Everybody loves a parade.

Here is a video of the parade if you are interested.  In the first one the group carries bottles of tequila and pours it for the crowd.As you can see , one of the patrons is enjoying the tequilla a bit too much. In the second video, there is a woman trying to do the impossible, which is to talk on the phone during a parade.

Guelaguetza-a statewide celebration

When we first arrived in Oaxaca and revealed that we would staying at least three months, the locals would excitedly exclaim, "You're going to be in town for the Guelaguetza!!!" What is a Guelaguetza I wondered? Today I found out. Similar to the state fair concept in America, each region of the state of Oaxaca sends a contingent to the city of Oaxaca (which happens to be the capital of the state of Oaxaca) to celebrate the culture of their region. The celebration takes place on the last 2 Mondays of July. It begins with a parade in the zocolo on the first Monday and ends the same way on the next Monday. In between Mondays, spontaneous parades, called calendas, spring up along the city streets displaying giant paper mache dolls, men on stilts, dancing, singing, you name it! Hold out a small cup and watch it get filled with a shot of mezcal when the calendas pass through. Oaxaca is famous for mezcal and takes a lot of pride in the signature drink. Every calenda is accompanied by musical bands and traffic is haulted, even foot traffic. The only path to the other side of the street is through the parade. Dance your way through or catch on one of the little candies tossed to the crowd and enjoy the treat while you watch the show.   while the parade passes through.  The guys in the second picture are from one of the fishing regions and are throwing nets over the crowd.

In our apartment complex, a poster advertises the Guelaguetza. I spent several days learning to pronounce this word. Now I can say it with ease. The first long word I practiced in Spanish was estacionimienta. This means parking garage. Try saying it as fast as you can. It sounds just like it's spelled. The even is highlighted by dance performances  the dance-a-thon held in a stadium high above the city. Purchase tickets in advance; I had to watch it on the television.

Each costume, or traje, and dance usually has a local indigenous historical and cultural meaning. Oaxaca has a large native indigenous population, well over 50 percent of the state's population, compared to 20 percent for Mexico as a whole minor clebrations throughout the state

Indian food in Mexico

Arin sought out and found the only Indian restaurant in Oaxaca.  Here is a picture with our friend Ramesh.  He says we are his friends he and wants us to visit everyday because, "This restaurant is your home."  Today we met his son and his in-laws.

Bakery

Let's talk about the food in Oax. You are going to discover. Southern blandsas tlyaudes Every evening we stop by this bakery on our way home.  The bread is so good and fresh here that we rarely purchase tortillas.

First bus ride for Arin , our apt

Arin was invited on an outing by a gal at the school.  He is not sure where he is going, due to the language barrier.

He has returned. He traveled by bus to a market far from town.  He says it was the same as the other markets.

Today I am leaving my hotel and moving to an apartment. After failing to find an apartment on my own, one of the hotel owners, Teresa, made some phone calls and sent me over to this place which is called Meson del Penasco. On first approach, the complex is very off-putting.  The curb appeal leaves something to be desired. A large heavy metal door serves an entrance to the building and the outside walls are covered in graffiti. I can't see inside and must ring a bell to access the property. If I were in America, I would think I was deep in the ghetto. It is reminiscent of the area of Mexico City where the Aero Mexico airline put me up for a night after an unexpected travel delay. In Mexico City I was afraid to go out, but now that I have been in Oaxaca for a few days, I have discovered that all homes and apartment entrances have the same type of entrance. Hotels and shops have open entrances, but the residences are protected by these metal doors. The place where I am volunteering, The Oaxaca Learning Center, also sports this type of entrance, and most of the buildings in town, even the churches and historical buildings are tagged with graffiti. It's everywhere, so don't freak out when you are driving in from the airport. In the case of Oax, graffiti does not depict a ghetto at all; it's just the normal landscape. I wish I could tell you that walls are covered in murals, but unfortunately, this is just straight up graffiti and occasionally, political messages. Now that you have seen the outside of the buildings, you will be pleasantly surprised by juxtaposition of the building interior. inside.may resemble a ghetto, but beautiful courtyards await you. The best part is that you are perf  safe. First of all, no one is getting through those metal doors, and secondly, there are no windows to the outside. All windows are open to the courtyard. If one did not have keys to the metal door, one would need to scale the outside wall, climb over the roof, then drop into the courtyard without anybody seeing them. This is not going to happen!
Now that I have beveled you with the description the outside of the buildings, let me show you the juxtaposition of the building interior where beautiful courtyards await you. inside.may resemble a ghetto, but beautiful courtyards await you.
We have a one bedroom, 2 bed apartment with kitchen and bath, along with this beautiful courtyard, complete with fountain. This place is called . It was built by the owner's family 200 years ago and still stands strong.
Transportation:

Our apartment, complete with fountain

We are staying at Hotel Las Mariposas, which I love. Each morning, all the guests and the owners gather for our complimentary breakfast, coffee and a chat. It is so easy to make friends here. Every arrangement of traveler can be comfortable here. I am a 57 years old women traveling with my 23 year old son. Also, I have met couples, friends traveling together, families, another mother and son duo, and people traveling solo. I highly recommend Las Mariposas for all groups. If you want to meet people easily, and especially if you are traveling single, Las Mariposas is the perfect place to feel comfortable, safe and secure. The owners speak English and are extremely helpful as you will see later in this post. The location can't be beat. It is right next to the Lending Library which is an expat meeting place, and near my favorite park which is El Llano. Here is the location information from Las Mariposas website. Just a few blocks from the Santo Domingo Cultural Center and all the downtown restaurants and shops. Half a block from "El Llano", a large tree-shaded park that is a great place to hang out, jog, read a book or people watch. Ideal for language students attending nearby Spanish schools and ethnic food enthusiasts attending Oaxacan cooking classes, or as a base for exploring this enchanting colonial city and venturing out to the arts and crafts villages of the surrounding area. If you follow travel trends you know that single female travel and eco-travel are two of the today's top current trends. Las Mariposas is perfect for both. The hotel caters to both. Here are some of the other perks of Las Mariposas. * Certified Ecological and Environmentally friendly practices

* Great value; reasonably-priced B&B with lots of extras
* Perfect location; close to everything
* Spotlessly clean
* Free internet, long-distance phone calls and drinking water
* Warm and helpful personal attention; from Teresa and Lucía
* Library, Kitchen and TV lounge open to all guests
* Garden areas and patios

Being an English speaking person in a foreign land has its perks in the "making friend" realm. First of all, when you are an international traveler in a foreign country, and you encounter people from your home country, you form an automatic bond with them. Secondly, you meet tourists from all over the world who also speak English. Another perk of speaking Eng is the ability to get a job almost anywhere in the world as an Eng teacher. This is something I am going to look into later, since I plan to stay several months. Oaxaca is such a popular international tourist destination that I see dozens of people everyday who look as if they are from America. The first few days, I was saying hello to every American looking person whom I came across. Most of the people ignored me and I quickly realized that they did not speak English. Many are from India, Europe, Asia, etc. The USA is so diverse that it is difficult to determine who resides there. Las Mariposas is the perfect microcosm in which to find people who speak your language. Guests rest in the courtyard throughout the day and there is always someone with whom to chat or go places. Everyone gathers at breakfast, the guests discuss their plans for the day and often will join together for activities and meals. I'd love to stay here, but my purpose in coming to Mexico is to live like a local and improve my Spanish. If I stay here, I will be speaking Eng the whole time and basically acting as a tourist. There is also the cost. If you are a budget traveler like me, the most affordable way to travel is to rent by the week or the month. Paying nightly rates will kill your budget in no time. I asked about the monthly rate here and at another hotel around the corner, but they are both out of my price range so I need to find another option. My preference is to stay for at least a month and rent an apartment in a regular neighborhood to experience life alongside the local people. I first tried calling apartments advertised in the classified section of the newspaper but my Spanish skills are highly lacking for such an endeavor and I had to give up that avenue. Next, I perused the rental binder at the ex-pat Lending Library, but all the apartments and roommates choices were already full. I got lucky this morning. When I joined the other guests and the owners for coffee, I was discussing my next apartment finding scheme when Teresa, one of the owners, graciously stepped in, made a few phone calls to landlords she knows, and found me a home. Here is a picture of our apartment.  We have a one bedroom, 2 bed apartment with kitchen and bath, along with this beautiful courtyard, complete with fountain. This place is called . It was built by the owner's family 200 years ago and still stands strong. The curb appeal leaves something to be desired. All you see from the street is a large heavy metal door covered in graffiti. If I were in America, I would think I was deep in the ghetto, but after a You may remember when I 

4th of July at Las Mariposas Hotel. If you come to Oaxaca, I highly recommend this hotel!

A few days ago when I arrived at the Oaxaca airport after an unexpected one day layover in Mexico City, I was placed in a van in order to be transferred to my hotel. The vans are organized by zones and I recognized that our van was filled with people who were very familiar to me. We were all people who had been bumped from the original flight and spent the night in Mexico City. We are all tourists,mostly from the USA. I guess it makes sense to bump the tourists rather than the local people. They have jobs to get to. We don't.
Although Oaxaca is a popular international vacation spot, most of the tourists who were on our plane are enrolled in language institutes. Their hotel of choice is Las Mariposas. It's a small family owned eco-hotel located close to the Lending Library. Since our first hotel had absolutely no authentic Mexican feel to it, and my attempts to find an apartment in Spanish have failed, we decided to move to Las Mariposas yesterday. We spent the last three days at Hotel One which is designed for business travelers. It's very clean, comfortable and modern but has no Mexican feel to it at all. Las Mariposas has the traditional exposed brick ceilings, archways and fountains. Throughout the hotel are multiple seating areas, each featuring a different vignette. It's a mecca for English speaking guests. which is not exactly what I came to Oaxaca for, but it is only temporary until I find an apartment. It is an excellent place to stay if you are not quite ready for total immersion in the culture, yet want feel that you are in Mexico. The family who owns this authentic boutique hotel are from local lineage. They are bilingual, but you will also hear plenty of Spanish spoken here.
Today is July 4th. If you are from America, you will recog which is Independence Day in the USA, and the hotel owners have planned a few activities for the Americans. We begin the day with a homemade tortilla demonstration.





  where some of the people from our plane are staying. Most of the guests are American, so our hotel provided a special Independence Day breakfast.  Outdoors, several women rolled and cooked home made corn tortillas over a wood fire.  It was very authentic.The van was filled with all the people who were bumped from yesterday's plane. I guess it makes sense to bump the tourists rather than the local people. They have jobs to get to. We don't. Most of the people we talk to are enrolled in language institutes.
TITLE Have you seen the bottle of tequila with the sinking worm? Here is the rest of the story
In the afternoon we took a taxi to a different town to attend another 4th of July party with the library ex-pats. It was a mad-cap adventure. Along with a crude map, the directions that had been given to me were written in English and they went like this: Turn right at the big tree, drive for awhile then turn left at the fifth fence post, etc. My translation was inadequate so he was trying to follow the map instead. I have never seen a cab driver try so diligently. The only information I was able to communicate is that the party is in the city of Huajuapan at a place called Casa Linda, which is some sort of charitable organization. Our driver sought help from every pedestrian on the street, went into shops to ask, and made several phone calls. As we zeroed in on the location, I heard him ask a guy about La Gringa Linda. If you are familiar with the word gringa or gringo, you know what's coming next. After an hour of driving, we arrived at the house of an American named Linda, but Linda was not having a party today and didn't want to have one just for us. I finally told the driver to bring us back to town. I was concerned that even if we did find the party, we would have trouble getting back to Oaxaca. I could see that he felt badly about the whole thing but it really was not his fault. I gave him a big tip and began looking forward to the evening 4th of July party at Las Mariposas. I'd been told that someone's dad was going to be providing Mezcal.  TITLE Have you seen the bottle of tequila with the sinking worm? Here is the rest of the story

The owner cooked several Mexican dishes for us and the mezcal, which I was told is not tequila, was flowing. You know how margarita glasses are rimmed with salt? The mezcal was served the same way, but this particular salt tasted a little funny. Can you guess the secret ingredient? Have you seen the bottle of tequila, I mean mexcal, with the floating worm? Guess where else the worm comes into play. That's right, on the rim of the glass. The funny taste of the salt was the addition of dried worms! We exchanged emails with some of the guests since we moved to our new apartment tonight.
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Phone calls in Spanish

Help! I thought I had a decent grasp of Spanish until I bought today's newspaper and viewed these apartment ads. The ads I can translate, but the phone calls to the landlords...yikes! Elaborate!!!After several attempts, I finally communicated with one landlord and Arin and I set out to locate the apartment. Arin was in charge of directions and had us walking over a mile in the wrong direction as I would find out later. We never did locate our potential home and I realized that I need a different plan that does not involve me trying to communicate in Spanish over the phone. I've been studying Spanish since 1989 and getting nowhere. I even came to Mexico to engage in what was supposed to be an immersive Spanish course in 1991. The problem was that the instructor continued to resort to English despite cries from his students to speak in Spanish. Somehow I became teacher's pet and still have the cassette of Joan Biaz's Spanish language album which he made "specially for me", he said.  I didn't even know that Joan spoke Spanish, and apparently Linda Rhonstadt also has a Spanish album. The class lasted only 2 weeks and on the last night, while sleeping at my host's home, I actually dreamed in Spanish, so I guess I got something out of it. One of the reasons I have chosen Mexico as my first destination is to work on my Spanish language. I have had so many classes over the years, joined Spanish conversations groups and enrolled in the The Intensive Spanish Summer Institute http://www.ltcc.edu/academics/specialized_programs/issi/index.php  at Lake Tahoe Community College, etc. During my years as an elementary school teacher, I taught one year of 5th grade to Spanish speaking students. That is when I really fell in love with the Mexican culture. Every one of my students lived in the migrant camp and I had zero behavior problems with these kids. What a joy these families were to me. I was invited to family parties, baptisms, etc. And you should have seen our classroom parties! For the very first party we had, the students began moving the desks to create a dance floor in the center of the room and I realized there would be no sitting quietly at desks eating cupcakes. Our parties involved bunches of homemade Mexican food, loud music and dancing to the music of Selena. Thus were my expectations of Oaxaca and I have not been disappointed. Oaxaca is a party town to beat all party towns. And this coming from a gal who attended California State University Chico when it was voted Playboy magazine's #1 party school in 1987. Anyway, back to my apartment search...maybe the people at the lending library can help.Meanwhile, my three days reservation at Hotel One ends soon and I need to either pay for more days or find another affordable hotel. With all of my Spanish training, I figure I'll be bilingual within 2 months of living here.

The Lending Library has a folder filled with rental listings. You can imagine how much fun I am having trying to call these rental ads in Spanish. I had an appointment to see one place but after walking for 1 1/2 miles in the heat, I couldn't locate it. I've been studying Spanish for Living in California, I have picked up some Spanish, and now that I am living in Mexico, I'm sure to be fluent within 2 months.
Take a look at this newspaper page. It's the housing section. As you can see, it's all in Spanish. Do you think I will be able to find an apartment in 3 days? I had a rude awakening when I

The English speaking ex-pat community 1500 strong

If you are nervous about traveling to a new country, I suggest you come to Oaxaca. There is an English speaking ex-patriot community here 1500 strong and the hub is the Lending Library where Bridge lessons are offered on Tuesdays, along with monthly hikes, talks, and various cultural events.  Arin and I decided to join in the bridge lessons.  We each won a hand with our partners and will probably play again.   We did not get to practice Spanish as everyone spoke English but we did have our first intercambio with two young ladies at The Oaxaca Learning Center. This center was started by Gary, an American, and also the tallest man in town. Along with offering homework help, English speakers are paired with Spanish speakers and engage in intercambios where we learn each other's languages. We decided to meet every day for 2 hours. I also volunteered to teach an English language summer school class to kids who can not afford to pay for a language center.