Guide book
Phrase book
Reading material
Passport
Foreign currency (luckily, ATM was available in airport in Oaxaca; however this is not always the case. I think it was Japan where we did not go to an ATM before leaving the airport)
Credit card (not needed in Oaxaca)
Photocopy of passport (needed as collateral/ID for audio tour in museum)
Hardcopies of reservations
2 backpacks (1 carryon luggage size, 1 daypack size)
Clothing (as packed, ie excluding what is worn on plane):
- 5 shirts (mixed - 1 long sleeve t-shirt, 2 short sleeve t-shirts, 1 short sleeve button up, 1 long sleeve button up)
- Sweater
- 2 pairs of pants
- 1 pair of shorts
- 5 sets of socks and underwear
- 1 pair of long underwear / pajamas
- 1 pair of flip flops
- Windbreaker (unused in Oaxaca)
- Scarf (unused in Oaxaca)
Umbrella
Camera
Crank flashlight (unused in Oaxaca)
Lantern (unused in Oaxaca)
Alarm clock
Hat
Frisbee, ball, playing cards and/or dice
Water bottle
Sunglasses
Spare batteries
Sewing kit
Laundry soap
Laundry bags
Ziplock bags
Electrical adapter (not needed/packed for Oaxaca)
Bandaids
Advil
Cold medicine (huge!)
Diarrhea medicine
Laxative (not packed, but would be helpful for the first few days of adjusting)
Insect repellent
Contact lens stuff
Antiobiotic ointment
Alcohol sanitizer
Sunscreen
Dramamine
Personal hygiene items (comb, toothbrush, toothpaste [1 oz lasted 2 weeks], floss, shampoo, deodorant, cologne, shaving cream, razor, soap)
Anti-itch cream
Aloe (not packed for Oaxaca)
Earplugs (not used in Oaxaca)
Matches
Towel
Blanket (I actually packed 2 and used only 1)
Clothesline + clothespins (not packed, but would have been helpful)
List of important numbers/addresses
Postcards/photos of home
Paper+pen
Cell phone
Clothes compressor (would have been great)
Inflatable pillow
Luggage locks (unused in Oaxaca)
Earphones + music
GPS adapter (Holux 236 - I forgot it takes a bit of time to get a fix)
Charger for phone
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Do you have anything else besides mexican food?
So the food for me has been a highlight. I've been out only 4 times. The rest of the meals have been prepared by my family. On sunday I had tlayudas, quesadillas, and some carne asada at the market. I also had watermelon flavored agua, tejate (chocolate & corn drink), and vanilla and berry helado. That night we had tortillas and what is like a whole rotisserie chicken and some frozen (by accident I was told) jello. And I had a large can of sol which apparently is the beer of the area, but most people I see are usually drinking modelo. On monday, I had a giant breakfast. The breakfasts every morning consist of some of the following: eggs and ham, fresh fruit, yogurt, bread, tortillas, very thin oatmeal (more as a drink), hot
chocolate water, fresh orange juice, salsa, coffee. In the afternoon, I had some more chicken in salsa, while others had hamburgers. The dishes are served with some rice and beans (black beans here in the south). On tuesday, I went to finca del abuelo and had tortilla soup and crepa de flor and quesillo (110 pesos). The tortilla soup broth was quite good and the tortillas were thick. The soup is served with condiments: oaxacan queso (which is like non dried parmesan or essentially a more pressed cottage cheese), chiles, and other stuff. The crepas had yellow flowers in them, which I had also had in the quesadilla at the market on sunday. The crepas themselves were pretty good but they were covered in a boatload of cheese and cream. On wednesday, I had chile rellenos: one pork and one cheese. Holy moly! These were fantastic. Stuffed chiles dipped in batter then fried. Was very tasty served with tortillas and avocados. Then wednesday for new years we had a
small sweet tamale (containing raisins and with a small amount of red candy sauce) and a small chicken tamale and a giant tlayuda. We also had a shot of mezcal/tequila and a ponche, a mulled non alcoholic punch. On thursday, we had entomotadas and moladas (tortillas in sauces) and bunelos for a late breakfast. And for a late lunch I had a fresh trout cooked in a garlic sauce with mushrooms (95 pesos). On friday, I had a ham and cheese torta and super gigante tortas which was decent (40 pesos). On saturday, paula and yuan and I went to the 20 of november market, where there is a row of stalls each with raw steak meat thin sliced laying out and a hot charcoal bbq next to it. You order an amount of meat and onions and peppers and they grill it up and you get some tortillas and you sit in a community area and eat it. It's a crazy scene as each merchant is screaming out to attract customers and the grillman is fanning the grill and smoke is filling the
entire room ( which is not very wide - the walkway between stalls is about big enough for 3 people across ). The food was decent. Like carne asada but thinner. The meal was just an awesome experience tho. No forks, no knives. A paper mat as a plate, yet still it was civilized enough. I also found this cool little café that i've been going to, which has internet. I,'ve stopped in there a couple times and have a beer and check email. On saturday, I had a vanilla helado and a michelada, which is brought out as a cold glass with ice and a ton of chile powder in the bottom and rimmed with more chile powder and a bottle of beer. I guessed the idea is to pour the beer in the glass, which ended up holding about a third at a time. It actually was only ok. Not much beer flavor comes through with the ice and chile, probably water would work almost as well (or juice or tea). Today I went to las danzantes to try the huitlacoche, corn fungus. I wanted to
check this out once I read about it in the travel guide. Las danzantes is a fancy restaurant - wine list, silverware presented with meal, multiple courses. It was pretty dead at 4 o clock when I went. I ordered a salad which had jicama, lettuce, seeds, soaked wheat granules, and fried hibiscus flowers and also the raviolis with huitlacoche (250 pesos). The salad was much needed (there is a lot of milk products down here and I was craving something fresh and light. And I know you're not supposed to eat fresh vegetables here, but this is not some street vendor and i've noticed and as many people also say oaxacans won't eat bad food either so they are very careful with the water and contamination.) even tho I wanted the salad it was a bit of a weird mish mash (weird plating as all the ingredients were separated from each other). The raviolis were ok. The huitlacoche didn't have much taste and once again they were drenched in cheese an cream
sauce. I had a glass of the house wine which tasted watered down and had bits of cork or sediment in it. So the meal wasn't that impressive. After that I went over to chocolate mayordomo. Which i've also been to a few times to watch them grind up the chocolate and to people watch. In past times, I ordered a hot chocolate and a cold chocolate (both unfortunately made with a ton of milk - so I had to leave some behind). Today however I picked up some semi bitter chocolate (500 grams for 40 pesos). The sugar is not really ground and so the chocolate is grainy. Even though, it's semi bitter it's still sweet and tastes very much of the cinnamon they put in. I believe the cacao they use is not fermented and so is not quite the same taste as chocolate at home. I'll have to try the other flavors they have next time.
I've had a couple moles (one from class and I guess the moladas were in a mole). My next thing I want to try is more moles. Also, I walk by this hamburger cart on my way home every night and he's doing great business so i'm going to give it a try too.
Oh also they sell a lot of chapulines here. Chapulines are fried grasshoppers. I'd probably try them but one of the guidebooks said that they have been found to contain high concentrations of lead, so i'll have to suck it up and miss out on that one (darn).
chocolate water, fresh orange juice, salsa, coffee. In the afternoon, I had some more chicken in salsa, while others had hamburgers. The dishes are served with some rice and beans (black beans here in the south). On tuesday, I went to finca del abuelo and had tortilla soup and crepa de flor and quesillo (110 pesos). The tortilla soup broth was quite good and the tortillas were thick. The soup is served with condiments: oaxacan queso (which is like non dried parmesan or essentially a more pressed cottage cheese), chiles, and other stuff. The crepas had yellow flowers in them, which I had also had in the quesadilla at the market on sunday. The crepas themselves were pretty good but they were covered in a boatload of cheese and cream. On wednesday, I had chile rellenos: one pork and one cheese. Holy moly! These were fantastic. Stuffed chiles dipped in batter then fried. Was very tasty served with tortillas and avocados. Then wednesday for new years we had a
small sweet tamale (containing raisins and with a small amount of red candy sauce) and a small chicken tamale and a giant tlayuda. We also had a shot of mezcal/tequila and a ponche, a mulled non alcoholic punch. On thursday, we had entomotadas and moladas (tortillas in sauces) and bunelos for a late breakfast. And for a late lunch I had a fresh trout cooked in a garlic sauce with mushrooms (95 pesos). On friday, I had a ham and cheese torta and super gigante tortas which was decent (40 pesos). On saturday, paula and yuan and I went to the 20 of november market, where there is a row of stalls each with raw steak meat thin sliced laying out and a hot charcoal bbq next to it. You order an amount of meat and onions and peppers and they grill it up and you get some tortillas and you sit in a community area and eat it. It's a crazy scene as each merchant is screaming out to attract customers and the grillman is fanning the grill and smoke is filling the
entire room ( which is not very wide - the walkway between stalls is about big enough for 3 people across ). The food was decent. Like carne asada but thinner. The meal was just an awesome experience tho. No forks, no knives. A paper mat as a plate, yet still it was civilized enough. I also found this cool little café that i've been going to, which has internet. I,'ve stopped in there a couple times and have a beer and check email. On saturday, I had a vanilla helado and a michelada, which is brought out as a cold glass with ice and a ton of chile powder in the bottom and rimmed with more chile powder and a bottle of beer. I guessed the idea is to pour the beer in the glass, which ended up holding about a third at a time. It actually was only ok. Not much beer flavor comes through with the ice and chile, probably water would work almost as well (or juice or tea). Today I went to las danzantes to try the huitlacoche, corn fungus. I wanted to
check this out once I read about it in the travel guide. Las danzantes is a fancy restaurant - wine list, silverware presented with meal, multiple courses. It was pretty dead at 4 o clock when I went. I ordered a salad which had jicama, lettuce, seeds, soaked wheat granules, and fried hibiscus flowers and also the raviolis with huitlacoche (250 pesos). The salad was much needed (there is a lot of milk products down here and I was craving something fresh and light. And I know you're not supposed to eat fresh vegetables here, but this is not some street vendor and i've noticed and as many people also say oaxacans won't eat bad food either so they are very careful with the water and contamination.) even tho I wanted the salad it was a bit of a weird mish mash (weird plating as all the ingredients were separated from each other). The raviolis were ok. The huitlacoche didn't have much taste and once again they were drenched in cheese an cream
sauce. I had a glass of the house wine which tasted watered down and had bits of cork or sediment in it. So the meal wasn't that impressive. After that I went over to chocolate mayordomo. Which i've also been to a few times to watch them grind up the chocolate and to people watch. In past times, I ordered a hot chocolate and a cold chocolate (both unfortunately made with a ton of milk - so I had to leave some behind). Today however I picked up some semi bitter chocolate (500 grams for 40 pesos). The sugar is not really ground and so the chocolate is grainy. Even though, it's semi bitter it's still sweet and tastes very much of the cinnamon they put in. I believe the cacao they use is not fermented and so is not quite the same taste as chocolate at home. I'll have to try the other flavors they have next time.
I've had a couple moles (one from class and I guess the moladas were in a mole). My next thing I want to try is more moles. Also, I walk by this hamburger cart on my way home every night and he's doing great business so i'm going to give it a try too.
Oh also they sell a lot of chapulines here. Chapulines are fried grasshoppers. I'd probably try them but one of the guidebooks said that they have been found to contain high concentrations of lead, so i'll have to suck it up and miss out on that one (darn).
Why oaxaca
This is a very good question. I flip-flopped so many times on where I was going to go and if I was going to come here. So far, it seems like a good choice. My homestay family has been very nice to me. Their house is ok. I am sleeping on a twin bed that is small but decent. The bathroom is a little odd. The door is a metal gate (the walls are also fairly thin so it seems your business is pretty public.)
I stopped this message mid draft. I'll pick up with some of the weeks activities. The spanish classes turned out to be a nightmare as they didn't have their regular teacher for the week and they brought in a sub who had no experience teaching spanish to adults. Also there was no set curriculum from the instituto so we spent half the class on monday on one page in our 200+ page book (how to introduce yourself in spanish page which everyone should have known before attending the class) then we spent the other half on simple present tense conjugation of one verb. The next day we spent most of the class on past tense conjuagation of only one verb. It was very frustrating for a lot of students as they just wanted a simple rule to follow for the regular verbs instead of spending hours on one verb only. Fortunately, the cooking class I signed up for and my intercambio exchange student are worthwhile since it's all in spanish and there's some
good practice. By wednesday however half the class had dropped out so I decided I would move on too. I took up the next level class in the afternoon. This class is a world of difference and is providing more of the challenge that I need.
There are some great little shops and amazing temples/churches which rival those found in europe. I've done quite a bit of walking as it's common for people to be walking around and seems to be very safe. I also took a pilates class and the exercise i've been doing has kicked my ass especially since oaxaca is at altitude (~5000 ft).
I visited a couple of chocolate shops which is one of the main reasons I came to oaxaca. Yet I haven't purchased anything other than chocolate drinks which are very tasty. There are a couple of big differences between oaxacan chocolate and american chocolate. Oaxacan chocolate seems too often grind the chocolate bean whole with the husk. It appears to use a lot of sugar. The sugar and ingredients are not as finely ground and the result is gritty chocolate. The chocolate is usually ground with almonds, cinnamon, vanilla, and/or walnuts/pecans. The cacao does not appear to be fermented, so the taste should not have as much fruittiness. The sugar is not initally ground with all the other ingredients it's ground on the second pass. Chocolate mayordomo seems always to be packed. There is only one other chocolate maker nearby which is la soledad. I have to go back today or tomorrow and finally try the chocolate itself.
So overall I would say oaxaca was probably one of the better choices in mexico. There are just the right amount of tourists where they don't appear to be a major nuisance to the locals so you really can get a good flavor of local daily life while still feeling safe among the other visitors.
I stopped this message mid draft. I'll pick up with some of the weeks activities. The spanish classes turned out to be a nightmare as they didn't have their regular teacher for the week and they brought in a sub who had no experience teaching spanish to adults. Also there was no set curriculum from the instituto so we spent half the class on monday on one page in our 200+ page book (how to introduce yourself in spanish page which everyone should have known before attending the class) then we spent the other half on simple present tense conjugation of one verb. The next day we spent most of the class on past tense conjuagation of only one verb. It was very frustrating for a lot of students as they just wanted a simple rule to follow for the regular verbs instead of spending hours on one verb only. Fortunately, the cooking class I signed up for and my intercambio exchange student are worthwhile since it's all in spanish and there's some
good practice. By wednesday however half the class had dropped out so I decided I would move on too. I took up the next level class in the afternoon. This class is a world of difference and is providing more of the challenge that I need.
There are some great little shops and amazing temples/churches which rival those found in europe. I've done quite a bit of walking as it's common for people to be walking around and seems to be very safe. I also took a pilates class and the exercise i've been doing has kicked my ass especially since oaxaca is at altitude (~5000 ft).
I visited a couple of chocolate shops which is one of the main reasons I came to oaxaca. Yet I haven't purchased anything other than chocolate drinks which are very tasty. There are a couple of big differences between oaxacan chocolate and american chocolate. Oaxacan chocolate seems too often grind the chocolate bean whole with the husk. It appears to use a lot of sugar. The sugar and ingredients are not as finely ground and the result is gritty chocolate. The chocolate is usually ground with almonds, cinnamon, vanilla, and/or walnuts/pecans. The cacao does not appear to be fermented, so the taste should not have as much fruittiness. The sugar is not initally ground with all the other ingredients it's ground on the second pass. Chocolate mayordomo seems always to be packed. There is only one other chocolate maker nearby which is la soledad. I have to go back today or tomorrow and finally try the chocolate itself.
So overall I would say oaxaca was probably one of the better choices in mexico. There are just the right amount of tourists where they don't appear to be a major nuisance to the locals so you really can get a good flavor of local daily life while still feeling safe among the other visitors.
Esta bien
Right now I'm in Espanol overload! I should probably be out in the city dancing salsa and drinking cervezas, but I just need to rest. Even though, most of today was spent in a very relaxing way. My homestay family invited me to the grandmother's town today. This seemed very generous of them. They drove me down to San Pablo where the family has a farm. What a beautiful town! The grandmother was inside the house making something and the family put on a pot of Oaxacan chocolate con agua (not con leche I think - no problems so far!). This was the real deal! They gave me a big bowl and bread. I wasn't sure how to eat it. At first, I drank and ate. Then the other kids started eating by dunking the bread in and eating just the bread. I ended up drinking most of mine, because it was quite good. After a family friend showed up with his 3 wheel taxi to take the kids, we all headed for the mercado. Here we sat and ate some quesadillas, tortillas with
beans and cheese, and tortillas rolled up with fresh grilled carne (the mercado has several butchers in the back where we were seated at the tortilla merchant. Next to the butchers were charcoal pits that anyone could use to grill. Probably a good idea as the raw meat was unrefrigerated.) Interestingly, when I've been offered agua, it's usually flavored with orange or lime or melon or whatever, it's not just plain. After what I thought was the main comida of the day the father, Alan, and their neice and I strolled around the plaza. In order to fill in the gaps in conversation, he taught me some basic spanish. (Note: so far my homestay family has spoken maybe half a dozen english words and I the same amount of Spanish words). With perfect timing the mother, Paula,'s sister called me over to try Tejate (famous Oaxacan drink made of corn and cacao often stirred in a large plastic tub similar to how cousin eddy's daughter stirred the
koolaid in Vacation). It was actually quite delicious (grainy from the corn meal but the chocolate was evident). Then we went back out to the plaza where we ate spicy jicama and relaxed. There was a wedding going on at one end of the plaza and they lit off fireworks at the end of the ceremony which made more noise than anything else (maybe as a pseudo gunfire). Then the band played and the couple and wedding parade made its way out of the plaza onto the streets presumably off to the casa novia. After a while we went to go watch a soccer game in which Paula's brother was playing. Unlike a lot of soccer, this game was intense and fast paced. After the game, we headed back to the family's house. (The family actually has a house in the suburbs and the apartments in the city center. The apartments are also where they run a kitchen. I'm not sure how it all works yet - will learn more as I go I guess.) At the house Alan and I had an afternoon
cerveza (Sol cerveza - Oaxaca's choice beer). Then while Paula prepared some salsa for the chicken and tortillas for comida, I played nintendo with the children. Their favorite games were mario kart and super smash bros. Comida (lunch) was around 4:30pm, which caught me by surprise because I thought we already had comida. After comida the family and I went to a place where they make black pottery. The pottery was fashioned into the many shapes you see in Mexico: turtles, fish, ducks, and boxes, but the ceramic has a black finish on it which I take it is only made near here. From here we dropped the kids off then Paula and I headed back to the city apartment. So now I'm back here and I realize that while some things are different here like the language, there are certainly many things that cross cultures: the meal as a way to get together and the family as a home. Miss you, mi familia y novia.
beans and cheese, and tortillas rolled up with fresh grilled carne (the mercado has several butchers in the back where we were seated at the tortilla merchant. Next to the butchers were charcoal pits that anyone could use to grill. Probably a good idea as the raw meat was unrefrigerated.) Interestingly, when I've been offered agua, it's usually flavored with orange or lime or melon or whatever, it's not just plain. After what I thought was the main comida of the day the father, Alan, and their neice and I strolled around the plaza. In order to fill in the gaps in conversation, he taught me some basic spanish. (Note: so far my homestay family has spoken maybe half a dozen english words and I the same amount of Spanish words). With perfect timing the mother, Paula,'s sister called me over to try Tejate (famous Oaxacan drink made of corn and cacao often stirred in a large plastic tub similar to how cousin eddy's daughter stirred the
koolaid in Vacation). It was actually quite delicious (grainy from the corn meal but the chocolate was evident). Then we went back out to the plaza where we ate spicy jicama and relaxed. There was a wedding going on at one end of the plaza and they lit off fireworks at the end of the ceremony which made more noise than anything else (maybe as a pseudo gunfire). Then the band played and the couple and wedding parade made its way out of the plaza onto the streets presumably off to the casa novia. After a while we went to go watch a soccer game in which Paula's brother was playing. Unlike a lot of soccer, this game was intense and fast paced. After the game, we headed back to the family's house. (The family actually has a house in the suburbs and the apartments in the city center. The apartments are also where they run a kitchen. I'm not sure how it all works yet - will learn more as I go I guess.) At the house Alan and I had an afternoon
cerveza (Sol cerveza - Oaxaca's choice beer). Then while Paula prepared some salsa for the chicken and tortillas for comida, I played nintendo with the children. Their favorite games were mario kart and super smash bros. Comida (lunch) was around 4:30pm, which caught me by surprise because I thought we already had comida. After comida the family and I went to a place where they make black pottery. The pottery was fashioned into the many shapes you see in Mexico: turtles, fish, ducks, and boxes, but the ceramic has a black finish on it which I take it is only made near here. From here we dropped the kids off then Paula and I headed back to the city apartment. So now I'm back here and I realize that while some things are different here like the language, there are certainly many things that cross cultures: the meal as a way to get together and the family as a home. Miss you, mi familia y novia.
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