Oct

Adventure Cycling: Wheeling Past the Dogs of Mexico

by Eva Boynton on October 28, 2014

Drawing of one of the dogs of Mexico, part of the life lessons learned on an adventure cycling trip to Mexico (Drawing © Eva Boynton)

They were mangy, big, wild . . . and fast!
Drawing by Eva Boynton

Life Lessons on Wild Things

They were mangy. They were small. Big, brown, white, spotted, black. Some had long hair and others had it short. They were mutts. They were purebreds. And they did not discriminate between man, woman or child, local or foreigner. They were the dogs of Mexico.

Bicycle by house in Mexico, part of the life lessons offered on an adventure cycling trip with the dogs of Mexico (Photo © Eva Boynton)

Mexico awaits
© Eva Boynton

Don’t Go!

Many people warned me about Mexico. I was headed on a 2,500-mile adventure cycling trip from California to Mexico City (of course this number does not calculate back roads, side trips, and wrong turns).

Mothers (none of which were my own) pleaded for me not to go. They lectured me about being naive, young and inexperienced and that, because I was a woman, I was ten times more likely to disappear and never return.

I listened, but the will to go became stronger. Life lessons were waiting.

Large golden dog, one of the dogs of Mexico by the sea, offering life lessons via adventure cycling (Photo © Eva Boynton)

A defender (one of the friendlier ones)
© Eva Boynton

Where the Wild Things Are

With all the warnings and advice I was given before and after my departure, I always wondered why no one ever warned me about the dogs of Mexico. I had no idea my greatest foe would be overcoming a fear of dog attacks.

Dogs run on the wild side in Mexico. They are scavengers, defending themselves to survive or serving as fierce protectors or warning systems for their owners.

Although there are some dogs in Mexico that play the traditional “pet” role, they are mainly in the cities behind closed doors. The rest of the dogs, running solo or in packs, live outdoors, freely roaming the streets and sides of highways.

A dog tied in a yard, one of the dogs of Mexico ready to offer life lessons on an adventure cycling trip (Photo © Sunny Tattersill)

Tough (but tied)
© Sunny Tattersall

The Ambush

On a bicycle you pedal fast enough (like a car) to be interesting but slow enough (unlike a car) to be caught. Sometimes the dogs came from the front, forming a line of intimidation like a 1950s greaser gang.

brown and white dog, one of the dogs of Mexico offering life lessons in adventure cycling

Watch out. I’m coming for you.
© Sunny Tattersall

At other times, a single dog charged from the side. And then there was the sneak attack from behind, either as a planned tactic or as a result of haphazardly waking up from a nap.

Most of these ambushes occurred while approaching a small town or passing a tienda (store) in the middle of the desert. The dogs usually were reacting in a show of defense and dominance near a home base.

It was impossible to determine the strength of the attack when looking at the size of the dog. Sometimes the smallest chihuahua was the most dedicated and committed to staying on your trail, even after you were well out of sight of its protected territory.

Cyclist with trailer on side of road, life lessons offered through adventure cycling and the dogs of Mexico (Photo © Eva Boynton)

Life on the road
© Rio Tattersall

The Strategies

We (fellow cyclists and I) experimented with our strategies. We tried slowing down, even stopping, to soothingly say, “Está bien, perro. Tranquilo. Tranquilo.” This had no effect. When we stopped, more dogs had time to surround us.

Unfortunately, to add to my growing fear, I was usually the slowest in the group (since I was towing a trailer and a surfboard).

I was the weakest link, the easiest prey, the lingering antelope of the pack with a lion approaching. Of course, the lion was sometimes only a chihuahua-wiener dog mutt but the anticipation was paralyzing.

chihauhau, one of the dogs of Mexico offering life lessons on an adventure cycling trip

A chihuahua with the heart of a lion
© iStock

Aha! A Triumph

I learned from the masters—a group of six cyclists in Baja. We saw a pack of large dogs on the side of the road who were readying their attack with bared teeth and belly growls. Scary, but the seasoned cyclists clearly had a plan and an unabashed readiness for the impending situation.

In perfect unison, they went straight for the dogs, gaining speed. As they came face to face they squirted water from their bottles (no easy sacrifice in the desert) and from the depths of their throats bellowed a barbaric “AAAAHHHH!”

The dogs backed off with a few follow-up barks but returned to the side of the road. It was triumphant.

Cyclists on the highway, waiting for the dogs of Mexico and the life lessons that come with adventure cycling (Photo © Eva Boynton)

Learning from the masters
© Eva Boynton

My Turn

Later on in the mountains of Michoacán, I faced my fear alone, far from the safety of a group. As I approached a small town, I spotted a great white dog scavenging for mangoes splayed on the side of the road.

Just when I thought I had slipped by unnoticed, I heard a cascade of growls and barks quickly approaching from behind. I looked over my shoulder and saw the dog gaining on me.

As he flew to my side, I let out a thundering howl. It was a sound unlike anything I had ever heard from myself. I turned my head to confirm there was no one else that could have made the noise.

In shock and triumph, I watched the dog retreat but also noticed a group of locals looking at me perplexed by the battle scream I had just released.

As I passed by, I apologized for the interruption to this quiet mountain town, but smiled with satisfaction and awe at my own ability to confront the anxiety that had gripped my heart and mind throughout the trip.

Mexican sunset, part of the life lessons from adventure cycling and the dogs of Mexico (Photo © Eva Boynton)

The dream continues . . .
© Eva Boynton

To Continue On

To face the dogs was a decision not unlike the one I had to make to cross the border of Mexico. The mothers of California had been my first “dogs of Mexico.”

I learned to be ready for the attacks on my dream and to respond with a “thank you for your concern” or “I’m sure that this is right for me” or a “Maybe you should try it sometime; visit and find out for yourself what an entire country can encompass.”

In the end, I was overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of the people I met on my journey. Life lessons and “Oh, I see” moments of the lasting kind.

There will always be more “dogs of Mexico.” The question is how to anticipate them, how to engage, question, retaliate or defend; how to continue on.

I hope that I will always “sound my barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world.” (Dead Poet’s Society).

Click for more information on adventure cycling, the cycling community, and the Adventure Cycling Association as well as more Mexican adventures on Eva’s trip blog.

Comment on this post, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Eva Boynton 5 Comments

Adventure Travel/Cultural Encounters/Mexico

Oct

Going Bananas: Uses for Bananas Around the World

by Meredith Mullins on October 13, 2014

a single banana, representing cultural encounters and uses of bananas around the world (Photo © Meredith Mullins)

The multi-talented banana
© Meredith Mullins

Cultural Encounters of the Banana Kind

Q: Why did the banana go to the doctor?
A: It wasn’t peeling very well.

Q: Why don’t bananas snore?
A: Because they don’t want to wake up the rest of the bunch.

Q: What did one banana say to the other banana?
A: You’ve got appeal!

Broccoli: I look like a tree.
Walnut: I look like a brain.
Mushroom: I look like an umbrella.
Banana: Dude! Change the subject.

A priest, a rabbi, and a banana walked into a bar . . .

We can make jokes about this odd shaped fruit until the monkeys come home, but bananas are one of the most useful and widely consumed foods in the world.

Mini bananas from Colombia, representing cultural encounters from around the world and multiple uses for bananas. (Photo © Meredith Mullins)

Mini bananas from Colombia
© Meredith Mullins

The Human/Banana Relationship

The human/banana relationship has been in place for thousands of years (more if you believe the stories that say the banana was the temptation in the Garden of Eden—not an apple, after all).

Bananas are one of the oldest crops of humankind and continue today as a staple in more than 120 countries.

Why?

They come in their own biodegradable wrap.
They don’t have to be washed.
They can be eaten raw or cooked in inventive ways.
They offer nutrition and health benefits.
The plant offers fruit year-round.
Parts of the plant can be art, tableware, toys, or used to make cloth.

Oh, I see. Bananas are the complete package.

Multiple bananas, representing cultural encounters and uses of bananas around the world. (Photo © Meredith Mullins)

The popular banana is grown in more than 120 countries.
© Meredith Mullins

Bananas Do Indeed Have Appeal

According to Ryan White, Director of the new documentary “Mondo Banana,” the entire banana plant can be used in one way or another. His film reveals his travel and research discoveries.

“In India the trunk of the banana plant is cooked and eaten as a vegetable in curries.

An entire art form has developed around banana leaves in Thailand.

In China, the root of the banana plant is used in traditional medicine.

There’s an evil banana spirit in Malaysia and Singapore who grants wishes to greedy men, but steals their souls in the process.”

Ten Things You Should Know About Bananas

There is much to know about bananas, but here are ten things to give you a head start.

In both ancient and modern civilizations all over the world, bananas and banana leaves often appear in religious offerings and festivals. They are said to bring prosperity, luck, and the grace of the gods.
A Banana Queen from Thailand
© Ryan White
Think health! Bananas can combat depression, cure hangovers, help to prevent some types of cancer, whiten teeth, moisturize skin, and help to relieve morning sickness. Their tryptophan, potassium, B-6, antioxidants, and calcium are all good news.
Fried bananas
© Meredith Mullins
Think food! From banana wontons and fried bananas to banana stem curry, banana smoothies, banana chips, banana bread, banana pancakes, and banana splits. Bananas appear in food cultures around the world.
Bananas are officially recognized by the FDA for their ability to lower blood pressure and protect against heart attack and stroke.
Bananas are good for digestion. They are high in fiber and rich in pectin and natural antacids, and they produce digestive enzymes to assist in absorbing nutrients.
BBQ bananas in Thailand
© Ryan White
Banana peels can help to relieve the itching of poison oak/ivy or a mosquito bite. Just apply the inside banana peel to the area for 5–10 minutes.
Banana leaves are waterproof and malleable and can be used to make bowls and to create artistic sculptures for a variety of uses.
You can use the underside of a banana peel to shine silverware, clean houseplants, and polish shoes and other leather goods.
Finally, a shoe polish you can eat!
© Meredith Mullins
A traditional way to peel a banana is not from the stem side, but from the other side. Just pinch the bottom of the banana, as monkeys do, and the skin can be peeled easily.
When in doubt, eat a banana like a monkey.
© Meredith Mullins
The common banana, the Cavendish, is fighting Panama disease the world over. Researchers are working to find wild bananas that are immune to the disease and can be bred with the Cavendish to save it.

Thanks a bunch (another banana joke) for reading about cultural encounters of the banana kind. Now . . . let’s go bananas.

Banana shirts in Thailand, representing cultural encounters and uses of bananas around the world (Photo © Ryan White)

Banana lovers (with fan shirts) are everywhere.
© Ryan White

The documentary “Mondo Banana” by Ryan White is screening this weekend (17–19 October) at the Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival.

Thank you to Jerry Fielder for his bananassistance, to Instructables for the fried banana recipe, to Food Matters for information about banana nutrition, and to jokes4us for some of the banana jokes.

Comment on this post, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Meredith Mullins 2 Comments

Cultural Diversity/Cultural Heritage & Traditions

Sep

Mexican Culture: Moments of Note in Miniature

by Sheron Long on September 24, 2014

Miniature diorama of a harvest celebration opens a window into Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

Harvest diorama
© Sheron Long

How Long Can a Summer in Mexico Last?

A lifetime. When you step into another culture, rarely do you leave without life-changing, long-lasting experiences.

Certainly, that was the case during the summer I spent studying abroad in Mexico. One day, I stopped to admire this tiny scene of a harvest celebration—

the corn stalks scratching the sky,

the central beast of burden,

families thankful for the bounty of the crop.

I bought the miniature scene for the beauty of the Mexican folk art, but I came to love it for the thankful moment it symbolizes. A moment of note.

As life went on, I realized the significant impact of my immersion into Mexican culture. There had been many moments of note, many times to say, “Oh, I see.”

Mexican miniature showing a diorama of a kitchen scene and a traditional aspect of Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

Respect for Mexico’s Roots

Just as with people, I came to understand that a country’s life story gives shape to its present. And that is one reason cultures are different.

In 1492 when Columbus arrived, the indigenous people had built great civilizations, and they were already making miniatures. In the ruins at Teotihuacán and Monte Albán, for example, archaeologists uncovered tiny clay figurines of people and animals, little dishes, and diminutive buildings.

Map of Mexico with modern-day cities where Mexican culture and folk art still thrive. (Image © iStock)

Amid Mexico’s modern cities are the vestiges of great civilizations, such as
Teotihuacán outside Mexico City and Monte Albán near Oaxaca.
© iStock

For a country like Mexico, the arrival of the Europeans had a profound impact. The landing was not merely an important discovery, but rather the very birth of la raza, the beginning of something as personally significant as the Hispanic identity.

Just over 300 years later in 1810, Mexicans rose in revolt against Spain. Mexican folk art survived the constraints of the Spanish colonial rule and Porfirio Diaz’s dictatorship that followed. After the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920), however, when national pride swelled, the enduring tradition of artisanal crafts came to be seen as part of the national heritage.

Mexico today is a vibrant culture, both rural and cosmopolitan, with tough issues of drugs and corruption at its doorstep. It is also respectful of its rich origins, a place where arte popular (folk art) is part of the national identity.

Tiny in Form, Big in Appeal

Another moment of note—Mexican miniatures, small replicas of full-sized objects, are the epitome of handcrafts. Katrin Flechsig, in her book Miniature Crafts and Their Makers, gets you thinking about why they enchant us.

A large Mexican market basket and a tiny replica both represent Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

Could it be the playfulness of little objects? Or, could it be the very fact that they are frivolous and impractical? The artisans who make vases like the one below have to know they will never be used. Does that free them up to create?

A pink dahlia next to a miniature vase, crafted by a Mexican artisan and part of the folk art of Mexico. (Image © Sheron Long)

Whatever the reason, they attracted the eye of painter Frida Kahlo who displayed her miniatures and folk art in La Casa Azul (Blue House), the home where she was born and died in Coyoacán, now part of Mexico City. You can still see them there today. Perhaps they serve, as Flechsig notes about other modern-day collectors, as “an antidote to cultural memory loss.”

Close to Home

Often Mexican miniatures depict everyday objects used in the rhythm of life—a traditional metate for grinding corn . . .

A metate, or flat grinding stone in miniature, illustrating the work of Mexican artisans preserving Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

. . . or special vessels for cooking and carrying.

Copper baskets with intricate handles, the work of Mexican artisans creating miniatures that are part of Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

These objects may look small and simple, but they recall family life, one of the deepest and most important values in Mexican culture.

Miniature table set with a tiny basket of fruit and other household items, symbolizing the value of family time in Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

Miniatures speak to important values like family time during la comida,
the two-hour lunch in the middle of the day.
© Sheron Long

Made in Mexico

Just about any material is fair game for a miniature. In the dinner scene, a found object—the walnut—becomes the back of a guitar. Palm leaves are woven into tiny baskets, one holding ceramic fruit. A piece of metal makes a tiny strainer. It’s all up to the resourcefulness and the ingenuity of the artisan.

The maker of these finger-sized wooden masks found the bits of wood, considered their natural shapes, whittled a hollow in the back, and then carved and painted to create the fanciful animals.

Tiny wooden masks of a cat, dog, fox, wolf, and other animals, made by a miniaturist whose work reflects Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

A lover of literature and the arts must have made these symbols of culture, one from paper and the other from wood and string, both less than 1/2-inch tall.

Miniature book from paper and tiny guitar from wood are examples of the artisanal crafts of Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

When I think about the work involved—the manual skill and the diligence required, the certain tedium in putting the miniatures together—I wonder again about the payoff. These are little objects that will never be used.

And yet there was something about my encounter with Mexican culture that taught me to see them as quite worthwhile. The visual delight, the joy of play, the pride in a rich cultural history—these are big moments of note. And that gives miniatures a significance greater than what meets the eye.

Miniature plaster dove with a letter in its mouth, illustrating one type of folk art in Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

For travel information on Mexico, visit Mexico’s Tourist Board. And, if you go, be sure to stop at the Museo de Arte Popular in Mexico City.

@YoSoyMexicano invites a different twitterer to share info about Mexico each week, a good way to get insights on currents in the modern culture (in Spanish only). Or, visit the government of Mexico on Facebook for “the latest stories and news on progress and modern changes that are moving Mexico into the future.”

Sheron Long 6 Comments

Crossing Cultures/Mexico/Study Abroad/The World's Art & Design

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