Journey To South America

[The Not Cool Not Tapion]

So my brother has gone to South America and I decided that I will let you all read his emails to see what he's been up to. I will update it every time I get an email from him...I have two right now so here. Oh yeah, his name is Justin.
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Subject: the first days of the trip
Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2005 16:37:37 -0500

hey all,
<i hope everything is going well back in the states. our trip is
off to
a great start. we have had some crazy experiences i can`t wait to tell
about. mexico is awesome, the people we`ve met have been nothing but
friendly. i can`t wait to get further down into central and south
america.
i`ll try to send pictures soon of the people that we hitch hiked with
and of
mexico. i`ll try to email again soon. take care everyone.
later,
justin


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Subject: as we move south
Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2005 11:55:58 -0500

Hey all,
greg and i have left hidalgo which is in the state of nuevo leon mexico
and
took about 30 hours of bus rides through mexico city all the way to san
cristobal de las casas, in chiapas mexico, the very southern tip that
borders guatemala. the city here is beautiful. it?s very old with
traditional buildings that date back hundreds of years, with
cobblestone
streets that are very narrow. many people here are of mayan decent and
wear
traditional clothes, such as sheep?s wool and have very colorful
dresses and
shirts. there are many people who are out just walking around and
sitting
outside. we?re at about 7000 feet elevation and the weather is
perfect, no
humidity and mid 70?s. people are friendly and there are many tourists
here. the streets are very clean, unlike most of the cities we?ve seen
so
far, and there are palm trees and beautiful flowers everywhere. tons
of
shops line the streets and offer everything from internet to herbs and
tarot
readings, to books, bikes, flowers. pretty much anything we want.
there
are many people who walk around trying to sell colorful handmade belts,
bracelets, necklaces, purses, etc. there are shoe shiners in the parks
and
kids walking around selling candy and cigarettes. it?s obviously
tailored
to the tourists but there?s still something about it that make the
atmosphere feel very special. it?s a relaxed atmosphere as well. the
food
is amazing and cheap. we had breakfast, a la mexicana, that consisted
of
toast, tea, orange juice, tortillas, beans, cheese, cream, and green
salsa
for 4 dollars. the best part is that all of that is locally grown and
organic, so it tasted that much better. we?re staying at a youth
hostel for
3 dollars a night with hot showers and other amenities right in the
middle
of the city. there?s a lot to see here as well as neaer by we can
visit
towns where the people are even more traditional and go back
generations in
regards to clothes, food, and farming. i?m excited to check these
towns
out. we got into this city last night around midnight and walked about
a
mile to get to our youth hostel. there was no feeling of fear at all
because it was well lit and there were tons of people out walking
around,
going to bars, clubs, or just sitting in the park visiting. it seems
to be
a pretty diverse city as well. there are many young people with
dreadlocks,
long hair and other styles. more diverse than we?ve experienced yet.
it?s time to go back out there and experience more. the key now is to
get
my spanish down so i can interact more and learn more about the
culture,
wish me luck.
take care
justin

ps. liebe wolfgang, mir geht?s ganz gut und ich bin gesundt. wir haben
spass und lernen viel. ich kann an meike und andrea in englisch
schreiben
und sie koennen es ubersetzen. ich bin in san cristobal de las casas,
in
chiapas mexico. ganz im suden. ich denke, dass wir nach guatemalan
fahren
werden. bis dann.


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That's all for now, the ending on the last one is most likely German and he is also emailing like 20 other people and some of them are German from when he was in Germany. Comments would be cool.

[The Not Cool Not Tapion]

Olibu, you are retarded, my brother spelt pretty much everything correctly. His capitalization is what needs work. Learn grammar. >\

[The Not Cool Not Tapion]

New email:


Subject: After 4 days in san cristobal de las casas
Date: Tue, 03 May 2005 17:39:05 -0500

hey all,
wow, these last few days have been absolutely amazing. i wanted to
say
i've been busy, but it's actually been really relaxing. we done a lot
though. so the atmosphere is incredible. greg and i and some other
travellers we met at out youth hostel went to a town nearby that was
mostly
indigenous people. we saw the market where they have tons of fresh
food and
drinks and crafts everywhere. the main atraction in that town is the
church
because it's a catholic church where the indigenous people mix their
traditional religions with catholisism and they drink coca cola because
they
believe it wards off evil spirits. they also practice chicken
sacrifices in
the church itself, which people can witness if you're there at the
right
time. i didn't see the sacrifice but i did go in the church, it was
quite
interesting with thousands of candles that were on the floor all
glowing
brightly with stain glass windows and paintings. there were people on
the
floor praying and there was music in the background, it was actually
christmas music without the words. i felt somewhat voyeuristic in that
i
was crossing the line between learning and experiencing others ways of
life
without regard to their own privacy and almost showing a lack of
respect
that sometimes comes out in our body language and facial expressions.
anyway, back in san cristobal at our youth hostel there are many
travelers
from europe and the states we have been hanging out with them and
cooking
dinner, sitting around a camp fire that we have at the hostel and the
other
night we went to a club until 2 am. the diversity of people is amazing
as
well as the stories they share. i met a man from Wales who grew up as
a
gypsy and he had an amazing point of view on things, since his family
grew
up traveling around and working for farmers all over great britain.
the
mentality of the gypsies is so desirable for me because of the freeness
and
independence in living sustainable and minimaly as well as learning and
sharing with others from around the world. it's a sense of freedom.
anyway, an amazing person. another man we met is from india and greg
and i
hung out with him talking about social acitivism and social movements
around
the world and why they happen and are even necessary. we then met with
a
professor of the Zapatistas and other indigenous people of mexico and
learned about how the government affects this group as well as the
local
farmers and even those who are farmers. these last few days have been
what
i was hoping for in that we have met many individuals from all over who
have
so much to give and are full of knowledge.
something else that i enjoy are the markets which are all over the
streets
selling everything from fresh food to hand made crafts and clothes.
it 's
unbelievable to see the quality of the products that are hand made in
such a
short amount of time. it 's interesting how this works. a lot of the
clothes
that are made here locally are authentic of this culture or region,
however,
many locals don't buy the clothes that are locally made because many
people,
not all by any means, prefer to buy many of the clothes we wear in the
states because it's more of a status symbol, this info came a from a
local
who is probably 60 years old. anyway, it's unfortunate because the
money
could be staying here in the towns instead of going back to the states,
so
with that said i bought a shirt down here that i love and it's helping
the
local crafts people. greg and i will be leaving probably tomorrow and
head
to guatamala for a couple of weeks. we will probably end up going to a
language school which is one on one spanish instruction for 4 hours a
day
for a week and stay with a family for that week as well, so we will be
split
up, but relatively close still. i think it's time to move south
because the
rainy season is coming and i don't want to get stuck in it.
that's all for now, take care and have fun.
later,
justin