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“Finally I came to a place with a big wire fence all around it and a concrete white sign in front. I did not know what it said, but it was the Agricultural Station. I slept in front of the sign that night and when I awoke in the morning I could see two Huichol men working inside the fence; I called out to them.We talked through the fence, but they would not let me in.I went to the gate and waited until someone went in, and then I went in to see them.They said that there was no work, but one of them said that I could help him. I was there for almost a week, and no one knew it, I helped them in the fields and in the gardens .They always had plenty of food for everyone there, not just tortillas , and whatever we could find to go with them.Then one of the professors asked me if I could stay. I did.They were all very good to me there. There was one of the professors there, Juan Melendez, who was always in his classroom writing things on the big green boards until very late.When I was finished, I would watch him, rather than sit with the other Huichols.There they were all San Andreseños, or costeños. One evening, Professor Juan asked me to come to his classroom. I watched him writing things on the big green board with a piece of white stone.While he was writing things I took another piece of the white stone and made designs on the other big green board.I drew the haiku, the water Snake, and some other things.Then I began to copy the things that he was drawing, the words he was putting on the board. 144 | xxv A Teacher ‘So you can write,’ he said. ‘Can you write your name?’ he asked me. ‘No,’ I said. ‘Well, what is your name?’ he asked, and I told him. Professor Juan wrote my name on the board and I copied it.I copied it again and again. ‘See,’ he said,‘you can write.’And he wrote the letters of the alphabet on the board. He told me the name of each one and I copied it. I copied the letters that he had written. It was a tough job, but I copied them well.Professor Juan wrote words with the letters and I copied those. Then he asked me if I could read what I had written, and I could not. He had a book for me with letters and words, he said, and the next day he would bring it. Every evening I wrote letters and words on the board. I read them to him and I copied them from his book. It took a long time, but I learned all of the letters and numbers. I learned to read and to do ciphers. Juan had me write things on the board for his classes and he gave me books to read.At first I would read the books to the professor, and it was very difficult.Then I began to read the books he gave me. I read them again and again until I knew every word. I worked there until the rains came and all of the other Huichols left. Professor Juan asked me to stay and continue my lessons. I worked there through the rains and spent every night with Professor Juan. He asked me to come with his students to help in the fields. I liked his students.They were good young men.They didn’t call me a ‘little Indian’ like the others. I went out with the students to the town and one of them, Miguel, taught me to drive his pickup.When he saw that I could drive, Professor Juan told the director, and then they sent me to town quite often to get things. In the town there were two cantinas and there was plenty of aguardiente , but there were only the tewalis there. I was still afraid to get drunk with the tewalis.They might beat me and steal my money if they knew I was an Indian.They all got drunk there in the town,really drunk. Even some of the students got drunk there,but I was afraid that the students would tell everyone I was just an indito. I was still afraid that Manuel and his men...

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