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.