Palenque, Mexico: After a 14 hour bus ride, I arrived in Palenque, close to the Palenque ruins. Google for pictures, i will post mine whenever possible. This computer won´t let me.

Left Mexico City at 6pm, my cousin Moy took me to the airport. Gracias! It was a bit sad. After a month in Mexico City, I had become very attached to my family in Mexico.

Today marked the first day...alone. As Charles Dickens put it, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Close to being the happiest day of my life, traveling the Americas; and yet feeling so alone at times, and wishing one of my buddies or cousins were here with me.

But that´s what I bargained for, I guess.

The Palenque ruins were amazing! I can´t wait until I can upload the pictures. Much more amazing than the other ruins.

I´m staying at the Yaxkin hostel. The rooms are okay. I took a freezing cold shower at about 6pm, it felt great! The humidity is at about 110%. It´s awful! I stunk worse than anything today. Not my fault! And I think Guatemala is more of the same.

Met a girl named Miriam, who works at the hostel. This time, she´s from L.A. She´s been here for about two months. A long story, having to do with her baby, and her baby´s dad. She´s dying to go back, but can´t. I told her I would pray that she finds a way back home, with her baby. She extremely nice.

I had dinner at a local restaurant. Milanesa and papas. It was good!

After dinner had my life threatened. Well not really, but really. A little kid walked up to me and asked me for money. When I nodded no, he made the international gun symbol with his hands and repeated with a straight face, "te mato, te mato". I gave him a look and he left. He was about 11. I felt awful for him. Something tells me if something or someone does not intervene, he will make true on his threats someday.

Heading off to Guatemala in the morning. My first border crossing. Two buses, and a boat! Should be exciting. My internet time is limited here, so gotta run.

Mom, I love you!

Mare, I love you!

Family, I love you!

Friends, I love you guys!

Obviously a bit setimental at this point. lol.

But, having a great time!

Thanks for all the prayers, and stay tuned for photos!

-Michael

Tomorrow is my birthday!!!!

Mexico City, Mexico: Tomorrow is my birthday...I almost forgot! Well, I didn´t almost forget, I just didn´t think much of it. But, my family here in Mexico, being how great they are, threw me a surprise birthday party. My favorite part was the singing. There´s all kinds of songs that they sing here for birthdays. It was fun.

Below: My cousin/tia Patty, my Tia Goyeez, my cousin Mayyie, another cousin, my cousin Armando, and his wife. They made hamburgers, in honor of me. I was very thankful, but really would have preferred their Mexican cooking. The hamburgers were good, though. They put pineapples in them.

Above: My cousin Patty praying for me. Also in the picture, My tia´s Goyeez, Melda, and sitting down, Tia Terre.

Below: My birthday cake. My aunt said she was going to put Michael, but when they asked her how to spell it, she said, forget it, put Miguel. It says, Felicidades Miguel!

Below: My grandma´s sisters, Tia Goyeez, Melda, Terre, y Concha. My Tia Goyeez, to my right, is who I stayed with once my grandma left. My Tia Terre, the shortest of the bunch, is also the funniest of the bunch. My side hurts after listening to her, she´s so funny. They asked me if we had a joker back home. Well, Nathan is pretty funny, Moy is witty, and Uncle Daniel is a jokester, but no one like Tia Terre. She´s so unassuming, but when you least expect it, she´ll say something that has the whole room rolling!

Mexico City, Mexico: This will most likely be the last blog entry from Mexico City. Tomorrow i´m meeting a few friends (Erika and Deann), who are on vacation in Mexico City. We may go to Guanajuato on Friday, and i´m going to push hard to get them to go to Guadalajara. The most beautiful girls in the world there, according to one source. But i´m going for the tacos.

This last week has been exciting, as everything in Mexico City seems to be. I went to the Musuem of Anthropology, which was very educational. It took you through the history of Mexico, beginning way back. I also had an opportunity to visit my grandma`s old church, and her old school, as well as her old home. My tio Clemente still lives there. He´s almost 80 and still works every day at his taco stand. Above is a picture of him and his assistants, which are like family, but not exactly. Of course, every one here is like family. I swear, half the people I meet "son mis primos." They´re my cousins. But that´s the way it is out here, every one treats you like family. It´s great!

Almost a month in Mexico City, and I have made some observations that either confirm or contradict stereotypes or generalizations about Mexicans. And as a Mexican myself, i´ll take poetic license to comment on them. Here are some observations, comments, facts, and myths, that i´ve learned during my time here.

PDA-ville

Everywhere you go around here, there is a couple making out or hugging as if one of them is going off to war in the morning. I mean everywhere. PDA (public display of affection) is everywhere. At the park, on the sidewalk, at the market. Parks are the worst, because they can lay down. No exagerration, every 10 feet, there´s another couple laying on top of each other. I scratched my head about it for a few days, then came up with a theory that left me satisfied. I presented it to a cousin, and he concurred. I think, because families here live together for generations, there is no privacy in the home. Thus, they´re forced to show their affection elsewhere, like in public. Or maybe, Latinos are just much more affectionate than me? Who knows, but its still weird to me everytime I see it.

Hugs

I´m not sure if you´ve noticed, but when you hug, do you lean your head to the right or to the left? I think it´s to the left. Whichever way you lean, it has to be consistent. If one leans to their left, and another to their right, you end up meeting lips. Well, this is exactly what happened to me for the first three weeks. I was so used to leaning left, that I did so, but everyone here leans right, so, awkwardly, we were face to face, bobbing are heads trying to figure it out. Of course, since I am the one visiting, I should be the one to adjust to the local norms, but after years of hugging the wrong way, it was hard to change. lol. But I think i´ve finally got it. And everyone you meet here, you greet with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Not something that is completely foreign to me, so I did not mind at all, just had to remember to lean right.

Mexicans love Corona

Gotta say this is a false stereotype. There is a preconceived notion that the beer of choice for Mexicans is Corona. Well at least in Mexico City, this is not true. I rarely see anyone with a Corona. I´ve seen more Bud Light than Corona. Beer of choice here seems to be Indio, or Barrecilito (sp).

Mexicans love Tequila

True. No doubt about it. Young, old, saint, sinner...everyone in Mexico City drinks tequila. Of course some drink in excess, and some take a shot after a heavy meal to settle their stomachs, but almost everyone drinks it. They literally give it away. It´s like ordering water.

Cars

8 Mexicans in a car that seats 5! We´ve all heard the stereotype. Well I lived it. A Jetta that sits three in the back, uncomfortably, with six people! Luck for me I had window! Or a minivan that could possibly squeeze in 8, with 13! It´s true, Mexicans make use of all the space in a car. Some ideas why? Well, for one, not everyone has a car. Two, with traffic being like it is, it´s more effecient. And maybe because there are no strict seat belt laws. And baby seats are not required. I´ve seen 5 year olds in baby seats back home. I think here, they would think that is ridiculous. Two year olds sit on their moms lap. Things are just different here.

Religion

Religion plays a big part in Mexico. Although Mexico has no official religion, close to 90% of the population is Catholic, and it´s quite evident. Shrines to the Virgin, Rosaries, and signs of the Crucifix, are everywhere. But there is a growing number of Protestants in the country.

I had an opportunity to visit my grandma´s first church, and there were people standing on the sides, the church was so packed. Standing room only. It was a great message, about the Holy Spirit, and why it was given, so that we could love each other, and help those in need. So much emphasis is put on speaking in tongues, that we forget that after the day of Pentecost, most of the book of Acts is about people giving. Some even sold their homes so the needy could have their needs met. There is no ¨Prosperity Gospel¨ here. People don´t pray for a new car, or nicer house, they pray for the bare necessities. There is a real genuine purity to it. True humility.

Above is the entrance to my grandm´s old church. My cousin is in the doorway.

Painting above: The Spainards, nicely introducing the indigenous Mexicans to their religion. Baptism. Oh, those soldiers with spears, they´re just for decoration.

Below: My grandma´s church. Three hour service! But, most of it is prayer. Lots of emphasis on prayer in churches here.

Other things I observed and learned while in Mexico include the love people have for their country. Most people here are happy and have no desire to visit the U.S., much less live there. Como mi Mexico, no hay dos! That´s what they say. And life here is great!

Though there are people who would do anything for the opportunities we have back home. One man in particular, asked me, very sincerely, if there was anything I could do to help him get to the U.S. Of course there really wasn´t anything I could do. But he said he would do anything to be able to go and work in the U.S. That left me a bit sad, but also resolved to get back and not squander the opportunities I´ve been given. Of course, after my trip! We are truly blessed to live in a country like the U.S. I believe that will become more apparent as I head south into the America´s. Please don´t take any day for granted. Seize it, and make the best of it.

After Mexico City, the real trip starts, alone! Monday, the 15th of June I leave Mexico City and head to Palenque, in Chiapas. I´ll be on an ADO Bus, Mexico´s version of Greyhound. The bus is due to arrive in Palenque at 7am, Tuesday morning. I´ll do everything I can to make contact from there.

Someone please do me a favor and call my grandma, and let her know i´m ok, and tell her I love her. She´s upset that I don´t call, but I don´t have a phone. Internet is my only source of communication.

Love you mom, love you family, and friends...

I miss you all, love you all!

-Michael

I´m pretty sure I drank the water!

Mexico City, Mexico: Getting close to the end of my stay in Mexico City. For the first time during my trip, I woke up not knowing where I was. Has that ever happened to you? Woke up about 5am, local time, and thought, where am I? It took me a few seconds to realize, oh yeah, Mexico, at my tia´s house.

They say when you start dreaming in spanish, you know you´re becoming fluent. Well, no such luck for me, all my dreams are in english. And most of them are still about people back home. But my spanish is improving, day by day.

I clearly miss home, but that´s to be expected. No worse day than Sunday, though. Sunday is when I see my family, and friends. I always sit next to my grandma at church. So Sunday´s in Mexico are the longest for me. I can´t wait for them to end. But next Sunday i´m visiting my grandma´s old church. Where her legacy of faith began. It´s close to where she grew up. My grandfather also lived nearby, and the Gasso´s. I´ll be sure to take lots of photos for the family.

Pyramids of Teotihuacan

Scattered throughout the blog are pictures taken at the Pyramids of Teotihuacan. The pyramids date back to about 100 AD. It´s amazing to think that these have been preserved for so long. Long before Columbus set sail, there was civilization in Latin America. Pre-Columbian, or Pre-Hispanic Latin Americans were building pyramids!

Sitting atop the Pyramid of the Sun, I couldn´t help but wonder about daily life for those who lived here. Who built the pyramids? Was it slaves, was it a community effort? Why did they build it? What motivated them?

Historians would say they worshipped the Sun and the Moon, and hence, built a Pyramid to their ¨god¨. And evidence of human sacrifice was found by archaeologist at the Pyramid of the Moon (which can be seen in the pictures).

Sacrifice was a common theme in Pre-Hispanic cultures, or before the Spanish arrived. In the Aztec "Legend of the Five Suns", all the gods sacrificed themselves so that mankind could live.

As the story goes, some years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico, a body of Franciscans confronted the remaining Aztec priesthood and demanded, under threat of death, that they desist from their murderous practice. The Aztec response was interesting: Life is because of the gods; with their sacrifice they gave us life.

What the Aztec priests were referring to was a central Pre-Hispanic belief in Latin America: that a great, on-going sacrifice sustains the Universe. Everything is tonacayotl: the "spiritual flesh-hood" or "bodily sacrificial presence" of the gods on earth. Everything —earth, crops, moon, stars and people— springs from the severed or buried bodies, fingers, blood or the heads of the sacrificed gods. Humanity itself is macehualli, "those deserved and brought back to life through penance". So they sacrificed humans, to sustain the universe. It was religious act.

Interesting how at about the same time (100AD), thousands of miles away, a man named John the evangelist was finishing his written account about a man who claimed he was the the beginning and the end, the source of all things, in fact, God. The people here, building pyramids for human sacrifice had no idea who John was, and knew nothing about the man John was writing about. The man who, John would write, gave his life, the ultimate human sacrifice, so that in him, all the world could have life. No longer a need for human sacrifice, one man had paid it all. Thousands of years later, human sacrifice is shunned in most of the world. And Jesus of Nazareth is preached all over the globe. The little book John wrote, and its message, eventually made its way to this part of the world.

The Pyramids of Teotihuacan are the first of three ancient ruins i´ll visit before I get to Casa Guatemala Orphanage. After Mexico City, i´ll head to Palenque to visit more ruins, then to Tikal, in Guatemala. Tikal is supposed to be the best.

I´m from L.A.

Had an opportunity to go out a few times last week with my cousins. I made the mistake of telling one of my cousins that I thought they had better salsa dancers in L.A. Most of the dancers I had seen were ok, but not great. That´s until my cousin took me to a real salsa show. I was wrong. These folks know how to salsa. It was just fun watching. I gave it a crack, but I couldn´t keep up.

The next night we went to a birthday party at a really posh place. I thought there were tons of tourist there. The girls looked European. I even asked my cousin if we were near a hostel? He said no, those girls were all Mexicans, they´re from Polanco. A really rich part of town. The party was fun, but I decided I would try to talk to one of these girls. To practice my spanish of course.

After thinking through in my head what I would say, I gained the courage and attempted an introduction, in spanish. I forget what I said, but the conversation was going no where, until I said the four magic words. The four words that have turned many-a-boring conversations into hours of chat. Soy de Los Angeles...I´m from L.A. That´s it, that´s all I had to say. She did the rest of the talking. Unfortunately for me, she was born in Houston, and insisted on speaking to me in english (very bad english).

I was trying to practice my spanish, and she was apparently practicing her english. I tried to get away, but I was locked down. But she was nice, and interesting. But I didn´t get any practice time. But if I don´t say i´m from L.A., people just think i´m an idiot. A grown man who still doesn´t know how to speak.

She was talking to me so long that the ice in my drink melted. I´ve been sick ever since. Not bed-ridden sick, but let´s just say i´m sure not everything is ok. My guess is the ice melted, turned into water, and blended in to my drink, which I proceeded to drink. I inadvertently drank the water...not good. But i´m sure i´ll be fine, I took my Typhoid and Hep A shot before coming.

Lame James

Can´t wait for the finals to start. There is no Laker hysteria here, but I still watch. Out here it´s all about the Pumas, who just won the Mexican soccer league championship. My family here are all Pumas fans. They won the championship on Sunday.

Now it´s the Lakers turn. But we´re 0-2 against the Magic this year. I would have preferred to play the Cavs. But Lame James (no longer King James) couldn´t get it done in the East. Did anyone see or read his response after losing to the Magic. What a sore loser. He refused to congratulate the other team. His excuse: "I´m a winner, I hate to lose."

I´ve seen many winners, including Magic Johnson, Jordan, Kobe, Bird; go over and congratulate the other team after a loss. It´s called good sportmanship. Lebron is lame. In case he hasn´t noticed, he´s not a winner, he´s not won a game in the finals in his life.

I hope parents across the country use that as a lesson of what not to be. I´m glad he´s not in the Finals. That was just awful. But the best two players in the league will be in the Finals.

Kobe vs. Superman, I can´t wait. I say Lakers in 6; that way we win it at home!

That last part had nothing to do with Mexico, but watching the Lakers does ease the homesickness!

Mexico City, Mexico: Still in Mexico City, and loving it! My grandma left last Thursday, but I still very much feel like i´m with family. I´m staying with my tia Goyeez, and I think i´ll be staying here for the remainder of my stay in Mexico City. I have not eaten this well, I guess, ever. Every meal is like a feast. I over did it last weekend, and went to bed with a stomach ache Sunday night. Since then, i´ve been trying to take it easy.

My main objectives in Mexico City were to meet my grandma´s side of the family and improve my spanish. I think both are being accomplished. As an added bonus, i´m reaching a comfort level with salsa! I´ve been taking classes, and went out Friday night with my cousin. The girls here are nice about teaching a novice. One girl even said I was a "good" salsa dancer. She wouldn´t lie, would she?

Above is a picture of my grandma´s dad, my great grandfather. It´s a picture of a picture, he died long ago. I think I got his ears, as you can see below. Below is also my grandma´s oldest brother, Clemente. This picture was taking at a taco stand that he still runs. He´s in his 80´s. And his tacos are delicious. There´s at least three places in the city where I can go and eat for free. My family has food stations around the city. But I prefer to stay home and eat my tia Goyeez food. Can´t say enough about the food here.

Above is a picture of Mexico City, and one of the most famous streets here. If you look closely, you can see the Angel de la Independencia (Angel of Independence). It´s one of the most recognizable landmarks in Mexico City, built by Porfirio Diaz.

The little guy below is one of my little cousins. He live with my tia Goyeez, with his mom and dad, and two older brothers (also my cousins). There´s a total of 8 people in the house, besides me. As is common in Mexico, the whole family lives together. Sometimes, even after the kids are married and have kids. But everyone gets along fine, and there´s plenty of room for everyone. Mexicans are definitely more family oriented. Which has not come as a surprise to me. It´s nice to see.

I´ve finally figured out how to post pictures, quickly. My camera is 10 megapixels, which is too much for my needs, and too big to download on most websites. I didn´t know. But if I shrink them, they fit. So more pictures should be forthcoming.

Hope everyone is well back home. I do miss home. Homesickness comes and goes. Sunday may have been the worst, since i´m used to seeing my family and friends on that day. But, as they say, distance makes the heart grow fonder. (that is what they say, right?)

Love you all,

Michael

WEEK ONE: MEXICO CITY

Mexico City, Mexico: Week one is in the books. You wait and wait for a trip and once it´s here, it seems to fly by. It´s been a quick first week. Here´s a recap of my week.

Monday
Arrived...late. My cousin Moy and his family picked us up from the airport. Went to eat, then
to my tia Concha´s (my grandma´s sister) house. Overwhelmed by the amount of family I was introduced to the first night, and my spanish was horrible! Did a lot of smiling and nodding!

Tuesday
Woke up late, went to the park and exercised. Wasn´t quite used to the elevation. Mexico City is 1.4 miles above sea level. In comparison, Denver is one mile (hence the name, Mile High City). I remember huffing and puffing in Denver just going for a walk. It´s tougher here. I realized it quickly. Stayed at my tia Concha´s house.

Wednesday
Went to the park, again. Walked around the neighborhood. Nothing too exciting. Getting acclimated.

Thursday
Skipped the park today. Forgot what I did today.

Friday
Went to the Zocalo. Really cool place in the center of the city. Took the bus and subway there. Very calm, absolutely no problems.

Saturday
Went back to the Zocalo, this time with my cousins. Took a tour of Mexico City on one of those red double decker buses. Great idea! It took over five hours, but we saw the whole city. My favorite spot was Polanco (sp). It´s just like Rodeo Drive, with smug people and all. But very nice neighborhood.

Sunday
Went to church in the morning. Very old school church, women can´t wear pants, earrings, etc, etc. Went about town at night with my cousin Julio.

Monday
Took a salsa class at the local community center, called Casa de Cultura. A lady asked me where I was from. I said Los Angeles. She said she could tell by my accent and "ritmo". Apparently I didn´t have enough rythmn for her. I´m going back today, so hopefully I won´t disappoint her this time.

Tuesday
My cousin Julio took me to the castle at Chapultepec. Very nice view of the city. I have to post pics soon. I may have figured out how to do it, but it will take me forever. I may gain the motivation and do it soon.

My spanish is improving. I think within a month I should be ready to tackle Central America.

I´m off to salsa class. It´s fun, because they also teach you other dances. They even teach you how to dance Nortenas. It´s funny. But fun.

I´ve already been invited to a local party to try out my dance moves. We´ll see if I go, for the cultural experience, of course!

Hope all is well back home, and thank you to everyone who responded with regards to the orphanage in Guatemala.

The easiest way to donate would be through their website: http://www.casa-guatemala.org/donate.php

If you prefer, you can give the money to my brother, and he'll get it to me, and i´ll make sure it reaches the orphanage.



Miss you all,

Michael

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Mexico City, Mexico: I haven´t shared with everyone the details of my year long trip. Mostly because there aren´t many details to disclose; but also because the details that do exist, I´d rather keep to myself.

But I did receive an email today that really impacted me, and I think maybe some more insight into my trip may be in order, so that you may understand the context of my urgency.

One of the reasons for this trip was to not only visit orphanages, but to also begin networking and partnering with the various orphanages to develop a long term relationship and to hopefully create and maintain a sustainable and constant cash flow for the preservation of each children´s home.

To that end, I was going to visit Casa Guatemala, which was to serve as a model that I could learn from and carry with me to other orphanages across Latin America.

Casa Guatemala has a youth hostel, call Backpackers Hostel, that is run by the orphanage, and whose profits help maintain the orphanage. They also grow most of their own food, and maintain a farm. From my research, this was an ideal and great model to follow.

But as you´ll read, Casa Guatemala has been hit hard financially in the last few months. So this model is now on the brink of collapsing. I´ll let you read the rest:


May 2009
Dear Sponsors, volunteers and Friends
I hope this letter finds you in good health and spirits with your loved ones.
First of all I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support of our projects.
You have been so good to us and I know you are probably also being affected by this international economic crisis just like us. So please forgive me for sharing our problems with you, it is not our intention to burden you needlessly.
Our beloved Casa Guatemala is in dire straights and about to collapse! We have already closed the baby’s home in Guatemala City as we were unable to continue to support it.
As you know Casa Guatemala has two main sources to survive, donations from friends from all over the world, mainly from Canada and Spain , and the funds generated by the Hotel and production of the farm. However the donations have dropped a dramatic 60% and the Hotel has not been able to cover all its running cost so the bills have accumulated. At this point we find ourselves in a very difficult situation, which will surely takes us to a permanent close down!
I am searching for strategies, advice, and guidance from you our friends to help us through this terrible time. We need professional fund raisers to help us keep the Rio Dulce installations alive, I trust you can offer some input to help us.
Our present situation has forced us to close down our Florida Bank account since the minimum balance required by the bank is $25,000, and we are unable to maintain it. We have been unable to pay the employees from the baby’s home in city their severance pay, so we have to keep them on the payroll until such time we can release them; we are unable to pay for all our pending bills to continue working, we our drowning in bills and I don’t know what to do. Every week there is less money coming in, and less money generated by the hotel. I am burdened by this load of bills that continue to pile up.
The Backpackers hotel could be a good source of income, and here everybody can help. You can help us promoting the Backpackers Hotel in your university, church, club, set an stand in a shopping center to distribute brochures, put us in Internet calling young people to come and do humanitarian tourism, they can channel their funds and energy toward helping us to get through this crisis. www.hotelbackpackers.com
Ask them to come to Rio Dulce, a paradise in the jungle. Stay at the Backpackers Hotel where they will find a variety of programs for short or long stays which will help fund our many programs in helping so many children in need. Help while you vacation www.viajescasaguatemala.org
Could you please send any help you can, to get us out of this ditch we are in? I am open to any ideas, suggestions, funds, anything that can help up us continue our much needed work.
Please contact me for any ideas you might have, they are welcome. Thank you again and I look forward to your reply.
We are asking our friends to send their contributions to our Bank at the G & T Continental branch in Guatemala City , as we do not have the Florida account anymore.
www.casa-guatemala.org enter and find how to send your contribution, using Pay Pal, Google, Face Book or you also can send your check to Sara in the U.S. or John Nesbitt in Canada, Rachel and Pete in U.K
Send whatever, but send something and help us to keep THE CHILDREN VILLAGE open. No one wants to see those children back on the streets.
Angie

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

I´ll be staying at the Backpackers Hostel during my time in Rio Dulce, Guatemala, but I think more needs to be done. I know this isn´t everyone´s calling, and many of you support your own charity organizations, but i´m hoping that perhaps 50 of my family and friends could help me with an Andrew Jackson (20 bucks).

I know you´re not supposed to tell your left hand what your right hand is doing, but i'm going to take a grand from my travel funds and donate to Casa Guatemala, and I was hoping I could get you guys to help me with another grand, so we could donate two thousand dollars to keep their doors open.

It´s a drop in the bucket, I know, and if you´re like me, you´re thinking how is this really going to help feed all those kids, and for how long? Well, two fish and five loaves, that´s how. We don´t have to worry about that part, we just have to act. Me of little faith.

I can commit a grand, and if you´ll pledge, i´ll front the other monies. We´ll figure out the details later. Right now I just want to tell Angie that there are some folks back home that are willing to help. Of course, don´t feel obligated, but if you´d like to help, please let me know.

You can contact me through this blog site, or facebook; find me through my email address on facebook: rivera2006@lawnet.ucla.edu, but don´t email me, I rarely check it.

Thanks.

Love you guys,
Michael

http://scripturetext.com/matthew/14-16.htm