I arrived in Oaxaca this afternoon and spent the rest of the day walking around town by the hotel. There is a lovely park in the city nearby that is bustling with activity. There is a large stage with musicians setting up for a performance. A dance exercise class (zumba) with about thirty or forty women dancing away. A man with microphone and PA is passionately delivering a speech or pep talk, and it seems to be political. A little girl in an immaculate white dress is with her family and they seem to be preparing for some sort of celebration, maybe a first communion?
What strikes me most is how happy everyone seems to be and how much affection seems to move between people.
Day Three:
Orientation today followed by meeting our home stays. The class material seems like it will be very interesting and I have a much clearer picture of what we will be looking at. I found a book in the library called "Civil Society: The History of an Idea". I just began paging through it and I think I have a sense of what I want to center my research around.
The homestay is very nice and the house mother is a very sweet woman. I can't help but remind myself that this woman with her nice house is part of a small minority of people in Oaxaca that aren't living a very hard life of poverty. I am very grateful for her hospitality.
I went into town today and took some pictures of wall mural art. Same pretty dark imagery.
- Michael
