A Rocky Start

Within 10 minutes of arriving in the Mexico City aeropuerto, Kayela's purse was stolen; within 90 minutes, 4 members of our larger group were refused access to our connecting flight despite assigned seats; within three hours, the camera crew traveling with us to film part of a microfinance documentary found their $100,000 HD camera had been "misplaced" by the baggage handlers somewhere between SFO and the terminal in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas. Two days later, the camera surfaced...just in time to document all 4 Berkeley students struck down by Montezuma's Revenge...aka, the Mexican diet.

Kayela on the purse-snatching: "The team came together in the face of crisis...within seconds, Joel was demanding answers from the authorities while James purchased a calling card and Shirin got on the internet to look up numbers for cancelling credit cards. As for me, my personal contribution to the solution was to stand in the last place I saw the purse and sob hysterically. I am now the recipient of my own little micro-finance loans from my teammates...which actually might be a good thing as I have to get approval from them on how I am spending their money."

Despite a tenuous beginning, we are happy and (mostly) healthy, and expect to have a very memorable experience here in Chiapas.