¡En Oaxaca!

¡Hola a todos! I'm in Oaxaca right now, sitting on the porch of my friends/second parents, Teri and Allan.

My flight from Hermosillo to Puebla went well--it was actually kind of funny, as I've never been on a national carrier before and their security video was half instruction, half telenovela. But they give you snacks (beat that American carriers!) and it was a pleasant trip all around. Even though my solicitous row mate did ask the inevitable do I have a boyfriend in Mexico? question. But he was nice enough and helpful, and our flight was smooth and uneventful. Coolest thing--as we were flying into the airport at Puebla we passed right by this archaeological site on a hilltop.

Anyway the whole journey went smoothly. The only hiccup was having to buy a whole new bus ticket for the trip to Oaxaca, but that was more the fault of Ticketbus than anything else. Thus the bus I wanted to take was full and I had to take the next one, which wasn't leaving until 6pm! Dang! As it turns out though, there is an earlier bus that leaves at 5, but its 50 pesos more--ADO's luxary line, ADO GL. So I thought why not, paid for the ticket and was on my way.

The bus ride was like any bus ride--uneventful. And since it was a first-class bus we didn't get stopped by the military. Yeah! I stayed awake for most of it and enjoyed the beautiful landscapes as they rolled by. I saw some pretty sweet vistas and valleys, with a gorgeous backdrop of mountains and clouds. Amazing stuff.

Side thought: Funny how when most people think of Mexico, they think of tropical beach, the Cancun stereotype. Or Tijuana, dusty dirty polluted Mexican border craziness. For me, when I think of Mexico, I think of those dramatic views where you go through a mountain pass and suddenly the landscape spreads out in front of you and its this grand sweeping valley thats green and brown and white, sometimes red in parts where the erosion is bad. And you see milpas, churches, and sometimes isolated wattle-and-daub houses with donkeys and horses scattered about. And you see two children riding through the fields on horses, bareback and without bridles. And you see what's left of church as its walls crumble, abandoned and forgotten on some hill. And you see the trappings of modern life imposed on a landscape that just seems ancient. And its all so incredible, so vast and yet so pinched and rugged, and your mind stretches to take in it all.

That's Mexico to me.

Anyway, I'm here safe and sound and I have a bed for the night. Cheers!

p.s. I didnt have time to download them yet, but I promise to put up pictures tomorrow to show you all what I mean by frickin cool landscape!

Solicito a INM...quiero quedarme aqui!

Sorry for the long silence since the last post. Not too much exciting stuff going on, though I've been recently occupied with changing my immigration status from "turista" to non-immigrant student, basically an FM-3 that's a little easier to obtain than other immigration documents. Getting this thing is going to require jumping through a few hoops--a lot of redundant copying, tiny little passport photos, carta personal to say that yes, I do want to work and live and stay here in Mexico. Also puts me out about $300, but its well worth it. Not only do I have the coverage when I'm doing research or working on a field project, but I no longer have to deal with 6 month tourist visas that sometimes overlap, and it only takes $50 to get the sucker renewed each year.

Thankfully in this process I have Berta,la mujer extraordinaire, to help me out. She's going to help me with getting the formal letter from the Foundation's Yucundaa project and the letter proving that I have a place of residence here. So, the only big hoop to jump through is getting an apostille (Thanks Hague convention) for my master's degree to prove its legit. This is proving to be slightly difficult although not daunting--thankfully I have some people who are willing to take care of it, just not at the time I need them to do so. So I'm hunting my brother down, trying to get in touch with him to ask him the biggest favor in the world.

Travis, if you are out there....call me yah?

Ha ha I'm back!

Okay, so a long time in coming. But I've found out that I'm just not interested in blogging unless I'm abroad. Honestly, when I'm stateside, my life is pretty uninteresting. Well, its interesting to me of course--I mean, it is my life, and its a fairly fun one--but detailing the minutia of my days as a graduate student just doesn't seem like something people would be clamoring to read. Eh, I mean would you want to read a litany of items like this:

Today, sent some emails, went to class, read, talked to friends, went home, made dinner, studied more. Rinse, repeat.

I mean really? Seriously? Ugh, its whole reason why I don't Twitter. My thoughts are not always that interesting, not enough to deserve constant updating. Anyway, so why the post then if I am so anti-daily life blogging? Well, hurrah! I'm off to Mexico again--and not just for a vacation or brief stay but another 3 months! That's right--I'm at Houston airport right now, awaiting the second leg of my journey.

This trip should be interesting--very different in many ways from last year. But that will be another post, because they're starting the boarding process right now. I'll be sure to post tomorrow about what the situation is and how I ended up back in Mexico.

What? Hail...in Méxoco?

Yes indeed folks. We got hail last Wednesday, the day before May. What started out as a rainstorm, with some gota gordas (fat drops), quickly turned into a torrential downpour. Water was starting to come under Meghan's door and the wind was fairly feirce and blowing it in all directions. Suddenly I felt something hard hit me in the leg--ow!

I looked down and saw a little ball of ice. Then more. Quickly I realized that hail was coming down as well. And did it ever! It must have hailed for some 30 minutes. We had piles of it at our doors and building up in the corners of our courtyard--which by that time had turned into a lake. Meghan and I took as many pictures as could stand to take while getting pelted--we just couldn't believe what our eyes were seeing.

The next morning a lot of the hail had yet to melt. On the drive to Matátlan I saw unmelted piles of it everywhere, along with a dense fog. Funny enough, it had rained only lightly in Matátlan y sin granizo (and without hail). What a wild storm that was--apparently something that only happens every three years or so.

Updates and exciting news!

Okay, so some of you know and most of you don't, but the past year I've spent stressed out undergoing the whole applying to grad school process--which is a bitch and a half but well worth it if I ever aspire to be more than a shovel bum for the rest of my life. Well, I somehow lucked into being offered admission at the four programs I was interested in--I know, I can't quite believe it myself!

Anyway, I made a decision recently and accepted the offer to go to the University of Arizona, for a myriad of reasons including a) its a good program; b) Takeshi Inomata; c) my Grandpa is only a half-hour away and my best friend lives in Tucson, goes to UA and is giving me an awesome place to live; and d) money! I am so excited about starting school again--and I still can't quite believe that I actually did it.

On top of that, I recently found out this week that I have been awarded the Field Museum Anthropology Alliance 2008 summer internship--and they're granting me the full amount I requested! Yes! This means that a lot of the necessary stuff I do down here--travel, food (gotta eat!), laundry and of course, precious precious internet--will be covered by the monies from the internship. Which also means, more money for personal stuff--hello trajes and rebosos galore and mezcal!--and for when I get home to Chicago broke with no job. Hurrah! Three cheers for moi.

A time-honored tradition...

...of men peeing in the streets. Serious, fly down dick out in broad daylight, early morning, as the sun sets. Whenever. I have never seen so many men peeing in my life...and I lived with a guy for 5 years. Mexican men seem to have no compunction about letting it rip and drip in front of everyone.

The funniest incident occured when I was walking to Gary and Linda's to go to the field this one morning. This borracho (drunk) was leaning against the lamppost and slurred "¿Güero, adónde vas güero?" (Non-indio, where are you going?). See, at the time I was hunched over, wearing a sports-bra that squashed my boobs, workshirt and a bandana to cover my head--so in the dark concievably I could totally be taken for a joven. And honestly I didn't mind, because as he repeated his question I could hear the unmistakable sounds of him letting loose and peeing right against the lamppost. So I answered in my best guy-voice "A trabajar" (to work) and kept walking with my head down.

But seriously...hombres, lo mantienen en los pantelones, ¿por favor?

The first few days...

Sincere apologies. I meant to blog yesterday but when we finished at the lab but when I went to the internet cafe it appeared that I was at the tender mercies of either a fiesta or siesta, whichever one was closing down shops and other places in general at 5:00pm on Sunday.

But I promised a general accounting of my last few days and so I will deliver. I'm just going to cover Saturday and Sunday briefly as my first day in the field, IMHO, deserves its own post. Anyway, so Saturday...well I woke up at 6:30am after getting only 4 hours of sleep. Friends didn't end up leaving til 2 in the morning but hey, it was a great party and I had an excellent time. It was good to see people before I left for three months so I wasn't about to regret that. I made it to the airport in time and after saying good-bye to Verguei I began my journey, still feeling some of the effects from the night before (so not relating those details ;) ).

Getting through customs in Mexico City was'nt too bad considering I was carrying fungicide in my checked luggage. The woman in Ciudauna didn't even ask me my purpose for being in the country and automatically granted me a 6-month visa--sweet! It did take a while however to locate my gate for the Oaxaca flight--which turned out to be not the gate the man at the Mexicana desk told me! After getting lunch in some random restaurant I was smart enough to look at the departure screens and locate the real gate for my flight. It was there that I met Meg, the artifact illustrator this field season. We didn't really talk much but I think its more her character than anything else, as over the past two days we've found a comfortable level of relating, though I do most of the talking.

The flight to Oaxaca didnt take long and we landed pretty shortly after taking off. In Oaxaca we had to give our declaration forms and have our baggage checked and even though I had clearly marked that I was carrying hazardous material with me nobody bothered to check or even to care. Which is great in the end-I didn't have to lie or use the letter the Field Museum gave me. Gary and Linda picked us up from the airport and then we drove to Mitla, where they showed us the two houses we could be living in--one was where the lab was located and the other was where the kitchen was located. We of course picked the house with the kitchen. After dinner Meg and I went to the internet cafe and thats where the last post was born.

Sunday we woke up early to be at the lab at 8:00am. Gary and Linda showed us around and went over a few procedures. As their car was making funny noises (something to do with the aire accondicionar) we went into the next town over Tlacolula to see a mechanic. Meg and I were let go to check out the Sunday market or tianguis (which I think is a Mixtec word) which was fairly large as we walked for a half hour before needing to turn around and still only covered a small distance. When we got back we had an hour lunch, then returned to the lab to do some work, which was fun as it mostly involves me tracing lines in Adobe illustrator.

Well, that's it for now...more to come of course but I still have a lot to do email-wise. I'll be posting about my first (and perhaps the second as well) day in the field. For a little taste...here's a photo of some flowers we can see from our courtyard. Also, a quick shout-out to Brooke, I will email you back tomorrow I'm just running out of time!

Gearing up, almost ready to go.

So in the original plan for the day I was going to blog a bit here and there, keep a tally on the myriad of feelings, thoughts and emotions I've been feeling throughout packing and preparing for the big trip. A sort of live-blog account of my various ramblings and scramblings around my apartment. Instead it's almost 11:00 and I'm in my mom's basement tapping away on my brother's computer, wiped out and a little tipsy on a a glass and a half of wine.

Oops. Oh well...my day was most likely not interesting enough to justify minute-by-minute updates but I must say that it has been quite a unique and exciting day--really, how often does one get to pack for a 3-month stint in another country? And not just sight-seeing and staying in hotels doing the tourist thing but getting hot, sweaty and dusty poking around a rocky, bug and thorny plant-infested hill? Not enough, imho.

It all really started last night when I was vacuuming the front rooms in preparation for the party tomorrow (Friday) when mom came in and informed my that brother was at that very moment sitting in the garage in the car I was counting on using tomorrow to schlep myself up to the far north side and schlep all my bags and gear back down. Suffice to say that this was a bit of a S.N.A.F.U. in the full military sense--mom and I spent the next few hours figuring out what to do. After setting up plans A and B, and settling on E, an angel came in on a cloud of champagne and clove cigarettes smoke and offered the use of her car. Thank you Jill! And mom as well, for pulling all the strings. --blows kisses-- And Al as well, for offering me the 7:30 slot when I needed it!

Anyways, after getting little sleep I woke up early this morning, made coffe, got myself and other paraphernalia together and headed over to Jill's. Her roommate Gavin gave me the keys off I went in what was affectionately referred to as "Blue Cloud"--a big ol' hunk of Grand Marquee love that apparently doesn't work in "inclement weather" i.e. a quarter of an inch of snow. Of course, it was my luck that it was supposed to snow today--and it did. Thanks Chicago!

Once at my apartment I set about locating my archaeology tools bestowed by my grandfather, himself an archaeologist. His gift included a Marshalltown trowel--the Cadillac of trowels--two measuring sticks, some bamboo pick tools which work great in sandy/soft soil and around delicate artifacts such as human remains, and a kick-ass 70s engineer compass. Unfortunately we had packed the box with all the supplies in a box unknown somewhere in the basement. Thankfully, Verguei remembered that we had packed it in a small box. Combining his powers of memory and my powers of deduction I was able to locate it on the first try, in a small box labled "stuff".

Once the precious archaeology gear had been located it was time to pack up everything else. Initially, I had envisioned taking my camping backpack, my bookbag and my yellow purse only. But once the camping backpack became stuffed with clothes and I still had a myriad of things scattered about my feet it quickly dawned on me that my original packing strategy had woefully underestimated the shear amount of stuff I had accumulated in preparation for a 3-month trip. On top of that, somethings had been left back at my mom's house. Darn. I made do by getting most everything together then threw everything that didn't quite have a place yet into a duffel bag. There. Problem solved--when I got back to my mom's of course.

In between packing I played my all-time favorite computer game Civilization 4 and watched awful TV, ate and napped and played with the cats. All the while looking out the window and fretting that the snow would stick to the ground and we'd have five inches and I wouldn't be able to get Jill's car out and then I'd have to take our car and then Verguei wouldn't have a way...blah blah blah. But, some god out there must be feeling charitable to me because though it snowed quite fiercely throughout the day the snow never stuck to the ground but melted instantly. Hurrah! I was a bit worried as the day worn on and cooled, but thankfully the concrete was so heated from continuous traffic--I suppose--that it was simply too warm.

Now my Thursday is over, and Friday is fast approaching. I have about 35 hours left till I fly to Mexico. It's hitting my slowly...I think when I pack my toothbrush away on Saturday morning it will all finally sink in--ya know, cause that's always the last thing one packs before a trip.

Ha-HAH! Validation suckers!

Okay, so a not so serious blog post here.

My ex-boss, under whom I slaved for all of two months before moving into a much much better position elsewhere in the organization, was heading to the men's bathroom when he saw me in the hall and, to my amazement, called out my name. After catching up with me, he asked "Isn't your position changing or aren't you flapping your wings and flying away somewhere?" (Or at least, that's what I recall...I know there was something about flying and wings....)

So then I had the pleasure of informing him that I will be working in Mexico on an archaeological dig for the Field Museum(!). I also mentioned that I'll be back for the summer and then in August I leave again for graduate school. He congratulated me and kept mentioning how exciting it all sounds. I certainly felt validated at that moment, as I quickly recalled how I had felt sitting in his office nearly two years ago in the initial interview, and telling him how I planned to return to graduate school in that amount of time.

It was sort of like "Ha-HAH sir! See, I told you I was going to do it and I did! I've stuck to my plan and now I am going back to school in the time-frame originally proposed!" It also just made me proud of myself, that I actually did what I said I would, and I didn't fall into that trap that everyone assumes is inevitable (once you leave school, you won't go back yadda yadda....)

Bikini, Monokini...Tankini? Er....

The days are counting down. 8 days left of work, 12 days left altogether. Still marshalling my forces together...er, still quite a lot of shopping to do. My mission currently is to locate and purchase a more modest swimsuit then the one I own at the moment, which--while cute and utterly sexy--is very not appropriate for small-town conservative Mexico. On a beach accustomed to tourists with a male companion at my side--completely different story. In that situation I would be fine (and it is a totally sexy bikini). But as a single girl whose swimsuit will most likely see the light of day at more local places--such as the previously mentioned Hierva el Agua--something a little less revealing will be called for.

At first I figured I would just shop for a one-piece at American Apparel, which was were I originally picked up my skankini...but modesty is, as Vergie pointed out, a word that AA couldn't find in the dictionary with a 10-person search committee. Additionally, one-pieces tend to irritate that senstive juncture where the thighs meet the pubic area because of the whole shoulder tug thing. And they make me feel like a grandma. Don't ask why.

So it looks like I will be following the advice of my BFF from high school, Drea, and shop for what they call a "Tankini". Tankinis (oh if only I could have been the fly on the wall at the meeting where they came up with that one!) is basically a tank-top one can swim in. Its nice because I will have that whole modesty thing going on but its still a two-piece. Sigh. Tar-jay, here I come! Hopefully they will have something that is a) a solid color, b) doesn't have a bunch of spangles or gadgets or hoo-has attached to it, and c) no padded cups. For Chrissake's, I know my girls are small but nothing is worse than wet padded cups--it's just that more obvious that one is a member of the Itty Bitty Titty Committee.

Wish me luck! I hate swimsuit shopping more than anything in the world....

Wait...you're going to Mexico?

So the last post before reconstruction for the site began is from July 2006. The next post after that is, as can be observed, in March 2008. And suddenly, in the post below, I mention that I am going to Mexico. Oh, and the banner indicates something about that as well. So I guess a little backstory is in order.

In the past year 2007 I began working on applications for graduate schools, as when I finished the MAPSS program at the University of Chicago I made a promise to myself that I would only be on "break" for two years with the goal of getting back into school after that time period. Feeling somewhat of a lack when it came to my CV in terms of archaeology-related activites, I decided that I needed to remedy my situation and in turn make myself a more attractive candidate to the graduate schools. This meant reaching out to professors--which didn't work so well--and to local museums...er...museum, namely the Field Museum of Natural History.

After contacting the head guy--Jonathon Haas--about opportunities for graduate-level students, I emailed Dr. Gary Feinman at Haas' suggestion. In the email I only asked what opportunities, if any, he had for people like me. I wasn't really expecting much--perhaps hanging out in a lab of sorts catelouging materials. Imagine my surprise then, when he wrote back saying "We need people in the field" and would I be interested (uh...hell yes!) Suffice to say that I squiggled and screamed and jumped around in excitement when I read his email.

Well, after much discussion via email (he and his wife/co-archaeologist Linda were in China), we meet on December 12. There wasn't even a question of whether or not I would be going down there with them to the field--they had immediately launched into what I would be doing down there and what I could expect. The past three months then, have been spent preparing for this trip and applying to graduate schools.

So where will I be working? In the most awesome state in Mexico, Oaxaca! If you search the archives on this site, you can see posts from March 2006 when the ex and I were there last. I will be working on a Classic-era Zapotec hill-top site (try to say that 3 times fast)--specifically at the top of the hill where the elites lived. We're hoping for some exciting discoveries this season, some of which I may or may not be able to share here, depending upon the senstivity of what we're looking at.

I will be down there for 3 months, leaving the US on March 29 and returning June 25. This will be my second 3-month stint in Oaxaca, the first was through a study-abroad program back in 2004, when I was an idealistic young third-year in love. Sigh. Anyway, check back on this blog often for posts about the exciting time I'll be having down there.

Getting ready, letting go....

The trip to Mexico is rapidly approaching. Yesterday went shopping with the mom to Target for a few items. Ended up spending some real dough, but I figure it is stuff I need and hey, I do get paid tomorrow. The sports bra--an essential when one is working hard in the heat--and the tote bag for my watercolor art supplies were what did me in. Oh well....such is life.

Looking forward to the trip more and more--picturing myself at Hierva del Agua, a beautiful spring site and petrified waterfall only a half hour or so from where I'll be staying in San Pablo Villa de Mitla, Oaxaca. The town is more famously known for the archaeological site of Mitla itself, which is a must-see if you ever find yourself in that part of Mexico.

I also look forward to losing myself in the work, and starting over. This past Monday my boyfriend and I parted ways...or to be more precise, he parted ways with me. I am still sorting myself out over this...but hurt, anger and sadness aside this IS for the best. Who knows what the future holds? All I can say though, is "Yeah Mexico!"


Hierva el Agua

This picture shamelessly taken off the net. When I actually go there I will be posting some very nice pictures.

Something borrowed, something blue....

This is some exciting news on the Mayan front. The archaeologist I am working with in Oaxaca, Dr. Gary Feinman, and another researcher have figured out the secret behind the mysterious Mayan Blue. This special pigment has long puzzeled scientists due to its unique properties among plant-based paints. As Dr. Feinman explains:

"One of the things that’s always been distinctive about Maya Blue is how durable and steadfast a color it is, which is unusual compared to many natural pigments, which fade a lot through time,"

Mayan blue was used in many sacred rituals, decorating everything from ceramic pottery to human beings destined for sacrifice. Apparently, when they first dredged the Sacred Cenote at Chichén Itzá in 1904, they found a 14-foot thick layer of blue residue at the bottom.