Finishing Spanish at Solexico and Moving On!

Last week we finished our Spanish classes and were very busy with assignments to wrap up the first half of the semester. We were sad to say goodbye to our maestros-- they have been a huge part of our lives here so far, not only teaching us Spanish but also about the ins and outs of Oaxacan society. To celebrate the completion of our Spanish classes we had to do something, but what? It was a dilemma. Should we make a cheesecake? Go shopping for new sweaters? Have a story cubes marathon? Luckily, the end of Spanish coincided with a short 4-day break in our schedule. A very fortuitous coincidence. We decided to go to the beach!

The trip from Oaxaca City to the coast cuts through the mountains. Twenty of us traveled by van passing through the tight mountain roads of the southern Sierra.The vans departed the city at 11 PM and it was quite a bumpy journey through the darkness. Sleep was hard to come by as everyone was too cold, or too hot, with no room to stretch, no room to breath, lost in the dark abyss, etc... We finally completed the trip and arrived tired but excited at the lovely beach town of Puerto Escondido, just as the sun began to rise. It was 5:30 AM on Friday morning, with four days ahead of us to enjoy our time at the beach. Most most of us were awake to see the sun rise over the mountains on our first morning at the playa.

Some of us traveled along the seashore, staying at new hotels almost every night, seeing Puerto Escondido, Puerto Angel, Zipolite, Mazunte,while others stayed the entire trip in Puerto Escondido. A group of us group took a boat ride through the mangroves at Ventanilla and saw crocodiles, iguanas, and sea turtles. Others lounged on the beach in hammocks, catching up on our reading and enjoying fresh fish! Some of us took surf lessons while others sat in the same beach chairs every single day, just waiting for the coconut ice cream to pass on through. Some of us saw the nightly release of baby turtles into the tide-- they were flipped, toppled, nearly destroyed by the oncoming waves but at last survived! At the end of our trip we watched the sun set over the Pacific before hurrying to catch the vans back to Oaxaca. Now we are back in the city gearing up for our village stays next week.

We would like to give a shout out to the parents of Ariel Handy and Jack Laub, and Whitney's sister, who have visited Oaxaca in the last couple weeks. It sounded like you all had great experiences seeing the sights around the city. You were great company and it was awesome to meet you! We're looking forward to meeting more family members along the way.

Also, lets give a big woop woop for the birthday girl Luna Colt (21 on Saturday).


Stefan practicing balancing on a tight rope!

We apologize for the tardiness of this blog: beach time is a tricky thing. Love to you all!

Pedro and Jack Lit

Capulalpam

We started the week off with a group gathering at Mary Lucias house to eat tamales(a traditional Oaxacan cuisine) to work on our independant projects and to discuss plans for our upcoming field trip!

On Thursday afternoon we all gathered at Solexico after Comida, dispersed into the vans, and took a beautiful two and a half hour drive through the Sierra Norte (or Sierra Juarez) mountains to our destination in Capulalpam, which is also known as "Nuevo Pueblo Magico." Capulalman is an ancient Zapotec village.

On Thursday night we ate dinner in our home stay and relaxed for the night. On Friday morning we went to the community garden and learned about the garden project that the community has been creating with students in the school in the pueblo. We were able to sample various vegetables grown there as well as help plant lettuce.

After a delicious Comida on Friday we all went to a traditional healing center to learn about traditional healing practices as well as to take part in the various services there. Calpulalpan has a center that employs traditional healers who provide medicinal plant therapy, limpias (cleansing), massages, temazcal, among other services. The 'temazcal' is a type of sweat lodge that gives physical and spiritual purification using the four elements of fire, air, water and earth to give relief from the stresses of daily life.

On Saturday morning after breakfast we hiked through the forest for hours to a river in the mountain, while learning about various plants and information regarding the towns fresh water source, mining, and the dynamics surrounding maintaining independance and resistance of government and large company pressures to exploit the land, in turn sustaining a beautiful, clean environment in Capulalpan.

After our hike we ate fresh trout from the river at a restaurant near by. After lunch many of us ziplined in the air above the restaurant. Once we were done ziplining we started our journey home and arrived on Saturday evening.

Capulalpam is a magnificent city and we are very fortunate to have had the opportunity to go to such a beautiful place!

Brittany and Ariel

Mezcal Tour & Ocotlan

This week we are settling into more of a routine in the beautiful city of Oaxaca, and each of us is finding our own little things and experiences that we enjoy doing. Some of us have been playing basketball with local Mexican Mormons, others have been enjoying the food at a nearby organic farmers market on Friday and Saturdays, others have been running up a local hill, making compost in a garden rooftop, and still others have been playing soccer with locals. As we explore the city and all its wonders, we also have had to face new challenges. Whether it’s getting used to the way that things here usually change last minute, adapting to new customs, or watching the Patriots lose, we have all been facing new challenges and hopefully growing as people and as a community here in Oaxaca.

Last Friday we went on a field trip to Ocotlan to learn about the local culture. We were lead on a guided tour of the local countryside learning about several different kinds of local Agave. Agave is the plant that Mezcal and Tequila are made of, and though the different kinds resemble large cactus, they are not related to the cactus family. We saw how the local agave was grown, and then saw how it was processed into Mezcal. First, the agave hearts are roasted slowly in a large outdoor oven in the ground with rocks for several days. The hearts are dug out of the pit and crushed by an electric wheel. The juice that is extracted is fermented in huge wooden vats, and then distilled according to a variety of measures. For special Mezcals, fruits and other flavors are added in the distillation process, and in a type called "pechuga," a chicken breast is used to enhance the flavor. Our many vegans and vegetarians were crushed to learn that some of the state’s alcoholic beverages were off limits to them, but somehow we managed to push through and partake in a tasting, trying to distinguish the different types of Mezcal.

After the spending the mid-morning learning about Mezcal production, we proceeded to gorge ourselves at a great local eatery and then head into town center to check out the market. We explored the market and then went to see a local convent-turned-art museum. The influential Mexican artist Rodolfo Morales restored the convent, and it was truly gorgeous. There was a lot of his work on display, as well as plenty of religious art dating back to the 1800’s. After a big day we were all exhausted, and the ride back was the quietest van ride of the trip (because we were all sleeping).

Stefan & Joe