June 27, 2021 Addendum

Today, we took the 2½ hours long bus ride from Mérida to Campeche. For not quite the whole time, they played an American, Spike Lee movie called Blackkklansman. I knew of the movie and it was on my list of movies I wanted to watch, but aside from knowing that it was a Spike Lee movie and probably dealt with racism, I really didn't know much about the movie or its story at all.

The timing of this movie was interesting as it came immediately after a week of my faith's General Assembly, which focused on anti-racism, multiculturalism and anti-oppression.

I decided while watching the movie that I wanted to watch it in English one day soon. I didn't feel like I had the bandwidth for Spike Lee in a second language. (Instead, I read my biography of Warren Zevon, which isn't exactly light reading, but it was at least in English.) I did follow the movie lightly from behind my book. Toward its end, the movie featured quotes and from the disaster that occurred in Charlottesville in 2017, including quotes from our then-President and KKK leaders that were not flattering.

I suddenly became keenly aware of my surroundings. Keenly aware that for the forty or so people on the bus, the "normalness" that I felt toward the presence of historical racial tension maybe wasn't at all normal. I found myself wondering what they thought of us, having watched this movie and heard those quotes at the end. I wondered; did they have the same struggles, but with different players where they called home? Was there a dominant and a suppressed culture, just like in the United States, or were they watching that movie and thinking us crazy?

Sitting there, watching bits and pieces of this movie in a very different context, I became very wierded out. I am assuming that based on my experiences watching similar movies (such as Selma), had I been watching this at home in the United States, I would have felt something akin to anger. Watching it there, on that bus, I felt shame. I felt very small, very fragile, very helpless. Honestly, I don't even know if people like those on that bus were judging United States culture that way; they probably weren't even watching. I wondered how they felt about us, those who did watch that movie. Mostly, I wondered - if they were sitting there thinking us crazy - what could we learn from them? What wisdom could they who live in a world where Blackklansman is so foreign teach those of us for whom Blackklansman came really as no surprise?

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July 18, 2021: Day Twenty-Seven

Today is Sunday. On Sundays in non-corona times, they shut down the more glamorous part of the Pasejo Montejo and allow for bike-riding. In corona times, they shut down the north-bound lane of the more glamorous part of the Pasejo Montejo to allow for bike-riding and allow the traffic to flow south like normal. We decided that this would be as good a time as any to take a walk on the Pasejo Montejo. Actually, we've been walking up and down this street ever since we came back to Mérida from Progreso. They call the road the "Champs Elysée of Mérida". I have also heard Mérida referred to as the Paris of México. Let me start by saying that I can see the resemblance, but any references to Paris are a bit of a stretch, if you've been to Paris. If you haven't been to Paris, I think maybe the resemblance might be enough. There are a lot of Haussmann-esque homes here, but unlike in Paris, they are isolated, they don't run for blocks and ...

Overview

This year, we are spending thirty-eight days in México. To be exact, the Yucatán peninsula, México. My new calling (minister) provides me with ample vacation time, which I totally mismanaged, leaving nearly half of it untaken. My contract year ends on July 31, so nothing like waiting till the last minute. I also have two weeks per year which I am to dedicate to learning and becoming a better minister. Then, I have one week of General Assembly/Ministers’ Meetings. Normally, General Assembly means travel to a convention hall somewhere, but this being Corona Year Deux, General Assembly is virtual again, meaning as long as I have internet, I’m there! Yucatan Trip Itinerary So, we took off the Tuesday before GA, which is the second of three days of Ministers meetings, which like General Assembly is also virtual. There is a gap of a few days which I’ll get some work done as well. Add it all up, and you’ve got thirty-nine days....

June 28, 2021: Day Seven

Francine had a half day of work today so we worked in the morning and then headed out on a small trek. We walked down to the beautiful malecón. Malecones are a pretty uniquely Latin American thing from my perspective. The only American word we have - and the one often used - is "boardwalk", but that's not accurate. A malecón is a pier or a sidwalk on a sea wall that runs along a seashore. This one had pedestrian paths and bike paths. I've never seen that before. It was Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa, with all the glitz stripped away. Unlike the one in Guayaquíl, this one did not have a retail presence. Malecón, Campeche From the malecón we walked to the market, which turned out to be closed. Then, we got a salad lunch back in town. Later in the day it was off for a trolley tour of the city. It is quite a nice city in almost all respects. Its certainly nicer than the historic center of Mérida. Its about 1/8 the population of ...

2021 Visit to the Yucatán

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