Hola familias y amigos desde Oaxaca! This week started out as usual with Spanish classes at Solexico from 9-12. We were lucky enough to have Manuel Esparza come talk to our anthropology class about the role of the Catholic Church in the history of Oaxaca. In our Radical Pluralism class and our Experiencing Oaxaca class we worked on brainstorming for our autonomous study projects which will be completed independently throughout the semester. Everyone in the group is very excited for the academic freedom of the project and that it gives us time and allows us to explore a topic we are passionate about within the culture of Oaxaca.
Cuties eating comida (sopa, pollo con mole y cactus con arroz
Thursday and Friday were pretty juicy with back to back extravaganzas headed by Ron Waterbury, Mary Lucia and Sergio Beltran. On Thursday after Solexico and a scrumptious lunch out we headed to Insitiuto de la Naturaleza y la Sociedad de Oaxaca (INSO) where proposed efforts and solutions of the current water crisis here were explained to us. Then we drove about 45 minutes out of the city to San Andrés de Huayápam to a permaculture center. Here they are demonstrating how to convert Oaxaca's current use of fast water back into a slow sustainable usage. This has created a reabsorption back into the earth which has been reversed by the vast amounts of cement use and the erosion impact due to intense rainy season after a scorchingly hot dry season. Through INSO's information we began to rethink water not as a commodity, but instead as a precious item and as something that should be respected and valued. We learned INSO also has programs devoted to community nurseries, energy efficient stoves, and local food production.
Finally Friday came and our day started by visiting the town of Santo Tomas Jaleiza known for its beautiful weaving and textiles.Next we drove onto the cattle market or in Spanish Baratillo de Ganado, where every Friday members of the community buy and sell livestock. Although we felt a little out of place among the giant cows it was amazing to witness the relationship between the granjeros and their animals. Onto our next stop, Mercado de Ocotlan which takes place every Friday. The state of Oaxaca is special because every day of the week there is one major market in a different location where vendors come to sell produce, meats, cheeses, clothing, leather, pastries, ect.. We were blown away by the piles of oranges, mangos and avocados and many other tropical fruits we had never experienced before. After lunch we ventured to San Martin Tilcajate which is the town famous for alebrijes which are carved wooden animals that are then painted. The paints used are natural and come from the resin of certain trees mixed with lime(calcium carbonate), lemon juice, honey, and pomegranate rind to make various color variations. The detail of the painting is truly remarkable and most of us purchased a small animal to represent our birth date.
Oaxaca is a dream! We are loving the sunny and clear skies and mountainous landscape. The people and the culture are one and the food is changing our perception of what fresh and local really means. We love aguacates.
Peace Love and Oaxaca,
