Love and Prickly Cacti

Week 6 began with love lingering in the air from Valentines Day. The students of UVM celebrated in all types of ways. While some preferred to spend the night with their friends, others chose to have a more romantic evening. Ask your UVM student for more information about which category they fell into. The school week was just like any other with the exception of our first visit to the Instituto de Integracion y Asesoria Comunitaria (El Centro De Aprendizaje), the learning center which provides support for young adults in pursuit of higher education or a job in the city. This was the first of many visits for the UVM crew as we will be having mutually beneficial language exchanges with local Oaxacan students. We are excited for this opportunity to share both language and culture. Thinking of visiting your UVMer in Oaxaca this semester? Good news! This center doubles as a bed and breakfast where the proceeds directly help fund the student programs.

Our weekly Thursday excursion brought us to the town of Etla where we visited three different places (aka 3 times the fun).  First stop was an eco reserve outside the city where a small group of conservationists work to preserve the population of native plants such as the copal tree, the source of wood for those funky alebrijes.  We were taken around by our expert host who shared a wealth of knowledge about a large variety of plants and their role in the local ecosystem, as well as herbs and fruits with specific medicinal properties. The tour guide passed around a leaf from the icy cool vick plant which is used to make Vick's Vapor Rub. After the greenhouse, we hiked up the hillside and ran into two very lovely ladies, "Madre Tierra" or "Mother Earth" and "La Princesa de Maíz" or "The Corn Princess." These two statues were created by Oaxacan artists and can be seen in the photos below. Fun fact: "La Princesa de Maíz" was sculpted by an artist who was blind. Next, we learned about compostable toilets and the rain water catchment systems they had at the reserve. Water is a valuable resource everywhere in Oaxaca, because of this the eco-reserve utilizes every rainfall by capturing runoff and redistributing it among the flora. Overall, their efforts in maximizing the land and it's resources was an inspiring example for us young and hopeful environmentalists. To learn about the reserve, check out their website! http://www.sanpabloetlaeco.org.mx/

Stop number two of our excursion was at the house of Rocío, a friend near and dear to the UVM program over the years. Her house is an ecological masterpiece which she created with her own two hands. Rocio built the house with a vision of self-sufficiency and permaculture, which can be described as a lifestyle of equal give and take with the environment. The students were excited to learn about her way of life and Rocio was equally eager to learn about us as she was to share her knowledge. We had the opportunity to work with her around the house doing projects such as cultivating compost, painting, and creating a new garden bed. Rocio was truly a kindred spirit!

On the way home we made a quick stop to a historic, old textile mill and arts center called CASA (Centro de Artes San Agustín) which was comprised of old factory buildings and an photography art exhibit. The property was surrounded by beautiful infinity pools and remnants of industrial equipment. The journey home was silent as we reflected on our awe-inspiring yet exhausting day of wonder.

About the Authors:

Allison and Lia, pictured above with fellow royal The Corn Princess, live on the north side of Oaxaca city with their host dogs Toby and Apolo.
Allison is a left-brain-dominant lover of neuroscience and all things pink!  Her favorite tense in Spanish is the imperfecto, and of all the desserts her host mom makes, she gets most excited for fried plantains with caramel sauce.  Buen provecho!
Lia, also known as "Hija Lija" in her home-stay, is the mother hen of the pair and takes the role very seriously by making sure Allison stays hydrated in this hot and arid climate.  Her favorite market is held on Fridays at the Llano park, and her breakfast of choice comes every Sunday in the form of tamales de pollo con mole verde.

Week 4: Viaje a la Mixteca!

This week was filled with journeys outside of Oaxaca. To begin as a group we went to San Antonino Arrazola in order to view the production of Alebrijes, brightly colored wooden carvings that are a popular tourist attraction in numerous villages in Mexico. According to the people of Arrazola, the Alebrijes began there over seventy years ago.

However their popularity has increased over the past twenty years. There we learned about the sustainable production of Alebrijes as well as watched one being made first hand. The man who created the first used a machete to "Free" the animal from the block of wood, and then uses a carving knife to do a more refined carve. At the same time we watched a woman paint an alebrije by hand. These were both very interesting experiences to watch, because both artisans were completely engrossed in their task. The spread of characters was truly amazing with all sorts of animals from those native to Mexico to those from around the world such as whales, elephants, and giraffes. We also learned about projects to create Copal forests to ensure a future source of wood.
 ¡QUE CHIDO!

Our next trip was one that was specifically for those students doing research on the agricultural rights of small scale farmers in Oaxaca. We took a bus ride to the home town of Eleazar, an associate of Jonathan and a leader of an NGO called CEDICAM. In the Sierra Mixteca region, we saw many of CEDICAM's projects such as replanting forests to prevent erosion and teaching local farmers methods of sustainable agriculture that had been lost from their ancestors. At Eleazar's house, we visited many local greenhouses which are distinct from many government greenhouse projects by being much cheaper to build and maintain, and by having a much wider diversity of crops (the government funded greenhouses are used for tomato monocultures and often require heavy fertilizer and insecticides.) We even had a chance to talk with other local farmers in the area and to see the wide diversity of seeds that they used in their fields, including many varieties of maize and beans. The whole trip was extremely educational and fun, but also drove home the importance of diversified agriculture, as these different seeds were passed down for generations and losing them would be one more step towards losing many diverse cultures and societies which provide much of the richness found here in Oaxaca.

¡Hasta la próxima!
Ben and Colin

A Not So Chronological Chronicle On Week 4 of the Oaxacan Experience

Buenos dias, tardes, y noches reader, Lance and Mike here with an epic journey through this weeks exhilarating events.

This past week had been quite swell since we started the week off with Monday. Though our day was free from classes most of us had a ton of work to start, catch up on, or get ahead of. Being the academics we are, The Trap House, consisting of Miguel, Lance, Benito and Colin, did not hesitate to jump at this divine opportunity to hit the books. After all, our motto is: play hard, study harder.

Waking up early to hit los libros de español and finishing the day with a fruitful discussion on the economic impact of Neoliberalism in Mexico, Lance and Miguel both agree that our knowledge of the subject had been clearly presented by Oliver. The members of the Trap House then decided it would be wise to let our minds explore free trade and deregulation in Mexico over a plate of tacos. As guacamole was passed hand in hand so was stirred the conversation of arduous matters that still plague contemporary Oaxaca.

On Wednesday SURCO was host to two important guests, Phil Dahl-Bredine, activist, and author of the books, The Other Game, and Milpa. Bredine’s speech was an interesting overview of the struggles of not only the western economic influence and the demise of small farmer but the way we must learn from those cultures and appreciate all that they have to offer.
At the incandescent genesis of the week we were graciously given the illustrious task of visiting both a local market as well as a supermarket in order to equate and differentiate the two. Through meticulous observation and vigorous research within the resplendent isles of both locations we came to a few conclusions.













The culture copious markets (image on your right) tend to have decorously inexpensive goods in comparison to the ivory tower supermarkets (image on your...up?). Aside from the goods themselves the atmosphere in that of a market is slacken and much like that of a nice soirée. In that of a supermarket, one may find themselves mesmerized by the hustle and bustle of kinsfolk whom have already pre-decided on what wares they shall be acquiring to the point at which it seems almost as if it were devoid of life. Ultimately, after a pensively enkindling exchange of our juxtaposing notions, we concluded class and commenced with some heartfelt check-ins.

And with that, yet another serendipitous week has come to end so that another may begin.