On the road

Greetings to this blog's loyal followers, and an advanced apology for any bizarre spelling or punctuation, which must be blamed on the Mexican keyboard at the cybercafe.

After a week on the road, most of us have settled in for the weekend at a beach near Puerto Angel, on the southern coast. Though some of us are warmer than we would prefer, and though I personally suspect that I'm developing gout, we are all having a lovely time. Travelling through the state of Oaxaca has put a lot of things into perspective for me. When I first arrived in the city, for example, I regarded our bathroom situation (one toilet, no toilet seat, in the shower with a sink, two cisterns of standing water and an exposed lighbulb) as rustic, but bearable, the sort of accomodations I'd expect in a developing country. But this week I've come to regard them as deluxe. Our toilet at home, for example, flushes--without a bucket. And our bathroom has light. These are pretty posh digs.

This keyboard is driving me up the wall, so I'll keep the post short and advise you to stay posted for longer blogs (or personal correspondence from my classmates) about some of the other trip highlights, like our trip yesterday to a migrant camp, where we spoke to a group of central american migrants heading north, or the church we swam through on Tuesday, or the old woman who beat my head and ordered me to jump later that day, or our night swimming excursion on Wednesday, or the armadillo. So many stories, and such a sticky keyboard. Sorry to leave you with a teaser, but I need to sign off and find a vegetable ... if that's possible. Wish me luck!