“Once there was a way to get back homeward…”

 
Here is my flight information for anyone who wants to come and joyously welcome me home!  Below is the location and directions for my final presentations which we will be working on for the next three days.  Hopefully it will be a good show.

FLT#CO 482
Depart 09 MAY  Houston  1:09P
Arrive Boston  6:06P

Friday, May 12th

1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Location: Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center (JHCC)

85 West Newton St,

South End, Boston, MA 02116

From Mass Ave T station (Orange Line), as you exit the station, take a right onto Mass Ave. Walk a block and a half, take a left onto Tremont St. Walk five blocks, take a right onto West Newton St. The JHCC is located at #85 West Newton St. This is a 10-15 minute walk.

From Copley T station (Green Line), as you exit the station, take a right onto Boylston St. Proceed to the corner, take a right onto Dartmouth St. Continue five blocks, take a right onto Tremont Street. Proceed four blocks, take a left onto West Newton St. La Casa is #85 West Newton St. This is a 15-20 minute walk.

 I wrote a whole long huge blog two days ago and the computer freaked out and it got erased.  I went in to the whole long story about the students and teacher from our program who were arrested at the May 1st protests here in Oaxaca so instead of doing it again I´m going to paste what Daphne wrote.

Here in Oaxaca there was a large protest that
> observed. The march was a collection of many different groups. There were Zapatistas
> and PRI party members. It was representing all Mexicans in the United
> States and Mexico, supporting the struggles that Mexicans go through,
> why food and goods can pass quickly over borders but people cannot,
> boycotting goods from the US, etc…There were a collection of people
> from the Zapatista party who we (a group of IHPers) were marching
> with. Many were spray painting political stensils on a number of
> buildings…McDonalds, Burger Kings, VIPS (diner owned by Walmart),
> Bancomer (bank), Volkswagen, etc…
>  
>   While we were marching there were police standing on the side of
> the road and we learned later that these police exist only to keep
> the peace if a riot emerges and control traffic. There existed a
> large number of undercover police though, who we learned you can pick
> out by their short haircuts. The march continued and ended with many
> people and different groups meeting at the Zocalo, otherwise known as
> el centro (the center square). There were a large number of us IHPers
> there but many of us left upon arriving to the Zocalo. A group of us
> returned to Unitierra to work on projects and such and later we heard
> the news that some people had been arrested. This `some people` later
> became three people from IHP, and 4 others. It was a long struggle
> and an expensive lawyer bill to get the three out of jail because
> they had been arrested for crimes they did not commit. They had been
> accused of spray painting. It was a very long and corrupt process,
> and it is very fortunate that
>  they were released on one night after. Others, I imagine, from
> different cities, still remain. I believe there were 40 political
> prisoners overall in Mexico. The ones in Oaxaca became the `Oaxacan
> 7`. I´m not sure how the marches and protests have been put in the
> media in the states, but I recommend checking it out online. It`s a
> scary thought, that it could have been any of us. It`s actually
> illegal to be a `participant` in a foreign protest. We are very
> fortunate that all of the Oaxacan 7 are out of jail now. It will be a
> hefty bill to pay, though, and a struggle for many to get together
> the cash.

 Alright, so I would have gone into a lot more detail about the Zapatistas, their time in jail, and the different legal processes surrounding this whole business but someone hates me and deleted everything so thats all I got.  I´ll go into more detail in person.  As you can imagine this whole thing was really tough on us. It´s amazing how much more powerful the state will always be no matter how empowered you feel.

OK. Fun things I did in Oaxaca in the last three weeks: made our own chocolate out with solar roasted cacao, went running around in the rain with Daphne, went to a women´s weaving cooperative, made lunch for people working on cleaning out some composting toiletts, listened to our friends play fandango in the zocolo, went to a quail farm, saw the biggest tree in the world, so much other stuff.

Zeno left and may not be coming to Boston.  I am heartbroken. This isnt right.  I´m not sure how I will handle the return home.  When I saw my mom in New Zealand I just didnt feel like talking about anything even though there was so much to tell.  I´ve spent 8 months, every single day with the same people, moving every 3 days. This has become my reality and it´s going to be really hard to start living a life where I am alone sometimes, and without these people who I´ve come to rely on.  I´m so excited to come home to Dallas and Boston, and see friends and family and do all the things I love to do, but I´ve changed probably more than I realize and I´m not sure how easily I can just be reinserted into my own context.  Everything will be the same as when I left, and I´m not sure if I fit anymore.  I´m sorry if I spiral into a silent depression for a few weeks after I get home.  Just give me some time. I´m sure I´ll come around.

This is probably my final entry and as usual there is still so much more to say, but this time, we dont have to wait any number of months for me to say it. Thank you so much to all of you who have been reading this silly thing for 8 months and thank you for all the letters and the comments.  I couldn´t have done this without knowing that I have love at home, which I most definitely do. I can´t believe what I have been blessed with and that the voice I´ve used for 8 months here and no where else, to describe something that will never happen again is to be quieted.  Les quiero a todo, I love you all. I´m coming home.