Fin de Semana

So I think I mentioned the Salsa class I took on Friday?

Well I thought I could kinda move my hips but next to my expert Mexican ´Betty´I looked like an awkward 15 year old boy. I learnt the basic moves though, and apart from the fact that she made us change places when she realised that she was viewable through the gate, all was well.

I don´t usually see many buses on calle Juarez (street).. but for some reason this day half of OAxaca watched me attempt to dance Salsa, which what looked like by myself. And they ALL

looked, due to Betty´s enthusiastic stereo use.

After this I headed to the Cultural centre, former Nunery, at the famous Santo Domingo church. What a BEAUTIIFUL building! Apologies if I have written about this already... I never remember because I am always loading photos to Facebook, trying to listen to spanish lessons, and like on Friday - tryingto chat to people too... none of which I do particularly successfully.

The teacher on the online lessons is PARALEE WHITMORE, and like her name suggests, she is painfully irritating. She always says things like ¨I knooow you´ve been dyyyiinnngg to try the formal command¨ dragging all the words out. But I feel better about the trainwreck that is my SPanish learning when she´s me ¨maestra¨.

The cultural centre had a lot of cool stuff... including tonnes of items found in Monte Alban, now an arquelogical site, and old kitchen and theatre and costumes and machines... i found it funny that the Kitchen and machinery for weaving are still used today... doubt the average Mexican would find it interesting! There was an art display for the bicennential... I think kids painted them but I´m not sure. I was reading the Kids info boards in this Museum... we don´t go as far as learning the words for anicient wonders, art and history of Mexico.

After this I was passing by the Zocalo - square, as usual there was something going on......I was more interested than normal becuase it was different Indigenous dance groups... the first I saw were wearing massively-bright silk pants and dresses... I´ve noticed there is often little skill in some of the dances, but with huge frothing of the skirts and whipping them around in dramatic fashions. That was basically what the women did in this one, but the men did an impressive sword dance - even busting out the blindfolds, which the Mexican crowd goes nuts over.

In the next dance were Cowboys and Cowgirls (note: MEXICO, along with rest of North America... other note: Mexicans consider themselves North Americans... not central... anyway they originally had cowboys, or Charros, Mexico also originally had Texas which is technically was Tek=ass in pronouciation? and also New Mexico, explaining that name... and California ... explaining all the Mexican city names ..San Fran, LA; San Diego...

Where was I... the dance. The dance was an interesting new cross between Irish dancing and tap.

The next was the cutest kids dance I have ever seen. I think they were Zapatos, aka an opressed indigenous group who we watched a VIdeo on in Anthropology at Vic.

Anways, they had these dramatic costumes with alaborate headpieces that they, as 6 and 7 year olds, were all struggling. It was really cute though because all the dads were squatting beside the stage and jumping up to tighten the headgears and move them into position.

There was also a 4 year old and 5 year old in different costumes ¿horse masks§ were just pronouncing around in circles... not part of the official dance but obviously desperate to be included. It was funny because they just did about 30 minutes of the same thing over and over ¿they formed too vertical lines, would dance around the person opposite them, then the main boy would kind of skip=hop down all them and back again. While they had hand instuments too.

The lady compere thought it was coming to an end and tried to take reign of the mic but the teacher jumped up and started to tell a story and the whole thing was up and running again. There was also a cute part with two girls, one who was in an Indian costume similar to the boys and the other was a cowgirl SO CUTE ¿I m thinking she was representing the Rich Spanish, which Mexicans still dislike... they basically dance = chased each other for a while and then the indian on mock=killed the cowgirl... a bit political for a childs dance... but the weapon was only one of the horses mini=chairs......

Ít started to rain and the compere was trying to wrap it up... but the teacher was not having any of it...good on him I reckon, they had all put in a lot of time and he didnçt want the kids to be disappointed... especially because the little horses actually kind of had a dance... aka the others stayed in the vertical lines while the horses looped around them.. but the teacher was running after them with a microphone because they had rehearsed lines that he wanted everyone to hear.

The whole thing was very cute, but by the end it was only the families, the eldery and me left.. having watched these kids for over an hour ...

Extremely hungry, I headed back off to my Vege restaurant. Although this day the menu didnçt include the delicious stuffed=pear thing, I did have a very good corn soup... I never thought corn would work as a Creme... not a corn fan generally, but this soup was verrry good.

The main was lentil patties with cheese in that tomato soupy sauce which I have discovered they put with basically everything here... but it is very good. The waiter said something to me, which to my horror would be repeated, in some form of another, to me 3 other times this weekend... çWow, you sure do eat a lot for a girlÇ...

The 2nd was... Ahhh, a girl Overeating... good to see .........whhhhaaattt+...

The 3rd was ... I would bring you more bread but you have eaten the entire supply......AHHHHH

Returning to my house I purchased my first Milk in Mexico.... cartoned fake stuff. I figured it was about time I cracked into my Chocolate cornflakes .. also a first for me in Mexico... I always figured, why have choc cornflakes when there are CocoPops... plus I do not like normal cornflakes. In saying that though, I also do not like normal rice crispies...

Does chocolate make everything better§§ ¿insert Q mark... mexican keyboards do not show the sign that is printed on the keys....this is the reason for my overuse´of fullstops.

Oh I brought up Milk for a reason, that being it is now gone. For some reason all the people in the residence do not feel the need to buy food and drinks but are constantly taking mine.. my juices and now my milks do not last. I find this mostly frustrating because they do not ask, by Saturday morning it had been opened and half=depleated... especially when I have given the directions to the VERY close supermarket and even made plans to take people there... but when the weekend roles around this is not a fun trip for most.

For those of you who are wondering what this is all about, I am similar to Joey of Friends... YOU DONT TOUCH JOEYS FOODª

Conversation Saturday morning ¿after I got my two juices and milk and tied them in a bag+...

Ahhhh Maria ... Is this your milk¿

Yes.

I need some for my cereal ¿interesting concept... buying cereal but no milk?

Okay.

Can I use some.

Are you going to buy more¿

No.

Well, I need this milk for the week.

Ahh well, I dont know where the supermarket is... Dialogue in my head ´this is one who made plans with me to go last sat, then flitted off and was all Why didnt you take me to the Supermarket.... Ah, I went, you werent here ... Side note : She was at a farm .

Okay.

Ahhh welll yes, I suppose I will get some....

Good. Coz I need some.

Just thought i would fill this out because frustratingly, my loading photos have been stuck on çOne minute leftÇ for 15 minutes.

No, wow... I havençt mentioned Monte Alban...once again Ruins are not cool as a 2nd hand story but all I will say is that they are beautiful ruins, up on a hill where you cn see the whole of Monte Alban. I avoided the tour tourist trap and found the 2 dollar bus.

Coming back I thought I missed my bus because I reset my time on my clock instead of resetting my alarm... but that story is too long. Just realise that it was another Maria Misadventure.

My concept of time is SO bad, that I let myself believe that one and a half hours had passed in 15 minutes.... A puffing tourist running through the otherwise peaceful Monte Alban was a mood killer for some I am sure.

On Sunday, aka Y=day, I tripped into Town to meet my Japanese friend Emi, who left today.

She, unlike me, never changed to Mexican time so she has lunch at midday ¿which on a Sunday, is earlier than most >Mexicans breakfast?

I eat breakfast before school, then have my main meal around 3ish.. now... and just snack like crazy. However because midday is breakfast the resturants still were doing breakfast menus...something I had not laid my eyes on since 8am starts at McDonalds and when the fam visited Flapjacks ¿RIP? for my mums Canadian Pancakes... what a stereotype RA.

Anyways, I went for the Oaxacan Eggs and Beans... wow. Who knew eggs and beans could be so good ¿and hot chocolates so awful?... Once again they bust out that same tomate puree... and it was brill with my eggs=scramblyomlette and beans negro.... and tortillas.

The adds I saw in Australia for Breakfast burritos at Mcds or Bk... probably both.. actually put me OFF food.. how could that be good

Well, I had take back all what I thought about breakfast burritos coz these beans and eggs and tomato puree with tortillas is the best breakfast meal I have ever had .. NB = I have yet to try Blueberry Pancakes... a dream of mine for the last 3 years

They must come up with the fast food recipes in Mexico where, by the sounds of things, there are more Mexicans than men.

On to the important story. We were walking past the market when a man walked into me quite hard, grabbing at my hip. When I turned around and he hadnçt turned back to

apologise ¿perdon, perdon+ is commun... usually with both parties apologising ... I was on to him.

LADRON

aka

ROBBER.

I tried to warn EMi to keep an eye out for him, but our relationship consists of me practising my Spanish on her and her saying çSi, si, to all that I say.... I knew she didnçt know what I meant, and insisted we head into the market.

Problem. We tunred the corner and entered the market. After backtracking for Emi, I was staring, evily, the same guy right in the face. He had long, black ¿SUPRISE?, dirty hair and although I did not catch his footwear, it is very possible there wasnçt any. He was in lots of layers of black and grey.

I was watching over my back the whole time as Emi scuttled along, oblivious. I was scared he would run down another lane and pop up in front of me... but no, he wasnçt a clever stalker, and I saw him multiple times more before the final, when I spun on my heal to catch him jumping into a lane...I thought this guy would have backed off by my 5th evil glaredown ¿showing more confidence than I felt?, but this was the last straw so I grabbed Emi and hauled out of there.
She kept wanting to go back in, but she was obviously the easy target... being tiny and having bags and a camera hanging off her... that and, being completely unaware. She is one of those who thinks bad people do not exsist.

I now seemed bad in her eyes I think.. this guy made me sooo peeved. there are lots of really poor people here, but they are out proactively doing something about it.

I do not give money to those just sitting with cups, but most have products and instruments, they are helping themselves so they deserve help. Mexicans, or at least Oaxacans, are constantly supporting buskers and such, despite being poor themselves.
I think thatçs why they snack so much too, because they buy iceblocks from the men with trolleys and chips from the women with baskets on their heads ¿they make chips from scratch with potatos,.. then add hot sauce and lemon juice when you buy them?... and women with Churros.. my fave donughts too. These people are honest workers