Week in Review

Well I am glad to report that I am feeling much better now as we head into our last weekend in Oaxaca. This week, in between sleeping a lot of afternoons we actually fit in quite a bit.

Yesterday we went, for the second time, to the Museo de las Culturas Oaxaquños, which is an incredible museum in a building that used to be a convent and was recently restored after years of being a prison, army training grounds, and goverment offices, among other things. We actually started the museum on Sunday but given its size, didn't have the stamina for the whole thing then so we spent and additional 2 hours there yesteraday. The have an enormous collection moving through arceological finds from many of the sites in the area and moving through the modern indeginous rights movements. The building itself was incredible as well.

On Wednesday we toured the ethnobotanical gardens, which are located on the same grounds and the Santo Domingo Convent, but are run by a different organization. The gardens started out as a privately funded project in 1994, but are now overseen by the government. The landscape arcitect who desiged the grounds is truly a gifted artist, and sadly I can't remember his name right now. We saw a cactus, called a biznaga, which looks alot like a barrel cactus for all you Tucsonans, that was 1000 years old! 1000 years! And I thought saguaros lived a long time. This one was rescued from the path of a new highway and brought there, lucky for the cactus and for all of us. The garden even had a huge cistern where water collects and serves to fufill the water needs of the part of the garden that represents plants from the moister parts of Oaxaca state. If I were writing a tour book, this would definately be on my do not miss list for the city.

Last night we went with our roommate Lizzy, and new friend Melissa, to a cafe with Lizzy's computer to watch the VP debates. Biased as we all were we disliked Pailin and were cheering on Biden. But I was genuinely moved when Biden recalled the loss of his daughter and wife and firmly stated that the assertion that just because he was a man he didn't know what it was like to raise a family or not know if you child was going to make it was truly beautiful. It is as absurd as saying that the reason Pailin can't be VP is because her duties as a mother should come first or simply because she is a woman. The reason she can't be VP is that she lacks experience, intelligence, and an understanding of the job in the first place.

Also yesterday we wen't to a lecture on Día de los Muertos and the symbolism surrounding the holiday. It was given by a teacher at our school and it was super interesting. In order to avoid becoming a wikipedia entry I wont dive into the details. But I will say that I am really excited to expereience the holiday when we are in Guanajuato. We are looking forward to eatting sugar skulls and Pan de Muertos. Probably the most interesting tid bit we learned was that in pre-catholic Mexico, the way you died determined where you would go in the afterlife rather than how you behaved in life. There were 4 major destinations, none of them horrid, but some better than others, and a myrid of other little destinations, like for people who die while really drunk.

We also had a delicious meal at a restaurant called La Biznaga (yes, after the cactus!). And it was one of the best meals we have had here. Although our friend Luis who is studying to be a chef here turned up his nose saying it was a mere copy of Los Danzantes, where we will have to eat before we go. I had chicken stuffed with gouda in an apple sauce and Michael had chicken filled with Yerba Santa (don't know english word, but tasty) and cheese in a banana based sauce. We wandered into a gallery next door to the restaurant with some incredible wooden furniture that we would love to someday have in our home but can't at the moment shell out the cash for tables that are also fine art.

Overall, inspite of being sick, it has been a fun filled week. Michael is feeling down today, but he seems to be about two days behind me on the illness, so I think tomorrow he will wake up healty for our weekend travels with friends out to Hierve el Agua and other sites west of the city.