Julianna
¡Saludos!
Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Teotitlán del Valle passed in a flash; hard to believe it’s over already! We arrived on Monday afternoon and met with our hosts for the week. I had the pleasure of staying with Patrona, the woman Nina and I had cooked with several weeks ago, and her family. She, her husband Juan, and her son David live in a cement house with an open-air kitchen around a dirt patio. Juan’s mother, Doña Juliana lives across the street and was at the house most of the time. She delighted in our shared name and would greet me every time she saw me with a cheery “¡Buenos días, Señorita Julianita!”. A puppy named Cebollín (“Chive”) and about eight hens round out the family.
The first night we went to view the peregrinación (“pilgrimage” or procession) of holy images through the town. Nearly life-size statues of Jesús and María Magdalena were paraded through the streets with stops every few blocks at tapete (woven rug)-hung tents. About 250 people would pause to pray, kiss the robes of the statues and offer flowers and money as a band played solemnly. At every stop the inhabitants of the adjoining streets would bring out hundreds of tamales and cups of juice to hand out to the pilgrims.
The next day I accompanied Patrona to the market and helped her prepare comida. Most of the inhabitants of the community are Zapotec (one of Oaxaca’s 16 indigenous groups) and still speak the language. Patrona greeted nearly everyone we passed with “Zac Xtili” (“Good morning”). I thought learning Spanish was hard enough, but Zapotec, with its subtle tonality, is a whole other challenge. Later that day we went to visit La Cuevita, a shrine where people go every New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day to pray and make petitions for the next year. It is also where they hold the transition of power for the municipal authorities. Many people build small shrines or casitas out of pebbles on the hillside around the site; these act as physical representations of their prayers. It was a beautiful, tranquil spot.
When I arrived back home I found that three of my new chicken friends were on their way to becoming our chicken dinner. Patrona and her sister had slaughtered the chickens in preparation for Juan’s birthday party and were plucking and cleaning them in the kitchen. As a long-time (now lapsed) vegetarian, this was an important, though unpleasant, experience.
On el Día de Broma (April Fools’ Day), we awoke at 5am to climb El Picacho, a small mountain right outside the community. It was an invigorating way to the start the morning and afforded us beautiful views of the town and surrounding mountains. We all returned home for much-needed naps and showers. Patrona’s house doesn’t have running water, so I had a bucket bath with water heated on the stove.
In the evening Cara, Elyse, Bobby, and I had participated in a temazcal. These adobe steam baths are filled with herbs and are used for traditional healing. Ours lasted about an hour, after which we were wrapped in blankets and given steaming cups of chamomile tea. Elyse (whose homestay mother is Patrona’s sister) and I went back to my house for cake and some chicken soup. The birthday party continued well into the night but we turned in early, tired out by our very full day.
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| Sopa de frijoles blancos (White bean soup) |
On Thursday we went to church to see the “representación de la última cena” (reenactment of the Last Supper). The “apostles,” (local men adorned with laurel wreaths) sat at a table presided over by an image of Jesús. They ate a three-course meal (wine and bread, pozole and tortillas, watermelon) as a band played and the priest read selected bits of scripture.
Friday began early with a procession of images of María and José (Mary and Joseph) that eventually met with the image of Jesús in the middle of town. After the sermon, we headed home to pack and say goodbye to our host families. It was quite the week! I experienced a way of life very different from mine and came away very humbled.
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Cara
What a breath of fresh air!
During my stay in Teotitlan, I had the opportunity to prepare and take part in a temazcal- a traditional steam bath that is practiced by the curanderas (healers) in the community. It is a common practice in villages that is therapeutic for muscle pain, respiratory issues, and serves as spirtirual place for relaxation. There is a strong connection between the body and nature when treating illness and distress.
On Wednesday, the day of the temazcal, I accompanied Pastora, my host-mother, and her nephew Santiago, to a stream to collect medicinal herbs. Pastora had been practicing temazcales for 8 years, but her knowledge of medicinal herbs and traditional medicine goes back to her childhood. She had explained to me that when one is in nature, surrounded by earth, water, and light, their body immediately relaxes and their soul is free from burden. Being out in the sunlight, hearing the stream running, and collecting herbs was definitely calming and a great way to reconnect with nature.
It was amazing how connected these people are with their land. Pastora could point out all the different types of herbs that we needed to collect- Chamizmo, Piru, and Gatcho del Todo. Each one had a medicinal benefit-respiratory, digestive, stress-relieving, and had a distinct fresh smell.
Separate from the preparing the temazcal, I helped prepare for Friday's religious procession. An imagen of Jesus is brought throughout the village to the church with a band and people trailing behind. In the morning, all the neighbors sweep, hose, and line the streets with flowers before the procession passes their street. I helped Pastora collect flowers from the trees around her house and separated the petals into baskets. It was so beautiful to see how the people celebrate. People carried bouquets of azucenas (lillies) and palm leaves.
My time in Teotitlan was worthwhile. Being in the valley was relaxing and nature rich. Picking herbs, flowers, and enjoying the outdoors made me realize the strong connection people have to their land. It not only provides their food and water, but also the grand sources of festivity and cultural practice.
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Heather
My week in Teotitlán was extremely relaxing. Cara and I both
had the same host-mother, Pastora. She was insistent that we take the time to
rest whenever we needed to. Often, after we had eaten and walked around the
town for a short while in the morning, we would go back to our room to read and
take a nap. I had so much more time to think, separated from the stress of
homework and my busy lifestyle in the city. It gave me a chance to reflect on
my experience so far and think about my personal growth. I spent a lot of time
learning what it means to live la vida
tranquila (the calm life) of the pueblo.
Cara and I were very lucky to have “luxury” accommodations
in comparison to some of our other Teotitlán friends. We had toilet seats, a shower, and an enclosed kitchen that was finished off with blue and yellow
sunflower tiles and had appliances such as a blender (not to mention no animals wandering around).
Our family was decently well-off, and I suspect it’s partly from all of the
different types of work being done by members of the household and partly from
the amount of people doing it. About 7 people live in the house in various
rooms; two couples who each had a child, our host mother Pastora, and Doña Sofia,
the family matriarch. Doña Sofia would go to the market every morning and sell
various gelatins, although sometimes she would also go to the family’s 6
hectare farm and harvest fruits and vegetables to bring home. She and Pastora
also practice traditional medicine, another source of income. Additionally, the
property itself is the home to the women’s weaving cooperative that we visited
earlier in the semester, so there was also money being made from the sale of
their woven products. This doesn’t account for the work that the men do or for when students come to stay.
All in all, we were able to see firsthand what relative wealth
in the pueblos looks like. Although I had heard that some of the other students were eating the same meals each day, or just one type of meal multiple
times a day, we enjoyed Western delicacies like yogurt, granola, toast, and Nutella
many mornings and evenings. We did also have more traditional cuisine like
enchiladas, beans, and soups, but the fresh fruits with yogurt was a welcome
difference that made us feel good inside and out. 
As anyone who knows me knows by now, I spent most of my free
time (when I wasn’t eating or sleeping, of course) walking around the town
looking at the woven products vendors were selling. Each of them ardently
beckoned me to enter their cubicle beneath the tent that had been set up for
Semana Santa, some of which I could refuse and others not. They were very good
salespeople, always willing to negotiate the price, talk about the quality of
the product, and show me as many as they had. If I left without buying
anything, the next vendor would already have similar items out in the hopes of
landing a sale. I ended up with tons of treasures to bring home!
This was a really interesting experience and was a great
experience before the end of the trip!
_________________________________________________________________________________Elyse
My
village stay week in Teotitlán was filled with tlayudas, children, and lots of time
in a hammock. I lived for five days with an amazing family consisting of my
host mom Zenaida, her sister Asunción, her brother-in-law Andrés, and their
children Milka age 9 and the twins, Camilla and Jason age 3. The family made
most of their living by selling tlayudas at the market every morning. I had the
pleasure of taking part in the making and selling of these delicious tlayudas.
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| Camilla |
The
first morning I was awoken by the sound of my name for the week, Elisa, before
the sun had risen. We all piled into a truck and went to a Molino where we
ground the maize that would be used to make the tlayudas. Asuncion then spent
hours every morning hopping around in the outdoor kitchen pressing the masa
into perfectly large tlayudas and cooking them on a copal. We then would head
to the market with bags of tlayudas on our heads to sell them. It was really
exciting to go through the entire process start to finish and refreshing to see
where my food was coming from.
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| The cocina where tlayudas were made |
After
buying our food from the market we would usually head home and begin preparing
comida. When there wasn’t much for me to do I usually spent my time playing
with the twins. Camilla and I were especially close and she often climbed into
the hammock with me where we would lay for an hour together, sometimes watching TV
through the doorway.
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| Milka with one of the five puppies the family had |
I unfortunately didn't have a camera with me on this trip so I borrowed Bobby's for a day to capture a few of the moments I shared with this amazing family. I wish I had more but my experience was an unforgettable one so I have no doubt I'll remember it for years to come.
Overall my time in Teotitlan was a very humbling one and a great excuse to get out of the city during a very hectic
semana santa week!
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