We've Finally Arrived in Oaxaca, thank you Fund for Teachers!

 Thank you Fund for Teachers for believing in us and allowing us to go on this incredible trip to enhance our teaching practice!    We arrived in beautiful Oaxaca on Saturday night and met our host family Sunday morning.  They brought us to their home on the west side of the city center where we met 4 other international students staying in their home.  Our host family was very hospitable and explained various cultural traditions of Oaxaca and how to find our way around.

On Sunday afternoon, we roamed the city center and were amazed by the old world churches and the bright colonial architecture.

Our family cooked us a traditional Oaxacan meal of mole amarrillo and told us to attend the celebration and fireworks of the Sangre de Cristo church.  Boy, we did not know what we were getting ourselves into!   Words cannot describe el espectaculo that we saw that night.  We thought we were going to see regular fireworks, but these "fireworks" ended up being a 4 story tall contraption with light up flowers, religious symbols and phrases that spun and spewed fireworks in the middle of the city center with people 10 feet away. The finale was a lit up, crucified rotating Jesus shooting red flames over us with the words "Gloria de Señor Jesus." Finale part 2 was a spinning dove that spewed fire and fireworks straight into the crowd. Ms.Redding's words right before the end of the finale was, "Don't tell me that dove is going to shoot into the crowd. Oh my goodness, it is. AHHHH!!" We proceeded to put on our sunglasses (since firework bits were shooting into our eyeballs) and ran away. Oaxaca's fireworks kick 4th of July fireworks butt!  

There were also giant dancing dolls that spun around and danced in front of the church.  

By dusk, we were exhausted from walking all over the city center and rested in our new home, preparing to start our Spanish classes the next day.  We are so grateful to the Fund for Teachers for believing in us and allowing us to go on this incredible trip to enhance our teaching practice!