First Annual Events in Merida

This blog will be a combination of various experiences.

First Annual Women´s Run/Walk

Paseo de Montejo is a beautiful, tree lined wide street in Merida. There are old mansions on either side of the one mile long avenue. Many have been converted into offices, some are in disrepair but the street is a pleasant one to stroll.

On Sunday, Nov 11, the first race for women was held there. A two mile walk and a four mile run. There were prizes for the top three women in each of the four categories in the race. The prized decreased according to age.

About four thousand women showed up. Start time was scheduled for 8am , then postponed until 9am. The actual time started was about 9:25. We had to wait for the governor to arrive.

Each of us received a tee shirt and a ball cap. The women in the IWC also got a blue scarf from the president of the club. Some of the traditionally dressed women wore their tee shirts over their beautiful white dresses with the flowered bibs and hems (¨hipiles¨).

Prizes at the end based on a drawing. I left after the good ones were gone. I heard Debbie Kuhn called, then she was identified as ¨Una Extanjera¨. ( A foreigner – it sounded strange to me.)

The next day, the newspaper published an article about the race. It described what the governor wore, how long she took to finish, how many phone calls she received , and who was with her.

There were pictures of the governor and of ONE winner in the race. There was no other information about how many women were there who the other elven winners were and what their times were. A very strange article compared to what I am used to.

Christmas Trees

Walmart has Douglas firs for sale for $60 US. The odor brought back such strong memories of Christmas in Philadelphia.

The supermarket near my house has had its tree up since the day I arrived (October 17) but does not have any live trees for sale.

Women´s Conference

A women´s center here sponsors a 5 week course on Interfamily Violence. I attended the first last Tuesday. There were about 25 women and the moderator. Each of us introduced herself and then the moderator spoke of causes and reasons for DV. Afterwards, each person spoke as she wanted.

The stories, experiences and problems are the same all over the world. The conference was scheduled from 4pm to 5:30pm. About 5:25, one woman spoke for the first time (after the introductions). She spoke of her life and problems for 40 minutes! And no one left or said anything. I was so impressed with the courtesy shown to the young woman. After she finished, the moderator said we´d continue the discussion next week. What kindness all showed that young woman!

A date? NO WAY!

The English Library sponsors a conversation exchange each Monday. Half in English and half in Spanish is the plan. Last Monday, I was in a group with eight Mexicans and me. About 8pm, another Mexican man joined us and introduced himself. We live in nearby areas and after five minutes I decided to leave because of the mosquitoes. Then he told me he´d visit me sometime if I gave him my address. Not a question – a statement. How aggressive and presumptuous, I thought, I told him I was busy and we might see each other again sometime at the library. What nerve!

Health Fair

The first annual health fair was the usual – eye checks, nutrition, etc. The second floor was for health products for your pets. A bit unusual, but fine.

I had my blood pressure checked and she told me it was normal. 98/64. Usually health talk is boring to me but the fact that the numbers are so different interested me. I tried to find out how to convert them on Google but had no success. Just have to accept that the numbers are normal. She told me I could go to a doctor to learn how thye relate to US numbers but I´m not interested enough.

(NEXT DAY UPDATE: I learned that the numbers are on the same scale. Blood pressure here may be lower becaue of the relaxed life style and the heat. I promise:¨No more health talk.¨)