Last week or so in brief or not so brief:

Part of my time in Oaxaca has been dedicated to improving my Spanish skills. I took some Spanish lessons at a place that happened to have a few really good events planned around the Dia de los muertos celebrations. The mask making for example. The picture I posted before is a mask I made with plaster-y gauze, toilet paper and glue. I was lucky I brought my own small paintbrushes (wait...I might need to add those to the inventory list) so I could do some detail work on my "mascara". We made masks to where in a procession of our very own on November 1st, which took place after rounds of mezcal were poured and the band showed up. A truly hilarious site, bunch of gabachos dancing around in the street with a procession. When we made it back to the school there was pan de muerte and hot chocolate for all. There was mezcal for all as well, but the sight of it being poured from plastic jugs that resembled gas cans was kind of a turn off for me.

The school had an event organized for the night before (halloween), a trip to Xoxotlan cemeteries to see the celebrations and gatherings. But they wanted 250 pesos... which is way more than I was willing to pay. So instead I went with Mike and Vica on my first Oaxacan public transporation bus for 3 pesos and got the rest of the way to the cemeteries riding in a three-wheeled death trap taxi that I am sure my mother warned me to never use before I left. We arrived at the old cemetery at 8 pm, and got to see the beautiful sand paintings and offerendas outside. We walked through the cemetery, the graves were carefully decorated and families were either decorating, sitting quietly near the grave of their relative, or having conversations... We moved on to the newer cemetery and looked at the vendors and displays along the way. On one hand it was a very interesting thing to see, on the other hand I had the conviction of being a total intruder and an extension of the insensitive tourism industry that is leeching off of Oaxacano traditions. The reactions received from those with more legitmate reasons to be at the graveyard were mixed. One little abuelita sitting alone near the decorated candle-lit grave smiled and struck up a conversation, others ignored the gringo ghosts that were floating around and taking pictures.

A very different reaction that I cannot shake was from a young girl. She gave me a look, a look that I know very well. The same look that I would give (white) people who would pull over their car or come out of their houses to watch my dad and I dig for roots traditionally when I was her age. Unwelcome spectators with unnerving stares. That was it for me. I was done trying to justify taking photos (it's okay if I don't use the flash right? -wrong).

It's very different to go see and take pictures of the offerendas in the Zocalo and at family businesses... Which I enjoyed doing throughout the day along with taking more graffiti pictures. The evenings on the 31st, 1st, 2nd and even the third were full of processions and music and little children in costumes running up with sacks or plastic jack-o-lanterns hoping for spare pesos.

On November second I watched a day of the dead performance that told the history of the day of the dead celebrations in dance/music/drama. It was really an incredible performance set up outside Santo Domingo church with some unexpectedly large fireworks as the grand finale. Later I was at Nuevo Babel, a bar that serves some decent quesidillas and yummy hot chocolate AND is covered inside with work by the same graffiti artists/resistance artists that I have been looking out for. I really like spending time there knowing that it is a place of business that visibly shows support for resistance, for appo, for asaro, and for really really good music. Leo: you are the best tea-drinking, grin-wearing, guitar-playing man in Oaxaca!

Dia de muertos: Pictures now, stories later.

Instituto Cultural de Oaxaca

Nuevo Babel

I'd rather be dead than... hehe

The mask I made this week for dia de muertos! This is the best picture I have of it right now.
Getting ready for the processions!
Took the bus to XoXo
One of the smaller but very beautiful alters I have come across

Monte Alban en domingo pasado

I went to Monte Alban the on my second day in oaxaca (sunday). I spent a large part of that day wandering around the Zocalo and the historic center visiting the mercados, getting a free map and really great advice (the parts I could understand atleast) from two girls at an information desk, and taking pictures off graffiti while passersby looked at me like I'm crazy. I ended up at the internet cafe near where I was staying at about two en la tarde. I enjoyed seeing the historic center but I felt a little disappointed that I hadn't planned out what I wanted to do with the day. I tried to ask the man who runs the internet cafe if it was too late to take a bus to Monte Alban. My spanish is, well, awful really and he spoke no english... so I resorted to opening freetranslation.com on the computer and we typed back and forth to translate. He told me that he lives near Monte Alban and that he could take me. I know what your thinking. This sounds super fishy. So I told him when I needed to be back here and basically straight out said that my mom would not want me to take risks like this. Ultimately, my instinct told me that he is a good person. I went to grab my sweater, came back and we were off.

This is the kind of situation where, in retrospect, you wonder what it is that motivates a person to go out of their way for you. At the time, part of me (the careful-fearful-paranoid part of me) thought that the scenario in general seemed like the motivation could be a very awkward better-to-be-avoided one. But as soon as we got in the car it became clear that Javier is very proud of his identity as both a Oaxacano and Mextico. He deeply loves oaxaca and monte alban and was really excited to tell me about dia de los muertos, foods of oaxaca, his mextico background, and point out places of interest along the way. The neighborhood he lives in is right below Monte alban, he pointed it out as we passed the large clusters of buildings painted in cool blues, vibrant oranges and reds. At Monte alban he tried to get me in for free, and I probably could have passed if I were wearing jeans and just less touristy stuff in general... but instead I paid the small fee and Javier and I started walking to the tombas. Monte alban was built mostly by zapotecs, but the tombas (tombs) were later used by mixtecos and it was so much more appropriate to visit this sacred place with Javier rather than a clump of tourists. As we walked around Javier was able to point out what things were originals or replicas and showed me his favorite viewpoints. From that elevation we could see oaxaca and the surrounding villages/pueblos and he told me where to go for alibres, for other specialties and also told me about Mitla. He added that in his opinion Monte alban is much more beautiful than Mitla, in such a way that also conveyed that this bias is intentional and due to his ties to the land in oaxaca and monte alban.

Javier is also an architect, I wonder if & how his studies as an architect affected the way he sees monte alban. I just stood there in awe of the hand built structures. A beautiful sacred place. I reminded myself as I was walking that this is sacred ground, because I think that is something that is easy to forget after so many years of tourism and postcards and guidebooks and archaeologists "discovering" what many of their ancestors intended to destroy. And it is strange to be there with tourists that chose to wear "traditional" attire that they purchase in boutiques in town...

On the ride back Javier continued my lesson in oaxacan culture by telling me that it offends him when men whistle and act machismo towards women, and that it is best to ignore them. He also taught me some oaxacan spanish, expressions and such. The ride back to the internet cafe went by quickly with our laughter and attempts to converse. I was really amazed that we could communicate as well as we did. I could almost forget that we didn't speak the same language at some points, which sounds ridiculous now that I write it down. When he said good bye he taught me one final word: cuidate.

After my conversations with Javier, I went to see more of the areas surrounding the zocalo with a confidence that I could communicate. And with my confidence in my communication skills and overall presence in Oaxaca came my appetite (funny how that happens) so I was very happy to find a street vendor selling grilled elote before heading back to my comfy bed.

My parents and my physical therapist Amber (hi amber!) would be happy to hear that I climbed up and down the steps of the ruins without knee problems. hurray!

incredible.
Earlier that day I had Champurrado y pan muerto at the mercado de novembre 20. Champurrado is a hot chocolate drink with maize in it, so it had a soup-like quality. Oscar from the Mexico City airport said I had to try it, thanks Oscar!

The Inventory

As I said previously, when I was learning about the Bonderman Fellowship I really became fixated on finding out what a person would pack for an eight month trip around the world. The following is the inventory list of my backpack and the little daypack that straps onto my larger pack.

Clothing:

• 2 tank tops/undershirts
• 2 pairs REI type zip off pants/shorts/capris
• 1 knee length skirt
• 1 green scoop-neck t-shirt
• 1 polo-ish t-shirt with stripes and a collar
• 1 purple t-shirt
• 1 thermal long sleeve shirt with thumbholes in the sleeves
• 1 pair long underwear (which make good pajamas)
• 3 pairs short athletic socks
• 1 pair long wool socks (not very thick)
• 2 sports bras
• 2 non-sports bras (?)
• 2 fancy shmancy ex-officio travel underwear
• 1 less fancy plain (now tie-died... I had fun with that in Quito) cotton undwear
• 1 bathing suit (workout tank-top that doubles as shirt and bathingsuit bottoms (replaced by suit bought in Canoa after bottoms vanished))
• 4 bandanas (assorted colors and sizes...) One of which used to be my moms and is extra large. I love this one because it has thus far been a scarf, a belt, a pillow case and a shirt/bra when in dire situations.
• 1 "Buff" scarf/headband REI thinkg (Thanks Auntie Helen!)
• 1 dark green plain cotton zip-up hoody
• 1 light green thin rain coat
• 1 pair chaco sandals (and sack to hold them)
• 1 pair walking shoes (and sack to hold them) and extra shoe laces
• 1 pair thin polar tec gloves (may never use them, but it could be a bit cold on trains etc)
• 1 short-billed hat with canada pin :)
• 1 headband (which counts as a clothing item in my book so there it is)

Other stuff:

• 1 thin washcloth (cut from an old REI travel towel I had)
• 1 XL REI travel towel
• Silk Jersey Sleeping bag liner
• Blue metal camp mug
• Nalgene camelback waterbottle
• Gallon, pint and tiny size zip-lock bags
• Zip ties
• Large plastic document holder
• 7x5 (?) photo album/portfolio (for family pictures, friends, and info of people I meet)
• Sewing kit (thank you patty) that I transferred to an altoids tin. I added some clothing repair tape stuff.
• Spool of thick white thread and super-needle (leatherworking type)
• Franklin electronic spanish dictionary (Thank you Ant)
• Larousse mini spanish dictionary (Ditched this at the trotamundo hostel in Aljajela)
  
• Around the neck-type Passport/document holder (from SPIPA youth conference!) (I don´t really use this since I have the money belt... and I don´t really even need the money belt all that often so I am thinking about ditching this document holder)
  
• Money belt
• 1 combination luggage lock
• 2 small key locks
• Heavy plastic spoon/fork/knife thing from REI
• Eyemask
• Earplugs
• Small inflatable pillow
• Small white handkerchief with great Japanese designs on it from Diaso
• Bag hooks (plant hanger style s-shaped metal hooks) to hold up bags in bathroom stalls etc
• Bottle opener on key chain
• Credit card size fold up phone book (Auntie Judy gave this to me way back, thanks Judy!) (Gave this to a friend in Nicaragua)
  
• Lifetime supply of brown hairties
• Lifetime supply of safety pins
• Fold out travel brush/mirror
• Julbo sunglasses and thing to hold them on my head (bought these from the HUB lost and found sale for 2 bucks woo hoo)
• 2 whistles (Thanks to my mom)
• A lot of chapstick (I´ve ditched some of the chapstick along the way...)
  
• Cocoabutter stick for lotion etc (Thank you so much Kitty, it's perfect!)
• Assorted pencils, pens and markers (Ditched some of these in Monteverde, Costa Rica)
  
• small watercolors set and pad of watercolor paper
• Compass
• Couple notebooks/writing pads
• Big soft covered journal
• write-in-the-rain spiral notebook to keep important info in
• Harper Collins Pocket World Atlas
• Mini rolls of emergency toilet paper
• Sink plug for laundry
• Scotch tape and extra roll
• Little bit of ducttape (Thanks Ant)
• Rubber doorstop
• Tiny rubberbands
• Medical Kit (too much stuff to list)
• Crystal body deoderant (perfect for travel)
• Mini emery boards (thanks mom)
• Nail clippers
• tweezers
• Plastic earrings, smallest gauge I could find because 1) I am so allergic to metals 2) I don't want to wear flashy earrings 3) I don't want my ear piercings to close up. (Don´t really use these now that I have my earrings made out of coconut)
  
• Necklace from my parents (puffins! a necklace they each have worn a lot)
• Make-up: Small eyeshadow and mascara
• 2 travel toothbrushes (now down to one travel toothbrush, having two was just silly)
  
• Floss
• 2 razors
• Couple carabeaner things
• Couple large bobby-pins
• Shampoo/Cond.
• Toothpaste
• Deet insect repellent
• Bodywash/barsoap
• Compact mirror
• Hand sanitizer
• Woolite
• Spf 15 lotion

Electronics/battery powered stuff:

• Travelsmart Dual wattage International Converter Set
• Small digital Camera, charger and upload cord
• My good 'ole Ipod (one of the big fat old ones, probably will die on this trip, but on the bright side, then my pack will be lighter), charger, headphones
• small travel clock (with an alarm that does not wake me up -- oops)
• Steripen Adventurer water purification thingy
• Plain black digital watch
• Small black LED flashlight
• Smaller key ring type light
• Tiny little calculator
• 2 flashdrives
• Extra memory card for camera
• Extra batteries for everything with batteries

Gifts for people I meet along the way:

• Split cedar for making gifts
• miniature moccasins made by my great-aunt marge
• 2 wind-up toys to entertain myself and others (muchas gracias dad)

And that is it, I don't think I am leaving anything out. I actually still have some room in my bag which is good and I hope to keep it that way. I have no idea how much my bag weighs, but it reminds me of a 50's/60's book on "knapsacking" around the world that I checked out from the UW library where there is a quote that goes something to the effect of:

When asked if the heavy knapsack "weighs you down" a knapsacker said, "Maybe a little at first, but from then on I think you stand a little taller."

The arrival...

No tengo tiempo escriber un blog grande, pero...

Bill and Myrna had to leave for their flight at 4am, but I was able to sleep for a little while longer until I was too excited and nervous to sleep. Instead I finished the unabridged inventory of the contents of my backpack that mom and I had started while I was packing at my grandparents house. I took a shower and went downstairs for the free buffet. Oh it was so good and the staff encouraged me to try everything and took good care of me. The highlights: a tasty chicken and cheese omlette and the pina y coco yogurt. I went in a hotel shuttle back to the airport (although I could have easily walked) and had no trouble getting my tickets and getting through security. I wanted to let my parents know what happened and that I would be arriving in oaxaca later that day so when I saw a guy who looked like a university student a bit younger than me playing a game on his laptop I asked if I could use the internet. We got to talking about Oaxaca and dia de los muertos, and he gave me suggestions of foods I have to try. His name is Oscar and he was going back to visit his parents in Chiapas for the school break. We talked a little about the Zapatistas as well and he told me some stories about what it was like to be a small child in Chiapas in 1994.

I got to my gate on-time that day and the flight was very short. From the airport in Oaxaca (which is tiny. My dad would probably appreciate knowing that it is a walk-off-the-plane situation like when we visited the Big Island) I took a Taxi-Van with eight other people. When we got further into oaxaca it felt like we were going in circles and that the driver was dropping us off in no particular order. From my window seat I had a great view of the homes, stores, parks we passed, but what really struck me was the graffiti. I was fortunate enough to be the last person dropped off (although that seemeds kind of odd at the time) and it felt like I was getting a fast paced tour of the ¨public art¨ that covers the walls of all buildings and doors, with my own interpretation of the stencil work and messages as a tourguide. A lot of the graffiti was by & about APPO. There were also really large beautiful stencil works that gave me chills due to both their subject matter and creativity. I was dropped off in front of the garage-front door of the family I arranged to stay with and after putting my things in my room I went out to explore a bit. I mostly found an internet cafe or two (where I could send a message to my mom again) and a lot of mosquitos. I didn´t go too far because it was already getting dark.

The real exploring took place the next day. That is when I set out to find specific graffiti that I had seen the day before to take pictures. To my schock and disapointment many of the stencils near the zocalo were already painted over. This gave me a sense of urgency, I needed to find other graffiti masterpieces to see them again before they vanished forever.

Estoy en oaxaca cont'd

After finding out that the airline could not provide a hotel and the cheapest hotels were $50 and not very close to the airport I decided to just sleep in the airport. This didn't really work out so well because I could not enter the flight gate part of the airport until the next day and the rest of the airport seemed like it would be much harder to stay in, although I did look for the most comfortable table areas I could find. I noticed a woman about my age who was eating lunch alone and looked like she worked at the airport. She spoke some english and combined with my limited spanish she explained one hotel I could walk to that was economical. So I left the airport and walked a couple blocks to the airport she mentioned. Before I went in I thought I saw a hostel sign so I kept walking, but then a parade of dogs came around a corner and all I could think was "please don't bite me I didn't get the rabies vaccine, please don't bite me" and went back to the hotel. As soon as I walked in I could see the place was way out of my budget. As I waited for the person at the front desk a couple came out of the elevator, they looked very pacific-northwest and very friendly. I told them I speak very little spanish and that I was wondering how much rooms are here. We spoke for a minute or so, I explained what happened and because I hadn't planned on needing a hostel in Mexico City I never looked up the information and I was a bit wary of going on the metro to look for a hostel since it was already the evening. We continued to talk about my options and as an impulse, a very survival mode impulse I told Myrna, " I know I am asking too much, but is there any way I could sleep on the floor of your room, I can pay some and will stay out of the way." She immediately leaned in and said "We have 2 beds in our room, let me go ask Bill, he's a softy anyway." Bill agreed. Bill and Myrna were fantastic to me, amazing people. They were truly family away from family and really went out of there way to take care of me. Thank you thank you thank (MUCHAS gracias) Bill and Myrna of Seattle!

More on my stay at the hotel and what I have been doing since later, I want to go see a musician perform in a local bar woo hoo!

(No alcohol for me though. Not my thing, but I hear that the performer cannot be missed!)

estoy en oaxaca!

I have made it to Oaxaca, a day later than anticipated, but I made it! Yesterday I missed the connection flight between Mexico City and Oaxaca. I had an hour between the flights and now I know that it takes about two hours to get through immigration, get tickets, and get to the flight. Many serendipitous (sp?!) things have happened though. When I got off the plane in Mexico City I was feeling overwhelmed and a bit doubtful of my capabilities to navigate the airport and really to navagate the globe on this travel adventure. Everything became a blur, the people, the spanish streaming out of the speakers, until my eye caught a pendelton coat sitting on a chair. Next to the coat were two Native women, and elder in a wheelchair and a younger woman with beautiful large abalone earrings. I was drawn to them and I introduced myself to the elder and learned about her travels as the Chairperson of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers (http://www.grandmotherscouncil.com/). Talk about Indigenous Solidarity! Agnes Baker-Pilgrim was very sweet and her and her daughter where excited about my travels and said that they would pray for me, send blessings my way. The daughter said she had been looking around feeling like she would see someone she knows or see a Native. ¨Must have been you!¨ It was so good to connect with these women and have warm hugs and smiles. Ahhh I thought, everything is going the way it is meant to.

Indigenous Solidarity, by the way, is the focus of my Bonderman travels. A very round-about way of introducing my theme, I know, but I will write more about this theme later. I should also mention that at DFW airport in Texas a business man college-football-player-back-in-the-day man who asked me about where I was going and why I have such a gigantic backpack happened to be Comanche. He guessed that I was either Latina or Native American, and said that people often think he is Latino.

But back to the Mexico city airport. I was sent from desk to desk and gate to gate. All of the flights to Oaxaca were booked for the day, and the woman at the Mexicana airlines desk told me to talk to American Airlines about a place to stay because it was their fault for giving me only and hour when I needed two. I wound up with no charge for my flight the next day, but nowhere to stay. I thought okay, I can sleep in the airport, I can do this...

To be continued (sorry!) It is 8.30 pm and I really don´t want to stay out much longer since it is dark outside. My bed is a short walk from this internet cafe, so I will be safe walking back (no worries mom) and I will finish the blog tomorrow.