Street Smarts

As we walk about this town we realize you have gotta keep your wits about you! Danger lurks everywhere . . . not the people, they are sweet beyond belief, but the sidewalks for example have holes in them. Some holes are big enough for a foot, others are big enough for a person. Three inch pipes stick out of the sidewalks in a seemingly random manner. Windows with beautiful ironwork stick out over the sidewalk above the heads of the locals, but not above our heads . . . it's more like eye-level for us. You also need to step over the occasional inert form of a sleeping drunkard.

If you survive long enough to get to El Centro, then you have to watch out for the ever present little old ladies and old men who beg. Have you ever seen Shrek II, the one with Puss-n-boots? He would look at his prey with big soft brown eyes until their defenses dropped and then he would attack! Take them by surprise. Well these little tiny old cutie-pies do the same thing. They gaze up at you with their hands out with big brown eyes pleading . . . all day long. Thank goodness I’ve seen Puss-n-boots at work J   Also when someone says ‘buen precio’, meaning good price, it isn’t a good price. A tall scruffy looking young man works the crowd pretending to be selling an ugly ratty old doll, but he’s actually selling drugs. Joe was looking the other direction one day and he made lewd gestures towards me. By the look on my face he realized his mistake and made a quick escape.

We were looking for the Mercato de Artesanas the other day and stumbled across a different type of artesian. Joe alerted me to the ladies lined up against the wall by the motel, and nervously ushered me to the next street.

Our room has drain covers in the sink and the shower . . . don’t remove those covers unless you want cockroaches visiting at night. Speaking of bugs, there is a sound here that I couldn’t identify at first. It sounded like a Muslim call to prayer, or an air-raid siren. Since no one was ducking for cover or kneeling towards Mecca, I searched for another answer. It is a beetle!

There is an odd system of parking here (odd to an American). Most streets are one way and you can parallel park on the left side. If the parking is all taken and you think your errand is short, you can park in the lane next to the parked cars (the fast lane). During busy times of the day the fast lane will be full of parked cars and the inner cars can’t get out. However the quick stop cars really do come and go quickly, but it’s still odd to me. By-the-way, don’t trust the pedestrian crosswalk signals, they may prompt you to cross during a green light for four lanes of traffic . . . you’ve gotta keep your wits about you! And another thing . . . everyone here talks about taking a Suburban for group taxis or tours. I’ve seen two Suburbans since I’ve been here and one is sitting on the side of the road with weeds growing around the tires. It took me three weeks to figure that out that Suburban is Spanglish for a van, so now I don’t stress about finding the “Suburban”.

Well my time’s up and I’ve got to get ready to head back into town to meet friends for dinner. I’ll try to write one more time before we leave.

Hasta luego, Heidi and Pepe

Festivities

Happy Birthday spelled out in flower petals

Hierves el Agua

It's been one big party around here for about 4 days. It started with Joe taking me on an all-day tour to Hierves el Agua, Mitla, El Tule, a textile house and of course the obligatory trip to the mezcal factory (aka tequila). Later he took me to our favorite little B&B, Las Bugambias. He booked the best room, and took me to dinner at La Olla. We opened a bottle of Petite Syrah from Modus Operandi. Did I mention it was for my birthday J Que romantica! Unfortunately we were so exhausted from our day that we passed out in our air conditioned room on our giant, soft king sized bed. Air conditioners are a great invention.

 Hierves el Agua (boiling water) is an amazing place with a "waterfall" of calcified salt.The “waterfall” is hundreds of feet tall and appears frozen in space. Several cool pools of salt water are nearby with cool water "boiling" out of the springs. Mitla is an ancient town that is still occupied. The massive, beautifully intact ruins are part of the community. El Tule is a ginormous tree . . . biggest circumference in the Americas. Estimated to be about 2,000 years old.

Joe standing about fifty feet in front of El Tule

On Sunday we went to mass at the capital Cathedral. Lots of kids being baptized that day, probably because the following day was Dia de Los Ninos (Children's day), April 30th. The children got the day off of school, so the Zocolo was packed with clowns, balloons, real fireworks and musicians on both Sunday and Monday. (I say real fireworks because this town has an obsession with the fireworks that just make a loud BOOM and flash white. This goes on day and night like a war with cannons)

Palace at Mitla

Monday was my birthday and first thing in the morning Vicki gave me a gift, a little trinket box she painted by hand. At school they bought me a chocolate cake and sang the traditional Mexican birthday song and followed that with English, German, and Japanese. We went to one of our favorite pubs to study, and the owner bought our beers as a present. Joe bought me a traditional Oaxacan dress and we went home. At home they had a little party for me with homemade carrot cake and sang to me again. That night we went back to town to El Olivo, a fancy Spanish bar we like a lot, and the bartender, Antonio bought appetizers (tapas) for us and discounted my glass of wine!

Wait! That’s not all. Tuesday was Mayday. Mayday is Mexico’s Labor day/ Protest day. It was mayhem in El Centro. The dump trucks, followed by the garbage trucks and then the gas and water trucks and more trucks went for a mile, bringing Oaxaca to a standstill. Thousands of people wearing matching union shirts marched in an orderly fashion to the Zocolo (state government seat). When we finally managed to get back home Vicki’s family and friends came over for a late lunch. They brought vodka, Red Bull, whiskey and beer (don't panic Mom, I had half a glass of wine). Joe and I just sat back and tried to keep up with what was being said, or shouted. Three of them are lawyers and one is an economist. The good-natured arguments were really fun to observe. They finally packed up and left with big hugs and promises to return. (Vicki is one of 8 children, 6 are lawyers, 1 is a doctor, and Vicki was a teacher—a very affluent family).



So today is calm, and I am glad. I’ve had enough craziness for now.



Heidi (and Joe)
ons,

Week Two in Oaxaca City

Hola Ustedes,

Without knowing it ahead of time, we are here for the 480th anniversary of Oaxaca. 480 years is a long time! The festivities go all day and night. In the Zocolo (main square) the sidewalks are loaded with vendors and tourists, and it only gets more crowded at night. As you walk you can barely separate the different musicians. An elderly man stops at the sidewalk cafes and plays "I did it my way" over and over again on his saxophone. Afterwards he creeps through the cafe with his walker and asks for payment. There is a boy, about 10 years old, who drags his foot and begs for money, but I've seen him walk normal. Security guards try their best to keep the vendors away from the tables, but it's impossible . . . they are outnumbered!

In the center of the Zocolo is a giant gazebo that showcases famous mariachi bands. Last Saturday night we happened upon one of these performances and were given front row seats. We sat for a good hour and listened to them play. Afterward we stopped and watched a chess match taking place on the sidewalk in front of the Cathedral. A bunch of people behind us began line dancing to the music from a high school band. A clown had a huge crowd surrounding him fifty feet away. Everywhere vendors carried massive bouquets of balloons. Children ran circles around clusters of state police officers. We finally left to find a quiet place to eat. An Italian restaurant caught our interest. Right after we ordered, a jazz band came in and set up right next to our table. At first I thought "Oh no!", but they were wonderful. The lady's voice was beyond professional quality. The pizza was not so great (Joe says I'm just prejudice against Oscar Mayor weenies on my pizza).

We went to the actual market place, which was just like the one in Florence, except more crowded. Everything was organized in large groupings. A section for flowers, for bread, clothes, meat, backpacks, etc., and of course the ever present chapulines (fried grasshoppers). The textiles here are good. A lot like Guatemala.

We've settled into our routine of favorite places to go. Studying at Black Coffee Cafe or another little hole-in-the-wall place with a forgettable name, but cheap beer and mochas. A glass of wine and a Negra Mordelo at El Olivo with it's fabulous view and refreshing breeze. Dinner at La Olla for the Mole Negro de Fandango and Joe's favorite beer, (expensive) Tempus. The creative lighting using vegetable strainers at La Olla always makes me smile. More commonly we eat at the local Arabian Taco Restaurant. I have never had such a good quesadilla with meat in my life, and the employees are so friendly. We love that place.

Last Sunday we found a church close to our home. It is a Calvary Church. The people were nice, but we couldn't understand the pastor. The worship music was good though.

Back here at the house things are much more tranquil, except when Adriana is here to attack Joe. She is the five year old niece of Viki, our hostess. Adriana is adorable, and she and Joe have become buddies. They play soccer in the backyard, read stories together and collect bugs to creep me out. Adriana tries to distract me while I'm writing, but Auntie comes to my rescue. A German lady is staying here from our school. She seems nice, but her German accent makes her Spanish unintelligible. A man, Jesus, rents the room next ours. Denise the Canadian rents the studio apartment downstairs. She and I have become pals. Her boyfriend, Ricardo came by the other day to meet us. Nice guy.

Well time to go eat at Taco Arabe. Lots of love Heidi and Pepe.

Our New Home

Hello!

Since I last wrote, we've had many good meals. The best was at La Olla. I had chicken breast stuffed with plantain bananas smothered in a mole. Mole (pronounced mol-ay) is a type of sauce that is special to Mexico. Eight moles are served here. The most complex one has 20 ingredients, which was the one on my chicken. Delicious! I brought my own wine, thank goodness. As I write this I am sitting on the porch of a small hacienda listening to the thunder in the massive mountains surrounding Oaxaca. I am sipping a glass of Runquist Syrah (very rich/strong flavor).

Our homestay here is with Viki. She inherited this hacienda from her father. It is in a gated community north of downtown Oaxaca. Our school letter said it was a 20 minute walk . . . I swear Mexicans don't understand the clock. It is 30 minutes to school downhill, 40 back home. We have discovered the city bus for 50 cents one way. We are near a student hospital, kind of like UCD Med Center. Sirens all day, all night. Scrubs and white lab coats are the norm.

Our school is great. Our instructor is a cute young Latino named Adrian. Our classmate is a guy from Switzerland. It is a fun class. There is another couple (not in our class) who have been on vacation for 2 years. 2 years! I can't imagine. My boss, Debra, would kill me.

We went to church Sunday at this amazing cathedral. We couldn't understand much because it echoed, but we still enjoyed the atmosphere. They have festivals all the time in front of the Catholic churchs.

Oddities that stand out in my mind:
*A woman in a fur skirt. It looked like a llama pelt and it was full length. Her shirt was heavily embroidered in earth tones and she had a huge basket on her head. It is very warm here. She looked hot to me.
*A man selling his book of poetry stopped at our table and recited from memory a beautiful poem about Oaxaca.
*We were sitting on a rooftop terrace sharing a glass beer when we noticed that the house across the street had a big cage of monkeys. They had little hammocks in the cage and different toys. They played the whole hour we were there.

Things that make us laugh:
*The first night here we heard explosions like cannons. I would jump every time I heard it. Now it is familiar . . . they have a fetish for fireworks here. It doesn't need to be night time either . . . its all day long.
*A lady walking across the zocolo with a basket on her head texting on her cell phone.

*A wedding procession with a 15 foot tall bride and a groom following the real bride and groom to their reception. We asked about it later and apparently it's normal for all weddings here.
*The crosswalk signs at traffic lights are so comical. They have a slowly walking man under the seconds remaining to get across. As the seconds tick away the man speeds up until in the last few seconds he is running. I'll have to film it someday.
*Okay now this one is just bizarre to us. Picture traffic going along in the correct direction. Whatever is normal for your country. In Mexico its the same as the USA. However, here it depends on the street. If a one way street merges with another one way street it could be the opposite of normal. Wait . . . that's not weird enough . . . at some point they will create an X and change sides. This is on a major thoroughfare (like Watt Ave).

Well Joe just woke up from his siesta, so we are headed off to eat . . . in the rain :)

Lots of love, Joe and Heidi

Oaxaca, Mexico

Hola Amigos y Familia,

We made it! As usual Joe talked me into a midnight flight and for the first time I slept on the plane. Probably because I'm sick . . . Joe gave me his cold. Our flights were extremely close this time, or the planes were running late. In Mexico City we found our gate and noted the sign for Oaxaca with a message saying the flight was boarding. We rushed up to the counter only to be told "No problem, don't worry". Okay. When the sign changed to final call for our flight to Oaxaca, I tried again. Now I had a small contingent of 'worriers'. I felt better when a man going to Puerta Viarta got mad because his flight said "departed". She finally waved her hand at the signs and said "that doesn't mean anything". We boarded 10 minutes later with boarding passes in hand (after a bus ride to the plane). Seats 27B and 27C, no problem. It was a bit of a shock to get to the back of the plane, along with passengers for seats 20 through 29. The plane only had 19 rows! Okee-Dokee. The stewardess said, with a wave of her hand, "sit anywhere, no worries". Eso es Mexico.

Our taxi driver drove like a madman, but we were dropped off at Las Bugambilas Bed and Breakfast Inn. We were two hours too early so the receptionist let us put our bags in her own room. Joe and are still laughing over her bathroom. The toilet was inside the shower. Thankfully our room has a 'normal' bathroom, with a huge shower and hot water. The bed has a beautiful mural on the wall. A minor problem was being locked out onto our patio. It seems the screen door has a latch that can't be disabled. The first time a worker saw us and came to our rescue through our bedroom. The second time we pried the screen door open on the bottom and I squeezed through enough to pop the latch. Now the latch is sitting on the table in the room.

On our first walk we met two lovely young ladies selling book markers. We are now the proud parents of a 18 year old girl named Maria Isabelle. Her sister offered her to us when they discovered we couldn't have children :) Nice sister huh?  We had a little cluster of college students approach us to interview us for the English class. Their teacher stood by to ensure we didn't speak Spanish to them. They were adorable.

Oaxaca is the most beautiful, gracious city I've been to. It combines the elegance and antiquity of Florence, Italy with the vibrancy of Guanajuato. The zocolos (town squares) are everywhere and have enormous trees. Hundreds of people congregate there to visit or sell their wares. The stages of life are all represented; Teenage couples smooch on shady benches, young couples walk holding hands with babies and toddlers, older couples sit watching their teenage daughters walk hand in hand deep in conversation while their teenage boys attempt to get the girls attention, all of this is overseen by the grandparents.

Now I sit in The Black Coffee Gallery, an open air coffee shop. Across the street a woman in her eighties is sitting in the shade selling hand made purses. A three foot tall Cinderella just walked by. A man sits next to me talking to someone on his computer video cam.

The cathedrals are awesome to see. There are art galeries, restuarantes, museums, and clothing stores everywhere. Speaking of stores . . . I've never seen so many shoe stores!

I haven't found my niche with the food yet. Breakfast this morning was pretty good . . . variations on the tamale. Tomorrow we move to our family's home where we will remain for four weeks. School starts 8:00 sharp on Monday morning.