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.