More Pictures

This is the same areas as below, only at night. I love how the streets look with all the lights. Since Independence Day the city has been festive. The day of the day is the first two days of November so the city has started preparing for that as well.

This is a stree in the center of town. The area is closed off to traffic, which makes it a nice place to walk around. There are always people selling food or crafts on the sidewalk.

This is a beach that I went to in Huatulco. There was a little sun at this time, but mostly it rained and rained some more.

These are my two closest friends here. Yareni and Nora. They have been wonderful and welcoming to me.

These are Chapaulones (not exactly sure how to spell it). They are crickets that are fried with spices. People love them here plain with lime. I did manage to try them, but in an omelette. They weren´t aweful, but nothing that I would crave for.

This is looking at my bedroom (with the door open). It is opposite the main house, which is in the next picture. I wrote more about the house below.

This is a picture of the main house from my bedroom. There are two parts: one where the family lives and the other is has three stories with about 6 bedrooms. Sylvia´s youngest son still lives at home. He is 19 and goes to University. Her brother also lives in the house, but on my side at the top. her husband works in Mexico City and has only been at the house a few times since I have been there. The other American, Anne, lives in the room next to me. There is a nice garden between the parts of the houses with a small fountain. If there weren´t so many mosquitos, I would sit outside more often.

Ultima Dia in Escula

My last day of school was yesterday. I will be in Oaxaca for another week, but I want to have time to be a tourist. I have not been able to walk around the city or visit many of the markets since I have been in school. I am hoping to explore the city and maybe go the mountains that are to the north. Today I am going to visit a pueblo famous for their tejate, a drink made from cacao. I didn´t know that they made it Mexico. I have heard that it is a good cure for altitude sickness in Peru. It is made from cocaine leaves (I think) and acts a little bit like caffeine. I like visiting little pueblos because each one has it´s own personality. Around Oaxaca, most of the pueblos are famous for having artiesians with specials skills...barro negro, weaving, wood carvings, etc. Some the crafts are pretty amazing because they are totally hand made.
I have noticed that since I have been learning more Spanish, my English is getting worse. At times I feel like I am in limbo, neither my English or Spanish is very good. It is an interesting phenomenon. This week I realized just how surrounded I was by Spainish. The number to tourists has tripled and I find myself around the English language. It is a foreign feeling having so much English around. I have gone out a few times with other Americans, but I prefer to stick with my Mexicano friends so that I can get the most out of this experience that I can.
Since I am not in school next week, I plan on spending some time getting some pictures up. First, I have to take some. That has been something that I have had trouble with. I am not much of a picture taker, but would like to get some posted to make the blog more interesting.

Dia de Indepedencia

Yesterday was Independance day here in Mexico. In 1810 a priest named Hildago shouted to the world that Mexico was free from the Spainards. The formal name for this is the ¨Grito de Indepedencia¨ that is repeated by during the celebration. I was so excited because I was invited to go to a local pueblo to celebrate with fireworks, cervesas, and pozole (a traditional soup)....however, I was struck down with a stomach illness. I knew it would happen eventually. I am just mad that it happened when I was looking forward to something. So, I spend the evening in bed listening to the distant fireworks and grito.
On a brighter note, I am feeling much better now and hopefully have a new resistance to the bacteria that got me. Sylvia, my housemother, was so sweet. She made simple foods that were supposedly good for ones stomach. I know she thought that it was something that she had made, but I don´t think it was. I ate some suspect pollo over the weekend.
My visit to the pool was interesting. It was very plain with no deck chairs...I was so disappointed. The pools were clean and well kept, but I wanted to lie in the sun. Nora didn´t understand this because she wants to be as white as possible. Her sunscreen had an SPF of 100. I didn´t even know that existed. In Mexico, swimming lessons are not typically given, so she was impressed with my ¨swimming skills.¨ I tried to teach her to do somersaults in the water, but was not that successful because she couldn´t get her head underneath her feet. It was pretty funny. Afterwards, we went to the Denny´s of Oxaca where we got soup and tamales. I love Mexican food...most of the time.
Today, I got a pamplet with some information about tours in the area. The last week I am in Oaxaca, I am not going to take Spanish so that I can explore the area more. Besides...right now, my brain feels pretty full of the language despite my meager ablities! I am looking forward to having the time to be a tourist.

Rainy Huatulco

I went the beach last weekend. It was a nine hour bus ride through the very curvy moutains. I took Dramamine for the nausea...and gave to several other people as well. I was so excited to see the beaches in the area where Y Tu Mama Tambien was filmed and to see a friend that I have made in Oaxaca who just started teaching in Huatulco. Almost immediatly after I arrived on Friday night, it started to downpour!! The rain didn´t stop until Sunday morning. HOwever, it wasn´t cold, so we went to the beach and went swimming anyway. It is a beautiful place, and when the clouds cleared for a few hours on Sunday I got to do some snorkeling on a reef right off of one of the main beaches, La Entrega. I would like to go back, but I am not sure I will have the time.
Tuseday, the 16th is Independence day in Mexico. Everywhere I look I see green, white, and red. The main Zocolo is beautiful with all the lights and decorations. I am not going to school on Tuesday so I can see all the festivities. On Monday night, I am going with Nora to a nearby pueblo to go to a fiesta that a friend of her´s is hosting. Should be a fun. Right now, I am going to go to a swimming pool in Oaxaca....I am interested to see what they are like!

A regular day in Oaxaca

I thought that I would paint a picture of what I do on a regular day here. I wake up around 6:30 and run to the University that is about 1/4 of a mile away. They have a dirt track that is about (an estimate) 1 kilometer around. There are a lot of people there in the morning, so even if it is slightly dark, I feel safe. When I get home, Sylvia, my "mother", has breakfast for me. I love the plate of fresh fruit: mango, bananas, grapes, apples, and melon. Yummy! As a side note, my new favorite thing to eat is mango con sal de chile, or mango with chile salt. Muy pico and very good. Sounds strange, but the mix of sweet and salty/spicy is delicious. People sell it on the street everywhere.
My walk to school is about 25 minutes. I have grammer class for two hours from 9-11. Then from 11-1, I have conversation class. Up until now, it has been me and a teacher for class, but this week four more students arrived. Two are near my level. Yea! After class, we sometimes have an excursion. For example, we have gone to nearby pueblos famous for something. We have also been to salsa lessons. I guess that there are cooking lessons as well, but I have not sone that yet. I like salsa dancing, but it is hard and I would need more practice to feel more comfortable. Every club/bar/etc places salsa music occasionally. I like it...for the most part.
Then, usually, I either go to an internet cafe or home. La comida, or lunch/dinner is at 3:30. Sylvia is an excellent cook. The meal involves soup to start with. I have had cream of broccoli, chicken with eggs and rice or pasta, tomato, and meatball. There is always plenty of crackers and bread to go with it. After that, the main course is usually some type of meat and either salad or rice. I have had to open my horizons to all kinds of meat. Nothing too exotic, but pork, beef, and chicken. After that, we get desert. I rarely eat it because I am so full, but it is an option. La comida is the main meal here, not dinner (cena) Usually Sara, Sylivia´s sister and her her husband Kiki come to la comida. Sometimes one of Sylvia´s sons is there. I always like when other people are thee. Sara and Kiki are awesome and always include me in the discussion. Sara doesn´t know any English and Kiki only knows some.
After lunch, I study or relax for awile. As I learn more, I have to study more. There are endless verbs and conjugations for me to study.
Sometimes, I go to a cycling class at a gym near my school. The gym is nothing special, but I enjoy the spinning class. The teacher is great and knows what she is doing. Other evenings I meet up with Nora (plus other people at times) for a drink. There are places that remind me of tapas restaurants here. They offer a botanlla (snack) option. This means that for every drink you order, you get a small plate of something. For the first drink, you get soup, then for the next drink you get a tamal or taco, etc. I am not sure how long it goes, but I think it is a great deal. I like going on weekends. They usually have a live band or music.
By the end of the day, I am usually exhausted from learning and walking everywhere. Plus it is hot most of the time. The weather here is strange. All day it is usually sunny, then in the late afternoon or evening the dark clouds come from the north and it rains....hard for about 30 minutes. Most people here don´t even carry an umbrella, but I take one everywhere I go. The sky turns dark so fast. The first time it happend, I was sleeping and I had dreams of floating away because it was raining so hard.
It is starting to rain right now.....when it was sunny just seconds ago. Oregon can be that way sometimes too, schizophrenic. Better run home.

A rough week

I realize that it has been awhile since I wrote anything. The last week I have spent trying to figure out an itenerary for the rest of my trip and runnning into roadblocks. Another issue is that I am the only student currently going to my school, making practice difficult. This week I may spend some time looking at other schools, but today I reqested that my friend, who is also a teacher at my school, be my conversation teacher. If that happens, I will probably stick with this school. Afterall, I am getting private and individualized lessons!
I know that I am learning some Spanish, but it feels like I am still in the dark most of the time. I know that I am understanding more, but speaking is another matter.
As for posting pictures. It is difficult to do, so I probably won´t be able to very often.
There are many things that I wish were easier, but then it wouldn´t be Mexico.

Finally...

These are my friends Nora and Ireni at Monte Alban. This is an old city of the Zaptec people and is about 20 minutes away from Oaxaca.

This is the view of Oaxaca from Monte Alban

This is my friends Nora and Matt. We were at a bar in Oaxaca. The beer on the left is good...Indio.

This is hilarious! It was a celebration for taxis. All the taxis in the city were decorated with ballons and flowers. They use any reason to have a fiesta!

The first week

I have been in Oaxaca for a week now. In that time I have been to a birthday party of one of my teachers (who is 25 years old), been out to the bars twice, been running three times, and have discovered that I am in way over my head when it come to learning spanish. I keep telling myself I need to take baby steps, but it is so hard when all I want to do is have basic communication skills.
I love my daily walks to school and my three course lunch at my house. Yesterday I went with some friends to a market that only happens on Fridays. It had clothes, food, music, and lots of trinkets. I had my first Mexican tamale. It was good with chilis on it. After that we walked to the Zocolo, or downtown area, where there is a big square. This is the touristy part of town with lots of nice restaurants and shops. I read in my guidebook about how Oaxaca had lots of quaint restaurants and shops, but had yet to see any. Yesterday, I discovered what the book was talking about. I liked it, but it was strange to be around all the tourists after being with only Mexicans for the last week.
Today, I think that I am going to try and see a movie. I guess that they have Spanish subtitles. Should be good for me.
I am going to keep trying to find a way to post pictures, but at this point I have not been able to figure it out.

No hablo Espanol...

I landed in Oaxaca two days ago and have been trying to find my way since. Basically, nobody speaks English....including my teachers and housemother. It has been fairly frustrating and I have been reduced to tears at least three times so far. However, I have to remind myself that I was not in this to take the easy road. I am truly doing Spanish immersion!

I have not figured out how to upload pictures yet, but will investigate more as I get more comfortable here. Oaxaca is a medium size city, fairly poor, with small streets and somewhat run down buildings. There is also a lot of beauty. The churches are amazing with intricate designs. My house is very colorful and decorative. I think of it as my own Casa Azul, only it is orange. I feel safe there...which means a lot. Overall, I have felt safe everywhere....just out of my element.

My hope is in the next week I will feel more at ease then I do now. Thank goodness for another student named Matt from San Jose. He has been a lifesaver for learning some of the basics.

More later...

My goodbye party

We had dinner at Nolas, a yummy creole restaurant in Palo Alto.  This is a group of some very amazing people! I will miss everybody.  

I felt like it was my birthday!  This is an ice-cream, brownie, chocolate desert.  Enough for everyone to share.

It was so special to have everyone make the effort to come and say goodbye. Thank you to all that came!  I appreciate it more than you know.  Who knows...maybe I'll be back.  However, hold a day position open for me. No more night shift for me!

I love the bay area.....

I am sitting at my apartment realizing that next week I will not be living here anymore.  It reminds me of all the memories and all the busy work that I have to do in the next week. My boxes arrived yesterday so now I have to pack and put my stuff in storage.  

For my birthday, I asked my mom to help me move as a present.  She will be coming down on Monday night and will help..or suffer with me, as I move out.  I am so thankful for her!!

The next week I will be enjoying the freedom....sleeping in, going to SFMOMA, spending time with some good friends, and soaking up thoughts of the bay area (I will miss it!!).  

I will continue to update my progress......

The last three nights.

I only have three more nights of work left at LPCH. That is 36 more hours....of staying up all night. It is both sad and exciting that I only have such a short time. Here are some things that I will miss:
1. All the wonderful people that I have worked with. Over the last three years, I have made some great friends and learned so much. The nurses at LPCH are the most caring nurses out there and I have been lucky to work with them.
2. The patients. Whether here for a short time, or here for an eternity, many patients (and their families) have touch my life and given me memories that I will never forget.
3. Learning. Everyday I see or hear about something that I have never seen or heard about before. I love that in nursing there is always more to learn and ways to improve.

I may be back, I may not....but I will forever value my time spent at Packard.