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Published: February 27th 2007
Oaxaca
The church at San Jeronimo de Tlalcochahuaya (or something like that...)I’m falling in love with Oaxaca. Except for the attack dogs on the streets, my occasional upset stomach, and the icky water, everything is so exciting and wonderful. The bad news is that between all the walking, classes, heat, homework, and busy schedule I am exhausted every evening and staying up to do homework is much more challenging than it was at Linfield. My bed is more of a distraction than the internet used to be, and I sleep like a baby despite the heat and the barking dogs outside, especially on days that we have excursions. Last week was especially exhausting because we had three long field trips.
On Tuesday for Anthropology we went to Dainzu/Macuilxochitl, a town in the country not too far from Oaxaca that has some ruins. About tens years ago our professor excavated several of the ancient houses there, but since the ruins weren’t as impressive as Monte Alban and other sites, most of the ruins are no longer excavated and local people farm the area. However, we were archaeologists for a day- we did a surface survey of the area in search of evidence of ancient walls, stone tool fragments, broken pottery, and “mounds”
Oaxaca
And again. that cover ruins. It was cool because much of the area that hadn’t been excavated looked just like a normal field with mounds and lots of rocks, but when we started to look more closely we found tons of broken pottery and other evidence of structures. Amy was lucky enough to find part of a stone whistle with a carving of a face, but unfortunately we couldn’t take any artifacts since it’s illegal. Up the hill we explored the partially excavated ruins of the small city, which was interesting.
Thursday for Anthropology we got up bright and early to take a bus to another small town nearby called Cuilapan where we visited an ex-convent from the colonial era. Inside the convent are the archaeology laboratories of the National Institute of History and Anthropology for Oaxaca where our professor works. We went in the room which holds all of the skeletal remains found at archaeological sites in the area. They were working on bones on the tables and tons of boxes full of skeletons were stacked to the ceiling around the room. It was very cool but at the same time a little strange. We also other room with ceramics
Oaxaca
Inside. Que bonito! and figurines found at various sites. Although it was interesting, the tour went on forever and we were all extremely hungry, hot, and tired by the time we finished that afternoon.
We went to three different places on Friday, so it was even more of an exhausting day. First we went to another 16th century church and ex-convent at San Jeronimo de Tlacochahuaya (Tlac-o-cha-wy-ah- it’s a mouthful!). The church was very pretty and interesting. Next we visited the ruins and church at the small town of Mitla. It is unique because the colonial church was built literally right in the middle the indigenous structures, which is a perfect example of “sincretismo”- a concept we’ve been learning a lot about lately which refers to the fusion of the two cultures (Spanish and indigenous). Some of the ruins are in good condition and have cool geometric patterns in the stone and few remnants of detailed paintings. Some of the red and white paint still remains, which covered almost of the ruins (at other sites as well). After exploring the ruins we had time for lunch and exploring. It was quite an adventure because four of us were starving and went in
search for a restaurant. The town is small but it seems logical that it would have at least one restaurant. Wrong. It has probably more than 20 mezcalerias (mezcal is a type of alcohol famous in Oaxaca and much of it is made near Mitla), but no restaurants. Apparently the people drink their lunch. At some places there’d be a sign but no restaurant, or it would be closed. Finally we discovered a little taqueria place where we had cheap but delicious tacos. Our last stop before finally returning to Oaxaca was Tule, which is home to the famous enormous tree that is more than 2000 years old. I had actually already visited with my host family last weekend, but it is still amazing, and this time I had my camera. It was a pretty fun day, but honestly we are all burnt out on ruins, churches, and museums were completely worn out by the time we got home. After a power nap, however, we found enough energy to have dinner and go to a popular dance club for a while that night. It was fun, but the party nights here are Wednesday and Saturday, so unfortunately there weren’t that
many people there.
Saturday Lizzie and I took a bus to the Plaza Del Valle, aka “Gringoland.” It’s called Gringoland because it has almost everything you’d find in the U.S. It has a huge mall with a Sears, Gigante (big grocery store), movie theater, Subway, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, and other shops. Nearby there is also a Sam’s Club (almost exactly like Costco), Office Depot, KFC, and another large store. It was fun to visit although I don’t want to make a habit of it! I was able to do a little shopping, although it wasn’t any cheaper than U.S. prices. Since we’ve been here I’ve been searching for Dr. Pepper, my favorite soda but have been unsuccessful. Cassie has been craving it too so she asked her Spanish professor if it exists in Oaxaca. He told her that they sold it somewhere in the Plaza del Valle, so I looked for it, but was extremely disappointed when I couldn’t find it. However, Kelly happened to go to the one store I didn’t check, and sure enough, they had it. She doesn’t like Dr. Pepper but she was really sweet and bought 2 bottles for Cassie and I! It tasted
soooo gooood. I’m definitely going to that store soon to stock up….
I finally found out about my community service placement- I start tomorrow (Tuesday). I’m going to be helping out at a prestigious Catholic bilingual school called McKinley. Supposedly it’s very strict and I have to dress very conservatively, which is why I went shopping over the weekend! It’s known as one of the best schools in Oaxaca. IPO has placed many students there for community service in the past, and it’s very close the IPO, so it sounds perfect- I’m nervous but so excited! I’ll be working there for two hours Monday thru Thursday after my morning class until I have a total of 30 hours. It will make my schedule very busy, but I know it will be an amazing experience for me.
In other news, I was nearly attacked by a dog the other day. There are homeless dogs that wander certain parts of the street, and one dog in particular is grumpy. Patty and I were walking by a dog and as I started to cross to the other side of the street it started to attack me. Fortunately as soon as I
got up on the tall curb it left me alone, but now I’m even more fearful of the dogs here. Friday night a group of us were walking home and the same dog was standing in the middle of the street glaring at us. There is no alternative way to get home so we had to pass eventually. Luckily it got tired quickly, laid down, and let us pass quietly and slowly on the edge of the street. My heart was definitely pounding. Someone needs to start Humane Societies in Mexico, as it is a serious problem.
The other student, Aaron, arrived today. He´s from L.A. After graduating from college he decided to learn Spanish in Oaxaca for a year or so. He was here for a few months and then took a month off to visit family in the U.S., and now he´s back for a few more months. He´s taking classes at the ICO, but not with a program, it´s more like independent study. Anyway, he seems really nice so far and I can tell my family really likes him.
So I’m going to try to take pictures of my house, the walk to school, IPO,
and the Zocalo soon. It’s really a very beautiful city and I wish you could all be here to see it, because even the pictures don’t do it justice. I hope all is well in rainy/snowy Oregon. I have to admit even though the heat gets to me sometimes, I don’t miss the rain at all…jejeje.
Besitos,
Janna (aka Yanna, Hanna, Yoanna, Jjjjonna, or Juana)
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Monica
non-member comment
wow!
I finally got around to checking this out and I am so happy for you, it looks like you're having such an amazing time! Not gonna lie, I'm pretty jealous and (still) wishing I would have done the Oaxaca program instead of CR. Glad you're having a great time though, I hope it continues!