Robert M. Laughlin
Journal 2: Eight Years' Perspective
Well, I, Romin Teratol, went far away, to the United States, as they say, because my compadre Bob, who lives there, took me. We went in 1963.
When he arrived at my house to take me, late in the day, he found me drunk, because I had been drinking with my friends. When he arrived at my house I wasn't ready at all, because he found me asleep. Then I got up quickly and got ready. I got up to fix my clothes. I was going to meet him the next day at Na Chij because I was going to pass by Stzellejtik to talk to my mother-in-law, but he ar- rived to pick me up in the afternoon. That's why I wasn't ready. And also because I had gone to pray to Our Lord.
But when he arrived, I got ready quickly. And I was still a bit drunk when I arrived in San Cristobal.
We went to drink some cane liquor at 7Antun Chayna's house, but it was already pretty dark. But when we left 7Antun Chayna's store we met the magistrate at the miller's house. And he spoke to us. It was during the magistracy of Chep Telakrus from Paste7.
Bweno, 7a li vo7on Romin Teratolone H7ay ta nom 7a li ta 7Estados 7Unidos chalike porke ja7 liyik' ech'el li jkumpare Lol tey nakal tey yo7e, ta mil nove-syentos sesentay-tres ti libatotikotike.
Bweno, ti k'alal k'ot yik'on ta jnae ta jun xmal k'ak'al pero jyakubelon k'ot staon porke 7ikuch' xchi7uk kamikotak, 7a ti k'alal 7ik'ot ta jnae muk' bu chapalon porke vayemon k'ot staon ja7 to lik jchap jba ta 7ora lik jchap jk'u7tak porke ta
yok'omal to 7ox chk'ot jnup ta Na Chij porke ta to 7ox x7ech' jk'opon jni7-me7el ta Stzellejtik, pero 7ik'ot no 7ox yik'on ta smalel nox k'ak'al 7une yech'o ti muk' chapalon 7une 7i porke yu7un 7ay to jnup kajvaltik noxtok.
Bweno, pero ti k'alal 7ik'ot 7une j-likel 7ijchap jba 7i jyakubelon to jutuk k'alal lital ta Jobele.
Bweno, 7ech' to kuch'tikotik pox ta sna 7Antun Chayna pero 7ik'7ik' xa 7ox, pero k'alal
lilok'otikotik ta styenta 7Antun Chaynae ja7 7o tey 7ijtatikotik li preserente ta sna jmulinero 7une 7i lisk'oponotikotik 7un, ja7 7o ta spreserenteal li Chep Telakrus ta Paste7 7une.
30 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY NUMBER 25
"Where are you going, Bob?" Compadre Bob was asked.
"I'm going to San Cristobal," he said.
"Well, won't you take me, because I'm going too," he said, but it was already dark.
"Well, I guess I can," he said, since there were just two of them; he and one of his constables.
We arrived here in San Cristobal. It was maybe eight o'clock at night already.
The magistrate [and his constable] stayed in downtown San Cristobal, because they were prob- ably going to talk to a lawyer, because that was when they were quarreling with Old Yermo from Na Chij, and Chep Nuj and Maryan Komis, too.1
As for us, me and Compadre Bob, and Compadre 7Anselmo went to the cubito, because that was where Compadre Bob lived.
The next day at six o'clock in the morning, we left San Cristobal, here, because we just went in Compadre Bob's car.
Me, I was feeling terrible from the hangover, there below Sek'emtik.
Now at that time there was a tiny little cantina there. Then I told Compadre Bob that I was feeling awful. He waited for me a little while there. I bought a quarter pint of cane liquor. Then I drank it.
After I drank the quarter pint I felt a little better, because it warmed me up.
We arrived at Tuxtla. We ate there.
After we had finished eating, we took to the road again. Then we arrived at La Ventosa to eat again. We all drank beers, because it was hotter there. But the store was closed up tight with win- dows because the wind was terribly strong there. It felt as if the car was nearly blown away.
After we finished eating there, we took to the road again. We slept in Oaxaca, and we ate there, too, before going to bed.
Me, I still had a hangover, too, but it was al- ready nighttime. Since it was hotter, that's why I still had a hangover.
As for me, I didn't think I could stand it any longer, and besides it was nighttime. I simply woke up my compadre Bob, because I felt that I couldn't stand the pain in my heart any longer.
He gave me two aspirins, and they worked. And then I fell asleep. The sweating stopped. That's when it calmed down.
Early the next morning we ate breakfast.
Now after we ate, we went to look at the ances-
Bweno, "Bu chabat, Lol?" x7utat li kumpa Lol 7un.
"Chibat ta Jobel," xut 7un.
"Bweno, mi mu xak'an xavik'on ech'el yu7un chibat 7uk," xi 7un. Pero 7ik' xa 7ox 7osil 7un.
"Bweno, stak' nan," xi 7un. Komo k'ajom cha7-vo7ik xchi7uk jun yajmayol 7un.
Bweno, liyulotikotik li7 ta Jobel 7une 7oy xa 7ox nan ta vaxakib 7ora 7ak'ubal 7un.
Bweno, li preserente 7une tey 7ikomik ta yutil Jobel 7un porke yu7un nan ta sk'opon lisensiado 7un porke yu7un ja7 7o ta ssa7ulanik to 7ox k'op xchi7uk li mol Yermo ta Na Chij xchi7uk li Chep Nuje 7i xchi7uk li Maryan Komis noxtok 7une.
Bweno, li vo7otikotik xchi7uk li kumpa Lole 7i li kumpa 7Anselmo 7une libatotikotik k'alal Kuvito 7un porke ja7 te nakal li kumpa Lol 7une yech'o tey libatotikotik 7un.
Bweno, ta yok'omal 7un ta vakib 7ora ta sob lilok'otikotik li7 ta Jobele porke naka ta skaro li kumpa Lol libatotikotik 7o 7une.
Bweno, li vo7on 7une chicham xa 7ox yu7un xchamelal le7 ta yolon Sek'emtik 7une.
70ra, ja7 7o 7oy te jun 7unin k'ox kantina te yo7 7une, ja7 to 7ikalbe li kumpa Lol 7une ti yu7un chicham xa 7une lismala j-likel te yo7 7une 7ijman 7o71ol kwarta pox 7un ja7 to 7ikuch' ech'el 7un.
Bweno, laj kuch' ti 7o71ol kwarta 7une ja7 to lilekub j-set' noxtok 7un porke 7ik'ixnaj ech'el 7un.
Bweno, lik'ototikotik ta Tuxta 7un ja7 tey live7otikotik 7un.
Bweno, k'al laj ve7otikotik 7une ja7 7o 7ijtam jbetikotik noxtok 7un ja7 to k'ot ve7otikotik ta
Ventosa noxtok 7un 7ikuch'tikotik presko skotol porke mas xa k'ux k'ak'al te yo7e pero bajal lek ta nenetik li nae porke batz'i toj tzotz 7ik' te yo7e, jutuk xa mu chbat ta 7ik' ya7el li karoe.
Bweno, k'al laj ve7otikotik te yo7 7une ja7 7o 7ijtam jbetikotik noxtok 7un k'alal to Wajaka livayotikotik 7un 7i te to live7otikotik vayuk noxtok 7un.
Bweno, 7a li vo7on 7une liyak'be to xchamelal noxtok 7un pero ta 7ak'ubaltik xa 7ox komo ja7 li mas k'ux k'ak'ale yech'o 7iyak' to xchamelale.
Bweno, pero li vo7on 7une mu xa xkuch 7ika7i 7une 7i xchi7uk k'usuk 7ak'ubaltik 7une solel 7ijtij li jkumpa Lol 7une porke ka7i xa ti mu xa xkuch li chti7van ta ko7on 7une.
Bweno, liyak'be cha7-p'ej 7aspirina 7i ja7 to 7isbalin 7un 7i ja7 to 7och jvayel 7un 7ich'ab ti chik'inajel 7une ja7 to te yoch 7o 7un.
Bweno, ta sakubel 7osil ta yok'omal 7une te live7otikotik skwenta sob.
70ra, k'alal laj ve7otikotik 7une ja7 7o bat
tors' houses next to Oaxaca.2 We went by car. The ancestors' houses were on the top of a hill. But they were guarded. They asked for two pesos apiece. That was the price to see them. But the buildings to be seen weren't very big. The buildings that we could go in to look at weren't very big.
After we looked at them, we went to pick up our things in Oaxaca. Then we took to the road again as far as Cholula.3 There we went to look at the ancestors' houses, too, because there are ruins there. We went in a hole to look because [the exca- vation] wasn't finished. Work had begun on it.
They opened it, because it had turned into a hill and a cave, because the Spaniards had covered it up with dirt when they arrived.
Now when they built a church on the hilltop, it seems they saw that there were ancestors' houses there when they dug. But they built the church anyway. Afterwards they started to open up care- fully the ancestors' houses so that they could see well what it was like underground, and how many rooms there were inside their houses, because the building was as big as a large hill. That's why a church could go on top.
They asked for two pesos again to go in and see it. And besides we could buy postcards of it, too, pictures of the ruins. But a train passed by there, too. And we drank pulque there, too.
After we looked at the ruins we took to the road again, as far as Puebla. We went to sleep, too, but we reached there late at night. We arrived there to eat supper.
The next day, too, we took to the road as far as Mexico City. We arrived at Mexico City probably at noon.
We arrived there to eat lunch. And we slept there.
The next day we went to the American Embas- sy, too, for them to see whether the papers that had been issued by the governor in Tuxtla were all right.
After that was over, we went to look at Chapul- tepec Castle. They say that that was the meeting place of the former government officials. Their beds were there, their portraits, their watches, their pistols. Everything was there at their former meet- ing place. Their carriages, as they called them long ago, were standing there. And there were two white horses standing there. And you could see how they waged war against the Americans long ago. And there were a great many people looking.
Men and women were crowding about, but they were simply lined up to look.
jk'eltikotik sna 7antivoetik te ta xxokon Wajaka 7un libatotikotik ta karo, tey ta ba vitz xkom li sna 7antivoetik 7une pero 7oy xchabiel chib pexu ju-jun krixchano ta sk'anbe stojol yo7 ta jk'eltik 7oe pero muk' bu mas muk'tik li na stak' xi7ochotik jk'eltike.
Bweno, k'alal laj jk'eltikotik 7une ja7 7o 7ech' jtam k'usuk ku7untikotik ta Wajaka 7un ja7 7o
7ijtam ech'el jbetikotik noxtok 7un k'alal to Cholula tey 7ech' jk'eltikotik sna 7antivoetik noxtok porke yu7un 7oy te sna 7antivoetik te yo7e, 7och jk'eltikotik ta yut ch'en pero yu7un mu to ta
smeltzan porke 7ochem to 7ox 7abtel ja7 to ta sjamik porke pasem xa ta vitz ta ch'en porke ja7 7o la 7isbut'iik ta lum ti k'alal 7i7och tal ti
7espanyoletike.
70ra, ti k'alal 7ismeltzanik j-p'ej 7eklixa ta sjol ti vitz yilel 7une ja7 to la 7iyilik ti 7oy tey sna 7antivoetik 7une ti k'alal 7isjok'ik 7une, pero li 7eklixyae 7ismeltzanik 7onox, ja7 tz'akal to 7ilik sjamik lek li sna 7antivoetike yu7un ta sk'elik lek k'usitik x7elan li ta yut balamile 7i tey jay-k'ol yut snaike porke yu7un j-p'ej ta muk'ta vitz li nae yech'o ti xu7 7i7och 7eklixya ta sjole.
Bweno, pero ta x7och jk'eltik 7oe chib pexu tzk'anik noxtok 7i parte stak' jmantik li svunal noxtoke li slok'ob-bail li sna 7antivoe, pero te yo7e tey xa x7ech' li tren noxtoke, 7i te yo7e
7ikuch'tikotik pulke noxtok.
Bweno, k'alal laj jk'eltikotik li sna 7antivoetik noxtoke ja7 7o 7ijtam ech'el jbetikotik noxtok k'alal to Pwevk bat vayotikotik noxtok pero nax xa 7ox 7ak'ubal 7ijtatik6tik 7un ja7 to tey k'ot ve7otikotik skwenta sena.
Bweno, ta yok'omal noxtok 7un 7ijtam ech'el jbetikotik k'alal Mejiko, lik'ototikotik nan ta 7ol k'ak'al ta Mejikoe.
Bweno, tey xa k'ot ve7otikotik skwenta chib 7ora 7i tey xa livayotikotik 7un.
Bweno, ta yok'omal ja7 to libatotikotik ta 7embajada 7amerikana noxtok 7un skwenta ta sk'el mi lek li vunetik lok'em ech'el yu7un govyerno ta Tuxtae.
Bweno, k'alal 7ilaj 7une ja7 7o bat jk'eltikotik li Kastiyo de Chapultepek chalik 7une ti tey
stzobob-bailik ti ba7yi jyu7eletik 7une, tey ti stemike ti slok'ob-bailike, ti srelojike, ti spistolaike skotol tey stzobob-bailik ti vo7ne, tey to kotol skaroajeik chalik ti vo7nee 7i 7o tey kotajtik cha7-kot sakil ka7etik noxtok, 7i tey xvinaj ti k'u la x7elan ti 7iyu7 ti 7ak'-k'ok' xchi7uk ti
7amerikanoetik ti vo7nee, pero batz'i 7ep sk'elel ta j-mek solel xlamet ti 7antze ti vinike pero yu7un solel xcholet ta sk'elik ta j-mek.
32 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY NUMBER 25
After we looked, we climbed down to the bottom again. There was a lake there, too. The people were having fun in canoes. They rented the canoes to amuse themselves, not because they were crossing the lake. It was not running water.
After we had amused ourselves, we returned to the hotel. We slept there. But it was still a bit light when we arrived at the hotel. We slept there, at the Hotel Pedraza, as it's called.
Me and Compadre 7Anselmo slept in one room, but Compadre Bob [and his family] slept in another room. We slept on the second floor.
As for me, I went down to amuse myself on the floor below.
Now an American woman slept there.
Now the old woman saw me. She was going to take me into her room. "Come here, come in, young man! Come here, let's go to bed!" said the woman.
"No, I don't want to," I said.
"Come here, let's have a little drink!" she said.
"I don't want to," I said. I simply went out the hotel door.
Well, the old woman followed right behind me.
She went to meet me at the entrance.
Then, as for me, I started running. The old woman started running, too. But me, I just came back [one block] to the corner, because I was scared to go on further, to flee, because I was far off and besides there was nothing else I could do because it wasn't my town. So I fled. I simply ran back to the hotel. And I simply went to tell my compadre Bob about it.
He told me I'd better not go down to the ground floor, that I should just stay in my room. So I was upset about the way the old woman chased me, be- cause who knows if it was a bad woman or a crazy person or what, because she looked as if she was drunk, too. So I simply shut myself up in the room with my compadre 7Anselmo.
The next day we took a trip to the edge of Mexico City. The place is called Xochimilco. But it was far from the hotel where we slept. At [the place] called Xochimilco there was the arm of a lake. And there were lots of small boats there. You could pay to get in and amuse yourself on the lake.
And they had little bowers and there were arches on the roof and doorways of the bowers. And we got into a small boat, too, but it moved terribly slowly because it was only for fun. And the people ate in the boats and some carried marimbas in the boats, because there were loads of boats, because that's what they were for.
Bweno, ti k'alal laj jk'eltikotik 7une ja7 7o liyalotikotik ta yok noxtok 7un ja7 7o tey jun nab noxtok tey chlaj skux yo7onik ti krixchanoetik ta jom 7une, ta slok'ik li jom ta skux 7o yo7onike
ma7uk ti yu7n ta stuch'ike komo yu7un tz'anal nox li nabe.
Bweno, k'alal 7ilaj jkux ko7ontikotik 7une ja7 7o lisutotikotik ech'el ta 7otel 7un tey livayotikotik 7un pero saksak to 7ox j-set' k'alal lik'ototikotik ta 7otel 7une, te livayotikotik yo7 7otel Pedrasa chalbeike.
Bweno, li vo7on xchi7uk kumpa 7Anselmoe jun kwarto livayotikotik pero li kumpa Lole jun 7o kwarto 7ivayik ja7 nox ti ta xchibal piso livayotikotike.
Bweno, li vo7on 7une liyal jkux ko7on ta j-koj 7olon 7un.
70ra, te yo7 7une te chvay jun me7el brinko 7un.
70ra, liyil ti me7el 7une chiyik' ochel ta skwarto 7un. "La7 7ochan, joven, la7 vayikotik!" xi ti me7el 7une.
"Mo7oj, mu jk'an," xkut 7un.
"La7 kuch'tik j-set'uk pox!" xi 7un.
"Mu jk'an," xkut 7un. Solel lilok' ech'el ta ti7 7otel 7un.
Bweno, li me7el 7une tijil xa ech'el ta jpat ba staon ta ti7 na 7un.
70ra, li vo7on 7une 7ijtambe 7anil 7un, 7istambe 7anil li me7el 7uk 7une, pero li vo7on 7une tey nox lisut tal ta jun 7eskina porke 7ak' 7o xa batikon mas nom chijatave porke chixi7 porke mas xa nomon, 7i xchi7uk k'usuk mu stak' k'usi jpas mas porke ma7uk jtek-lumal yech'o ti lijatave solel H7anilaj sutel ta 7otel 7i solel k'ot kalbe ya7i li jkumpare Lole.
Bweno, liyalbe ti mu xa ya7uk yalikon ta lumtike ke ti teikon xa no 7ox ta jkwartoe, ja7 yech chopol 7ika7i ti x7elan ta snutzvan li me7ele porke na7tik mi chopol me7el mi chuvaj mi k'usi porke jyakubel noxtok yilel yech'o ti solel xa nox teyon 7ijbaj jba ta kwarto xchi7uk jkumpare 7Anselmoe.
Bweno, ta yok'omal 7un ja7 7o libatotikotik ta paxyal tey ta xxokon Mejiko, Sochimilko la sbi ti balamil 7une pero nom to xil ti 7otel yo7
chivayotikotik 7une, 7a ti yo7 Sochimilko sbie jun k'ob nab 7i 7ep tey k'ox barkoetik stak' tojel yo7 xi7ochotik 7o jkux ko7ontik ta nabe pero 7oy yunen nailtak 7i 7oy yalku7altak sjol sti7iltak ti snailtake 7i tey li7ochotikotik ta jun k'ox barko 7uk pero batz'i k'un chanav ta j-mek porke ja7 li
skwenta no 7ox kux-7o7one pero 7o tey chve7ik ta yut barko li krixchanoetike, 7i 7oy j-7o71ol
skuchojik smarimpaik ta yut barkoe porke 7ep ta j-mek li barkoe porke ja7 ta spasik.
On the lake shore there were just bald cypresses and cabbages planted, because Xochimilco is in a cold climate. And elderberry and peaches grow in Mexico City.
We left the lake. It rained terribly hard then.
We returned. We passed by a town and there was a market there. I was going to buy some rib- bons, but I never found any. We simply returned to the hotel.
The next day we went to see the place where the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe is. And then we went to a place where glasses are made, too. Carre- tones is the name of the factory. We went there be- cause Compadre Bob went to buy some glasses for himself.
At noon we left Mexico City. We were going to look at a church beyond Mexico City because the inside is said to be very beautiful. But the trouble was we weren't given permission, because the church was closed, too.4
We simply went straight on. We passed Quere- taro. Then we turned off the road from Mexico City and took the road to San Luis Potosi, as they call it. And then we went on the road to San Miguel Allende, as I think it's called, because that road is supposed to be shorter.
We just passed by there and went on as far as Guanajuato. But we arrived at Guanajuato late at night. But none of the streets were straight, they were all terribly crooked. If we took a street we just arrived where we had started.
We walked on foot for a little while to see where the street went. Compadre Bob left his car on an- other street. When we returned to get the car, we simply had a hard time finding it, because we forgot. We didn't know anymore where the car was left. But the houses there were all attached to the rocks, because they had attached all their houses to the cliffs. That's why none of the streets were straight.
With difficulty we found the car. We watched where the road went. We found a hotel. We were overjoyed. We slept there, and we ate there.
After we had eaten, we went out another time, too, because they were having a fiesta. A record player was blasting away there and we went to look.
There were some kids standing in the street there. They saw us, but they ran off screaming, be- cause they were scared, since they had never seen clothes like ours, because we didn't have long pants. That's probably why they thought we were
Bweno, 7a li ta ti7ti7 nabe naka k'isistik 7i naka jol 7itajtik tz'unbikil porke sikil balamil li
Sochimilkoe 7i 7oy xch'i chijil te7 7i turasnu li ta Mejikoe.
Bweno, lilok'otikotik tal ti ta nab 7une, ja7 7o 7ital vo7 pero batz'i tzotz ta j-mek.
Bweno, lisutotikotik tal 7un H7ech'otik6tik ta jun ch'ivit ta 7ox jman xela pero muk' bu 7ijta solel lisutotikotik tal yo7 7otel 7une.
Bweno, ta yok'omal 7une ja7 7o bat jk'eltikotik li yo7 buy yeklixyail jch'ul-me7tik Valalupa 7une, 7i ja7 7o li7ech'otikotik yo7 smeltzanat basoetik
noxtoke Kareton la sbi li yo7 pavrika 7une porke yu7un tey 7ech' sman sbasotak li kumpa Lol noxtoke yech'o ti li7ayotikotike.
Bweno, ta 7ol k'ak'al 7un lilok'otikotik ta Mejiko noxtok 7un, 7ech' 7ox jk'eltikotik j-p'ej 7eklixya ta sjelavel Mejikoe porke yu7un la leklek sba ta j-mek li yute pero k'usi muk' bu li7ak'batikotik permiso porke makal li 7eklixya noxtoke.
Bweno, solel tuk' libatotikotik noxtok
li7ech'otikotik ta Keretaro 7i ja7 tey 7ijch'aktikotik li belel Mejikoe ja7 7ijtamtikotik ech'el li sbelel la San-luis Potosi chalik 7une 7i te nox li7ochotikotik ta belel San-migel de 7Ayende xiik chka7i porke mas la tuk' ta 7alel li be te yo7e.
Bweno, naka no 7ox li7ech'otikotik te yo7e k'alal ta Wanajwato libatotikotik 7un pero nax 7ak'ubal lik'ototikotik ta Wanajwatoe pero batz'i muk' bu tuk'ik li kayatike solel xuk'anajtik ta j-mek, 7a ti mi jtamtik ech'el jun kayae ja7 nox tey chik'ototik ta
lok'el ti buy li7ochotik tale.
Bweno, lixanavotikotik ta koktikotik j-likel porke yu7un ta xkich'betikotik stuk'il li kaya buy xk'ote 7iyikta ta jun 7o kaya skaro li kumpa Lol 7une, k'alal sut jsa7tikotik li karoe solel xa vokol 7ijtatikotik porke te 7ich'ay jjoltikotik mu xa jna7tikotik buy 7ikom ti karoe pero li naetik te
yo7e naka tz'akbikil ta tonetik porke naka ch'enetik stz'akojik 7o li snaike yech'o ti muk' bu stuk'il li kayaetike.
Bweno, 7ijtatikotik ta vokol ti karo 7une kich'betikotik stuk'il ti kaya 7une 7ijtatikotik jun 7otel 7un ximuyibajotikotik xa 7un, ja7 xa tey livayotikotik 7un 7i tey to live7otikotik.
Bweno, k'alal laj ve7otikotike lilok'otikotik 7otro j-7ech'el noxtok porke yu7un 7o tey tzpasik k'in tey ta x7avan tokadisko 7i bat jk'eltikotik 7un.
Bweno, ja7 7o tey va7ajtik k'oxetik ta kaya 7un liyilotikotik 7un pero x7avlajet xa ech'el porke yu7un 7ixi7ik ja7 ti muk' bu xiyilotik yech
jk'u7tikotike porke ch'abal jpantalontikotik yeche yech'o 7ixi7ik 7un.