Random Descriptions of My Travel Adventures

So much political excitement at the federal level and of course in Oaxaca and I'm simply here bogged down in preparing for school. Just saw this on Yahoo! news, check it out. Things are so much more exciting in Mexico, but, I will say 3 cheers for the Lamont victory over Lieberman in Connecticut! A small example of what democracy in this country can really be about. Mexico leftists block foreign banks in protest

Check out this article from the New York Times entitled "Mexican Tribunal Rejects Demand for Vote Recount" by James McKinley Jr.

I'm back in the U.S., just arrived a few hours ago (drinking some wine) and because I'm so worn out this will be brief. While I am glad to return home (took a long hot shower, did laundry, rediscovered my own living space and my car) I am not looking forward to the mountain of responsibilities that greeted me as I arrived home. In my usual style of procrastination (which is why I did not post in this week, waited until the last minute to get a paper done) I think I will be posting some of the things from my trip that I didn't get to while in Oaxaca. I'm going to miss writing about the city and so will try to prolong the feeling as long as possible. I suppose I can turn the blog into random postings about what my students say and turn in throughout the Global Change class I'm teaching this semester. So hello again friends and family, Tempe, my apartment and the new car I'm not sure I'll remember how to drive! Now that all instructions are in English on the...

I am in full procrastination mode, our end of program project and presentation are due this week (next two days) so in addition to playing endless games of solitaire on the computer a short blog entry is also in order. I’m sure the project will be wonderfully sub-par as my usual procrastination affected efforts are but that is a worry for tomorrow. I have had a few glasses of wine so this post might be a bit sloppy but likely no more than usual. I’m also tired from a roach incident last night but since I have stated that I will no longer post about that I will stick to my guns. The mega march in Mexico City I spoke of turned into a mega campout! I don’t know how many people are camping but I did here that every state in Mexico will be represented. According to some news sources the traffic is snarled and commutes are taking hours (though I’m not sure if this is abnormal) and Obrador has basically asked for patience because this affects the entire country. Exciting stuff! I was speakin...

It occurs to me that I have ceased to post anything cultural and have now resorted to writing about roaches and Tato. This is likely due to the fact that I will be coming home in less than a week and my brain has shut down, I’m focusing more on all the things I have to do when I get back. We also haven’t had regular classes here in Oaxaca for about two weeks so my source for political information has dried up a bit. I could look at the paper everyday I suppose but my lack of desire to do this goes back to the brain being shut down. So I will try to post a little bit about politics and then continue with my roach tales and a list of last night’s karaoke songs. Today in Mexico City there will be a march by Obrador supporters, a million people are expected to attend. These numbers are always inflated of course, just like they are in the United States, his last march in the capital drew only about 50k and they were expecting 500k. The situation with the presidential election hasn’t chan...

Tato was en fuego last night! I love the Guerreros mascot! Other than his usual antics on the field Tato occasionally takes to the stands to connect with his people. He sits with the group of fans who inhabit the seats behind home plate every game and produce a racket with their noise makers when their favorite batter steps up to the plate. He takes pictures with the little kids. He also dances with drunken adults! At one point in the evening Tato was in the crowd, a song came on over the loud speaker (I can’t remember which one) and Tato begins dancing. Soon he is joined by a drunken man (I assume anyway) who begins to gyrate and grind against Tato in a very suggestive manner. Tato puts up with this for awhile and the crowd chuckled a bit but after a few minutes Tato seems to get fed up, grabs the man’s head in between his two bird hands and shoves his face down into his groin area! The crowd went wild! This is the dirtiest mascot I have ever seen and now I truly do have mascot envy. ...

Research was a bit uneventful today, we had to head to the school to print and copy a few things in preparation for the weekend. We then hopped on a bus to the Central de Abastos and caught a collective taxi to one of the colonias in SJA. The collectives are a great way to travel, 50 cents to drive us to SJA, only 15 cents more than the bus and you can catch them on the street just like a bus. I wish they would have this type of arrangement in Phoenix for the drunks leaving the bars, it would make my life easier and would likely be immensely entertaining at the same time. We walked around two of the colonias that have been built on ejido land (communal farm land) in a vain attempt to try and figure out the process of sale and construction on these lands. The law says one thing in regard to who can and cannot sell but the reality is always very different. After a good deal of sweating and not much else we head back into town and attempt to visit some of the offices that were closed th...