The first clinic at CECIPROC was held today. 12 people received sessions including two children. It was the perfect number of people for Laurencio's first time holding the clinic after the workshop. It was a great learning experience. Rico and I arrived just as sessions were about to get going. I had thought that I would supervise and maybe even receive a treatment. With this many people for his first time I worked on people instead. While we were still treating the group, one of the people who already had her needles in began to feel flush and sick to her stomach. She tried to stay with it for a few minutes, but it wasn't going away so I took out the needles, laid her down and did some energy work to help her rebalance. She was fine and when Lauro spoke with her later he learned that she had a coffee on her way to the clinic and it was too much energy for her. He got to see how I handled the situation and it was a good learning experience. It was also good that I was there, for his first time it would have been a lot to handle with 11 others to be aware of. In my 18+ years of practice and tens of thousands of treatments I have only seen this type of reaction 3 times.
I am waiting to hear from someone about giving us transportation to the pueblos next week. This really showed the importance of follow up support. I will spend this week in spanish school every day. Today, aside from a small conversation in the mercado organico, this is my english outlet. Learning another language is a slow process for me and I have faith that it is improving. Daily frustrations and daily excitement at understanding something.
Our social life is getting busier. Mostly with foreigners, from the US and France. It has been great to see some friends who I met here 3 years ago. Rico has joined the Hub. The Hub is a place where social activists can meet and use office facilities. They have internet, printing, social get-togethers, networking, meeting rooms, etc. There are Hubs all over the world now and growing. This project allows him to be a part of it. There are fantastic projects going on here - ecological and social. It is very inspiring.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Workshop and graduation
It's been a busy couple of days...and exhasting as we recovered from the weekend and workshop. Or maybe for me it was the mezcal at our celebration dinner on Monday night...
Monday flew by with the final clinics. We didn't have the numbers of people show up for the clinics as we had hoped for but it was enough that everyone got to practice on a few people. We really encouraged them to begin to practice immediately as soon as the return home to keep it fresh. They were so enthusiastic during these practice sessions. They showed confidence and that was the goal of the workshop - that they would be confident with the 5-needle auricular acupuncture technique.
We held graduation after lunch before the younger women left. We had certificates for everyone. That is a big deal for them. They shared that this will give them credibility that they might ot otherwise have. It shows that they studied in the workshop, that it is aligned with CECIPROC, it is signed by the two teachers, one with an obviously foreign name, and it looks very official. The graduation was beautiful. Everyone will also have photos holding the certificates with the two teachers. Some had very strong emotional reactions. Life is difficult where they live and this is a way they can help their communities.
Rico did individual video interviews with everyone. He asked how/why they came to the workshop, what did they think of the workshop, what is their life in the pueblo - what do they do, how are they going to use what they learned in their communities? This will be part of the videos that he will make for this project - short and long. The director of Ceciproc's parent organization in Mexico City had doubts about this program, the video will be great for showing him what happened. This video will be made in English and Spanish and will hopefully help Ceciproc as well with their fundraising. Laurancio's dream right now is to build a teaching center on the coast where many of the promotores live. He wants to have a building, dorms, kitchens, everything that they will need. As it is now, they have a palapa where they teach sometimes and then people go home to their families and are often very distracted. He needs about $75,000 to build everything, they already have the land. He dreams of it being a place where many workshops can be offered. It is what I believe in and why I did this workshop - Teaching has the biggest impact, the numbers of people who benefit are exponential and they are not reliant on outsiders to help.
The agreement that we made is that for one year I will continue to provide supplies for them to practice and then we will re-evaluate. I think that there will be different levels of practice, some will have ongoing busy clinics. Others may integrate it into what they already do. There might be some who are excited now but will put the needles on the shelf and occasionally think about it. Everyone has 1000 needles plus pressure seeds that they took home. They will keep a record of their treatments and when they use up their supplies they will give the record to Laurencio who will give them more needles. I will keep him supplied with the needles.
Follow-up support is crucial in this project! It was the one thing that the parent organization wanted to be sure happened. In a couple of weeks Rico and I will travel to the different pueblos. I will observe their practice and give them whatever support that they need. I'll also have needles with me to replenish their supplies. Only a couple of them have internet access to ask me questions about issues that come up once they're practicing. Again, Laurencio will be the middle-man for that when I return to the states, they can call him (those who have phones) and he will email me.
The next 10 days to two weeks for me is about immersing in Spanish. I will stay in the city, go to school and study. We will meet soon with Laurencio and plan how we can get around to the different pueblos. We might rent a car or find someone who has a car and can drive so we can go to a couple of pueblos at a time and be efficient about it. The pueblos in the Sierra Norte are in mountainous areas and long distances from each other. I would like to get to everyone if possible. Then will be the trip to the coast. It is much easier to get around there, we can get to the coast in a collectivo van and take buses anywhere we want to go.
I'll write later about the ideas about the longer term support for them.
Monday flew by with the final clinics. We didn't have the numbers of people show up for the clinics as we had hoped for but it was enough that everyone got to practice on a few people. We really encouraged them to begin to practice immediately as soon as the return home to keep it fresh. They were so enthusiastic during these practice sessions. They showed confidence and that was the goal of the workshop - that they would be confident with the 5-needle auricular acupuncture technique.
We held graduation after lunch before the younger women left. We had certificates for everyone. That is a big deal for them. They shared that this will give them credibility that they might ot otherwise have. It shows that they studied in the workshop, that it is aligned with CECIPROC, it is signed by the two teachers, one with an obviously foreign name, and it looks very official. The graduation was beautiful. Everyone will also have photos holding the certificates with the two teachers. Some had very strong emotional reactions. Life is difficult where they live and this is a way they can help their communities.
Rico did individual video interviews with everyone. He asked how/why they came to the workshop, what did they think of the workshop, what is their life in the pueblo - what do they do, how are they going to use what they learned in their communities? This will be part of the videos that he will make for this project - short and long. The director of Ceciproc's parent organization in Mexico City had doubts about this program, the video will be great for showing him what happened. This video will be made in English and Spanish and will hopefully help Ceciproc as well with their fundraising. Laurancio's dream right now is to build a teaching center on the coast where many of the promotores live. He wants to have a building, dorms, kitchens, everything that they will need. As it is now, they have a palapa where they teach sometimes and then people go home to their families and are often very distracted. He needs about $75,000 to build everything, they already have the land. He dreams of it being a place where many workshops can be offered. It is what I believe in and why I did this workshop - Teaching has the biggest impact, the numbers of people who benefit are exponential and they are not reliant on outsiders to help.
The agreement that we made is that for one year I will continue to provide supplies for them to practice and then we will re-evaluate. I think that there will be different levels of practice, some will have ongoing busy clinics. Others may integrate it into what they already do. There might be some who are excited now but will put the needles on the shelf and occasionally think about it. Everyone has 1000 needles plus pressure seeds that they took home. They will keep a record of their treatments and when they use up their supplies they will give the record to Laurencio who will give them more needles. I will keep him supplied with the needles.
Follow-up support is crucial in this project! It was the one thing that the parent organization wanted to be sure happened. In a couple of weeks Rico and I will travel to the different pueblos. I will observe their practice and give them whatever support that they need. I'll also have needles with me to replenish their supplies. Only a couple of them have internet access to ask me questions about issues that come up once they're practicing. Again, Laurencio will be the middle-man for that when I return to the states, they can call him (those who have phones) and he will email me.
The next 10 days to two weeks for me is about immersing in Spanish. I will stay in the city, go to school and study. We will meet soon with Laurencio and plan how we can get around to the different pueblos. We might rent a car or find someone who has a car and can drive so we can go to a couple of pueblos at a time and be efficient about it. The pueblos in the Sierra Norte are in mountainous areas and long distances from each other. I would like to get to everyone if possible. Then will be the trip to the coast. It is much easier to get around there, we can get to the coast in a collectivo van and take buses anywhere we want to go.
I'll write later about the ideas about the longer term support for them.
Clinic final day
The clinic was supposed to go from about 12 - 1 but naturally more people showed up after 1:30. The students are eager to practice and gaining more confidence each time. At this point Im able to just hang out and be available, they arent needing me or Julia.
This morning we practiced on each other again to refine locations and technique. I am very, very sensitive and I allowed two students to needle me. They both did a great job. Two other students, the young women ages 16 & 17 asked about leaving early to catch a 5:00 bus to a sister's pueblo 1 1/2 hours from here, then stay the night, then take another bus for hours the next day. They also asked about staying in the hostel another night. I was concerned about one of them needing a lot more practice. She was timid in her needling technnique and I didn't have confidence in her locations. So we told them that they could stay at the office of Ceciproc where there is a bed and a couch and they could leave the next day. It wasn't the answer that they seemed to want but they agreed to it. This morning, they stepped up. The more timid one needled me and I felt good with her. I could feel that she had the right locations and Julia checked everything. In the clinic they did great so we said that they could leave early.
We ordered sandwiches, a bottle of water and piece of fruit for everyone traveling plus I gave everyone some money for the road. Some will travel for more than 8 hours to get home.
(It's now Wednesday...I thought that I could get back to this sooner but it will wait until later today. I've already been asked about updates so this is the beginning of it. Thank you for reading and being here with me!)
This morning we practiced on each other again to refine locations and technique. I am very, very sensitive and I allowed two students to needle me. They both did a great job. Two other students, the young women ages 16 & 17 asked about leaving early to catch a 5:00 bus to a sister's pueblo 1 1/2 hours from here, then stay the night, then take another bus for hours the next day. They also asked about staying in the hostel another night. I was concerned about one of them needing a lot more practice. She was timid in her needling technnique and I didn't have confidence in her locations. So we told them that they could stay at the office of Ceciproc where there is a bed and a couch and they could leave the next day. It wasn't the answer that they seemed to want but they agreed to it. This morning, they stepped up. The more timid one needled me and I felt good with her. I could feel that she had the right locations and Julia checked everything. In the clinic they did great so we said that they could leave early.
We ordered sandwiches, a bottle of water and piece of fruit for everyone traveling plus I gave everyone some money for the road. Some will travel for more than 8 hours to get home.
(It's now Wednesday...I thought that I could get back to this sooner but it will wait until later today. I've already been asked about updates so this is the beginning of it. Thank you for reading and being here with me!)
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Workshop - day 3. Clinic
Two days of learning and today they jumped into community clinics.
We started the day early to have time to go over details before the clinic. Julia and I arrived a few minutes late and the group was scrubbing the Ceciproc offic/workshop space/clinic. I felt so much respect of the process that they would do that. Laurencio began the day a prayer of intention and gratitude.
We had about 30 people come to the practice clinic including some children. Everyone got to practice on a few people and everyone learned a lot. There were two sessions, they were mostly nervous during the first one. Most of the participants gained confidence and felt much better during the second practice session. It was beautiful to see them work. I was supervising two rooms with three "patients" in each room, the practitioners were working in pairs. Many of the patients said that they would like to come back again to the Monday practice. Vamos a ver - we'll see. I think that tomorrow will be at another, higher level.
Twonpeople had to leave today, one directly after lunch, the other at the end of the day. We gave them their certificates. The first person broke into tears receiving it. I cried too.
We started the day early to have time to go over details before the clinic. Julia and I arrived a few minutes late and the group was scrubbing the Ceciproc offic/workshop space/clinic. I felt so much respect of the process that they would do that. Laurencio began the day a prayer of intention and gratitude.
We had about 30 people come to the practice clinic including some children. Everyone got to practice on a few people and everyone learned a lot. There were two sessions, they were mostly nervous during the first one. Most of the participants gained confidence and felt much better during the second practice session. It was beautiful to see them work. I was supervising two rooms with three "patients" in each room, the practitioners were working in pairs. Many of the patients said that they would like to come back again to the Monday practice. Vamos a ver - we'll see. I think that tomorrow will be at another, higher level.
Twonpeople had to leave today, one directly after lunch, the other at the end of the day. We gave them their certificates. The first person broke into tears receiving it. I cried too.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Day 2
I can not believe how much they learned today and how well they did! Yesterday morning most of this group did not know what acupuncture is, today they were needling each other and tomorrow they will have two public community clinics.
Most of them have the point locations down. Some need to work more on technique which will come with practice...this was the first day. Confidence will help a lot and they will likely gain a lot of that tomorrow.
We heard some more stories today about their pueblos and the needs of the people. We discussed if they can charge for the treatments and the response was yes, they will have some overhead of things like cottonballs, alcohol, and other incidentals. We/I will continue to provide needles and I have different ideas of how they can get here. The arrangement is that they will fill out a very basic form listing the numbers of people who they treat on a given day. The form is separated into needles or seeds for pressure points (mostly used for children). Initially everyone is given 1,000 needles which is 100 treatments. When they fill out the form they will get it to Laurencio who will hold the extra needles and he will give them more. Some are planning on doing larger community clinics and will quickly run through needles. Others will use this technique more as an adjunct to what they already do and will not use them as much.
One of the participants shared about her situation. She is a curandera, a healer. She does massage, herbs, energy cleanings, etc. Her "clients" pay her in beans, vegetables, whatever they can offer to her. I asked if young people are interested in learning from her and she said no, they're just interested in making money. 1 1/2 years ago hundreds in her pueblo lost their homes to landslides after a season of excessive rain (and deforestation). Her son and grandchildren were one of the families. The government will help them build, but they will relocate them. Relocating these families will have an impact on the structure of the pueblos.
Another participant is going to a 3 year school for literacy. She works hard and pays a lot, 40 pesos each day, for transportation ($3.25). She would like to offer clinics to her community when she is not in school on the weekends. They used to grow limes in her area but the trees became diseased and they are no longer able to. People are struggling to eat.
Rico will interview and film more of them tomorrow. I will upload photos soon. They are working so hard in the class! One of the women was brought to tears tonight as she thanked us.
Some already want to learn more than the 5 point protocol, they want to do all they can. We have explained how acupuncture school is 4 years, they are getting great information and a technique that will go far in helping their people. We are not able to teach them diagnostic skills in a 4 day workshop. This technique is very powerful and simple, a great combination. And...it looks like I will be back not only for follow-up support but also to teach some more. I don't know now how it will look. What I do see is how far our support goes. How these donations that people have sent go far in helping (and I will ask for more eventually to keep them supplied - www.tinyurl.com/oaxaca2012 if anyone is interested in continuing to support this project).
In Gratitude
Most of them have the point locations down. Some need to work more on technique which will come with practice...this was the first day. Confidence will help a lot and they will likely gain a lot of that tomorrow.
We heard some more stories today about their pueblos and the needs of the people. We discussed if they can charge for the treatments and the response was yes, they will have some overhead of things like cottonballs, alcohol, and other incidentals. We/I will continue to provide needles and I have different ideas of how they can get here. The arrangement is that they will fill out a very basic form listing the numbers of people who they treat on a given day. The form is separated into needles or seeds for pressure points (mostly used for children). Initially everyone is given 1,000 needles which is 100 treatments. When they fill out the form they will get it to Laurencio who will hold the extra needles and he will give them more. Some are planning on doing larger community clinics and will quickly run through needles. Others will use this technique more as an adjunct to what they already do and will not use them as much.
One of the participants shared about her situation. She is a curandera, a healer. She does massage, herbs, energy cleanings, etc. Her "clients" pay her in beans, vegetables, whatever they can offer to her. I asked if young people are interested in learning from her and she said no, they're just interested in making money. 1 1/2 years ago hundreds in her pueblo lost their homes to landslides after a season of excessive rain (and deforestation). Her son and grandchildren were one of the families. The government will help them build, but they will relocate them. Relocating these families will have an impact on the structure of the pueblos.
Another participant is going to a 3 year school for literacy. She works hard and pays a lot, 40 pesos each day, for transportation ($3.25). She would like to offer clinics to her community when she is not in school on the weekends. They used to grow limes in her area but the trees became diseased and they are no longer able to. People are struggling to eat.
Rico will interview and film more of them tomorrow. I will upload photos soon. They are working so hard in the class! One of the women was brought to tears tonight as she thanked us.
Some already want to learn more than the 5 point protocol, they want to do all they can. We have explained how acupuncture school is 4 years, they are getting great information and a technique that will go far in helping their people. We are not able to teach them diagnostic skills in a 4 day workshop. This technique is very powerful and simple, a great combination. And...it looks like I will be back not only for follow-up support but also to teach some more. I don't know now how it will look. What I do see is how far our support goes. How these donations that people have sent go far in helping (and I will ask for more eventually to keep them supplied - www.tinyurl.com/oaxaca2012 if anyone is interested in continuing to support this project).
In Gratitude
Friday, February 17, 2012
Workshop - Day One
I am in awe. Today flowed so well. Everyone arrived after long journeys traveling. Some took overnight buses, others took multiple buses and taxis to arrive from their pueblos. Most of the participants have not experienced acupuncture before so after breakfast and introductions Julia and I gave everyone a treatment.
Overall, we kept the day at a relaxed pace. Some of the participants were obviously tired. Many of them were going to stay at the office of Ceciproc. There is one long couch and one bed and some thin mats for the floor. When Lauro had told me that some of them would stay there I had assumed that it meant that there would be space for them. We want them to be well rested in order to learn well. Two blocks away is a youth hostel so we booked rooms for them. This way they can have comfortable beds, showers, and be ready to go each day. In the hotels I had stayed at in Mexico City I had been collecting shampoo, soap and body lotions (thanks Lucy for helping with this!). I hd asked Rico to also bring some samples from the states. Sundance, a Eugene natural food store, donated a bag of samples of all of the above. It turned out great to have these "goodie bags" to give to them while they stay at the hostel. They are in this workshop to do servicework and were willing to travel long distances and sleep on a floor in order to be here. I am humbled.
They learned the locations of the 5 points today. They are learning a protocol of 5 points used to balance the body, thereby treating physical and emotional issues. These 5 points used together are profound - they were originally combined to use for addiction treatments and in the last 10+ years they have been used for post traumatic stress. There are many benefits to this style of treatment - many people can be treated at the same time, it is very economical, treatments can be done anywhere, it is very effective and it is simple to learn. Today I explained that plus the basics of chinese medicine and acupuncture...in spanish. It inspires me to continue to study spanish to do it better.
Once we got into the hands-on of point location the enthuhsiasm and energy picked up. People used golf tees to locate the points. Julia is an excellent teacher, she explains things in a simple, understandable way. I loved watching how she recognizes the needs of the group and is able to flow with it. Last night we had a plan for the day and that plan evolved during the day. The most important thing is the final outcome - that everyone leaves this workshop confident in practicing in their home pueblos. I feel that life is about adapting the process to what is needed and we'll reach the goal. I went to Antioch College where the attitude was that life is an open book test.
By the end of the day everyone could find all of the points. Since most of them are staying together I think that it is likely that there will be more practice tonight. I feel that today was very successful.
Overall, we kept the day at a relaxed pace. Some of the participants were obviously tired. Many of them were going to stay at the office of Ceciproc. There is one long couch and one bed and some thin mats for the floor. When Lauro had told me that some of them would stay there I had assumed that it meant that there would be space for them. We want them to be well rested in order to learn well. Two blocks away is a youth hostel so we booked rooms for them. This way they can have comfortable beds, showers, and be ready to go each day. In the hotels I had stayed at in Mexico City I had been collecting shampoo, soap and body lotions (thanks Lucy for helping with this!). I hd asked Rico to also bring some samples from the states. Sundance, a Eugene natural food store, donated a bag of samples of all of the above. It turned out great to have these "goodie bags" to give to them while they stay at the hostel. They are in this workshop to do servicework and were willing to travel long distances and sleep on a floor in order to be here. I am humbled.
They learned the locations of the 5 points today. They are learning a protocol of 5 points used to balance the body, thereby treating physical and emotional issues. These 5 points used together are profound - they were originally combined to use for addiction treatments and in the last 10+ years they have been used for post traumatic stress. There are many benefits to this style of treatment - many people can be treated at the same time, it is very economical, treatments can be done anywhere, it is very effective and it is simple to learn. Today I explained that plus the basics of chinese medicine and acupuncture...in spanish. It inspires me to continue to study spanish to do it better.
Once we got into the hands-on of point location the enthuhsiasm and energy picked up. People used golf tees to locate the points. Julia is an excellent teacher, she explains things in a simple, understandable way. I loved watching how she recognizes the needs of the group and is able to flow with it. Last night we had a plan for the day and that plan evolved during the day. The most important thing is the final outcome - that everyone leaves this workshop confident in practicing in their home pueblos. I feel that life is about adapting the process to what is needed and we'll reach the goal. I went to Antioch College where the attitude was that life is an open book test.
By the end of the day everyone could find all of the points. Since most of them are staying together I think that it is likely that there will be more practice tonight. I feel that today was very successful.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Workshop Eve
It's here!
Almost a year since I made the promise to come back and with the support of so many, the workshop begins tomorrow.
There are some of the promotores who are taking an 8 hour overnight bus to arrive tomorrow in time for the workshop! We have a great 4 days planned - I hope to have the energy to share all about it each day. For now, the space is set up and ready for their arrival, the manuals/guides are printed and beautiful, their bags are packed with supplies that they will receive on Saturday and we are ready to teach and have fun. We will start tomorrow with a tradional ceremony that Laurencio will conduct, have introductions, then give everyone an auricular acupuncture session so they can experience a community session. By the end of the day they will be using needles on one point.
How many times can I thank Rico, Julia, Laurencio and the many friends and other supporters who made this happen?
To see the history of this, please check out last years blog
www.awboaxaca.blog.com
Scroll to the bottom and then go to Older Posts, and there will be one more that explains how this happened.
Almost a year since I made the promise to come back and with the support of so many, the workshop begins tomorrow.
There are some of the promotores who are taking an 8 hour overnight bus to arrive tomorrow in time for the workshop! We have a great 4 days planned - I hope to have the energy to share all about it each day. For now, the space is set up and ready for their arrival, the manuals/guides are printed and beautiful, their bags are packed with supplies that they will receive on Saturday and we are ready to teach and have fun. We will start tomorrow with a tradional ceremony that Laurencio will conduct, have introductions, then give everyone an auricular acupuncture session so they can experience a community session. By the end of the day they will be using needles on one point.
How many times can I thank Rico, Julia, Laurencio and the many friends and other supporters who made this happen?
To see the history of this, please check out last years blog
www.awboaxaca.blog.com
Scroll to the bottom and then go to Older Posts, and there will be one more that explains how this happened.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Radio
Rico was amazing on the radio interview! I have never done anything like that or seen the inside of a studio. We - Rico, Laurencio, Roberto and myself, sat around a table with microphones. Roberto had the info about the clinics in front of him so he was able to announce numerous times the times/location/and phone number for the clinics. He conducted a great interview, kept it focused with enough digressions that it was natural. 6 months ago Rico knew about this project that I am doing and thought it is a good thing. Now, he is the spokesperson. From multiple sources, he put together the teaching manual that we will be using and he now knows as much (and maybe more)about auricular acupuncture than the promotores we will be teaching. The fact that he has done radio before and loves doing media helped too. I didn't speak much in spanish during the interview, I didn't speak much at all which had been what I had desired. They referred to me and used me as a resource. It is all so exciting!!
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Wednesday night @ airport waiting for Julia.
Another day of shopping and preparing. Rico is finishing the manual. I shopped for snacks for the weekend as well as more supplies after seeing what is really needed. Everything takes a long time to do, especially since I am on foot. Ceciproc is located 1 1/2 blocks from the house, it is down a steep hill. The mercado is 1/2 a block or so from Ceciproc on the other side of the street, so up a hill. I went up the hill 8 times today then did a Zumba class this afternoon after my spanish class. The last trip up the hiill was very, very slow. Eventually my legs will be rock solid. Not yet.
One of the things that I love about Oaxaca is the faith that people have in each other. I got dinner to go tonight. I went to a new place, just followed my intuition in deciding where to go. The place was empty. The walls had great art on them and the artist happened to be there visiting so I go a guided tour while I was waiting. I had ordered 2 orders of green enchiladas, I thought that they would be simple to carry. The owner/chef gave them to me in a tupperware style container and told me to bring it back tomorrow. Although that seems like a small thing it has happened with more valuble things too. When I had thought about ordering mole verde she offered that I could take the clay pot that she prepares it in.
On the other hand, a young boy, maybe 9 years old, stopped me on the street and asked if he could interview me. He asked what I think the future of México will be. I gave some superficial answers then asked what he thought. He had a pessimistic view, he expressed (from what I could understand) that things are going to get worse with the violence and economy and people's lives were going to get more difficult. Wow. I then asked what he thought that he could do to make things better. He did have ideas and spoke enthusiasticly about them...but I couldn't understand most of what he said. I also thought it was interesting that he asked my name and age. I offered to tell him where I am from but he wasn't interested that I am a foreigner.
Looks like the flight is here.
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Wednesday night @ airport waiting for Julia.
Another day of shopping and preparing. Rico is finishing the manual. I shopped for snacks for the weekend as well as more supplies after seeing what is really needed. Everything takes a long time to do, especially since I am on foot. Ceciproc is located 1 1/2 blocks from the house, it is down a steep hill. The mercado is 1/2 a block or so from Ceciproc on the other side of the street, so up a hill. I went up the hill 8 times today then did a Zumba class this afternoon after my spanish class. The last trip up the hiill was very, very slow. Eventually my legs will be rock solid. Not yet.
One of the things that I love about Oaxaca is the faith that people have in each other. I got dinner to go tonight. I went to a new place, just followed my intuition in deciding where to go. The place was empty. The walls had great art on them and the artist happened to be there visiting so I go a guided tour while I was waiting. I had ordered 2 orders of green enchiladas, I thought that they would be simple to carry. The owner/chef gave them to me in a tupperware style container and told me to bring it back tomorrow. Although that seems like a small thing it has happened with more valuble things too. When I had thought about ordering mole verde she offered that I could take the clay pot that she prepares it in.
On the other hand, a young boy, maybe 9 years old, stopped me on the street and asked if he could interview me. He asked what I think the future of México will be. I gave some superficial answers then asked what he thought. He had a pessimistic view, he expressed (from what I could understand) that things are going to get worse with the violence and economy and people's lives were going to get more difficult. Wow. I then asked what he thought that he could do to make things better. He did have ideas and spoke enthusiasticly about them...but I couldn't understand most of what he said. I also thought it was interesting that he asked my name and age. I offered to tell him where I am from but he wasn't interested that I am a foreigner.
Looks like the flight is here.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Day 2 OAP
Yesterday started with a trip to the mercado Abastos. It is huge, we only covered a small area. The biggest part of the mission had been to find bags for the promotores to put all of their supplies in - the needles/seeds, alcohol, cotton, paperwork, disposal containers, etc. We had half of the original bags donated in the states and had bought others. We want everyone to have matching bags and supplies. There had been some glitches with the donation and they weren't going to arrive until the day after Rico departed. I learned that the day before he departed. So after remembering how magical everything with this project had been I chose not to stress about it. We went shopping and found better bags at half of the price of the ones we had bought! ¡Que Chido! How cool!
Rico is an avid photographer. One of the things he took a lot of photos of yesterday was the accesiblity ramps at one of the churches - La Iglesia de la Soledad. His term was "Colonial Accesibility". They work with the original stonework and it fits right in.
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Tuesday
We had a fantastic meeting with Laurencio today, the director of CECIPROC, the NGO, or in USA terms, the non-profit organization that is taking care of all of the logistics. He is a wonderful man - he works so hard for this organization and has such a large heart. He is a biologist by training, and a Curandero, a healer, as well. He is a temazcalero which means that he leads temazcals, similar to ceremonial sweatlodges. CECIPROC does health, nutrition and ecological projects in pueblos in the mountains and near the coast. Last year people from the pueblos gave testimonials of how their lives have been changes thanks to Ceciproc - they build composting toilets in these dry areas which has significantly cut down onnintestinal parasites. They do garden projects - teach families how to grow their own food and workshops on preparing healthy food. In one pueblo ther is now a woman's baking co-op. People step forward as leaders in their communities. It is very inspiring and I am thrilled to be part of their work.
We set the schedule for the 4 day workshop, made plans for the clinics, went to where we are going to eat all our meals and discussed options and pricing for the three meals/ day that we are providing to the promotores. Rico and I went back to the mercado to eat there after the meeting and the food was delicious - lots of fresh vegetables in the soup. The price came in lower than I had anticipated which is great.
The surprize of the day is that we will do a radio interview this evening to talk about the project and the 4 practice clinics that will be held on Sunday and Monday. This is very exciting and gives the potential for the clinics to have many people which is what we want - lots of practice while Julia and I supervise so they can return to their pueblos feeling confident about holding their own clinics.
Again, I am so grateful that Rico is here. He will be the spokesperson tonight. I am not fond of doing interviews in English in the states - I can't imagine trying to explain everything in Spanish! I don't know the radio station (oops) but I will see if Rico can record it.
So everything continues to go smoothly. Tomorrow will be more shopping and Julia arrives in the night.
Rico is an avid photographer. One of the things he took a lot of photos of yesterday was the accesiblity ramps at one of the churches - La Iglesia de la Soledad. His term was "Colonial Accesibility". They work with the original stonework and it fits right in.
------------------
Tuesday
We had a fantastic meeting with Laurencio today, the director of CECIPROC, the NGO, or in USA terms, the non-profit organization that is taking care of all of the logistics. He is a wonderful man - he works so hard for this organization and has such a large heart. He is a biologist by training, and a Curandero, a healer, as well. He is a temazcalero which means that he leads temazcals, similar to ceremonial sweatlodges. CECIPROC does health, nutrition and ecological projects in pueblos in the mountains and near the coast. Last year people from the pueblos gave testimonials of how their lives have been changes thanks to Ceciproc - they build composting toilets in these dry areas which has significantly cut down onnintestinal parasites. They do garden projects - teach families how to grow their own food and workshops on preparing healthy food. In one pueblo ther is now a woman's baking co-op. People step forward as leaders in their communities. It is very inspiring and I am thrilled to be part of their work.
We set the schedule for the 4 day workshop, made plans for the clinics, went to where we are going to eat all our meals and discussed options and pricing for the three meals/ day that we are providing to the promotores. Rico and I went back to the mercado to eat there after the meeting and the food was delicious - lots of fresh vegetables in the soup. The price came in lower than I had anticipated which is great.
The surprize of the day is that we will do a radio interview this evening to talk about the project and the 4 practice clinics that will be held on Sunday and Monday. This is very exciting and gives the potential for the clinics to have many people which is what we want - lots of practice while Julia and I supervise so they can return to their pueblos feeling confident about holding their own clinics.
Again, I am so grateful that Rico is here. He will be the spokesperson tonight. I am not fond of doing interviews in English in the states - I can't imagine trying to explain everything in Spanish! I don't know the radio station (oops) but I will see if Rico can record it.
So everything continues to go smoothly. Tomorrow will be more shopping and Julia arrives in the night.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Arrival
Welcome to this year's blog! I've been in Mexico for three weeks already and it has just flown by. The first part was in language school in Cuernavaca. The short story of that is that the school was not very good and I didn't learn much there but the woman and her daughters who I lived with became family and they made the time in Cuernavaca worthwhile.
Part two was 10 days with Sergio Magaña studying and practicing Aztec/Nahual traditions/ceremonies, etc. It was a full immersion and I will be processing all of it for a long time. He is an astounding teacher, I learned so much and deepened my understanding and love for this country.
Now - I am back "home" in Oaxaca. It felt like coming home yesterday and I was greeted as such by the family I have been staying with for the past 4 years. There was a fiesta at the language school. When I arrived there were traditional dancers, lots of food and friends who, like me, return here annually.
If you are reading this then you are familiar with the Oaxaca Acupuncture Project that I have been working on for almost a year, since the acupuncture healing exchange tour last year. All of this work, the fundraising, the logistics, the manual, the supply gathering, the many details are coming to fruition this week. If you are reading this you have helped support this project, by your financial or silent auction donations, by your support of me, Rico, and Julia in many other forms. Thank you! I have been moved to tears numerous times by the support and generosity of my community. You are changing people's lives!
If you are reading this you should also know that I am writing on an ipad and might make a lot of errors on this touchscreen. This ipad has been having issues and occasionally shutting down the internet in the middle of writing. I will not be spell-checking or dealing with grammatical issues. I'm working hard enough on my Spanish grammer right now!
Today I did the first local shopping and already discovered things that I will have to return for to the super-mercado. Tomorrow Rico and I will go to the Mercado Abastos and look for messenger bags for each of the promotores to carry their supplies. This mercado is incredibly large, city blocks of chaos and opportunity to be lost. I'll write about it tomorrow.
Rico arrives tonight. I am excited to share Oaxaca with him. This blog might be my only outlet for English for a while as he has assured me that we will only speak Spanish for the next month. I know enough now to know that I can converse yet my grammer is horrific. I have faith that it will all improve in another month.
I will try to figure out how to upload photos onto this blog. If that doesn't happen I will create an album when I get bck to my regular computer. Better than that, Rico will make a short documentary of the project and my current plan is to have a party and show it and/ or post it on youtube. Somehow you'll get the visuals.
Part two was 10 days with Sergio Magaña studying and practicing Aztec/Nahual traditions/ceremonies, etc. It was a full immersion and I will be processing all of it for a long time. He is an astounding teacher, I learned so much and deepened my understanding and love for this country.
Now - I am back "home" in Oaxaca. It felt like coming home yesterday and I was greeted as such by the family I have been staying with for the past 4 years. There was a fiesta at the language school. When I arrived there were traditional dancers, lots of food and friends who, like me, return here annually.
If you are reading this then you are familiar with the Oaxaca Acupuncture Project that I have been working on for almost a year, since the acupuncture healing exchange tour last year. All of this work, the fundraising, the logistics, the manual, the supply gathering, the many details are coming to fruition this week. If you are reading this you have helped support this project, by your financial or silent auction donations, by your support of me, Rico, and Julia in many other forms. Thank you! I have been moved to tears numerous times by the support and generosity of my community. You are changing people's lives!
If you are reading this you should also know that I am writing on an ipad and might make a lot of errors on this touchscreen. This ipad has been having issues and occasionally shutting down the internet in the middle of writing. I will not be spell-checking or dealing with grammatical issues. I'm working hard enough on my Spanish grammer right now!
Today I did the first local shopping and already discovered things that I will have to return for to the super-mercado. Tomorrow Rico and I will go to the Mercado Abastos and look for messenger bags for each of the promotores to carry their supplies. This mercado is incredibly large, city blocks of chaos and opportunity to be lost. I'll write about it tomorrow.
Rico arrives tonight. I am excited to share Oaxaca with him. This blog might be my only outlet for English for a while as he has assured me that we will only speak Spanish for the next month. I know enough now to know that I can converse yet my grammer is horrific. I have faith that it will all improve in another month.
I will try to figure out how to upload photos onto this blog. If that doesn't happen I will create an album when I get bck to my regular computer. Better than that, Rico will make a short documentary of the project and my current plan is to have a party and show it and/ or post it on youtube. Somehow you'll get the visuals.
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