El immersion latinoamericano completo

So, my reality has changed a little bit. I moved from my safe, secure (and a little boring) life in Belgium, from the social structure I'm used to, to Chiapas. This of course was completely my own choice, nevertheless this geographical movement came as well with doubts, fears and insecurities. When I arrived here I entered the extremely safe and regulated environment of the children's home. And what I have felt is that it is SO safe and regulated it sometimes can feel a little bit like a prison. This does sound far more negative than I mean it though. What I am trying to say is that this environment is strictly regulated and very strictly secluded from the city we are actually living in, and it needs to be, to give the children some structure and a safe place where they can find some peace. But I on the other hand cannot imagine I will be telling people that I lived for almost a year in Tuxtla but I actually don't know anyone there except the sisters and the children. That does seem very odd to me. So I did what I do best, I started solving this puzzle. I don't want to compromise on my commitment to the children's home, but I do want a broader immersion in the latinoamerican culture. (When I speak of culture I am not talking about the dead culture in museums, I am talking about the living culture, I am talking about the people that are now living in my current geographic proximity.)

So I downloaded the Couchsurfing app and asked a bunch of random people from Tuxtla if they wanted to have a talk with me over a coffee or a beer. To my big surprise I got far more positive reactions than I expected. So... That is what I have been and will be doing in my free time, and it has been marvelous so far.

I met a lovely couple, Ana and Julio, over a coffee, they want to take me me on a free weekend to a waterfall where we can swim. 

I also met Angie over a coffee, she wanted me to come with her and her nieces Jacqueline, Karla and Danni to San Christobal. So I did, and I took Giovanni with me as well. It was a fantastic experience, we went to San Cristóbal and as well to San Juan Chamula. Because our bus had a blow out tyre at full speed on a highway (wtf!! Wow... :o luckily nobody got hurt) , Giovanni and I arrived over half an hour late in the children's home, but we had a good excuse. :) 

I first doubted if I should meet the local people and from time to time leave the very safe environment of the children's home. I was afraid they might not be who they said and maybe want to rob me or worse. But I'm so glad I did. Of course you should be careful and so I set some ground rules for myself to minimize any risks. I don't take to much money with me when we first meet, just enough to have a few drinks and/or a dinner and some coins for the bus. I ask for the first meeting to be in a very busy place like a busy square or a bar. I ask for the first meeting not to be out of Tuxtla and I don't want to meet for to long (max 2 hours) the first time we see each other (the time restriction also comes in handy if you are not liking the other person to much, which I luckily didn't encounter yet so far ;) ). I always make sure somebody I trust knows where I am going and at what time I plan to return. I take a fully charged phone with me.

We have made ourselves so afraid of other people and other cultures and everything that looks different than what we are used to. There were even some people in Belgium that told me they would not like it if their son or daughter would go live among 'them' in 'that kind of place' for almost a year as if I was going to some kind of hell hole (as POTUS DT describes our capital Brussels). But the truth is, they are also just human beings with the same basic needs and worries as we do, they are you, they are me. Don't think the same way about Tuxtla (and others in general) as POTUS thinks about the place you are living in. If you think POTUS is wrong and is overreacting, than consider you too might sometimes be judging the book by its cover (or even worse, without having seen the cover and only by hearing the title.) 

Knowing there stories makes mine a LOT more interesting and one worth telling. I'm going all in, I'm going for a full latinoamerican immersion.

Yours truly

B. Supertramp