Mi Casa

My house is located in the southern part of downtown Oaxaca. I live in colonia San Jose la Noria, which is a very quaint and friendly area that I´ve come to enjoy since my recent move. I´ve already befriended the girl in the lavanderia (laundermat). Her name is Judi. It´s very interesting. If you talk to people for long enough, you come to find they do numerous other forms of business on top of their regular jobs. Judi sells jewelry and I just found out today that my Spanish teacher Hector can make purses out of plastic table cloths. I´ve also gotten to know Lillian. She runs the local internet cafe and can speak English, which comes in handy when I´m having technical difficulties (which is often).

The photo above is the entrance and garden area. All of the house is very open and breezy. My Sra. works out of her home and has a large office that staffs about five. There are always people coming in and out. Last night a family friend came to visit and he recounted the entire history of the Aztecs, Mixtecs, Zapotecs, Toltecs & Olmecs. This took a very long time as you can imagine. And he spoke in animated Spanish for about an hour. But I´d be happy to retell this lesson in English if you´re interested. I doubt I´ll ever forget. He´s also promised to bring me a book that discusses the history of man in Mexico from an anthropological perspective. Apparently it´s three volumes. I doubt I´ll need to buy any other form of reading while I´m here.

This picture on the right is of the front of my house. My bedroom window (the large triangular one on the top floor) looks out over the street. I have rooftop access and an amazing view of the mountains and the city on clear days. I plan to take pictures of my homestay family very soon. I really like my Sra. and abuela a lot. Both of them go out of their way to help me when ever they can. It has certainly made my transition into life in Oaxaca a lot easier!