Hola ustedes. Right now I am at a trendy interent cafe called Cuilles eating breakfast. Stuff is amazingly cheap here. I am eating a breakfast with eggs, sausage, bread, beans, cheese tomatoes, fruit and coffee for less than 4 dollars.

 Since my last blog entry my group has taken some field trips to some of the interesting places surrounding Oaxaca. On thursday we visited the ancient Zapotec city of Monte Alban. The city consisted of many mountain top pyramids, temples, stadiums and other structures with views of the many surrounding valleys. We learned about Zapotec daily life including some of the gruesome sacrificial rituals they practiced. The Zapotecs played a ball game kind of like soccer and the best player would have his heart cut out and offered to the gods. 

The next day we visited some of the surrounding towns around Oaxaca. We were exposed to some of the local industries such as pottery, weaving and wood sculpting. We visited this family that had been making a special type of black pottery for centuries. The pottery is spun with simple tools that do not require electricity. We also visited this wood sculptor who is world renown for making these wood sculptures of animals and other figures. The were articles from many American newspaper and magazines about him posted on the walls of his shop. The animals were very beautiful but extremely pricey so I did not buy any. 

We also visited a giant outdoor market in one the Oaxacan suburbs. The market sold food, clothes, electronics and all sorts of things. It was similar to a flea market. I bought a sombrero for 1.5 dollars after bartering with the guy. Bartering is common in Mexico and is fun to do. We are often able to lower the price of goods significantly. 

Some other news is that I joined a local gym here to try to stay in shape. It is a pretty nice gym by Mexican standards.

Ok well I am going to start studying now since we start classes on Monday but I will have another entry soon.

Adios

Hola todos

¿Como estan ustedes? Sorry I have not been able to write earlier but this is the first time I have had access to a computer. I have been really busy with all of my orientation activities. I got into Oaxaca on Saturday. My host family met me at the airport and we took a taxi to our homestay. I am staying with one other student who is fluent in spanish so he is able to help translate when I dont understand things in Spanish. Our home we are staying at is at the top of a large set of steps with a great view of the city and the surrounding mountains. We are staying with a lady whose husband just recently died of a heart attack. Her kids and grandkids are almost always around the house keeping her company.

Oaxaca is a very beautiful city. The centro (downtown) where we are staying has lots of old, colonial architecture and small cobblestone streets that cars cannot go down. Surrounding the old city are more modern suburbs.

This week we have been doing various orientation activities such as visiting the hospitals where we will be observing at, meeting the members of our group and going over the classes we will take. We are taking spanish classes, latino health classes and doing clinical rotations at local hospitals.

My group has 10 boys and 11 girls who are all from UC Davis except one who is from Santa Barbara. Tomorrow we are all visiting Monte Alban which is an old Zapotec city with ancient pyramids. The Zapotecs are an indigenous group similar to the Aztecs. Oaxaca is a very indigenous region of Mexico. 16 different languages are spoken in the state.

The food here is somewhat similar to the mexican food in the US but also has some differences. The local specialty is Chapulines which are fried grasshoppers. On the first day of class they gave each student a bag of them and had a contest to see who could eat the whole bag first. The kind of taste like sour sunflower seeds. Most meals here contain queso, tortillas, beans and some type of meat. A lot of the food is very spicy.

I will write more once I start my classes and clinical rotations. In the meantime I hope everyone is well.

Nos vemos

Welcome to my blog

Hey everyone,
This is my blog that I am planning to keep for my trip to Mexico this fall. I am leaving California on September 20 to go to Oaxaca, Mexico for three months. While down there I will be doing medical volunteer work and taking classes. I hope to use this blog to keep all my friends and family updated on my adventures.

Max