arriving

safely and happily after 13 hours of traveling and layovers, not terrible, just exhausted from sleepless nights before. first class was such a treat.  i sat beside the window and Gilberto (59), an executive with an international company, argentinian by birth and twenty years living in USA.  So kind and helpful with advice from his own travels throughout the world and mostly in Mexico and south america.  He actually attended me to my terminal in Dallas (a large, nice airport with above ground train that travels in a circle on the outside of the airport).  Gilberto left me with a contact in Mexico City in the event I run into any trouble and with a personal example of what it means to be considerate.  Next flight, Todd, half owner of an international insurance company, was gracious to share about his experiences in Mexico City, to where he travels every month, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  we enjoyed talking about his family especially adoption which his family has had the privilege of experiencing, too.

the aerial view of Mexico's waters is so pretty, a turquoise color that would look great in a dress:)  customs and immigration went fine and quickly; my luggage was searched twice and i was questioned regarding my purpose for bringing the toothpaste, toothbrushes and dental floss.  The female attendant was great and said "gracias."  I did fall asleep in the airport for a little while though i knew i wasn't supposed to; i was just too tired. Felt good.  woke up and caught my delayed flight to oaxaca in just the nick of time. sat beside a gentleman who has lived and worked as a landscaper in san francisco for 11 years.  he will return to his family for 6 months then return to US with renewed visa.

The mountains are everywhere and the weather was perfect when i landed in oaxaca city. after retrieving my luggage and using the atm to get pesos, I was mortified to find that my taxi fare would be more than double what i expected.  but let me explain... i had been told that i could share the fare with others travelling to my village teotitlan del valle17 miles (27km), 40 min drive. however, when i was told i was the only one from the last flight going to the village I suggested i wait for the next flight coming one hour later.  The gentlemen laughed saying that the last time they took someone to teotitlan del valle was about a week ago and if i waited i might be at the airport for several days.  so, i paid the fare and sat up front with my chauffer, Limber, who is married with one daughter.  with the windows rolled down i began to relax and felt relieved i was finally here. within 5 minutes of our drive we turned down a wide dirt road with major dips and bumps. When we continued on this road for at least a mile and didn't see any other roads that may be paved i thought to myself, "oh my , i had no idea the city was this early in its development...i'm in for a surprise"  thinking of my conversation with Rebeca, i repeated to myself: flexibility, flexibility, flexibility. BUT then, the city emerged and paved highways were there and i felt a little less duped.

upon reaching teotitlan del valle, i was physically exhausted.  having no direct communication with my host family i had not been able to alert them to my delayed flight (which then i realized at least one of the reasons why they didn't make plans to pick me up) and that was a bit unnerving.  the houses here are flat roofed some two story and some not and set within walls and gates that open into courtyards of which the living space of the house surrounds it.  hhmm this is hard to explain.  let me try this, the cement high walls are set next to the narrow cobblestone streets without alleys, only brightly painted doors (sometimes not) and opened gates, no windows facing the streets.  my host family has a  driveway that runs through a wall passing  his brother's courtyard then dead ends in front of a small potted garden with red, pink and orange flowers that are familiar to me.  There is not door, only an iron gate.  When i  passed through the gate i  found myself standing in the courtyard that is two stories high with several large weaving looms against one long wall and wet newly dyed wool yarn hanging from the ceiling with buckets beneath them to catch the dripping, dyed water. there are also several rooms directly off of the courtyard with thin doors to enclose them.  the kitchen, the room that holds the altar for the "virgin mary", and my room.  the rest of the rooms are upstairs. the floors are all tile or cement.  a wrought iron round table sits in the center with chairs and a hammock hangs from two posts near the wooden looms.  it's important to note that the ceiling covering the courtyard is made of large pieces of strong plastic material that you find in greenhouse.  This allows the sun to shine in, the rain to fall in, and the sounds of birds to dance in, all of which i adore.
 Omar, Dolores and Federico's 17 yo son, greeted me and showed me around the home.  Omar is polite and and has a calm disposition.He is going to summer school to add physics to his other subjects.  he is practicing his english and is quite good.
Janet, 26 yo daughter,has been my primary point of contact.  Her english is excellent and she speaks spanish along with zapotec, her native language.  Since she likes to practice her english and i'm trying to practice my spanish we've agreed to speak only in spanish, if possible, one day then english the next day:)
Dolores, is the mother and wife of the family.  She knows very little english, but she understands most of my spanish and seems to enjoy my quiet company.  for the last two nights, i've spent time with her just sitting in the tv room watching a spanish soap opera.  I'm looking forward to cooking with her one of these days, though she cooks very little since each member of the family is quite busy and does "their own thing" most of the time.  I heart her smile because it makes me feel so welcomed.
This morning, Janet took me to the market and showed me what kinds of food to buy for breakfasts.  aahhh, how humbling for me!!!  i was embarrassed for myself, but the merchants and Janet were patient and helpful. I  purchased nopal (cactus salad), quesillo (string cheese made here), taco dorado con pollo (fried taquito), a delicious, sweet, corn muffin, and ajo (garlic),bell peppers, bananas and melon.  I have enjoyed everything i've tasted. I'm not very sharp with the pesos yet, but worse is my language comprehension.  i can relate what i want , but i find it very difficult to understand what they are saying to me and this is frustrating.  I will keep practicing, though.  i've vowed to myself to go to the market at least every other morning in order to force myself to learn.  The women here are shorter in stature and wear pretty aprons over their clothes.  the chidren play in the streets without worries and dogs, many dogs, politely roam the village.  it seems to be very safe here.

afternoon, after my two hour nap (thank you, Lord) the family took me to oaxaca city for lunch (4:30-5:00pm):)  we ate at a seafood place. i had shrimp tostados with avocado, Janet and Omar enjoyed a shrimp cocktail:)  we traveled back through Tule, a town famous for its 2,000 yo (something like that) tree.  It's huge!

when we returned to the pueblo we visited the family's new home that is being built just outside the town.  the land has an extraordinarily beautiful view being at the foot of the mountains but at a higher elevation that most of the village.  during the rainy days, they are unable to take their vehicle there.

later, we returned to their home in the town. i invited the children to walk with me around the town, but they had things to do, so i ventured on my own.  for about an hour i walked, stepped into different shops that make and sell the famous woolen rugs teotitlan del valle is known for, and visited with different folks as they were spending the last minutes selling their wares and closing shop.  the children are so beautiful and cute.  I heard band music playing at one time and followed it right into a home where one of the rooms off of their courtyard was being used by the school children and their conductor to practice their music.  the family invited me in and i accepted.  So impressive were the children playing.  also, found a shop/restaurant where a garden grew in the center of the courtyard. very pretty.  i also found an arcade and a couple of internet cafes.

tomorrow, Federico Chavez Sosa and Janet will accompany me to the main headquarters for health clinics in this area.  there we will gain permission for me to work in the Teotitlan health clinic.  My plan is to begin Monday morning!

I apologize for the length, but alot has happened in two days.  as well, realize this blog is mainly for my children one day, so i don't want to leave out anything important to me.

Miss my loved ones and covet your prayers