NEWSLETTER #6


Dear Friends,

Our life in La Esperanza continues to have new adventures each day that help us get 
to know and understand the people who live here.  We have a routine of getting up 
around sunrise (7:30-8:00) packing up our tent and riding into town to visit 
someone's house for a hot cup of coffee.  Often this includes beans, eggs, chili and 
tortillas or homemade sweet rolls.  Then we go to the kinder school to paint on the 
wall.  From noon till 2:00PM we teach the secondary students English and drawing.  
After school we have lunch with one of the families from the kinder school.  H makes 
drawings for each of these hosts which they seem to really enjoy.  Then it's time to 
ring the church bell.  We work on the tapestry of San Isidro from approximately 
3:30-7:30PM.  By this time the sun is setting and it's time to ride out to our new 
home behind the cemetery, set up the tent, eat and sleep.

As you can see by our schedule we have very little free time.  We found it was 
necessary to maintain this schedule in order to complete the projects and leave us 
enough time to return home by the route we have chosen. Time seems to pass very 
quickly. Each day the people open up a little more, we understand more, and laugh 
more. It will be hard to say good bye, but we also look forward to our simple life 
back on the road.


George & Holly


TEACHING ENGLISH (George)

George & Holly Los Professors de Ingles

  Our first day teaching showed us that we were not natural teachers.  We had seen 
their 'Teacher's Manual for English' and  carefully prepared a lesson plan, but it 
ended up being far too complicated.

  English is a required course in the secondary schools throughout Mexico, so we 
assumed the students knew some of the basics. As it turned out, however, neither of 
our teachers could speak or understand English. The students knew very few words and 
their pronunciation was all wrong. 
    
  We decided to try teaching English the way we learned Spanish last year. When 
traveling in a foreign country there are certain phrases and verbs that one needs 
know to get by. We learned these basics last year so we could greet people and ask 
the right questions. One needs to know: 

  "How much?" 
  "How many?" 
  "Do you have...?"
  "Where is...?"
  "How far is...?" 
  "I want...".

  Then, of course, understanding the answer is essential, which in many of cases is 
a number or directions.
   
  The next day we started with "good morning" and other greetings followed by the 
verb "to be", which is equal to the two Spanish verbs: "estar" and "ser". For two 
weeks we taught approximately twelve common vocabulary words and one verb each day.  
After a couple of days we felt we had the student's full attention and that they 
were enjoying the way we taught. At the end of the two weeks they knew fifteen verbs 
and could put together simple sentences. I felt that if we had a full semester to 
teach our way that the students would be able to speak and understand basic English.
    
  As I write this, I have to say that I feel I could develop a better curriculum 
than the bureaucrats. Therefore, I've discovered something else I can do when I get 
tired of riding my bike.


TEACHING DRAWING - H
    
  The kids had each obtained one sheet of typing paper for the first drawing class, 
but as the weeks progressed they worked in their lined notebooks. I learned a lot 
about their thought processes, but am not sure I was successful at teaching them 
much about drawing.
    
  I started by asking them how they thought art was important in life. After no 
response, I tried to explain that art is a creative way of expressing one's thoughts 
and feelings.  For example, it could be drawing, dancing or singing. Few people end 
up being professional artists, but everyone can enjoy being creative in their daily 
life. Creativity breaks routines, keeps people from getting bored and encourages 
them to learn new things. I'm not sure how much of this concept was really 
understood, but the students were polite enough to look interested in my rambling. 
For their homework, I asked them to walk to school a different way the next morning 
to see different things. Most kids forgot and walked their usual route because it 
was shortest.
    
  In the drawing class I wanted to nurture the students creativity. I wanted them to 
learn to look a little closer at things, to see similarities and differences, and to 
feel encouraged to see different points of view. 
    
  First, I asked the class to trace their hands on the typing paper to see how 
similar and different they were. All the students made flat outlines of their hands, 
so I showed them how they could have chosen other ways to trace their hands. For 
example sideways or as a fist. I asked the students to think of other ways to trace 
their hands, but even the different hand positions had flat outlines, so I added the 
word 'dimension' to their vocabulary.
    
  The first week was spent teaching the students about circles, globes, cylinders, 
squares and cubes. One day I asked them to look around and do drawings of things 
that had circles in them for homework. The next day we had a hard time getting their 
attention for English class as they were all busy drawing. I was eager to see their 
papers, but as it turned out they were all cartoons traced from a child's coloring 
book.
    
  As I tried to explain to the class the difference between drawing and tracing or 
copying, the teacher explained to me that the students didn't want to learn anymore 
about globes and cubes. They wanted to learn to draw. She suggested I put a drawing 
on the board and let them copy it. I asked her if the students would like to learn 
to draw objects around the room. She thought they would, so I set up several still-
lifes. 
    
  As the students tried to draw an empty can, pencils, a broom, a pile of books and 
a baseball cap, I showed them how each object was a combination of globes and cubes. 
They worked very hard on the drawings and were all eager for my approval. They 
didn't really understand this relationship or my goal of getting them to look 
closely at something and try to draw what they saw. They were easily frustrated and 
would draw the objects as they thought they should look, or copy the way their 
neighbors drew them just to have something to show me.
    
  I, too, have been frustrated at not knowing the correct Spanish words to get my 
points across. Never having been a teacher, I cannot compare these students with 
others. I wonder if teaching drawing would be this hard in America. I wonder if it 
is my poor language skills or the concepts themselves that are so difficult for my 
students to understand. As the weeks progress I am beginning to think that perhaps 
the concepts of creativity and self expression are not part of their culture. Most 
people we have met in Mexico have a very strong sense of tradition. It seems they 
have not been encouraged to think for themselves, for we have witnessed that they 
are often taught to copy things.
    
  For example, two young artists in town showed me their portfolios. Every sketch 
was a copy or tracing of someone else's work. In our travels we have noticed how 
each town seems to have one thing special about it. One type of food or craft they 
sell that everyone does. Sometimes we see two or three towns in a row before a 
change in product occurs. And finally, while visiting in many different homes we 
have found the women love to make delicate lace, intricate crocheted doilies and 
multicolored cross stitched towels. They are often large, time consuming projects. 
The patterns are  meticulously copied from other projects and all finished pieces 
are perfect. We see children being taught to take out stitches over and over until 
they are right, and we see many homes that have dozens of doilies exactly the same.
 
  Because there is not one correct way to look at something and draw it, the concept 
of drawing an object as they see it really throws my students (who like to copy) for 
a loop. This teaching experience has taught me a little more about the Mexican way 
of thinking, (or at least the way my students think) and the meaning of the word 
tradition, but again I'm not sure what the students have learned from me.


THE CHURCH PROJECT CONTINUES - H

  Every day there are about twenty people that show up to help on San Isidro. Most 
continue to be young children, eight to twelve years old, who require my constant 
attention. There are always a few older helpers and Carmen (Griselda's mother) comes 
almost every day. Lots of people stop by to check out the progress and visit even if 
they don't help sew.
    
  On Thursday evening it started raining just as we were ready to quit. George and I 
decided to continue working until the weather cleared. We had collected some 
aluminum 'Tecate' beer cans to form into flowers for the frame, (a task too 
complicated for my young helpers) and decided to start cutting them out. Shortly 
after the kids and Carmen had gone a group of young men in their mid-twenties came 
to see what was happening.
     
  The most curious was Jose. He was a large, jovial character who had come to 
compliment me on the progress of the painting for the kinder. After a long close 
look at San Isidro he and his friends volunteered to help. Within minutes we had an 
assembly line going for the flowers.
    
  Meanwhile, George tried his hand at sewing. Soon Jose decided to join him, and 
they sat side by side embroidering hairs on the two oxen. That night as the rain 
pattered on the tin roof we talked of our travels and our bikes. We taught our new 
friends a few words of English, and laughed a lot. We all worked until about 
10:30PM. It was still rainy and cold, so George and I decided to camp out in the 
church. We felt it had been a very special evening.
    
  By Friday the project was really taking shape. At 5:00PM six women came to the 
church for the Stations of the Cross, but none of them had a prayer book. They rang 
the bell several times to call their friend, Tirza, to lead them with her prayer 
book. As they waited they helped sew on San Isidro. Tirza never showed up, but four 
of the women were very excited about the tapestry and agreed to return the next 
afternoon to help finish it. That night the young men came again and we all worked 
late.
    
  As I rang the bell on Saturday, for the last sewing session, the women were all 
present. I taught them some new embroidery stitches and continued working with my 
swarm of youngsters, who sewed big irregular stitches. Two of the women did not like 
the looks of the children's sewing and tried to get the kids to take their stitches 
out. Eventually the women took over the sewing and the children drifted away. As the 
women worked, and chattered among themselves, they became very possessive of the 
project and proudly kept track of who sewed what. They seemed to enjoy the work. 
When they departed to do their family chores, we were not yet finished, but once 
again the group of young men showed up. Together we sewed the last finishing touches 
and attached the flowers to the frame.


THE DEDICATION OF SAN ISIDRO - H

  On Saturday George decided we should we should have a dedication of the project on 
Sunday (the next day) at 5:00PM. He invited the lady helpers and asked them to 
spread the word. I didn't think we'd have any response on such short notice, but 
about twenty five adults came. The ladies were all dressed up and spent an hour 
talking, admiring the tapestry and wetting down the floor of the church with buckets 
of water. They then sat close together in the six pews as Tirza led a service of 
prayer and song. During the service my young helpers wandered in and out of the 
church pointing out what they had helped sew and looking for their names on the list 
of seventy helpers posted by the project.
    
  At the end of the praying Tirza led the group over to the project and blessed it 
with Holy Water. They agreed the project of San Isidro was like life. Close up the 
stitches were not perfect, but from a distance it looked very nice. Knowing that 
such a large number of people worked on it made it special to them. We were thanked 
and hugged by all and asked to return for another project. 

ANOTHER PROJECT?
    
  Living in La Esperanza we have seen that the men stick together, the women stick 
together and the kids, likewise, stick together. We feel the project of San Isidro 
was a success because it involved people from each of these groups.  Seventy people, 
nearly one quarter of the entire population of the community can point to their own 
stitches in the project.
   
  At the beginning of the project, I thought that the women would be the most 
interested and had envisioned teaching them many new embroidery stitches that they 
could incorporate into other sewing projects. As it turned out they were the least 
involved. It was only at the end of project I learned many of the women didn't help 
because they did not like working in the church. It is drafty, has poor light and no 
chairs. The women also have many chores around the house and families to take care 
of, so they don't like to leave their homes for very long periods of time.  I 
learned that they often sew in groups of three or four in the afternoons at a 
neighbor's home where the kids can be close by. 
    
  Though the community is small and everyone seems to know one another, they do not 
all visit with each other. There seem to be several cliques among the women, some 
family related, some just neighbors. The women get their news from the children or a 
visit to the store. 
  I would like to return to La Esperanza to work on another project. It would be 
interesting, for example, to make the Stations of the Cross with different groups of 
women in their homes. The women do very fine work and are proud of it. I sense that 
sewing for them is time out from their kids so I doubt that this would be a family 
project, but it would be very interesting for me to get to know these women better. 
Having the work of different groups of women on display at the church could also 
open doors between the cliques. Today they seemed sad to see us go and excited about 
my return. I told the women to wait awhile and if they still want to do the project, 
write me that they have organized the groups and I will be happy to return.


THE KINDER PROJECT CONTINUES - H

  Of all our work we feel the mural on the kinder wall was the most successful. The 
mothers of the kinder kids united to make sure we were well fed and visited 
frequently. As the picture progressed, everywhere we went men, women and children 
complimented the project. Every day they asked if it was finished and were excited 
to learn there was more to come. When it was finally finished they forced us to 
accept the 150 pesos (about $50.00) that they had collected among themselves. 

  We have seen that throughout Mexico the young children are adored by everyone. The 
community's support and pride in this project proved to us that the children of La 
Esperanza are also well loved by all.


DID EVERYBODY KNOW EVERYBODY
IN LA ESPERANZA?

  Did everybody know everybody in La Esperanza? We think so except for some of the 
men. All the women and kids from ten years and older knew everybody on a first name 
basis. They also knew the family relationship to the total population. When you 
encounter someone in person you use their first name. Even the young kids would call 
the older adults by their first name. The only time we heard Seņora or Seņor used 
was in a conversation by adults referring to a third person.


A MORNING WITH JOVENCIO
AND HIS COWS - George

  The other morning while H was drawing on the kindergarten wall, I went down the 
street to visit with Jovencio and his family. After we all had a cup of coffee, I 
walked outside with Jovencio who was watering his cows in the street. In the past he 
had let his cows in the backyard for water and a couple of stalks of corn. When I 
asked why his twenty five cows were waiting outside in the street with a bucketful 
of water, he told me they wouldn't feed any more until May, and they had cleaned up 
all the cow pies from the yard. 

  As the morning went on, and I listened to Jovencio talk to his cows about the new 
places they would drink their daily water, I witnessed a very special relationship 
between man, cow and dog. Each cow has a name it responds to with either a personal 
moo or a movement towards Jovencio. Jovencio knew which cows had their fill of water 
so he would call each of them individually to come and drink. If they did not take a 
full load of water, Jovencio knew it and made sure they drank more before walking 
them back to pasture.

  Since cows, horses, mules, pigs, chickens, goats, and sheep roam freely around 
town all day, occasionally an animal that is not Jovencio's will join his herd for a 
drink. His ever present dog, who also knows each cow by it's name, chases the non-
family members away by biting at it's heels. The dog also would get the attention of 
one of his master's cows if Jovencio told him to. This relationship  was amazing to 
me, as are others we see in La Esperanza.
 
IF I ONLY HAD A CAMCORDER
George

  #1 - I just built a TV antenna for a thirty year old mother of four, the oldest 
being thirteen. Everybody around here builds their antennas out of bicycle wheels 
and any other extra metal they can hang on it. If you do not understand television 
waves, these antennas probably would look good to you too, but they do not work 
well. 

  This movie would have been of the original bicycle wheel antenna and me explaining 
why the antenna I built, out of just the lead-in wire and a broom stick, gave them 
both picture and sound. The look of sheer delight on Cuca's face when we got a 
picture and sound together would have made a good ending to the movie. Since Cuca 
now knows how to build a simple di-pole antenna, for channel 13, she might become 
the antenna technician for the town.

  #2 - Across from the kindergarten where H was painting, a black cow came home this 
morning. It stood in front of the gate of the house and mooed with all it's might. 
The cow mooed so hard that it's neck stretched straight out, it's back arched and 
it's tail became rigid and parallel to the ground. After about five minutes of 
mooing, a man came to the gate, said something to the cow. The cow left. An hour 
later I saw the man walking the cow down another street, the cow still mooing and 
looking in all directions. I guessed that it was a mother cow who had lost her calf; 
the man at the house had told her the calf was not in the corral and so she went to 
look for it. Now he was helping her. Oh, to be a mother cow in a town of lots of 
mother cows and open corral gates.


BANO LAS VACAS
(DISINFECT THE COWS) - George

  Since La Esperanza has about 1000 cows, and they all graze together, they have to 
disinfect them twice a year. I'm not sure what they are disinfecting them from but 
the whole process is quite an event.
  We could hear "bano las vacas" being talked about for several days before it 
happened. The pueblo has no phone system or central bulletin board so I guess it 
takes that long to get the word out. Also they have to wait for a day that is warm 
and without wind so the cows won't catch cold.
    
  On the morning of the event lots of men and boys on horse back gathered on the 
street corners. The feeling in town was kind of like County Fair day in Socorro. At 
10 AM  all the cowboys disappeared to look for and round up the cattle that roamed 
freely in the nearby pastures. 
    
  By noon we could see herds of cattle coming close to town. With cows  comming from 
all directions to the bano in the middle of town, a rodeo was about to develop.  
With cows and cowboys racing through town in all directions this turned out to be 
the most unorganized event we'd ever seen.
    
  The pueblo is a 1/4 mile square and there were cows everywhere. We saw fifty or so 
cowboys on horseback and another fifty kids with lassos all in the rodeo spirit 
showing off their horsemanship in the middle of town. By the end of the second day 
they did manage to get all the cows in the area of the banos and disinfected. The 
first day they did 600 and the remainder the second day. The second day wasn't as 
exciting probably because a lot of the rodeo spirit had been worn out.
    
  I'd better explain what the bano looked like. First the cows were headed into a 
large corral. From there one family's cows are separated, accounted for, and moved 
to the corral at the entrance to the bano. The bano is a long trough filled with 
water and disinfectant. The cows are herded down a long narrow shoot where they are 
forced into the deep end of the trough. They either kind of slide in or some take a 
jump and become completely submerged. As they swim forward the water becomes more 
shallow and they walk out the other end to another corral. In this last corral they 
are de-horned and vaccinated if needed. Even after all the confusion of running 
around town and the bath, when released the cows all seem to know their way home.


FROM THE KITCHEN:

  This week while we were painting the kindergarten wall, we were invited for the 
2:00PM meal at a different home each day. The homes belonged to the parents of the 
students and it was their way of participating in the project. The varieties of 
homes and kitchens we have seen makes us look forward to each day's meal. We're 
always served pinto beans and tortillas but each cook (always the mother) has a 
different way of preparing and cooking these staples. Other than Lucina's, we have 
seen no kitchens with running water. The water is brought in from the backyard 
storage tank in buckets. Most kitchens have both a gas and a wood stove, of which 
there are many different varieties. 

  We have learned that cooking the tortillas on top of the wood stove is the best 
way. The beans are cooked two different ways, in a pressure cooker for an hour or in 
a clay pot for three hours. Those who take the time to cook them in the decorative 
clay pots feel this is by far the best way, both for flavor and less gas in the 
stomach.

  All kitchens also contain a metal china cabinet with glass doors. Inside the 
cabinets are handmade doilies, nice plates, bowls and glasses that we feel are 
rarely used. They do add a touch of class, though, to a kitchen that has no water, a 
wood stove and homemade scrap lumber tables. Half the kitchens have a refrigerator. 
These are used to keep sodas, milk and to save leftovers for more than a day. Those 
who don't have a fridge simply go to the corner store for a soda and milk the cow 
daily. There are usually no leftovers as the cooks know exactly how much to make. 
The kitchens are very efficiently run and turn out delicious food.

  Vicki lives across from the kinder school. She has four small children at home; 
the youngest is just two years old. Her house is different from most because the 
walls are painted white, (instead of bright blue, pink, green or yellow), and there 
are shelves of trophies her husband has won playing darts.  Vicki doesn't know when 
her husband will come back from the United States. He has a job but no papers. 
Sometimes he sends money, but has recently married a U.S. citizen. Vicki is not 
happy with the situation, but there is nothing she can do. She made an especially 
nice lunch for us.  These sound like a lot of work, but are worth it.

VICKI'S TUNA CROQUETTE

Peel and boil a pan full of potatoes, mash them and season with garlic, salt and 
pepper. Add one egg and one can of tuna fish (add water or milk if needed). Pat the 
potato mixture into egg sized balls, dip them in one well beaten egg. Fry until 
brown and serve hot.

  Tirza lives across from the church and had the key when Lucina and Gabino left 
town. She is eagerly awaiting the return of her husband from his year long visit to 
the United States where seven of their children and countless grandchildren live. 
Gregorio, her one son left in Mexico, his new wife and their baby have moved in with 
Tirza to keep her company. She makes different kinds of fresh bread everyday to 
please her son.  This was our favorite.

TIRZA'S PUMPKIN FOLD OVERS

Make dough from:

1  kilo bread flour
.300 grams sugar
.200 grams lard
2 Tablespoons yeast
a few pinches of salt 
warm water

Mix ingredients together and make little balls that when rolled out make a 6"-8" 
circle. Add 2 large spoonfuls of the filling, fold in half, pinch the edge closed 
and bake until brown.

Pumpkin filling:

clean and cook a pumpkin, mash and season with cinnamon, cloves and sugar to taste.


CAMP SUPPER

During the two weeks we camped behind the cemetery, time was usually short to set up 
camp and eat supper. Often it was after dark. We developed this simple meal because 
it was free of fat and we could go to sleep shortly after eating.

3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 can peas and carrots (drink liquid before adding to bowl)
1 handful of raisins
Mix ingredients in a bowl, season with red chile powder, lime and garlic salt


OUR THOUGHTS
AS WE LEAVE ESPERANZA

  Weeks before our arrival in La Esperanza we looked forward to meeting new friends, 
teaching English, the perfection of our Spanish and to the making of gifts of art to 
the community. Looking back the exchange of language has proved itself to be the 
most difficult. Our projects seemed slow in getting started, but art seems to have a 
universal language. As the projects neared completion, they were understood by all, 
and brought smiles to many faces so the last week of our stay has been very 
exciting.

  Last week women would serve our meals while staying busy at the stove. This week 
when we came for a meal everyone gathered around and ate with us. They asked 
questions, told stories, laughed and wanted their caricatures drawn. We received so 
many invitations to eat and visit that there was not time to accept them all. Even 
the man on the traveling fruit truck brought us a bag of treats while we were 
painting at the kinder.

  Each day different people came to check the progress of both the church and kinder 
projects. They came to see if there was anything we needed and brought scraps of 
fabric and thread to the church. The kids were so eager for George to play 
basketball with them they would look around town until they found where we were 
working.

  It took us three weeks to establish ourselves as part of the community, but as we 
left everyone wished us well and asked when we were coming back. We have enjoyed our 
stay and the projects, but look forward to returning to our life on the bikes 
getting lots of exercise and seeing new horizons.


---------------------------------------

  We appreciate your input on this newsletter, and will be happy to respond to your 
questions in upcoming newsletters. Please mail them to Holly at the address below, 
or call 505-835-3076. Newsletter subscriptions are $25.00. The complete story covers 
2300 miles of bicycling on the back roads of Mexico and will be told in eight or 
nine issues. 

Mail to: HOLLY HUGHES
         PO BOX 1866
         SOCORRO, NM 87801


HOW'S OUR HEALTH?

After eight weeks neither of us has had a cold or stomach problem. During our stay 
in La Esperanza we both had to take some antacid tablets a time or two to neutralize 
the monteca (animal fat) that is used to cook most everything. Presently H is 
nursing a sore knee and palm of her hand from a fall she took while running one 
morning. This was the second fall she took on the rocky roads of La Esperanza, which 
convinced her to say "No more running in this town."


Holly, after running in the morning and falling twice,"I'm never running on these 
roads again."

"Is your knee better yet?"

"If you put salt in the oil the oil won't stick to your eggs."

"What happened to all my needles?"

"I wish we had another week to spend here."

"Hasn't it been a special day?"

"Why is it so hard to get papers in Mexico?"

George pointing to a pig in the street, "Look at that funny dog."