Oaxacamericana

let me begin by saying that oaxaca rocks. it's so awesome. the people, the landscapes, the markets, and most importantly, the food. they're all great. i have so, so much to write about but no idea where to start.

some aspects of oaxacan life are really different from those in the u.s. the pipes here aren't great, so you're not supposed to flush toilet paper. you're not supposed to drink the tap water (even if it's just a sip or two while taking your nightly meds) because it could give you crippling diarrhea and cause you to be almost late for class (not that that happened to me...). breakfast is a decent size, dinner is small, and lunch is ginormous. currently lying in bed nursing my most recent food baby. it's also ok to be late. classes start at nine, but the professors generally don't come until ten or fifteen minutes after that. this morning my classmate and I were drinking tea outside the classroom when our professor walked by and told us to come in whenever we were ready. no way we could get away with that in the states. hear that, mr. jones?

i've also been surprised by the little bits of home that have followed me around. there's a domino's pizza just a few blocks away. tuesday morning my professor drank from a spongebob mug. my host brother said his favorite movie as a kid was the little mermaid. last night i went to a spin class with my host mom and two of my new girlfriends. i was especially surprised yesterday while walking through the markets. despite the bustle of both the street and vendors selling traditional oaxacan goods, i was able to hear the sound of classic american music... including fetty wap's "trap queen."

admittedly i feel like i'm in a sort of limbo right now. as my friendships here grow deeper, my grasp of the language stronger, and my waistband tighter, i can't help but feel like a oaxaqueña. but at the same time, i feel the pull of my parents, of old routines, of good friends, and of new feelings at home. maybe it's a good thing that i'm so in love with where i am, where i've been, and where i'm going. more later...