¡Viva Español!

Greetings again from Oaxaca!

We have passed another great week here in Mexico! It has been a bit since we last updated things so, I'll try to fill you in on what's been going on...

Last weekend, we spent time checking out a few museums in town. We saw a cool photo exhibit of an American photographer that documented "decay" in the people and places of New Orleans. Then, we went to a Contemporary Art Museum. I can appreciate the work but it never ceases to confound me a bit. Finally, we visited the Santo Domingo Church and museum. The museum was quite impressive and massive. The exhibits spanned the many years of Mexican History. We saw artifacts from Monte Alban - the archaeological site we had visited the previous weekend. The Mexican Government has been rehabilitating churches all around the country. The Santo Domingo Church here in Oaxaca is in exquisite condition with updated and interesting content.

On Saturday, we tested our Spanish Yoga skills through a HARD class at a local studio. It was fun but challenging. We finished the day with a Film Festival of sorts that showed 4 shortish films on the theme of "Good Neighbors." There were 3 films that were put out by the US government put out. One was about the Ancient Aztecs Gift of Zea Mays, another was a view of Mexican History through the eyes of the Post WW2 US govt. Very interesting subject matter and an interesting discussion followed. This part of Mexico is quite progressive and political.

On Sunday, we went with our Host Family on a trip to Tlaxiaco which is about 2.5 hours from Oaxaca. Along the way, we stopped at three churches that were built by the Dominicans in the 1500's. Gorgeous and astounding in architecture and creation. We then went to a Baptism Fiesta for a friend of our family. The child, Juan David, was angelically dressed all in white. The hue of his clothes quickly degraded as he played hard with his buddies! He was four. The party was quite impressive. The family served about 150 people a full meal, with drinks and a three layer cake to finish things off. There was a mountain of presents - which little Juan kept a careful eye on - and a professional DJ! The music was so loud it was making our internal organs clang around! It was a great party and we felt really honored to be included. This morning, we went to a market close to our home with Carlos, the "father" of the house. It was amazing! We saw an entire dump truck full of oranges! The market was full of sounds, colors, and smells bustling even at the early hour of 6:30 am! We helped Carlos to lug three huge shopping bags full of fresh produce home. The cost of which was about 15 dollars! Truly amazing!

This week has been another rather hard (for me) at school. I am understanding more and more. I am learning more and more. But, the speaking is coming at a frustratingly slow rate. I decided yesterday that I just need to stop pressuring myself to make everything come out perfectly. I just need to talk and let it go. Right!? My teacher, Belen, assures me that my language development is progressing normally and keeps urging me to be patient.

We're off for lunch. Have a fantastic weekend. We're off for a tour of another smaller archaeological site.

xo,
Kerry & Peter