Katrina Nygaard

Muralismo Possibly the most popular art movement in Mexico is the mural movement of the twentieth century. Begining in the 1920s with the end of the revolution, muralismo has since gained Mexico international fame. These early murals, painted by greats like Rivera, Orozco and Siqueiros, portray themes of revolution, history, nationalism, marxism, industrialization, christianity and the state. When we were in DF, we were lucky enough to see many of these works in Bellas Artes and the Palacio Nacional. Despite, as I learned in class the other day, Rivera's self promoting and selfish character, I am still enamored by his work. While not the body of his work, I find his signature lilies and portrayal of the bourgeoisie absolutely beautiful and emblematic of the glamour of the 1920s. Rivera is probably rolling in... read more

La Lengua- tongue or language. Living in Oaxaca has been invaluable for improving my Spanish- both listening and speaking. Stumbling to explain we are learning in class over a bowl of coco puffs every morning with my host mom has, most definately, become much more tolerable over the last few weeks. So much of the Spanish I have learned has happened outside of the classroom. Don't get me wrong- we are still struggling with the infinity of tenses and the ever frustrating subjunctive. Regardless, I have picked up a lot of colloquial vocabularly by just being in the city. Here is a little list of some common terms with one or many meanings: ¿Que onda?- what's up? ¡ay!- an exclamation. along the lines of jeeze or really!? Often, ¡Ay! ¡Dios mio! chido- cool guey- dude guera- ... read more

FOOD I think it would be absolutely impossible to talk about Oaxaca without talking about the food. Let's not kid ourselves, most of my free time here is spent going out to cafes, restaurants, bars, food stands, really anything where I can eat or drink something. Given this, I will share with you all some of the most (and least) delicious aspects of my trip. Tacos al Pastor- the tacos from this little taquería in our neighborhood are fantastic. While you can get just about any type of meat, they are known for tacos al pastor and gringas, two types of tacos that use the pastor meat. This (I think pork?) is roasted nightly on a spit, covered in some delicious mystery orange colored spices and served with onions, cilantro and a chunk of fresh pineapple. ... read more

Mexico City This past week our class took a trip to Mexico City to visit about 1289758396720345 different sites important to Mexican history. While you may think I am exaggerating, I am not. The trip was a whirlwind 5 days but was totally amazing. Unlike Oaxaca, where we are allowed to run wild through the streets, our teachers had other plans for us in North America's largest urban center. We were ushered around from one museum or historical site to the next for, easily, ten hours each day. Since I can't possibly remember everything that we learned, I am just going to make a list of some of the highlights. Monday- the trip into the city. Surprisingly the most relaxing day. We took a bus for the 7ish hour trip between Oaxaca and DF through some ... read more

Monte Albán This Tuesday, our class took a trip to Monte Albán, the largest archeological site in the Valley of Oaxaca. It is situated in the center of the valley, at the meeting of the three different valley arms. While its function is debated, it is possible that Monte Albán served as a central capital with political and military functions, much like modern Washington DC. The site consists of numerous residential areas as well as large pyramids at the city center. The pyramids, typical to many in Mesoamerica, are rectangular and are orientated with the cardinal directions. The pyramids each have a large stair case, leading to one or two platforms. While many of the pyramids were roped off to tourists, we were able to climb to the top of one at the south end of ... read more