Our Time In Benito Juarez and Ocotlan

The past few days have been very busy as well as exciting. This past weekend we spent two days in a small mountain town called Benito Juarez. The ride up to the town was interesting as it was a thirty minute drive on a dirt road up steep mountains with no guardrails. The town itself was very beautiful and had an amazing view of the city below, but it was at least 15 degrees colder than Oaxaca city and there was less oxygen to breath so walking long distances was somehwat difficult. The first day in Benito Juarez was spent resting but the second day we took a hike to a zipline. The hike was long and hard but it was worth it once we reached the zipline. The zipline was about a quarter of a mile long and was about eleven thousund feet above sea level. All of us went on the zipline (minus Ms. Garcia and Mrs. Neale) and each of us had an awesome time!! After the zipline the group ( minus me, Kayla, and Ms Neale) contined on the hike to the top of the tallest mountain. From what I heard, it was quite a hike but the view from the top was worth it. After Benito Juarez we traveled to Ocotlan where we would all be staying in one house. On Monday we were up early, ready to teach English and art projects to the fifth graders of Escuela Morelos. Monday afternoon, we visited a Dominican church and the attached museum which was an ex-convent;the art in the museum was very beautiful. Today after working at the school again and having lunch, we visited the home of a very famous Oaxacan wood carver. When we reached his home he demonstrated the tools and supplies he needed to create his carvings as well as showed us some of his previous works. The carvings ranged from small frogs, lizards, and bears, to much larger carvings of saints, centuars, and skeletons. Once he finishes carving his piece his family memebres (predominantly women) paint the peices in extrodanary and vibrant colors. After the demonstration we got a chance to paint our own carvings which had been provded to us. After finishing our carvings we had a chance to buy some of the already finished carvings. We are looking foward to working with the kids for the rest of the week and completing our time in Oaxaca.