Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Dia: 12


el 12 de junio

I need to do a little back-tracking. On Saturday we went sightseeing with Beatriz ( The summer program director) from ProWorld. First, we saw El Tule, which is the widest tree in the world. This tree is over 2000 years old, so it's not the oldest, or the tallest, but it is the widest. El Tule is actually the weeds that are found in swamps and ditches, they're green with a weird brown thing at the top. The tree is called El Tule because it needs a lot of water, makes sense, right? Next, we went to an artisan place to understand how the Mexican rugs are made. We learned that the rugs are dyed from natural sources. For example, Mexicans use the interesting white stuff that grows off of cactuses. This white stuff looks like mold or something but its actually an insect. The white things can be smashed and then it turns into a dark purple paste. They put this paste on a cement block and use a rolling pin-like object over it. In the end, the paste is a dust. They have about 20 different colors that are made this way. Next, we went to Mitla. Mitla means place of the dead or underworld. We saw a lot of ruins and we even went in one of the tombs. The tomb that we went in was shaped like a cross and hot as heck. The whole thing was very interesting..being in a place that used to be filled with dead people. Another fact that was intriguing about Mitla is that half of the site was not discovered until the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City. This 8.0 magnitude shifted some of the pyramids and churches in Mitla, revealing tombs. Mitla was the home of religion for the Zapotec culture. The most interesting part about Mitla is the architecture and detail of the buildings and pyramids. They are designed with mosaics that were made with small, polished stone pieces, and they are unlike any other architectural site in Mexico . After Mitla, we embarked on the last part of our journey, which was to a Mescal factor. Mescal is a very popular drink in Oaxaca that is tied to their culture. We were able to see how this drink (which is similar to tequila because it comes from blue agave as well, but is made using a different processes) is made. Then, at the factory, we enjoyed a typical Oaxacan lunch (or "comida" as they call it). This lunch consisted of 4 courses and was delicious: we had cucumber water, vegetable soup, a Oaxacan cheese quesadilla, mole with beef, fresh frijoles, and platanos. The crazy part is, this is a normal size lunch in Mexico, Scary, I know. 

All of the yarn colors, and what they're made from.


Practica: 
Today I spent my morning at the office, from 9AM-1PM. I enjoyed being at the office with Irma and two of the other guys (Angel and ??), they make me feel at home and welcomed. They helped me plan my beach trip for the weekend and I got invited to Irma's wedding, which is on June 23rd. I am really excited about being invited to Irma's wedding because I am missing Marta's, my host sister, on July 6th. This will be an awesome cultural even to experience. Anyway, I had to meet Irma at 4:20pm in the Zocalo so we could go to a group a little south of the city. Previously, when I went to the other meetings, I observed. This time was different because Irma let me collect the loans and do the paperwork. This group had 12 members and all of them but two had loans of $2000 pesos. The other two had $3000 loans. The payments to Fuentes were of $140 (for the $2000 peso loans) and then they each were adding $20 pesos to their savings or "ahorra." From collecting the payments and doing the paperwork, I learned that the loans are to be paid back in 16 weeks, Fuentes charges 14% over that period, and when a member does not attend a meeting, they are fined $5 pesos. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.