Oaxaca: feng shui, poinsettias, and Goth folks

I´m here! I´m here! Right at the moment, ¨here¨ means an internet spot which, like a lot of the businesses I´ve seen so far in Oaxaca, is right off the street in an open-air room. A friendly señor to my left just assisted me in figuring out how to make an @ sign, since the funky characters on this keyboard don´t seem to be the same as the ones I´m used to. (FYI- @ requires holding down Alt, 6, and 4 all at the same time.)

But this isn´t really what you came here to read, is it? One inquiring reader wanted to know, for example, what I ate for dinner last night. And I´m not afraid to tell you that my dinner was this morning at 11:15 in a cafe on the main square (though it was preceded by a blueberry pancake a la Mike Froehlich, transported from Philly). And what did I eat?

No, wait. First I have to set the scene: a beautiful square, closed off to traffic, surrounded by cafes and colonial-style old buildings. The square was filled with magnificent trees and landscaped almost entirely with poinsettias. And while I ate my tamales and guacamole (oddly, the guacamole is not made with mole sauce, but one of the tamales was), i was approached by a lot of vendors selling masks, colorful cloth, and small toothpick-like items with little animals carved on top of them.

I also had a lot of time just sitting and enjoying the absolutely amazing 75-80 degree temperature. and sunshine! oh my, oh my. i think my poor pale wintery gringo legs were in total shock after i plowed them clear of the winter accumulation of insulating hair and exposed them to the light of day!

And of COURSE i was doing some people-watching, hard core. Mostly I was observing what the locals wear as opposed to the gringos. Locals do NOT wear sunglasses, for example. This is unfortunate for me in my attempts to blend in (ha!). Many people were wearing jeans, except for the folks who were hawking wears, who seemed to wear more traditional dress and who i imagined coming into the city from out of town, but a lot of my perception is the product of my imagination at this point.

My favorite observed people today consisted of a youngish couple who were totally done up in Goth style. The man was very tall and had on almost all black, except for some very large, white, slightly pointy shoes. The woman with him had similarly molded hair and some sort of stylish Goth bag. I just wish they´d walked by slower.

I´ve hardly said anything about my new digs, which are GREAT! They´re a little on the outskirts of the central part of town. A guest house that´s run by a teacher at a local Spanish language school (Solexico). It´s the house she grew up in, and she was born in the room across from mine. Part of the house has been remodeled to accommodate guests. So I have a room with bed and little desk and a private bath. The door has a push-button lock, and the windows open right out into a courtyard. The place is really beautiful and peaceful - set off from the street by a heavy metal door. Lots of greenery. I hope to post pictures soon - once I figure out how/where to do that. Oh, I also have a little kitchen to use that I share with 2 or 3 other people.

Exploring my immediate neighborhood is my project for this afternoon. I´m amused already to see a feng shui place right around the corner from my house. I´ve seen a few integrated medicine-type places, actually. I´m hoping to find somewhere to get a massage, but maybe i should go food shopping first...

So my friends, I don´t want to wear you out on reading my blog too soon. I´m here. I´m well. I´m amusing (or embarassing) the locals with my Spanish. I´m happy to offer you all this first installment - with more to come!