Halloween at the our English school

There is a guideline in Mexico whereas in every English school at least 50% of the teachers must be native Mexicans.  We have some teachers from Canada, some from England and then most are from United States and Mexico.  The staff decided that we would sponsor a traditional Halloween party for the students.

I was in charge of the "Bobbing for Apples" game.  I thought that the kids would just come around to the games at their leisure, but that was not the case.  An audience sat in chairs and the barrel of apples was placed on the stage.  At that point, I had to convince three kids to come to the stage and see who could get the apples first.  Well, the children had never seen the game and would not put their heads under the water to retrieve the apples, plus, the apples were giant sized and much too large for their mouths.  Needless to say, the game took forever and I was expected to MC the whole thing in Spanish.  Luckily, there were only six kids at the party at that time, so I only had to do it twice.  Our  friend Bety had accompanied me to the party and she said that I didn't do too badly with my Spanish.  Bety and I also passed out candy to the kids when they came to each classroom in their costumes.  They were required to knock on the door and say,"Trick or Treat" in order to receive their candy.

There was one traditional Mexican competition in which the children write a calavera which are satirical mock obituaries about politicians, teachers and other people in power positions.  They poke fun at people and are used as a reminder that once we pass, we all end up in the same place.

Arin's first paycheck ever

Arin received a check for a whopping 120 pesos which may sound like a lot, but is only about 10 bucks.

Arin walks in a calenda (parade with mezcal)

Arin has been tutoring one of our summer school students, Daniel, and yesterday Daniel invited us to participate in a calenda sponsored by his college.  I had to work, but Arin walked the 3 miles in what he describes as a mobile party.  The calenda winds through the streets of town.  One person carries a giant paper globe with the name of the group and others might carry smaller decorations made from cellophane. You walk about 150 steps drinking mezcal, then the band starts playing and everybody stops to dance.  Another 150 steps and you repeat.  Of course traffic is halted while you snake through the streets of town and it took about 3 hours to go 3 miles.  He said that virtually every person has either a bottle, a shot glass, or a cup in their hand.   

Some of the calendas have choreographed dances with participants in traditional dress, but this calenda was just a drinking one.  Arin didn't take any pictures but as we say in Oaxaca, "If you miss the parade, wait 5 minutes and catch the next one."  I'll post a picture as soon as the next calenda marches by.


Update-I just ran out to the street because I thought I heard one, but it was another protest march instead.

Peace Corp volunteers from Guatemala

Two Peace Corp volunteers from Guatemala (Bill and Steve) are vacationing at our apartment building.  I played cards with them tonight and heard all about their experiences.  They work in small towns teaching nutrition. I think I would like to be in a smaller place where everybody knows your name.

One needs to be a college grad to join the Corp, so to all of you grads who are unable to find a job in the horrible US economy, think about the Peace Corp!

They must think I am an angel. An angel amoung us?

Almost daily, our street is shut down for a period of time to allow a peaceful protest march to proceed.  Here is a picture of a 5000 person "marcha".  At one point I thought that the march had ended and began to follow the crowd back to my apartment.  Another 200 people appeared and I had to stand in a raised doorway to let them through.  They were all very poor campesinos from the outlying pueblos.  It is likely that many of them had never seen a gringo, especially one with blond hair.  One by one they all turned their heads and stared at me as they marched by.  Finally I had to move down to ground level because I was feeling uncomfortable. 

Yesterday, nursing students were marching because they wanted their principal fired.

Arin is offered a job

Arin has been assisting me in my classes and now has been hired as a teacher's aide.  Unfortunately that means that he is no longer beside me.  He makes half of what I make.  He is looking forward to the day when he can look back and say, "Well, my first job only paid 40 pesos."

Preparing for the Day of the Dead celebration

The town is gearing up for Dia de los Muertos where the Mexican people honor their loved ones who have passed away.  Tomorrow we are invited to participate in a calenda, which is a type of parade where mescal is poured out in shot glasses for the adults and candy thrown for the children. Also, costumes are worn. Traditionally the only costumes have always resembled skeletons, but in Oaxaca we see the influence of Halloween  as many children wear traditional American Halloween costumes such as superheroes and princesses.