Oaxaca, Oaxaca...días 3 y 4

Sunday was Palm Sunday, and we had read in our travel books that there would be all sorts of parades and stuff. But..not so much. We asked around and were told that there would be a procession starting at this one church. When we went there and there wasn't anyone there. Well, there was one guy who asked if we were Catholic. Katharine told him she was Christian, and then he explained to us who Jesus was and that he loves us and died for our sins. The perception of Christianity here is way off.
Because there were no parades, we wandered.
A cute little area that turns into a restaurant at night, with the trees all lit up and music and everything:


The market again. I wanted this dragon.

We ended up going to a Guelaguetza dance show in the Teatro Macedonio Alcalá. The Guelaguetza celebration takes place in Oaxaca every year in July, but this was a performance of the different kinds of dances, all with different meanings and costumes.

Then we walked around a bit more, through some more markets, and then grabbed some lunch. We finally went into Santo Domingo, one of the main churches here. After a quick rest back at the hostel, we climbed the 218 (or something like that) stairs to Cerro del Fortin, which is the lookout point over the city. We met up with Laurel and Frank there. It was super windy and pretty cloudy, but the view was still nice.



We all walked back down to the zócalo and ate dinner. There were a ton of people down there, and in the plazas there are always people selling balloons. During dinner, I saw like three people walk by with balloons in a row, and I thought “oh, it’s like a parade!” turns out it had just started to rain, so they were running for shelter. We were eating outside, but under a roof, and people all crowded underneath to stay dry.

It got pretty chilly once it started raining, which was quite a change from the 80 degree heat during the day.
Monday was the last day in Oaxaca. For 20 pesos (less than $2,) our hostel let us keep our stuff there all day after check out time, and we were even allowed to still use the facilities. We left early in the morning to go to the post office to ship some of our purchases home instead of carrying them around for 2 weeks – unfortunately, here you need to bring your own box to the post office. Oops. So, we ran back to the hostel, put our stuff down, and ran back to el centro for our tour. Of course our tour didn’t leave for another half hour. One tour guide was excited we were from Michigan because he has spent some time there. Our tour guide started talking in Spanish to the people in our van, and then in English told me not to worry because he’d explain it in English too. I told him that we spoke Spanish. That’s always such a good feeling, to be able to tell someone that you speak the language. The people here are so excited when you speak Spanish. So, our first stop was Santa María del Tule, which is home to the Tule tree. The tule tree is the tree with the “stoutest trunk” in the whole world. It is over 2,000 years old and it has a circumference of 119 feet. Apparently there’s all sorts of figures in the trunk, but we were only there like 10 minutes, so we didn't have the chance to have someone point them out to us.



It’s right next to a church and a beautiful plaza with a gazebo and a fountain, not to mention the beautiful view of the mountains.

The next stop was in Teotitlan del Valle, which is a little indigenous village where people make wool rugs. They explained the process and where they get the different colors naturally.
The different colors:

Rug weaving:

The rugs were gorgeous and also quite expensive. Of course I don't blame them for the expensive price after hearing about the whole process.
The next stop was Mitla, which is the second most important archeological site in the state of Oaxaca (Monte Alban is the first) and it's the most important archeological site for the Zapotec cuture.
Mitla:

After this site, we went to eat at a buffet, which is the biggest buffet I've ever seen in my life. Outside they were grilling meat and making tortillas, there was one section with salads, one section with appetizers, a huge section with entrees and soups, and another one with a wonderful selection of desserts.
One of the many parts of the buffet:

The next stop was Hierve el agua. This is a petrified waterfall, and I think there are only two spots that have them in the world. This one has two, one that is A small amount of water bubbles up from the springs and goes over the mountain and evaporates, leaving behind rock formations (it's the same process for stalagmites and stalactites in a cave). The water is pooled so the tourists can swim in it. The high salt concentration makes for a turquoise color.
The view from the top:

Side view:


It was actually chillier and windier than any other day we'd had on the trip. I would have gone in anyway (despite the cold temperature of the water,) but we didn't have enough time to swim.
The biggest/most pool-like artificial pool:

The last stop was at a Mezcal factory. They explained the process of making it, but it was quite cold and windy, so I wasn't really paying attention. We then tasted the different flavors. I tried one liquor type, which I didn't really enjoyed. Cream Mezcal is the good stuff...I tried passion fruit, kiwi, cappuccino, mocha, strawberry, and coconut.
the options:

Making my daddy proud:

The view from the Mezcal factory:

We returned to Oaxaca around 7:30, made a few last minute purchases, and went back to the hostel. We showered and got ready and took a taxi to the bus station. It was quite full for 10:30 at night, so apparently the overnight busses are popular. Ours, which left at 11:00, was quite full.
Hostel: It wasn't as nice as the one in Puebla. We were on a tiny street a little ways from the zócalo, but it was still so noisy from the cars speeding by the intersection. It had a nice environment, and the owners were friendly, but the bathrooms were tiny. There were only 2 stalls and 2 showers for the women. The first morning I heard a lot of spanish, the second morning a lot of english, and the third morning a mixture of languages. That was kind of cool. The third morning we talked with a guy from Montana who is going to travel for a year. He started in Arizona and is going to Argentina, or Antarctica if possible.
Food: Tlayuda - a big tortilla shell with beans, cheese, lettuce, avocado, and meat on top. I'm talking huge. It was alright, i think the meat wasn't necessary though, as they didn't have great options for meat. Mezcal was also new for me. Besides what I tried at the factory, I also tried almond, orange, and mocha in some stores. At the buffet, I had a dessert that was new. I don't remember the name, but it had a jello like consistency and it was made from rice and corn.
Pictures of day 3 have been added to my first Oaxaca Album: Oaxaca
Pictures of day 4 are here: Oaxaca

Oaxaca, Oaxaca...días 1 y 2

On Friday, the bus ride to Oaxaca from Puebla took about 4 ½ hours. I drank most of a bottle of water before getting on the bus because I was thirsty and I figured the bus would have a bathroom. Wrong. Luckily we stopped after about 3 hours for a bathroom break.
Scenery along the way:

We ended up getting dropped off at a “bus station” southwest of town. When I say “bus station,” I mean a driveway off of a road that is big enough to fit one bus. We then realized that our plan of finding tickets to our next destination was not going to work. We waited around trying to find a taxi, which was a much different experience than I’ve had in any other city. Everyone was staring at us, and I was very uncomfortable. The taxi driver we ended up getting was super friendly though, and we went to our hostel. It wasn't as nice as the one in Puebla, but I can’t really complain. We started to walk towards el centro, both of us feeling a little uneasy. This feeling soon went away. We walked to Santo Domingo (a church) that had a little kid choir concert going on. Obviously this brightened my day immediately.
Their Spanish song, directed towards their moms and dads:

Sunset:

Then we walked through a nearby market, where I pretty much wanted to buy everything. We walked back and listened to the children sing two more songs, a medley from Mary Poppins and Octopus’s Garden by The Beatles. Adorable.
Part of their medley of Mary Poppins songs:

We walked through another market and then down to the zócalo. There was a lot of activity going on, people playing music, people dancing, and lots of glow in the dark toys.

Then we stumbled upon a tour operator, and booked ourselves a tour for the next day.
Saturday we woke up and ate breakfast at our hostel, which included fruit, beans, bread, and a ham and cheese omelet. We walked to the zócalo, took a few pictures, and went to the tour place. We rode in a 12 passenger van to Monte Alban, a very important archeological site. It was one of the first cities in Mesoamerica and it’s surrounded by valleys and is over 6,000 feet above sea level. We took the tour in Spanish, and I think I understood pretty much everything.
The game court:

Katharine and I on the Southern Platform:

Monte Albon (the view from the the northern platform) is on the 20 peso bill:

Two little kids asked us how to get to the exit, as their parents were in the museum that’s right next to it. Later, when we were back in Oaxaca, they came up to us in a market to say hi. They were really cute.
On the ride back, we talked with 2 couples who were from Vancouver. They’re spending three weeks in Mexico, and had just come in from Puerto Escondido, which is our next destination.
When we got back to Oaxaca, we found some food and then walked around some markets. I tried some chocolate, which Oaxaca is known for. It’s not really chocolate that you eat plain, it’s chocolate that you make hot chocolate with. Either way, it’s delicious. We were too tired to really think about buying stuff, so we went back to the hostel for a little rest time.
A cathedral on the way back to our hostel:

We went back out later, to the same market we went to the first night, and bought some stuff.
Here’s a video of a hammock maker in the market…it looks like it’s in fast motion because he's just that good.

We met up with Laurel and her friend, Frank. They are staying in Oaxaca for the week. We all walked through the markets a bit, but mostly just talked.
Sunset:

Fountain near the market:

Facebook album for first two days: Oaxaca

Puebla, Puebla

All week mi padre has been telling me I couldn’t leave. He’d come up with at least two new reasons every day. It was cute. On Thursday I was getting ready to leave, and I had planned on taking a taxi to the bus station. When I came downstairs with all of my stuff, mis padres were standing by the door holding the keys so they could drive me. They’re amazing.
I rode the bus to Puebla, Puebla, which took 4 hours.
A snow-capped mountain near Puebla:

Puebla is where the battle of 5 de Mayo occurred. Katharine and I met up there. We bought our tickets for the next day and were on our way to our hostel, Hostel Santo Domingo. It was a nice place with a big room. It also had wireless internet and free continental breakfast, so it was all around lovely.
It was already 8pm, but we walked around el centro and saw Santo Domingo church, which has an absolutely amazing chapel inside.
Chapel inside Santo Domingo:

We also saw the cathedral and the zócalo (main plaza). The zócalo has a really pretty fountain.

Cathedral:

We found some food and returned to the hostel.
This is when I had the best shower I’ve ever had in my entire life. The water was nice and hot and there was so much water pressure it was unbelievable. I was tempted to stay in Puebla for the rest of vacation just to be able to shower there every day.


Friday we ate the continental breakfast that was included in the price of the hostel, which was cereal, toast, juice, and coffee. We walked back to Santo Domingo. There’s a part of the church that looks like a crown.

We returned to the zócalo too, which is even prettier in the daytime.

The building across from the zócalo:

There’s this really weird thing that Katharine named the snow forest. I think his is the closest I'll get to being cold during vacations.

Heres a picture of the cathedral with a $500 peso bill, which has a picture of the cathedral on it.

We walked to the Palafoxiana Library, but it wasn’t open yet.
As we continued walking, there was a parade. Yes, that is Bert from Sesame Street in the train. (you can click the picture to make it bigger).

We found the Church of la Compañía, which is where “la China Poblana” used to be buried. She was a girl from India who was captured by Portuguese pirates and sold into slavery in Puebla, where the family ended up adopting her because of her simplicity and spirituality. She spent her the rest of her days religiously, mixing her native beliefs with Catholicism. She’s pretty important to the people in Puebla, I guess. I read all of this in a travel book.
Here's the church:

We entered the cathedral, which was gorgeous.
The outside:

The inside:

Then we returned to the library. It was the first public library in America, it was founded in 1646, and it has 42,556 books.
You can't take pictures, so here's a picture of the postcard that they gave us:

We returned to the hostel to pack up and take a taxi back to the terminal, as our bus to Oaxaca left at 12.
Facebook album: Puebla
Next up: Oaxaca!

Antes de vacaciones…

Well between playing catch-up after my parents left and the busyness that comes before spring break, I haven’t been doing enough exciting things to warrant two updates.
Thursday…my birthday. Mis padres sang to me first thing in the morning when I came downstairs. Laurel and Kelsey brought a delicious coffee flavored cake that I can’t even begin to describe to school, and we ate it with some of our classmates. That was lovely of them. Later that night, a few of us went out to a restaurant. We were thinking about going to a bar after, but between the fact that it was late, Laurel was sick, I was tired, it was pouring, and everyone had class the next day, we decided not to. The restaurant didn’t even serve alcohol, so as of now, I have yet to have my first alcoholic beverage as a 21 year old. I’ll live.
The next day I went to la UAQ to help Laurel out. Her group for her photography class was doing a photo shoot, and they needed a model. I had posed for a few pics for her before, but it was just the two of us. I figured it would be her and her three other group members as well as the professor, but there were three other guys and an additional professor there as well…as if I’m not camera shy to begin with… At one point, Laurel asked if I was comfortable in the particular pose I was doing, because if not, it was going to show. That’s when I pointed out to her that the whole process is not very comfortable for me. =)
The weekend was spent doing homework. Exciting, I know. I also spent time preparing for spring break and trying to find shoes and shorts. I am unable to find the pair of shoes I’m looking for. I ended up buying some shorts. This is a big deal for me. You can now look forward to pictures of me on spring break looking uncomfortable because I’m wearing shorts.
I did find a few minutes to read outside in the sun this weekend too. =)
El centro:



Saturday as I was walking down the stairs in the morning, a guy was walking up. His name is Manuel, and he will be taking Ricardo’s old room. That was news to me. So far all I know about him is that he has a red car and he leaves his TV or radio on while he showers. I’ll let you know when I find out anything else.
This week was quite busy between school and preparation for spring break. I got a good grade on a paper that was handed back. I was extra excited about this because the first grade I got in that class was not so good, and the professor wasn’t exactly nice about it.
I have another list going. It is a list of similarities between my dad and mi padre. I’ve been working on it for awhile, but I figured it was appropriate to post it now, as last week when my parents were here I could really see the similarities.
-They both enjoy making fun of me relentlessly. When Katharine came to visit and mis padres were making fun of me, she looked at me and said “wow, it’s just like being at your house!”
-It’s ok when they’re making fun of me, but it’s not ok if other people are.
-It’s hard to tell when they’re joking.
-They both type in ALL CAPS. (I feel like this is a significant personality trait…)
-When asking them a short question, you may need to be prepared for a long answer.
-Every time I tell them I’m leaving, they tell me no.
-If you ask for a little more water, they’ll pour 2 drops in your cup. (I realize that other people do this too, but still).
-They enjoy entering a room and scaring me.
-They both look good in beards. Mi padre doesn’t have one right now, but I’ve seen pictures.
-They ask me how I slept, and before I can answer, ask “with your eyes shut?”
-They like to make me seem like the bad child. My dad can turn any story around to make it seem like I’m a brat. Mi padre keeps on telling people that I didn’t want to help them move so I went away for the weekend (really I had told them “hey, I’m going to Veracruz next weekend,” and then he was like “oh, we’re moving next weekend”).
-They both threaten to talk to teachers that make me upset.
Their biggest difference is that mi padre always tells me I’m pretty and skinny. After I told him that my dad tells me I’m ugly and fat, he once in awhile says that instead, but in general he’s very complementary.
Basically, mi familia here is very similar to my family at home. My mom and mi madre are very similar too, as they’re always smiling and laughing and happy. Everyone likes them because they’re so nice.
More pictures of la UAQ:
One of my classrooms:

The library…extensive, huh?


computer lab (one of my other classes is held in the backroom):

New Food: I had crepes with cajeta and ice cream, which was delicious. There were two of them, though, and I feel like one was enough…one of those things that’s good in smaller quantities. Also, mi madre made these delicious hashbrown like things with ham in them.
Sunset from my roof:

Alright, I am off for my two week spring break. Hopefully, I will be posting updates, as I will forget most of what happened if I don’t update for two weeks. We shall see.
Here’s the plan for the trip: