So I arrived in Oaxaca, and found a motel. The motel was pretty nice, but I found out later, on the edge of town, away from everything. Also, the room was pink inside, and the TV had only 4 channels, one of which was 24 hour porn, and another I think was 24 hour some-weird-movie-about-an-evil-clown.
The next day, I drove into town, found a market, and an old church, not too much more. I had heard this was a really cool town, but I wasn't especially impressed. I saw a sign for some ruins, so after a nice big lunch (featuring Pina Coladas) I rode 6 or 7 miles up a mountain to view the mayan (?) ruins of Monte Alban. It was awesome, a big stone city right on top of a mountain. There were huge pyramids, and ball courts and little stone steps going up and down into the stone buildings, or even into the middle of the ground in a large courtyard into tunnels that ran all over the place. I climbed partway into one of these tunnels, having no light, and I heard someone and started yelling through the tunnel "is someone there?" and I got a response that sounded British. It turned out to be a guy about my age with an older lady, they were Australian.
Afterwards, I went to the cafeteria in the museum and had a couple of beers. The terrace was gorgeous it overlooked the entire city from WAY up high, the beers were inexpensive and cold, just a great place. On my way back into town, I accidentally took the wrong road, and came out on the other end of town, and while trying to find my way back to my hotel room (from which I was planning on departing the next morning for Guatamala or something) I happened upon the zocalo for Oaxaca. Every town in Mexico has a "zocalo" or town square (something I found out later). And the one in Oaxaca is simply beautiful. I walked around and had coffee and dinner and looked at the trees and old architecture and happy people and took pictures and listened to the bands that play in the Gazebo. I was SO glad I found this place, the town took on a whole new flair. I saw the Austrailian couple from Monte Alban, and sat and had a coffee with them, it turns out they were a mother and son (I was wondering). She was into some sort of wholistic healing or lifestyle or something and was there for a lecture and he was a student of acupuncture there for pleasure. They were both very nice yet very very odd. A little later I met a couple guys from New Mexico, a little younger than me. They gave me a shot of Mezcal, not bad. While I was talking to them, an older guy sitting behind us chimed in, he was from Vermont (the zocalo is about 20% tourists from all over the world) He told me about a local spanish school for Gringos such as myself. Later I had a strange experience. I was sitting by a tree just watching people and i kind of froze. I mean, I didn't move an inch for like half an hour. I just sat there staring at nothing, cause I had no desire to move.
The next day, I went into town to try to find the spanish school, I about never found it, but at last I did. The school offered a week of classes, 4 hours a day for $100.00. I took it, I also signed up to live with a "family" for that week. Don't remember the rest of the day, I guess I just kind of screwed off.
So, a day or two later, I left my little room, and went to live with my "family" which turned out to be a little old lady who had 3 or 4 rooms filled with other students. (though mexicans, permanent students) She was very nice, but she talked very fast, even when I asked her to slow down. She fixed me lunch, it was ok I guess, don't remember what it was, but everything she ever made me was just ok. It was a pretty nice little room. One of the evenings I was there, I was invited by this lady to the front yard for a "cooking school" the language school I was attending had arranged a traditional mexican cooking class for a bunch of jr high kids from Massachussetts. It was very interesting, starting from cocoa beans, they made chocolate, and a hot chocolate type drink. Using cactus flowers they made a traditional mexican drink, something like lemonade called uh, I don't remember, jamaica or something. Starting with corn, we got to make tortillas (stone ground). etc... The food wasn't all that great, but it was ok, and very interesting.
The next day I started class, it looked like it was just gonna be me in the class, but right after we started these two New Zealand girls came in. Stephanie (Estefania) and Rachel (Raquel). Class was ok, but it was really quite a bit below my level. I had had two years of spanish in college, and had been studying before I left for a month or two. The two girls knew not a word between them. But the class helped me anyway.
The second day of class, I was in the lobby paying my bills and such and the director asked me if I would like to have an inter-cambio with a mexican. She said she knew a Mexican girl who was interested in learning English, so we could practice together. I agreed. Right about then, another girl came in and overheard and said her sister was trying to learn English as well, so I set up another date. I spent the next several days either in class or practicing Spanish with these two girls and/or their sisters. My Spanish improved considerably and I got to see all the stuff around town that I would probably never have found on my own.
Oaxaca is a beautiful town, there is something going on in the zocalo every night. Orchestras, marimba bands, religious processions, it is a lot of fun. There are also very nice shops and restaurants, and just enough white people so that if I wanted conversation, I could always find someone sitting alone at one of the sidewalk cafes that line the zocalo and sit down and talk with them. (every non-mexican I met could speak english) I made a lot of short term friends.
Sunday, about 10 days after arriving in Oaxaca, I left for Guatamala.
Then I went through Guatamala, and El Salvador, then Back through Mexico, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and back to Oklahoma.
The End
Okay, when I have more time I will fill out some of the flat spots in the story.