Settling into my Apartment in Oaxaca

  Oaxaca...one of 31 states in Mexico...I am in Oaxaca, Oaxaca....the capital city of the state....one of three of four of the largest states in Mexico...bordered by the state of Veracruz, Pueblo, Chiapas, and the Pacific ocean, a 4-6 hours drive from here.   The city population is around 250,000 with another 250,000 in the country.  It is an international destination for foodies, history buffs, archaeologists, folk art fans,  photographers, weavers, and just plain tourists trying to add another World Heritage Site on to their list.
Beautiful Historic Oaxaca
           I am doing well but have been spending my time getting things of comfort for my apartment...a clock, extension cord, trash bags, new pillows, etc....my refrigerator broke down so landlord sent another almost new one.  

    Living in the country is quieter with fresh air and a fair view.  It is very private place.   Sunbathing is permitted at my place.  
       When I had finished moving in, I contacted Darcy, a Couchsurfer that I met before.  I visited his house in the country on the last visit.  This time we went back to his rental again but it was really clean and organized?  He had a Couchsurfer from Montreal who ended up renting a room for three months until she found another while teaching English.  She had taught in Thailand too. She liked to clean and organize.  I returned to the other side of Oaxaca and my Casa.
       Travel to and from my Casa to Oaxaca has proven to be easy.  There is a MotoTaxi service that takes you to the bus stop for 5 pesos and then the bus into the city for 6 peso...about 50 cents.   A taxi would be about 80 pesos or that have Collectivo taxis that you share and can be 1-8 pesos depending on how many fares  they have. This can be inconvenient when you have to shop for a lot.    I bought shelving for the bath, a large dispenser for 5 gal water as well as large trash bags, and some more "stuff" .  The bag lady didn't have a large bag so I thought I'd put the small stuff in their bag and just carry the dispenser and a the box with all the metal shelving.  Upon arrival at the bus stop the box broke and all the poles , bolts and connecting shelves went on the ground.  I took one of my large trash bags out of the box and threw all of it in the bag.  The bus was jammed and I've carrying a bag with all the shelving box and miscellaneous crap along with this large dispenser while trying to hold on while the bus lurched forward.  It was standing room only and I was doing my utmost to remain standing when an old timer offered me the inside seat by the window.  I struggled with no leg room and sat there with this tower of baggage a foot over my head with everything in my lap.  The old timer took my bag with the box to help.  I was very thankful.  The traffic was slow and the bus was now jammed so every stop they people had to cram closer and closer all the way to the back.  It was hotter than hell.  Then the old man ,he was probably my age, left when we got to the McDonald's  (yes, they are everywhere providing clean restrooms, wi-fi, air conditioning and food if you like) stop and I tried to put the dispenser on the floor under my seat but no go. I was back to being buried in my own mess and now with a woman next to me.  Then my stop came and I bumped and fell against 5 people trying to exit before the bus took off.                      
            When I arrived for the MotoTaxi, there was a lady with 8 bags like mine so I waited for the next  taxi and finally arrived around 4:30 exhausted.
            I get a little sun in the mornings if I wake in time.  I can go naked inside during the day but at night it is like a fish bowl but I really don't think anyone can see my place from far away.  The terrace would need a hedge or some plants.   
          The sink plumbing broke and the plumber was there that day to fix it.  I wasn't sure I wanted to live out here but now I know my landlady is supportive and a friend, I am starting to put a little money into things to make it comfortable.  I am buying a Microwave.  There is a two burner gas plate to cook on.  In town you can step out the door and eat what you like. Here I have to cook.  Just stocked the refrigerator yesterday.  It has a good freezer too. 

     The TV didn't work well and only 4 channels unless I want cable.  My computer provides me with Netflix movies, TV series...( The Hour...is great).  Finished the series Mad Men and MI-5.      I sometimes play poker also.

       I go to town most days on the bus.   A group of men get together once a month for Happy Hour in a different local bar.  We were doing it twice a month at a long time expat's home but he didn't want to continue.  "Smoke" is cheap and shared along with the booze and food.  My last Men's Happy Hour, I stopped for a Latte at a coffee house I frequented on my last trip. The lady remembered me and my drink.  I used to go there in the morning for double strength Latte so I had one.  The caffeine buzz had me talking the entire evening...yap yap...I must have sounded like Gueso the dog next door.  He is a yapper.  

         The Oaxaca Lending Library is a focal point for information, activities, and socializing.  I've been there twice for an Oaxaca orientation and to take out DVD's.

      I attended a performance of the Russian Ballet Company  at the Opera house. It was Esmeralda. I don't see Marjorie much at all. She accompanied me to the ballet and we are going to a Fourth of July fund raiser put on by the Library.   Occasionally we have lunch or happy hour together.  She is off in the villages crusading for educating children...what she does best.  She takes Spanish classes and gives English classes to children. She will be returning  in another two weeks.  

     Today I went to Cheraui,  like a Mexican version of Walmart ...it is one of three or four they have around Oaxaca.  I spent the afternoon and $100 but had so much it weighed 50 pounds.  I threw everything into my Walmart cloth bag but it was too much to walk so took a cab to the bus stop.   I was getting on the bus when the strap broke under the weight so I looked pregnant with a Walmart bag. I made it home without further incidence.

     This morning I purchase 5 gallons of water from my nearby Miscellaneous Store.   I made a deal with the grandmother, owner of the shop to pay her 10 pesos to take my trash any Fri night and put it out Saturday morning.  She wanted to do it for free. I had to insist.  I will buy my water and other stuff from her but she doesn't have a lot.  Worked out great.  

          Got to get that Microwave at the store where I got the shelves.  It is  $20 cheaper there then any store yet.    Have to take my shirt back to exchange for a larger one ..and meet with Darcy again tomorrow for a few beers. 

     I'm eating Edam cheese on homemade Crafted bread with a Gin and Grapefruit...life is getting better.
     Shopping will be almost done when I get my Micro and bath shelve....I went to buy micro yesterday and the price went from  699 to 899 so decided to try Walmart someday.   Exchanged my shirt for one that fits.  Darcy and I had  couple of dozen beers  after Darcy's sister showed with a Couchsurfer from LA via N Jersey.  She paid $1000 to take photo classes here for ONE WEEK  at the Photo Institute.  Nice school..nice gallery.  Young lady who has been a Nanny for 7 years and now trying other things.   Biznaga, my favorite restaurant, lured me for a bite to eat.  I talked to Fernando the owner.  Then stopped at my bar next door in Yartareni...while it rained.  Not feeling too good today...can't do that again for another year. 

BACK IN OAXACA...JUNE 2013

       

 Marjorie, my friend, was coming along on the trip to Oaxaca to study Spanish in an on going effort to get into the heart of Mexican Culture and assist the people of the community in any way possible.  We arrived in Mexico City on the 28th of May and took a bus from the airport to Cuernavaca where Marjorie brought her children to live when they were adolescents. All of them left a year later with the ability to communicate well in Mexican and with an understanding of a culture different from the one they left and the one they returned to.

         We arrived along with Hurricane Helen or Barbara depending on their mood. It was dark with LARGE bolts of lightening and HUGE claps of thunder.   We took a taxi to the residence of neighbors and friends of Marjorie and her family over 25 years ago.  Her son was with the brother of our Host just a couple years ago in South Africa for the World's Cup.  They magically reunited there by happen stance. The daughter came down to Mexico a few years ago to attend a wedding of one of the Mexican family.  We were not to meet anyone that night.  We were at the address but no response so after a quarter of an hour and floods coming out of the sky into the streets, we decided to try and find a hotel.  

     The taxi driver couldn't see out the window and traffic was blocked and backed up at every intersection.  I helped wipe the fog of the window so the driver could see while he navigated through the water and traffic to a nearby hotel.  We were happy to get out of the rain after a whole day of travel from Phoenix.  We retired right after they opened the kitchen to feed us some ham and eggs.  

      I awoke to an empty room.  Marjorie showed up with coffee to announce she was off to the pool for a swim.   I returned to the bed and sleep. 

      When I did awake, I opened the drapes and doors to a beautiful patio and sunshine.  We were on the side of a mountain with lush green foliage around a lawn with colorful plants and flowers everywhere.  Ah...Mexico.  Marjorie was in the pool below and came up when she saw me.   She called Gerardo, her host and left a message.  We returned and found a bell to ring.  Gerardo  apologized after hearing our story and showed us to an two bedroom apartment on the second floor over him and his live in girlfriend.  He thought we were coming the next day. 

      We walked around the neighborhood while Marjorie reminisced about how things changed and the way they were back then.  It had to be a powerful experience to take home with you and not return for over 20 years.  We stopped at a local place Gerardo had recommended for lunch then returned to his home. 

      Gerardo left us the next day so we could relax.  That evening he took us to visit Laura Hutton Woolworth's estate in Oaxaca.  It was built over a 4-5 year period just after she married her 7th husband, a Vietnamese.   I think this was around 1959 or so.  It was modeled after a Japanese Temple with a Kabuki Theater, Zen Garden, beautifully landscaped terraces throughout the property with streams running through and lantern hung everywhere.  

     It was now a Hotel but separate from the Japanese grounds and integrated with them.  You would not think you were in Mexico.  We had a drink , took some photos then continued the tour through an old neighborhood were they all first met and attended school.  Gerardo drove up to a lookout in the area to show us the view of a city transformed from 200-300 thousand people to over a million in such a short time.  

      We started the following day with breakfast nearby.  Marjorie wanted to show me a restaurant they used to go that had Peacocks roaming around the grounds.  We had to see the Cortez Hotel first.  It was quite a drive.  I visited the Cathedral in February and left with the impression of a quaint historical village nestled into the valley along the sides of a Mountain.  Now I'm traveling through a major City of over a million.  We arrived about 1/2 hour after we left to a very imposing Gate with a wall that surrounded what was originally Martin Cortez's Hacienda, now converted to a Hotel. The Sha of Iran stayed there in the 60's or 70's.
     We spent an hour touring around the grounds before heading for the "Peacock" restaurant for a drink and snacks.  We retired early that night and the next day Gerardo had a taxi waiting to take the three of us to the bus station and on to Mexico City.  Gerardo came with us to assist us with the luggage in the subway to the main bus station to Oaxaca.  There we boarded a VIP bus.  I watched Mel Gibson in the Gringo, an action packed movie that took place in a Mexican prison in Juarez Mexico and the surrounding area.  We checked into the Las Mariposas B and B owned by my landlord.  
      Then Marjorie settled into her sublet and I into my country apartment.   Finally back in Oaxaca!

END OF LIFE PLANS