Week 10: Homestays, Speakers and the exciting (and sometimes awkward) road of experiences

By Emily Papke-Larson

It’s been about two weeks living with our host families and from what I’ve experienced and heard from other students, all is well. It’s becomeincreasingly easier to communicate using words, not only hand gestures, Cuernavaca no longer has the most intimidating bus system in the world, and by now we’re all well acquainted with Mexican food.

The only bump on this otherwise exciting road of experiences is what I consider to be my continued level of unease with living in a language, culture, place,and family that are not my own... which is to say that things have gotteneasier, more fun, and a little more relaxing, but often I let my worries takecontrol spend far to much time planning things to say when I get off the bus andworrying about what I’m going to say during dinner, instead of spending my timesoaking up the experience of living in a different country.Through some friends, I recently discovered that there is not a word to describethe feeling “awkward” in the Spanish language. There are, however, several words in English that cover that uncomfortable, delicate, tricky, cumbersome, and dicey “awkward” feeling that we all get when wondering whether it’s actuallyalright for us to eat the leftover papaya in the kitchen or use the familytoothpaste in the bathroom once in awhile. It’s been an interesting journey,feeling my way through those moments where I would give anything to be swallowed by the floor on the spot, and instead learning to recognize culturaldifferences and, at the least, to laugh my way through them.

The theme for the section which we are studying dictates which speakers we will meet and talk with. We have begun to study Queer and Indiscent LiberationTheology in one of our classes and one of the most interesting ideas presentedthus far is a reinterpretation of Genesis 19:2, the Soddom and Gemmorah story,which has so plagued those who identify as GLBTQ. This interpretation finds the sin of those living in Soddom and Gemmorah to be a lack of hospitality for the angels who visit, not a sexual sin involving two men. What’s interesting about this interpretation though, is that it still leaves this text intact as a “Text of Terror” in which the daughter of the host is offered for sexual favors to themen of the city in the place of the two angels. As a result, this text has beendiscounted by many Feminist Liberation Theologians because of it’s violent andextremely oppressive attitude towards women. So, with thoughts ofreinterpretation and inclusion in our minds, we attended lectures and lessonstaught by a variety of people.

One of the most interesting activities this week was a monologue entitled“Transdaddy” written and performed by Giselle Stern-Hernandez, a former staff member at CEMAL. The monologue dealt with her experiences, reactions, and responses to her father’s physical, emotional, and mental transformation from male to female. It was well written and well performed, beginning with some of her mother’s experiences growing up in Mexico City and the relationship her parents shared after moving to the United States, along with the experiences of her younger brother and herself. This was understandably a difficult monologue to perform as it dealt with the private lives of real people and was complete with pictures from Giselle’s youth. It was well received by the CEMAL audience.

We also met with Rev. Alfonzo Leija of La Iglesia de la Comunidad Metropolitana which is a church focused on the inclusion of the GLBTQ community in the Catholic community. Alfonzo presented alternative interpretations of the Catholic doctrine, telling us of his beliefs that science and religion must unite so people can find themselves together with God. Alfonzo also talked with us about the HIV/AIDS crisis here in Cuernavaca and from 1987-2001, the existence of a shelter for people terminally ill with the disease. He said to us: “We didn’t have any money, but no one should die in the street.” In 1999, 30 people died in the shelter, the majority members of the church. Cuernavaca has the 3rd highest infection rate in Mexico and the church spends time focusing on giving free tests, talks and seminars in schools. The talk was ended with a reminder that information (and condoms) are the best resources for protection against HIV/AIDS.