El Regreso

The next day I felt a lot better, but was still ready to go home. I had to be at the airport by 9:30 AM and my family drove me, Margarita and her husband, Beto. I thanked them, said goodbye, and got in line with some of the other Cabrillo students who had already arrived. I was glad to be less sick the second day, or it would have been a much harder day of travel.

In this first picture, I am in the women's restroom at the Oaxaca airport. It's  the smallest airport I've ever been to with the smallest toilets too! This one of course is, sólo para niños. I just thought it was so cute, I had to get a picture.

Our plane left Oaxaca airport (see bottom left side of map) at 12:25 PM to Mexico, D.F. (Mexico City, red star on map), which is only a hour flight. We had a four hour lay-over there, but after lunch, walking around, and a few hours of card games it was time to board onto the next plane. From Mexico D.F. we flew another hour to Guadalajara airport. The layover was only an hour there, and we went to one gift shop before we got on the plane. The longest plane ride was from Guadalajara back to San Jose airport. I made the most of it by starting a new book and talking with some of the people on the trip. I got in a few good laughs that I really needed.
I was really happy to go home, I almost couldn't wait to be back in California, especially after my last day in Oaxaca. As you all know though, I had a great time overall, even with its ups and downs. 

I got to San Jose around 9:00 PM and my mom was waiting for at the door where we exit from the high security at the airport. She was relieved to know I felt better than the day before. 

I was really happy to go home to Boulder Creek and sleep with my cat in my own bed. Besides seeing all my beloved friends and family, it was the little things I missed: being able to brush my teeth with the tap water, New Leaf sandwiches and Jazzercise. I'm happy to be home, but of course, I have had unique experiences and learned more about the Mexican culture and Spanish language. I am grateful for being able to indulge in a personal goal and have a great time doing it. Thank you to all who contributed to this incredible journey, it's made memories that will last a lifetime. 

El Último Día

El último día (the last day), I woke up to go to school after one of the worst night's sleep I had gotten the whole trip. I had strange dreams and I felt over heated all night. There was definitely a change in weather the last week and it had really warmed up compared to the rest of the month, especially during the night. I felt weird that morning and told Margarita I wasn't going to eat any breakfast, just go to school because I had to take a final exam. By the time I got to school I felt worse and I realized I was experiencing what's known as Montezuma's revenge (if you don't know what I mean, google it.)

When class began, I began to deteriorate and feel even worse than before. Betty approached me right away when she got to class to tell me that I didn't really have to take a final exam because she had to submit my grade already with Consuelo, and had just based it off of my participation and previous work in the class. I was relieved to hear this, and I left soon after to go home and lay down. 

I didn't realize how sick I was when I layed down and feel asleep for four hours. I woke up and still felt tired and really out of it. Margarita saw that my bedroom door was open and stopped by my room shortly after I woke up. I was packing my suitcases while I could muster up the energy. She asked me how I was feeling and told her about my symptoms. She had been sick with something similar for the last few days, but did not have a fever like I did. She told me that she was pretty sure I had an infection because of the fever. Luckily, since she and her husband are dentists, they had antibiotics and I took some Cipro, which I was recommended before I left in case this happened. I took the medicine and ate a little bit of food. 

I was really disappointed when I woke up that I felt even worse and that I was missing the last day of school, a small celebration that the school was putting on and any last dinner or event that some of my Cabrillo friends were doing on the last night. All I wanted to do was talk to my mom and tell her how terrible I felt. I couldn't get any of my calling cards to work from my house, so I walked like a zombie 15 minutes to the nearest store with a phone booth where I could pay cash by the minute. When I heard my mom's voice on the phone I burst into tears. I really wanted to be home more than ever. I had been counting the days, but I was feeling pretty desperate at this point. After only a few minutes I told my mom I had to hang up because I was feeling dizzy and then I started to sweat and see stars. I told her I was going to hang up because I was going to pass out (she says she doesn't remember hearing that part.) Within seconds, everything went black and I dropped the phone. I picked it by finding the dangling cord with my hands, but I couldn't see the phone receiver to hang it up. It was the strangest feeling and I wanted to get down on the floor and curl into a ball, but I didn't because I was in a public phone booth. I finally hung up the phone, stumbled backwards knocking over the stool in the booth, and somehow dug some money out of my purse to pay the lady that worked in the shop. 

When I got outside, I broke into a cold sweat and felt like the dizziness was lifting. I still felt slightly nauseous, and incapable of making rash decisions, decided to walk home because I thought a taxi would make me more nauseous. Somehow I got home, it was kind of like a dream, and I went straight back to bed. I was woken be knocks at my bedroom door telling me my mom was on the phone. She thought I had passed out in the phone booth, and since I never answered her back after I dropped the phone dangling to the floor, she wasn't sure if I ever made it back to my house. I felt bad for making her worry, but I hadn't realized how it seemed on her end, I only had one priority: bed. My mom calmed down after she found out I made it home, and I went back to bed. 

I got up for less than an hour one other time that evening and then went back to bed for the rest of the night. I can't remember being sick like that before, but I was glad to get antibiotics and rest before I had to get on a plane the next day. At the time I was disappointed about missing the last day's festivities, but maybe it was for the better.

El Horno

On Thursday, after my regular routine at school and comida at home, I went to a play right across from the Benito Juarez park in the uniquely named Juarez theater. It was a large, red building with a modern design compared to the majority of the buildings in the city. I found out about the play through the school, and when they described where to go, I knew exactly where they meant.

There were a lot of people waiting outside when I got there. I even saw Belen , Betty's roommate, when I got there. She and I talked for a while. There were two other teachers involved in the production, one of them was in charge of costumes and stage managing, and the other was one of the actresses seen in the pictures. I didn't take a lot of photos on Thursday, thinking I would have time for any last minutes shots on Friday.

I ended up sitting with two of my classmates. There were two other Cabrillo students that went to see it, but I think it was really difficult for them to understand.  The play was called "El Horno" ("The Oven"), and notice the oven is not in the same place in the two photos, the table never moves. It was written by a local Oaxacan man as a part of the theater workshops of the community. 
We were told ahead of time that the play was surreal and not to take every word they said in the play literally. I was glad that I knew that before I went because I was able to pay attention to the symbolism. I understood most of the dialogue, which made it easier to follow the details that weren't as obvious. At the end of the play I had a pretty clear idea of the various images and symbols that were used in the dialogue and on the set. I spoke with the teacher who invited us, Paco, after the show to confirm my thinking. He told me that I understood a lot of the ideas and he thought I was pretty right on about symbolism. It's encouraging to know that my oral comprehension and critical thinking in Spanish were good enough to comprehend something on this level. 

This was one of the best pieces of art I saw in Oaxaca, even compared to all the artisians in town selling their pottery, weaving, paintings, embroidery, jewelry and alebrijes. Well, maybe that's an overstatement, but it was a good production, and it was more creative than all the same kinds of artesian arts and crafts that are sold on every street corner. As many of you know, I am also a long-time fan of theater, so perhaps I have favoritism for the theater arts.

After the show, I went to a pizza restaurant with a friend from Cabrillo, Derek. I got to see one of the greatest classmates I had, Tomás, for the last time that night. He was a young man from Finland who had lived in Oaxaca for the last 6 months and was dating a teacher from the school. He was always very kind to me, and the only student in my class anywhere close to my age. It was great to say goodbye to him one last time because he was one of the best people I met in Oaxaca.

Los Cachorros Nuevos

At the request of my fans in the U.S. I am posting pictures of the Pugs and the los cachorros nuevos (the new puppies). Until today, I hadn`t seen the Pugs for a few weeks. I am amazed how much they grew! They now have their eyes open and they are very mobile and playful. I am holding the girl in this picture. She still looks tiny in my hands, but she is way bigger than before.
The boy is super fat and much bigger than the girl (bottom). It was hard to take a picture of the two of them together because as you can see, they just want to play rough and tumble. When I held them they licked me and tried to suckle my fingers and skin. Their teeth are just starting to grow in. Alejandro was calling the girl Tyrita (her mom is Tyra, so that means little Tyra). I asked him what the boy`s name was. He said he didn`t have one for him. I suggested gordo (fatty).
Here are the new little pigs. As you can see, they just want to eat, eat, eat. Every time I go and see them this is what it looks like. They all fight for a nipple and crawl over eachother.
Shayla is a good mom, always attending to her puppies. They are only 2 days old. I went by the house the day Shayla was in labor, but I couldn`t stay to see the birth. This time there were no deaths, all four puppies alive and well.
This is the cow puppy. It was hard to take close-ups of the puppies individually because they wiggle and crawl back to their mom the second I separate them. Maybe in the next few days I`ll be able to get more close ups of their pink noses and adorable faces, but for now, this will have to do. They all look black from afar, but if you look at them up close you can see where the black fur is mixed with brown and their coloring will probably change. Do you still think Beagles are so ugly, Mom? How could you call any puppy ugly? (except for Yorkies.)

Graffiti

Today I walked with Heidi and Jessi to a street that was covered with graffiti on all the cement walls surrounding it. There is a lot of graffiti here, but most of it is more names, tags and lines that don`t mean anything. Unfortunately, people paint on anything and everything: doorways, walls of houses and windows. It is everywhere and it is really not appealing. In the city there are more pictures like the ones I took here, but they are not as detailed or artistic. In my class at the Instituto we have had several discussions about graffiti and whether we think it is an expression and freedom of speech, or just ugly and annoying.
I feel like this kind of graffiti is a more appropriate way of expressing freedom of speech and trying to convey a message. It also seems that these walls were painted with permisson and artistic talent. I included some of my favorite paintings, and there are more that aren`t as beautiful or well done, but they are somebody`s idea of art and I can respect that.
What was most interesting about these walls of graffiti, is that many of the paintings were painted to send a message about women`s rights. This next piece says, "First, we destroy sexism to create a world free of violence. Respect and Equality."
I found this to be one of the most powerful messages of all the paintings. I really like the images too, of the mother and child on the left and the Mexican woman on the right who seems to be sending the message. It`s hard to tell from these photos, but all these images were done with spray paint. Even the little girl inside the heart, who even in person seems to be a picture pasted on the wall, but when I got close I could tell it was spray paint.
It was one of the most political things I`ve seen in the city so far, especially from the woman`s point of view. I`m glad that I got to see this graffiti and take pictures. It was definately an impowering moment to share the same opinions of the women of this country who are often silenced and treated inequally by society even more than in our country. It is interesting to think about the success and progress our country feels by having elected an African American president, but globally, how far have we really come?

La Guelaguetza

My pictures turned out really dark, but you can get the idea of what the Guelaguetza was like. It was also hard to take pictures of the dancers because by the time my camera was ready to take the picture they had already turned around or left my sight.
There were 15 different dances with new costumes each time. Each dance and costume represents a different region of Oaxaca. One of my favorite dances was of a region that believes that the woman is able to win the heart of her man by getting him drunk and lassoing him with a scarf. They acted this out really well.
I was glad that I went because I really enjoyed the dances and costumes, but the food was awful and expensive. I had ordered what they said was a yellow mole, but it had a transparent sauce and tasted nothing like mole. It was such a small portion that I decided to order a quesadilla too. You can`t screw up a quesadilla too much, but the guacamole was watery and the whole dish was extra salty. Oh well. I was going to eat somewhere else ahead of time, but I ended up calling Uriel and finding out that he had missed his flight out of Houston because of the immigration and baggage claim that kept him behind. By the time he got to Pheonix on a new flight, he had missed his original flight from there as well.
The airline gave him a new flight out of Pheonix, but not until 9:00 PM. I was on the phone with him and my mom trying to figure out how he would get home at that time. He was suppose to arrive at 3:00 PM if he hadn`t missed his original flight. I had the bright idea of calling Metro (where he works) and asking them when the last Hwy. 17 bus was leaving from San Jose. He ended up being able to catch it and said he even knew the driver. (What a surprise!) Nonetheless, I didn`t talk to him until about a hour ago, and last night I had nightmares about planes. Ug!

Anyway, back to the Guelaguetza. This is a picture of one of my favorite performances from last night. I was lucky enough to catch them in this pose when I took the picture. It turned out so cute, I just wish they weren`t so dark. Yes, I used a flash.
Each region brought a product that was special to their area. For some it was pineapple, pottery or weaved cloth. It was interesting to learn about the different goods that were special to the different areas and see their traditional clothing. I found the dresses and hair pieces to be the most impressive with all the colors and details.
There were a lot of students that didn`t end up going to the Guelaguetza because it was kind of expensive, and maybe they weren`t that interested. I sat and visited with some of the students on the trip that I haven`t spent a lot of time with and it was kind of refreshing to talk to new people.
I`m glad I went even though the food sucked and it was expensive because it was an experience very authentic to Oaxaca.

La Despedida de Uriel

La despedida de Uriel, as you can guess is "the good-bye to Uriel." I got up at the crack of dawn to go with him to the airport. I was fine with it last night, but this morning it didn`t seem like such a bright idea. When I asked him if he wanted me to go he said, "yes," which is really unlike him because his usual answer is, "if you want to." So I felt like I should go and see him off. Sure, I was sad to see him go, but I will see him back home soon enough.
Last night we had a little going away party at my favorite restuarant, Tio Guero. Of course, Uriel played the guitar almost the whole time. I had to remind him to stop and eat something or his food would get cold. This isn`t the greatest picture of me, but it`s the best one I have from yesterday. We sang a lot of fun songs and kept the place open an hour past closing time. I didn`t feel too bad because we gave the waiter a great tip. He`s a young guy and the only waiter in that restuarant. He works his ass off running around and trying to serve everyone in that place while the owner sits around and watches. He looked really happy when he left at the end of the night, a big smile plastered on his face.
Everything at school is going fine. On Friday I will have to take a final exam and do an oral presentation about a cultural aspect of Oaxaca. It includes a breif summary and some questions to pose to my class for discussion. I`m thinking of doing it on the food of Oaxaca. Besides the famous mole, there are a lot of interesting dishes here that are unique to this area, like champulines (grasshoppers). I tried one piece of one, but it was too crunchy and salty for me, Uriel bought a bag full at a tianguis, but never finished the whole bag. He`s definately been more of the risk-taker when it comes to trying the strange food here, and it`s been good for me because there were some things I wouldn`t have tried and when I did, I liked them. I do like green eggs and ham, I do, I do, Sam I am (but not champulines.)
Since Uriel is gone, that means I`m back at Margarita`s. I went there today for lunch and saw that in fact the Beagle cachorros were born. The coloring of their fur is already very prevelent. I was surprised. I`ll ask Alejandro if I can take pictures, I didn`t today because I didn`t really have permission and they were all eating. I didn`t want to upset any hungry babies, you know how that is, right mom?
I opted not to take a workshop for the last two weeks since Uriel was here. It was great not having to go this afternoon because I was exhausted from getting up so damn early, so I took a 3 hour nap instead. Tonight we are going to a Guelaguetza, a traditional Oaxacan dance. I should be fun and will give me something interesting to post for tomorrow.