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.