post by Helen
It's really hard to believe that this is my last night at home! After a full day of frantically grabbing last-minute necessities, I've finally finished packing. I'm especially excited that my scorpion kit arrived on time! It took a long time to actually find one. (Tip: don't type "scorpion kit" into google, all you're going to get is advertisements for model cars.) Now that I am thoroughly protected from scorpions, I can focus on mundane tasks like getting to the train station on time! At noon tomorrow, I'll be getting on a train to Philadelphia to spend the night with Alex (who has graciously allowed me to crash at her house!) On Monday morning, both of us will head down to the Philadelphia airport, meet Brook, and fly to Oaxaca (with a small layover in Houston). I'm really excited to plan all the cool adventures we're going to have--and maybe even practice our Zapotec a little bit!
It's really hard to believe that this is my last night at home! After a full day of frantically grabbing last-minute necessities, I've finally finished packing. I'm especially excited that my scorpion kit arrived on time! It took a long time to actually find one. (Tip: don't type "scorpion kit" into google, all you're going to get is advertisements for model cars.) Now that I am thoroughly protected from scorpions, I can focus on mundane tasks like getting to the train station on time! At noon tomorrow, I'll be getting on a train to Philadelphia to spend the night with Alex (who has graciously allowed me to crash at her house!) On Monday morning, both of us will head down to the Philadelphia airport, meet Brook, and fly to Oaxaca (with a small layover in Houston). I'm really excited to plan all the cool adventures we're going to have--and maybe even practice our Zapotec a little bit!
So far, I've been reading some pretty cool books to get myself prepared to work at el Centro San Pablo. Unfortunately, this means that I will not be able to justify any trashy magazines at the airport--I still need to work on Zapotec greetings! Also, Lynn Stephen's book Transborder Lives is incredible and I'm having kind of a hard time putting it down. It's a very thorough work with a lot of personal interviews that explores migration patterns between Oaxaca and the United States. That summary really doesn't do the book justice at all, it really focuses on the lives of individuals who have to combat discrimination, harrowing migration journeys, and the ability to maintain indigenous culture in both Mexico and the US. If you have any free time, I would really recommend it.
Thanks for reading my first blog post! Alex and I will probably post again tomorrow from Philly. Until then, I have to say goodbye to my parents and my three sisters (one of whom is a dog).
Thanks for reading my first blog post! Alex and I will probably post again tomorrow from Philly. Until then, I have to say goodbye to my parents and my three sisters (one of whom is a dog).