Establishing community

Judy. It is definitely good to be back with family and friends. Our calendar is filling up quickly with lunch, dinner, coffee, house sitting, and houseguest dates, all of which we’re enjoying immensely. Spending time with our three grandsons is an extra treat.

But we left behind a community in Oaxaca that made it a little more difficult to leave than it has been in other cities, so I want to give a virtual hug to the folks we left behind:

Our fellow teachers through En Via—Kendall and Leila, the new education coordinators; Rubyat, the special ed teacher from San Diego who is spending his sabbatical working with the kids in the Pueblos; Julia, just out of college and trying to figure out what’s next (and a fine teacher), Hanna, traveling south of the border in part because it’s cheaper to live, and looking for volunteer opportunities wherever. Hanna, an artist who’s learning beading techniques so she can still create and travel, became a good shopping and exploring buddy, and I miss her.

Tlocochahya teachers

On Wednesdays after classes, we all stopped by the Park El Llano for the “best esquites in Oaxaca”, and on Fridays met for “tacos at two” at the tianguis, the traveling market. 

Kitty and Francesca, our “next door neighbors” in the Airbnb—sisters, one living in Florida and the other in the Yucatan, who meet in various areas of Mexico each year. They spend some time sightseeing, but mostly catching up with each other.

Kitty, Francesca, and Catrina

We spent evenings on the rooftop patio drinking wine and sharing food and sightseeing recommendations.

Tonio, my yoga teacher at Prana Yoga--I was often his only student, so the class was tailored to me. He pushed me to go as far as I could, as long as I respected what my body could do. He also told me that because of my age, "the student has become the teacher." Having a class in Spanish really helped me improve mine!  

Tonio

Javier, who owned and operated Nanixhe, a tiny restaurant (two tables inside, two outside)—he cooked, bartended, cleaned, and still found time to sit with us and drink mezcal while we munched on his incredible tapas. He shared his dreams with us on many an evening.

Javier at work

The kids we taught—funny, frustrating, smart, and not so smart.

Maria, who owned the B & B where we first stayed (and experienced our first earthquake)—we said we only wanted coffee and bread at breakfast, but she wormed her way into our hearts and stomachs with the dishes she “just happened to be cooking”.

Maria

She also gave us our first introduction to the city and encouraged our Spanish.

The folks we met at the intercambio conversations (one hour in Spanish and one hour in English) on Saturday mornings at the Oaxaca Lending Library, especially the guy who, after I had apologized again for my lousy Spanish told me, “Hey, you’re communicating. You’re fine!” He’ll never know how much encouragement that gave me.

The tiny congregation at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, and the coffee hour after the service. We got a lot of information from those folks. We seemed to run into Kathi (lives in Oaxaca, has a car in Boulder) all over town--she shares our travel dreams.

William and Nora, the hosts of our Airbnb. William gave us countless suggestions for restaurants and street food, and often invited Ted to go with him to run errands. Nora gave me a great lesson on the different types of clothing available, where they were made and what to look for.

Oh, and the folks at Oaxaca in a Cup, whose names I never learned, but, who, when they saw me coming, said, “Si—chocolate caliente con agua!” before I could place my order for hot chocolate. I guess I went there a lot.

There were others—Alfredo the gatekeeper at En Via, Arturo at the coffeeshop, the little girls at a Days of the Dead celebration who ran up to practice their English, and, oh, so many more--but these people made our stay—our life in Oaxaca—a real life, and not just a visit. Whether or not we see them again, they have become a part of our journey.

Hanna, Julia, and Kristin at the Tlocolula Sunday Market

Ted and Rubyat at Xocimilco

Little Catrinas at Xocimilco