Mommy In Mexico: June 2014

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Last Day!

Wow! It does not feel like 3 weeks has gone by! Today was an adventure. Early this morning we dropped Irene off at the airport. Not going to lie, I almost started crying. I will miss her jokes and her laugh. The house here felt very empty without her. Around 10 am my host mom told me I should get out of the house on such a beautiful day. My first thought was, "And go where?" I do not know where very many things are, but she was right. I should not spend my last day just reading in my room. So I started walking. Here are just a few things I will miss about Mexico.

These are on the sides of the road. They flash at night and look awesome!

Ramon Camaron rhymes in Spanish... In English he is just Ramon the shrimp,

Kids playing on the street,

Fountains,

Brightly painted houses,

El Zocalo and the Mercados,

Baseball,

Plants growing on buildings,

Really good artwork/graffiti on the buildings,

And the mainicured trees next to our house.

The rest of my evening was even more adventurous! I went out with Mandy to check out some new stuff downtown. I took a bus from the Soriana. It was the right bus, but was going the wrong way. It will loop around though right? Before I knew it I was the only one on the bus with the bus driver. We stopped in a sketchy out of the way town and he got off the bus. I was very concerned that I was in the middle of nowhere when I realized he was buying dinner and a coke. About 10 minutes later and we were on our way again. We finally got to the area and I recognized Mandy standing out on the street! Alto! I made it! I got to see her cool apartment and we chatted for a bit before heading out on the town. She showed me some cool art places, some of her favorite spots, a few parks, and we had some street food. It was delicious! The center was packed with dancing, performances, and vendors. We even saw a few street performers that were doing some amazing bike tricks! Neither of us could figure out how they could spin around like that and we both felt they should be wearing helmets, just in case. It was a great final night! I will really miss Oaxaca... and I cannot wait to see my family!

A few more pictures of Teotitlan

Some of the beautiful scenery!

This is a sacred area in Teotitlan

A close up of the cross.

Look at these mountains!

With a little bit of hiking you can reach the clouds.

A house built by our little brother.

Cavewoman Danielle

And our very prim and proper, Marina

Look at the beautiful church! I love the blue mototaxi!

A few ladies at the market

A few things to buy

Thursday, June 12, 2014

June 10th, 11th &12th - Teotitlan!

This adventure took us to an indigenous village in the mountains of Oaxaca! Here is what Wikipedia says about it:

Teotitlán del Valle is a small village and municipality located in the Tlacolula District in the east of the Valles Centrales Region, 31 km from the city of Oaxaca in the foothills of the Sierra Juárez mountains. It is part of the Tlacolula Valley district.^[1] It is known for its textiles, especially rugs, which are woven on hand-operated looms, from wool obtained from local sheep and dyed mainly with local, natural pigments. They are woven in traditional designs but modern designs such as reproductions of famous artists’ work and custom orders are available, as well as tours of family-owned workshops.^[2]^[3] The name Teotitlán comes fromNahuatl and means “land of the gods”. Its Zapotec name is Xaguixe, which means “at the foot of the mountain”. It was one of the first villages founded by the Zapotecs in this area, in 1465,^[1]and it still retains its Zapotec culture and language.^[4]

Spending two and a half days in this indigenous village was soothing for my soul and enlightening for my mind. I was born a small town girl and I love that feeling that everyone in town is looking out for one another. I lose that a little when I am in the city for too long and needed to be reminded that in a small town you ALWAYS say hello when you pass someone on the street.

Here I have adopted two little brothers!

The tapete our host mom is currently working on. She has the pattern memorized. This one will take her about 2 months to make working 8 - 10 hrs a day!

Mary, Me, and Kari! Even in the village, getting your hair done is a part of life.

Marina with her cute do and fancy glasses!

Marlene and her hair extensions!

Now to some weaving work! This is how they card the wool; this disentangles, cleans, and prepares the wool to be spun.

This was our spinning class in Teotitlan.

Here are some of the things they use for dying the wool.

This is what they use for green.

They ferment the shells of nuts to create different shades of brown.

This is indigo made from local plants for different shades of blue.

These are cactus bugs...

and when they are ground up they look like this. This creates the different shades of red and orange.

This is red color when it is mixed only with water.

Here you can see the orange color when you add lime juice, purple when you add ash, and the original color.

What works of art!

Irene with her iced coffee and shade umbrella!

"I love how I do indigenous life." -Irene

The town cemetery.

Chess, a game that transcends language.

Monday, June 9, 2014

June 9th - The Presenters!

After a lot of hard work and long hours, we finished our power point and were able to present to the clinic! Thanks to Danielle I have a few pictures of the actual presentation. This portion was about crops, irrigation, and landowners. The clinic was impressed with the information and will now work on implementing what we have learned.

Thanks Irene for being my partner in making this slide and for helping me to present!

Look at that captivated audience!

This is a beautiful little space at the clinic. It is positioned to be lit by the sun or moon almost always. What a great place to come and reflect.

Caroline, Irene, Marina, Danielle, and me.

Also, the sign above us is about Psychology services.

Kari! (Pronounced car-ee) What a beautiful lady and flower!

Bugs!

Have you ever wondered where all of the Volkswagon Beetles went? Well, they decided that after the 80's they were tired of the culture in the U.S. so they took a trip down to Mexico. After they all got a new paint job they decided that this was the place for them! As promised, a picture of all of the bugs on our 25(ish) minute walk to school.