The week began with a daylong trip to Mitla, a village located 30 minutes outside the
city. Everyone piled into two big white vans and cruised along until we reached the
Colegio de Estados Cientificos y Tecnologicos, the public high school in Mitla. When we arrived, groups of students dressed in green and white uniforms peered out at us from the balconies and classrooms. They were just as curious about the pack of new arriving gringos as we where about them and their school system. After a brief tour of the school’s facilities, we crammed into a room and chatted with students learning about tourism. The exchanges were really great and it was interesting to talk to the students about their school, community, Oaxaca and common interests.
We waved our goodbyes and set off to see Mitla’s ancient ruins, located a quick drive from the school. The mid-afternoon sun was beating down by the time we arrived to the to the site. Our animated tour guide, Jilberto, led us around, telling us about of the 1,year old structures, some still incredibly intact. We were free to explore, to steep stone steps and enter the damp, dimly lit tombs. After, we roamed the small market area, admiring the handcrafted jewelry, masks, drums and other products the venders were offering.The trip concluded with a meal at a nearby restaurant where we feasted on a delicious
Oaxacan Mole dish. The restaurant was conveniently connected to a Mezcal factory and
after eating, we got to watch a demonstration about how they process and ferment the
Agave plant. The result is a hard alcohol that is found everywhere in Oaxaca. We packed back into the vans, stomachs full of good food and samples of Mezcal. Many snoozed on the ride home but we made a quick stop before returning to the city. We sleepily stumbled out of the vans and opened our eyes to behold the towering Tule tree. This tree is 2,000
years old, outdating even the ruins we saw earlier that day. It was a surreal sight. We wandered around for a bit, then left as quickly as we came. The whole experience seemed almost like a strange dream.
Also on Monday, February 22nd, we celebrated Claire’s 21st birthday at 100% Natural, an American restaurant in the city. A few of us planned a surprise party for her afterwards at Barracuda with the help of Mia. Although we weren’t able to get as many balloons as we wanted, everything worked out well and Claire was really surprised. We spent the rest of the night enjoying each other’s company as well as the delicious cake that Casey and Melissa picked up from a pasteleria. Claire had a great night and we were all happy to celebrate with her.On Friday, February 26th, we ended both our Spanish classes and our five week class with Corrine. A few of the girls in Karina’s class went out to tacos with her that night as a farewell dinner. She brought her adorable 1 year old son whom we loved playing with and afterwards, went for our daily fix of gelato.
All of us at Matamoros have been having a great time playing with Conception’s three grandchildren, as well as Magdelana’s tiny puppy, Capitan. One year old Juan Gabriel is the most gorgeous baby we’ve ever seen and we’ve enjoyed starting a music band with him as well as Fernando, his hilarious older cousin and Carla, Fernando’s cute little sister.Overall, the group had a great week visiting Mitla and finishing our field journals.
We're excited to start our second half of the trip and can't believe how fast time has gone.
Natalie and Erica
