statistics

So, I guess since I haven’t written in a month, I’m going to write two blogs two days straight… (aaaand, I might be sort of, kind of, maaaybe procrastinating with finishing a paper!) But I thought, although I’m more than two months into the semester, that I’d talk a little bit more about Oaxaca so that you guys can have a better picture of where I’m at. So, first of all, the city of Oaxaca is a little bigger than Spokane with the population of about 258,000 people. It has been a perfect size for me because there are still many parts of Oaxaca that I don’t know about, but then I feel really comfortable with the whole downtown area and there are a bunch of different places to hang out, go dancing, there are parks, loooove the food here, and there are a few libraries and cafes that I’ve gotten to know in order to study and use the internet. As far as the state of Oaxaca, it’s one of the poorest states in all of México but ironically the richest states in terms of the culture, history, and nature. There are 16 different indigenous races just within the state of Oaxaca in which all have the own specific language if not more than one dialect within each language. Also, one of the things that Oaxaca is known for is an event called the Guelaguetza which is a huge celebration where many groups of people all come together to sell, or more importantly exchange their products, and there’s also a really cool traditional dance (look it up on youtube!). Unfortunately it’s in July, so I’ve already missed it, but hopefully can see it sometime. Also, more than half of Mexico's native plants, flowers, reptiles, and amphibians is from the state of Oaxaca. I heard someone once say that if you're on one side of the street out in the country, the soil could be completely different than the soil on the other side. Also, it has tons of mountain sides but than also a beautiful coast. The poverty I've learned about here in the state is another topic I'll have to write about later ... sad, tragic, and absolutely horrible.... you don't really see it that much in the city, but it's also here.

On another note, here are some quick fun, random facts about Mexico in general that’s normal here but kind of odd for me. ;) First of all… something I’ve probably already mentioned are the dogs on roofs. Something that still just seems so weird! Second… ok, if you ever want to drive in Mexico, you have to realize that a stop light more or less means to slow down, not necessarily to stop. One of the first things I noticed here were the cross-walk lights. You know, in the US (or at least in WA) our cross-walk lights are just a little green guy in the position of “walking”… well, here, the little green guy is actually moving and so (to me) it appears like it’s running. This is totally true… you don’t really walk across busy roads because even though you might have the green light, a car still might be coming at you! So, I don’t really call them walking signs but rather “running” signs. (Luckily Paty, my intercambio, thinks I’m funny!) Oh! And then the other day, I was walking to school and saw the mailman… which was a man on a motorcycle swerving down the sidewalk! Yeah, it’s actually not uncommon to look up and see a motorcycle coming at you. :) But luckily, I’d like to say that I became pretty accustomed to crossing the streets here, although Daniel still thinks that us Americans are crazy when we’re running like maniacs across the road. Hmm, what else … oh hot chocolate here??? AMAZING … soo much better than hot cocoa in the US. One night, when I was in Puebla, we were eating at this taco place and I asked for hot chocolate. When I got it, it was just like the hot cocoa packets we have in the US and I was soo disappointed. (Haha… you know me and food!) Speaking of food.... have I told you about chapulinas? Since I'm too lazy to reread what I've already written (and you all know I'm known to repeat my stories anyway hehe!), I tell you anyway.... Well, it is said that if you eat chapulinas here, that means you're going to return to Oaxaca. Finally, I took the oportunity to try them. I ate some plain and then I had some in a quesadilla... can you guess what they are??? GRASSHOPPERS! Mmm... actually not too bad. :) It's said that at one point in history there was a bad season of grasshoppers that were eating all of the crops... so the people here just decided to eat the grasshoppers to keep from going hungry. Since then, they've continued to hunt them as a traditional dish!

Well, that’s all I can pull off at the top of my head and I should probably go back to writing (sigh)… one more day until Day of the Dead! Excited!!!

Hasta luego!!!
Love you all!