Blogs from Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico, North America - page 21

We spent four fantastic days in Oaxaca, and it is known for its food. so this entry will be all about the food! Friday March 6 Los Danzantes Modern restaurant with open sky atmosphere, great service, very popular. duck tacos with slices of avocado and a smoky salsa hoja de hierba santa relleno con queso de “goat”, in a sweet sauce black bean soup with Chiapas cheese, masa dumpings, and onions. Sopa azteca atmosphere - outdoor once inside, fountains/pools, chill music, best bar set up Thursday March 5th Casa Crespo served in the courtyard of a B&B Each dish introduced by the chef, an enthusiastic guy who is inspired by molecular gastronomy coming out of Spain. 9 courses 1. cactus salad with pomegranate syrup, also some cheese and a ball of corn flour. eh. 2. Ceviche ... read more

Yesterday I met up with my new friend Rachel and her travel buddy, Janelle, at the Mercado Pochote, el mercado organico, for Rachel's birthday. We sipped tejate (http://www.go-oaxaca.com/newsletter/tejate.html) and sampled mezcal (http://www.oaxaca-restaurants.com/mezcal.htm). Vendors are generous with their samples - so maybe you'll buy more? They have everything from young and aged, con gusano to jamaica, cafe, and mandarina infused - of course all organic. After, I went on a search block-by-block of a 2-mile radius to find the hospital Alicia works at. Disheartened, I walked into the Zocalo, where I ran into Dr. Chris. I was happy to exchange one biologist for another, and we took a seat at a restaurant, where I got to hear more about his Guatemalan wife and sons, was scolded on my improper use of "quiero," heard more comical stories, and ... read more

Adios Enero! What a month. It began with working and packing, swimming and yoga, creative dates and love fit into schedules. I moved out of my house, quit my jobs, sold all of my possessions that couldn’t fit into a hiker’s backpack, said goodbye and took a flight. More than anything or anyone directly or specifically, I am missing feelings. I am missing being held. I am missing holding. I am missing shared histories and making new stories together. I am missing the indescribable experience of a giggle attack with a 12 year old. And now I am feeling strong. My knees are holding together incredibly well with at least three hours of walking a day. I think the warm weather and fatty food help a lot. I’m often very tired here, but that’s what happens ... read more

I took my first class today. We jumped straight into verbos irregulares and discussing/describing our families. Everything fit together really well in mind. Since my arrival here, I have been upset at myself for having spent so much time learning to speak German in high school and college. Now, I couldn’t be more thankful that I learned the foundations of grammar from two highly organized, strict German women. At lunch today I could form full sentences to speak with my host family. I went from being an intelligible mute to a giggly spanglishy table partner. “Voy a …. Ir…no…meet..you know.. voy a encontrar mi amigo en el Zocalo de los …six…uh…siece y diece” I also told my Dona Gude in broken Spanish that I had been a vegetarian in the United States, and had even abstained ... read more

On Monday, David and I, with two other people from our hotel went to cooking school again. Our teacher greeted us at the door of her home, she was beautifully dressed in a red and white Mexican dress and had striking Mexican designed jewellery on. Not once did she put an apron on, nor did she get food on her clothing. We have always wanted to learn how to make flan and that was the first thing we learned. The most interesting part was carmalizing the sugar and water to the point where it was burnt slightly and then she coated the pan with it. Then she poured the flan mixture in, put it into a double boiler and cooked it for 30 minutes. Then we went on make squash blossom soup, made from a receipe ... read more