Archive for category Ainhoa Martinez

Rainy days in Distrito Federal

Climate is crazy almost everywhere and in Mexico City it will not be less than in other places.

We can feel 3 different seasons during a day: it is cold early in the morning, high temperatures and humidity when it gets to midday and almost every nightfall it rains.

There are some particular  farmers in the Basque Country, who know a lot about climate change. I remmeber watching a documentary about their weather forcast when I was a child and I won’t never forget what they were explaining: “If the clouds are pretty bad, it means that something bad is coming. Its appearance is directly related to the climate that can change at any time”.

I was able to check that fact the other day when I went to take out the trash.

Thunder is heard, the clouds are pretty bad, it starts to get windy and temperatures drop.

You have to be careful when walking through the streets when heavy rain is coming, the traffic goes mad (normally it is crazy, so imagine if it is rainning) :

This is the road next to my home here in DF. My roommates and I were trying to cross the street after buying some pizzas in OXXO.

It was even worst at night. Electric storms joined the heavy rain:

What I usually do is to check the weather on the  Internet in a website that tells you what is going to be the weather like hour by hour. However, I recently experienced it is not trustworthy.

Last week I left my umbrella at home and this was the result when I came back:

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Lesson learned: bring always the umbrella in your bag, no matter if you know it is not going to rain that day, weather can suddenly change.

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Mexico, the environment and water issues

The Mexican environment is a gift from the Mother Nature. The view that the environment provide is infinite, from the snow-capped volcanoes in the southern Valley of Mexico, to the full of cactus deserts commonly seen on Mexican movies, the wild jungles and the heavenly coast areas.

Popocatepetl volcano, the desert of Baja California and the Maya Coast in the Mexican Caribbean.

Popocatepetl volcano, the desert of Baja California and the Maya Coast in the Mexican Caribbean.

Respecting environmental issues, although Mexico is an oil producer and a developing country, it might be surprising that Local Government has manifest its aim to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and had the objective to reduce them to half by 2050. Will they achieve that objective? These days the Energetic Reform is being discussed in a Commission at the Mexican Senate.

The geographical location of the country makes Mexico vulnerable to global warming and these last years, events such as hurricanes, droughts and floods may be attributed to the increase of the sea temperatures.

In addition, while its oil production decreases, Mexico discovers its potential for renewable energy. One-sixth part of its electricity comes from hydroelectric dams and also seeks foreign investment to develop solar energy.

Regarding water conflicts, the South territories of Mexico hold the 70% of the water, however, the North and the Central territories hold the 75% of the population. In total, about 11 million Mexicans (the 10% of the population) have no running water at home, and 15 million are living without sewage systems.

The aquifers in the North and Center are under increasing pressure from the cities, industry and agriculture. The North has suffered several droughts in the last two decades, which had affected agricultural production. And Mexico City turned to water shortages in 2009 due to a shortage record.

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A lot of water is wasted. Because of leaks, about the half of the water supplies of the cities is lost. And about the half of the 75% of the country’s supply for agriculture is not used productively.

About the 80% of sewage water is not treated, which together with the waters of agrochemical runoff and large amounts of waste discharged into rivers and lakes, causes the contamination of the three quarters of the surface waters of Mexico (more or less).

The Panuco River tops list of most polluted rivers in the country.

The Panuco River tops list of most polluted rivers in the country.

Much of the sewage water from Mexico City is poured into the Panuco River, which empties into the Gulf of Mexico in Tampico. The Lerma River, which also caters to the capital, receives sewage water and industrial fluids in many other cities on their way to Lake Chapala, the largest natural lake in the country.

Jungles are also important as their conservation is key not only to fight against global warming, but also because they often are the source of water supplies.

The Lacandona Jungle, located in Chiapas.

The Lacandona Jungle, located in Chiapas.

The problems of the Federal District in terms of water supply, wastewater treatment, overcrowding and traffic pollution are reflected on a smaller scale in all rapidly growing cities.

Tourism development involves large-scale problems and threatens fragile ecosystems, especially in Baja California and the Caribbean coast. Due to uncontrolled urban development, new buildings threaten to deplete water resources, increase pollution and destroy wetlands.

Nevertheless, environmental awareness is growing stronger, but still there is no movement on a large scale, but you can find local organizations such as Pronatura, which allocates 100 million MXN to projects regarding climate change, priority species and land conservation.

pronatura.org.mx

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Agur Basque Country, Hola Mexico!

5.30 pm of Thursday the 5th, I have just finished the last exam of my LLB. I cannot believe Law School is now over and in less than 2 days I will be on my way to Mexico City. A good plan for my last hours in Vitoria-Gasteiz? To have dinner with my best friends in one of our favorites Italian restaurants and have some drinks.
The day before starting my trip I had lunch with my family, packed up everything I need for the trip and said goodbye to my beloved family and friends.

See you soon girls! Having some drinks after dinner with my best friends in Vitoria-Gasteiz, to celebrate we have finished our LLB and my trip to Mexico.

See you soon girls!
Having some drinks after dinner with my best friends in Vitoria-Gasteiz, to celebrate we have finished our LLB and my trip to Mexico.

Hometown. Vitoria-Gasteiz is where I live. It is the capital city of the Basque Country and in 2012 it was awarded as the European Green Capital. This monument made of shrubbery was designed to represent the award and it stands in the center of the city.

Hometown.
Vitoria-Gasteiz is where I live. It is the capital city of the Basque Country and in 2012 it was awarded as the European Green Capital. This monument made of shrubbery was designed to represent the award and it stands in the center of the city.

I have been lucky because 4 days before my departure I got in contact with a woman who was renting a room for students in the area of Coyoacan, where Jessica is living. I saw the house and the room via Skype and we reached an agreement. So having solved all this issue about accommodation, before my arrival to Mexico City, have been truly handy. I will not have to go mad booking a hotel room and wondering around the city looking for a place to live.

4 am of Friday the 7th, the airport is just one hour away from my home and is easy to get there. First I will travel from Bilbao to Paris and then get the flight to Mexico City. There were so many security controls between Bilbao and Paris and the Parisian airport was so big that I almost got lost, but I finally reached the gate for my flight and as I had 3 hours left until the departure I had lunch in one of the restaurants. Got my tickets and passport ready to take my sit in the flight, if you had ever travelled such long distance you will guess I am sitting next to the corridor because your body and mind can get really tired during the 10 hours of journey and it is good to walk every hour to avoid having pain in your knees, ears or headache.

The plain is about to take off. The journey starts in the airport of Bilbao. Incredible view from the window, the sky is quiet and calm.

The plain is about to take off.
The journey starts in the airport of Bilbao. Incredible view from the window, the sky is quiet and calm.

Finally I landed in Benito Juarez International airport at 6.30 pm local time. There are 7 hours of time difference between Mexico and Spain and I hope the jetlag does not catch me. I went through the migration controls and got my luggage. One more thing to do before I walk over Mexican floor: I had to press a button and if the light goes green I walk forward, but if the light goes red I have to open my luggage to be inspected. Please go green, please go green… It’s green light! Thank God! I was so tired I did not want to start taking everything out of the luggage.

From 6 pm onwards it’s rush hour in the Mexican airport because it is the arrival time for most flights coming from Europe. The place was crowded, but I finally found Jessica and we took a safe taxi to get home. During the journey, the long roads and the old buildings I she through the window of the cab reminds me of the summer I spent in Beijing. Everything looks more or less the same, like a massive city, full of traffic, where wealth and poverty are separated by only a few steps.

First must-to-do things in Mexico City:
1. Settle in the house.
2. Walk around the area and locate important places such as public transport areas, restaurants and supermarkets.
3. Do the shopping! (you must be starving).
4. Find secure taxi numbers, maps and other practical information.
5. Get a Mexican cell phone. It can be easily bought in OXXO or Moviestar shops for 300 MXN.

And do not forget to try “Chapulines”, if you don’t try them you won’t live the Mexican experience. Jessica took me to a little place in Miguel de Quevedo Avenue and bought some. I just tried two and it was a mixture of spicy and salt with a lot of proteins. For a non Mexican person it was very spicy, as Mexicans say “Me enchilé”.

Chapulines. The popular Mexican snack, which is full of proteins and tastes spicy and salt.

Chapulines.
The popular Mexican snack, which is full of proteins and tastes spicy and salt.

Regarding the Coyoacan area, I really like the house where I am living, there are 3 more students living here and every Monday and Friday a housekeeper cooks for us traditional Mexican food (I hope I can share with you a blog entry on this issue in the future). The first morning I woke up and found a welcome message written on the board of the kitchen. Rita, the owner of the house, prepared me a huge and delicious breakfast to recover from the long journey and the other students living in the house and I started talking. It seems like we have a lot in common, two of them are studying music and I play the acoustic guitar and the ukulele. The neighborhood is calm and both public transport and supermarkets are close to the house.

Welcome message. Rita (the owner) and other students living in the house left me a welcome message written on the board of the kitchen, followed by a delicious and energetic breakfast the morning after my arrival.

Welcome message.
Rita (the owner) and other students living in the house left me a welcome message written on the board of the kitchen, followed by a delicious and energetic breakfast the morning after my arrival.

Jessica and I decided to stablish our meeting place in a Starbucks, which is halfway between her home and mine, we have like a 10 minute travel by “Trole-bus” to get there. It is funny the first time I took the Trole-bus alone, it suddenly broke down and had to wait a lot until another one picked me from the middle of nowhere, but it was okay and I easily found Jessica.

Trolebus. An eco-bus, connected to the electric system of the city.

Trolebus.
An eco-bus, connected to the electric system of the city.

We spent my 3rd day in Mexico City walking through the main streets of Coyoacan and it is such an active and full of live place where you can find different street markets, parks, all the food shops that you can imagine…

The center of Coyoacan. This is Jessica and me, standing in front of a fountain in a park. The 2 coyotes in the middle of the fountain give the name to this beautiful area, Coyoacan.

The center of Coyoacan.
This is Jessica and me, standing in front of a fountain in a park. The 2 coyotes in the middle of the fountain give the name to this beautiful area, Coyoacan.

My way back home early at night was such a challenge for me because more or less I could locate myself in the area during the day, but the sun had already gone. There was no problem, I took another Trole-bus to “Taxqueña” main street and just had to walk a couple of streets to reach home. So the first day walking around the place alone went pretty well.

On my way back home at the end of the day. Here you can find one of the OXXO shops, which are so popular around the city.

On my way back home at the end of the day.
Here you can find one of the OXXO shops, which are so popular around the city.

Life in Mexico seems to be very “relaxing” so we had better not to be in a hurry if we need to do something. That could summarize the Mexican way of living.

P.S.: “Agur” means goodbye in Basque language and I suppose everyone will know that “Hola” means hello.

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Getting ready for Mexico

I felt really grateful when I received the email confirming I was selected for the 2014 Peacebuilders’ Fellowship. I am taking the last exams of my LLB in Public Law at the moment, as well as working as a coordinator at Amnesty International in Vitoria-Gasteiz local section. So I must organize myself well in order to have time for everything.

Time has passed quite quickly these last weeks, I successfully passed all my exams (still one left) and performed two campaigns about the freedom of expression in Spain and some cases of tortures in South America and Morocco with Amnesty International. Meanwhile, I have been doing some research about living in Mexico. I am lucky that some good friends of mine had been working in Mexico City in the past, so I gave them a call and we met to have lunch together and exchange views about the trip: how to find affordable accommodation, good restaurants, safe ways of transport…

I travelled to Beijing two years ago to study Human Rights Law at the CUPL and there were a lot of visa requirements. However, travelling to Mexico is easier because there are no visa requirements for EU citizens who stay in Mexico less than 180 days. The only thing I need to do is to show my passport and fill in a form when I arrive to the Mexican airport.

After checking the visa requirements and confirming the duration of the fellowship, I booked my flight tickets online, as always, because it is faster and cheaper. Then, I looked for a good international insurance service.

Another important thing is accommodation, so I got in touch with some people who were renting a room through a Facebook group page and through the Craigslist website. At this point it is very important not to pay any deposit before visiting the room, so what I am going to do is to book a hotel room for my first three days in Mexico City and in that way I will visit the places and choose one.

The three most important things (visa, flight tickets and accommodation) are more or less done and now I can focus myself in finishing the tasks that must be completed for the fellowship requirements. Also, when I have some free time between exams I read news about Mexico and keep updated about water issues in the region.

When I travel abroad I always take a Lonely Planet guide with me. It helped me a lot when I was in China, so I bought the one about Mexico. Another thing to bring with me is medicines. My mates in China and I got really sick because the water and almost everything was so polluted. Bringing medicines for your stomach, hydration, fibe or mosquito repellent could always be useful.

I have such great expectations about this fellowship and am truly happy because I will be working together with Jessica Sanchez and we will meet Dr. Iyer by the end of the fellowship. I am sure we will have a lot to talk about and I am willing to meet both of them. Getting on well with your workmates is very important to me because that will help us achieving good results and doing an effective work. I am lucky that Jessica is such a friendly and lovely person and I am sure we are going to have a good time in Mexico. She is already there and she is helping me in clarifying all my doubts about the trip. She also works in the human rights field, so we have a lot in common. Although we will be separated by a lot of distance, I hope we get in touch with the other fellows and we share our experiences.

I will spend my last day in Spain celebrating I have finished my LLB. I will have lunch with my family and dinner with my friends. The journey to Mexico seems to be pretty long, so I will take something to read and some music with me.

I would like to get to know better the Mexican culture and join their traditions. It might sound strange but I have made one promise to my mum and my granny: to visit the Virgin of Guadalupe and ask her to keep my family healthy. My family is catholic but I am not as religious as them. I believe every religion in the world is good as long as human rights are respected and what I like is to learn the significant values and principles of each one, which can lead me to understand different societies. But returning to the Virgin of Guadalupe, I am doing that because last year Doctors found a tumor inside my mother’s brain and my grandfather was diagnosed with cancer. Fortunately, everything went perfectly and they are healthy and completely recovered now. It has been a difficult time for me and my family, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and now I feel stronger towards live. I think I owe them that visit to the Virgin of Guadalupe and I will be happy to share that moment with all of you.

You can also find me on Twitter (@7Ainhoamartinez) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/ainhoa.martinezmiguel). See you in the next blog entry.

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