Hard to imagine that only a year ago I was first introduced to Oaxaca. Some graduating seniors asked if I would be willing to write a letter of recommendation to some colleges they were applying to. I had to laugh a little when the question stated, "How long have you known this person?" Um. Less than a year? But it was a really intense few months. I lived with them. . . That just sounded wrong. Yes. Only a year, and not even a full one at that. 9 months of that year. What strong connections you make with people when you live life 24/7 with them. The community here is strong and we see each other pretty much every day. That's more than I see my friends at home. Or even my other friends in general. After seeing my good friend A over the Christmas break we were thinking, it has been a year and a half since I last saw you. Wow.
The month of January brought a freshman at Whitworth college to our little community and it was a great addition. Mostly because it was fresh blood. A new face, a new person to hang out with. Now things are back to "normal" if that's what you call this.
The city fair came to Mitla this past weekend. It's quite the event. The bring in rides, booths, food, and the big attraction, the Castillo. Trying to top the party from previous years there is a massive firework display the first night of the fair. It was incredible this year. A massive castle of fireworks with moving parts. Then, when that had burned up they shot off the big fireworks like you see at 4th of July. Only we were about 100 yards from where they were shooting them. A couple times I thought for sure they would explode in our faces. If you have never been uber close to firework display, it should definitely go on your list of things to do before you die. Or on your list of ways to die. :)
The rides are . . . interesting. I was told never to trust something that can be taken apart but hey, you only live once right? These rides are about the closest thing you can get to unsafe. And we did the worst one and felt horrible afterwards. It is a wheel that fits about 18 people along the bottom. Then it proceeds to spin, so you are doing flips for about 5 minutes. At times it would stop and hang you upside down for a few seconds then keep going. Did we get our 25 pesos worth? Yes. There was so much blood going in my head when I got off that it felt funny for the rest of the night. We ended up back at our house and played a card game until 2am . . .
My barbershop quartet is coming along. I just wish retention of what we do each day would stick with them better. They seem to forget from Tuesday to Thursday so it seems like we practice the same things over and over. :) They'll get it if they practice and listen, I know. There are also 2 girls, one plays flute and the other viola, who are working on some trio parts. I will play cello with them, yippee! It'll be nice to actually play something than just mess around like I tend to do when I pull it out.
Yes, I am sorry about only using initials for people's names. It can be slightly annoying. I just feel like it gives a little more privacy to the people I am talking and sharing stories about. So, make up a name that fits that letter, or if you know their name, you can fill in the blank. :)
The weekend is here. Youth Group event tomorrow. :)
I love life, but I hate that fair and those rides!
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