Five more days in the mountains

Last Friday was an amazing last tour here in Oaxaca. The morning had an interesting start, we heard a lot of commotion coming from the main street as we were walking to school. Firecrackers were going off and horns were honking. This was nothing unusual seeing as there seems to be a different occasion for a party every day here in Oaxaca—seriously though, we hear firecrackers going off pretty much every day, including early morning and late at night, and it’s normally a church related celebration. When we got to the main street it was completely clogged with taxis, which were slowly crawling along behind a band complete with trumpets and all. These were the most adorable taxis you can imagine, the all had huge bows on the front and looked like they were ready to be given away as gifts. A lot of them also had very ornate bouquets stuck on the front. There were so many of them that they were taking up the entire one-way street casually crawling along at about two miles an hour. There was a white globe at the font of the of the procession proclaiming that it was taxi day! There seems to be a day for everything here, it is very common to see processions parading through the streets celebrating one occupation or the other, but there are normally on foot rather than made up of dolled up taxis so this was pretty interesting. From school we took a public bus to an area where they hire out a lot of taxis. Our guide arranged for a taxi to take us, before we could leave however we had to wait for the taxi driver and his taxi buddies to finish decorating their car. This took a few minutes since it needed a giant bow on both the front back and side doors! The driver took us to a town a little out of the city called San Agustin de Etla. It was an absolutely beautiful drive. We got to see more of the country and more mountains! I am in love with the mountains here they are so beautiful I can never get used to how gorgeous they are. We arrived at an old paper factory which has now been converted into an absolutely beautiful museum. It overlooked the valley where Etla is, and had an amazing view of more beautiful mountains.

The museum was pretty amazing because it was completely free, it had a beautiful collection of photographs and an area where they offer free concerts and dance performances at times. They also have a program where they exchange artists with other countries. An artist will come and stay there and work for a few months and show their artwork, in exchange a Mexican artist goes to that country the following year and does the same thing in an institute in a foreign country. It seemed like a pretty cool program.

(a nearby church) Getting back from this museum was a bit of a struggle however since it was the day of the taxi, so most taxi drivers were partying rather than working. So there were very few taxis working. In fact, while we were waiting for a taxi an entire parade of them went by, but none that were offering rides. The taxis in the country were even more extravagant looking than the ones in the city had been, they had so many flowers on front that it is a wonder they were able to see well enough to drive. Many also had a framed image of the Virgen of Guadelupe displayed in the very front or on top of the taxi. This really shows how important The Virgen is to the culture here. Most of the Taxi drivers had their entire families sitting in the back, they were all on their way to go to a dinner which was prepared in their honor. Furthermore, there was an entire mass earlier in the day dedicated just to them. It seems like they have quite the day! Finally, we were able to find a taxi to take us to an area where a bus goes to the city. This bus was extremely crowded, we were standing in isle and there was hardly room for us to get on. I think my favorite way to get around is by crowded bus, you get to see so many people, and really feel like you are getting around like a local. Plus, you can enjoy whatever happens to be on the radio. It was interesting because they were playing the Spanish version of the Justin Bieber song “sorry”, they had taken some of the lyrics and translated them into Spanish while the chorus was still in English. I liked the song way better this way, because somehow the lyrcis don’t sound as petty in Spanish although they are saying the same thing. Later on Friday I went with a few friends to check out the local Walmart which is huge and quite impressive, probably nicer than a lot of walmarts in the USA. Saturday was an absolutely amazing day, we took a bus to an area called “Hierve el agua” or boiling water about an hour and a half away. I loved the drive because the scenery was incredible. As I said I can’t get enough of the mountains. I just can’t. Hierve el agua, are little pools on a mountain which are far from boiling (they were quite cold in fact). We took the long way to get to them, they are normally a short walk from the parking lot, but we decided to take the scenic route. We walked down a dirt path down the side of the mountain underneath these giant outcroppings made out of deposited calcium carbonate which look almost like waterfalls. It was gorgeous. I thought I had died and gone to heaven just looking around. It was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen because the view of the mountains in the distance and above was crazy. I’m pretty sure we took the wrong path because it was a pretty tough climb up to the pools, the path was definitely rustic and we got pretty close to someone’s cornfield but we made it up to the pools an hour or so later. The pools were very pretty, they were right against the edge of the outcropping, so you could swim to the edge of the pool and look off the cliff at this crazy view of that stretched for miles below.

On our way back I bought perfectly ripe mango sliced up and drizzled in Chamoy (or sort of sweet and salty and not too spicy chili sauce).

It was a great day, but once we got back to Oaxaca it was back to work. This week in school we have three papers due, two presentations and an extra credit project so unfortunately there has been plenty of homework to keep us busy. It is crazy and a little sad that I have less than five days left to enjoy this beautiful city, but I am also super excited to come back home to see everyone.

Comida, comida, comida

The time has been passing by really quickly in Mexico. These last few weeks I have been really enjoying getting to know the city better. I have been trying to experience as much of the city as possible as my time here quickly slips away. Yesterday we were able to go hiking in the mountains, which was super fun. It was amazing to be able to see a view of the city from above. Along the trail there were numerous signs against littering, advocating protecting nature. It was a beautiful hike, but my legs are definitely feeling it today.

Yesterday morning, we also went to a very cute café. We sat there for hours watching life in the city pass by. In the three hours we sat there, we saw an astounding amount of VW bugs, both vintage and new in an assortment of pastels and cherry reds.

On Friday night we went to a Mezcal festival. There was a huge array of samples not only of every kind of mezcal imaginable but also of many different kinds of foods, including, chocolate (my favorite of course), cheeses, moles and salsas (including grasshopper and worm salsa!).

Speaking of food, we have tried some interesting foods lately. The other day for lunch our host family made us little nopal sandwiches. Nopal is a type of cactus. So for lunch we had mashed beans and cheese between two cactus leaves with rice on the side. We also have been given cactus juice. I have to say that nopal doesn’t have a bad flavor, but I think it may be an acquired taste... Nopals also produce a fruit called Tuna. Among other things they use this fruit to make a flavor of ice cream called tuna and burnt milk. I was feeling especially daring the other day and decided to try it… That was not a good call. It was the worst taste I have ever experienced. It literally tasted like sweet, smoky BURNT milk… Not my favorite flavor, but it must also be an acquired taste because it is very popular here. Another interesting food I tried is called Dorilocos. My conversation partner from school took me to the town center to try them. They are a bag of doritos cut open, and smothered in Chamoy sauce (a sweet and sour chili sauce which isn’t too spicy) and shredded carrot and jicama (which is a bland light green vegetable), and topped with chili coated peanuts, gummy worms and of course more chili sauce. Shockingly despite all the contrasting flavors they were delicious. Although I had to eat them with a full bottle of water because they were incredibly salty.

My favorite traditional foods, are probably Chiles rellenos (peppers stuffed with blended bean sauce and cheese), Tlayudas (giant crispy tortillas that look almost like a pizza, covered in beans cheese and meat or in my case veggies), and tamales (which we often eat for breakfast).

Tlayudas It is interesting because we never really eat what we consider breakfast foods in the united states, instead our most frequent breakfast is quesadillas, with thick queso Oaxaqueno (that most resembles a richer, denser version of string cheese) and often squash blossoms. We have also got to try some traditional breakfast drinks such as champurrado, a very thick hot chocolate which has a gravy like consistency from the corn flour it is prepared with. They also have normal hot chocolate which is often prepared with water and is very rich, dark and cinnamony. In the market the other day we also tried some interesting baked goods, one of which was a dark red colored bread, which was soaked in wine. It was bright colored purply-red, and had a very pungent wine flavor. Something that I have really enjoyed here which seems a little counter intuitive is the Italian food. There are a lot of delicious Italian resturaunts. For example we tried Gnocchi for the first time the other night, and wow...

As of today I have thirteen more days left in Oaxaca which feels very bittersweet. I will definitely miss all of the new smells, sights and most of all tastes (as you can probably tell). By the way here are some pictures of school just because it's pretty..

Also a lizard I met on the street yesterday :)

I still can't dance to save my life... last day of salsa lessons

Random..

Its been a busy weekend here in Oaxaca. This Friday we met down at the school at nine o’clock to go on our excursion for the day. We took a public bus to a taxi terminal in a different part of the city. The taxi terminal was simply a dirt and grass parking lot where a lot of “collectivos” were parked. Collectivos are the taxis which go into the smaller country towns. From my understanding they are called “collectivos” because they will pick up multiple people. Our taxi definitely would not have been able to fit any more people. We had two guys sitting in the front passenger seat next to the driver, and three more people in the back. I looked around for my seatbelt only to discover that there wasn’t one. Our taxi took us to a tiny town where all the roads were either cobblestone or dirt. Along the sides of the roads there were tall dense stands of bamboo, every now and then a patch was being hacked away by a guy with a machete perhaps clearing space for a fence. In the town there were a surprising number of red collective taxis traversing the dusty narrow streets, there were also tiny three wheeled taxis, and a long public bus which could hardly fit around the tiny corners. We walked a little way up a slanting cobblestone street where we were met by a man who let us into the gated courtyard of a house. Here we were met by a tiny old lady dressed in a traditional skirt. She kindly ushered us to her work space where she started kneading a hunk of black clay. She put a big lump of it on her pottery wheel which she turned by hand and started making an array of beautifully shaped dishes and plates. She would create on masterpiece and then casually collapse it in order to demonstrate another piece for us. It was amazing how she made it look so easy to create such beautiful art. She told us that she had started learning how to work clay when she was eight years old and that it is an art that has been passed down in her family. You could see the continuation of the tradition in her young grandson, who was watching his grandma with his own piece of clay in hand copying her movements.

Later we took the taxi back to the city where we again took a public bus. I was standing in the isle when I heard a little girl say to her mom “look at all the gringos!”, gringo is a slang term for Americans, she then commenced to count how many of us there were. It was a little bit funny because they just assumed that we didn’t understand Spanish. I just smiled and look right at her, I think her mom could tell that I knew English. It was just an interesting scenario but really illustrates how much we stick out here, especially when all nine of us are together. Despite the weird looks I really enjoyed taking public transportation, it allows you to see a more authentic look of the city. It also made me really homesick for Costa Rica, because I absolutely loved taking the public bus there. When we got home from the excursion the really sweet cook who works at our house was awaiting us with Tacos. These are not the American style tacos you are imagining! Instead mine was a rolled up tortilla with cheese inside which was fried and then covered in smooth black bean sauce crumbled Oaxacan Cheese and lettuce. It was delicious, but completely different than what we consider to be tacos in the USA. In fact, since I have arrived I have never had any type of salsa that resembles what we eat in the USA, instead there is normally a spicy sauce that goes on the table with every meal, but the chunks of tomatoes and veggies are sorely lacking I’m afraid. I have learned that authentic Mexican food is something altogether different than what is served at Chipotle. I haven’t eaten any giant flour tortillas; burritos don’t seem like a very big thing here. Also enchiladas don’t normally have the red floury sauce that I’m accustomed to in the US, instead they are normally smothered in some type of Mole. The most common type I have had is green, which is made out of some type of chile, it must be an acquired taste which I have not yet acquired because it is a little strong for me. Another popular sauce is “Mole Negro”, which is a sauce made out of cacoa and chiles. It has a very rich flavor and is a little bit bitter like dark chocolate. I like it, but it is a little bit intense when it is all over your enchilada. Something else that I have really enjoyed here are chiles rellenos. Our host mom served them to us the other day and they are chiles which are filled with a smooth black bean sauce and lots of creamy cheese, despite their spiciness I loved them!! I also tried a very interesting drink last week with my intercambio. It was called “Tejate” and it is a drink made of boiled corn which I ground, and mixed with water and chocolate. It is cool, and a little gravely to drink. The corn has a texture almost like sand in water, and then there are chalky white pieces of the corn mixture that float at the top of the light brown drink. It is a little interesting to get used to but it has a rich chocolatey flavor which I enjoyed. It reminded me slightly of chocolate milk, but with a cornbread after taste which was a little uncanny at first but oddly pleasant. Saturday we had more tours, this time we took a tour bus. Our first stop were ruins called Yagul. They were far into the country, our group were the only ones there at the time besides some archeologists and maintenance workers. After being in cities for so long it was nice to feel a little closer to nature for a while. We kept hearing an owl calling, along with other birds. One of the ruins was a maze of what used to be different rooms where you could easily get lost. Our tour guide told us that the floor used to be stucco and painted red which was difficult to imagine. We were able to hike up a steep path to see a view from higher up which was absolutely gorgeous. We got a view of the entire valley.

The second archeological site we got to explore was called Mitla. It was super pretty because the stone carvings were still in place after over 1,000 years.

Saturday night there was a huge parade in our town, inviting the public to attend the Galeguetza which is a huge event here. Everyone has been telling us about it for weeks. It is a huge party/show where there are traditional dances from each of the eight regions of Oaxaca. The parade was extremely festive and fun.

Sunday morning we went to church at the huge cathedral near the center of town called Santo Domingo. It was a beautiful church with ornate gold decorations. The service was also quite beautiful. They had a handout with the words of the prayers on it which made it easier to follow. Although I didn’t understand every word of the sermon it was a good message. It was a cool experience to go to mass in such a beautiful place.

We have one more week of school starting tomorrow followed by a week of vacation. Which seems a little crazy after such a short time in school, but hey I’m not complaining :) P.S. Today we had our first day of cooking class we made delicious tacos with cheese and potatoes topped with lots of guacamole and tomato noodle soup. Recipe for Tacos Dorados: Tortillas Mashed Potatos Onion Queso Oaxaqueño (similair to string cheese) Onion salt Quesillo (Crumbly cheese for topping) Oil for frying To make the tacos mix the onion with the mashed potato and Oaxaca cheese and salt. Put a spoonful in a small tortilla shell and spread in a line, roll up (like its lefsa). Fry in oil until its golden on both sides. To serve put two on a plate and lather them up with Guacamole and sprinkle with crumbly cheese! Guacamole: Blend Avocado with garlic salt and cilantro in a blender till it has a very smooth almost soupy texture. Sopa de Fideo y tomate: Small noodles (we used teeny-tiny bowtie noodles) Tomato Onion Parsley Garlic Salt Water Oil Puree the tomato, onion, and garlic in a food processor till smooth. Saute the noodles in a pan with oil stirring constantly until they are a dark golden/light brown then add the tomato mixture. Let simmer for around five to ten minutes then add water. Let cook for another 20 mintutes or so, add chopped parsley, stir and serve.

Trees and Temples

Today on our tour we drove to Arbol del Tule, which is allegedly the oldest tree in Latin America (our guide told us it was 2,000 years old)! We got out of our bus in what appeared to be a normal Mexican street, narrow and packed with a variety of stores, before walking to a beautiful garden in which the tree was located. I have honestly never in my life felt that I have been in such a sacred place. I felt like I was looking at the tree in the movie Avatar. There was something incredibly calming about the green bows of the tree swaying in the wind. It was amazing how much life the tree seemed to support. It housed what sounded like dozens of birds. Looking up you could see their nests in the crevices and nooks of the tree. It is known as being the widest tree in the world, and I believe it. The base was wide and gnarly. It’s honestly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, I didn’t want to leave, I felt like I would be content just to watch the light dancing off the leaves all day.

However, we still had a full schedule of tours ahead of us. Our next stop was a weaving shop where they make their own thread from wool and use natural dyes. The guy there showed us the process of carding and spinning the wool into yarn. He then showed us some of the natural dye they use there such as pomegranate skin, marigold flowers, and a type of parasite that grows on agave which produces red pigment when crushed.

He also demonstrated how they weave the fabric by hand. He told us that a rug takes around three months to complete.

He spoke to us a little bit in his native language which was Zapoteca. Zapoteca was the civilization in this area of Mexico before the Spanish colonization. In fact, our tour guide told us that 95% of the people in this area have native American ancestry. To this day there are 16 different languages spoken in this region, as well as around 20 different dialects. He explained that he spoke a different dialect of Zapoteca than the man who was doing the weaving and they showed us how words between the two dialects were very similar with a slight contrast. It is really amazing how much history and culture there is in Mexico. Today the ancient cultures are still a part of everyday life, for example tamales and tortillas two common foods here were first invented by ancient pre-Hispanic cultures. The diet in these cultures was based off corn, peppers, and beans which are still core elements of the Mexican diet today. Furthermore, we can thank these cultures for the invention of chocolate, for which I will be eternally grateful. After heading out from the store we saw a huge agave plantation, which was attached to a Mezcal distillery.

Mezcal is a type of alcohol made from agave which is extremely popular here. People love making jokes about Mezcal. I am still in awe of all the ways that they use agave here, it’s really amazing. We then headed to a huge Tiangus, which is the local word for a market which is held once a week. The market was crawling with people, there was barely enough room to walk, brushing shoulders on all sides under the tarp canopy overhead. It was similar to the other markets which we have been to in that they sold absolutely everything there. It was just even more crowded and hot, under tarps which were supposed to provide shade but only seemed to trap heat. Although I always enjoy browsing markets it was quite claustrophobic, bustling with an overwhelming amount of noise and commotion. There was one stand which was selling grubs, which I assume were to eat since some of them looked like they were covered in chili powder or some spice, while others in a neighboring container were still wriggling around unsuspecting of their impending doom. This market had a lot more people particularly women dressed traditionally than the city market which we visited previously. Many women wore bright dresses with white ruffles, had scarves wrapped around their hair or shoulders and woven baskets balanced precariously on their heads. Something I love about Mexico is that it is such a surprising mixture of old and new. Although the market sells a lot of modern things such as phone cases and tools the importance of the traditional culture is also very apparent. Another example of this is that on our way back to town today at the side of a busy highway I saw a farmer tilling his field with a team of oxen. To me it’s crazy to see something like that at the side of a busy highway with modern cars speeding by. Today was our second day of tours for the weekend. On Saturday we visited a historic site called Monte Alban. It is the ruins of a Zapoteca city that sits at the top of a mountain. What we got to climb were predominantly old temples. The city was arranged according to class. The leaders of the civilization lived on top of the mountain while the lower classes lived down the sides of the mountain where they also grew corn. The temples were built at the top of the mountain because they believed that there they were closer to the gods. The river ran at the base of the mountain however, so during the dry season water had to be hauled three miles up the mountain for the rulers to use. Besides the bases of old temples, we also saw what used to be an arena to play some sort of ball game. The ancient ball was made out of rubber from a wild rubber tree which grows near the coast. The goal of the game is unclear but our guide told us that archeologists have speculated that it was the honor of the winner of the game to be sacrificed. Although there is no evidence that they did human sacrifice at Monte Alban most of the other sites in the area believed in these rituals. The whole idea of that is definitely disturbing, but it was still a cool place to see.

At Monte Alban we also got to try something called Nieve, which means snow in spanish. It is like Icecream made out of ice and is absolutely delicious. They sell it just about everywhere here. Mine was chocolate, and coconut raspberry :)

After Monte Alban we took tiny twisting dirt roads down the mountain, they were extremely bumpy and most of us felt pretty car sick. These roads were two way, but it would have been terrifying to come upon another car going the opposite direction because they were so narrow. After driving through what seemed to be a bamboo tunnel we made it to a tiny town where they specialize in wood carving. We went to a store where guys were outside hacking at wood blocks with machetes in order to make gorgeous and amazingly intricate wooden statues. Watching them I was terrified that one of them would make a mistake and cut themselves but they worked with well practiced ease. Women also worked at the shop decorating the statues with incredibly detailed painting. Apart from decorating wooden statues they also painted converse and had a collection of the coolest shoes I have ever seen. Yesterday marked one week since we have arrived at our host families, and as of tomorrow we will have been in Mexico for two weeks. It seems like it has been longer since these weeks have been packed with a ton of new sites, sounds and information. I feel like I am learning a lot though and am really enjoying all of these new experiences.