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10/1/1997 - A Mexican Baptism by Chenoa Egawa

AMexican Baptism MEXICO CITY Mexico OCTOBER Mr PeterBirdMartin Institute ofCurrentWorldAffairs 4WestWheelockStreet Hanover NH03755 DearPeter arrivedinMexicoCitywithoutasingle obstacle Therewasroomonmy flightstocheckextrabaggage andmyratherlarge denselypackedcarry intheoverhead Atairportcustoms Iwalkeduptotheborongrande pressed receivedthegreen lightandpassedintothemassesofpeoplewaitingjustoutside gates without anyone takingeven single glance atmyluggage The apart mentarrangement hadmadebefore leftSeattle formybriefstayinMexico City provedtobeanexcellentchoice Infact Idonotthink couldhaveasked foranythingbetter Once settle apartment called friends hadmetin El Distrito Federal El D F aprevious visit Theywerehappythat hadfinallyarrivedandofferedmeanotherplacetostayif hadanyproblems withmycurrentarrangement Theyalso invitedmetoattend aNativeAmerican Church meeting ceremony place little called Yoricostio state ofMichoacan hours northwest ofMexico City Since hadjustarrivedinMexico toldthem wouldhavetothinkitoverand getbacktothem Ofcourse decidedthatitwouldbeagoodwaytobeginmy journey nexttwoyearsand agreed gowiththem following We Luis Pati Pati Patis I originally wanted early start soweplannedtoleavethe ataboutnoonthatFriday whichwould putusinYoricostiobetween5 intime togointothe nightceremony Itwasnot until5 thatwefinallyheadedout Luis agingDodgeDart stationwagonhehadnamedLa Gumis GummiBear seemed reliableenough sowewereonourway supposewehadbeenontheroadfor twoto threehourswhenthe engineoverheated Luckily inMexicothereare little autoserviceshopsalongthehighwaysandinthesmallestoftowns Itwasalready startingto andthe rainhadbeenconstant sinceweleft makingitseem evenlater Iwasneversureabouttheactualtime hadalittle oldwind uppocket watchmydadhadgi venmebefore leftSeattle buteveryfewhoursitwouldlose halfofan Westopped forhelp inthenext littletown Mostofthebusinesses therewere already closed butinMexicoyoucanusually findwhoeverit thatworksthere during business hoursby asking around Once found person usually comebacktoworkto evenifhe shehad alreadygonehome night Lasdos Patisand Isatinthe whileLuisandthemechanicworkedon engine Wewaited forabouttwohours Patienceneverhasbeenoneofmystrongpoints thoughIhavebeenworking My Chenoa Egawa enrolled memberoftheLummiIndian Nation ThusbeganMs Egawa application ICWA fellowship study barriers stand between Native MesoAmericans international markets their lumber coffee crafts produce Born northwestern Washington State attended University Puget Sound received B A International Business Spanish University ofWashington My involvement Lummi community minimalinmyearlyyears Chenoasays Ithasbeen recent years become involved Native American traditionalism spiritualism One strongest influences great grandmother whowas in1886andlivedtobe96 yearsold Shehad integrity dignity strengthandhonesty Shewasaveryspiritualpersonwhovalued allaspects offamilyand heritage yetshe knewhowto survive adapt changes place changes often brought great hardship family would proud reflected intention toward improvement Native communities North South America through trade economic development In years prior fellowship Chenoa worked American Indian Trade Development Council Pacific Northwest attempt establish trade links between Native American producers Asian consumers particularl Japanese value fresh seafood British Columbia Washington State At organized marketing seminars Latin American Indians attended international conferences meetings concerning human rights violations Aperson bright spirits determination Chenoa continue multifaceted years southern Mexico Central America Institute Fellow CE onitovertheyearsandhaveactuallygottenmuchbetter Thetwo hourdelaywasnosweat really Soonenough wewerebackonthehighway Themoonwas butexcept foranoccasionalglimpse thecloudsobscured itslight Whenwewereinbetweentowns itwaspitch blackastherewerenolightsalongtheroad Moretime passed The seatsinLaGumiswerereally andmy spine compressing sinking itself There enough shift positions I didnotwearmyseatbelt Itwasatoss becausethe roadscanbedangeroustotravelatnight Iwantedto wearmybelt Onthe erhand these seatbeltswerethe getting tighter tighter would toputmycoat inbetweenthe beltandmystomach order cutting Once tight wasprettymuchstuckinthatposition It havebeen anothertwo three hours before La Gumis overheated again Like before avail closed butwe found someonewho waswilling Hewasvery gracious butunable fixthe problem Wethankedhim hiskindness added waterto radiator andcontinued Atthat point aboutanhourfrom destination ItwasmidnightwhenwereachedYoricostio The rections thatwehadbeengivenweremeageratbest We weretoldtolookforthehousemadeofwoodonthe continuepast itforapproximately800meterswherewe would From there wouldsimply follow theroadupthe iswherewewouldfind theceremony thathour alreadyin progress Wemusthave driven foranothertwo hours around Yoricosti There housesmadeofwood therewere several roads noneofwhichwere 800meters awooden house Luiswasgetting really tired asweallwere suggestedthatwesleepinthe inanuprightposition inthemiddle ofthetown Heremindedusthatpeoplein countryside getup early towork could sleep untildawn atwhichtime therewouldbe plenty offolks around better directions The never ceased andmybackwasstillhurtingfromthesoftseats wanted putmysleepingbag roadbeside carandsleep lyingdown everynowandthenthe villagedogswouldcomerunninguptothe barking andgrowling iftheyhadjust discoveredourpresence didnotwanttogetattackedinmysleep endured aching inmyneckand spine All while ersofpatienceweresloughingaway begantofeel restless irritable I drifted sleep ingfordaylighttoapproach sothat couldgetoutofthe At Luis Patis directions Theycamebackto carwithamanbythenameof DonFile Hetoldusthathehadhelpedbringothersup sitethedaybefore andhewouldbehappytoshow uswheretheywere Wepulledthecararoundandwaited behind house Momentslaterhecamebarreling outon light quoise colored tractor looked giant antique Heturnedontothemainroad cruisingalong slowly theenginerumblingloudly Some800metersfromtown heturnedleft offthemainhighway andonto dirtroad Wefollowedhimforaboutfourorfivekilometers before wefinallycameuponthe Therewasateepeethere Icouldnotbelieve Ateepeeoutinthemiddleofthe hillsofYoricostio Mexico Asitturned anelderfrom SouthDakotahadcomedownto helpruntheceremony WethankedDonFile forguidingusto gathered ourthingsandwentoverto teepee Theparticipants point ceremonywhena prayer forthemorningwater Inotherwords theceremonywas comingtoaclose Wehadmissed Therewasalittle makeshift outdoor itchen headedoverinsearch ofhot coffee tried place lyingdownontheground under wanting desperately awhile I could fortableanywhere Thefourofus decided godownto river It cloudy still raining periodically least itwasnottoocold Yoricos isabeautifularea There rolling hills farasyou forests orchards avocados peaches habanero chilis Apparently rains unusualfor thistime ofyear butitkept freshand hillsides lushand green Thiswasa greatly appreci atedcontrasttothethickheavysmogofMexicoCity We rejuvenating crystal clear water andthen relaxednearthe riverandamongthe chards formostofthe Wereturned thecampsitein lateafternoon We hadnoteaten sinceourdeparturefromMexico City wentbacktotheoutdoorkitcheninsearchofsomething Everyone already there nothingleft hadhadaboutenoughoftheplacebythen The South Dakota preparing sweat lodge andoneofthePatisreallywantedto stayfor UsuallyIwouldfeelthesame lovegoingtosweatsback buthere inYoricostio Ihada strongurge tohead backto Mexico City preferablybefore nightfall Myface musthavegottenlongerandlongeratthethoughtofhav ingto stayanothernight andPati finallygavein stating thatwecouldleaveunderonecondition thatIwouldnot maintain thelookofutterdismayonmyface Wepiledbackin La Gumis atabout5 Therain hadstartedupagain andIwasfeeling totallyexhausted ItwasonlymythirddayinMexico after Wedecided thatwe would Los Azufres sulfur springs thatwereanhourortwodownthe setupcamp night soakinthe springs sleep lyingdown The mudroad getting wetter wetter butwe through treacherouspart Iwasfeel confident thatwewouldbe homefree ifwecouldjustgetbe yondtheworst strip ofroad Just weallheardawhistle Luis stopped andwelookedto whoitwas buttherewasnoone sight Wewaitedforamoment surethattherewasnotany onetryingto catchupto andthenwecontinueddown Later ourjourneywe figured whistle musthavecomefromthe forest anditwastryingto thatwe going leaving Aswe turned right around Gustavo thefriendofLuisand lasPatiswhohadinvitedthemto theceremonyinthe firstplace Wepulledovertogreet andwevisited awhile Luis offered runback campsite avancomedownand Gustavo family apparently werewaiting thebottom ofthe Meanwhile therainswerebuildingup force sowedecidedtocon tinueour visitunderthe coverofthe Halfanhourlater thewhitevanappearedto retrieve Gustavo family We goodbyesandwishedhimwell Atthatmoment Patis realized forgotten theircoatsbackatcamp Iwasthinking My God wearenev ergoingtogetoutofhere Now itwasjustLuisand sittingandwaitinginthe again I think something It fairlylongwalkbacktocamp Isawa light flash Luis Oh I thought Luiswhippedthe cararound andheadedback upthe Itwasreallyrainingnow Wewent flyingthroughthegooeymudandcaughtupto white which heavily burdened passengers Luis havebeen feeling confident The split You could right point becausetheroad circledback aroundtothesamepoint Mostpeoplehowever Institute CurrentWorld Affairs hadusedtheroadto Aswewouldsoondiscover theroad totherightwasmuchsloppier Luismanagedto maneuverthroughtheooze allthewhile themuddy pulled sending spinningand fishtail along Finallywearrivedbackat thecamp andLuis jumpedoutofthe carandran offto thetwoPatis He reallyseemed enjoying ofthe exercise opportu nities I waited returned moments later coatsin Inmymind Iwasthinking Okay thisis Nowlet sgetthehellouttahere Icouldalready itinmygut Somethingwaswait ingtosabotageusagain itwasclose Iwasbecom ingmoreandmorepessimistic allthewhileknowing thatthatattitudewasnotgoingtohelpme couldnot resist though It already taken Hadit onekilometer ortwo Wehadalmostmadeittothestart ofthe whenthemuddyroadreached grabbed La Gumis anddrewitdowninto thegoo giant Oh disbelief No disbelief because knewthiswasgoingtohappen Itis anawfulfeelingto disaster comingahead oftime yetwalk orinthiscase driverightinto We sankuptoouranklesinthe slimy redearth Itwasthe consistency ofclayona potter wheel whenthe potterdoesnot doing addswaytoomuchwater ingthe heavy slime Thesefriendsofminearefunny thinkatleastoneof themputherhandunderher looked atthe atthemu thenatthewoods Theywerethoughtfuland patient studyingthe entire scenario You could seethem thinking almost withjoy howthey might overcome challenge wasjust looking atthemwithamazement Iwasgettingsouptight stilldidnotwantto sayanything Theyweremyfriends didnotknowthemwellenoughtoexposemyreal feelingsregardingthesituationwewere Thewhole undercarriagewasstuckinthemuck Accordingto Luis weneededtojackthewholeright sideofthe carupto belly stack asmuchwood possible underneaththe fires andthenwecouldtryto getout Las dosPatisand Iwentoffto collectwetwood Drywood wouldhavebeenbetter therewasnone Weworked foratleasttwohours theirattitudesnever faltering In theywereactuallychipper Ihadtoask Howcan youguysmaintainsuchagoodattitudeaboutthis This questiongaveLuisanopportunitytoimpart tomean importantlessonabout Wecannotrunawayfrom theseproblemsthat arise Chenoa Weconfrontthem solvethemandgo Welookat ituationas Itisworkandwemustworkinthis Thereisno waytorunawayfrom thisproblem becausewehave goonliving Wealsoneedto sticktogether tohelpone another Youcanrunoffifyouwant butthatwillnot CE resolve anything Grasshopper KungFu knowlifehasimportantlessonstoteach wasnotinthemoodtolearnanymorethatday could notrun offandleave thisproblembehind either Where goingtogo Yoricostio Backtocamp Therewas nowheretogo wastotallydependentonmyfriends andthatcar Wehadtoget itoutofthemud Themomentfinallyarrivedto testourwork Luisgot started engine stepped gradually thegaspedal The tiresspunonthewetwood creating billowingcloudsofwhitesmoke knewitwouldhelpto rockthe carbackandforthfrombehindto getsomemo mentumgoing Ihadbeenhopingthat itwouldnot The I thought itwouldbehardtogetagoodenoughfoothold toactuallypushthecaratall Comeon Pati We needtopush Werockedthe backandforth mudfly tiressmoking lookedupatPati andherfacewas coveredwith giantglobs ofmud Weboth startedlaugh hysterically could starting dislodge andwe finalpush allwehad Itworked Wewere admit great triumph thought myself thankGodwe The picking starting This would havebeen muchworse night It ifthemerementionofdoingthisworkinthe darkcreatedthenext situation Wedrove onlyabout200 meters before getting sucked again When Ohno thistime wasmuchmoreforlorn waslosingit keptthinking whydon twejustgoget Whydohave thisalone Luis Well llhavetogogetthewoodweusedbackthere sponded It there Pati cheerful No Although terrible optimism killing turned Pati asked Whydoyou think happening She chuckled Because learn tience It I mgoingtocamptogethelp stompingoff upthemuddyroad slippingandslidinginthedark I flashlight started pretty Better around I thought I angrily started yankinggiantbranchesandtreestumpsofftheroadside andoutofthebrush Igotbacktothecardraggingmy contribution effort behind At least expression The gotten worse Defeat circling knockme Luisdecidedthatthenextthing neededwas thatwe could shovel themud outoftheway Oh sbrilliant Ithoughtsarcastically volunteeredtogogetthehoe however Iwasnotgoing tohangaroundthe andrepeatthe lastbit ofworkwe haddone I stillwantedto letthemknowIintended It around corner Chenoa There housethere andyoucanaskthemifwecanborrowtheir One Patis I think ofgrowlingbythen Ihada flashlightthistime utitwas practicallyineffectiveintheshroudofdarknessthathung inthe The housewas notjust around corner butwhen wefinallygot there themandidhaveahoe Wegotback tothecarandbeganshoveling Givemethehoe llshovel forawhile Themudwasso heavy Theimageofshovelingmuckinapigpen crossed mymind Itwasimpossible knewit butforawhile Ishoveledlikeamadwomananyway putting allofmy frustrationintothetask wasfeelingdesperate exposed andhelpless wantedtogiveup butifIdid wewould haveto stayoutthere night inthe thedarkin andworst wewouldstillhaveto dealwith morning Everyone pitched itwasnouse WeneededDonFile stractor pullusout Ithink itwasabout8 Wehadbeenfightingthe mudandrainconditions forthree hours Patiheldup laughing Chenoa Mexican baptism Very funny thought Again Ivolunteeredtogoget It better going somewhere doing something other iting around The other Pati My shoes jeans soaked Mypermeable imperme raincoat Luisgave mehis rainponcho whichhelped Wereturned lesshoeonthewaytotown walkedahead withPati trailingbehindmebyabout20meters wasdistraught andmyenergywaswaning Asidefromthehunger thirsty Howironic Ithought inundatedin water andIamjustparched All Icould seewasthesmall circleoflightcastbymyMiniMaglite Iwaswalking throughtotalblackness andforthe firsttimeitoccurred tomethatmaybe shouldbescared There waswalk ingthrough hills strange place another inthedarkinthepouringrain insearch ofhelpfrom someone didnotknow Anotherwaveoffrustration washedoverme screamedasloudasIcouldinto theblackness Wearrived atthehighwaymaybeanhourlater There wasahouse acrosstheroad sowewentoverto anyonetherecouldhelp Amanandhisthree children cametothe No didnothavea tractor andno wasnotabletogiveusaridetotown mention edtothe manthatthehighwaywasdangeroustowalkonat night avail Pati Gracias Senol amable Amablemeanskind guessyoudonothavetobehelp fultobekind Ithought Weheadedtowardstownalong thehighway IsharedmyfeelingsofdistresswithPati She toldme Wewere alive healthy andforthatweshouldbegrateful criedquietlyaswe walkedon Allofasuddentherewerevoicesrightbehind andwebothjumpedin turningaroundto there It little housewehadjuststopped Their fatherhadsentthem towalkwithustotown toshowuswhereDonFile lived Those littleboys Rafaand Luis mademehappyfor firsttimethatday Their littlespiritswerejustprecious andtheygavemethehopeandenergy Ineededtokeep going Everytimea truckor carwouldcomeflyingdown thehighway Iwouldjump offtheroadintothebushes draggingRafaandLuiswithme realizedhowever theywerenot afraid ofthe traffic Iwas So together weheadedtowardsYoricostio andeverynowandthen littl eboyswould letusknowhowmuchfurtherwe Aswe approached glowing cross chapel appeared ofthe darklike abeacon Weknockedonthe littlewoodendoorofDon File house His daughters grand daughtercametothe Atfirst Seorawasverysus piciousandguarded Itwasfunny becausethebaby wasnot looked oververy suspi ciously She serious Of course itwasprobablybecause wewere standing there soaking withmudup knees wearing giant hooded ponchos Weexplained predicament thatwewere lookingforDonFiletosee couldhelpuswithhis tractor La Seora saidhewasnothome shewould lookforhim She invited usinandof fered returning moments later husband Onceagainweexplained ourselves Heremem bered usfrom thatmorningand saidhewouldhelp tractorhadno lightsandhe nothave cable totowthe Itwas9 Patiand followedDonFilethrough townin search ofcable Themainstorewasclosed shopkeeper house DonFile knocked knocked think whole household already asleep Finally children answered buttheyhadnocableto sellus Bythatpoint already created spectacle neighborladyandherchildrencameout seewhatwas goingon Justthen anearthquakeshookus Itwasshort butitwasdefinitelyaquake Theneighborlady sdaugh running house crying The whole experienceseemed quite surreal Don File Pati I house waitwhereitwaswarm andhewouldletusknowwhen found cable Back place Seora daughtersinvitedusinagain Itfeltsogoodtositdown Aswe satandvisitedwith laSeora herdaugh granddaughterbegan towarm They coffee offered InstituteofCurrentWorld Affairs asteaming hotmugofsweetenedNescafe Itwasso delicious Afterthecoffee Sefioraheatedupsome beans tortillas By point I heaven Their hospitality meant especiallyafterwhatwehadbeenthrough Iex pressedmyappreciation themagainandagain First little family To wonderfulpeopleatanytimeinyourlife whenyou desperate situation andyoucomeacrossgenuineandkindpeople isablessing Beingwiththesepeoplemadeitimpossible formetohangontomyfeelings despair Overthenexthour DonFilehadroundedupseveral young rescue mission Pati I stayedwith laSeoraandherchildren Anotherhouror twowentby beforeweheard tractorpullupin front ofthehouse Weallranoutto iftheyhadbeensuc cessfulintowingthecar Theyhadbeen In accord Luis other Pati DonFile helpers hadnoproblems allpulling La Gumis ofthemud WeallthankedDonFile SefioT theirchildrenandthe youngmen Weofferedtopaythem fortheirk indness andtheirhelp buttheyinsisted thatwasnot neces Patiexplainedtothemthat itwastheonlywaywe hadat thatmomenttoshowourgratitudeandapprecia andsothentheyacceptedouroffering Wewereonthehighwayheadinghome ataround midnight ItisfunnyhowquicklyIthoughtofmyroom backatthewarm drypartmentinthebigcityashome BeforeIdriftedoff thoughtaboutthehardshipsofthe weekendandhowupsetanddiscouragedIhadbeen The calmpersistence ofmyfriendsandthebeautyofthe peoplewehadmet Yoricostiohad restoredmyhopes intheend Onceagain Iwasfeelinglucky Wehadnever beenin realdanger Iwassafe healthyand perhaps stepupontheladdertowardspatienceandunderstand Itwas stilltooearlytoseethehumorinthisexperi I would eventually story I couldlaugh aboutandappreciate Sincerely CE Institute ofCurrentWorld Affairs FOURWESTWHEELOCKSTREET HANOVER NEWHAMPSHIRE 03755 ADDRESSCORRECTION REQUESTED Chosen basis character previous experience promise Insti Fellows young professionals funded spend minimumoftwoyearscarryingoutself designedprogramsofstudyandwritingoutsidetheUnited States TheFellowsarerequired report their findings experiences field oncea month Theycan write subject formally informallyas The result isauniqueform ofreporting analysisand periodicassessmentofinternationaleventsand issues Author Egawa Chenoa Title ICWA Letters The Americas ISSN Imprint InstituteofCurrentWorldAffairs Hanover NH Material Type Serial Language English Frequency Monthly Other Regions Sub Saharan Africa South Asia Mideast North Africa Europe Russia East Asia