I'm in Ruins

I guess that title demands a little explanation: we visited Monte Alban on Tuesday and I was all but forced to claim it as my own. I love going up there; besides the fact that it's cool to see, it's really hard to wrap your head around how old the place is. It's also a very Mexican experience in that despite the fact that everybody's forefathers probably witnessed a sacrifice or two, you can still buy Oaxaca t-shirts for twenty pesos or three for fifty.

I enjoyed my day off and time with the girl but today it was back to work for me. We are still working with the George Washington University group to renovate a school on the edge of the landfill in Vicente Guerrero. We have been painting two classroom buildings and installing flushing toilets and a septic system where latrines previously were. It has been hard work but I must say: as a veteran of a summer working for Del Mar Building it's way better to be the guy holding the clipboard. In this picture you can see the locals pitching in in the construction process; there was a previously existing ~2,000 gallon septic tank in place that had never been used and had subsequently filled with water after several storms. Of course we didn't have any powered mode of suction so we had to bail it by hand; needless to say that took a while.

Things in Vicente Guerrero are really coming together and the hard work is paying off. We have been working during school hours so there are an abundance of kids that are very interested in what's going on. Mexico frowns on child labor so our main interaction with them has been through playing. We've put together a pretty cool little soccer tournament and have been playing every time we get a chance. During some games I wish I was a professional soccer scout because there is a good chance the next little Pele -or Pelito- will come out of one of these rural villages; if only there was a way I could figure out how to use this charity work to exploit Mexico in some way...

Tomorrow we are going to opening day for Oaxaca's baseball team, the Guerreros. I have never been to a game here but I've heard they are a lot of fun. My favorite parts of Mexican baseball so far are that ladies are half price and apparently the cheerleaders are quick to forget the dances. I'm excited and it should be a good time.

Sadly Kelly leaves on Friday so we are trying to cram as much of the Oaxaca experience into the next couple days. She'll be missed but I know she'll be back soon. We are hoping to make it down to the main market tomorrow so that I can make sure that she tries a few Chapulines (dried, seasoned grasshoppers) before she leaves; like the Oaxacan saying goes: if you eat one you are sure to return. I plan on having photo documentation of the event; so don't worry everybody, you will be able to see what it looks like when she's trying not to throw up.

Until there's more to report I hope that everybody has a Happy Easter and rest assured we'll be soaking up the Oaxacan sun and holding things down from this side of the boarder.