july first! ahhhh

quick update from laguna kana

moi is better,
i gave him drugs
and he drank medicinal tea
with boiled orange leaves, i believe
he is no longer convinced he has worms
just a bad tamale or taco

i have started filming down here and got two great interviews. then i realized i didnt bring the charger for the battery. my camera works plugged into the wall... but the battery doesnt charge. D'oh! maybe i can get it mailed down, or maybe itll be more of an indoor production... we shall see. anyways im stoked because francisco is interested in being interviewed and so are the students. they speak real nicely about interculturality and wanting to teach and learn from different people. they are very curious and very smart.

this is my final week with my team at laguna kana and its bitter sweet. i want to check out other teams and communities, at the same time i want to stick with my friends through the whole process. the diagnostico stuff is going real well. we met with the president, secretary and tresurer of the town yesterday and they showed us the campo maps of the ejido, basically laid out all the lagunas, all the agricultural zones and the reserve which people are allowed to hunt but not burn or cut down trees. the most interesting parts for me have been interviewing people and doing the census. these are also the hardest for me because of the spanish. but i have been understanding almost everything and the group decided that i would partner up with one of them so thats really helpful. we learn alot about the history of the community, many of the founder's children are now the elders of the community. it is interesting and sad the way the older generation is full of maya speakers who work the milpa, while the new generation doesnt speak maya and migrates to the tourist zones to work for cash.

part of the university's work here is to revalue that maya language and culture within the community so that it doesnt dissapear.

the hardest part for me is 'being part of the team' because of how much of an outsider i am. maybe if i came back next year stayed for a year and started one up the following summer i could really be on the level. they are convinced that i am here to observe, so i have to find new ways to participate and interexchange... which has been fun. i definately get a million questions about how do you say this in english what does this mean, especially band names and song titles! everyone is also very curious about hebrew. edwin, one of my teammates says what he looks forward to in future intercambios is people from the US who are also from other countries.

also,
its hot.

peace and love and interculturality