This was our first week of Spanish class. We were all divided into groups based on oral and written exams, there are about five to seven of us in each class. We meet for three hours every morning, we’re having fun and our teachers are really friendly and helpful, but we must admit, it is tiring to have class every morning for three hours (If we were taking one Spanish class at UVM we would have about three hours of class room time each week!). We have all made friends with the lovely woman who sells fruit down the street from our school… it is a tasty mid-morning treat. (Some of us have been adventurous and have started eating chile and lime-juice on our pineapples).Our other classes are going great as well. In Corrine’s class we’ve been discussing what it means to be a part of a community in many small pueblos in Mexico. In Gustavo’s class we talked more about a shift in consciousness that has been happening around the world regarding the effect of globalization on developing countries. On Thursday we went to a lecture that examined the many serious issues discussing water availability in Oaxaca. We talked about the history of water, its spiritual, ecological and biological value in society. We discussed the economic value of water, and the right of access to clean water. We learned that in Oaxaca water is a natural and political resource. One of the major problems with water that we discussed is that we often see it as an unlimited resource. The example our lecturer Juan Jose gave us is that when we want to do something such as build a golf course in a desert,
we see it as a matter of technology rather than a matter of availability. If we want to build a more sustainable future, we think most of us here agree, water is something we need to change our perspective on. We also talked about how much water we waste in the sanitation process by deciding that water is a good way to transport what comes out of our bodies. We learned about compositing toilets (again) and about waste management system that don’t mix all kind of wastes together, which makes wastewater easier to clean. We have to be very conscious of our water consumption in our home stays, especially now because it is the dry season. In our house, we turn the water off while we lather our soap and only use it for rinsing. This is a lesson we could probably take back to the states with us. Even when we’re back in the U.S. we need to make a greater effort to realize the water is a limited resource and there’s no good reason for us to take half-hour long steaming hot showers, we can get just as clean using five minutes of water.
Our lecture also included a visit to a location in Huayapan that demonstrates different permaculture techniques that can be used to restore damaged water run-off systems in the hills around Oaxaca. It was good to get a chance to see what Juan Jose was talking about in his lecture, because not all of us understood the ideas of watersheds and run off without seeing it first hand. But the demonstration center gave us a chance to see how the land had been restored. They were growing tons of vegetables during the dry season, but on the other side of the hill we could see how dry the land that had yet to be restored had been. They are working to make the land productive, but use agriculture techniques that work with the land, rather than against it. They also showed us a sustainable housing model that included a really interesting stove that worked with traditional cooking techniques but tried to solve problems that might come from spending too much time over a stove, like exposure to direct heat and smoke for many hours of the day.
We have come to find that there is much to see and do here on the weekends! Last Sunday a group of us took the bus twenty minutes outside of the city to the pueblo of Tlacaluya. Every Sunday afternoon an enormous market is set up that stretches for miles; it is almost a little overwhelming. Here one can buy anything they could possibly need from fruit and vegetables to clothes to hand-woven rugs and bootleg DVDs. There is so much to see and so much to smell it seems it would be almost impossible to experience it all in just one trip! Also, every Sunday there is live music in the Zocalo (the city center) on a huge stage where you can see all sorts of people gathering and dancing. It is also apparent that some political tension has been brewing as we have seen various groups protesting their causes and letting their voices be heard. We outsiders must be careful about even watching these protests, as there are strict laws against foreigners participating in any type of Mexican politics. This is an important time for Oaxaca because the widely despised current Governor is finishing his term in a few months and many political groups are banding together in order to elect someone who will bring important changes that favor the general public. All in all, these first few weeks have been a very exciting time of adjustment and new experiences for everyone, and all of us are fully enjoying this exciting opportunity we have embarked on. It’s pretty crazy how much one can learn just from being in a different environment, whether it is in the classroom itself or just walking around absorbing everything about the new culture around you.
Also, one of the many pleasures of being abroad with a larger group is that we get to celebrate everyone's birthdays! Natalie turned twenty this week and we couldn't
have asked for a more perfect opportunity to celebrate with a tamale night at Mary Lou's! Here we feasted on several types of tamales including salsa verde, picante, mole (a Oaxacan specialty made with chocolate and chiles!), and sweet pineapple tamales for dessert! I know we were definitely in a food coma. We also had the pleasure of digesting our feast while listening to Claire and Russell play his new guitar! If you guys haven't heard Claire play and sing you ought to; shes really talented! It was an amazing way kick off our Thursday night, even though I'm still full...
Abrazos.... Taylor, Allie, and Russell
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