For our first week in Oaxaca we are acting more like tourists and really getting comfortable with the city and the culture. We spent most of our time in this classroom listening to presentations and getting to know each other more. When not in class we would wonder around the city and and check out the local tourist sites.
This is the Catholic temple, Santo Domingo. I love going to foreign countries and seeing the amazing architecture in there churches. Its hard to find a church this pretty in the United States. I Couldn't believe the detail and work that was put into each wall of the church.
On Tuesday we had a presentation on the cultural foods from Mexico and Oaxaca specifically. One of the local favorites are actually flavored grasshoppers called chapulines, which we of course ate. They were crunchy and sour and I could only handle eating one haha. Beyond that they also had moldy corn and cooked larva. Don't worry, it wasn't all terrible. They also had some local cactus fruit, papayas, and local cocoa beans for chocolate, all of which were pretty good.
The next portion consists of solely Monte Alban (picture at the top of the blog page), one of the coolest places in Mexico. Monte Alban is full of Zapotec pyramids and the ruins from their city. This place is so amazing and the culture is very interesting. I made sure to take a million pictures, but I could only select a few to post here because of the room limitations.
This is an ancient civilization where they worshiped there gods and the Guide even told us that they would make heart offerings to the gods by breaking the last rib of the dead and then reaching up their chest and taking out their hearts.
The trees down below were said to be sacred and have medical healing powers. It is said that if you had a life-threatening illness or problem, then all you had to do was hug one of the trees and express your issue. Then, after 8 days, if the tree was dead it meant that you were healed.
The center pyramid was the temple and they did most of their worshiping their. Out of respect, they told us that the people were never allowed to turn their backs to the temple as they walked up the pyramid stairs. Therefore, the people, and us as well, would zig-zag up the stairs so only our sides faced the temple and not our backs.
Here is one of the Zapotec sports arenas. The Guide told us that when the community was debating going to war they would play a sport similar to soccer. One team would be war and the other team would be peace. Then, whoever won the game was the decision the elder would choose.
Here is a picture of the birthing stones and Paul and I imitating them. These stones were supposed to help the women in labor with the birthing process. Don't worry, they weren't graphic, they just presented women in awkward positions. I guess birth wasn't easy back then either haha.
Here is my two roommates at the top of the the tallest pyramid. The view was amazing and I have many more pictures to show everyone when I get back.
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