Tag Archives: health and safety

Oaxaca Speaks: COVID-19 Report #5, Samuel Bautista Lazo, Teotitlan del Valle

I asked Samuel Bautista Lazo to write me about life in Teotitlan del Valle, during the corona virus outbreak. It is the famous rug-weaving village about 40 minutes outside the city close to Tlacolula. I’m especially concerned for the people in the village where I live most of the year. Samuel earned the PhD in sustainability from the University of Liverpool, England, is a weaver and operates Dixza Rugs, Organic Farm and Air BnB with his family.

Samuel and his mother

Here is what Samuel said on March 26, 2020, when I interviewed him via WhatsApp:

***

Life for us is business as usual, weaving and being at home alone. There are just no tourists or visitors now, but it is a good break.

There is no mass in the Catholic Church as ordered by the church officials. This means there will be no weddings, baptisms and quinceañera celebrations because they are all religious and family gatherings.

There are some families at the entrance of the village who are still receiving bus and van loads of remaining tourists … some people are concerned about this, but most understand that our economy depends on tourism. People are beginning to worry about the future of our economy.

But more important now is that the health clinic in Teotitlan is still closed [it closed several months ago], so people who need care and cannot afford private hospitals have nowhere to go nearby. They would have to go to the General Hospital in the city because they cannot get service in Tlacolula. The village filed a complaint about the bad service provided to our village which ended up with the health clinic being closed by the public health officials.

We do not worry. We are not that kind of people. We continue life as normal and are adapting to a drop in rug sales and guests coming to visit. We are also focusing on our farm, growing nopal cactus, herding our cattle and taking care of our goats.

Yes, we are concerned about the elders of our community. There is a natural high level of the common flu during this time of year, so it could be a double hit. We have been boosting our immune system with traditional remedies and hope that the temezcal would help eliminate the virus from our system as we know that raising body temperature is a very effective way to kill viruses. Our local temezcal healer, however, got very ill with a flu though, so this is questionable. School has been suspended for a month across the country.

[March 27, 2020: Sunday Tlacolula Market Closed Until Further Notice]

The Tlacolula market is also shut down to outsiders.

It is hard to tell what people are up to because we are naturally in quarantine, but the [Teotitlan] market is still going on, the gym is open, stores and even the coffee shop is still open. Maybe 1-2% of the people are overly cautious, taking Sana Distancia (social distancing) measures. 80% continue with life as usual, and probably about 20% are skeptics and think nothing will happen here, the virus won’t get here or that they are too strong for the virus.

It seems like the big mass celebrations for Semana Santa will be cancelled, but we will see … people are still going to the parade this morning for Lunes Santo.

***

Teotitlan del Valle atop Zapotec temple

I thanked Samuel for his honest perspective of what is going on in my home village. Life goes on for the Zapotec people, as it has for 8,000+ years. They are survivors and as a group, they will survive this, too. How many individuals will get sick and suffer remains unknown, as it does for us in the USA, too. I wish everyone in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca and everywhere, good health and godspeed.

Social Distancing, Life on the Screen, House Arrest and Oaxaca

Mostly written Saturday, March 21, 2020 — We are all likely in the same circumstances. If we aren’t, well, we should be. Physical isolation is necessary … and difficult. Here, in Southern California, where I’ve been for over a week with my son, I have no real time social contact other than with him, an occasional visit with his girlfriend Shelley (who is clean), and a weekly invitation from her mother Holly to come to dinner. Holly has had no contact with anyone other than Shelley this week. I have to assume she is clean, too. Yes?

Can seasonal allergies be provoked by this?

Governor Gavin Newsome was the first to order Stay at Home. This is why I’m happy to be in California now. There is strong leadership here. When I arrived, my plan was to continue on to Durham, NC, for a while. Life changes fast.

Bolsa Chica Wetlands, Huntington Beach, California

Today, I went for a 10K step walk in the wetlands along the Pacific Ocean. The trails were busier than last weekend. I actually had to stop and ask people to maintain a six-foot distance from me, move into single file. I moved off the trail regularly so others could pass. No one did the same for me. One guy joked that he was only five feet away. I said, Not funny. Next time, earlier and not on weekends!

Self-portrait on a wetlands walk by the Pacific Ocean

Saturday, March 21, 2020, my friend Winn is reporting from Oaxaca:

“Oaxaca grows quieter every day. Yesterday, I strolled my ‘hood’ just to get out of my house for a while, to see who’s still out and about, which restaurants, stores, and coffee spots remain open. Lo and behold, a wedding in the church! The same vendors awaiting the wedding party with tamales and jugos [juice]. The city officials have mandated no gatherings, and police will politely ask any groups to simply go home. I’ll go to the park tomorrow morning, but don’t expect to find my tai chi pals there. I do my 10-second breath test and check my temperature every day, and check in with neighbor and friends also holed up at home. This quiet solitude is both welcome and nerve-wracking. Even if I decided to just go home [to New Mexico], the travel itself is now a big obstacle. Thank goodness for WhatsApp calls, Netflix, and eBooks. Just finished bingeing Money Heist, and started a good book.”

I’m looking for Reporters from Oaxaca to include a personal take on what you observe. Contact me at norma.schafer@icloud.com

Bolsa Chica Wetlands, the Pacific and Catalina Island

We went to the market. That is, Jacob went food shopping and I waited at the far end of the parking lot on a bench, face to the sun waiting for the 10 a.m. pharmacy opening. But, I needed to pick up an Rx transferred from NC, plus, you know: blue shampoo for my platinum hair, Biotin, Tylenol PM, soap-free face wash, toothpaste. Usually I ride in the car where I wait. Like being on House Arrest. He’s protective. He won’t let me go in.

What many of us are doing …
What some of us are doing, and where to get the next pedicure?

At home, I sprayed all this with isopropyl alcohol, along with six wine bottles, two lemonade jugs, three jars of pasta sauce, bags of pretzels and chips, cleaning sponges, olive oil and ground ginger. Everything someone else would have touched. All the fresh fruit and vegetables soaked for 30-minutes in Microdyne colloidal silver. [Read HERE about disinfecting food. It’s not just for Mexico anymore.] There still was no TP. We are getting close to using paper napkins and reverting to disposal Mexican style — in a receptacle by the side of the toilet.

The estate sale out back

Across the back parking lot, the neighbors are on Day Two of a three-day estate sale. There are estates here, just not in this neighborhood. It’s Orange County, which only recently turned Blue, sort of. Lots of Trumpets live here who still believe the world is flat. Looking out the dining room window I see a push lawn mower, discolored upholstery foam, spindly lamps with gold fringed shades a la Marie Antoinette, a lonely black office chair with sunken seat cushion, plastic storage bins that need a good 409 cleaning, a turkey fryer, assorted boxes of used clothes. I didn’t see anyone pull out their hand sanitizer.

The chicken soup is on the stove, simmering. Jacob went to Shelley’s on an overnight. I’m feeding the cat and will figure out the Direct TV wand to either watch a movie or get more news. I’m certain I will hear a regurgitation of the lack of Washington leadership. Did I say it? We still have no toilet paper.

Every time I cough, I wonder. I’m hoping my sniffles and occasional cough are seasonal allergies. There are no thermometers to be had. So far, no fever.

Jacob and I have talked about which hospital to take me to if I get sick. He researched it and sent me a link. We all need an Contingency Plan.

How are we coping? Living online. Using Zoom. A daily ritual with my sister.

Our social connection is the Internet. In addition to Zoom, I’m using FaceTime, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and email (last resort).

What some in my WhatsApp group are doing: Variation on a theme.

Thirty years ago, I started following Sherry Turkle, sociologist and psychologist, when she got her MIT computer science department appointment to study and teach about the human factors of technology.

Here’s a article in Politico about our dystopian world and what all this social isolation translates to how we live our lives next, in which Sherry Turkle is one of the experts quoted.

We are all concerned with how we will feed ourselves

Get out and walk!

Sunday Morning News Flash: Jacob just walked in with a 12-pack of Cottonelle he bought at Target. Gold. Un milagro!

Yes, I sprayed it with isopropyl alcohol.