Monday, August 20, 2012
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Yellow room in Oaxaca.

Me despierto con los ojos cerrados, vislumbrando cuidadosamente el color de mis párpados. El alumbrado del sol se esfuerza a cruzar esa telaraña de células, la cual supuestamente yo tejí…1…2…2…que viene después de 3? Ando durmiendo por eso no me acuerdo. Detrás de los párpados siento el calor del rojo vibrante, me quedo por algunos segundos escuchando el son del ardor. El amarillo que me rodea me hace muy feliz y vuelvo a comenzar mi día sin ningún recuerdo de la noche anterior. Sueño por eso no me acuerdo. Veo a las fotos que tome hace meses, pensando entonces que las miraría y crearía explicaciones del por qué las tome. Te vi ayer y te veo hoy. Luego me despierto. Así se manifiestan los cuentos de mi mente, mi subconciencia anda un poco embriagada con memorias del pasado y la conciencia se involucra con uno de esos pensamientos ubicuos del diario. Y me vuelvo a dormir.
So after long tedious quest to find the perfect apartment or studio, I came to the conclusion that I would eventually exhaust all my savings by renting a basic room and then buying all the things needed for my awesome pad. Yes, it was a rather difficult situation I found myself in, but I found a solution. My younger, cousin/nephew (don’t ask, it’s complicated to explain) decided that he would rent his room to me. I, of course agreed readily to this negotiation. So folks, I finally have a home and with people I can safely say I trust!
So what are some of the pros and cons of this? Well for starters, I’m about a 10-20 minute bus ride to el centro, depending on the traffic. Unfortunately, we don’t have paved roads in this colonia and it can get very dusty, which is really bad for my hair. I do however, have a really awesome 2nd floor neighbor aka my cousin/niece (again don’t ask) And we get along very well. We even decked out the whole floor as a chill place to hang with friends…once of course I get myself some of those.
I started giving English lessons to one of our neighbors. He struggles with pronunciation and he doesn’t really study, but he has semi-good memory. Above all though, I’m learning to be patient and each meeting teaches me something new. I must understand the barriers we encounter and find a resolution to overcome them. Who knew English classes would be difficult for the teacher as well.
I’m trying to start up various projects to keep me sane. I don’t go out much since the city is dangerous, but I don’t like spending my time indoors. I saw someone get mug the other day and today a bus driver got in a fight with a taxi driver. I was rooting for the bus driver.
Ora pues,
Super Chencha aka Jazmin fyi Kakimoto
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Oaxaca at last...

Desarrollándose como los sueños espeluznante que de vez en cuando he sufrido, paseo una y otra vez en los camiones rodeando por la cuidad. Al subir, es muy probable que me pierda ese día, las calles angostas me paralizan y son esos momentos cuando el mecanismo móvil de mucha gente, se dirige a entrelazar un baile rítmico con sus otros compañeros. Pero son las imágenes intensas, explotando los colores de los edificios y la gente, que me desatan a un mareo. Y aunque me esfuerce tanto para voltear mi cabeza hacia otro sitio, nunca logro girar la mirada de los vidrios opacos. Traicionada por mi obsesión de ver, me dejo caer en mi asiento y acepto la derrota como todas las otras veces. Respiro profundamente y me pierdo.
My days have thus far been filled with countless searches for apartments and if it isn’t asking too much I would prefer a nice garden in a complex. This would be more than enough to keep me sane betweeen the massive blocks of cement. I’m tired of all the dust and the uncleanness of this metropolis but I do find some comfort in the explosion of colors.
It´s not to say that I was never fond of La Cuidad de Oaxaca. I appreciate the diverse culture the city has to offer, but I only wish it were done on a smaller scale. Come to think of it I’m not much of a city person. I prefer small towns like Tlaxiaco or my parents’ village San Jose Zaragoza, where I can clearly see the trees and grass. I like to be surrounded with nature that is not too far from my grasp, but all I see around me are inanimate objects.
I will say that one of the few indulgences I receive from the city is the nightlife; I don’t even have to go into el centro to enjoy it. Standing on my cousin’s second floor porch provides more visual galore to my eyes than I can handle. The city lights sparkle for miles away and I lavish in all the excitement before I retire to the darkness of my room.
Among the natives, I am a onlooker, and I don’t exactly fit in with the tourists and their REI backpacking equipment. My Spanish passes me off as a regular Mexican, but my appearance gives it away that I’m not from the area. As if my struggle with all the other aspects of my identity wasn’t enough, I must now try to unravel and experience what I am in Oaxaca. Especially since I am a perceived differently in the city and in the village.
The first few days in Oaxaca have been exhausting and although I am homesick at times, this is for the best. I’m here and I will be staying for a while.
Ora pues,
Jazmin aka Super Chencha fyi La Kakimoto mnlop
Monday, April 19, 2010
Buenas Noches
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Mujer Mixteca

Hoy creí ser de leche y de miel,
de mi pecho no salía mas que gotas de soledad.
Mi cuerpo seco y despoblado,
a dónde se han ido las hijas del café?
Con tantos años de dolor,
aprende uno como derrotarlo;
mis pezones, mis rodillas ahora son impasibles,
muchos meses sin sentidos.
Y mañana te mostraré mi rostro,
por primera vez,
se haya destruido.
tuu'un sabi
nuu'un stylo
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Adios mi dios

I dream of it sometimes. El dios. The Occidental’s deity of purity. Occasionally I will recognize that all great powers are just a manifestation of it. One of my friends is atheist. I’m ethno-catholic. And yet he has what our society would call a good moral conduct. I am the ominous bird perched on the bare shoulder, infesting the mind to my liking. I am the believer but also the holder of power. This is what I tell him and he doesn’t understand. To believe is to be. My god is his god. I purposely impose my god onto him to demonstrate what the christian god means to me. It is an intruder into my meso-indigenous culture. El conquistador. I’m left with La Virgen de Guadalupe, la mestiza. To me, I have but one dios. And it is everywhere I am.