http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Sarah-and-Carlie/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Sarah and Carlie en-us Wed, 06 Jan 2010 04:44:04 +0000 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 04:44:04 +0000 Here I am again back on a warm sandy beach. Well technically I am sitting by the pool but why split hairs eh Last Monday I headed back to Oaxaca to meet up with Ruth and plan our diving vacation. As it turns out our diving vacation has now brought me back to Puerto Escondido. I know you are all pretty sad that I canrsquot send you pictures of yet another sunny Mexican or Belizian beach but http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Puerto-Escondido/blog-352606.html You all know I love you but this is going to be a short one because well because I am three feet from a hot sandy beach with crashing waves and I have better things to do So It was a crazy last two weeks in Oaxaca which luckily was pre empted by a two day trip to the mountains. Ixtapec de Juarez is a little ecotourism resort run by the local town and the money generated goes back into the com http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Puerto-Escondido/blog-349486.html So there I was deep in thought about deep listening. Thinking hard about how important it is to just listen to people and let them talk without throwing in your own experiences or ideas when up walked one of my students to ask if I wanted to play snakes and ladders. Well does one really have to ask Of course I want to play snakes and ladders Only it turns out we didnrsquot play snakes and http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/blog-346334.html First of all I should say sorry for hitting you all with a very sad poem and then not writing for a few days. Yes the poem is true I did lose a student over the weekend to a car accident and it was quite a shock after so many days of celebration. But this blog is not about that and I have been promising to tell all about Muertos in Oaxaca and here it is.Los Dias de los Muertos or Muertos for sh http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/blog-342380.html I canrsquot remember his face.My class still looks the same but something is missing.A chair stands empty a school bin of notebooks untouched since three days.A place mat turned upside down whispers the name of its owner but he isnrsquot there.ldquoA car accidentrdquo they tell me and my head starts to swim.Memories rush into my eyes and ears slipping tires and the slow silence before a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/blog-341342.html We arrived on the red eye from a Vancouver autumn getting colder and darker by the hour and step into the hot dry desert air of Oaxaca City. The baggage claim and customs area at the Oaxacan International Airport is the same size as the departure lounge and check in area of the Tuktoyuktuk City Airport. Think small so small that we have to move in an S like formation. Pick up bags go left get http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/blog-339490.html I am going to tell you the story about the time I tried to explain how maple syrup is extracted from a sugar maple tree in Spanish. It took place many days ago I think ten or twelve to be exact. It was the evening I gave my home stay mum and dad some gifts from the great white north. They were the typical assortment of smoked salmon some ferry and double decker bus pens a bear bell with the 20 http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/blog-339492.html 700 am and the alarm rings but Irsquove been awake for thirteen minutes. Itrsquos 500 am in BC October 21st. I wonder if the fog is hanging over Victoria dulling all sound. Only the distant horns of the ships can be heard calling to each other as they slowly trace their routes. 704 and the snooze is going off again then again at 708. The house is quiet but my room is slowly filling with http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/blog-339509.html Right so it has been over a week since yoursquove heard anything from me. It has been a week of frustrations and struggles and epiphanies. In short it has been a typical hump week. Thatrsquos right this week was the middle of my time here in Oaxaca and being in the middle I was in a funk. The purpose of this trip was to experience teaching in a new culture with a new language to challenge http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/blog-339484.html The pavement jumps up to greet my startled toes my body falters ever so slightly and my lips whisper lsquoaiiiiirsquo. Old cable anchors and telephone pole stumps create extra obstacles forcing my eyes to stay trained on the slim sidewalk in front of me. Here in Oaxaca walking is not only common but is treated as a mixture of sport and art. Oaxacan Sidewalk Walking the new Olympic trial s http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/blog-336726.html Grade 3 Montessori School Oaxaca Oaxaca MexicoItrsquos 1230pm and wersquove all been here since 8am four and a half hours with one and a half left to go. Recorder music drifts through the open door one of the students is practicing her mad recorder skills on the step outside. A few minutes ago she came up and asked me my name in English and in Spanish. She already knew my name so I thin http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/blog-336305.html After an attempted escape from my house at 430 in the morning Saturday October 11th I was escorted to the Zocalo by both Mexican parents mama because she wanted to bring me and papa because he can drive. I had tried to make my break and walk with Bridgette and Jason but I couldnrsquot get the door unlocked and I was called at from upstairs to ldquohold on and wersquoll take yourdquo http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Distrito-Federal/Mexico-City/blog-334336.html I have found myself with some extra time due to a disagreement with my stomach and I have decided now that I am able to come out of the foetal position to fill you all in on the past few days. There is a lot to tell.Well more then a week seems to have gone by in the little town of Oaxaca. Tuesday morning we all met up in the north end of the city to attend a workshop with one of the secondary s http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/blog-334332.html It was an interesting weekend one that included our first day off since wersquove been here. Saturday morning we arose extra early in order to head out to the pueblo of Teotitlan. After meeting at Omarrsquos school we climbed into our lsquocochasrsquo and headed for the mountains. It was an overcast morning but warm and we had the windows down with the radio blaring old Cranberries tunes. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/blog-331672.html It doesnrsquot feel like only a couple of days since I posted it feels more like a week or two So much to see and do and experience and take in. Monday we started our Spanish classes and they are amazingly intensive. No English is spoken and we have gone on trips to markets and a pueblo that we will be working in.I have noticed in the last few days that learning a new language requires a cer http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/blog-330600.html Today we all got up bright and early even though it was Domingo Sunday and headed off to our first ruins. My Mexican mother stuffed me with food once again fresh fruit pan sweet bread cereal frosted flakes this time mango juice and a fresh Oaxacan cheese and avocado tortilla. How does one explain in Spanish that a big breakfast to me is yogurt and granola I met up with Christina and Ch http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/Monte-Albon/blog-328805.html Yo quiero mi familia host Nada I love my host family They are so patient with me and I am really enjoying attempting to have conversations with them while they are enjoying all my Franglais Spanish. Tonight I gave them a few things from Canada the obligatory maple syrup and smoked salmon which we are having for comida tomorrow a 2010 Olympics bear bell BC ferries pen that has a doubledeck http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/blog-328385.html Hello all I guess itrsquos been a while eh A lot of fun and crazy things have happened since our return from India and Thailand so much so that we havenrsquot written a peep So sorry mea culpa but I have good news I am about to set off on another trip yes I knowhellip..yayy me. I am going to Oaxaca Mexico for two months and the best part is that I am getting school credit for it http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Vancouver/blog-313049.html Wow well after an amazing time in Koh Tao and an awsome Full moon party on Koh Phangyan don't know if I spelled that right I am now back in Mumbai. I leave today for London and am looking forward to it but also sad to be leaving Asia. I loved Thailand and some how India as well. I know I will come back someday Divemaster next year but it is still odd to be leaving it feels like it has go http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Maharashtra/Mumbai/blog-156588.html What a week After finishing the Open Water course and having nothing better to do I thought I would go ahead and take my Advanced Open Water diving course. Good choice. more dives less classroom and most of the same people. We had our last instructor again and two new ones so that we could split up into three groups. The first day we did two dives one of which was a navigation dive requireme http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-151837.html