Oaxaca

Hi friends! I'm excited to tell you that I'll be leaving for Oaxaca, Mexico on Saturday for THREE WHOLE WEEKS! This is the first time I'll be leaving the country and the most time I've had off of work for...years. It's going to be great! For those who are interested, here's a little background on Oaxaca (which is pronounced wah-HAH-kah) 

Oaxaca is both a state and a city (much like New York) and the city of Oaxaca's full name is: Oaxaca de Juarez- referring to Benito Juarez- a native to Oaxaca, a lawyer and politician and all-around badass. 

In addition to the Monte Alban ruins- considered some of the best ruins in Mexico- Oaxaca also has a great artisan community! There's an entire museum there dedicated to textiles! I'm going to die of excitement. 

These little guys are called Alebrije (ah-ley-BRHE-hey) and although it is thought the craft originated in Mexico City, many artists within Oaxaca have prospered from the carved and brightly painted creatures. Carved traditionally of Copal wood, (a small tree native to Mexico) Alebrijes are manipulated while the wood is still wet; giving the artist more plasticity in the wood. According to my itinerary, we're going to be making some! If mine is any good, I'll definitely be showing it off.

I'm really excited to meet my host family, The Spindola family. Lety used to own (and cook in) a Oaxacan restaurant and I'm really excited to eat (and learn how to make?)some mole sauce. They also have a small parrot named Sebastian. 

I think I'm most excited for the Sierra Norte hiking trip though. I've never seen mountains up-close/in real life, so you can imagine I'm ridiculously excited. I'm trying to find other ways to communicate to you guys how EXCITED I am, but I'm so excited that I can't think of any words. 

I've scheduled a couple posts for the next three weeks, so if you check back, there should be some new art for you to look at and explore.

I'm hopinghopinghoping that instagram will be working there and if it is and you want to see some pictures, look here!