We spent a lot of time at his job, him working and me writing e-mails home to my mother, or studying my Spanish lessons online, or playing my Nintendo DS. I would occasionally be allowed to wander off by myself to buy cigarettes or go look at the stuff people were selling in the little stalls they had set up down the road. Never much further than that though but I got really good at asking for Marlboro Milds (the only kind of Marlboros I can smoke) and asking how much something cost ("Cuanto es?").
On New Years Eve we went to his work, which closed early and then we did some other random things, like going to Sam's Club to get steak for the night with his oldest brother, before going back to his house and laying in bed for a while watching TV. In Mexico they celebrate the new year much differently than we do in the states. Instead of getting wasted and finding someone to kiss at midnight they wait until midnight and then have dinner.
We sat at a large table (made up of smaller tables) out in the open air and Jose's mom made us tlayudas. Tlayudas are really big tortillas, like the size of a medium pizza with beans and quesillo and avacado on them. She also cooked us steak to go with it. We drank my new favorite mexican beer called Indio, and later they brought out this hot cider type drink they called punche. It is made out of Apples, Cinnamon, and this sugar cane type plant that I don't remember what it was called but it's very naturally sweet and can be chewed but not swallowed. The Punche tastes almost exactly like the hot apple cider we are used to in the states but like a million times better.
I regret that I didn't take more pictures of the food that I ate or the drinks that I consumed to show off to the world while trying to explain them but I guess maybe that's why I went to art school and got this writing degree. I can describe them.
After we ate we all sat around the table and talked. Jose's father and brother called from Chicago to wish everyone a felize año nuevo. They passed the phone around and giggled about how drunk his father was. Jose's dad then wanted to talk to me. So in his best English (Jose's family in Chicago does not speak much English but they have always tried with me and I've always found it very sweet) he wished me a happy new year and asked me how I liked Oaxaca and his home and his family. Made sure that everyone was being nice to me and then slurred a few things I may or may not have understood. He was very proud to hear that I had improved my ability to ask someone how they are in formal Spanish, which is something I never did before when speaking to his father while Jose was still living in Chicago.
After dinner some of the family set off bottle rockets and other small fireworks. Jose and I had bought these giant sparklers from someone at an intersection on our way back from Sam's Club that we were going to light for New Years but we never used them. They instead just turned my hands all gray and black and gross from holding them because like I said they were giant.
After the celebration and meal Jose and I went back up to his room and went to bed.
Later in the trip we went to Monte Alban which is a large site of ruins from the Pre-Hispanic Zapotec people. The place was more beautiful than words. I never realized how important and amazing places like this are to have in the world until I got there and saw it. It kept making me amazed to think about my own country and how we only get to read about things like this unless we're lucky enough to have a chance to see them. The structures and "historical sites" in America aren't that old. Some of the Indian reservations have older tribal stuff from what I've heard, and we have natural phenomena but nothing this big and this old that is man made.
The way that the place is layed out you don't actually see the ruins really until you climb up this foot hill and through some bushes. Once you step out onto the grounds it's like this whole ancient city just unfolds before you. If you're imagination is as wild as mine you can picture what things must have been like. People setting up stalls to sell and trade their crafts or services. The temples that were set for worship, the ball court where the Zapotec people would play the game that is so common in many Pre-Hispanic societies. The Zapotec, however, did not make human sacrifices to the gods like so many others did.
Those are just a few of the like 100 photos I took of the ruins, and they are only small sections of them. I'm going to find a way to put all of my photos on display I just would rather not do it all here. Or maybe I'll make a post that only has my photos in it. I am however still waiting on photos that weren't taken with my camera.
After Monte Alban (and I'm sorry I'm not spending more time talking about some of these things I'm not sure why I'm speeding through my trip so much. I think I just want to get it all down before I forget) we drove to this scenic overpass type place and sat for a while and looked out at the city below us. I felt so in love with this place just looking down at the buildings and streets. I could hear a woman on a microphone talking about something but I'm not sure what as the echo from it bouncing around distorted her voice.
During the trip we also witnessed and experienced a few traditional things. One day while sitting in the gallery I heard music coming from the street (not uncommon) and Jose and the woman he works with (Cuquis) ran to grab me and bring me outside. Apparently two people were getting married at the church in Oaxaca's historical center which was at the end of the street that the gallery is on. This church is massive and old and beautiful. Jose told me it is the most expensive church in Oaxaca to be married at. Well I guess when people get married in Mexico there is some sort of traditional dance that happens after the ceremony (or so I gathered) and they have a band, giant paper machet representations of a bride and a groom, and woman with brightly colored skirts and baskets of flowers on their heads dancing.
It looks a little something like this:
And that's me in the middle of it all. For some reason while taking my photos Jose thought I needed one of me in front of it all.
The last week or so that I was in Oaxaca it was colder than it had been. The temperature probably dropped to the 50's or so and we found ourselves one day sitting in a park with a tented area set up. In the tent they were selling atole and buñuelos. Atole is a hot drink made with oatmeal and milk. It comes in many different flavors, I chose strawberry (fresa), being that it is one of my favorite fruits and it is everywhere in Mexico. Jose had atole with rice. They also served Buñuelos which are kind of hard to describe. They are the texture of really crispy elephant ears (or funnel cake), they are big like elephant ears and are covered in a sweet syrup that is similar to molases and then they sprinkle some sort of sugar or cinnamon and sugar mix on top of that. The buñuelos are served on top of a simple clay bowl, and after eating a quarter of ours we realized you are supposed to break the buñuelo in the center so that it falls into the bowl to make it a little less messy.
These are the buñuelos before being served
this is after being served, and sitting on our table
My Atole Fresa
Jose eating buñuelos
Me eating buñuelos.
After you finish eating the Buñuelos you take the bowl and break it up against this little alcove they set up outside of the tent. According to the writing on the alcove it is good luck for the new year and as you break the bowl you make a wish. Of course we decided to indulge in this tradition seeing as I've never been there and Jose apparently knows nothing of his home country.
We took video of us doing so and forgive me if the video of Jose doesn't actually show him but he refused to move into the shot and I couldn't back up any more to make sure he was in it. Then while recording me he didn't know how to stop the camera from recording. We're awesome like that.
This was my bowl breaking experience
And this was Jose's
We also took a video of the cross walk lights in Oaxaca. For some reason these made me very happy. They show a little walking man not unlike what we have in the us, only their man actually walks, and as he does so the time ticks down on the light and he progressively walks faster until it gets to zero and then he stops and turns into a little red man. It made me smile every time I would see it and I would sit in the car and talk to the stop light and say "walk, walk, walk, ok faster, faster, faster, RUN!!! Now stop." or something along those lines. It was amusing for me anyway.
That's the crosswalk. The video is kind of bad but whatever you get the point.
And for now, that is all. I still have a few more funny tales to tell and more photos to share so stay tuned.
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