had another board game experience while waiting out the storm in Xela. I played Monopoly with some fellow hostel mates. It has made me reflect on the diversions of my youth, primarily Risk and Monopoly. One gets you all excited for world domination, and the other has you bankrupt your friends and glory in capitalism. If you're not careful, you can end up having horrible fights with your friends over these games. Why? Because the point of the games is to screw everyone else, to attack them mercilessly until they are no more, until they have to take their pieces from the board, place them in the box, and go away. I would only like to take a moment to ponder the cultural implications of these lessons we grew up with. Sure, they are fun games. But they teach us how to relate to each other and the world in some very specific and not always pleasant ways.

Alright, I'm off the soap box. When power and the oh-so-vital internet connection came back to Xela, I let everyone know I was ok. My parents hadn't yet heard about the storm, but the Peace House board of directors was worried about the 5 of us who were traveling in the area. After 3 days being cooped up with english-speaking students of a spanish language school, I was rather annoyed and restless. The news about the situation in Tapachula, where I was convinced my friends were trapped, got me all riled up. Luckily, it turned out that all of us had made it to Xela, so we were eventually able to meet up and share stories.

Three of us headed back to San Cristobal on Monday the 10th, as soon as the roads were opened up. Our other friends continued their travels as they could. I made it back safely, but at that point I'd contracted the fever and cough that Melissa suffered through on her 3 day trek out of the storm. So I was delirious with nyquil and fever dreams for about 36 hours. At this point my parents started to worry, as they'd heard nothing from me since my initial "I'm trapped in Guatemala" email. So they emailed Melissa, who let them know I was still alive.

I'm still struggling with the cold, which seems to have lodged itself in my left ear, and continues to produce copious phlegm. So my immune system is a bit depressed right now. Other than that, things are fine. Melissa organized a boat race for this Saturday. We're all making our own little "barquitos" to float on a river outside town. I'll be sure to send pictures. Friday is my housemate Julietta's birthday. Other than that, I'm abstaining from drinking and smoking in order to allow my body to heal a bit.

The bike repairs are continuing. Today I finished working on a friend's bike. In the beginning of November I'll be traveling to one of the communities I previously visited to see if they want some repair training.

My thoughts have started to turn towards what's next, as in: post MX life. I bought a plane ticket back to the Bay Area for January 15th, 2006. I'll be in the 415, 510 & environs for a Peace House board meeting, to celebrate my 30th bday, and visit all my friends. All 4 of you. Then I plan on heading to the NY state for fam visits and fun in the snow in Feb. Of course, making $$ will have to be a part of this plan, as I am running low on funds. I'm working on it. Please respond with interesting job announcements. And stay dry.