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Published: January 19th 2011
Slippers!
So comfy! So Leah and I experienced our first Oaxacan miracle over the weekend! We decided Saturday was a good day to head into the city and explore the Zocalo and city center a bit more so we can have a good idea of whats there and where we can take groups when then come. We are both still extremely reluctant to drive here (I have driven all of twice and Leah has yet to experience the driving here - and on top of that, I have only ever driven into Tlacolula. That's a bit of a difference from Oaxaca city! So we asked around and got some information on how to bus/taxi into the city. Estela gave us some directions in Spanish and told us to look for a big yellow thing. That didn't seem all too helpful at the time, but we got the gist of things and made our way to the road to catch the bus.
One of the things I love to do when I travel is take public transportation. I have to say though, here for some reason, I was really nervous! The bus came within about 5 minutes which was great. We hopped on and for
Oaxacan Food
Can you find the crickets? 14 pesos, we were in the city center. Now Jill had said something about getting off the bus near the ball stadium since it would turn there and then we would be able to walk. Leah and I were feeling that that may be far, so stayed on the bus for a while. However, soon everything started to look strange and we had no idea where we were. So what do we do? - Get off the bus. Obviously! We wandered around a bit trying to find something that looked somewhat familiar and enjoying the smells of open sewage drains. I ended up asking this one man where to go and he gave us some pretty good directions. He told us to cross the street and catch a cab. Simple enough! We did that and soon enough we were in the Zocalo.
We walked around a bit, did some people watching, looked at the big old churches and then the merchants lined up at the opposite side of the market. There were a ton of traditional crafts and everything that were being sold made from good wool up in the mountains. I bought a pair of slippers (see picture) because
Cathedral
One of the main cathedrals in the center of the Zocalo. believe it or not, it is quite cold at night and in the morning. The temperature difference between the sun and the shade is ridiculous. Mind you, I am in Mexico and can wear t-shirts in the afternoon and get a tan outside. I can't complain too much 😉
Leah and I decided to have dinner at one of the restaurants right in the Zocalo so we could sit outside and enjoy the atmosphere. Then, while we were at it, decided to try the plate of traditional food! Oooohhh boy. What a treat that was! It was a big platter that had about 8 different things on it. It had cheeses and meats and a couple enchiladas with mole and some good stuff. Then in the middle where was this cup of what I initially thought were hot peppers to add spice. Oh I couldn't have been more wrong! After poking my fork around the cup I realized that the peppers had legs...and faces! They were crickets. Mmmm. Well, after psyching ourselves up, Leah and I tried some crickets. They werent nearly as bad as I had anticipated. They were salty and a bit crunchy. You could see how people
Another very old chuch
This was down one of the side streets in the city center would add them to their food for a bit of extra flava! haha. At least they were better than the pork rinds (barf!)
After dinner, it was starting to get dark, so we wanted to head back to catch a cab home before it got too late. We asked the nice gentleman who sat us at our table how to get to the bus/taxi station. He conveniently spoke English, so got us some directions and we were on our way. One thing we quickly learned was that no one in centro knew where the taxis were to Tlacolula. We were honestly on a wild goose chase to find them. We went walking around centro having no idea where we were - following the directions which were leading us no where. We were looking at the names on all the tops of the taxis and seeing nothing that would help us get to Tlacolula or Mitla. So I asked someone else in my still very basic Spanish. (I found out later this week that I was asking everyone where I could touch a taxi instead of take a taxi. Oops! Tocar...Tomar...potato...potato right? hehe. Learning curb!) So we followed the directions again
and they seemed to take us into a very sketchy area of town. It was not fun and we walked through it as fast as we possibly could. We did see an old school saloon door as the entrance to one of the bars...but then about half a block later saw a whole bunch of prostitutes standing outside the buildings. Definitely not where we were supposed to be! We turned and headed towards more people and out of that area. I asked a pharmacist who had no idea what she was talking about...and then ended up at yet another street corner, completely turned around and wondering which way to go.
There was one lady on the same corner who was there with her baby and her older mother. They looked like they were waiting for a bus or taxi or something, so i figured, why not ask! She actually knew what she was talking about! She started talking about one way to go, and then changed her mind. She held her hand in the shape of a gun, said robbers and then peligroso (which means dangerous) Little did she know, we had been there already! But she sent us on
the right path, we said a big gracias and were on our way...finally! As we were walking, Leah was commenting on how all she wanted was to see a familiar face. Well about 5 minutes later, we saw a sign for Mitla, which I considered just as good as a familiar face since that's where we needed to go. Then we saw the big yellow crossing bridge! (Estela was giving us good directions! haha! Well, we will know for next time) We ran across the street (Mexican drivers have very little reservation for street signs/cross walks haha) and got honked at the entire time (and not because people were frustrated with us...gotta love standing out a little bit!) After talking to one last taxi driver, we were in the right place to catch a shared taxi back to Tlacolula. Phew!
We hopped in and were on our way within the next 5 minutes. No more car honking, no more walking around aimlessly, no more prostitutes - we were good to go! And then just when we couldn't be more thankful, Chave gets into the cab. Chave is one of the ladies who works here at Casa Hogar. She is responsible for the cleaning, and even though she speaks super quickly in Spanish, has an amazing heart that radiates though. It was such a direct answer to prayer to see a familiar face in a city this big! She hopped in the front seat and I immediately tapped her arm. She warmed right up when she saw us as well. She was on her way home from her sister's place and was headed right back to the foundation! She helped us get from the center of Tlacolula all the way home. I have no doubt in my mind that God put her in our cab to help us find our way home and to give us comfort after quite the stressful day. It was our first Oaxacan miracle for sure!
The last couple days - work wise anyway - I have spent taking and editing pictures. Part of doing sponsorship here means that I need to update all the kids profiles with new information and new pictures. Its been a great way to get to know more of the kids and bond with some of them a little bit more. The little girls are always so full of energy and love. They are at the point now that when I see them after school, they run over and give me big hugs and I even got a beso (kiss) today from Sol! It has been great getting to know some more of the teenage girls as well. I helped them download a virus scanner for their computers yesterday - they were all excited because I could help them fix their flash drives! The little boys are hilarious as well. I got some great shots of them - so much energy and personality! I'm excited to get to know them even better over a couple games of soccer!
The other thing thats been wearing me out this week is dish duty after lunch! Yikes! There are 5 of us working on it - and it still takes an hour! And today, the dish washer officially ran out of soap. We are praying for the means of getting more dishwasher soap at the home right now. There have been some complications as of late. So that meant in addition to washing all the pots and pans for the biggest meal of the day, we also had about 80 peoples dishes to do. Fun stuff! 3 more days this week and then I am off the hook for the next 3 weeks! Woohoo!
We have some of the founders and big directors of the Foundation coming in the next couple days. One of whom my dad gets along with quite well. I am excited to meet them and have even more activity in the house! With that being said, it is bed time! Between dishes and running around with 8-11 year olds for the afternoon, I am wiped!
Until next time!
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Carrie
non-member comment
God provides
Well that story had so much in it - fun, interesting facts, intrigue and more and yet Leah's simple statement, just wanting to see someone familiar was something that God provided after I'm sure was a scary few moments of meeting some very interesting people and feeling lost and not sure of which way to turn. Isn't it amazing how He provides, so amazing that Chave ended up taking the same cab, and on her way even to the foundation. WOW!!! I agree with Mel, Jessica you really need to keep blogging and turn this in to a book or something. You have such a great way of expressing yourself, I feel as though I am right there in the middle of your adventure. Well until your next blog I will wait patiently to hear and see what new and exciting event God has planned in your time in Oaxacan. praying He keeps you safe and uses you and leah both so mightily for Him.