Some recent photos

There was a semi-serious tremor (fortunately it didn't cause any injuries) that sent everyone into the street last weekend. We were driving to the beach and didn't even feel it, but people started calling my friend Triby to make sure everything was okay. Then we realized why the traffic was so bad and why so many people were standing out on the side of the road. 

At Moje in Ilobasco there are workshops for people who wish to be artists. Clay is the most popular art form in the region, there are even artist co-ops for clay workers. 

The contaminated waters of this "river" are actually just sewage leaving the city center and flowing through the poor neighborhoods. Drinking water is brought to the poor area through a single irrigation pipe. Women walk with plastic jars on their heads to collect clean water for washing and cooking. 

Men cut down the rice with machetes and slam it against a metal barrel to release the grains while the women rest in the shade after bringing lunch. The birds were starting to eat the rice, so there had to be an early harvest. 

Projects

Strong winds have been occupying San Salvador for the last couple of weeks, building a layer of dust inside and outside. They make CIS impossible to work in because the dust is sure to mess up my computer and the noises make me crazy. Luckily though, a lot of my work has been in the field, where I help two different teams build profiles for the municipalities where we will be observing. Taking long bus rides has been a great way to get to know the country and meeting with the various politicians and other community leaders illuminates much about the broken democracy of El Salvador. The wind is not the only thing making me crazy. 

In each department (state) we have to meet with the State Electoral Board (JED) to inform them of our observing mission and ask for coordinating information. So far, the JEDs where I have been working were very friendly and welcoming of our mission, but other team members working in other states have been met with confrontation and an unwarranted demand to see credentials. In these cases there seems to be a personal abuse of power executed by an electoral body that wishes it had more power in the hierarchy of comissions that organize the elections. Right now the Municipal Electoral Boards (JEM) are forming and receiving training, so we will see them in the next couple of weeks and hope that they can organize more quickly and thoroughly than the JEDs have.

During our meetings we found that the members of the JEDs sometimes didn't even know each others' names. There is very little communication between the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) and the JEDs, which is compounded by the fact that the new Electoral Code containing rushed reforms and some recommendations from the Organization of American States was only released last week. So maybe we were rushing into our meetings with the JED because we wanted to give sufficient notice and have plenty of time to conduct meetings with other electoral bodies and supporting institutions, but everyone must get organized faster if they are to prevent fraud. 

Another aspect that keeps the JED and the JEM from working fluidly is that they are made up of members of the various political parties. Each party elects its most militant members to represent them in the local and state electoral boards in order to best defend party interests in these bodies. This means that in many cases, despite the vocalized effort to work smoothly with consensus, that disagreement dominates many discussions. For example, in one meeting of the JED where I went to observe, a representative of the national police came to discuss security plans but the conversation broke into accusations that in previous elections the police had forced the substitutes of the representatives of one electoral body to leave the voting center because it was too crowded. One party claimed that the police had done this in a clear maneuver to keep their substitutes from viewing fraudulent acts that could have been taking place while others noted that the police were simply attempting to keep order and organization by not allowing too many people to hover around the table where the ballots are given to voters. The conversation ended when the party who was making the accusations admitted that it did not have documented evidence of its claims, but it became clear that there was no consensus as to whether or not the substitutes should in fact be allowed to remain near the table in the coming elections. With all of these discussions being dominated by militant party members, it seems impossible to fluidly compose the elections in an unbiased manner. 

However, I do understand the reasoning behind building the electoral boards in this manner. Some of these parties did not have a political voice until after the signing of the Peace Accords, so this is one of the ways that they are able to be involved in the development of democracy. I am just not convinced that politcal parties should have a role in this aspect. In order for the elections to be organized without political conflict, there should be depoliticized groups who work in the interest of all voters, instead of just voters from one party or another. This will be one of the criticisms I will propose be included in our final report after the elections. 

After having been rather frustrated about the lack of information that I was getting from the various trips to the municipalites for which I am responsible, I had a rather uplifting trip to Ilobasco with a compañero who is from that city. Marvin was able to show us the most important places to visit and he introduced us to great people and organizations. We visited MOJE, an organization where youth who were in gangs can recuperate and reintegrate into society. They have workshops where the young people learn how to create art, become a waiter, or work on cooking skills. Through building skills, they are given opportunities to be part of their community and they are less likely to immigrate. I was super impressed, but since all of the youth were on a field trip that day, I will have to return another day to meet them and get their perspective on how MOJE helps them. 

In the afternoon we walked down to La Palma, where the terribly contaminated river (filled with sewage from the entire city) runs between concrete huts filled with animals and people. Marvin introduced us to a family that he helps support and we spent a few hours talking with the women in the house while they processed ears of corn recently harvested from the fields close by. Then the daughter, Elisa, took us out to las canchas (fields) where the men were busy cutting down the rice before it got eaten by birds. Marvin suggested I take pictures of the family in the field to send to their family in the United States, which I thought was cool. As we were talking to the father, he revealed that he was actually just elected to be the President of the local electoral board and that he would gladly help us coordinate with them and learn more about their process. It was a beautiful day in the campo. 

The other most exciting development that has kept me from writing for a while, is that I started teaching English classes at La Casa de Juventud, a youth center in a marginalized neighborhood. All the kids (ages 12-21) come from low-income homes and use the La Casa as a place to kick it. They can use the internet, play video games, play ping-pong, or lift weights while socializing in a safe and healthy environment. I am really excited to be working with young people of this age because I can be more socially conscious and critical with them than I was able to with the younger kids where I used to work. Right now I only teach English, but I think I can develop a curriculum to work with them more. The only thing is that I would have to come up with money for materials, even though I would do all the work volunteer. So if anyone knows of some grant to help young people in poor countries, let me know because I would rapidly apply. 

In the meantime I am learning by experience how to teach English. I welcome advice as to specific activities for this age group. The first day I had a class of 15 and a class of 8. The second day I had a class of 20 and a class of 16 because everyone whent and invited their friends and Guillermo, the administrator, allowed everyone to sign up. I decided to offer and advanced course in the morning for people who want to spend more time practicing, but I feel like an hour and a half is very little time for them to be able to absorb anything. I'm thinking of giving them more of my time after the January elections if I don't have as much work with CIS. 

Since its Sunday, I had better get after my house chores and start writing lesson plans. I would love to get some long-letter emails (hint-hint)... 

Constant illumintation without expectations...

On and on

I'm finally getting settled into my groove and getting the hang of this observation mission. I moved into my new apartment this weekend and worked on getting it broken in. On Sunday my friends Guillermo and Tony took me to the central market to buy all the ingredients for ceviche and his mom's shopping list, which ended up being a ton of food for less than $40. We bought a giant rucksack and took turns carrying it between two people because there was so much - chicken, ribs, shark meat, small oyster-like seafood called conchas, carrots, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, limes, and pasta. The market is a totally crazy place with wild smells, tons of people yelling, and food that is still alive. After about 40 minutes of helping lug around our giant bag my senses were totally overwhelmed and I started feeling faint. I told Guillermo that I wanted to go to the bathroom, thinking that some cool water on my face would make me feel better, but we didn't get far before I straight-up fainted. Luckily Tony caught me and I woke up on the floor of the bustling market to Guillermo patting my face and some old lady asking me if I was pregnant. The nice vendors hooked me up with some sugar water and a piece of candy and let me sit and lean on their booth while I recovered. We spent most of the rest of the day elaborating the story, making it a much more dramatic event than it actually was, and told everyone we saw. 

Back at my new apartment, after taking the majority of the food back to Guillermo's mom, we cut up onions, tomatoes, the shark meat, and cilantro to throw into a big bowl of lime juice. While the lime cooked up the shark in the refrigerator, we dug into the conchas. Guillermo used to have a business of selling conchas so he was pro at breaking open the shells, scooping the living creatures into a bowl, and then refilling the shells with chile, lime, salt, the meat and worchester sauce. While I am normally against eating things that are still alive, I went ahead and gave them a try. It wasn't bad when washed down with a cold beer, but it did make me want to be at the beach. The ceviche came out nicely, but the best part was spending a Sunday just listening to reggae with friends at my sweet little apartment. 

I am also figuring out, little by little, how to be successful in my observation mission. There are some communication barriers between the group members based on personality conflicts more than anything, so no one is clear on exactly what we need to be doing. I am working with two different small groups to try to keep the process moving despite these obstacles. Another observer (Ashley) and I ventured to Usulután to present ourselves and our mission to the state-wide elections organizers. They received us cordially and encouraged us to get to know the state. In fact, they were so insistent that we get to know the beach that they offered to take us themselves in the weekend. Ashley and I politely declined mostly because they are members of political parties and we would risk screwing up our objective reputation.  Now that they know us, we will go back several times to meet with other officials in the mayor's office, at the hospitals, with social organizations, etc. Basically we are going to assure people that we will be there to observe without bias and that we will be writing a report about the entire electoral process and voting day. I am looking forward to getting to know the civil society groups in order to get the "unofficial" perspective as to how the process is developing and what people's concerns are going into it. And the struggle continues...

Sticky Electoral Process

It is hard to believe I have already been here three weeks! The time certainly has gone by quickly, mostly because it has been packed with activities and meetings. We have met with four of the six political parties, members of the Salvadoran groups that monitor the electoral process, representatives of the Organization of American States and election organizers in order to get a complete sense of what the two elections will look like. 

El Salvador's elections will happen in two rounds this year. Presidential elections happen every five years while legislative and municipal elections happen every three years, so that means that every fifteen years El Salvador is due for two elections at once. This year however, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal decided to separate the elections by two months. The municipal and legislative elections occur in January, but most voters will take the effort to vote for the president in March. The change of plans will cost five million dollars, not to mention the fact that people in rural communities have to transport themselves to voting centers twice if they wish to participate. Considering that bus fare can cost as much as a day's wage ($2), it is unlikely that the majority of voters will show up on both days, but the Tribunal (which is dominated by the right wing) didn't seem to take that into consideration. 

This would not be as large of an issue if it weren't for the fact that people have to travel long distances to arrive at voting centers, only to wait in long lines and in the case of farmers who even work on Sundays (the designated election day), lose a day of work. The FMLN, the left-wing political party, has proposed residential voting in order to help resolve the problem, but their opponents in the Tribunal declare that it would take too much money. However, an experiment in bringing voting centers closer to the people will be carried out in one state in 2009 in order to see whether there is greater voter turn-out. Considering that the highest turn-out rate ever is predicted for these elections, it is likely that the experiment will show positive results and hopefully encourage such a system to spread throughout the country in the future. 

Unfortunately getting people out to vote is not going to solve all of the problems with the electoral process here. The main concern that we have heard from almost everyone so far is regarding a concept called "firma y sello" - signature and stamp. When Salvadorans pick up their ballot, the official at the table is required to sign and stamp the ballot in order to show that it is a valid ballot. But when people show up wearing their party's colors, officials in the past have pretended (but failed) to sign or stamp the ballot because they are members of the opposing party, thus making the vote null. So there has been much debate regarding whether to simply get rid of the sign and stamp law, or to provide some other oversight to ensure that no valid vote becomes null, but no agreement has been made and everyone has a different idea as to whether or not the sign and stamp will be (or should be) required. All this confusion will carry into election day and allow for even more manipulation. For example, a voter could show up at the table and demand that their ballot be stamped and signed, but the official may insist that it is unnecessary under a new law, even if such a law is not passed. What a mess. 

And I still haven't mentioned the sticky situation regarding the voter identification process. A private business issues everyone's DUI, or official form of identification, to natural citizens who are 18 or older without government oversight. Then when one registers to vote, their photo is placed next to their name on a list that is displayed at the voting center where the voter is registered. Here are some of the problems among many: sometimes the photos differ, the ink on the DUI has been known to rub off, some people don't have an official address, or they wish to vote where they work instead of where they live. This, like the stamp and signature question, has been one of the main concerns of voters and officials alike. 

From what I can tell, the overarching problem facing the electoral process is that everything is controlled by the political parties. There is not a single Salvadoran non-partisan group that has responsibility for ensuring that the process is carried out smoothly. The hierarchy of assemblies that organizes the elections and enforces electoral law is represented by members of the political parties that won the most votes in the previous elections. This means that in most, if not all, of the municipalities have one ARENA member (right wing), one FMLN member (left wing), one PCN member (right wing), and then two of the so-called centrist parties who are small and somewhat disorganized. This means that in the five-member assemblies the right with almost always outnumbers the left, thus giving them an advantage in decision making or "law enforcement".

The solution is not as easy as creating a non-partisan organization out of thin air because polarization between left and right has created an atmosphere where standing in the middle is not an option. I think this stems from the civil war and the struggle for control, not only of politics, but of capital. Two factors have the potential to quell some of this animosity. One, that the FMLN presidential candidate was not a party member until they proposed to put him on the ballot. He has many proposals that would potentially shift the party line more toward the center. Secondly, the vice-presidential candidate for ARENA formerly had sympathies toward the FMLN and simply jumped on the ARENA ballot for political convenience. He also may have the tendency to move the far right-wing party a little closer to the middle. Regardless of who "wins" the presidency, party lines will change somewhat and hopefully the polarization will be lessened.

But I shouldn't fall into the trap that I see in the media here. The legislative elections are also an important opportunity to see change of power. As soon as I get some more research done on that front I will report some more. Another topic I will just have to save for next time in the name of brevity is the "dirty campaigns," or the slander used by the right wing to invoke fear in poor people. But more on that later.

On a more personal note...

I have decided to move into my own apartment. I can live more inexpensively, closer to the office, and have some more independence. As much as I love Rosita y Angel, I think the benefits of living alone outweigh the benefits of staying put. And so... those of you coming to visit will have a place to stay! 

My First Week in San Salvador

My first few days in El Salvador have already been enlightening. I was delighted to find that my host family, an older couple with a lovely house in a safe and quiet colonia, are vegetarian and rather progressive. During the first dinner I ate with them we delved straight into participatory democracy (obviously one of my favorite subjects) and Angel was right on the ball. He is an active participant in the FMLN party who helps organize and inform the public. Both of them criticize the media here, so they bought a subscription to National Geographic. Rosita and I had a great conversation about women's rights and how they should be better protected here by the state while I savored the hot chocolate that she makes from scratch by grinding the cacao with sugar and mixing it with warm milk. I am so happy to be in such good company because I think the coming months are going to be increasingly taxing. 

My first week at CIS, Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad (Center for Exchange and Solidarity) was great. I found that I will be working with a very educated and determined group of people. Most of us are recent college graduates, two are on post-graduate scholarships (one fulbrighter), one is a lawyer, and one is a former sub-director of the peace corps. While it seems that all of us have fairly progressive views, we know that biased views don't have a place in our mission. Regardless of which party or candidate we favor in El Salvador, we must investigate and criticize each of them with equal rigor in order to defend and promote democratic processes here. 

CIS has come to be known as the most moderate observation mission because of the fact that it is not invited or funded by ANY political party, whether it be from El Salvador or the US. It was here for the first elections following the peace accords and has since become involved in various organizations that promote human rights, economic empowerment, and social justice. Several of the people we met with this week have read former CIS observation reports and they complimented the organization on its solid work.

Over the last 5 days we have been meeting constantly with different political parties and electoral officials to get a better sense of the political atmosphere. We diligently write down what worries each party, what actions they are taking to resolve their concerns, and their party platforms. There are six political parties that will have candidates on the municipal and legislative ballots, but two of them currently dominate most seats. As I continue to learn more about each party I will try to write a synopsis here. 

I also had the opportunity to see both of the major party candidates speak at the Central American University to packed auditoriums. Mauricio Funes, the candidate for "leftist" FMLN, is a very eloquent speaker with a solid record as a quality jounalist. The candidate for right wing ARENA, Rodrigo Avila, was formerly the chief of police and owns a private security company. While Funes gave plenty of his time to thoroughly explain his platform and answer many questions from the audience, Avila spoke briefly using many personal anecdotes and answered few questions. The least biased poll to be released so far has Funes at 15% ahead of Avila, the best the party has performed since its formation in 1980. This is due in large part to the more centrist position that Funes has struck in order to real in former ARENA supporters who have seen its failures, but Funes will not succeed as a president if his party does not win much needed seats in the legislature. So, I feel my position is validated by the strong competition and the need for free and fair elections here. 

If only we could get international observers to come to America....

This weekend I am going to get to know my neighborhood and celebrate a co-observer's birthday. My next posts may be getting specific, so feel free to shoot questions at me if you are interested in the elections. 

Antigua Disappoints

This is my last post "from the road"! Tomorrow I will arrive at my host family's home in El Salvador and start a new type of adventure. I'm thrilled that I will be able to unpack my bag and be settled down in one place. Of course I have enjoyed immensely this journey, but it is time to get to work, have focus, and make a positive impact. 

The last few days I have been camped out in a hostel in Antigua taking advantage of free wireless internet to stay updated on happenings in El Salvador and do some investigating of other matters (which will be published here in a few days). I met this absolutely insane Puerto Rican dude who was staying in the same room as me and we ran around the city good-heartedly poking fun at the gazillions of foreigners that wander the streets. Antigua is super popular for language courses and the system is evidently well-established. Most of the cafes, restaurants, and hostels have wireless internet and the food caters to international tastes. When I meet Guatemalans the first thing they ask is where I am taking courses, but when I met a North American dude he said that he was easily getting away without learning any Spanish - he spends his time with other people from all over the world. It is crazy because it is apparently one of the richest cities in the country, but the streets are in pretty rough conditions and locals are still pushed to immigrate due to economic need. Tons of Americans and Europeans have put up bars and restaurants, but that doesn't do much for the people who live here. I have mixed feelings about Antigua; on the one hand it is beneficial to have internet and fun to meet people from all over the place, but on the other it seems like neocolonialism is now imposed by young expatriates who exploit the cheap goods and labor to achieve their capitalist goals. 

I read an article in a "locally published" English language magazine written by and for these very expatriates. This specific article was written by the owner/manager of the most popular bar in town - Cafe NoSé - and it encouraged people to follow his lead because it is fun and adventurous. I can totally understand his perspective, and I guess that has something to do with why I embarked on this journey in the first place, but I have seen no evidence of exchange between the Guatemalan community and the literally hundreds of foreigners that have transplanted themselves. If there is no exchange, then neither culture/community/group benefits from the aspects that the other has to offer. Maybe I am being overly critical of something that I only spent a week observing, but it makes me sad to see people isolate themselves in North American/European culture while they are living in Guatemala. 

I know a lot of people from Seattle have done programs here in Antigua, so please do reply with comments if you had different experiences. 

I had an intense conversation last night with one of the guys who works at the hostel, Mario. He lives in a small village about 6 km from Antigua with his parents and seven(!!) brothers and sisters.  Most of the family works on their small farm or sells the produce in the local market, except for the eighth brother who moved to the US a little over a year ago. Mario's brother worked in one of the biggest meat-packing plants in Iowa, but five months ago the plant was raided and he was sent to jail. In a week he will be back in Guatemala... after five(!!!) months in jail. Mario didn't say what kind of documents (if any) his brother had, or how he had arrived in Iowa, but we both agreed it was ridiculous that he had to stay in jail for so long only to be sent back. His is just one out of thousands of such stories nowadays. 

What a bunch of racist BS if you ask me. Probably without realizing it US citizens reject Guatemalans both in the US and in Guatemala. Lets have more dialogue and exchange so that we don't continue to reject each other. 

Lago Atitlán

My friend took this picture... He wanted me to strike a pose, but instead I was telling him to forget it and give me back the camera. Haha, it made for a funny facial expression. 

I took this shot to capture the face at the bottom left, but I dig the rasta dude on the bike too.

We never figured out what happened to this bus, but it was all sorts of broken and we got stuck in a long line behind it. The location is "Alaska," the highest point on the Inter-American Highway.... lots of clouds, but when they clear you can see the surrounding volcanoes. 

Lago Atitlán... The closest peak is Cerro de Oro (Hill of Gold) and beyond that is one of the 3 volcanoes that borders the lake. 

In Santiago, one of the villages that borders the lake, as well as in the surrounding mountainsides, people use terraces to grow crops like onions, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and strawberries. 

On the edge of a playing field some kid wrote "I'm in love"... I thought it was cute.

Along this part of the coast there are hot springs that run into the lake. Of course I did some serious enjoying around there. 

Panajachel, Guatemala.

From San Cristobal I took a van/bus to Lago Atitlan in Guatemala. Wow... They say it is one of the seven wonders of the world for a reason. I met a friend within the first few minutes that I got there because all the people are very friendly and welcoming of tourists - their main source of income. I took his advice and headed for the "beach", which was really a series of rock walls cascading toward the water. I stayed the first two nights in a nice hotel with a great view of the volcanoes that surround the lake and enjoyed hot springs that flow into the lake in a couple of secluded areas. I got to know a couple of the villages in the area just by walking around and talking to people.

My new friend knew all the good spots to swim and see the views. It was obvious that he was along for the ride - as long as I paid the fare, he would show me what was good about everything. But on the third morning when I took some time to use the internet and eat by myself, a young woman approached me in the restaurant to show me the scarves she was selling. We got to talking a little bit about the area and when I told her that I was planning to head to San Pedro (a village 30 minutes away by boat) she became nervous and warned me against traveling alone with him. She said the local young men had been known to take foreign women to several spots and then steal their posessions. Of course I got nervous too and no longer wanted to go with my "friend".

So I went off to San Pedro by myself and found a party town full of drunken and stoned tourists. Annoyed by their antics, I spent one night in a dingy hotel (with an amazing view) and spent the morning walking along the lake. I found several small farms that touch the water and took advantage of the tranquility to take a dip, but by noon I decided to head back to Panajachel, the biggest of the villages bordering the lake, to buy a bus ticket for Antigua. 

Having arrived in Antigua, I am impressed by the number of foreigners here. The cafe where my long walk around town had me end up is full of accents from around the world and the food reflects its clientele. I had a grilled tofu and red pepper salad (YES!) while enjoying some down time with my new book - Who Killed the Bishop? The Autopsy of a Political Murder - a true story about the assassination of a pro-human rights catholic bishop in Guatemala. It reads like a crime novel but is based on interviews and facts from the investigation. It has me in the political mindset, so I think I will follow up with a couple of political posts. 

Oaxaca photos a little late

        

I love Radiohead too!! But I don't know Princesa well enough yet. 

This Virgin has a scary face, but I was impressed with the way the artist used paint and colored paper to make this piece on the wall. 

This piece was next to the one above and used the same media. If you look closedly you can see a clock, a painting, and a table with a lamp... Probably the most impressive two pieces I saw in Oaxaca. 

Rather angry anarchists... 

Ah, los Zapatistas are always among us. See the post below for my experience with a guerrilla group... encantadores. 

San Cristobal de Las Casas Rocks!

Saludos desde Chiapas! I am in San Cristobal de Las Casas, enjoying the cool mountain air and wonderful people. Yesterday I arrived en la madrugada (really early in the morning) after a long night in the bus, but a cup of locally grown coffee spurred me into the streets. It didn't take long before I ran into a revolutionary selling documentaries and movies for the cause. I bought their magazine and three documentaries; one about Plan Puebla-Panama that documents the negative effects that further free trade agreements will have on Mexico and Central America, one about the "The Other Campaign", or the campaign run by Zapatistas in 2006 that ran against corporate funded presidential candidates with a revolutionary message, and one about a guerrilla group that defends the people Mexico using violence only when violently attacked. All three are documentaries that are hard to come by. The information is highly controversial for public consumption, but there are truths and realities out there that only reveal themselves when one delves below the shallows of corporate media.
I had no idea that guerrillas were so active in Mexico. I thought for sure that was a phenomenon of the '60s and early '80s. But according to the new information I have, they currently arrange brigades to teach and bring medical care to impoverished regions and they even organize on campus at the National University in Mexico, DF. In fact, the struggles of revolutionary students have won them campus space (offices!) from which to organize, there are departments that help sponsor student groups, and the university funds supplies they need (like paper for printing magazines!). They are active on campus, in los campos, and in the barrios, and each member rotates through all of the jobs depending on what is needed. Their popularity in the community was evidenced by the fact that many people stopped by to search for the information they would not find in many other places, even the tour guides told tourists about the group that was handing out information about the Zapatistas, etc (even though the tourists were probably not given any other information regarding the importance of this guerrilla and social movement to the area), and many people gave a friendly wave to the "tabler" (although w/o table) as they walked along doing their daily business. Chiapas is sweet like that.

Then I had a fascinating encounter in a coffee shop called Natura yesterday morning. I met a Mexican business man who comes directly from Spain (his grandparents and parents are Spanish). His family is huge in the wine industry and has lived the American dream in Mexico. Now he is taking over most of the business and investing a ton of money into a blackberry growing business in Chiapas. He proudly boasts of high wage rates and health programs for his workers and their families and even talked about the new green and renewable energy sources used in all his endeavors. Later he took me to see the local businesses where he sells wines, jams, and various artesanía and he answered questions about local plants and the fair price for organic soap ($2.50). He encourages "foreign investment" but in partnership with the locals which is how he and 100 or more foreign associates he prodded toward Mexico. He says he gets joy from seeing happy peasants in Chiapas who are making two to three times more working for Marco than for themselves or other big businesses. He brings the investment, they get the jobs, everything is done organically and with the best interest of the local environment in mind. Being the critic of capitalist ventures that I am, questioned his good intentions and assumed that Marco was making millions for himself in a greedy fashion. But after drinking like 10 cups of coffee and taking a long walk around el centro, meeting friends from all over the world (including Seattle!) I came to realize that he is one of the amazing people that can distribute wealth without being forced by the state, or anyone for that matter. If more people with the energy to make and spend money would learn from Marco's model, we would live in a more green and healthy world where all people would benefit from a redistribution of wealth. When he provides for his workers and the local community, he benefits and they benefit. He talked about real people-to-people fair trade that eliminates the unfair gains of corporate greed. Someday I would like to take on a similar venture, but probably someplace besides Mexico since there are already plenty of people doing it here.

I'm currently trying to stay caught up on research to prepare me for my arrival in El Salvador. I'm watching a great documentary called "Compañero!" about a great CISPES organizer. You too can watch it at cispes.org/blog

A Random Collection of Photos

Security?

Yesterday in a hostel in Oaxaca I met a punk-rocker woman from Australia who is traveling through Mexico and Central America as a freelance journalist, basically asking the same kind of questions that I am. Unlike me, however, she was able to put into words what I have been finding throughout my trip. She said people here seem hesitant to criticize the government and even if they do, it is not through action and not with vigor.

There are various ways to explain this sentiment. I think a lot of it has to do with the security question. People here note that narco-trafficking requires further security measures from the government and some people are willing to accept violence from the police as a step toward security. The media has a strong influence on this point of view. The news programs here talk about the great problems that narcotrafficking causes and promote President Calderon's efforts to bring the illegal trade to a halt. However, it seems quite contradictory for the populace to believe that the government is succeeding in ending violence when thousands of people are subject to violence every day, and much of it is committed by the police or military officials.

I picked up a book from an indy media source that details the lives of several women who are involved in the drug trade. Throughout the stories police are complicit and often fully responsible for maintaining the drug trade. The police have not been successful in halting the gangs that trade drugs and create violence, so what is a government to do?

I have a suggestion that would allow the government to uphold human rights and stop people from getting to the point where they feel the best way to make money is through growing and/or selling drugs. How about taking all the money that is currently going toward weapons and a corrupt police force and putting it instead toward education and employment opportunities. I know it seems radical, and certainly beyond the neoliberal paradigm that Calderon promotes, but I saw success in Homeboy Industries in LA that convinced me that organizing for other opportunities is more important that killing off entire families that are involved in narcotrafficking. Unfortunately, that is not what the President, nor his political party has on the agenda.

Thinking about all these things in one of the more organized cities in the nation, Oaxaca, is disappointing. The city continues to flourish on tourism, even at the trickling end of the season, despite the knowledge of popular uprisings and brutal police response that happened a couple of years ago. People have said they think that tourism has decreased since the violent incidents that caused the death of one American indy media artist and inspired one of my favorite documentaries (Un Poquito de Tanta Verdad), but that was two whole years ago and I have seen more white people here than in any other city I have visited so far. Maybe the fear of driving away tourists explains why I haven't run into the revolutionaries on the streets, even the political graffiti seems half-assed, and no one is handing out pamphlets or selling newspapers.

Last night I talked to a guy in a vegetarian restaurant who suggested I not ask about the popular organizations and not try to get involved in any of that stuff because the last gringa he met that did got arrested and put in jail along with several other protestors. Maybe it is fear of violent oppression by the state apparatus, along with the perceived failures of former social organizing, that keeps people from taking action.

Puebla
Last weekend I was in Puebla, one of the safest cities in the nation. In the 6 months that I studied there (two years ago), I spent several nights out walking with friends or taking taxis home late without any problems. People are proud of the safe streets and the well-kept buildings that line them. While there is still poverty in the outlaying areas of the city, Volkswagen and other big companies have managed to keep the unemployment level somewhat low, and organized workers maintain fair wages. Beyond that, there are several universities in the city and the surrounding area that keep young people hopeful for opportunities. One of them keeps tuition very low so that almost anyone can be accepted.

At the same time, there are more Poblanos (people from Puebla) living in New York City than in the city of Puebla (some 2-3 million). What would allow people to stay in their homeland with their families if they wish? More jobs, more education, more opportunity... more questioning of corrupt government.

In Puebla, like Oaxaca, should stand up against the corruption that everyone knows permeates the local, state, and national governments of Mexico. I return to the beginning of this piece in hopes that these things will change, not through bogus electoral aparatus (which obviously failed the people in the elections of 2006) but instead in popular organizing and resistance to the false claims of mainstream media.

And I maintain the same hope that we can do something similar in the United States.

Follow-up in Amy Goodman´s own words

Source: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080903_why_we_were_falsely_arrested/
Why We Were Falsely Arrested
By Amy Goodman
ST. PAUL, Minn.—Government crackdowns on journalists are a true threat to democracy. As the Republican National Convention meets in St. Paul, Minn., this week, police are systematically targeting journalists. I was arrested with my two colleagues, “Democracy Now!” producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, while reporting on the first day of the RNC. I have been wrongly charged with a misdemeanor. My co-workers, who were simply reporting, may be charged with felony riot.
The Democratic and Republican national conventions have become very expensive and protracted acts of political theater, essentially four-day-long advertisements for the major presidential candidates. Outside the fences, they have become major gatherings for grass-roots movements—for people to come, amidst the banners, bunting, flags and confetti, to express the rights enumerated in the Constitution’s First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Behind all the patriotic hyperbole that accompanies the conventions, and the thousands of journalists and media workers who arrive to cover the staged events, there are serious violations of the basic right of freedom of the press. Here on the streets of St. Paul, the press is free to report on the official proceedings of the RNC, but not to report on the police violence and mass arrests directed at those who have come to petition their government, to protest.
It was Labor Day, and there was an anti-war march, with a huge turnout, with local families, students, veterans and people from around the country gathered to oppose the war. The protesters greatly outnumbered the Republican delegates.
There was a positive, festive feeling, coupled with a growing anxiety about the course that Hurricane Gustav was taking, and whether New Orleans would be devastated anew. Later in the day, there was a splinter march. The police—clad in full body armor, with helmets, face shields, batons and canisters of pepper spray—charged. They forced marchers, onlookers and working journalists into a nearby parking lot, then surrounded the people and began handcuffing them.
Nicole was videotaping. Her tape of her own violent arrest is chilling. Police in riot gear charged her, yelling, “Get down on your face.” You hear her voice, clearly and repeatedly announcing “Press! Press! Where are we supposed to go?” She was trapped between parked cars. The camera drops to the pavement amidst Nicole’s screams of pain. Her face was smashed into the pavement, and she was bleeding from the nose, with the heavy officer with a boot or knee on her back. Another officer was pulling on her leg. Sharif was thrown up against the wall and kicked in the chest, and he was bleeding from his arm.
I was at the Xcel Center on the convention floor, interviewing delegates. I had just made it to the Minnesota delegation when I got a call on my cell phone with news that Sharif and Nicole were being bloody arrested, in every sense. Filmmaker Rick Rowley of Big Noise Films and I raced on foot to the scene. Out of breath, we arrived at the parking lot. I went up to the line of riot police and asked to speak to a commanding officer, saying that they had arrested accredited journalists.
Within seconds, they grabbed me, pulled me behind the police line and forcibly twisted my arms behind my back and handcuffed me, the rigid plastic cuffs digging into my wrists. I saw Sharif, his arm bloody, his credentials hanging from his neck. I repeated we were accredited journalists, whereupon a Secret Service agent came over and ripped my convention credential from my neck. I was taken to the St. Paul police garage where cages were set up for protesters. I was charged with obstruction of a peace officer. Nicole and Sharif were taken to jail, facing riot charges.
The attack on and arrest of me and the “Democracy Now!” producers was not an isolated event. A video group called I-Witness Video was raided two days earlier. Another video documentary group, the Glass Bead Collective, was detained, with its computers and video cameras confiscated. On Wednesday, I-Witness Video was again raided, forced out of its office location. When I asked St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington how reporters are to operate in this atmosphere, he suggested, “By embedding reporters in our mobile field force.”
On Monday night, hours after we were arrested, after much public outcry, Nicole, Sharif and I were released. That was our Labor Day. It’s all in a day’s work.
Amy Goodman is the host of “Democracy Now!,” a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 700 stations in North America.
© 2008 Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman Arrested!

My favorite broadcaster was arrested at the Republican National Convention. It is not that hard to believe when we consider that the Republican Party cannot withstand any criticism and really, anyone might be a terrorist. Yikes. I post the press release below, but I have just received an email saying that Amy and the two producers were released from jail. Pass on any other information you have about this event.

Amy Goodman and Two Democracy Now!
Producers Unlawfully Arrested At the RNC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
www.democracynow.org
September 1, 2008
Contact:Denis Moynihan 917-549-5000 Mike Burke 646-552-5107, mike@democracynow.org

ST. PAUL, MN—Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman was unlawfully arrested indowntown St. Paul, Minnesota at approximately 5 p.m. local time. Policeviolently manhandled Goodman, yanking her arm, as they arrested her. Video ofher arrest can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjyvkR0bGQ
Goodman was arrested while attempting to free two Democracy Now! producers whowere being unlawfully detained. They are Sharif Abdel Kouddous and NicoleSalazar. Kouddous and Salazar were arrested while they carried out theirjournalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican NationalConvention. Goodman's crime appears to have been defending her colleaguesand the freedom of the press.Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous andSalazar were being arrested on suspicion of rioting. They are currently beingheld at the Ramsey County jail in St. Paul.Democracy Now! is calling on all journalists and concerned citizens to call theoffice of Mayor Chris Coleman and the Ramsey County Jail and demand theimmediate release of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar.
These calls can be directedto: Chris Rider from Mayor Coleman's office at 651-266-8535 and the RamseyCounty Jail at 651-266-9350 (press extension 0).Democracy Now! stands by Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and condemns this actionby Twin Cities law enforcement as a clear violation of the freedom of the pressand the First Amendment rights of these journalists.During the demonstration in which they were arrested law enforcement officersused pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and excessive force.Several dozen others were also arrested during this action.Amy Goodman is one of the most well-known and well-respected journalists in theUnited States. She has received journalism's top honors for her reportingand has a distinguished reputation of bravery and courage. The arrest ofGoodman, Kouddous and Salazar is a transparent attempt to intimidate journalists from the nation's leading independent news outlet.Democracy Now! is a nationally syndicated public TV and radio program that airson over 700 radio and TV stations across the US and the globe.Video of Amy Goodman's Arrest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjyvkR0bGQ

Los Mochis to Zacatecas

From a hostel in Zacatecas I salute all workers on Labor Day! This morning I stumbled upon a huge march of unionized teachers who are protesting the fact that their union leader signed a contract with the Calderón government that takes steps toward privatizing the education system. Without state funding, teachers would have to be fired and conditions in public schools would become worse than they already are. With radical chants against the neo-liberal government, the community took to the streets in support of the teachers. This is not a local problem, it is a problem that teachers and workers face around the world, and especially today we should recognize that privatization will only worsen the plight of those already suffering from a lack of funds.

I was impressed by the radical chants today after the rather depressing political conversations I have had thus far. While I was stuck in Los Mochis, a city near the coast that faces Baja California, waiting for the rain to let up enough for the train to go, I split the cost of a hotel room and taxi with a woman from Hermosillo. Flor Amanda Ochoa, a remarried widow and mother of two, laughed out loud when President Felipe Calderón came on TV. She told me it was the government's fault that families are being massacred and she blames the police for committing political violence. She dislikes Calderón for all of his rhetoric about security, but she appreciates the economic policy that he inherited from Vicente Fox two years ago. To me, both aspects of her opinion are depressing. I agree that the state is responsible for many of the deaths and violence happening in large part due to narco-trafficking, and that makes me sad. Won't Calderón and those funding him in the US learn something from what happened in COLOMBIA!? And on the other side I find it depressing that people blindly support foreign investment which only whisks profits out of the country or puts them in the pockets of the domestic super rich.

When the train was finally able to get through the misty mountains (which I am told are golden, but I only saw grey and green) also known and Las Barrancas del Cobre, I ended up at an international hostel in Creel. There I met up with a diverse group of tourists who also wanted to explore the mountain range. As we hiked to hidden waterfalls and hot springs, we talked about politics and social policy in our respective countries and in Mexico. The rest of the group held a perspective that looks down upon the silliness or the laziness of Mexicans that my Jesuit education and prior experience in Mexico had taught me to leave behind. The group laughed at the bright yellow cowboy boots and matching belts that are all the rage in the state of Chihuahua and they couldn't understand the serious demeanor of the hotel manager who really had a sense of humor but didn't understand English very well. Oh well, some people just haven't studied the social, historic, economic, and cultural realities that drastically change one's perspective on things.

In front of the church in Creel signs with red writing demand justice and peace. When I asked what they were all about, I got a confused answer from the driver who took our group around to the various hiking spots. He said that the same thing happened in Creel that has been happening in Sinaloa and Ciudad Juarez for a long time; family-based narco-trafickers are battling over growing and transportation rights with guns. Only two weeks ago 14 people were shot, including a 1 1/2 year old baby, all male members of the same family. Obviously this had the town in shock and explained why there were police circling the city constantly. Investigations like that one take a long time and justice is a hard term to define between gangs. On Saturday, people around the country took to the streets in white to demand peace, but when people would rather take the risk of drug trafficking than take the low wage of a teacher, peace will be hard to come by.

On Friday I took a bus to the city of Chihuahua where I shared the cost of the room with a German couple I had met in Creel. Andrea and Michael are super nice and very well traveled, so we had a nice time sharing stories and social anecdotes about our respective nations.

Then I met Gilberto, a furniture salesman from Monterrey, in the lobby of the hotel. We drank coffee and watched the rain while he told me another depressing political perspective. He is the epitome of capitalist, and well, it was just hard for me to listen to such a one-sided perspective for very long.

Luckily the rain let up enough for me to walk to several great museums in Chihuahua. The Casa de Chihuahua had an incredible exhibition of the ecology, history, and culture of the entire state, as well as a great photo exhibition of Mexican fashion from 1900-1950. I also went to Pancho Villa's house (a prominent leader of the Mexican Revolution) and Benito Juarez's house (a fighter for independence from Spain). My favorite museum was the Casa de Quinta Gameros because it had amazing contemporary art in a Baroque setting, plus a great story. Apparently the husband had the house built for his wife and the wife fell in love with the Colombian architect. After I had enough of the museums I walked around and took photos of the graffiti around the city. It took me all day, but at long last I found some pieces worth documenting that weren't just scribbles on the wall that exemplify how bored and not creative young people can be.

Last night I jumped on a bus and journeyed 14 hours to the lovely city of Zacatecas. Finally the sun is out, there are great people in the streets, and I had an amazing breakfast. While I wouldn't go as far as to say that I wasn't having fun before, my mood is certainly lifted just by being here. The protest will continue with a big party tonight, so I will certainly be reporting about that soon.... until then, SEGUIMOS ADELANTE!

Mexico!

I made it to Mexico! But it was a rough night last night. I stayed in Nogales, MX because it was cheaper than staying in Arizona and the bus was so late that if I stayed on I would have arrived in Hermosillo at almost midnight (not safe). The room I stayed in was not clean and the manager was offended that I asked for new sheets, but his daughters (9 and 2) kept me company by telling me the horror stories of awful things that have happened to people on that street. Needless to say, I stayed in the whole night and got up early to catch a bus this morning. Right now I´m sitting at the station that lots of people use to cross the border and there are tons of workers milling around and trying to coordinate jobs. I will arrive this evening in Los Mochis where I will get a train ticket to La Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon). Hopefully I will get internet up there, but no promises. I´ll most likely be out of there by the end of next week.

For the record, Santa Fe is one of my new favorite places. The art was great, food was amazing, and I couldn´t get enough time with Auntie Deb. We did a 17 mile hike with a 4000 ft elevation gain, Soleiana and I rode horses (and I fell off!!! again!), and I got to check out Taos too. Sweeeeet... hasta pronto!

Homeboy Industries

I am currently in Santa Fe, NM visiting my best friend from Wyoming and my Auntie Deb. I'm enjoying the outdoors too much to sit inside and write, so I will write about this amazing place later. In the meantime, a reflection on a great time in LA!

I visited the most inspiring place on my journey so far when I met Angela's mom, Patricia, at Homeboy Industries in south-central, Los Angeles. I first learned about Homeboy Industries when a documentary about it was shown at Seattle University, but it has come a long way since the documentary was made and being there confirmed that it is doing amazing things to change the lives of former gang members. "Father G" (Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J.), a Jesuit priest filled with social consciousness and compassion, heads up the organization that helps gang members get jobs, mental health counseling, tattoo removal, and a plethora of services that keeps them off the streets and helps integrate them into society. While Homeboy itself employs (what seemed like) tons of people through community clean-up crews, a bakery that delivers to local businesses, a screen printing and retail business, those enrolled in the program are actually paid minimum wage to look for a job. Those who do work for Homeboy are paid a livable wage, not just minimum wage for their forty hour work week.

The building Homeboy inhabits is bright, cheery, clean, and very welcoming. Almost everyone I passed during my thorough tour greeted me or introduced themselves, even though it was obvious that I wasn't the first curious college student to pass through. A table full of high school students sat next to me while I ate lunch, they had just finished their tour too.

Patricia started working with Homeboy Industries four years ago when her own cafe outgrew its small space. After having worked with Jesuits for years, Patricia was approached by Father G to create the Homegirl Cafe which would give female gang members jobs and the needed skills to provide for their families and change their lives. The women work four days a week and on the fifth day, they are paid to attend classes at Homeboy or take advantage of the many services available. The best part of Patricia's job is seeing women realize that they have the ability to master kitchen and serving skills and excel at them, while mastering and excelling in life. As Patricia and I chatted after my hearty tofu chorizo torta (YUM! all organic Mexican food!), she also kept up with everyone who passed by. Young people stopped to give her hugs while she gave them direct but warm advice. "Ya no la estás usando?" she asked one young woman, "Your not using anymore?" When she replied that she hadn't used heroine for months, Patricia gave a priceless smile of encouragement. The community that has formed over twenty years of organizing is evident in moments like that between two individuals who work together and support each other.

I couldn't help beaming as I walked out and headed toward Olvera Street (historic downtown). Knowing that such a powerful and meaningful organization can make progress against violence and toward community gives me hope for the future. Slogans like "Nothing stops a bullet like a job" and "Jobs not jails" make so much sense and should be everywhere in our society, but knowing that Homeboy Industries uses them makes their popularity seem conceivable. Do check out their website to learn more about all the great programs they have to offer and their roller coaster history that has ultimately brought them so much success. Follow this link to the Homeboy industries homepage: http://www.homeboy-industries.org/ Plus, you can see pictures there because I didn't take any.

The rest of my time in LA was spent hanging out with Lauren and Connor (my two good friends from Portland), chilling on the beach, and working on democracybythepeople.blogspot.com. Tomorrow I'm flying to Santa Fe with a brand new backpack in tow, thanks to the REI gift certificate from Spruce Street School.

Watts Riot

I'm chilling right now in Santa Monica, where the grass is like carpet, the sand like gold, and the palm trees are eight stories tall. I'm staying on the ninth floor in one of only two high rises in the region with a view of the beach, the Santa Monica Pier (complete with a ferris wheel that puts on a light show at night), and the surrounding mountains (at least on the more clear days). I hadn't thought about how grungy my style was until I walked down Main Street and realized that all the clothes in my backpack probably cost less than one dress in the storefront windows. I had to chuckle to myself about the looks the Nader sticker on my laptop draws, but unlike Seattle no one here approaches me for a political debate.

The opulence blows my mind, especially after my visit to Watts yesterday. My friends Connor and Lauren from Seattle are living in LA while Lauren attends a premed program at USC, so Connor came and picked me up for an adventure. We drove to Watts to see what the 42nd annual Watts Summer Festival had to offer. Pulling up on Compton Ave we were surprised to see so many police cars surrounding the area, but we saw tents up ahead so we parked the car and walked up to the stage where a talented but obviously nervous African American girl was belting out love songs over pre-recorded samples. Connor and I noticed quietly that we were the only white people in a crowd besides the police, but no one seemed to pay any attention to us.

The festival was small and quiet, mostly comprised of young families, but the police presence was huge. As we wandered away from the stage, it felt like there were more uniforms than kids. I was tempted to ask why so many cops had been hired to cover the event, but they didn't look like the approachable type. So after a few pop/soul songs by 17 year old artists we decided to bounce.

Our next stop, the Watts Towers, shed some light on the situation. The Watts Towers have come to be a community symbol for the struggle toward social justice in the diverse but economically impoverished area of the city (see photos). Built by an Italian cement worker who spent something like 50 years constructing them, the Watts towers are a collage of ceramic and glass pieces intricately laid into delicate cement pillars. A timeline depicting the history of the area encircles the fenced off area that guards the towers. I learned that African Americans fled to the area during the great depression, that Japanese were herded out of the area during WWII, and there has always been a steady trickle of Mexicans pouring into Watts. The most surprising block was one that read "1965 Watts Riots".

I looked up the Watts Riots and found this article published on Democracy Now! that I recommend reading: http://www.democracynow.org/2005/8/12/the_fire_this_time_the_watts

I did not spend enough time in Watts to determine how the neighborhood has changed over the last 43 years, but the fact that there were at least 30 white cops monitoring a predominately African American community festival of no more than 150 people seems to say that some of the problems remain the same. Injustice remains and I return to the 9th floor with a balcony...

Qué es lo que queremos? Justicia! Cuando la queremos? Ahora!

What is legal?

My mother left a message on my phone today wondering how she is supposed to keep track of me if I hadn't updated my blog, but I reminded her of our adventurous family's old saying, "No news means good news."
After a somewhat uneventful time in South Lake Tahoe where I stayed in "Little TJ", I took a lovely commuter train from Sacramento to Richmond, CA. I immediately became familiar with the BART, the Bay Area's metro train, as I headed to meet up with Rob, a friend of a good friend in Seattle, whose name I have changed here to protect his privacy.
The information I had about Rob was certainly intriguing and I was excited to meet him. My friend told me that Rob is part of a legal marijuana growing collective that extends throughout the Bay Area and depends upon individual growers and mini-collectives alike to sell them weed. While I was uncertain at first as to whether or not I really wanted to stay in a house containing mass amounts of drugs that are illegal in other parts of the state, and in terms of quantity, even other parts of the city, but my trustworthy friend back in Seattle assured me that his friend was "legit" and I would have the opportunity to learn about a part of society that I would otherwise never know.
Rob and his friend picked me up at the BART station and informed me that I was being trusted for only one reason: I came highly recommended by my friend in Seattle. Almost nobody else would be taken to the sites, and very few learn the extent to which the collective works.
Our first stop was the house that Rob occupies, the place where I would spend the next 4 nights. The history of the house spans back at least 5 years, when a different member of the collective started growing in the back room. The front room is living space and another room serves as storage for the approximately 15 members of this mini-collective who come and go as they please. They have a set formula that works for any room of about the same size that provides a guideline as to how to build the platforms (including a sound-proof floor to prevent bothering the neighbors), ventilation, and the tubs of water that make quality hydroponics. While their energy bill is huge, the entire collective manages to make money on the endeavor. Most of the members have a financial goal they shoot for, and when they reach it, they claim they will drop out of the loop. The work done in several locations all over the Bay Area is shared between all members and the financial division is done through verbal agreements.
Only two female members run in the group, and according to Rob, that is because girls have big mouths (ugh, I hate stereotypes). Even though what the collective does is legal in the city, if federal agents felt like investigating and cracking down on them, they certainly could. They keep things straight by selling to the Cannabis Club, the bigger collective that redistributes marijuana from many sources to people with medical marijuana cards, but Rob doesn't even talk to his friends outside of the collective about his work. What luck I had to see into this otherwise hidden world.
But we didn't just do work. Rob showed me around different parts of the city and I crossed all the major bridges. We spent some time in Berkeley with his friends and I appreciated the history of struggle that has happened, and continues to happen, on those streets. There is certainly tension where so many different kinds of people come together in one spot, but Berkeley is off the hook. From graffiti, to drugs, to street sports like skateboarding and cycling, everything was bursting with delinquency and no one seemed to care until some bums started fighting over a spilled can of "Jooze" and the N-word got thrown by a white guy. The cops slapped on their purple gloves and insisted they had chased after the black guy instead of the white guy because they had seen his knife. Woah, Berkeley.
The youth on the streets all know each other and congregate without cellphones. Within moments of posting up at a couple of designated spots around the Cal campus, anywhere between 5 and 30 young people just show up and kick it. At one point Rob and I went to get some food, but his friends didn't have any money. Instead of ditching them, we bought big sandwiches to pass all around the group that had flocked around us like ducks around old people. Later, when we went to see a show, Rob's other friend "with money" paid for his friend and I paid for Rob. It was like a street pact that when your friends don't have money and you do, you gotta cover your friends. It is kind of like karma in the sense that when you put out, you will eventually receive.
The group we kicked it with that day had a fascinating game called teams, much like the one I play in Seattle with my friends, but this one is based on "races" instead of individual captains. The crew hangs out and designates different people from the group to be on the black, white, or Mexican teams. They barter, trade and change their minds based on various actions by the players, not their actual race. Even as a white guy Rob plays on the black team as the hip hop DJ and many of the black dudes get put on the white team for skateboarding. It seems stereotypical, but it is a comical way of unifying the races that are running together regardless. They laugh about how they share certain interests and talents regardless of race or skin tone. I got put on the Mexican team because I was wearing my "Corazón de Fuego" hoodie that Angela gave me... qué sorpresa.
After a whirlwind of parks, bridges, cityscapes, music and guys on skateboards, I bid farewell to the Bay and headed for Santa Monica, CA. I am currently staying at Trisha Roth's house (the grandmother of the kids I nannied in Seattle) right next to Venice Beach! I chilled on the beach today, but I will certainly be checking out some other parts of the city soon. Until there is more to report... asd