Plants in Oaxaca and more Spanish!

Botany

So what seemed like a nice break from classes finally came to end and the food systems and botany students started taking classes with botanical enthusiast and genus, Michael Sundue. We (the food systems students) and the botany students that will be continuing with Michael for the next two weeks were excited to be able to take this Botany of Oaxaca class together for the week.

Each day we had lecture in the morning and a lab in the afternoon where we were able to learn and experience Oaxaca’s diverse plant life in the city. We started Monday with a general lecture on plant biology and throughout the week we learned about fruits, seeds, seed dispersal, secondary growth and much more while getting more acquainted with the plants of Oaxaca, particularly those of the city. Monday’s botany lab was held in the Llano park where we learned many names of city trees and plants. On Tuesday, we went for a little adventure to the Botanical Garden which is situated in the center of the Santo Domingo church in downtown Oaxaca. All of the plants in the garden are native to Oaxaca but came from all over Mexico. We walked through the garden with our insightful guide, Diego who informed us that the famous Agave plant’s flower has merely, “a month to live and a month to die”. This was brought up while looking at an Agave that made us feel as if we had been transported into a Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie.

We saw many other plants that wowed us like the Agave such as the Pseudobombax in the Bombacaceae family that has unreal looking flowers.

The week seemed like it kept getting better because on Wednesday we went to the large indoor market called Abastos in order to get oriented with edible plants. We ventured through the market in groups and went on a miniature scavenger hunt where many students were wowed by the Mango-Piña and Guayabana fruits that tasted even better than they looked. In the afternoon, we reconvened to dissect our findings and, of course, munched on our delicious dissections. Thursday’s lab led us to the textile museum in the city to find different things composed of certain plants of which Michael had written down for us. The museum was filled with ancient textiles from all over the world. Students that didn’t gather all of the information needed from the textile museum were led to another indoor market, 20 de Noviembre where they could finish their fibers and dyes scavenger hunt. Finally, on Friday we were excited to climb part of the large mountain in Oaxaca called San Felipe de Agua. However, to our dismay, the men who appeared to be rangers barred us from entering because we weren’t members of the community and they had decided to close the mountain to outsiders a few years back. So, we decided to “botanize” (thank you, Michael) the road leading to the gate.

All in all it was a fabulous week with Michael. He filled our heads with so much plant knowledge and exciting facts about the wonders of nature. Food systems students are looking forward to starting our two week cooking craze with Cynthia Belliveau and Botany students are looking forward to their field trip into the mountains.

Sam

SPANISH

Hola Friends and Family!
After we got back from our indigenous village stays the four of us started our final stretch of the program: the spanish track. Because of teacher strikes at the main campus of the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca (UABJO), we have been taking our Oaxaca Culture, Civilization and Development class in an affiliate building in the main square called the Zócalo. It’s a beautiful space with tons of natural light and exposed stone; it was once a monastery.

Last Thursday we went to the Regional Museum of Santo Domingo where we saw everything from tomb artifacts of indigenous royalty to present day paper maché sculptures that are brought out for the holidays. This week we will be going to the market in Tlacolula (Natalie’s favorite market in Oaxaca!), the Botanical Gardens, and the Yagul Archaeological Ruins.

The class would be nothing without Alejandro, our quirky and passionate professor who is constantly challenging our opinions. We have gotten into a great routine, and truly feel like students now that we’re on a first name basis with the doorman. We continue to deepen our relationships with one another, and those in our community whether with our homestay parents or our adoptive street dogs.

The last four weeks of the program will fly by, but with bucket lists and curious friends, we will be sure to continue exploring what Oaxaca has to offer in our home away from home.
Sending our love and happy thoughts to all of you and the UVM community. Avi, you’re always in our thoughts and hearts.

Con Cariño,
Natalie, Ashley Moore, Mickey, y Sarah