Final days in Oaxaca

Today I opened my email to a reminder that I have been neglecting to share my latest adventures on the blog. I suppose because now that I have been in Oaxaca for a month it feels less like an adventure and more like regular life. Many days I go to class in the morning, do homework in the afternoon, go to my dance class in the evening and watch some kind of Spanish television, a routine that is not particularly fascinating to read about. However, when I think about it, quite a lot of amazing things have ahppened to me in Oaxaca, including the emergence of two friendships with people who are doing work that has inspired me very much.

My first new friend is Adrian, someone that I met in June at the learning center, but who I did not get to know well until the last couple of weeks. Adrian is the kind of person who always has his hands in several cookie jars, that is to say he is constantly finding or creating new projects, from teaching Spanish to accounting to organic chicken farming, to the newest project which involves the promotion and exportation of pottery made by families of artisans in Oaxaca. Adrian is inspiring in his approach to a new project, because he cares less about the result of the project, (i.e. the possibility of failure), and more about the process of learning and discovery that goes along with it. For example, he has now read every book he could find about pottery in Oaxaca and can differentiate quality of clay, the temperature at which the pottery was fired and how strong the resulting product will be, as well as identify where the pottery comes from according to the style. I have gone with him to several markets all around the valley of Oaxaca looking for the finest products and the people who make them. As a result I have been learning something about potttery, as well as the region surrounding the city. And we have talked a lot about the value of promoting traditional artesanias and supporting the artisans in their work carrying on the traditions that have been passed through families. There is some possibility for future involvement with this project if it doesn't all fall apart, which he is the first to admit happens sometimes. But there's always the possibility of another project, and the possibility of success. What admirable optimism and dedication.

My other new friend I met as my salsa dance partner. We were supposed to perform in an exhibition here in Oaxaca that unfortunately begins Nov. 3. Walter is also from the States, although he lives here now, and we are both going home on the 2 for the election. Walter has an interesting history and an interesting project going on as well. He began coming here 10 years ago while in college and fell in love with the place. He has been coming every year since then, and while he was a graduate student of education at Howard University, he started bringing groups of students here. He started an organization called True Intercambios, and he is working on organizing educational trips for all sorts of groups to come to Oaxaca. Some of his ideas inlvolve learning dance, others would be workshops about diversity, etc. He also has extended the offer to me that if I want to organize some trips down here that we can work together. So now my wheels are turning, and being who I am, I am thinking of trips for dancers and teachers. I have been filling my journal with brainstorms, and hoping that I won't lose motivation due to fear of failure. I guess I am hoping some of Adrian's attitude will rub off on me. I can learn as much as possible along the way and maybe something will work out.

My Spanish teacher gave me a dicho mexicano the other day which is,

No hay peor lucha que la que no se hace...
which basically means there's no worse struggle/fight than the one that was never even attempted.

My thoughts for now. Love to all, y buena suerte!

Daily life in Oaxaca

Hola Amig@s,

I am writing from the little internet cafe across the street from my apartment in the trees of Oaxaca. I am living in a little studio on the second floor that looks out onto some very large avocado and other unidentified fruit trees, and feels a bit like a treehouse. As my friend Jorge pointed out, I could, if I were so inclined, climb out of my window onto a tree branch and in through the window of my neighbor across the courtyard. Although everyone around is very friendly, I am pretty sure that that kind of entry would not be very well received. I have settled into a routine here, which is in someways less exciting than the adventuring that I have been doing in the last couple of months, but also less exhausting. I didn`t completely finish my story of Nicaragua because I didn`t know how to write about it, but the short version is that while I was staying with Alejandra, Eloi, Walter and Santiago 2 members of their family passed away. This was of course a very intense time to be with them, and although it felt a bit akward to be a visitor during their most intimate moments of grief, it also brought me closer to them.

So far here I have been taking classes in the morning, wandering and trying different cafes in the afternoon, and taking dance classes in the evenings. I am a little disappointed because I was invited to be in a salsa exhibition, but the dates are November 3-8, meaning it begins the day after I am scheduled to leave. It would have been really fun to rehearse and learn a routine, etc. but I have very important civic duties I must attend to on the 4th. Speaking of which, last night I got my first glimpse of Sarah Palin, who was not as clueless as she apparently had been in other interviews. In fact she scared me a bit because I can see how she would have great appeal to some people. Last night was the first time that I have seen anything related to the election. i am hoping to catch one of the debates between Obama and McCain.