I'M HERE!

Emma having coffee on the roof of our hostel

Our hostel in Oaxaca

The second floor of the hostel

After a long day of traveling, I am in Oaxaca! I met up with fellow Unitarian Universalist and vegetarian Maddy Phillips, who is from Seattle, in Houston for the last leg of our flight. Once on the ground in Mexico, we successfully talked the customs agents into granting us the 180 day visas (el máximo), and got a taxi to our hostel. I am already in love with Oaxaca. Even through the darkness, the bright colors of the colonial buildings looked like a scene from a movie (or a postcard). Our hostel—Don Mario—is run by the sweetest woman, who explained in very slow Spanish that we must not flush toilet paper down the toilet and that breakfast will be at 9. I understood everything she said perfectly, and was a bit annoyed with her slow pace, so apparently my Spanish is much better than I thought! All of the rooms look out over the courtyard, and I would guess that it is about 65 degrees outside (hasta la vista, Wisconsin winter!) Maddy and I met then Emma Landau, from Cornell, who got here on Friday. Emma, already sick and sunburned, was eager to go to bed, but we all have plans to explore the city tomorrow before our program begins tomorrow night! We’re staying at the hostel for the next week of orientation, and it seems like the perfect place to settle in and get acquainted with la idea de vivir bien.