Later that evening, I went to the movies with my “cousin” Denise. We saw a Spanish movie called REC (short for record). The movie was a horror movie that reminded me of Blair Witch Project because of the shaky camera work. I learned how to say that the movie nos dio ganas de vomitar (the movie gave us desire to throw up!). Even though the movie was much too scary for my liking, it was interesting to be in the theater with my cousin. Instead of piling butter on their popcorn, some people had chili powder on the popcorn. Also, they were serving crepes at the vending stands (my cousin shared a crepe with cream cheese and strawberries with me).
The very next evening, I made my way back to the movie theater to see Arrancame la Vida (a very popular Mexican film) with my friends from SIT. A love story about a young woman living in 1930s Mexico, it was definitely a different type of a movie. I understood about 60% of the movie and I want to watch it again at the end of the program to see how much I have improved.
On Tuesday, the day was pretty normal with my Spanish classes in the morning and a seminar about the Oaxacan water supply and environmental concerns in the afternoon. That evening I accompanied my family to a church a few streets down the road from our house. My host father’s mother had died 40 days before Tuesday, so the family was having the traditional 40 days after the death ceremony. I arrived a little late with my cousin so I stood outside the completely full church and tried to listen and understand the ceremony. The service consisted of lots of Hail Mary’s to help the grandmother get to heaven. It’s definitely interesting to observe a ceremony like this and try and understand the culture. There were very few tears at the ceremony and even less at the after party across the street where we ate taquitos and spent time with the family. During the party, I played with the two 3 year old cousins Raulito (aka diabilto) and Esau. I finally had a break through with the boys and they were more than willing to play with me.
The next significant evening was Thursday… I spent a little time after class at a coffee shop with my friends and enjoyed a hot chocolate and sandwich with fresh avocado. When I got back to the house, my cousin Denise asked me if I wanted to go out on the street with her (she more or less told me I was going out on the street with her and I agreed because I definitely wanted to experience Mexican culture everywhere I can). But we headed to the southern side of town and watched one of Denise’s friends play soccer in a rapid soccer (which is a lot like indoor soccer). The game was in a pretty sketchy area of town and the wooden stands were falling apart so we had to walk pretty carefully to get to our seats. Right across from the soccer arena was the circus that has temporarily come to Oaxaca. I’m not a big fan of the circus here because during the day they drive the animals around cages attached to pick-up trucks. It’s really sad to see to lions sitting in a cage in the middle of a city… After the soccer game we hung out at a club and just talked. It was tough to understand everything and Denise definitely talks very fast with her friends, but it was still fun to hang out with them.
Friday, after our morning classes, Sara Farr, Josh, and I went to the center of town (the zocalo) to check out the protests. But on the way we stopped by a purse and rug stand in one of the markets. I had stopped by the purse stand every day this week since Monday, because I wanted a small purse with a certain fish design on the outside. The first day, didn’t have any money with me so he told me to come back the next day. So the second day, he had the design but the purse didn’t have a way to close so he told me he would fix it the next day. Then the third day, he had accidently sold the fish purse that I wanted but he promised he would have 3 more on Friday. So, I went back on Friday and he had the three purses like he had promised and I bought one for 50 pesos (5 dollars). The purses are handmade by his aunts and they make the dye from vegetables and other plants. He asked if we were students and offered to take us on a type of field trip to see how the purses are made and how they dye the strings. Maybe we’ll have to ask our director.
So, after I got the purse and talked to Victor (the vendor), Sarah, Josh, and I made our way to the zocalo. Right now, the whole teachers union from Section 22 came to Oaxaca to vote for a new union leader. The protest and marches through the city are partially just a celebration of solidarity but also slightly reminiscent of the teacher protests in 2006.
- (In 2006, the teachers went on protest for higher wages… in Oaxaca the teachers are paid the lowest in Mexico… and for better condition for the students… some students come to school without shoes or breakfast… But, instead of allowing the peaceful protest in the zocalo to continue, the generally disliked governor Ulisis Ruiz Ortiz (URO) sent the police into the zocalo in the middle of the night and forcibly removed the teachers. Although many groups didn’t necessarily agree with the teachers protests, the forcible methods of the governor caused a social uprising among many Oaxacans. On the same day that the police pushed the teachers out of the center, a huge group of citizens formed and retook the zocalo. After that point, the group called APPO formed and began a nonviolent protest of the government that is still continuing today.)
Being in the zocalo was captivating because it was so alive with people. Some teachers were socializing under tarps and sewing, others were participating in the speeches that were in the middle of the zocalo. There were tons of signs saying Fuera URO (out with URO) and also a pop up market that had formed around the perimeter. It was overwhelming and very interesting at the same time. Later that evening, we all crowded in the classroom to watch the debate between John McCain and Barak Obama. We used my computer and streamed the debate through the internet but it was hard to watch because my computer can’t go as loud as a television… and also some of the girls brought drinks for the debate and everything always gets a little louder and crazier with drinks…After the debate, we went to a club that seemed to be filled with international students. We watched a band playing there and just hung out until it was time to go back to our houses.
Saturday, I woke up a little later and went over to the school to get caught up on some homework and use the internet (and to update my blog for you). At around 3:00 in the afternoon, I met up with my friends Annie, Emily, and Kristen to go to Tule, the oldest living tree on the planet (it’s over 2000 years old). We took a taxi from the center (for 8 dollars) and rode for about 20 minutes to the town of Tule. It’s a really cute little town with an economy centered around the tree (sounds kinda like Sandusky and Cedar Point). When we got there, we saw a huge parade of people with flowers that was lead by a mariachi-type band. Upon further investigation, we realized that it was a funeral procession coming out of the church. The people were really celebrating the life of whoever had died and it was really interesting to see there way of celebrating.
The tree itself was definitely a sight to see. With multiple trunks and huge twisting branches, it was difficult to see where the tree had started and which branches belong to which trunks. All around the tree were signs warning not to touch the tree (in Spanish, English, and German). In addition to the tree, there were many bushes that were shaped to look like animals or people. Across from Tule, there were market with different kinds of food and we stopped by to get some empanadas to hold us over until we got back to town. We caught a colectivo taxi on the way back (80 cents a person!). It was much cheaper but more squished, because I had to share the passenger seat with another guy. I spoke with the driver a bit, who is learning English because he wants to read the Bible comments that are written in English. I guess most of the commentaries on the Bible are in English and not many have been translated to Spanish… I meet interesting people everywhere…
So, today is Sunday, and I have to pack for Mexico City and get everything ready for the week that we will be spending in the DF (kinda like saying DC in the USA). I’m also planning on making my host sister some rice crispy treats (they only had Coco Krispies at the store so they will be really chocolaty). Later this evening there is a big game between Cruz Azul and America (two popular soccer teams in Mexico). My host parents support America and my host cousin supports Cruz Azul so it will be interesting to see who I choose to support… Well, I have to start getting things ready for the DF and make my rice crispy treats. I won’t be able to blog in Mexico DF because we aren’t bringing computers so look forward to the next installation next Sunday!! I hope everything is going well… Miss you all :-)
