Hola! Buenos Dias!
Mollie and Kate here to update you all on our first two weeks in Oaxaca!
Let's begin with filling you all in on the retreat at La Villada! After two days at Casa Arnel, we packed up a day bag and piled into a van, driving through the busy city. Eventually we headed up a windy mountain road. We arrived to the most beautiful cottages located in the mountains of San Felipe and Ejido Guadalupe Victoria. The sun was hot and there was not a cloud in the sky. We spent an hour or so by the pool, chatting with one another and getting ourselves comfortable. Orientation began shortly after our soaking up the sun! We had three full days of informative classes about our upcoming experience in Oaxaca. We did group activities and ice breakers as well. The whole retreat really helped to ease any worry or concerns we may have had. Oh and the food at La Villada was to die for! It was all original Oaxaca cuisine made fresh from the family owners! Everyday the women of the family prepared desyauno, comida, and cena. There was always a vegetarian option and also an option for people who enjoy meat. Each meal had a different fresh juice option, dessert, and other deliciousness. It was a great way to start the next three months of our adventure in Oaxaca!
Some of us relaxing between orientation sessions
After our beautiful stay at La Villada, we piled back into the van and said our goodbyes, one of us even got a beautiful mug as a parting gift from an admirer! We drove around different areas within the city, Oliver explaining to us the history of each one. We learned about the geography and political history of these neighborhoods, and got to see everything from the colorful housefronts with flourishing gardens to the shantytowns populated by squatters.
After our tour was the much awaited introduction to our host families. We awaited in anticipation at Casa Arnel as one by one our host families came to pick us up. We lugged our belongings and went to settle into our new homes.
The next day we set out for a very popular site in Oaxaca, Monte Albán. It is one of the oldest cities of Mesoamerica, and has rich Zapotec history. Zapotec is a type of indigenous culture that is very prominent in Oaxaca; the city today still has large Zapotec populations. At one point, Monte Alban was the socioeconomic and political capitol to more than 17,200 people. They had a little museum that we perused with the help of a friendly guide, and saw skulls of ancient people gilded with gold and jade. Some even had perfectly circular holes drilled in them, an ancient surgery to relieve pressure in the brain. After a brief history lesson, we trekked up to the 6,400 ft above sea level city of ruins. Upon climbing up the first pyramid, we were completely in awe. The sheer size of the collection of ruins combined with the 360 degree views took our breaths away. We walked around and learned more about the history, although truthfully most of us were distracted by the beautiful weather and bird eye view of Oaxaca.
Below is a picture of your beautiful weekly reporters at the top of their first pyramid
A selfie from the first pyramid Skulls of ancient Zapotecan people
A panorama from the top of the second pyramid
Left are some original depictions recovered from Monte Alban, and right is the view from the top of the first pyramid.
This past Thursday, we faced a new kind of adventure. As part of our class, we were given a picture of a site outside of Oaxaca, and it was our challenge to partner up and figure out where it was and how to get there using only public transportation (no taxis!) Though many of us were nervous, it was a good chance to practice our spanish since this activity relied solely on our help from other people. Many of us have stories of taking the wrong bus and sitting next to a woman with a live chicken on her lap, or walking up the road in the hot sun, but ultimately all of us succeeded in finding a place outside the city and connecting with the local people. I think many of us were thankful afterwords as we got to see some amazing sites outside of the city and gain more confidence in ourselves and our ability to navigate here.
Afterwords we met up at our school SURCO to talk about our experiences. The conversation mainly consisted of funny stories and sharing the history and important facts about our sites. Our destinations included the widest tree in the world, a rug-making village, a town known for its pottery with special black clay, and a beautiful painted church. After our conversation we filled our hungry tummies with some amazing tamales made with pumpkin from Oliver's (one of our instructors and director) garden and some yummy quesadillas.
Here is a picture of my site, Cuilapam de Guerrero, located in a small town 30 minutes outside of Oaxaca. It was a conquistador era monastery with a beautiful museum inside, and lots of history on the revolutionary war hero Vincente de Guererro
That's all for now, hasta luego!
Kate & Mollie
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