Mexicano Tiempo

There's a saying here that things happen on "Mexican Time." Which is to say that life proceeds at a leisurely pace where what we consider "timeliness" isn't much of a priority. There was a indigenous dance performance that I went to last night to take photos of. The schedule listed the event as beginning at 6:00 PM. I got there at 5:45. The few seats they had were all full. The light was great for taking photos, though the performance itself was under a tent (Oaxaca loves its rain) with no stage lighting. At 6:05 they started setting up a stage. When things seemed like they might start at 6:30, one of the workers got on stage with a bucket. He started painting the stage. Great. What's the saying about waiting for paint to dry on a wall? It wasn't until 7:07, when the light had all but failed me, that they took the stage.



I just ordered pineapple juice. The drink the waitress brought me was red and I was told it was "fresa" (strawberry). It tastes like watermelon. Not sure what went wrong there? I ordered a Fresca (the grapefruit-flavored soda that's a thousand times better here, where it comes in a glass bottle and is made with cane sugar, not corn syrup) yesterday. The waiter confused it with the cafe's similarly spelled drink (fresa, a strawberry smoothie). That substitute was good; this one no es bueno.

Here's some photos from yesterday. Again, I'm withholding my favorite photos.

Only a Week Left

It's been a pretty mellow week, not much to talk about. My Spanish classes finish up on Friday--they've definately been very helpful. The weather's gotten better, although it remains very unpredictable. It was a gorgeous day yesterday after classes finished up. Even looking at the horizon, rain was the last on my mind. In the time it took me to return to my home stay house, get my camera and return to the main plaza, however, the sky had completely clouded up. Twenty minutes later it was pouring. I hadn't even thought to bring my rain jacket. I wanted to go to nearby archeological site--Monte Alban--but both days were pretty cloudy and not great for the photos I want to take. Hopefully this weekend!

The city is in the process of gearing up for it's annual festival, Guelageutza. They're replanting all the flowers in the central plaza. Tents are going up in a few places. It's not uncommon to hear fireworks--even in the day. Beginning this week, there are events scheduled for the next two weeks or so--it's going to be a very happening time. I'm going to try to go to as many of these events as possible and incorporate photos of them into my final project here.

Here are a few photos of Oaxaca that I took yesterday. Most of the stuff I'm shooting is for this final project. I don't want to give much of my project away, so the selection of photos from now on is going to be more limited. The photos I post are unlikely to be my favorites. The project will also put the photos in much better perspective. One more week here, home on July 25th, and then back to school for OA business on August 16th.