Of course the title of my blog comes from my proximity to Frida Kahlo's home, La Casa Azul which is now a museum. Frida Kahlo originally planned to be a doctor, but the horrific accident she had turned her into an artist. But she was also a political activist and, of course, a wife.
Last night we attended a farewell fiesta for a woman who was in Ken's master's program in economics last year. She is in her early twenties. She was born in communist Poland, then moved to Greece with her family, awaiting a chance to move to Canada. By the time she arrived in Mexico, she spoke Polish, Greek, English and French. She learned Spanish almost overnight. She made many friends here and all share the same fascination for life and travel that she does. She has decided to go to a different master's program this fall...in Warsaw!
One of other women from Ken's class was at the party...she is an engineer who already has two degrees who will have four at the end of this program. We met a group of women a couple of weeks ago who run two programs here (CREA and Fabrica Social) which help indigenous women market and sell the goods they make: clothing fashioned of handwoven material, mole sauce, embroidery, chocolate, etc. The woman who sold me a shirt is also an attorney for the indigent.
Our landlady's home is more beautiful than many art galleries, filled with her amazing paintings, carvings, pottery and prints. She teaches by day, paints by night. She speaks three languages fluently, as do her children.
Three of the women in my Spanish class intend to stay here in Mexico...they speak so many languages and have been to so many countries that it makes my head spin. And they are only in their twenties! My closest friend in Spanish class is only eighteen years old...a model in the Czech Republic, a member of the national women's basketball team, able to speak at least five languages. She will be returning to her country in a few weeks for her senior year in high school.
The mom I wrote about recently is a dentist...and so is her mother.
Every day when I walk to school or to a store I see many police officers who are women. Women here are also engineers, doctors (both doctors I have met were women),dentists, professors (my professor, Alfredo, was one of the only male teachers in the program, and the teacher in charge is a woman.) The director of Ken's program is a woman.
U.S. presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has said that she chose her career because it was what her husband wanted her to do and it was important for women to be submissive to their husbands.
Michele would never fit in here in Mexico! Women here love fiercely, live life passionately, but most of all, they are true to themselves!
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