Well nothing much happened today. Time was spent recuperating and walking through the city. We were able to catch up with Madre Lulu, one of the Madres from Casa Hogar who is on a new assignment (a great guitar player I might add too). It was wonderful to hear what she was up to and she was able to provide a contact and place to stay and work at a Casa Hogar in the next stop, San Miguel de Allende.
However this was also a time for an important re-evaluation for Michael and I on our journey. Realizing that six days had passed and we had to reach Guatemala soon, we made the decision to continue on separate from the bus. This was an incredibly difficult decision, but one that we felt needed to be made so that we could continue to do Full Hearts work on our journey, as the bus could do Full Hearts work on their time. So, after many goodbyes, we grabbed our backpacks and headed towards the bus station. Not sure what city is next for us. But we will continue to chronicle our experiences through this blog as the others chronicle their own. Please keep reading about the miracles, relationships, and discoveries along the way.
Gregorio
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Saltillo to San Luis Potosi
We are in the middle of nowhere at a restaurant. It has a Carta Blanca sign out front and is partially painted yellow. If you walk out to the highway, you will see 10 more restaurants that look exactly the same, painting the highway into the horizon. I am sitting at the end of the table watching Travis, Jon, Kelly, and Daniel feast on chicken. I am hungry. I know that I have a wallet full of cash sitting next to me in my backpack. The interesting thing is, is that I have never experienced this. I can´t really recall a moment where I have sat hungry and did not indulge. this only the second day of the fast and I already know that this will be a challenge.
A few hours later...
All along the highway there are horses and goats and cows chained individually to a stake in the median of the highway. A cheap way to keep the grass cut low. We passed by a dead horse a few miles back. Imagine a life chained in one place, watching life travel past you 60 miles an hour in each direction. Wondering what it would be like to be in the driver´s seat. There have been times when I have felt stuck. I have realized though that we hold the keys to our own chains. There are certain institutions that see it in their best interests to keep us tied down. To keep their grass cut low.
A few more hours later...
I was sitting at the front of the bus and Jon and I were discussing the future, or more so, lack thereof, when suddenly something didn´t sound right in the engine. We pulled off to the side of the road at a Buenos Aires fried chicken restaurant that had KFC and Chicken Express advertisements, yet for some reason, I don´t think that it was a part of either chain. Sensing an opportunity to take a much needed bathroom break I walked to the front door and was disheartened to discover that this baño was for customers only. I reached into my pocket and felt my 5 pesos before asking the cashier how much a piece of chicken would be. They gave me an odd look before responding "9 pesos". Looking at the change in my hand, I turned and walked back out to the bus, all the while thinking of bathroom 'alternatives'. As I got back to the Cortez, one of the men from inside approached me and asked what we were doing. After talking about the trip and introducing everyone, I relayed my story of needing to use the restroom but not having enough money to buy anything. He reached into his pocket and was about to give me what few pesos he had so that I could buy a piece of chicken. I quickly refused him, saying that I only needed to use the restroom, which he then responded to by walking me inside the restaurant. I pointed at the sign that said "customers only" and he smiled saying that he knew the owners. After relieving myself, we ended up spending the next half hour learning about each other. As a sign of our friendship, I gave him a bumper sticker to sign and a Full Hearts wristband. As we were saying goodbye, he looked to me and said "You know... it is looking like rain, I would be honored if you and your friends would stay the night at my house." Knowing that we needed to move on, I respectfully declined, but was nevertheless deeply moved. This is Pedro. Silver Capped teeth. Great Smile. A good man. A conversation and friendship taht wouldn´t have happened if I had just walked in and casually dropped a few dollars to use the bathroom.
Gregorio
A few hours later...
All along the highway there are horses and goats and cows chained individually to a stake in the median of the highway. A cheap way to keep the grass cut low. We passed by a dead horse a few miles back. Imagine a life chained in one place, watching life travel past you 60 miles an hour in each direction. Wondering what it would be like to be in the driver´s seat. There have been times when I have felt stuck. I have realized though that we hold the keys to our own chains. There are certain institutions that see it in their best interests to keep us tied down. To keep their grass cut low.
A few more hours later...
I was sitting at the front of the bus and Jon and I were discussing the future, or more so, lack thereof, when suddenly something didn´t sound right in the engine. We pulled off to the side of the road at a Buenos Aires fried chicken restaurant that had KFC and Chicken Express advertisements, yet for some reason, I don´t think that it was a part of either chain. Sensing an opportunity to take a much needed bathroom break I walked to the front door and was disheartened to discover that this baño was for customers only. I reached into my pocket and felt my 5 pesos before asking the cashier how much a piece of chicken would be. They gave me an odd look before responding "9 pesos". Looking at the change in my hand, I turned and walked back out to the bus, all the while thinking of bathroom 'alternatives'. As I got back to the Cortez, one of the men from inside approached me and asked what we were doing. After talking about the trip and introducing everyone, I relayed my story of needing to use the restroom but not having enough money to buy anything. He reached into his pocket and was about to give me what few pesos he had so that I could buy a piece of chicken. I quickly refused him, saying that I only needed to use the restroom, which he then responded to by walking me inside the restaurant. I pointed at the sign that said "customers only" and he smiled saying that he knew the owners. After relieving myself, we ended up spending the next half hour learning about each other. As a sign of our friendship, I gave him a bumper sticker to sign and a Full Hearts wristband. As we were saying goodbye, he looked to me and said "You know... it is looking like rain, I would be honored if you and your friends would stay the night at my house." Knowing that we needed to move on, I respectfully declined, but was nevertheless deeply moved. This is Pedro. Silver Capped teeth. Great Smile. A good man. A conversation and friendship taht wouldn´t have happened if I had just walked in and casually dropped a few dollars to use the bathroom.
Gregorio
Saltillo
Desperate to find a place to rest our heads, we pulled off the highway, drawn into it by the large sign that said "jacuzzi". For $50.00 a night Jon, Kelly, and Daniel were able to stay in an opulent suite, while the rest of us on a vow to remain faithful to our pact slept out in the bus.
Morning came, and Daniel popped his head into the bus with a proposition to climb the mountain that backed up to our hotel. It is amazing what the morning light reveals around you. I rolled up my sleeping bag and then opened the back door to brush my teeth. I am sure it was a sight to see. Here was this Gringo with a full red beard(I can´t explain why I have dirty blonde hair and a red beard)standing out of the back door of the bus in his underwear (his only pair) brushing his teeth in the parking lot of a fancy highway hotel in a 1974 Cortez Bus. I wonder what went through the heads of the staff at the hotel.
Daniel, Alex, Travis, Michael, Kelly and I began our hike to the top of a nearby mountain (hill, but I add this for dramatic effect). A few deep cacti needles in our legs, and a satisfying sweat later, we made it to the top. The view that awaited us was nothing short of spectacular. The city of Saltillo unfolded below us surounded by mountains. A piece of rock extended out into the expanse of the morning air. Travis quickly stepped out onto the ledge and entered into his own quiet, reverent, rapture. Deciding to find my own quiet perch, I set off around to the other side of the mountain. I was rewarded for my patience with an equally magnificent view, but one that contrasted the other side. Down below in the foothills of the mountains was a community of families living in obvious, extreme poverty. Here I was, witnessing them go about their daily lives from the clouds. Which is how I think most of us experience poverty. Distant. Disconnected... I was sitting on a mountain that separated the industrialized from the poor. What if we could move those mountains? What would a world look like without barriers separating us from connecting and sharing. Loving and living. Together.
Gregorio
Morning came, and Daniel popped his head into the bus with a proposition to climb the mountain that backed up to our hotel. It is amazing what the morning light reveals around you. I rolled up my sleeping bag and then opened the back door to brush my teeth. I am sure it was a sight to see. Here was this Gringo with a full red beard(I can´t explain why I have dirty blonde hair and a red beard)standing out of the back door of the bus in his underwear (his only pair) brushing his teeth in the parking lot of a fancy highway hotel in a 1974 Cortez Bus. I wonder what went through the heads of the staff at the hotel.
Daniel, Alex, Travis, Michael, Kelly and I began our hike to the top of a nearby mountain (hill, but I add this for dramatic effect). A few deep cacti needles in our legs, and a satisfying sweat later, we made it to the top. The view that awaited us was nothing short of spectacular. The city of Saltillo unfolded below us surounded by mountains. A piece of rock extended out into the expanse of the morning air. Travis quickly stepped out onto the ledge and entered into his own quiet, reverent, rapture. Deciding to find my own quiet perch, I set off around to the other side of the mountain. I was rewarded for my patience with an equally magnificent view, but one that contrasted the other side. Down below in the foothills of the mountains was a community of families living in obvious, extreme poverty. Here I was, witnessing them go about their daily lives from the clouds. Which is how I think most of us experience poverty. Distant. Disconnected... I was sitting on a mountain that separated the industrialized from the poor. What if we could move those mountains? What would a world look like without barriers separating us from connecting and sharing. Loving and living. Together.
Gregorio
Monterrey to Saltillo
So after Alex, Michael, and I made a pact to fast off of $.50 US dollars a day we learned that the neighborhood we were delivering goods to was actually the Tamale capital of the world. We were devastated that we could not wind back time and make our pact after dinner. Yet, we decided to put all of our money together, $1.50, and was the lady what we could buy. It turns out that we could buy 5 tamales (with a sixth for free). Oh boy, we relished our tamales, cutting them into little pieces to make it look like more food. Yet we were still a little hungry. I was just through concocting a plan to persuade the kind ladies to donate some more tamales when one of the women came by and dropped two gigantic tamales in front of our eyes. Try and explain that...
Leaving for Saltillo in the bus, I stole a short moment to peak my head out of the window to say goodbye to the city that had been so good to us today. Looking across to the hills in the distance I watched as distant lights danced across silhouettes of hilltops like moving breathing lanterns in the still evening air. Upon leaving this city I am content from a good days work but eagerly anticipating the next step of the journey. It is hard to stay present when there is so much ahead of us. So many miles, opportunities, and challenges lie before us. Each with their own purpose, fulfillment, and revealing wisdom. I can only hope that I am able to take a moment and reflect, to be still, and to allow the full weight of this experience set in.
Gregorio
Leaving for Saltillo in the bus, I stole a short moment to peak my head out of the window to say goodbye to the city that had been so good to us today. Looking across to the hills in the distance I watched as distant lights danced across silhouettes of hilltops like moving breathing lanterns in the still evening air. Upon leaving this city I am content from a good days work but eagerly anticipating the next step of the journey. It is hard to stay present when there is so much ahead of us. So many miles, opportunities, and challenges lie before us. Each with their own purpose, fulfillment, and revealing wisdom. I can only hope that I am able to take a moment and reflect, to be still, and to allow the full weight of this experience set in.
Gregorio
Monterrey
I am soaked in fruit juice, tired, sweaty, but probably the most fulfilled I have been in a long time. I am so amazed by fate. If there hadn't been problems with the bus, Michael and I would not have gotten on in Nuevo Laredo. We would have not gone ahead to Hotel 402 in Monterrey and we could not have met the hotel staff who got us the contact for Caritas. Caritas is an organization that has food banks, orphanages, etc. throughout Mexico. Today we worked at the food bank for Caritas here in Monterrey. From 6 Am to 4 PM, the Caritas Food Bank fills trucks with leftover food from grocery stores which they then take to the poorest neighborhoods in Monterrey and distribute for 1 peso a family. We saw a small glimpse of this massive operation and loaded 5 trucks with tons of vegetables and fruit. It was tough work. However, we made instant friends sweating with the workers. After we finished, they heard that a few of us were going to try and live on 5 pesos a day ($.50 in US dollars) until we reached Veracruz (more on this later). They were amazed and proceeded to give us a crate of peaches, a crate of plums, and a crate of jicema (a mexican vegetable), four gallons and four cases of water for our fast. Michael, Alex, and I had made a pact to only eat excess of 5 pesos a day if food was worked for or given to us. This was done in an attempt to try and experience a lifestyle away from instant gratification and self indulgence that I know has characterized much of my life.
We now have contacts with Caritas throughout Mexico for the rest of our journey to serve with. We have permanent relationships in Monterrey to send volunteers and to begin multiple projects in the near future. I can honestly say that we were doing Full Hearts work, or whatever you want to call it. Amazing. A woman told me in Nuevo Laredo that you would need at least a month to plan ahead before working and volunteering in these cities. She was wrong. When you simply seek to help others, opportunities will present themselves in the most uncanny and magnificent ways.
There is no such thing as a small miracle... only miracles.
gregorio
We now have contacts with Caritas throughout Mexico for the rest of our journey to serve with. We have permanent relationships in Monterrey to send volunteers and to begin multiple projects in the near future. I can honestly say that we were doing Full Hearts work, or whatever you want to call it. Amazing. A woman told me in Nuevo Laredo that you would need at least a month to plan ahead before working and volunteering in these cities. She was wrong. When you simply seek to help others, opportunities will present themselves in the most uncanny and magnificent ways.
There is no such thing as a small miracle... only miracles.
gregorio
Freedom
Freedom... To be free. In the land of opportunity, this is still an entirely rare and unique feeling to experience. It exists. This is not disputable. However, it is usually an idea tossed around in history classes, or to justify our postion on matters of foreign policy. When is it real though? When is it more than just ideology and nationalism? I don´t believe that you can seek freedom. It is in the 'not' doing where freedom is a colorful frescoe painting within grasp. I have now affirmed that nothing can prevent you from experiencing this Earth on your own time, on your own schedule. The act of deliberately 'not' planning reveals my true path to me more clearly than I have ever witnessed before. Freedom is the act of walking this Earth in every which direction. Unguarded and Unburdened. This is Freedom.
gregorio
gregorio
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