August 20th, 2013

The bells wake me again this morning, but not nearly as early.  We are packing to head to our next destination, which is in the town of Autlan de Navarro for the night.  We have two visits on the way, one of the universities of the state of Jalisco and the other a smaller farming cooperative for dairy and corn producers called Prolea.  Then we will drive for four hours to the city of Autlan near the base of Sierra Manatlan.

The Centro Universitario de Los Altos (CUALTOS) is a relatively large campus that focuses primarily on agriculture based research.  It has about 3,700 students studying various fields, primarily agriculture and pre-veterinary sciences.  The campus is flat and sprawling, a start difference compared to UW-Madison.  The students mill about, all commuters to campus, and I can't help but think of the Californian high schools that I've seen.

We meet the director, a tall dark haired Spanish man named Umberto, who gladly greets us.  Although he knows very little English, he tries his hardest to joke with us every chance he gets.  He explains that this university is actually UW-Madison's sister school which would explain why we are seeing students wearing Bucky everywhere.  He is kind and welcomes us to attend whenever we would like, making sure to note that tuition is only $40/semester USD.  Damn, that would almost be tempting had I not already graduated.  Kind of makes me wonder how they good away with charging $6500/semester back home and that's even in state tuition!  The state of education is ridiculous, paying more for prestige than more anything else.  I leave CUALTOS thinking that I may actually return one day when I consider graduate school, although I know that's still far off in the future.  Academia has drained me to say the least.

We tour the area, visiting various labs studying feed production, cattle metabolism, waste management and the like.  The labs are all relatively small with little laboratory equipment that would be common in the labs back home.  Smaller field machines grace the tops of work benches and much of the data is produced by hand and then entered into the professor's personal laptop.  Although the operation appears primitive, it's apparent that much is going on in each lab we enter.  Our tour is finished with a climb to the roof of the library, our request having been granted. Initially, I felt it was a rude request to make of the director, but once I am able to stand on the top of this tallest building on campus, I get to appreciate how beautiful the surrounding landscape is.  

Prolea is the last stop before our four hour trek to Autlan and I unfortunately find that I am only slightly more interested than I was at Proan.  At least here we get to sample cheese and the local chia seed that has become so popular among American fit freaks.  Interestingly enough, I find this chia more interesting than the cheese production (although that may have something to do with hailing from the cheese state) as it is considered the newest superfood to reach US markets.  This explains why Roman, the facility director, is especially keen to push for its mass production among the cooperative members.  Go figure.

The farm kids ask six hundred questions regarding cow breeding again, so I wander off to check out the calves in their pens.  I can appreciate that they are so interested, but more so in the production numbers than the cultural and business model differences.  I'll admit that the little calves are adorable before they become big drooling milk machines.  And so goes forth our tour of Prolea, me asking more cultural questions of the workers and then wandering about to find things in which I have interest.  I try to ask about the cheese production, as its unpasteurized status means that it cannot be exported to America.  You can tell the difference in its taste, though I wonder how much that has to do with the milk produced to make it as opposed to the fact that it is not pasteurized.

We cram back into the van once more, this time for a four hour ride through the mountains.  I always love these treks, it's so interesting to see how each country drives through the terrain and the gringo reaction to it.  The dry countryside gives way to green mountains that dip and rise and blend together continuously.  We bumble along at a steady pace, often with sheer cliffs on at least one side of the van.  Our driver, Jesus, is calm and drives well, much to the relief of the other kids.  There is no need for worry and the landscape slowly is lost and becomes repetitive masses of green, so I quietly work on my essays and assignments that will ensure my graduation.  What a crazy last way to spend my final credits of undergrad studies.

When we finally make it to Autlan, I am tired despite having had the opportunity to sleep this entire way.  We check in and grab a bed, which is unfortunately on the first floor with large windows facing locals homes and bars and I can hear people laughing and singing late into the night.  Tomorrow we are to scale the mountain, so I need my sleep.  Luckily, travelling often and living in a college town has allowed me to push such distractions from my mind and I am relatively quick to fall asleep.