Arts & Sciences: Botany of Oaxaca (Week One)

This week marked the beginning of our Oaxacan botany course with our professor, Michael Sundue, an expert on plants. We learned all about the different parts of plants, and the two types of flowers (monocots and dicots) and how to tell them apart. We went on several scavenger hunts throughout the city of Oaxaca to find examples of different flowers, fruits, seeds, fibers, etc. The photo to the right is a variety of sweet potato and is a root. The course consists of one three-hour lecture in the morning and one three-hour lab in the afternoon every weekday. This coming week will bring an adventure starting in the mountainous village of Capulalpam and ending several hours to the northeast examining plants that exist in different climates and elevations.

Although we had an intense work load this week, it did not stop people from enjoying one of the busiest times of year in Oaxaca, Semana Santa, or Easter Week! Unlike most people's Easters back home, Semana Santa is a weeklong celebration from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Thousands of tourists came to visit the city during this week, which made it very enjoyable. There were new people to meet and activities ranging from baseball games to parades (like the one on the left). We also had a group meeting on Thursday night at Mary Lou's house to check in and see how everyone was feeling about the trip winding down. Emotions ranged from "I will do anything to stay in Oaxaca longer" to "I'm counting down the days till April 15th". Though no one is wishing away our last few weeks, people are definitely excited to be returning home soon!

Some of us took the opportunity to attend one of the Oaxaca Guerreros games and for a little more than a dollar we got to see some professional baseball (right). Another popular activity was a huge parade that went all over the city on Good Friday. As a city full of Catholics, the parade was more of a mourning funeral procession as that was the day Jesus was crucified. As the weekend approached a small group of girls returned to Puerto Escondido, where most of us went during our break, for some fun in the sun and ocean. The rest of the group that stayed in the city enjoyed the usual activities like going out to dinner, getting work down at a cafe, walking the stairs up to the Guelaguetza, and going to bars with friends.

With some new acquired knowledge of plants, flowers, fruits, and fibers, we are looking forward to our weeklong trip in the woods. Warning to the families and parents: no Internet for this group from Monday to Monday this week, so we're not just ignoring you don't worry!

Besos y Abrazos, 
Kathleen y Brittany

Final Week of Music Class!

Makin' instruments in the Children's Library

On Sunday, after a day of rest from our adventure in Juchitán, we joined Edgar Serralde in the Biblioteca Infantil to make a variety of pre-hispanic instruments. We made drums, buzzers, and whirly-doodle noisemakers, but our favorite by far were the clay whistles. The drums were made by stretching animal hide over the rim of a clay pot and lashing it to a wicker ring affixed to the bottom of the pot. The drums were by far the most complex instruments to construct. The buzzers and the whirly-doodle noisemakers, on the other hand, were much simpler to make. The whirly-doodle noisemakers were comprised of a string and a piece of wood, and the buzzers were made using a small sheet of metal and a short length of elastic. Finally, we were provided with two lumps of clay and given the freedom to shape our whistles into any form we desired. The instruments that we made fell into three categories: vibrofonos (noise through vibration, such as the buzzer), membranofonos (noise through membranes, such as the drum), and aerofonos (noise through air, such as the whistle).

Elena demonstrating the whirly-doodle noisemaker

The instruments we made, minus the whistle, which still needs to be fired

The next day, we gathered at a dance studio in CEDART for a jam session using our drums and flutes we made in Juchitán. We learned multiple forms of rhythms, from "va-ma-nos Jua-ni-to" to "chu Jua-ni-to". We took turns playing bass drums, smaller drums with a timbre more reminiscent of a tenor instrument, and turtle shells. Everyone played their hearts out, especially our professor Sergio, who is a master of the flute. This was our last formal music class before our final lunch at Sergio's house.

Comida at Sergio's

On Thursday, we all traveled via taxi to Sergio's marvelous homestead, located in San Felipe del Agua. The taxi ride was hot and sweaty, so our first course of action upon arrival was CANNONBALL! right into the cool, refreshing water of his pool. After a lovely amount of splish-splashing, we were ushered over to the comida table laden with frijoles, tostadas, radishes, lettuce, and queso fresco. Yummo. We were pleasantly surprised by the arrival of Victor Robless, a troubadour who was our fantastic guide in Juchitán. Sergio's wife presented us with savory pozole, and we spent many hours jovially conversing and enjoying the company of wonderful friends, family, and pets. After comida, we hung out on the lawn, played games in the pool, and performed acrobatics on the jungle gym. We concluded the afternoon and the music class by presenting Victor and Sergio with cards thanking them for sharing their knowledge of music with us and for making the class a wonderful experience.

Happy Semana Santa!
Reed & Patrick