A period of adjustment

When I picked my dates for 'going to the field' I had a few very specific things in mind. Namely, the end of fall quarter, the start of the coffee harvest (and dried corn harvest in the highlands), and tagging along with the NGO I'm working with on a delegation of tourists that was being taken to 'see the harvest.' Where I work, an individual asking questions is suspicious, but a group of people is perfectly appropriate. So I rarely venture into the communities by myself. This has several benefits and more than a few drawbacks, as you can probably already surmise.

True to form I have already encountered a drawback in my method: the NGO I work with had to cancel their delegation. Damn. Turns out though that we couldn't have gotten anywhere near the highlands as the road is being blocked by a protest over a violent land dispute. So it goes.

So instead, I have a whole week to re-adjust to my surroundings, instead of a couple days. Plus. Minus.

I tended to my end of term duties (read: grading/submitting my own work) and I decided to play tourist in the city yesterday. I am still slightly hesitant to get my camera out for some things---I just feel like an asshole turning people's places and lives into spectacle.

But first, I must gloat over my living situation:

My view (Templo de Guadelupe)

My door

When I open my door--house

Urban milpa, just a few houses down

The only downside to living in the city is the noise, and you can't get away from that anywhere, each barrio has its place of worship, and each place of worship lights fireworks on a fairly consistent basis. And this is just one example of the noise--there are totally different sound 'pollution' boundaries here that would drive some people I know (like myself) crazy. Some of the noise-related stuff is logical--you can hear the water truck or the gas truck and be outside in time to flag them down to by a garrafón or whathaveyou. But I find it amusing that folks will turn on a song on their phone and then put their phone in their pocket and walk around with it blaring. It reminds me of this bus scene (but with fewer piercings).


The festival of the virgin has been especially noisy and at all hours (although church bells are not so terrible to be awoken to, even at 5:30am). Plus it is such a scene over there right now:

From the church, looking down into the city

About face--the front doors of the church

Inside the church; note the neon x-mas border lights

The festival, this is about 1/10 of what's been set up

There are also some fun--let's call them cultural--things that I noticed too:

This boggles my mind in a city where refrigeration is, well different

It's not just slow food, it's very very slow food.

I like this variation on the shawl as carrier, I think it might mean she's sold a lot of shawls...

And...this is a super interesting project that has been up in the zocalo:

The panorama is not the best, sorry.