19 - 22 June

19 de junio de 2006
This weekend was so awesome! There’s nothing to describe, no words to say, how much I needed the change from noisy, polluted Oaxaca to the beautiful Mexican countryside. Don’t get me wrong, I love Oaxaca and my routine through it but when you’re a small town girl like myself it’s difficult to swing into a city that’s twice the size you’re used to and live there for four weeks. Luckily, Benito Juárez came to my rescue.
I was expecting something beautiful since it’s hard to go wrong in the Mexican countryside, especially around here with all the mountains but nothing could have prepared me for Benito. It was so beautiful it seemed like everywhere I looked was just another photograph that I HAD to take. I ended up with 144 pictures, all from about 24 hours. Some are simply amazing and none are bad. We had a huge cabin, all to ourselves, and we all slept together in one room with ten bunk beds and a glass ceiling. The reason we only needed ten bunk beds is because this wasn’t an offical excursion, only those who wanted to go on it went and we had to plan it ourselves. That also made it better since we didn’t have any clue about what we were doing, we just went to the place our director said “You can get taxis to Benito Juarez from here”, said we needed to go, went on an hour and a half taxi ride over dirt roads, and made our cabin reservations when we got there. Anyway, like I said, the group number was perfect and we all got to sleep together in the same room which I felt like went a long way towards building group unity. I feel like I came out of that weekend really close with those nine other people. The locals and the food of Benito Juarez were awesome too. We have pictures of us all playing basketball and jumping rope with some of them and for breakfast Sunday morning I had the best trucha (trout) I think I’ve ever had in my life. It was a bit expensive but not terribly so and I needed it so badly that I feel like I would have paid double to go. I would really like to go back but there are tons of other places I’d like to go too and I would like to spend a weekend just checking out Oaxaca too so that probably won’t work. We’ll see.
We bought our tickets to Huatulco today. It’s a very nice, fairly touristy beach, another excursion we’re planning ourselves. They were a bit expensive but we’re getting a really good deal on the rooms (three nights, in a touristy area, for 550 pesos total per person) so I guess it’s okay. I’m not going to lie, I was bummed out but I’m doing okay on money so sometimes you just have to suck it up and spend it! Can’t wait for Huatulco!

el 20 de junio de 2006
I had the COOLEST day today. I didn’t get to go to the internet café because of it, but it’s totally okay because my day was so cool! They finally gave up on finding Allison and I a different service job and just put us in the orphanage. Luckily, Katie was right there and she drew us an exact map to how to get there (we’ve tried to get there before but just got terribly, terribly lost). We got there about 10:45 and played with the kids until about 12:10 since it’s an hour walk from the orphanage to my house. They’re all really nice with strong individual personalities and a great group ethic. I only had to ask one kid (my favorite, Freddy) once today to let someone else have a turn at something. This might not sound that amazing but what you don’t realize is that these kids don’t have much at all. Between about 16 kids they have five or six working computers from about 1991, one busted skateboard, about five tops, six balls all of which are in random states of worness and most of which are unable to hold air, a piece of string (for the hand/string games) and two busted up basketball hoops. This may amaze you, but I had more fun playing with these kids and their limited toys than normal. It’s because they’re so inventive and once they get playing, they really hate to stop. We had to leave and it was so cool because they were all asking “¿Nos vemos manaña? ¿Jueves?” ( We’ll see each other tomorrow? Thursday?) I really like this trabajo servicio and I hope this optimism stays with me. I’d really like to be able to buy something for these kids since I’ve been so good about sticking to my budget that I actually have some extra money and I think it would be a good place to spend it. We’ll see. I can’t really think of cool toys for so many boys of different ages (ranging from 6 or 7 to 16). I don’t know what boys enjoy either which is a problem. I’ll just have to keep my eyes open!

el 22 de junio de 2006
Well, today I was back at the orphanage but I was one of two volunteers that went today. Normally we have about 8 or 9 so I couldn’t figure out why until I tried to walk back. The teachers are still in the Zocalo which doesn’t bother me since they’re been there for so long, I expect them now. But they were armed today which was suprising and I couldn’t figure out why they were decked out. They were all carrying large sticks, boards, and bits of pipe or thick wire.Yikes did I scoot out of there quickly! Anyway, I’m walking my one hour walk home and found that there was a non-violent, non-supportive of either side march going on. That made a bit more sense but still wasn’t totally clear. Then I finally got home (it took me a while to get across the non –supportive march that just wants the teachers back at their jobs so that their children will get educated) and my host mother told me that there was a third demonstration of people who support the government’s stance. I know this is terrible but I’m just so sick of all these people, I wish they’d just go home. I mean, think about how ridiculous this is- I have my orphans who are playing with deflated balls in relative poverty that the only real way to escape from is education. Meanwhile, the teachers sit in the Zocalo, pulling in salaries and demonstrating for more money. We shall see.

June 8 and June 14

8 de junio de 2006
Well, I’m feeling better about my time here. An intercambio is a person who is learning to speak Spanish and we meet with them one hour, every day to speak for 30 minutes in Spanish and 30 minutes in English so that the native Spanish speaker will help the person learning Spanish and visa versa. My intercambio’s name is Ita and she is the nicest, cutest person ever. She’s 23 and has a long-term boyfriend and she LOVES to talk (this is definitely a good thing when you’re talking to someone for 5 hours a week- I don’t think I talk this much with my own mother!). Anyway, she told me today that her English teacher told her that he can tell an improvement in her English and then she looked at me and said “And your Spanish is every day better.” It was a sad time to correct her but we do what we must. She’s very helpful and that little compliment made me feel so much better.
Wednesday night the whole group from Madison had plans to go out together. I, on my way home, saw my friend Miguel that I met in Azukar (a salsa dancing club). He told me that Kim and Alison were going to watch his soccer game and invited me to come along. I waiting up for Kim and Alison and they too said they’d be really happy if I came along so off we went. But the teachers here have been sleeping in the streets for the past two weeks to get more money and were marching yesterday, blocking all the routes to Miguel’s soccer game that he knows well so we ended up basically in the foothills of the mountains that surround Oaxaca. If I have been surprised that Mexico is nicer than I would have expected, that changed my perception. Parts of Mexico are still in dire need of help. There were houses back in those foothills that Americans wouldn’t let their animals live in. Doesn’t seem fair sometimes. Anyway, long story short, after we asked about a million people directions, we all made it to his game (on time!) and had a grrrreat time watching some amazing soccer! These people really know how to play! This was just a local community team, nothing special really, but man are they good! So that was interesting and afterwards we met up with our Madison group and had a blast. The bad thing, however, was that I didn’t get to bed until 3:30 this morning and Rubin wanted Allison and I to go to the orphanage for our service job while he figures out something permanent for us to do. So I definitely was attempting to function on 5 hours of sleep- and I more or less did it!
Allison and I never did make it to the orphanage though. No one really knows where it is and there are four orphanages in Oaxaca all with the same (more or less) name. The guy who works at our Institute accidentally gave us the information for the wrong orphanage. When we showed up there, they almost wouldn’t even let us ask directions to the other one. Then, they gave us “directions” to the other orphanage and Allison and I walked around for 45 minutes until we decided we were 30 minutes from the Institute (which is another 20 minutes from the house) and it was time to return. So hopefully, this service thing will get straightened out. But until then, no more walking in random parts of Oaxaca. Oaxaca is generally a nice city but as with all cities it’s not entirely safe to be wandering about in parts that you don’t know well. That’s all for today. ¡Buenas noches!

14 de junio de 2006
It has been so long since I’ve written! So many things have happened! We had some trouble with our visas, which was resolved without too much difficulty (except that now I’m a bit angry with University of Wisconsin Madison for reasons that I’m not allowed to share here) and los maestros, whom I’ve never really written about because they don’t impact my life really, were attacked! Los maestros are the teachers from the state of Oaxaca, that have all gathered here in Oaxaca city in order to protest for higher salaries, better benefits for the students, and better retirement packages. Well, because this is an election year, they have stayed longer than is the “norm” of two weeks. My intercambio, Ita, also told me that they have stayed because they are receiving salary whether they are there, in the Zocalo, or teaching so they don’t really care. But last night, the governement decided that they had enough of looking powerless and attacked the teachers with tear gas. Never really seems like the best option to me, although it does clear out Madison streets quickly. However, it must have worked too well, because two or three people were killed in the mele. Now, everyone’s pissy!
Anyway, on a more personal note, there’s a very special someone that I have no other way to say Happy Birthday to but I wish I did! :) Hope it’s a good one!

Journal from 1 June to 6 June

Primero de junio de 2006
Well, we fought the week out at the volunteer job. It wasn’t pretty but it’s done now and so now we can request a change. Yay! My stomach is a bit off but not to bad. I had Ramen tonight for dinner because I didn’t feel like going out so I don’t know if that will hurt or help.Maybe tonight on my way out, I’ll stop for a bottle of Sprite.
Last night we went wild! There was hip hop at a bar called La Tentacion, so of course I had to go check that out. Man was it awesome!

4 de junio de 2006
It is so weird to think that it is already the 4th day of June. I don’t know where the time has gone! (Obviously, since I haven’t been journaling everyday). We’ve been going out dancing almost every night. Tuesday night was hanging out, Wednesday night was hiphop, Thursday night we went and tried a tequila derivative that originated in Oaxaca called Mezcal at it’s place of origen, and then Friday night we went out to an awesome salsa/ reggeton place. I definitely want to go back to the places we went on Wednesday and Friday nights. Since Tuesday and Thursday nights were more chill and less dancing they weren’t as fun for me but still awesome.
Today, for our excursion we went to the house of this artist that used to be a fabric factory. They make paper around there now, because the artist’s house has been converted into an art school and gallery so of course there’s a great market for the paper right there. It seemed really nice, lots of water all around, but we didn’t get to go into any buildings. Then, since it was only 11 and our rule of thumb is that we don’t get back from excursions until about 3 or 4, we went to a pool for a while. It was kind of chilly and cloudy so a lot of people didn’t swim and they just sat around drinking beer but I and about seven other people jumped in and had a blast.Now it’s back home to actually get some homework done hopefully. I need to read, write journals, and think of a theme for a three page paper due in 11 days. Or maybe I’ll take a nap. J

6 de junio de 2006
Well, as I suspected I would, I’ve gotten less and less good about writing a journal. See, once I get into a rythym, it’s very hard for me to find anything interesting to write about. That’s about the only excuse that I have. Well, that and the fact that the classes here are really getting under way so that I don’t have much time left for anything else. I want to find an internet café where I can plug my computer in so that I don’t have to keep using my digital camera as a memory storage device but I guess this system is working out okay. I’m feeling really homesick this week, I’m not really sure why, but the really little things are getting me down. I miss having a computer that corrects my spelling (if you’ve noticed errors in my blog it’s because I prewrite it on the laptop that I bought and then transfer and the laptop doesn’t have spellcheck). I miss Internet being available all over the place. I miss being able to go running randomly down the street. I miss having candy in my room and having a room free of ants (I’m going to be so sick of ants when I get back). I’m still loving Mexico but I just miss my things, my way, with my people. I think I’m just feeling frustrated that my Spanish hasn’t immediatly become perfect (or even good)! We’ll see. ¡Nos vemos!

Journal from May 24 to May 30

24 de mayo de 2006
I didn’t write yesterday because I was so tired after everything that we did! Yesterday we were supposed to get our volunteer jobs but the director of “La casa de las mujeres” where another girl from Madison, Al, and I are supposed to work wasn’t there. So we walked around with everyone else and saw where they’re all working. Some are working in a hospital in town and others are working in an orphanage called “Los niños de las calles” (Children of the Streets, literally). It’s a house for boys only but we all got to go in when those that are working there did and the boy are very nice. I talked with one, Fredy, who’s about six for a little while. His favorite subject is natural sciences and he wants out of the orphanage but he knows it’s a better life than begging. He was very clear minded about the future and he asked me three times if I would work there. I really want to now that I’ve met him but I feel like I don’t want to short change “La casa de las mujueres” if they’re expecting two volunteers. We’ll see. But all in all Al and I probably walked for a full hour and a half yesterday from about 10:30 to 12. It was so hot! I walked back to the house as soon as the lady in charge of the volunteer jobs was like “You guys can go if you want, I’ll talk to the director again tonight.” I felt disgusting by the time I got back home (which was about twice the distance to el Instituto). So I had comida, got 150 pesos to buy my book for 311, and went back to el Instituto, with computer in hand, intending to try to connect to the Internet.
This is where my day started going south. The book turned out to be 165 pesos (luckily, I had an extra 20 peso note in my pocket). The wireless internet that they said might be available at el Instituto was so weak my card couldn’t access it (or my card isn’t installed properly, I’m not sure which). My classes were fine but after class, I went to an Internet café to download the beginning of my journal and then realized I had forty minutes to get to the house and back if I wanted to go with the other students to a baseball game. This wouldn’t be bad but we’re uphill from el Instituto and I was carrying my laptop.
I ran home, dropped off my laptop, grabbed more money, and raced back to el Instituto (just in time!). Okay, if you’re sick of me complaining, that’s good because I’m done. The baseball game was soooo awesome!
The local team here is los Guerreros (the Warriors). You get a general ticket for 40 pesos ($4 USD) and can sit anywhere. We sat behind home plate, right near all the loudest fans. The guys all got a bit tipsy (the drinking age here is 18) and the girls all had a beer. Women drinking in public is looked down upon here so we were very careful to make the beer last. We had spicy peanuts that were delicious but definitely gave me my first ever case of heartburn. Next time I’ll take something beforehand. Los Guerreros lost but it was so much fun to be really ridiculously loud and learn (as best we could the cheers). The best one goes something like: A lo vio, a lo va, a lo bim, bom, ba, Guerreros, Guerreros, RA, RA, RA! At least, that’s what it sounds like.
Today I feel like I have kind of experienced a setback in my Spanish. I don’t know why, if I’m just tired from the game or what (we left at the bottom of the 8th inning because it was 11:30) but I feel like I cannot speak/ understand any Spanish today. My host mom lost patience with me this morning which is really bad because always before we’ve had really friendly exchanges and I think of them as my “dipstick” of how I’m doing in this new culture. I don’t know if that metaphor makes sense or not but work with me here. Hopefully, I’m just having an off day. Nos vemos manaña. (See you tomorrow).

25 de mayo 2006
I got my internet card properly installed tonight! Now, if I could just find somewhere were I could use free internet, I’d be all set to go. I have important things to do!J
Yesterday, we had our first salsa taller (workshop). It was so much fun and oh so funny! We only have four guys in our group, as compared to 17 girls! The guys pretty much had to work the whole time, except Juan (I think) let them sit for 20 minutes at the end of class while he worked with just the girls on transitions. Plus, us ladies are all super nice to the guys, clapping and cheering them on and commending them for their hard work. (Hey, for four guys whose definition of coordinated is being able to smoke before anyone sees you or staying on your feet no matter how many drinks you’ve had, they’re pretty good. And to be fair, one is on Edgewood’s baseball team.)
After taller from 10-12, I went back to the house for la comida. Can’t complain of the food here, as always. I seriously hope that the strength of my stomach is not just a nod to how well American antibiotics work. I’m going off of them tomorrow and I still would like to be able to pass a bathroom. Word is out around el Instituto that several of the kids from one group had to go to the ER because they went out to eat together and it was a bad restaurant. I’ll have to find out where they went.
It’s funny to me that in the United States, we buy bottled water at all. Being here has really made me appreciate being able to drink water from the tap. There are no drinking fountains here because if you drank the city water I think you’d die. Bottled water here is not a luxury- it’s a necessity! And carrying a water bottle (which I always thought was weird in the U.S., since there are water fountains) is the norm. Bottled water, although it’s fairly cheap, gets expensive if you buy it everyday. I could easily spend about 5 dollars here, daily. I know why Mexican workers say that it is better in the U.S. You don’t have to buy water, which is already a huge load off of your budget.

27 de mayo 2006
Thursday night we went out dancing to la Candela where the men really know their salsa! It was so much fun and although us girls were really inexperienced, we all danced like pros thanks to these guys. The guys in our group (minus one) went along but pretty much just sat there and got drunk the whole time. They were intimidated by how good the other guys were (so they claim). One of the guys got pretty drunk and one of the girls (who’s a Mexico-phile) totally chewed him out for it. He got mad and apparently they’re not friends anymore.
Then, Friday I didn’t have a workshop or volunteer job in the morning, so I got to sleep in. Actually, I got up at 8 and showered and had breakfast but I sat down to do some reading for class and passed out from 9:30- 12. I woke up feeling really good and got up and got some sugar at the local tienda. My host parents thought it was hilarious but I haven’t been sleeping too well at night (Oaxaca is very noisy) so I think it was just a long-time lack of sleep built up. Classes were normal and then we went to dinner at this place that two of the girls, Vanessa and someone else, had been to and were really building up. I don’t know what it was about the place but I totally was not taken with it.
When we first walked in, the long, fire-hose type of hose that they use here to dispense water for human use to restaurants was lying, deserted in the entry way. The food was rather expensive, there wasn’t much for choice, and on top of everything else, the kids that walk around with very expensive candy and flowers were allowed into the restaurant to ask the patrons if they would buy. Once you’ve been here for a while, you want shelter from these people and a restaurant that lets them in and charges me $10 for food all at once is never going to be my favorite. Compare that to the Taqueria from the other night and of course the fancier place is going to loose. The Taqueria was cheaper, on my way to the house from the Institiute, family-run, and out of the way of the people that sell the candy and flowers.
Anyway, this morning a small group and I went to try to find the Zócalo markets. There is a teacher’s strike going on here right now that happens every year for twenty days. The teachers camp out in the streets around the Zócalo, in general tying traffic up and making things messy and smelly. Despite walked through tent cities for about two and a half hours this morning and afternoon, we didn’t see anything that was convincingly a market. I bought a random shirt on the street corner that has Quetzalcotzl (I know I butchered that spelling), the Aztec god, and Oaxaca, Oax. on it. It was only 40 pesos ($4 USD) which was awesome. I started teasing the people in my group that I’m going to become a real gringa and wear Oaxaca shirts every day we’re here. They threatened to leave me on the street corner with the teachers. Ah, life is good.
Tomorrow we go to el Tule (a huge tree…).

28 de mayo de 2006
Today was quite the day and it began with quite a boring night last night. Since we went out Thursday night and Friday night (and Friday night I didn’t get home until ridiculously late), I decided I would have a nice quiet night Saturday night. Susan called me and said that she, Scott, and Kim were all going to a movie and they wanted to know if I wanted to come see Mission Impossible 3. We didn’t really know how to get there and taxis here are really cheap (or maybe in Madison they’re just ridiculously expensive) so we flagged one. Our driver was very polite and only took us for our money a little bit. The movie was good (as an action movie that’s maybe a bit too gory but nice for not thinking I totally recommend MI 3). There were Spanish subtitles which were kind of funny because I kept getting distracted by wanting to read them but the movie was in my first language so I feel like I shouldn’t have even been distracted by them. But then, two and some hours later, we walked back to the main drag to flag down a taxi and guess what- same driver! Oaxaca has a small town feel to it a lot because it seems like you see the same people over and over again but I suppose that’s always how life is. You notice the people that you already know.
This morning we had another excursion (so no church, sorry God!). Today we went to el Tule, which is a humongous tree; Mitla, which is indigenous ruins that were interesting; Tlacolula, which is a market; and Teotitlan del Valle, which is the origin of very beautiful, hand woven, wool tapestries.
El Tule I got several pictures of because it’s interesting but wasn’t very fun because there is simply a very large tree that you get out of the car and exclaim at. The gardens around it were very pretty and I think some of my best pictures today came from them.
Mitla was in a market town were the markets seemed very good but our teacher told us that we should save our money for Tlacolula which would be cheaper since it is larger. Mitla is very pretty but not as cool as Monte Alban because there is not as much to it. There is a building were kings lived most likely that is almost entirely intact. It was fun to actually go inside of something, since at Monte Alban this is not possible.
Tlacolula was cool but I was sick of people by the time we left there. I got a dress that is very cute and perhaps not quite conservative enough to suit my style. It cost 120 pesos down from 150 (I bargained!!). Then, we went to Teotitlan del Valle.
Teotitlan del Valle is a place where beautiful tapestries are made. They begin with raw wool, wash it, card it, spin it, dye it, and then weave it. They had the average geographical patterns (that in these tapestries are anything but ordinary because they are so beautiful). But there were also Riveras and Dalis that they had woven into tapestries. It was amazing! When I get rich and famous, one of the first things I’m going to buy will be a Salivador Dali tapestry. Okay, maybe the second. Have to have a cute little Mexican casa to put it in. J
Well, that’s all for today. I’ve been saying this for forever but hopefully I’ll get the pictures posted this week. I’ve been really good about labeling them as I go along so that’s not a problem but I have so many! Maybe I’ll just pick a few good ones and then post those. I’ll figure something out. ¡Hasta mañana!

29 de mayo de 2006
It seems like school days there is never much to write about. We had salsa class today so I wore my dress. But then it my host mother at la comida said “Do you realize that that dress is see through on the bottom? And there went that dress. So I wore my nice cool linen pants today (mostly because I’m almost out of clothes and although my family has a lavanderia, I feel shy about taking my clothes there. So I’m re-using until I get my nerve up or until I get so dirty that I can’t stand it anymore. I’m figuring I’ll break about Wednesday. Anyway, later tonight we went back to our favorite little taqueria. The guy knows us now and asked how many tables we’d be needing to night since we’ve gone in there twice with groups of twenty. But it was just two other girls, Kim and Al and I so we waved him off. I love that place. That’s about it for today. Friday I have a first draft of a paper on politics due and I’d like it to be a good one so I should get a start on it tonight. I really want to get uploading my photos though too, so we’ll see.

30 de mayo de 2006
It’s la comida time and I’m writing right now because I’m so FRUSTRATED! At the Instituto, we’re required to do a volunteer job (trabajo servicio). Al, the girl I went out to eat with last night and I both work at the same place- and I hate it! She said she literally doesn’t have anything to do except answer phones twice the whole three hours we’re there and I simply translate article titles from Enlish into Spanish. The director asked us today what our interests are in so that she could “work with them”. As they say, talk is cheap, especially when you’re dealing with frustrated people. I want action! While walking back today we saw another girl form Madison and asked her how her service job was and she says “Oh it was great, I’m working with a bunch of pre-kindergarten kids and today we had a birthday party.” I hate hate hate my volunteer job!