A block . . . ok . . . . oh . . . . bloqueo

A little Mexican history lesson for ya. In the 1960-80s the government in Mexico city made a decision that upset a lot of the people in the whole country. However, when they started protesting the police and military got involved, started shooting people and it was just a mess. So. A new law was made. The people of Mexico have the right to protest and block highways to get the attention of the government. They always get what they want from doing so. The advantages are really high.

In Oaxaca, they have taken the interpretation of this law a little farther. If you want to protest ANYTHING, you contact the police, tell them you are doing a protest on some major intersection then set it up at that appointed time. The nice thing is, the police post it on a website so you can see where the bloqueo is going to be. The police then show up and help them to turn over a bus or put semi trucks in the way of the street, sometimes they even help burn them up. Then they stand there and aid and abet the protesters. Once someone from the governors office arrives and tells them they have what they want, they clean everything up and go home.

There are usually several blockades a week. We are talking MAJOR intersections and all the side streets to get around it. It would be like blocking off a 10 mile radius on and around I-5 for several hours during rush hour. Crazy.

On Thursday, I drove the 15-passenger van load full of students in to school. It was a long day and I was looking forward to going home, eating something, cleaning the house, and getting some projects done. We all piled back in to the van and headed off back towards Mitla around 2:45. Thereis only 1 highway that connects us. We got on the that highway and soon I hear from the back, "Turn around, turn around there is a blockade!" A bunch of cars were lined up waiting, there were a few buses completely blocking the road and the cars behind me were flipping U-turns in to oncoming traffic. "Start calling parents and telling them what's up." E suggested we find a little dirt road that can get us around it. However, with all the rain and our car NOT being 4-wheel drive I wasn't sure that was a good idea. In addition, my cell phone had died and all of the cell phones with the movistar company were not working. Getting stuck on a dirt road out in the middle of nowhere, yeah, no good. So. Where do we go now? After talking, it was decided to go to the town of Tule which was close by. They have a tree that they predict is about 3,000 years old. It's HUGE! They say it takes 100 people to stand around the perimeter of the tree. Of course, we didn't have our cameras with us. :(

We arrived in Tule, saw the tree and were just deciding that we were hungry when up comes a car full of the moms. "What are you guys doing here?" I was grateful however because now they could make decisions and I didn't have to any more. :) They were on their way back from a ladies meeting and while dropping someone off in Tule saw our van parked on the street and went to go find us. We told them about the blockade and how we were killing time until it was over. We went to a local restaurant and got some memelitas, quesadillas, and limonada. It hit the spot. Then, E went outside and asked a taxi driver if he knew if the blockade was over, he said yes. YAY! So we all piled back in the van and headed for home once againThe information we received was not correct. The blockade was still very much there. However, the moms were with us. Because they were in a car with 4-wheel drive they decided to go on some dirt road then call us to tell us if we could make it or not. So, one of the moms stayed with us while the rest headed off to find an alternate route. So we sat and waited. Soon we got a call from their car. By then it was about 6pm. Yes. The dirt road is good. We were to go back to Tule and meet a dad who would lead us to the right road. Off we went. We found the dad and started following him. He would stop ever once in a while and ask people how the road is and if it was blocked. Sometimes they would say, "yes, it is blocked by a truck, you can't go here" and sometimes, "the road is great you can get through." We kept going.Driving along slushy, rutted out dirty, silty roads we finally found a little more traffic heading in the same direction we wanted to go. The dad told us to just follow these cars and we'll be fine. Ok. Thank you!

We ended up behind a little truck that was about a tall as a semi truck. It was extremely top heavy and with the grand canyon along one side of the road it almost flipped over many many times. We were all screaming for it from in the van. We wound around on this little road following this truck. Then it slowed down. We had come to a little river. Oh dear. On the other side was a VERY steep bank of sheer mud. Well. If he can make it across, I can make it across right? There were two little boys on the side of the stream and they were piling up rocks in the river to help the cars get passed. The truck went and made it, barely. Ok. Here goes. I got some speed and zipped up as best I could. Yay!! We made it. No getting stuck. Praise the Lord. Then just a few more turns and we were on the other side of the blockade back on the highway. It was now 7:15 and getting dark. We finally got home at 8. Then E, and J came over because the junior/senior class needed to bake cookies to sell for a fundraiser the next day. Because it was late and their families have small children, they came over to my house to bake the cookies. I told them to. :) However, our oven hasn't been able to light so we were cooking them 6 at a time in our little toaster oven. I was in bed by 1:30 with the alarm set for 5:45 so we could head back to school less then 12 hours after we got home.

The alarm went off early. Earlier than I expected. I rolled out of bed and decided I didn't feel like taking a shower. Ate a banana and we were off. Everyone piled in the car and I had a fleeting thought, what if the blockade is still there? Then what? We were driving along when we came upon, yes, the blockade. This time in a larger stretch so that little dirt road we followed was blocked as well. Bummer. So we called parents and the school. Everyone decided that we shouldn't try and risk anything but just head back home. Teachers e-mailed me assignments for each grade for the day. After sleeping for an hour at home all 15 of them came over for school at our house. It was great. I would say, "ok, now is science block, 7/8 here are your assignments, 9/10 here are yours, 11/12 here are yours, oh wait, um, physics assignment didn't come um, go do bible for right now." They would then all spread out throughout the house and work on what they needed to, then come back to me for more assignments. I wish school could be like that more often :).

After everything was mostly done, we headed to the ruins for lunch. Good torta sandwiches up there. Then back to our house to finish up things. I ended up having an AWESOME discussion with the 11/12 grade bible class which was just 2 of them. We sat and talked theology and philosophy for a good long time. Then, we had a parent meeting to discuss what happened at the blockade and what protocols we can set up for the next time. After that, we started our first training run for the turkey trot on Thanksgiving morning. Dinner at the Q's house. Then scorch and U-571.

R was taking a shower in the bathroom in my room and I was dead asleep before she was done. Got to sleep in until 10 this morning. It felt amazing.

Today I drove into the city just R and I. We didn't get lost or have any problems. I think I am getting the hang of this stuff. We stocked up on stuff at Soriana intown and bought ice cream, which is a luxury item here but after the last few days, we deserve it. :)