After a long but successful flight last Wednesday night, we made it to the land of Oaxaca. We were pleasantly greeted by one of Jill's co-workers Zaira. This sweet lady waited for our late arrival and then magically packed our 18 suitcases into her coche pequeno "Chevy" and drove us to our temporary home in the heart of Oaxaca City. From there we were greeted by Geri, an ex-pat Jill found online. Geri's house is fantastic with 10 years worth of Oaxacan artifacts and pictures all throughout. The next morning Geri showed us a few areas of the city and from there Jill and I put on our wings and explored the in's and out's of neighborhoods, parks and apartments searching for the best spot to call home. It was amazing to see the streets with the wall like exteriors surrounding them that were often graffiti stricken or lacking paint only to walk inside the gate to see a very pleasant complex whether it be an apartment, restaurant or store. After a long day on foot and many tortas, tacos and horchata beverages, we were able to get our bearings and see a few apartments but none that called home.
The next day (Friday) we woke up very excited to find an apartment and see the open air markets full of different chili peppers, fruits, vegetables, flowers, toys, dvd's, cooked foods, clothes and art!! And yes, we found the apartment!! It is on a calle "street" Zarate and next to the biggest park (Llano park) in the ciudad "city". On Friday it happens to be market day at this park and Jill convinced me that it would be a good idea to get some cartoon dvd's as the Spanish would be slower and easier for me to comprehend. So we purchased a Simpsons, The Incredibles and Wall-E for equivalent to $5 USD total!! I was also amused at how inexpensive the Nike shoes and shirts were. Perhaps they are not real??? I'm sure Nike will have someone here to find out in near future. After many different markets and exploring we met up with ex-pats Ryan and Alder who are 2 year veterans of Oaxaca. They gave us many good insights, tips, recommendations and a shot of excitement knowing what is out there for us to explore and do! We then met up for dinner with Bianca (Jill's classmate at SIT) for a nice dinner of baquettes and Pacifico's. Oh yes life is hard here. Sighhhh.
Saturday we were shown to an "organic" market where they had fresh cooked foods, quesos, vegies and drinks with open music being played in the air. Very relaxing. From there we climbed the famous steps to the Guelaguetza, a stadium that is high in the hills in one of the 5 mountains that surround the valley. The stadium is used 2 Monday's a year shows a great view of the city in the valley and San Felipe (area full of big homes, lots of ex-pats) behind.
As Jill starts work at Puente a la Salud Comunitaria, I'm going to start Spanish classes at "Spanish Magic" one of the many choices to begin my quest to speak in this city. So we are off to moving into our apartment and beginning a new week full of more "Aventuras en Oaxaca"!!!
