Feels good to be home

As the blog talked about last week, we're all just about settled into our Oaxacan lives by now. It's been nearly a month that we've been in the city at this point, so it's starting to really feel like home. Navigating around the city is second nature for most of us and everyone's Spanish has improved at least to the point of feeling comfortable asking for directions, ordering food, and that kind of thing. We've even started making friends with some people around the city, and through them finding some cool things to do. Of course everyone has been seeking out different sorts of activities; some people have taken up running in the city. One of us has been playing soccer with a local team. Others have been taking all kinds of classes, including yoga, dance, and cooking. There's even a night time guided bike tour/mobile party that a few of us have taken part in. The day- and night-life in the Zocalo is amazing, with live music and people enjoying themselves all the time. It's hard to see, but this a picture of people dancing one night last week, to the music of the police band which was playing the center. It's strange to think that the police have a band, but that's how central music is to the culture in Oaxaca.

School-wise, we're all still taking Spanish classes four hours a day, four days a week, although that will be drawing to a close next Friday, when our week long break starts. At first the four hours of Spanish a day felt like a lot, but at this point we're pretty used to it and not minding it so much. We've all been tuning our ears to the different accents, and being able to understand what the teachers are saying a little more easily makes it a lot less of a chore. We're still taking classes with Johnathan and Oliver and learning a lot from those, but the focus is shifting more and more towards our individual projects. We all turned in our final thesis questions for our projects last week, which range from topics like indigenous peoples, to local nutrition and food issues, to the kind of music and dance that exist in Oaxaca. We'll be turning in a literary review on our various topics this Friday, and then we'll really be diving in to the interviewing and researching process.

Last Thursday, instead of having our normal class with Oliver, we went to a migrant shelter in the city, called COMI (Centro de Orientacion del Migrante de Oaxaca, or Migrant Orientation Center of Oaxaca). The woman who founded the center spoke to us about why it was started, and many of the issues that migrants face in Oaxaca, and South America in general, which was definitely an eye-opening experience. Generally migrants are only doing their best to provide for their families and yet face so much discrimination, horrendous treatment, and roadblocks in their attempts to migrate to the US, that centers like COMI are essential in a region like Oaxaca. I forgot to take any pictures of the center itself, but you can try to think of these cute little bunnies that live there as a metaphor for the innocence and powerlessness of the migrants trying to make their way to the US for a better life.

-Capulalpam

On Friday we visited the mountain town of Capulalpam in south-western Oaxaca. Capulalpam is a part of Mexico's Programa de Pueblos Magicos (Magic Village Program). The aim of this program is to promote towns around the country that offer visitors a unique experience through their natural beauty, cultural riches, or historical relevance. The town was beautiful -- it belonged on a post card -- and even had its own bottled water that it produced at a small plant. The water was so crisp and clear, more delicious than anything we have experienced so far in Mexico. Though the town is picturesque, there is a history of gold mining in the community that through collective action has been eradicated by the community in a necessary action to protect the town from destruction. However, the struggle still remains with the pressure of foreign mining companies who are actively trying to claim the rights to the subsoil of the mountains which are filled with gold.

On Saturday we took a two hour one way hike through hand cleared roads to the last remaining fresh water spring on the mountain. We learned about the history of the town and how the damage of mining has destroyed 13 of the town's fresh water springs. If mining is able to proceed in the future it would mean the imminent death of a beautiful town of Oaxaca.

After our long hike we arrived back at our hotel in Capulalpam where we rested for a bit and ate a delicious comida of potato cakes in a tomato based broth that was a perfect finisher of a long day of hiking. Soon after we the majority of us took part in an experience like no other, a Temazcal and/or a tranquil massage. The Temazcal consisted of small groups entering covered dome where we would sit and relax while herbs were burned and water was poorer over smoldering rocks that introduced a thick steam that made the air thick while clearing our minds and relaxing our bodies. The sweat that was released from our bodies seemed to never end and afterwords I can only describe the feeling as purified.  

On Sunday on our way out of Capulalpam we visited a trout farm about fifteen minutes outside of the town. The sun was shining and the river adjacent to the small restaurant on site was cold, clear and full of trout. We had lunch and ate some of the most delicious fish we've ever had. After lunch some of us enjoyed swimming in the flowing river on location, the water was cold but was a sweet relief for the hot sun that had been baking us all weekend. 

At the trout farm there was also a small rock climbing wall with natural formations and a short zip-line that was constantly carrying individuals over the site.