Oaxaca and Huatulco

The past week was mostly vacation. We had Wednesday to Friday off, as well as the weekend. Three of the teachers had been planning a vacation to the Oaxaca coast since before I arrived, and I was glad to go with them. I've been excited for a while now to swim in the Pacific for the first time and just relax on a beach, and I wasn't disappointed.
We left Wednesday morning at about seven, and so we mostly just slept through the three hour busride to Oaxaca. We checked into a hotel and explored a little, admiring the Spanish architecture from the outside, since most of the building required signing up for a tour which are only offered on certain days. If you are going to Oaxaca to see the buildings, I guess you just have to stay a long time or do a lot of research. We visited the zocalo as well, which is very much the same as every other zocalo.
In the end we spent most of our time in Oaxaca at the market, which is interesting to explore and inexpensive, and trying different restaurants, which were also not very spendy for how good and how much the food was. It was better to go a little distance from the zocalo to find fairly priced restaurants, but you don't have to go far. It isn't very hard to find restaurants that offer the traditional Oaxacan foods, including chocolate and grasshoppers.
The next day we took our eight hour busride on winding roads through some beautiful, mountainous country to Huatulco. Most of the ride had amazing views of the country, but there is a risk of motion sickness. I'm usually not affected by it, but even I felt it a little on this ride.

Mexico City

I had my first vacation two weeks ago, but I've procrastinated writing about it until now. We went to Mexico City for a three-day weekend, since we had Friday off. I had actually gone the week before, as well, to see off the last head teacher. While I was there the first time we ran into a guy named Emilio who was really helpful. He looks for tourists to show around so that he can practice his English. He doesn't charge anything for it, but does appreciate tips. He know the area very well and can take you to museums, ruins, restaurants, or even to where you can have some mariachis play you a song. He even helps you barter for souvenirs. I'll add his contact info later.
On my second trip the teachers and I went to probably the most usual places. We walked throught the National Palace, the Palacio de Belles Artes, and the ruins of Templo Mayor. We also took a bus out to Teotihuacan and climbed the Temple of the Sun. One thing we did that might not be so common was climb to the top of the Latinoamerica tower to look out over the city. We stayed up there until the sun set, then went to watch a movie at a nearby theater. A lot of the movies are in English with Spanish subtitles.
We probably could have gotten a lot more done, but we were all feeling very tired the whole time, and one of the teachers needed to be back Saturday night, so we all left with her. I'm not a big fan of really huge cities, and I think that one weekend in Mexico City was perfect for seeing the historical sights.

Someplace Warm This Time

I decided more travelling was in order this summer. I signed up for the Mexico program with ILP, so once again I am abroad and helping teach kids English. This time I am a head teacher, there are only four girls in my group, and it is really warm all the time. I am still the only guy, and I'm still having a great time.
Our school is in a little city called Tehuacan in the state of Puebla. It is a quaint, conservative little place, but still has most of the modern conveniences you could ask for. The people are very friendly when you know them. Strangers seem to be a little scared by me, most likely because I am white and a foot taller than anyone else. I love how decent the people here are. Despite the heat, the women dress much more modestly than those of Ukraine and Russia. Families are very important her, and include aunts, uncles, cousins, and even the white teachers. I have been able to attend parties with a few different families, and all the members are very close. The people here are also incredibly generous. If you tell them that you like something they have or are wearing, they might just give it to you without a second thought.
The food here is delicious. I was especting things to be too spicy for me, like the food some of my friends back home eat to show off, and that induces vomiting to any average person. It turns out that I can handle a lot more spice than most Mexicans, though. I get warnings all the time that things are hot, but I don't feel it much. I haven't run into anything that was distastefully spicy. The best part is that it's really cheap.
I've been able to do some travelling already, but I think I'll write about that in a different post.