Feb
8
Oaxaca: The Last Leg
Filed Under Mexico 2004
Good evening!
I am back at school and surrounded by at least two feet of snow. Quite a difference from the sunny beaches of Acapulco! Anyway, I have yet to recount my findings in Oaxaca and my trip back to the States.
A week ago today, I and two other bandies, Melissa and Cathy, set out on a bus from Acapulco to Mexico City. Five hours later, we arrived and had to take a taxi to another bus station to get a ride to Oaxaca. It is advised to not trust just any taxi in the city, or probably anywhere, so we found the authorized taxi booth in the bus station and ordered up a ticket for a taxi. We paid a total of about $7 for a 20-min ride across town, and then the driver also charged us 30 pesos more for our luggage. We later learned that the luggage fine was complete nonsense and nothing but a rip-off for unsuspecting gringos as ourselves. Oh well.
At the other bus station, I got 3 tickets for the 3pm bus. We had to wait 1.5 hrs, so we took the time to make some PB&J sandwiches with the resources we brought. Who would have thought we’d be picnicking in a Mexico bus station?! The bus loaded on time and soon we were off. Unfortunately, some passenger slept and *snored* during the first 4 hours of our
6-hr bus ride. We found it quite amusing.
Around 9:30pm, we arrived in Oaxaca, the 4th-largest city in the country. After getting our luggage, we headed into the small, busy terminal. We needed to call the orphanage so they could come pick us up, so then began our adventure in search of a phone. We found some outside, but after much confusion we realized that one must have a phone card to use it. So then I went back inside and found a worker who spoke English. He told me that next door is a hotel with a phone for local calls. Melissa came with me while Cathy watched our luggage. We found the phone and got a hold of someone, but that someone did not speak English. After much exchanging of words, I finally understood her. I had to call back in 5 minutes, giving her enough time to find an English speaker. After a 2nd call, an American voice responded on the other side and soon we were picked up.
The orphanage, Casa Hogar (a house that is a home), is located on the outskirts of town. Carol, the lady who is currently is in charge and has been for a number of years, lives just a stone’s thrown away in a house that was built for her, by some volunteers from TX, a year ago. With her live her husband and hopefully their soon-to-be-adopted son. We were housed a short walk away and across the highway in a bungalow. A group of about 7 people from St. Olaf also flew down for an Interim break trip to help out at the orphanage, so we all stayed together.
After a good night’s sleep, we woke up and walked over to Casa Hogar. The orphanage houses about 70 kids and constantly has projects that need to be done, with the help of volunteers that come down. During my 4 days there, some of the projects included sorting and folding tons of donated clothes for an upcoming sale, tearing down a roof, learning how to put cement on a wall, Mexican style (i.e. probably more complicated and time-consuming than how it’s done here with all of our specialized tools), painting those walls, laying a cement floor, and tearing down a chicken coop.
The rest of the time was spent playing with kids. We all learned a good amount of Spanish from the kids, who are great teachers. One boy, Daniel (about 7), took a liking to me (I think). Everytime I saw him, he would come up to me and let me know that he knew my name (which, btw, I introduced myself as Kat, which is ‘gato’ en Español – the kids found this very amusing) and give me a hug. I had a great time teaching him cat’s cradle one afternoon, during which I learned the Spanish words for fingers, cradle, and saw (one of the figures).
Another kid, whose company I enjoyed (and vice versa 
), was Esther. Esther is 11 and blind. I met her on the swing set and ended up pushing her on the swing. During my times around her, it was fun to describe things to her as well as the happenings around us. She enjoyed meowing every time she said my name. We brought markers, crayons, and paper for the kids, so a lot of coloring and drawing went on. Daniel and I did an exchange of drawings; he drew Mickey Mouse and I drew a collage of items that represent Kansas (such as the state flower, state bird).
On our free afternoon, the group of us volunteers went to Oaxaca’s zocalo and market. With 4.5 hours to wander around, I did a lot of my gift shopping there. The market was the cleanest one I’ve seen on this trip. It was indoors, everything was very tidy, and we got this feeling that we shouldn’t bargain. That didn’t stop me, though; I always haggle.
We 3 bandies, encountered a few items native to Oaxaca at the market. The first is chocolate. Many chocolate stands were set up, selling many differently sized packages, types, and forms of chocolate. The chocolate is much different than what we are used to; it has more texture with very grainy salt, and some of it isn’t as sweet and smooth as a Hershey’s kiss. The second finding are these carved wooden figures of various animals: pumas, horses, armadillos, porcupines. They are brightly painted with many colors and various designs. The third and most interesting finding was that of fried grasshoppers. Native women, in their hand-made dresses and braided hair, walk around the market with shallow woven baskets filled with grasshoppers. One can buy minute, small, or big grasshoppers. They are seasoned with chile and probably with a few more ingredients. That evening, we all commenced in a grasshopper-eating ceremony. Mmmm, crunchy!
Thursday evening, after saying goodbye to a few of the kids (they were watching a Spanish-dubbed Veggitales movie), I hopped on a bus en route to Mexico City. The ride lasted from 10pm-4:30am, and sadly I couldn’t sleep very well. After arriving, I got a taxi to the airport; I was ripped off again, being charged 95 pesos, but I wasn’t in the mood to find the words to argue in Spanish. At the airport, I checked in, exchanged my money back to US $, and waited for my 7am flight. On my flights back to Minnesota, I found myself wanting to talk to the flight attendants in Spanish. On the other hand, it was great to land in Houston and use a clean bathroom. I finally arrived safely in MSP at 1:00pm and got a ride back to school where I took a nap.
It’s been good to be back and just take it easy. If only school didn’t start tomorrow…
So what will I miss/not miss about Mexico?
Miss:
- limonada (lemonade)
- sangria
- cheap meals
- help with carrying my suitcase at hotels
- seeing the word ‘bodega’ since it reminds me of the Philippines
- being put into situations to speak Spanish
- the huge and enthusiastic crowds at our band concerts
- the slower pace of life
Not miss:
- pollution!
- having to pay about 20 cents to use public bathrooms
- throwing the used toilet paper into the waste basket so as not to clog
- the 2-in. pvc piping
- not having toilet paper
- the constant honking of car horns
- cab drivers and vendors ripping me off
- speed bumps everywhere
And with that, so ends my trip to Mexico. When I post the photos on the band’s website, you’ll receive another email. Until then, come to our home concert this Sunday, Feb. 14 at 8:00pm in Skoglund. And if you really want to catch the band off guard, chant “o-tra, o-tra” (lit. ‘another!’) over and over for an encore. )
Thanks for reading; hope you’ve enjoyed it!
Adios,
Katherine