oaxaca 4

Let´s see, what is new here....

It´s a new week in Spanish class and now i am learning about the subjunctive.

Today i found two cool coffee shops, one of which shows movies for free.

I am smoking Faro brand cigarettes, which is a Mexican brand that one of my Spanish teachers first smoked when he was 10. The ones I have are menthols which aren´t my favorite but I really wanted the tin box (...pretty) so I am pushing through.

This weekend I went to Huajuapan for the day. It is a smaller city to the northwest of Oaxaca, to visit a friend of a friend of Joon´s. There wasn´t a whole lot to do there, but the drive was really gorgeous. So far, I´ve driven in and out of Oaxaca 6 times and I am always in awe of the mountains. Actually, they look a lot like California. Kind of a cross between the chaparral in southern Cali. and the Sonoma area just before you hit the redwoods on the 101. Blonde hills and oak trees, plus throw in some nopal and there you have it!

Today I visited the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo and there was some cool video stuff. Also, the paintings/drawings of a man in the woods above. The weird toy picture is of bubbles with toys attached to the caps. They were selling them in the Zócalo this weekend. And last but not least, a photo of a ¨catrina¨ that I saw today. So mexicana....

Oaxaca 3

Here is the patio of my new apt. It`s not the most flattering picture to start with, but i don`t have a lot of knowledge about blog technology and haven`t figured out yet how to put things in the exact order i want. Anyway, it is a view looking into the kitchen. Note the water jug to the right side of the door. This is a source of glee for me every time i use it! Access to plenty of drinking water has been one of the things i miss most about home. Here you can`t drink right out of the tap, you have to buy water or boil it. Since I`ve been staying in hostels, I`ve mostly been a slave to the bottled water industry lately.

And here is the kitchen. It has everything I need... except an oven. No baking for me in Oaxaca, but there is the stove and cooking utensils.

My bedroom. The bathroom is on the left side of the picture, where the door-that-you-can`t-really-tell-is-a-door is.

The dining table.

The sitting area.

Don`t be fooled! This apt. looks a lot bigger than it is when you split it up into little pictures. It`s actually quite small but plenty big for one person. It is clean and quiet and my own space, and I love it. The landlady`s name is Sra. Lulu and she is really nice and mom-like. She has a tiny black dog named Rocky that is obsessed with a certain black rubber ball and he has the run of the place.

My first attempt at making home made totopos (nachos). They turned out ok and I made some guacamole and beans and rice for dinner last night. Avocadoes here are 25 pesos for a kilo, which translates to $2.50 for 6 avocadoes! Needless to say, I`ve been gorging myself while i can...

Here are a couple shots of a guy making chocolate in a chocolate shop. They have the machines out in front for the tourists like me to see how it`s made. They put cacao beans, cinnamon, and sugar in this grinding machine and mix it all up. Oaxaca is famous for it`s chocolate and it is really, really good. It has a lot of cacao in it so it`s kind of coarse and a little bitter.

Here is a shot of all the students at my language school. We had just finished an activity of textile painting. The señora in the middle was our teacher for the activity.

Oaxaca is still beautiful. The weather is really dry and hot in the daytime, and cold in the mornings. It`s weird because inside any building it is really, really cold, but as soon as you step into the open air it`s warm, and hot in the sun.

Yesterday I saw a young guy (early 20`s) helping an old lady cross the street. He looked like a ruffian and yet he was helping this little old lady. Why doesn`t that ever happen in the US?

Language school is going well. I`m not learning much new grammar stuff, but the 4 hours of hearing Spanish spoken and having conversations about things other than what I want to eat and how much is a dorm bed is really helping. In the conversation part of the class, though, I keep searching for words and not only can I not find the Spanish word, but sometimes the English word escapes me too. I guess sometimes things have to get worse before they get better.

Other than that, life here is pretty tranquilo. I am eating well and sleeping a lot.

I hope things at home are good for everyone too. Only a few more weeks until Joon and my family get here and I`m looking forward to it a lot. Until next time...

Oaxaca 2

Hi, People. There will be no pictures because the fancy new digital camera is temporarily out of service. All the new pictures I take say: Unidentifiable Image instead of showing me the image and if anyone knows how to fix this, please leave a comment or email me.
Anyway, now for an update on how Jenny is doing.
I found a really cute one bedroom apt this weekend. It has a little kitchen and a little dining room/living room, and a bedroom and bathroom. Its in a big apt building that is much more attractive and open than the apt buildings I am used to. The land lady is really nice too, and there is a little dog named Rocky who lives there too. I move in tomorrow, and I am very excited.
More exciting news is that today I started language school. We had some grammar review stuff and a conversation part where we talked about how rural Mexican families have 12 kids and city families only have 4 or less. We also talked about how the American economy is screwed and how it affects Mexico.
I like the other people in my class and today i got to hang out with one of my classmates after class was over. We had lunch together and she accompanied me while I walked around asking people where you can get a digital camera fixed.
Oaxaca is still beautiful. I am feeling really inspired by all the art here and the colorful buildings. I found more stencil graffiti and I am in awe of it. I took a lot of pictures but I can`t see any of them yet. I am planning on going back if I have to and stealing some techniques for future silk screening projects.
There are also a lot of free museums and tons of galleries. Today I went to the museum of textile and saw some ridiculously ornate, handmade textiles- everything from blouses to chaps.
The warm weather is holding up, which I am happy about. It`s a little dry but the dry heat is welcome after the humid Carribean coast where nothing really drys all the way.
Well that is all for now. I hope I`m not blogging too much. Just trying to stay in touch and when I write in here it makes me feel like I`m talking to everyone from home.
Well I am heading back home for a delicious cheese and avocado tsangwich. Until next time...

Oaxaca de Juarez, again

Hi Everyone, I´m back in Oaxaca. It´s good to be back. The weather is really nice, hot in the sun and just right in the shade and in the evenings.
I arrived yesterday morning and spent the day looking for an apt. for the month of December, and also I visited the language school I´ll be going to. The lady at the language school was extremely nice, she helped me out by giving me some phone numbers to call about apt.s.
This morning I went to look at two apartments; one was promising, the other not. I´m giving myself the weekend to find one, then I will settle in for a month!
The picture above is of the courtyard of the hostel I´m staying at, Hostel Luz de Luna. It was suggested to me by my friend Kierstin and it´s great because they have 4 dogs and 2 cats wandering around the premises. Having pets around makes it feel a little more like home.
It is low season in Oaxaca and there are hardly any tourists around. Very different from the last time I was here, for Día de los Muertos. Last night there were only 3 people including myself staying at the hostel.

Well, I must continue the apt. search for now. I am posting some stencil grafitti I found around town yesterday for the infamous Pinky Royale and anyone else who likes it. The bottom one is the most amazing, I think. Enjoy!

Villa Hermosa

Pagoda! Where´s my havelina?

Turtles and crocodiles living in harmony.

I´m in between long bus rides. I didn´t sleep much last night on the bus from Playa to Villa but I got a sencillo hotel room this morning, first thing, and I was able to shower and take a nap.

I thought I was being so clever getting closer to Cancún, shaving hours off the bus ride but it turns out that I had to go south to Chetumal on the bus anyway. I had two seats to myself for almost the whole trip, and I have mastered the art of scrunching up on the two seats in such a way that I can almost sleep. Like a cat in a sink, only much less graceful.

With my 12 hours or so in Villa Hermosa, I went to the Parque-Museo La Venta. There is a zoo there (see above pictures) and a big, jungle-like park with Olmec findings found throughout the state of Tabasco. I took pictures of some cool Olmec heads, but something happened to my camera and it won´t recognize them. So you only get pictures of animals today.

My short stint in Tabasco is drawing to a close. I leave in one hour for the bus station, and I will be in Oaxaca by tomorrow morning.

Hey! I just realized that today is Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving everyone...

Playa del Carmen

Hello from Playa del Carmen. We arrived here yesterday afternoon and checked into our hostel for one night. Tonight at 6:25 I board a 12 hour bus to Villa Hermosa, in the state of Tabasco. I will stay there just for the day, and then board another 12 hour bus bound for Oaxaca. I am not looking forward to the long overnight bus rides, but it will be nice to return to beautiful Oaxaca.
My plan is to stay there for the rest of my time on Mexico (a little over one month) and enroll in language school for two weeks, and use Oaxaca as a base for exploring the surrounding areas.
My family and Joon are coming out the last couple weeks in December and I`m really looking forward to seeing them again.

Today I am biding my time in Playa del Carmen, awaiting the departure of my bus. Cassie and Rocio are on a snorkeling tour (see them practicing in the above picture) and I am taking the opportunity to catch up on the internet.

Playa is a weird place. It`s quite resort-y and there are a ton of American people here. Last night at dinner Rocio ordered a daiquiri and it turned out to be a giant, heaping mushy thing. It was wayyyyyy too big for one person, but I guess if you`re here to PARTAY it`s a good thing. Oh my goodness, this thing was ridiculous, I wish I took a picture of it.

The beaches are still really beautiful, though, and there is supposed to be some great snorkeling and diving here because of all the off-shore reefs. I guess I`ll find out from the girls when they get back.

Well, that is all for today. I will probably get to blog again in Oaxaca. I hope everyone is doing great. Until next time....

Sian Ka`an Biosphere Reserve

Yesterday we went on a tour to the Sian Ka`an Biosphere reserve. It`s down the coast from Tulum, about 1 hour by van. The biosphere includes beach, several lagoons, and jungle.
We arrived to the Sian Ka`an Center (where we also stayed the night) and after a short walk through some mosquito-infested jungle, we hopped on a boat for birdwatching.

Here is a photo of an osprey. It`s nest was to the left of it (you can`t see it in this picture because I zoomed) and it was made of mostly natural stuff but there were bits of tarp and other assorted trash in it too.

Here`s a view of the beach from the Sian Ka`an Center. There was hardly anyone on the beach- I think us and two other people. About 100 meters off the shore there is a huge reef, and there are tons of pieces of reef and big conch shells that wash up on shore.