Kenny's Blog ;)

Ok so we went last week on our first full week of theater classes. I was going to go with her till she figured out where the suburbans were and what times they ran. Our first week was one class of the little little ones and a class of the little bit older ones. The first preschool class was 5 kids 2 girls and 3 boys not too bad. She normally does an story drama around a books theme, this week was I want to be a lion. Not too scary but after about 5 minutes the 2 little girls got scared about the lion and ran back into the classroom. Ok so we only have 3 little boys still not bad but we had not even gotten to my parts. I was going to be 3 lions that were going to try and help her become a lion since she could not figure out how to do certain liony things. They made it though the first sleepy lion who tried to teach her how to roar but right after that one of the kids dad came by and he had to go. So down to 2 little boys and on to the next lion. This one was a lion who was going to show her how to prowl well half way though showing them how to the oldest little boy decided he wanted to play hide and seek. Of course no one was the seeker so he was just hiding. As soon as the she started to try and do the prowling the last little boy wanted to so back inside and did. The funnest point was when she turned to me and said “Yep we lost them.” She did salvage it by getting the 2 boys back after some coaxing to finish up the story very quickly before we lost them again. She talked to the teacher and they decided to cancel the class for the rest of the week. We were kind of depressed after that thinking that the other class was going to be the same.

The next teacher seemed very laid back so we were worried a bit. We had run though the 3 characters she wanted for this one. An Eskimo, a polar bear and a penguin who all lived in a rain drop that I had frozen. This group was a little shy at first but the warmed up very quick and got the idea of the story we were constructing. It was fun, at first she took them outside and talked to them not sure what about. I was to start crying sitting in a corner, she brought them in and formed a circle and started talking to them. After like 30 seconds she sent them over to find out what happened, all I did was look over to her after they finished talking and see which way she nodded. After like 4 guesses she came over and I whispered into her ear and she acted it out like she wanted to direct the story. She then brought me over to the circle and the story got started. They went to a scientist to figure out how to get into the rain drop, that was fun playing him. When she asked for something I just gave them anything and they made up what it was. It was amazing to see how fast the kid starting just throwing out ideas of what it was and how it worked. At least thats what it seemed like since I was not able to understand them. Once they got the thing to go into the raindrop they called Ken back and wanted me to go with them but I was scared of what they were building. She sat me back on the bench and there happened to be plastic bat so she gave me it for protection. Once they got into the drop I switched to the Eskimo with a red scarf for a hood, it was like 100 deg’s under that scarf but after a little gibberish I showed them something. It would be needed for the final character she would play. After that was the polar bear and it was so cool cause when I started to growl one of the little boys came up to me and started to growl like he understood me. He went back to her and told her in spanish what I said, that was totally cool watching them start to form their own story. I taught them how to swim like a polar bear and sent them on their way. O the costume was a green hat she had at home. Finally it was the penguins turn and he had to show them how to waddle like a penguin. Of course by this time the whole class had caught on that they could direct the story by talking penguin to me and telling her what I told them. It was pretty cool all the times she had them change into what I was in order to get to the next part of the story. Finally they got to the final person and she required them, before she unfroze the raindrop, to be an expert Eskimo, polar bear and penguin. Once they showed her that she did a little bebop and unfroze the raindrop. They headed back to the scientist to change them back to their normal size and call back Ken to the circle. That was pretty much how each day went different characters each day. The really fun part she was saying was half way though the second day they were creating ideas that made the story even better. They even moved the story in the direction she wanted without her even telling them. This group would be one she would use as a model demonstration group. It was an amazing week watching these kid develop out of shyness into idea making machines that could create an airplane helicopter bus bird out of thin air. These kids don’t grow up with much they live in an area that most of the money comes from either farming or renting out fields to graze. Most everyone has a plot of land that came from the splitting up of a large haseninda from the revolution some of them farm it some don’t. Its is pretty much just enough to subside on nothing too big. So even though they don’t have much they still came with such live and energy that it amazed me.

Now for the older kids this was a trimming down week, we started out with 45 last week at the first day. This week it seems to have slimed down to about 15 real kids that want to do this. Its very fun to watch some of the very shy kids come out of their shell, even just over a few days you can tell the difference. She’s been doing some movement exercises this week that um I don’t really know what they are for but that they are fun. Some bubble passing the sound and movement from one person to another, lots of different little exercises that help develop the imagination. Its really cool to see what they do and think of when all they have is a blank slate. Already there have been some serious out of the box thinking.

San Mateo, Etlatongo

Today was the first meeting in San Mateo, Etlatongo. It was such an exhilarating experience. At first, when we first got there I saw a room full of men that were very serious. I gave my powerpoint presentation in black high heel boots, and a dress--totally over dressed. However, once I felt over dressed and got past the sweaty moments I brought forward my project. I explained to them the three projects I have in mind; Cuentitos (Story Drama), Talleres Imaginativos (Dramatic Imagination) and Cartelera (Original Works). I explained what my expectations were and what I am asking for. I got no response from them, not a nod, a smile... NOTHING. I had no idea wether they were liking the project or not. Once I was done, I had a slide that said “Preguntas?” Any questions? At first nobody talked but then the Municipal President stated how great he thought the project was. He said they will give me an answer by wednesday if the project is a “go” on their municipal. Afterwards all of the people that form his cabin stated how great the project sounded and that they feel very proud to have a Oaxacan come back and give to the community. It felt GREAT!!! When we were done with the presentation we got in the car ready to leave. However, the summoned us back, they had prepare some “Tortas” (Mexican Sandwiches). We talked a little more and they are very excited. I am so proud!

I am also very thankful that Amilkar brought us here. He took time off from work to get us here. It’s about an hour away from Oaxaca City... “thank you Amilkar!” We have a few more projects to present and I am grateful for what he is doing for us.

Kenny was my assistant projector, he helped me with my powerpoint presentation. It has been a great day today.

Chalcatongo weekend

K: So her Uncle and Aunt Tere invited us out to Chalcatongo for the weekend and since its so nice out there we decided to go. Really we had nothing else planned so it was something to do. We stayed the night at their place so we could get an early start around like 11 am, heh that is early when you have breakfast and everyone showers. The ride out is so much fun I’ve probably already told you about how twisty and windy the road are out here, it’s the only way they could build it with all the extremely steep and deep gullies. The ride from Tlaxiaco to Oaxaca is much better, it’s mostly flat but there are some twisty parts. There is only one place I’ve seen signs that say sharp corner ahead since I’ve got here, so you know its really sharp and a very long drop if you miss it. The drive out there is about 4 hours if you don’t get stuck behind a parade when your going through one of the towns, like we did on our way back. We could not see much besides all the people walking to the towns center to beat the band that was in front of us. Besides that there is not much to tell about the drive out or back, I’m starting to learn the landmarks along the way, which virgin’s shrine is how far from Chalcatongo, that the 3 people that died on the road with the big cement shire and cross is just like 30 min’s out of town. Things like that are very interesting to see the life that sits on such a hard land where they have carved out a living in dirt only a few inches deep before it hits bed rock. There are lot of places along the road where it is only 3-6 inches before it becomes uplifted rock, you know the angled lined rock. We got there in the afternoon on friday since both Karen and Uncle G were off on friday and her Aunt is retired. We bought some junk food for the way up and I learned a very good lesson- mexicans do not like chocolate, the two bars I got were powder which means they were sitting for a while. I guess I’m sticking to chips and getting adjusted to sour and spicy candy o well hehe. We got there pretty much in time for dinner, they have dinner early since the sun sets around 7-8 all year long and rises around 6-7. There is only a hour or so change the entire year so when it gets dark it gets dark here. We slept over at her aunt Naty’s we have always slept, its calmer over there, I am still adjusting to hopping beds every few days. That saturday they planed to go to a waterfall near the town ( http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=16.845522,-97.58132&z=15&t=h&hl=en or search for “Cascada Yosondua” in goggle earth) and have lunch there. That Saturday morning her uncle Necho and G along with one of Necho’s sons went on a little tour of the lands her family owns. It was fun driving along the dirt roads to a panoramic view of Chalcatongo, we went past a few of the areas her family owns and even her grandpa’s old factory that he made very good organic Aguardiente (the local drink). Its kind of sad its not made the way he made it any more, it takes too much time but his way made a better drink, much better.

M: We went to see the the old factory, which really made me very sad and depressed because there were holes in the ceiling, empty bottles, old cods, and no maintenance, whatsoever. I recently found out that piece of land has been inherited to my father, I wonder if he will do something with it? The weekend at Chalca was a lot of fun, both days (cascade day & factory tour day) we played volleyball with Misa, Tonito, Julio, Karen, Ken and I. It was a blast! On our way back, we stayed at Tia Tere’s again to avoid taking a taxi home late at night. Today, we are celebrating Amilkar’s 27th birthday! Oh what fun.

Tomorrow the plan is to go to La Casa de La Cultura and schedule an appointment to begin our “working” life here.

Under MAJOR construction.... Mexico

I apologize because this is not fully edited. We will work on it, it's been somewhat busy... we'll fix and post more at a later time

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La Virgen de Natividad is the towns virgin. There is a three day festivity which we arrived on the first day. When we arrived to the festivity we saw two beautiful float carts (we will attached pictures at the end of post). We went to the first mass where the priest gave the town a blessing and the carts went all around town, with the majority of the town following until they arrived to the Padrinos home where they fed the town of about two thousand people. Ken danced with the turkey but unfortunately the camera was at fault and no footage was captured. Our feet were very tired and swollen so we decided to call it an early night and went to sleep! This little town that here papa grew up in finally got a paved road to it just 5 years ago. It is about 10 blocks by 10 blocks and most of the streets are still mud which makes it fun during the rainy season when we came. It is amazing that you can have a little wooden shack that is 2 rooms next to a large house with 5 rooms and looks more like it belongs in a gated community. You can really see the economic difference between the classes (read into that people that get money or had jobs in the united states) its sad to see a people that used to be able to supply their own food and more to ship out to other towns now depending on trucks to bring in food because they depended so heavily on the money that came from the states to live. But enough of politics, the variety of colors on the clothes of the indigenous people that mostly live here are like nothing i've seen before, you can tell the region they are from by the style and shape of their clothes. The group i like the most is the ones with the bright red, blue purple ribbons they braid in their hair.

Day number two of the celebrations, we slept in because we were exhausted from the travel and the towns festivity. However, the float carts were outside our window so, we saw them for a bit, then we got breakfast and tried to find them but we were unsuccessful. So we just went to the Second Padrino's home and much to our surprised realized that the carts and the town were already there, eating…so we ate again! ;) After that we took a taxi (cause we are lazy) and went into town, walked a while and then headed to Marisol's granfather's grave. After seeing much of the town, at night time we headed to the front of the church because there was going to be the annual lighting of the "Castillo," castle and the "Toros," bulls. They were big and colorful… actually, it was quite an amazing experience. We went to bed early and skipped the nights party because the next day we had to be up by 5am to sing happy birthday to the Virgen de Natividad. A little bit more about this night, so it was raining that night they set the fireworks. The streets were all muddy and it had that earthy smell in the air. The town took on a whole new life that night for me it changed from a town to a very large family. Everyone was happy enjoying the virgins birthday they put so much work into just a few days that you can't help but wonder at the dedication they have to tradition. I guess what really hit me that night was the whole tradition to their religion people were coming from far and wide to the virgins birthday. I kind of have to tell you about the castle "Castillo" it was about 40 feet tall and shaped like a person. Ive never seen 3d fireworks, some of them just spun around but others looked like a flower blooming over and over and over, then there was the two girls clamping. They also had the names of the main sponsor family (which im now part of) and the year spinning around, once that was done the finally was a flower that started spinning around and then unfolded to shoot a huge spinning firework high in the sky and exploded. I think this was the most amazing night so far the sights of all the street vendors frying up all kinds of things the rain coming down, the smell of the mud and sulfur mixed to make such a vivid image of that night.

Day number three, we woke up at 515ish, got dress and hurried to church. We made it on time, and heard the band and Mariachi playing happy birthday to the virgin. Again, an amazing experience, i guess what i took away from from this mass was that. Then we came back to take showers and dress up for the second mass. Once we arrived to mass, Marisol's grandma was announced as the Mayordomo and host of the festivity. When we were done, instead of following the float cart, Zenon (marisol's dad) asked Eric, (marisol's uncle) if we could borrow his car to go to Abasolo. We took off and went to the town which Darrin made a dress for their virgin symbol. It was a very little town, then we to the area's well (pozo), it was an artisan well that was huge. We headed back to Chalcatongo, where we incorporated ourselves back to the festivities. We ate mole, rice and chicken (the best of three days) and then we met Amilkar (marisol's cousin) who came for a while to enjoy the towns party. We headed back to Tia Nati's place and along the way we found Tio Eric sitting and drinking at the local bar. Also, we saw a picture where Marisol's grandfather was infront of the Palacio Municipal in the 50's. We then made it home, where we took a nap to be fully ready for the partying. When we woke up, we headed back but ran into TIO Erik again, who invited Ken to have a beer. Ken hates beer but he accepted out of courtesy. We headed back to the party house where La Furia Oaxaquena was starting to play. My uncle was so drunk that he was teaching ken how to waltz to cumbia's-it was quite an interesting sight. We stayed at the party and dance fpr a while, but then the place got overly crowded about a thousand people, that we decided just to call it a night. We took off and began blogging :)

The next day we had a late breakfast then we finished packing to head to Oaxaca city. We were luck enough to get a ride with one of our uncles that lives just a few min's away from our new house in Oaxaca so it saved us a little money to get back. I have realized that any road that is not a federal built road is pretty much what ever was easiest to build, be is windy hilly or just plain narrow. This mean the ride back was like something a test track but for about 100 miles of twisty turny roads that really would have been fun in a bmw or a mitt not a suv …. but of course like everyone they drive like they are in a race. We got into Oaxaca and it started to rain not just a little but to the point that is was flooding causing roads that were built for sunshine to turn into long lakes and even longer lines of cars. Our uncle was able to hop onto a side road which was like a off road commercial very bumpy and rough and we followed a bus that was going down roads that barely fit it. We finally got past the mourns that blocked the road and was able to get our first take out in Oaxaca cliautas big flat tortoas that have ground beans and cheese spread over it like a pizza. Just a note to im not sure how they got this idea but they think that katachap on top of pizza is how americans eat pizza…. that just pain wrong. When we got to their house we meet they daughter whose cinsinura we were going to be going to that friday. Karn their daughter just started learning english, it is a little broken but still very good and clear. While we were eating she told me that during the dance part of her ceremony that she wanted to do the walce. Turns out she is a very good teacher of dance, she taught me the basic step of the walce and the chapanins which im still a little rusty on, for a guy with two left feet that is a feat… hehe. Their house is different then I've seen before the main part is separate from the sleeping and bathroom area you have to go though an open hall way in order to access the rooms. The front of the house has an area where you can wash your clothes and a sytrine which holds a good amount of water. The house has a living room, dining area and a kitchen. The other half of the house has the rooms which are separated, there are two rooms on the bottom and two on the top (think of a mini hotel/motel). The bathroom sits on the bottom part of the house, next to one of the rooms.

M: The next day Amilkar came and met me and ken to take us to La Infonavit, unfortunately ken had to stay behind because he needed to help get the mattresses from Tia Tere's house to our new home. Amilkar and talked as we drove to la infonavit and the streets seemed familiar to me. I recognized some of the stores and other areas and when we turned the corner I knew we were very close to my childhood house. When we got there the house did look different, the new color it has is more colorful and vibrant and it did not look anything like I have always paint if in my mind. Once i was there, looking around and getting all the luggage; my parents arrived. I was happy to see them since they had stayed in Chalcatongo an extra day. We inspected the house and some things looked bad while others were better than expected. At this point, ken arrived with my aunt, the guy driving the truck with a table some chairs and mattresses.

K: I got volunteered to move the matteress so its

M: My parents had not eaten anything after their morning trip from chalca to Oaxaca so they left with my aunt, and they guy driving the truck back to her house. I also remembered I had left our passports and money in my cousins car, so my aunt called him to let him know. He brought them back to the house since he works very close the house. While inspecting the house earlier, we noticed that the front door glass was broken, and breaking in the house would be very easy. So my dad asked me to ask prices at the store down the street, so I did and decided to get it replace for security reasons.

Once the guy had completed the installation of the glass, i saw that my cousin was pulling in the driveway and looked at me like he waited to cry. I asked him what was wrong, and he couldn't speak, it was as if he had seen a ghost. THen he pulled out his cell phone and dials a number (that's when i noticed something had happened… i then started panic a little). I asked him again what was wrong and he told me that they were told we had been sequestered. I thought he was joking, but then my mom, aunt and dad get there (in the same truck they had left). My dad came straight to me and hugged me, then I aw my aunt and she let out a sigh of relief and then my mom… her eyes were filled with tears…so I hugged her. We all walked in the house, sat down and heard the story. Apparent.y my father got a call at my aunts house while they were about to eat. THe call was a muffled voice saying " Dad?… dad??" and so my dad answered the call…. so he thought it was me… and then the muffled voiced said " dad… i'm in trouble dad…some men took me"… ( so my dad remembered he asked me to go and ask about the glass prices, so he thought somebody had kidnapped me there. So, then some guys took the phone and said, this is an "express kidnap" if you want to see your daughter alive you will have to go to an "electra store and deposit money. Well my dad at this point got freaked out, very tense and worry he was not thinking straight so he wanted to take money out and deposit money. But then the caller asked my dad's name and he said a fictitious name… and the guy said, nice to meet you. Thats when my dad relayed that it was all "perhaps a lie" but they were not going to be sure of it until they saw me alights. Tha's when they drove back to the house and called Amilkar… and that was what happened with my "apparent kidnap" From then on my cousin let me borrow his cell phone, so they could communicate back and forth with us. Our day continued but we spent a lot of time together just because my mom was a bit nervous and paranoid. After that we headed to the store and finished things that needed care at the house.

THe next day was the Qinceanera. The party was beautiful, the set up was great, and there was a lot of family. The hall was an outdoor round tent which held about 200 guests. EL Gigante band was playing and they were really good but the music was extremely loud. Ken was very nervous that night because, Karen, the quinceanera, had asked him to dance part of the waltz with her. They announced his name and he was very worried but went up infront of a couple of hundreds of people and danced beautifully. After that there was more entertainment that filled the night and by 2:00am Ken and I were ready to call it a night. We took a taxi back home (our first taxi ride alone, at night) and we made it home safe. My parents

K: Ok so a little about Qinceanera's these are all out parties at least this one is bigger then any wedding I've been to. They start off with a mass, which ive only been to one and it was in spanish but she is dressed in something like a wedding dress but usually pink or something else showing youth. When she comes into the hall its a huge deal usually she has a few ive seen 4 and 8 and they do a pre-set dance that is elaborate. In some order im not sure what but they bring out to her flowers big freaking set of roses, then her last doll (very large and elaborate, this one was from her grandma), her first set of high heals, then there is a toast from the dad. After that she has a list of guys she wanted to dance the waltez to (about 15 guys) and then another dance but this one more modern with her escorts. Finally the dance floor is opened up to all couples. Its huge lets just say.

THe next day we cleaned the house a bit more, went to Tia Tere's house, and to downtown.

K: Downtown Oaxaca is AMAZING once you get past the fact that they are trying to fit 3 lanes of cars onto 500 year old roads that were only ment to carry horses and carts. walking in mexico is best compared to a live version of frogger… when they say walk your run here…. RIBBIT RIBBIT I now know how frogger feels. All of downtown that ive seen so far is very old buildings thick walls arched doorways and stone carved reliefs, there is a large downtown square with local shops and old churches around it. When we went with some of her aunts on sunday there was a La Marimba band playing in the square. We went to the main market to get some grasshoppers for the rest of the family, its a local delicacy that is ate alone or in anything from tacos to flatas. They found ones they liked after tasting a few stands and just about bought the lady out of the type (they are kind of cut up and spices are added or just whole) after that they treated us to Oaxaca ice-cream (its a water based ice-cream) I had Mexcall and Marisol had Maracuya and lime. While we were sitting there several ladies came up trying to sell little handmade crafts (this is very common in mexico even little kids will). it was just a short bus ride back up the hill to the house were all the family was.

After that it was a long bus ride back to mexico city to sleep at our Tio Leo's house and then her parents were off to the airport to fly back to the states. We found ourselves in Tia Anita and Tio Leo's house. We are happy to be spending time with them but saddened at the fact that she is not doing too well. We would like to see her doing well and wishing she was talking to us but all in good time, perhaps when we come back again, she will be doing better.

K: Her Aunt recently had some problems in the hospital and required a trachea tube put in so she is recovering from that right now at home. Teo Leo used to do hand made furniture but it has been a few years because the economy has gotten so bad down here people don't want to pay for the high quality he makes. Mostly we just hung out there for a few days talking to them and their two kids Maru and Mario looking at family history and talking about old times. We were able to shot a video of the thanking the family in San Diego for their help during this last few hard weeks.

After a few days there Uncle Porfirio came to pick us up but we just took the metro back to their place (keep in mind that Porfirio is younger then me he is 29). Currently he lives in Marisol's godparents place with his sister Yaz and Julio his brother and her aunt and uncle down stairs. It pretty much two houses one on top of each other with a connecting courtyard and stairs that are out in the open. Porfirio is a physical ed teacher, Yaz is a business admin, and Julio is a delivery truck driver. The first night we were there they had the main night of mexican independence there was some of the family that was in mexico city there so about 20 people. It was a lot of fun after the food which was a mix of a red mole, Pozole de Oaxaca (a white large grain) and pork or chicken meat, it was very delicious with fresh made tortillas, they started singing the national anthem. And of course then they started singing all kind of different mexican songs none of which i knew and what night would not be complete without dancing the Chilenas and a couple of other dances i don't know but just shuffle my feet to. It was a blast since Julio is an amazing dancing and was trying to teach me a few steeps but the Tequlia was kicking in hehe. One of her aunts tried with a little better success to show me a simpler dance that was a lot of fun cause it was very easy to pickup. We danced and drank till like 2 am and we did teach them herman the worm not that they understood it but it was all in great fun. These people can laugh, joke and dance like it was the only thing they have ever done, they enjoy life even though it is tougher down here. Im starting to see why she loves Mexico

K: So its almost 11 am on the 26th of September and I'm kind of sad to be soon leaving Mexico city. Last night and this morning was such a blast we had a 15 year old party for a set of twins (one boy one girl) most of the family that we knew was there so it was not odd or strange not knowing any faces. It felt much more like a party then a queencincera they did some of the normal stuff but all of it, no last doll, first high heals they did do the waltz but not 20 people just her dad and god partents. It was kind of odd but very cool, the dance floor was opened up and everyone started dancing, it feels kind of intimidating down here to dance. Let me explain, in Washington we would go to dances and most everyone knew the dance from chalachatongo but no other type of music was played. Down here it seems like everyone knows how to dance very well and can dance like 10 different types of dance steps also its very hard to step up there and mostly just shuffle your feet know only the beginning steps for 2 dances. It is starting to get easier the more I dance, the whole dancing with anyone is still a hurddle that I need to over come. All in good time. It was so much fun probably the most fun I've had at a party so far. We pretty much danced the night away till like 3 am then they told us to go home.

M: When we got to The party I was veer happy because I saw my grandma and other uncles…but I was thrilled to have seen my very good friends, Maciel and Tamara. They both looked really good and happy. The summoned me because I did not stay with them a night while in Mexico. I explained that I had forgotten to call them, but all was fine. I promised that when I got back to Mexico again, I would ring them and let them know I was coming.

After the party, Porfirio drove about half an hour to get to a Taco place. This is the most interesting Taco Shop I have seen, they had a parking lot set up with a bunch of guys that worked there taking your orders in your car. It was pretty cool, think of Masterburger or Sonics burger in the states, except here you got Tacos and a drink. We got home around 5:00am and we began to packed for our travel to Oaxaca.

I on the contrary was not sad to leave Mexico City. I was very happy to have seen my family but I was very ready to come home and work on various projects we have in mind and on theatre. The following day after we got here, we spent cleaning and catching up on sleep. So, here we are today, needing to pay a bill that is due today and going to visit my aunt to find out about a few things that are pending.

We have arrived!!!

M: We arrived to Mexico just on time! Once we arrived Tio Leo, (Marisol's uncle) was waiting for us. Because we had too many luggages we decided to go straight to the bus terminal and catch a bus to Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca. The bus did not leave until 11:00pm so we hung out about 5 hours at the terminal and met a few people. We met a guy who was very nice, Ken was very scared because he had been advised to watch out for strangers in Mexico City. The guy spoke 6 different languages so it was nice talking to him, go figure not all strangers are scary. He was a very cool guy who goes to the terminal every sunday to meet foreigners and practice his languages. I saw a few familiar faces on the bus that was heading to the festival.

The bus company we took was called OCC, they were very comfortable and NOT A CHICKEN BUS! The ride was bumpy and everything was dark so we tried to sleep most of the way. The ride was about 8 hours long. By the time we got to Tlaxiaco I had over saturated Ken with information. One of the things I had explained to him was, if ever any vendor asked him for something, his immediate response should be "no, thank you" … well, for those of you that do not know, public bathrooms come with a small cost of regularly 3 pesos. Well, being that Ken had been explained about the "no thank you" when they tried charging him to use the restroom, he responded, "no thank you" and went to the bathroom… preceding on his merry way!

K: Ok so I need to explain what she means by that. You know all the movies that you see a mexican town that is at the cross of two dirt roads and the taxi's are either an audi or really old bugs, of course all of these are covered with about 3 years of mud. Then there is always those garage doors that are shops. Ya that movie you all know it was shot there. Add in about 50 mexicans moving about starting their day shouting about in spanish, mixtec or some other local dialect. Just to say it was a total new experience.

M: Once, we got into Tlaxiaco, we took a suburban which was full of 14 mexican's and one white boy (quite a funny sight!).

K: Ya the ride …. ok we have Mr. Mario Andradi at the wheel, speed bumps where ever they felt like it and a half patched road. So the hour went like this GAS……. BRAKE…….GAS… BRAKE wait power slide corner. But honestly the ride only mattered till we started to see the mountains… her dad started talking about his great grandfather in the Mexican Revolution. It was like taking a step back in time, little wooden shacks dotted the hill side with goats, bulls and sheep all around. You think of them as hills but really when you're at 7500 plus feet they are really mountains. This red dirt was all around and some areas it made it look like the land was bleeding, with all the steep gullies. So pretty much the last real white north american… people from america that I saw were in the bus station in Mexico city and there were only a few. We arrived to Chalcatongo, …. ya where the only white guy in, oh say 700 miles; is dragging a rolling luggage down cobble streets. Il'l paint you a picture- clack clack clack clack oh hey everyone on the street is now looking at the very white boy pulling bags down the street. Now I'm in an area where it's not just mexicans but serious mexican ladies carrying baskets on there back and are 4 feet something. Ok we ain't in Kansas no more kiddo. Once we got to one (of about 50) uncles houses we only had a chance to take a shower and begin the festivities.

I get to say something about how we left. We woke up late and she told me to go take a shower, this was back in Seattle. When i got out we realized we needed to get going and we scooted off to the airport, once we got to Chalcatongo she told me to go ahead and shower.. heh you know what happened next? Some of the family came in shouting to get going to the church before the festival started. So it took her about 30 hours from when we left to finally get a shower.

M: I was very happy about not taking a shower! ARGH!

We arrived!!

We have arrived. We have had no internet service until today. Tomorrow is Ken's biggest day, he will get to see the house we will be at for the next six months. We have been staying in Chalcatongo, Oaxaca since we arrived on Sunday after a full day of travel.

We will be in Oaxaca until the 13th and then we will bus to Mexico City for Mexican Independence day. We are staying in the Mexico City until the 26th and then head back to Oaxaca to finally settle in.

We do not have the address yet for our new home but as soon as we get it we will let you know!

will continue to post more details once we have settled!

love everyone.

Oaxaca

older blog, which I never posted... eek :)

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Both Kenneth and I have been looking at different homes to begin our life together. We have worked with a Realtor who has been kind to us, or so we thought. His burning desire to sell blinded and steered us away from our real needs. However, been the cool and smart couple that we are (you know you agree), we were able to identify the pressure tactics our agent was utilizing towards us. After a few months of second guessing ourselves by making home offers, which a few hours later we would regret (“first time buyers remorse” as our agent would identify), and occasional arguments between the husband and I we decided to reconsider our position. We opted to step away from the search until we reach 100% certitude. We have decided not to let an $8,000 tax credit lead us into a 30 year impulsive decision we can’t afford. But above all, we will not allow a short, baldheaded, pushy realtor deliver and feed us into a huge mistake. The money we saved for the down payment will be used towards an adventure. We have decided not to renew the lease on our current apartment. We both are leaving our generous paychecks and packing our traveling shoes and passports, we are heading to Oaxaca, Mexico for six months. We will live in Oaxaca while I teach and write, Ken in the meantime will learn the language and submerge into a new culture. We are nervous and somewhat scared but excitement suppresses any negative emotions. We will be living in a two story, four bedroom, two bathroom house, which has been uninhabited for quite a while. The house will be the place we call home for the next 6 months and we are thrilled by the new adventure. Our departure date will be September 5th, 09. Wish us luck in our new adventure! Peace, The Sanchez-Best’s

Barro Negro -- Black Pottery

San Bartolo Coyotepec can be identified as the most prominent pottery producing town in Oaxaca. The potters in Coyotepec continue to use traditional methods of turning pots without using wheels; a prehispanic inheritance. The completion of a pot can take up to one month due to the time consumption of molding, decorating, drying and baking the pots. The black color from the pots depends on the time baked.

Alebrijes

Pedro Linares, a papier Mache Artist from the 1930's, made Piñatas, carnival masks, Judas doll amongst other art. The idea of the Alebrijes came to Mr. Linares when he became ill. He was in agony and pain beyond any medicinal help. His pain was so much causing his dreams to become very graphic. He saw colorful vicious animals with intricate colorful patterns, pointy horns, ferocious teeth, and puffy eyes. Once he recovered his strength he created the Alebrijes.

Manuel Jimenez, founder of woodcarving in Oaxaca, continued this art form and popularized it until his death in 2005.

Cafe Randomness

I was asked by my husband to continue blogging. I am not good at this so he has suggested I continue to do this in order to work muscles which, have been resting for a quite a while. Yesterday I began packing part of our apartment for our very exciting move to Oaxaca. We are storing many of our household items. We also spent a good while at my parents petting my dog “Baby,” a puggle (pug/beagle) who has been with my parents and will remain with my parents until we return from our trip.

We were originally heading to Everett to change car insurance companies to lower our payments for the trip. However, our agent had a family emergency, her mother in-law passed away so we could not meet with her. Instead, we stopped at a coffee shop before heading back home. Ken, my father and I decided to sit outside and enjoy the gorgeous weather in Washington. When we were chatting about Oaxaca and having a few good laughs about what our life will be like there, a man who was maybe in his mid forties came straight at us. He asked Ken if he could join us, to the which Ken responded yes. Both my father and I were taken by surprise by the boldness of this individual and Ken really did not know what to do. All we could do was listen and observe him. While the man conversed with ken, I observed the man’s gestures and speech. He often licked his lip and touched his upper legs. I noticed he had many scratches on his arms that had dried up blood. He was wearing a black shirt with white wolverine designs. His crusted bloody lip was still swollen which made my mind wondered. I became distracted by the thought of this man being a person who had gotten in a huge fight. I was in and out of his conversation and heard, “Alaska...Girlfriend...forty dollars...Tulalip...” I can honestly say, I had no idea what he was talking about. I kept on staring at him and creating small stories about where this man had been.

After a while, we told him we were leaving and he got up and said, “thank you for letting me sit with you brothers. I really needed a break.” Then I thought to myself, maybe this guy is really hungry or thirsty and he doesn’t know how to ask for money. So as we got up and we were walking away, I got very close to him and asked him if he was thirsty. He responded with a tender “no.” He said the only thing he wanted was to sit and sober up. He then told me he was heading to the bank. When we said good bye he crossed his arms around his chest, and gave ken and I a “good bye my brothers!” then he looked at my father and said, “thank you, father” then raised his right hand up and then he walked away. My dad, Ken and I looked at each other a bit confused. When we looked back again the black shirt man was gone.

It was very awkward but at the same time I was very impressed that it was not money, food or water that he wanted. All he wanted was to sit for a while, talk and sober up. Go figure.

This made me think that I have met many interesting people in my life. People who I have met for a mere second yet they have influenced my life one way or another. For now, I take this story as something random and surprising.

Speaking of Random- happy birthday Marina.

Recording Memories

I will be arriving to Mexico City and that very same day heading to Oaxaca. We are most likely busing down to Oaxaca because our plane tickets from Mexico to Oaxaca were cancelled. Once we arrive to Oaxaca, we will be heading to to Chalcatongo, Oaxaca. There we will celebrate La Virgen de Natividad for the next few days. We will post pictures and videos so you can celebrate with us.

We have been packing our apartment in the states and getting things ready for the move. Although we know we need to reduce cost we both wanted to buy a video camera and a digital camera for our journey. We will be taking lots of pictures and videos...continue to check the blog for updates.

We have informed our families and friends about our move and have been supportive while others have expressed their most sincere concerns. Rest assure, we are making the correct decision and we are both very happy with this decision. It will be a life changing experience which we both are welcoming with open arms.

A theatre company recently hired me to work with them once I come back. I am happy to know I will be working once I return to Seattle. Also, I have auditioned for a show which has casted me upon my return. I am feeling very happy and confident that good things are heading my way.

Oaxaca Teaching

I will be heading to Oaxaca, Mexico my primary objective is to teach theatre and direct a production. I will be in Oaxaca for six month creating art. I embrace this opportunity with open arms. My ticket is scheduled for September 4th. I will be returning in early March, follow my blog for updates.

Blogging- First Day

In this blog you will be able to find out about events, teachings, auditions and other related subjects which involve me and/or Nundeya Theatre .

My website is becoming a reality. Nundeya Theatre is still not breathing life but it is well on its way. Freelancing as an actress and instructor in such economic times is very frightening but I welcome it with open arms. How else can one fly if we don't throw ourselves out there...right?

An artist is born.