Free Day

Hello all,

Today is my first free day since arriving in Mexico so I finally have time to catch up on sleeep, laundry and blogging. Yesterday was a very busy day and our class did a lot of interesting stuff. When we went to the school to meet up with everyone, there was a massive military and police presence at the artesans market. It turns out, the military and police were setting up a secure area around the market because the president, Felipe Calderon, was on his was to San Cristobal to deliver a speach to the people. I believe the speech was related to the death of Bishop Samuel Ruiz, but I am not certain.
In the morning we went to a youth shelter called Casa de las Flores (house of the flowers) which is in downtown San Cristobal. This organization has been around for two years so it's still in the growing and building phase. Casa de las Flores is a safe place for the young people who are working on the street to go and have a shower, use the bathroom, read, play or sleep. At first there was a lot of violence in the shelter, but the woman who started the organization, Claudia, has taught the children ways of resolving issues without turning to violence. Most of the children who use the building have never been to school so Claudia is teaching them how to read, write and interact with other kids. As a result, they affectionately refer to her as maestra (teacher). The shelter has also recently adopted two cats which, so far, have been a good way of teaching the kids how to look after another living being. Right now, they have a courtyard with nothing in it, but there are plans for building a garden at some point. The majority of kids who use the shelter are shoe shine boys because they are the lowest on the social totem pole. At first there were a few girls that went to Casa de las Flores, however, not many go anymore since the shoe shine boys have "taken over". Overall, it seems like a very good organizartion that has a lot of potential to make a difference to the street kids of San Cristobal.
In the afternoon, Nancy and I started private Spanish lessons at the language school. The lesson yesterday was really good and I look forward to my next classes on Thursday and Friday. Hopefully I will be able to carry on a decent conversation in Spanish by the end of my trip.
After the Spanish lessons, we met back up with the group and realized that El Presidente, Felipe Calderon, was at the artesans market which is about 200 metres from the school. The class split up into two groups, went through checkpoints and security and managed to get within about 15 feet of him! It was a really neat experience and I, unfortunately, did not get my camera out in time to get a decent picture. Luckily, others in the class got some good ones so I am hoping to get copies from them.
In the evening we had the opportunity to meet up with a man named Sergio Castro. If you get the chance, you can youtube him (search for Sergio Castro Chiapas). Sergio is a trained veteranarian, but he has spent most of his life treating injuries and providing health care to indigenous people throughout the area that do not have access to doctors or health clinics. He travels to remote villages where he specializes in burn treatment since many indigenous people cook with open fires and often fall into them for various reasons (one big one being a parasite that causes seizures). We met Sergio at his museum in San Cristobal which he uses as a way to fund his medical supplies (he gets no funding from any level of government).The museum has the indigenous dress of almost all of the tribes in Chiapas as well as many different artifacts which have been donated to him by people who he has helped. I should also mention the Sergio speaks seven languages, including English. I just learned, about 30 minutes ago, that I will have the amazing opportunity to shadow Sergio on Friday with two other classmates and I am really looking forward to it.
Sorry that this has been such a long update, but I have been very busy and I had a lot to tell everyone. I hope you are enjoying the snow (ha ha)!

Scott