Part 14 "Street Scenes"

Michelle writes: 

San Felipe held a festival for St. Valentine's Day. On my way home from Casa Jackson, I bought my lunch from the street vendors: atol (a drink topped with corn), mole, and fresh guava. Yum!

I truly enjoy the street vendors with their tasty food for a reasonable price, the flowering trees everywhere, the colorful clothing of the Mayan people selling their textiles, the assistance of others--whether they are tourists or locals--if one is lost and needs info, the size of the city with people walking everywhere. And of course, the happy smiling faces and the pleasant greetings from the passers-by.

There are daily fireworks celebrating something--birthdays or anniversaries-- that sounds like a heavy rain on a tin roof.

The colors, the colors! The colors of the buildings, the surprise of looking behind the walls and heavy gates that face the street to see a beautiful oasis. 

Restaurants, homes, hotels and private spaces, all constructed with basic building materials: stone, concrete, cinder blocks and tiles.

After being here a while now, certain comforts of home become more apparent. We take for granted the toilet paper available in most restrooms that you flush rather than throw in the trash, sidewalks and streets without a lot of obstacles and holes, dish soap that doesn't feel like cleanser, emissions control (the diesel buses here are belching black exhaust), even having space for practicing yoga that feels clean (the courtyard here is always open to the dust of the city). And long, hot showers! It's good that I'm used to river trips and that the weather here is usually warm. These are small things that we take for granted.

The opportunity to gain an education is another thing that many of us take for granted. The Scheel Center (see earlier post: Part 12) is in the process of raising $10, 000 to fund their school here.  Their deadline is Easter Sunday, April 24th, and they've already raised $4,000. If you want to contribute, please go to www.globalgiving.org. Type "Scheel Center" into the website's search box, and you'll find donation options that will benefit The Scheel Center.