!Estoy Aqui!

Today is Sunday and I am in Puerto Escondido. It is HOT! I arrived yesterday evening and met my host family: La familia Corzo-There are four in this family Daniel, father from USA, Estela, mother who keeps everyone on their toes, Christian, a grown son who is a competitive surfer and Naum, about 12 who is friendly and outgoing. All are surfers-as Puerto Escondido has great surfing. I had dinner and breakfast with them and enjoyed both. The photo shows Estela and two of her friends. We are waiting to watch the sunset. There is still plenty I do not know and will learn in the next few weeks. I have a room with a bath that is in a cottage adjacent to the house and it is quite comfortable. I do not plan on surfing, but do plan on some boogie boarding and body surfing.

Earlier this afternoon I met with Soledad, the coordinator of language school and home stays and two other program participants. Soledad showed us bus stops that we will need to use to visit the various clinics. We will be going to clinics in outlying villages, changing weekly. She also oriented us to the town. The taxis, called collectivos, cost less than 50 cents and go by frequently. Because the town is situated along the coast and backs up to some mountains, most things go north south and it is easy to be oriented to getting from place to place.

Tomorrow, we meet with Dra. Isabel (first name) at 7 am to discuss how our clinical experiences will go forward. This evening, two other participants in the program are arriving.

Yesterday, I took the bus from Oaxaca to here. I took the first class bus, a lot because I had heard about the amazing luxury involved, and so it took me 11 hours. To get from Oaxaca to here, one must go down nearly a mile in altitude. The big fancy bus does not go the more direct route due to the curves and turns. The bus was luxurious, air conditioned, clean, with 11 hours of movies. There were at least three with a dragon theme. The landscape was really breathtakingly beautiful and the windows tinted and not allowing me to take any photos. First it was dry with trees and huge cacti. There were lots of agave plants being grown to become mescal liquor . Then, it became more forested. Trees with big leaves and the occasional tree with lots of gorgeous flowers. Finally, along the coast, besides being hilly, there were areas where cattle were grazing or where cultivation was happening. I did not see a dominant crop. I was surprised at how much of this very hilly territory was unpopulated and seemed very wild.

Friday, I spent the morning in Monte Alban. This is an ancient Zapotec ruin which was abandoned long before the Europeans arrived. Bill reminded me that it was featured on the cover of the junoir high Spanish text we both had: Entender y Hablar. There were Big pyramids with steps, a ball court, impressive stone carving. It was build on top of a mountain, which overlooks modern day Oaxaca and the designers flattened the top of that mountain to create their ceremonial city. I was struck by the similarities between Monte Alban and Cahokia Mounds, near Collinsville, IL. There are huge differences, of course, and it is likely that the Zapotec culture was more developed that the pre Mississppian culture of Cahokia, but the layout of the town and the ceremonial or religious meaning applied to the pyramids or mounds were striking.

In the afternoon, I went to a home that offers tours of it´s cochineal cultivation business. Cochineal is a ruby red dye made from the dried carcasses of little insects that grow on the leaves of cactus. They have to be tended and cultivated by people in order to collect an adequate amount for dye. The whole process is fascinating and has been done in Oaxaca for thousands of years.

And now it starts: to Clinic tomorrow and it is still hot.