"Don't Walk Around So Confidently"

A new question on our survey asks about security concerns. If we make the obvious comparison between dusty, scorched Las Brisas and Iraq, then on Sunday Rodrigo and I walked through Fallujah. Our newest questions got some zingers. The mud houses at the back of the colonia, furthest from the (relative) safety of the highway, back up to a palm plantation where the gangs hide out and carry out their execution-style murders. After hearing some grisly stories, an old woman scowled at the two of us and advised, "Don't walk around with so much confidence."

When we walked back from the cathedral after dark, it occurred to me that we had passed two people on maybe a mile walk through the center of town, not counting the shotgun-toting guards. People just don't walk around here at night. Better to speed around in a pickup truck blasting country music with a dozen or so other gringos. And yet we are surprised when the young women we interview in Brisas say they recognize us.

Which, I might add, makes it easier for Rodrigo to tack on "what's your phone number" as a final survey question. (Or did, once.)

To rebuild our confidence when we are flying solo, this morning we walked into the bustling market at the center of Progreso and bought the three most lethal-looking machetes we could find, two of which fit snugly into the briefcase I keep our surveys in. The perfect thing for young men our age to play with. (Straight out of Crocodile Dundee. "Rod-rye-go. That's not a knife. That's a knife".) Between these fearsome blades, our increasingly grungy appearances (though we are in the process of contracting out our first loads of wash to one of the village women), and our growing number of friends in the village, I think we have never been safer.



I am also pleased to report that Las Brisas has fielded a promising youth baseball team. The youngsters are now aware the diamond has four bases, not five, although they still play with sticks and a small plastic soccer ball. Still, considering just yesterday they were playing a primitive game kicking that ball between two stones, their progress is remarkable. I am half-expecting to find paved roads and maybe a Wal-Mart when we go out there today. Though I would settle for the Marine Corps.