Random Descriptions of My Travel Adventures

Tuesday afternoon I went out to a neighborhood or colonia, Colonia Solidaridad, on the edge of the city. I was tagging along with some Americans who had sponsored a child through the Centro de Esperanza Infantil. They were visiting the child's home to meet the family and get a glimpse of the conditions the family lives in. The mother of the sponsored child met us at the Centro and we all hopped on a bus to their neighborhood. We took a long bus ride, between 30 and 40 minutes, to reach Solidaridad. After disembarking we walked down a dirt road for a bit and then a small dirt path of switchbacks etched a bit perilously in the side of a steep hill. As we walked down the hill we passed the community wells (no running water), encountered more than a few chickens, and saw many houses made of corrugated tin, bricks and other materials thrown together to produce a shelter. The picture below is one I took in the colonia. A couple of the houses in the photo are constructed of cement which ...

Well technically only in the photo below but I did decide to sponsor a child through the Centro de Esperanza Infantil. I was so busy rescuing a dog this week and spending ridiculous amounts of money to get her spayed (even though it turns out she was already spayed, oops) that I felt guilty about only volunteering at the Centro and not actually helping by sponsoring a needy child. If I can spend money on a dog I can certainly spend money to help a child go to school! So meet my goddaughter (that is what they call the sponsored children at the Centro, not my choice of terminology) Lorena Patricia or just Pati for short! She is 5 and really cute! The last of 11 children in an obviously very fertile family. If you are interested in sponsoring a child let me know and I can tell you more about the process. Now when people ask me if I'm going to have children someday I can say I already have a child! Between the dog and the child I'm now officially broke for the month.

These are some more photos of the Reyes Magos party for the children sponsored by the Centro de Esperanza Infantil. Cruelly they make the kids wait until the very end of the party to get their new clothes, backpacks, candy etc. Most of the kids seemed very patient, I think it was just the gringo volunteers who were impatient. This first photo is just a shot of the party before the clowns arrived showing some general mayhem. After the games, clowns, and lunch they finally get to the gift giving portion of the day. One well-meaning volunteer accidentally closed and locked the door to the room containing all the presents. Nobody had the key so they had to call a locksmith to open it. He got that door open in less than a minute which was good for the children but really makes you contemplate the feeling of security you get when you simply lock the door. In order to give the kids their clothes and backpacks they create a kind of cattle chute by using two rows of tables. The kids line up ...

Today is the festival of Reyes Magos or the three kings, a big deal here in Oaxaca and part of all the holiday festivities. I don't know much about why they celebrate the three kings on this day, not being religious and knowing next to nothing about the bible (except for the verse that is stamped on the bottom of In-N-Out Burger cups and displayed by crazies at football games) I just party with everyone else and trust that the bible says a big party is okay with Jesus! I have been volunteering at the Centro de Esperanza Infantil, an organization that sponsors street kids by paying for their school supplies, uniforms, and tuition. Every year the Centro has a huge party on Reyes Magos for the children they sponsor. The children play games, are entertained by clowns, eat lunch, and at the end of the festivities they receive new clothes, backpacks and other small gifts. It is quite the production, the Centro has over 500 kids sponsored and we think over 300 show up to this party to...

The week before I went to the United States for the holidays I moved out of the Big House and into a new apartment (departamento in Spanish) with two other women. I have yet to take photos of the place, it is a nice apartment with a lovely garden, but I did manage to take a picture of the living room. When we moved in the kitchen had a rather interesting smell about it, and while we couldn't figure out off the top of our heads what exactly that smell was we decided we did not want to live in the same house with it much less cook in close proximity. The thought of it being a roach graveyard entered my mind and therefore I was not at all looking forward to actually uncovering the source. One of my roomies and I spent 6 hours cleaning the kitchen, washing all the dishes, bleaching surfaces, and sorting through all the junk that had been smashed into the kitchen cupboards over the years. I don't think it had been cleaned since the house was built which was at least 8 years ago if n...

I just returned from a two week stint in the United States and I ate my way through the holidays. Back in Oaxaca now, 5 pounds heavier no doubt, and I thought I would post some pictures of art I stumbled across while strolling around the city. I first noticed this couple while sitting in the bar across the street from the gallery in which they are housed. At night these two sculptures are lit very eerily and look quite menacing. These pictures are taken during the daylight hours so you will have to come visit me and sit in the bar across the street at night to get the full effect. I was walking down a side street the other day and encountered this particular wall (I believe someone told me it is an artist's house) with some really excellent graffiti. Enjoy!