Muchas Actividades en Oaxaca!

Buenas Tardes mis amigos y familia!

It has been 3 weeks since our arrival to Oaxaca. There has been no lack of activities and things to keep us busy. Jill has been working as a consultant, developing trainings (cultural and process) for Puente a la Salud Comunitaria (Bridge to the health of community). Puente promotes the indigenous grain amaranth as a way to improve life in rural communities in Mexico. Jill has been meeting tons of new friends and takes Yoga class a couple of times a week. I have been doing 3 weeks of Spanish class and have great teachers. I'm learning tons and enjoy the feeling of being back in school. We have been meeting our new community of friends young and old, Gringo's and Oaxaquenos.

We had a nice visit with Mike and Susan Muhm (Jill's Parents). Jill's intercombio (language partner) friend Carmen has been amazing. This past weekend she showed all of us the famous Monte Albán. It is a large pre-Columbian archaelogical site. Monte Albán's importance stems from its role as the pre-eminent Zapotec socio-political and economic center for close to a thousand years. Jill's Parents also got to experience many Oaxacan open air markets, food and native dance.

I also got to experience my first mountain bike ride with some friends in the mountainous areas near the city. Except for the needle like vegetation that tears up your legs and the packs of dogs that like to chase you, it was fun to come across wild horses, turkeys, donkeys, lizards and incredible landscape. I can't speak for Jill, but after 3 weeks I'm really starting to crave a nice juicy steak, hamburgers that are thicker then a nickle and without spicy wet peppers.

Hope all is well back home! I see we are in the thick of baseball playoffs and also see Boise State is still undefeated and 15 in the nation! Go Broncos!

Buenas Noches y hasta luego!

Eduardo y Julia

Aventuras en Oaxaca!!

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"!!!