Leavin' on a Jet Plane

At 12:55 tomorrow afternoon, a plane will take-off from Los Angeles en-route to Mexico City. Seated in seat 24A, I will be one of the flight's passengers as it lifts off LAX's tarmac. In the minute or so that it takes the plane to become airborne, I will be displaced from the comfort and safety of home and find myself bound toward one of the world's largest cities and an experience of unfamiliarity in a foreign country.

For the next six weeks, I will be traveling between Mexico City, Acapulco, and Oaxaca City under the veil of a Stonehill Media Studies grant that I received earlier this year. This opportunity will allow me to explore Mexico and it's culture as I develop my skills as a photojournalist and improve my Spanish.

My brother arrives in the Federal District (DF...aka Mexico City) tomorrow and we have enrolled in the 6-day Foundry Photojournalism Workshop. He will be in the city with me for two weeks--the absolute most time he could get off work without losing his job. After his departure, I plan to travel to Acapulco to relax for a week and get a taste of the coast. I will then make my way to Oaxaca City for the last three weeks of this journey. I plan to spend the first two of these weeks studying Spanish at the Becari Language School and staying with a local family. My final week in will be spent photographing and documenting Oaxaca's annual festival, Guelageutza. I will be back in the States by July 25th and have a couple weeks at home before returning to Claremont and beginning my work as an OA head leader.

I'll try to keep a regular account of my adventures here and promise to include lots of photos. Enjoy!

Waiting for the Metrolink train in Claremont. My life for the next six weeks.