A trip to Mexico and beyond

14Aug, 2010

A few years ago I had the opportunity to work alongside a friend on a farm in southern Mexico. I never imagined myself as a farmer but my friend had been living in Mexico for almost a year and I really wanted to visit him. It was spring break and I had the means to go, so I went.

While I was there I learned an overwhelming amount of information about agriculture, ecology, Mexican culture, and the Spanish language. Turns out the language of a culture is something that is incredibly beneficial to have a firm grasp on before diving into said culture

Looking back now I can see how my whole experience would have been much smoother if I had known the language. For instance we had the opportunity on one of the days I was there to drive to a city up north to partake in a celebration and feast. Eventually we needed to stop for gas, my friend got out to pump as the others we were travelling with stayed in the van while I volunteered to go inside and purchase some water. It wasn’t until I got to the counter that I realized “oh yeah, I don’t speak any Spanish” I offered several forms of payment, none of which seemed to satisfy the increasingly irritated woman behind the counter. Eventually I gave up and left on the counter a guess at what I thought would equal the amount of money I owed, hoping that it would satisfy the attendant and hoping I could put this embarrassing experience behind me. When we got on the road again the guys asked for change from the money they had given me, of which I had none. Turned out I had put the equivalent of around 18 bucks on the counter for 2 bottles of water. I was not allowed to go into gas stations for the duration of the trip.

Another thing I learned about while I was there was the story of Dr. Paul Farmer. By the time I had gotten there I think my friend had read and re-read Tracy Kidder’s book “Mountains Beyond Mountains” a few dozen times. If you haven’t had the chance to read this book I highly suggest going to the library or dropping the deserved 12 dollars on it on Amazon. If you have read it you know just how much the ideas in the book get under your skin.

Paul Farmer is an inspiration to many in his research and innovations in getting medicine to the sick. The book itself traces how Paul Farmer became the infamous Dr. Paul Farmer, but the overlying story of how difficult it is to get medicine to the sick in many areas of the world is what really shocked me.

In Haiti, for example (where Farmer’s work is anchored) behind HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis is the country’s greatest infectious cause of mortality in both youth and adults. While we’ve managed to control TB and to some extent AIDS/HIV in the States through rigorous hospital standards, testing, media campaigns encouraging proactive solutions and advances in medications, these diseases still rip through a nation that is about 1600 miles away. That’s just less than 1000 more miles away from where I currently am to Los Angeles. So the big question is why can we not help rid this nation (as well as assist other nations) of these diseases if we have managed to control them in some manner here.

Of course there are a hundred different reasons why, most of them involving governments and bureaucratic red tape, but I think another reason is that many have either become jaded to the idea of illnesses ravishing whole nations or we have become so secluded and naïve that we have forgotten that we have the ability to help our neighbors around the world out.

When I think back to the van ride we took in Mexico, the one where we all spoke English which lead to me forgetting where I was in the world and forgetting the thick language barrier that stood between myself and a couple bottles of water, I can’t help but be embarrassed at how naïve I was. My hope is that I don’t look back years from now with the same degree of guilt and embarrassment when it comes to knowing more about HIV/AIDS, TB and other illnesses in this world. I hope we can all look back and remember when we got together, were bold and empowered, and decided to do something about it.

Peace,

Steve

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