Marilyn in Mexico 2008

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Cecilia, Juan and I decided to join some folks from Church today for a little outing to San Felipe. We weren't really sure exactly what that meant but they told us to bring sandwiches or something for lunch. So we walked and took a bus to Parque Miguel to meet up with the other ladies at 9 A.M. We arrived right at nine and, of course, were the only ones there for quite a while (you know what they say about being on Mexican time). Eventually the others arrived and we headed out to catch the bus - which felt like it was a mile's walk away. The local buses charge 45 cents per trip so it's not bad, and we must have ridden it for about 25 minutes. Evidently, San Felipe is a section of Oaxaca City that is residential and the upper class lives there.

Once again we found ourselves walking, this time in the countryside and crossing a small river on slippery rocks. We found a place to sit down and eat our picnic lunches. Everyone set out what they had brought to share with everyone else. I was surprised to see no ready-made sandwiches but, instead, rice, beans, tortillas, tlayudas (which are HUGE tortillas they make and eat around here), cooked squash, tostada shells, and various other typical Mexican dishes. Of course, this was the big meal of the day, so everyone seemed satisfied. The kids had fun playing in the shallow river, and I had fun visiting with everyone. I guess I was somewhat of a celebrity and everyone wanted my address and a picture taken with me! You might notice that I tower over the other ladies, with their short indigenous stature and I'm only 5'5"!

Did I mention that there were other guests at the picnic? By that I mean about 1 bazillion mosquitoes! Of course, they attacked my sweet gringo blood and I've been putting on 5 different types of treatment to try to get some relief from the itch, pain, infection and swelling - alcohol, vitacilina, DspuesD, caladryl lotion, and even Vaporub. The boiling hot water bath of my legs has felt the best so far. Yes, that's an actual photo of the back of my right leg.

Juan, who is interested in studying medicine, was kind enough to share with me some of the varied and potentially deadly diseases here in Mexico that are carried by mosquitoes, including hemorrhagic dengue fever. Um, thank you, Juan!

We went downtown to change money (that was just my excuse because, as you probably know, I was really looking for more corn-on-the-cob!) and I also decided to buy my plane ticket to fly from Oaxaca to Mexico City next Wednesday. I couldn't believe that the price fluctuated between $79 and $219 (U.S.) for flights on the same day. Because I'm flying standby, it's actually cheaper for me to fly round-trip LA-Mexico City (3 hours 40 minutes) than it is to fly Mexico City-Oaxaca (1 hour).

The Eslama family that I'm visiting lives across the street from the cemetery. The burial grounds here are different from in the U.S., as you can probably tell from the picture. They are overcrowded and not as well cared for. I saw grave markers with only initials or a first name, not even a date, on just a piece of metal, not even a stone. Others are elaborate with statues, carvings, and decorative adornments. On the Days of the Dead, each Nov. 1 & 2, families go to the cemeteries to celebrate the lives of those who have passed one. They build temporary altars that they cover with foods and items (including cigarettes and liquor) that were favorites of the now-deceased. They spend all day there, having dinner, tidying up the gravesite, playing music, and enjoying the presence of the spirits of the departed who come back to visit for those 2 days each year (children on Nov. 1 - which is All Saints Day), and all the rest on Nov. 2 - which is Day of the Dead,

I had a truly Mexican experience this evening when I climbed up to the rooftop to wash clothes in the cement ridged wash sink. There's quite a method to it, I suppose, but I just did the basics. I stuffed the drains with pieces of plastic bag, then filled one side with cold clear water, and the other with soapy cold water. I started throwing in my clothes on the soapy side and rubbing them on the cement ridges. Then I brought plastic bowls full of water from the clear side and rinsed the clothes, after unplugging the sink. (Don't ask me where it drains - I think down on the neighbor's yard below!) Then I tried my best to wring out the clothes by hand (but of course my arms were already exhausted by this time) and hang them on the cords crossing over my head. Of course, there were no clothes pins so I had to try to separate the cords to stick a corner of each clothing item in them, which was nearly impossible to do. Oh, well, the clothes are up there drying right now and there was a light breeze which should help. Oh, guess what? As I write we're having our first big rain and I can almost hear the raindrops falling directly on all my laundry. I just hope I have SOMETHING to wear to church tomorrow!