Thursday, June 25, 2009

Week 3

Week 3
This week things began to run smoother. I finally knew which bus to take to DIJO, Monte Alban and Tlalix (and even more importantly when to signal that I wanted to get off, and by signal I mean get up and walk to the front of the bus, clutching the aisle seats as I go as to not topple into the lap of a stranger as the bus bumps over the 'topes' (speed bumps) that decorate the highway). It is a good thing that I had finally acquired this familiarity because Antonio fell ill and I had to make my way to Monte Alban on my own on Friday.

Although I had established a routine, many of the small details of my work continue to surprise me. Take for example the women in the kitchen at Monte Alban, who I'm convinced are fountains of creativity. Both Monday and Friday, when I arrived at the sink, I found a new plate washing method in place, with the ultimate goal of devising the most efficient way to wash the thousands of plates that pass under their hands every day. The challenges are numerous: because the plates are after all dirty, the water in which we wash and rinse becomes dirty very fast. Furthermore the towels that we lay the plates on to dry get super wet super quickly, to the point that they are dripping water onto the floor, creating an unsafe workspace and impeding the drying that we need. Also after the first wave of breakfasters, the cart that the kids leave their dirty plates on is overflowing and disorderly. Even those niños who want to leave their plates in the correct spot cannot, because there is no room.

The women in the kitchen see the problems and go about fixing them, little by little implementing new methods to increase kitchen efficiency. My role in the kitchen changed from "dish washer" to "leftover food scraper." Basically instead of washing, I stand at the cart and scrape the food that is left on the childrens' plates as they leave them. At first I was a little disillusioned by this apparent demotion: I came to help and could not even wash plates? But I soon understood the system and saw that my role served two purposed: the plates arrived much cleaner to the sinks so the water didn't have to be changed so quickly and also, by having someone stand at the cart the children were much more inclined to leave their plates in an orderly fashion. Another plus was that I got to say good morning to each of the children as then left their plates.

This week in Monte Alban I also had a very interesting encounter with Richard, one of the few preteen boys who come to eat breakfast at the Comedor. On Friday I arrived alone because Antonio was sick, and Richard immediately came up to me and asked earnestly: "Sarah, where is Antonio?". I was surprised that he 1. knew our names and 2. was so interested in Antonio's whereabouts. Richard continued to ask me questions about Antonio, and ended up volunteering to work in the kitchen, almost as if he were taking over Antonio's role in his absence. This spirit of collaboration was astounding because we only had only even met Richard because the first day we worked at Monte Albán, Richard was banished to the kitchen and required to wash plates as a punishment. I can't help but ask myself, what generated this change in him? I am sure it is in part fruit of his time in DIJO.

In Tlalix the most interesting occurrence of the week was the arrival of the dentist. She came to give a dental hygiene presentation and preform a very general evaluation of the niños teeth. All the children brought their tooth brushes to class that day, and for those that forgot the dentist provided a new one. Using two students as examples, she taught them the correct method to brush (the "circular method") and then we all headed out to the basketball court for an interactive demonstration. She gave each student a pink pill that they had to chew. The pill, upon disintegration, clung to the plaque in their mouths, giving them all pink smiles. They sheepishly looked at each other, only imagining how pink their own mouths must me. Several of them stopped smiling all together, not wanting the others to see how rosy their mouths were. When we gave them the opportunity to get their toothbrushes and begin to brush, they took it with great enthusiasm. The pink plaque painstakingly purged, they turned once more into a smiling, energetic bunch, who in the future will hopefully brush their teeth with more diligence!

Semana 3

Ya esta semana las cosas empezaron a fluir bastante bien. Ya conocía bastante bien el camino para llegar a DIJO, Monte Alban y Tlalix, un conocimiento que resultó indispensable porque Antonio se enfermó y yo tenía que ir solita a Monte Alban el viernes.

Aunque ya establecí mi rutina, las detalles del trabajo todavía me sorprendieron. Tomo por ejemplo las mujeres de la cocina de Monte Albán, que se establecieron en mi mente como fuentes de creatividad. Sea el lunes come el viernes usaron una técnica diferente para lavar los platos, con la meta final de encontrar la maniera más eficiente de lavarlos. El problema en general era que el agua se ensuciaba muy rápido y había que cambiarla mucho, que retrasaba mucho la lavada. También los trapos donde dejamos los platos se mojaban demasiado y la cosa sobre que los niños dejan los platos se llenaba demasiado rápido. Tomaron cada problema, lo analizaron, y propusieron una solución. Hay todo un sistema nuevo de lavar pero no quiero entrar en todas las detalles. Basta decir que mi rol en la cocina cambió de "lavadora de platos" a "chica que quita la comida que queda en los platos." Al principio me desilusioné un poco de este cambiamento: no era ni capaz de lavar platos?? Pero al fin entendí que así resolvieron dos problemas: en primer lugar, los platos llegan al fregadero ya mucho más limpios y por eso el agua no se ensucia tanto, y por segundo me estacionaron al carrito donde los niños dejan los platos y por eso, los dejan en mejor orden, y tambien puedo consolidar los vasos y bolos de una forma más organizada para que no se desborde.

Otra cosa que me gustaría contar de Monte Albán esta semana es un encuentro que tuve con Richard. Llegué viernes como dije ya, sola, y Richard inmediatamente me acercó y me preguntó: "Sarah, donde está Antonio?" Me sorprendió que sabía nuestros nombres y que le interesó tanto el paradero de Antonio. Además Richard continuó a preguntarme de Antonio, de donde era, porque vino a Oaxaca, si le gustaba cortar chiles etc etc. Los otros niños se fueron del comedor pero Richard se quedó por hora y media mas porque quería ayudar. Conocimos a Richard en la cocina porque le pusieron a lavar como castigo un día. Pero este viernes, se puso a trabajar con nosotros, no como castigo sino de su propria voluntad. Trabajé lado a lado con Richard, quitando comida de los platos de los demás y arreglando los utensilios. Era otra persona que el niño quejido que estaba en la cocina el primer día. Me pregunto que le pasó, que causó este cambiamiento en él?

En Tlalixtec la cosa más interesante de la semana era la llegada de la dentista. Vino a revisar la higiene dental con los niños con una demostración que resultó muy efectiva. Después de enseñarles como lavar los dientes (el método circular), fuimos todos afuera a la concha y les dio una pastilla roja. A comerla, la tinta roja se pegó a la placa de los dientes para que los niños viesen cuanto estaban sucias las bocas y dientes. Se miraban el uno al otro con mucha vergüenza, y algunos dejaron de sonreír por unos momentos para esconder los dientes. Cuando les demos la oportunidad, empezaron a cepillar los dientes con mucho gusto. La placa roja quitada, volvieron a ser niños sonrientes, que con suerte van a cepillar los dientes con más frecuencia. Era un encuentro muy bien hecho; los niños aprendieron y se divirtieron, y sirvió para reforzar/reseñar conoscimientos muy pertinentes a sus vidas.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Week 2

Semana 2

This week the vacation ended and the work began. Monday I went to Monte Albán and they had me wash plates for 3.5 hours. I remember that before leaving the States Enzio, the director of AVSI-USA told us that we had to be humble, observe and learn. My first day in Monte Albán was the perfect time to put his advice into practice. The woman who washed the plates with me washed with vigor, energy and enthusiasm, an enthusiasm that I had for the first 5 minutes but that quickly faded away when my back started to ache (I'm way too tall for these low Mexican sinks and counters) and my hands turned into giant raisins. How in the world could these women continue to wash like that?? What to me appeared to be a boring job, these woman were carrying out without the slightest complaint and furthermore in 2 minutes the dirty plates disappeared under their flying hands while it took me more than a half hour to wash the same amount!!

This week I also began to work in Tlalex during the afternoons. Tlalex is a town about 30 minutes outside of the center of Oaxaca, inhabited by humble folk who mostly make their living as tortilla sellers or artisans. What most surprised me in my first days were the children's attitudes and desire to learn. I never had to tell them to take out their books, they would simply arrive and get right to work. I believe my favorite moment at Tlalex last week occurred on Thursday. I was working with 2 boys in the 5th grade, Edwin and Edgar, doing math exercises. They had to execute a rather complicated word problem involving a series of divisions, multiplications and additions. We began to tackle the problem at 6:30, and as 7 rolled around we still hadn't finished, or rather they still didn't understand very well what the problem was asking them. I asked them if they wanted to go, seeing as how the center officially closes at 7 but they told me they preferred to stay and finish the problem. 5 minutes later Edwin had a break through and understood the procedure, finished the problem and instead of leaving proceeded to explain his discover to Edgar. I was so proud of them both, more for the spirit of camaraderie that they showed than for actually finishing the problem.

In general I enjoy the work at Tlatex. Me and Memo, another teacher who is about my age, very kind and very professional, help half of the children do their homework, while the other half of the students do repetitions with the teacher. After an hour and a half we switch groups.

Personal I become very stressed out every time I have to go to Tlalex because the most efficient form of transport, the colectivo which is a fixed rate taxi shared between 5 strangers, is very unreliable. The first day I went with Silvia, my host sister who also works at DIJO, and we caught one within 5 minutes. The second day, which I later found out was market day, I went alone to catch the colectivo and it didn't pass and didn't pass and didn't pass. A few buses passed by but I didn't know the rout to Tlalex so I didn't even think about getting on. Never the less, at 3:40 (I have to be at work at 4 and it takes at least 40 minutes to get there), sweaty and slightly desperate under the scorching oaxaquen sun, I knew I had to take some sort of definitive action. I asked in a nearby store which bus would take me to Tlalex and they showed me which. In the end it did take me to Tlalex, but not to the zócalo where the DIJO center is, rather to some other spot in the town. Luckily for me, the very kind boy who monitors the bus door (he wasn't older than 12), told me that it would be better to get off there and walk to the zócalo (if he hadn't told me who knows where I would have ended up!). Unfortunately I arrived 15 minutes late on my second day, what a disaster! From that day on I have arrived on time, but every afternoon the commute is an adventure. Antonio tells me to chill out, leave on time but not worry so much about the buses, because, after all, it is not as if I can make a bus appear out of thin air or go any faster once it does appear. The problem is that I like to have things under my control, which is very hard here in Mexico where I have to rely so much on other people and on a weak infrastructure of public goods. But I think it is very good for me to be face this situation every day, learning little by little to accept the reality I am given to live in.


Semana 2

Esta semana la vacación se terminó y el trabajo empezó. El lunes a Monte Albán lavé platos por 3.5 horas. Me acuerdo que antes de irme de los EEUU Enzio, el director de AVSI-USA me dijo que había que ser humilde, observar y aprender. Este primer día en Monte Albán era la oportunidad perfecta para poner en practica sus consejos . Las mujeres que lavaban los platos los lavaban con vigor, energía y entusiasmo, un entusiasmo que yo tenía por los primeros 5 minutos pero que rápidamente se me fue cuando me llegó el mal de espina (soy demasiado alta para los lavamanos y encimeras mexicanas!) y las manos arrugadas. ¿Como hacen a lavar así? Lo que a mí me parecía un trabajo aburrido y banal las mujeres cumplían sin quejarse y además en 2 minutos los platos desaparecieron abajo de sus manos volantes, mientras yo me demoré media hora para lavar la misma cantidad! Sin embargo, estar allí, lavando y secando el montón literal de platos, el tiempo me dio para pensar. Me di cuenta de que éstas mujeres construyeron parte de la ancha base sobre que se construye DIJO. Sin gente que lava este montón de platos todos los días, las otras cosas bonitas del comedor no pueden continuar. La nutrologa y sus enseñamientos, los exámenes médicos, la merienda de medio día, nada de eso puede funcionar sin gente que lava los platos. Al fin, me alegré que podía participar en un trabajo tan integral a la organización. Pero creo que el trabajo sería más agradable si cantamos mientras lavamos!

Esta semana también empecé a trabajar en Tlalex. Lo que me sorprendió eran las ganas con que los niños hicieron las tareas. No tenía que decirles que tenían que sacar los sus libros y ponerles a estudiar porque querían hacerlo. Creo que mi momento preferido de la semana sucedió el jueves. Estaba trabajando con dos niños en una tarea de matemática. Teníamos que ejecutar un proceso bastante complicado que envolvió multiplicación, división y sumas en diferentes momentos. Empezamos a hacerlo a las 6:30. Las 7 llegó y todavía no habíamos terminado. Les pregunté si querían ir, y me dijeron que no, que preferían terminar el trabajo. De repente a las 7:05 uno de ellos (Edwin, un querido niño gordito de quinto) finalmente entendió el proceso, terminó su tarea y en vez de irse, explicó el proceso a su compañero. Yo estaba repleto de orgullo por ellos.

En general el trabajo de Tlalex me va muy bien. Yo y Memo, otro chavo muy simpático y profesional de más o menos mi edad, ayudamos la mitad de los niños con sus tareas mientras los demás hacen curso con los maestros y después de 1.5 horas, trabajamos con los que hicieron curso antes.

Personalmente me estrés mucho yendo a Tlalex porque el colectivo (el taxi compartido) es poco fidedigno; el primer día fui con Silvia y después de 5 minutos encontramos uno, sin problema. El segundo día, sea el martes día del mercado, fui solita a tomarlo y no pasó y no pasó y no pasó. No sabía que hacer porque no sabía la ruta del camión. Sin embargo a las 3:40, sudada y desesperada abajo el sol ardiente de Oaxaca, yo sabía que tenía que tomar una acción definitiva de algún tipo. Pregunté en una tienda cual camión me llevaría a Tlalex y me indicaron uno. Resultó que no me llevó al zócalo donde está DIJO sino a otro sitio. Afortunadamente el simpático chico que mantenía la puerta del camión de dijo que sería mejor bajarme allí en la esquina y caminar hasta el zócalo (si no mi hubiera dicho nada quien sabe a donde habría terminada!). Desafortunadamente llegué 15 minutos tarde a trabajo mi segundo día, que verguënza.

Desde ese día en adelante he llegado en horario, pero cada tarde es una aventura. Antonio me ofrece este consejo con respecto al estrés que me siento: salir de la casa en el horario justo, pero no preocuparme porque no puedo hacer aparecer un camión ni tampoco un colectivo. Creo que mi problema es que me gusta tener las cosas abajo mi control, un gusto que es un poco mucho difícil cumplir aquí en México donde tengo que contar tanto en otras personas. Creo que me hace muy bien estar en esta situación cada día para que yo vaya aprendiendo poco a poco a aceptar la realidad que se me presenta.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Week 1, a second look

Week 1

The first week was a week of orientation. I arrived ready to throw myself into my job here, but I soon understood that there would be nothing random about my work, that in fact one of the requirements of the job was to understand very well what I was doing and why I was doing it, something that cannot be achieved without a lot of observation and patience. This job was not going to be simply a series of tasks that I completed each day, but rather a tool to help me grow while I am also serving others. To do my work well, I realized I had to garner a deep understanding of the organization, its goals and its methods.

And so little by little I began to get to know DIJO and the people that work here. Several of my coworkers gave us presentations of their work which helped to understand how the organization runs on a day to day basis as well and create a bond between us and them.

I think one of the most useful aspects of DIJO is the weekly reunion on Friday afternoons. Before the reunion everyone reads a selection of "Education is a Risk" by Don Giussani and answers some questions about the text. The answers are to be sent to the discussion moderator, Arturo, before the meeting so he can synthesize our experience, find similarities and patterns. The questions require us to examine the events of the week and judge them. We then share our experiences with the others, and in doing so realize that many of us have similar worries, problems, or joys. This method helps to understand our work at a much deeper level. For example, the question from this last week was "What does it mean to educate?"

During this first week I was struck over and over by the generosity of the people I encountered. From the family I live with that offers me everything and anything I could possibly need, to Rosalinda, my job supervisor that brought us all over the city so that we could see and know and was always buying us little sweets that are unique to Oaxaca, to the strangers I spoke with on the street when I was, yet again, lost, there are so many people here with large hearts. I feel very blessed to have this opportunity and to have meet these people.
As you may already know, at first I wanted to go to Brazil and when they told me that the Rio internship was canceled and instead I could go to Oaxaca, I was happy to be going somewhere but disappointed I wasn't going to Brazil. Non the less, when God closes a door, he opens a window and I am sure I'm here for a reason, that God wants me to learn something great here. I can only beg to have the grace to be open and understand what He presents to me. I very grateful that I am in such good company here, that I am surrounded by people who will help me in this mission.

To close the week, at the end of the reunion on Friday, I was privy to a conversation between Socorro, the head of DIJO and one of the employees, Arturo. Arturo was wondering if we could help give English repetitions to the kids of Monte Alban. Socorro, instead of agreeing told Arturo that I was here first for me and then for DIJO. I thought it was a strange statement at the time, I mean, the purpose of being here was to help, no? It wasn't until later, talking with Antonio, that I realized the hugeness of this statement. How could it be that I was here first for me, then for DIJO, which has so many needs, which serves so many people?

I still don't understand very well but I do understand that these words hold a huge promise for my time here, and really for my entire life. Understanding these words will be part of my daily work.

Semana 1

La primera semana era una semana de orientación. Llegué con grandes ganas de echarme a trabajar en la primera situación\tarea que mi dieran, pero entendí muy rápido que este trabajo no iba a ser para nada a caso, que el trabajo aquí era mucho más que simplemente una serie de tareas y para hacerlo bien tenía que entender bien la organización, sus metas y sus métodos.

Entonces iba conociéndo a organización y la gente poquito a poco. Era muy útil hablar con los demás en la oficina y escuchar sus presentaciones de DIJO porque me hicieron conocer más a DIJO y también a ellos. Además, creo que la reunión de los viernes puede ser el instrumento más útil para mi porque me permite ver como los demás confrontan los problemas que surgen de este tipo de trabajo, la desilusión o frustración, y darlos un juicio definido. No simplemente hay que traer las experiencias de la semana a la mesa, sino ver como estos problemas tienen que ver con mi vida, mi felicidad y mi crecimiento. Las experiencias compartidas se muestra que no se esta solo en el trabajo. En compartir aprendo a vivir mejor y en vivir mejor aprendo a hacer mi trabajo en una manera mejor. Es muy útil tener que escribir la respuestas antes de llegar porque me hace juzgar mis experiencias del pasado, con las experiencias de la semana y estar lista para la reunión.

En esta primera semana me impactó mucho la generosidad de las personas que encontré. Desde la familia con quien vivo que me ofrece todo, hasta Rosalinda que nos lleva para todas partes a conocer, aprender y entender, comprándonos las dulcitas mejores de Oaxaca, hasta los disonocidos por la calle que me dan indicaciones cuando me pierdo, hay un montón de personas con grandes corazones y me siento muy bendecida de tener esta oportunidad.

Como quizás sabe ya, al principio yo quería ir a Brasil y cuando me dijeron que iba a ir en vez a Oaxaca perdí un poquito de mi entusiasmo. Sin embargo, se dice que cuando Dios cierra una puerta, abre una ventana y estoy segura de que estoy aquí por un razón, que Dios quiere que aprendo algo grande. Solamente ruego a Dios de tener la gracia de estar abierta y entender lo que se me presenta. Doy gracias a Dios que me puso en tan buen compañía que me ayuda en esta misión.

Para terminar, al fin de la reunión el viernes, hablando con Soco y Arturo Soco le dijo a Arturo que yo estaba aquí primero para mi y después para DIJO. Al principio no me culpé mucho, no entendí la grandeza de estas palabras hasta que empecé a hablar con Antonio. Hablando con el, me di cuenta de la enormidad de esto comentarios de Soco. Como puede ser que tendría que ponerme primero, cuando hay tantas necesidades en las comunidades de DIJO? Pensaba que estaba aquí para servirles!!

Todavía no entiendo muy bien pero sí entiendo que estas palabras tienen una promesa y un desafío muy grande. Entender estas palabras hasta el fundo será uno de mis tareas en estas semanas.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Culinary Tradition



Uno de los aspectos más únicos de la cultura mexicana es la cocina. Todas las tradiciones aquí giran en torno de ella. Alrededor de la comida, familias y comunidades se reunen para celebrar, llevar luto, o simplemente estar juntos un ratito y compartir sus vidas. Voy a probar a notar todas las comidas que encuentro, y tomar una foto de las más interesantes para que puedan compartir también Uds. en la tradición culinaria mexicana.

One of the most interesting aspects of Mexican culture is its food Almost all of the traditions here revolve around food and the sharing of meals. Around the table families and communities unite to celebrate, mourn or simply be together and share their lives for a little while. I am going to try to take note of all of the food I encounter here, and take pictures of the most interesting so that you too can share Mexico's culinary tradition.


Uno degli aspetti più interessanti della cultura messicana e' il cibo. Il cibo fa parte di quasi tutte le tradizioni qua. Intorno al tavolo le famiglie e le communita' si une per celebrare, lamentare o semplicemente per passare un po' di tempo insieme. Quest' estate vorrei annotare i cibi che incontro e fare una foto dei più interessanti perché pure voi potete fare parte della tradizione culinarie messicana.


The menu so far:

1. Potato and tuna patty
2. Atole with chocolate
3. Pan bimbo
4. Pan dulce. Mexican sweet bread
5. Chupete de piña y pimiento. A lollipop made of pineapple and, of course, chili pepper
6. Carrots and garlic... with chili pepper
7. Hot chocolate and bread with anise (the first food distributed at a funeral, no matter what time of day)
8. Egg omelet in tomato sauce
9. Corn tortillas soaked in black bean soup
10. Tamales with black beans
11. Michelada- a Corona with 3 types of hot pepper sauce. I found it rather gross, but they assure me I just didn't try the right one.
12. Enchiladas en salsa verde. Pork soaked in a green soup.
13. Cheese: quesillo (queso de hebras) and queso panela, which is the traditional cheese from oaxaca.
14. Estufado. A yellow mole with chicken, eaten the day of a funeral.
15. Mole verde. Eaten on the one year anniversary of a death.
16. Higadito. A egg and liver omelet
17. Nieve de nueces y de tuna. A Mexican ice cream, rather like an Italian ice. I tried one made of walnuts, and Antonio tried one made of tuna, which is not a fish, rather the fruit that comes from a cactus.
18. Sangre de chivo. Goat's blood
19. Tacos de chivo. Tacos made with goat meat and avocado
20. Taquitos de puerco. The best tacos you will ever try.
21. Papaya
22. Atole blanco
23. Te verde
24. Pasta con salsa picante (tomato sauce with chili pepper)
25. Rollitos fritos. Fried rolls with meat inside
26. Pastries



































Week One

I have so many first impressions of Oaxaca it is hard to even begin to describe them. I will start with the family I am staying with. The immediate family is led by Dona Helena and Don Aquilino. The first words that pop into my head when I try to describe them are generous and kind. Dona Helena is an amazing cook with a lively sense of humor. She is always ready to laugh or offer you a second plate of delicious food. She was born here in Oaxaca but her family is from San Pedro Apostile, a town about an hour away (that I had to good fortune to go visit this last weekend). Aquilino as well is kind and simple; he sees a need and does his best to fill it (for instance we were walking under the hot sun for a few minutes and he went to buy Dona Helena and me sombreros to block the scorching sun). Although he is middle aged, he is still effortlessly scales mango trees when the opportunity presents itself! Silvia and German are their two children, who are amazing as well. We work with Silvia in DIJO; she does evaluations of some sort with the teachers and students and has inherited her mother's good humor. She is so generous with her time and energy, and seems to never tire. German is studying architecture and in his spare time among other things plays bass guitar in a band (Im hoping he will let me post one of his songs because they are so good!). He as well is so generous with us, and in fact took a whole evening to go through a list of the cities museums and bars so we know where are the best spots. This last week was a week of orientation so we did not actually start work, instead we went to visit all of the communities and spent time getting to know the city. The DIJO center is very vibrant. There works Socorro, the head administrator, as well as a handful of dedicated workers who handle the nuts and bolts of the operation. They are all very hard working and very joyful, ready to smile from behind their stack or papers or computer screen. We will be working in three community centers (and I guess by now you might be wondering who "we" is. By "we" I mean me and the other intern, Antonio who also lives in the same house and has the same position with AVSI). Each center is very different from the other. The first and largest is Monte Alban, which is in one of the slums of Oaxaca. DIJO has a comedor, or breakfast center, here that gives breakfast to almost 200 hungry children every morning. It originally started as a homework helping after school program, but seeing the need of the children, they changed plans and now the main focus is the breakfast program, although there are also classes for mothers and their preschool aged children, as well as other after school activities for older children. The next center is Tlalixtac which is located in the outskirts of Oaxaca and is like a little town in itself, complete with a plaza and a beautiful church, filled with so many flowers their sweet perfume floats thickly in the dark air. I don't mean a flower or two, this church is brimming with flowers, large colorful bouquets are carefully placed every few feet. The town gives so much attention to the church, and change the flowers every few days. The work DIJO does in Tlalix is that of after school help. The kids that come to the program are generally those that are behind in school work for what ever reason. When we visited some of the children were preparing a dance for the inauguration of a new DIJO building. If you want to see it, I posted the video in photo album. The third program is Xoxo, and it is very similar to Tlalix although a little smaller. The educational system in Oaxaca is in an upheaval. The teachers often go on strike demanding higher wages and better benefits (thought they are the highest payed in Mexico, apparently). They can go on strike for months at a time, leaving the children without a constant, dependable education. This lack of consistency has caused Oaxaca to fall to last place in national educational rankings as many of the children here are left far behind their peers. Upon a recent class resumption many of DIJO's students found themselves ahead of their peers, a huge change from their previous almost dismal performance, as they had not suspended their learning as had the rest of the class. As far as this last week's activities, there are so many it is impossible to comment on them all! I will try to write about a few of them, but for now the senora is calling me, time for lunch ("la comida").