Spanish Magic in Oaxaca

The escuela, the school, Spanish Magic.

I love the outside classroom for my spanish class, at Spanish Magic school. I'm studying in class four hours a day, and another 2 or 3 hours at home.  The teacher is very good.  Rosi is well prepared, has very good practice hand-outs, and has the patience of Job!  After taking classes in Wilmington with Karen R. several years ago (another great teacher), the information is beginning to sink in.  Verb conjugation is beginning to make sense, even the irregular verbs.  Now, the challenge is to remember so many verbs.  Rosi's motto:  don't worry, be happy!  She stresses not memorization, but practice.  I confess that the articles are giving me a fit, but I'm beginning to get a grasp on them, too.  Now I know how my students at CFLC feel!  This afternoon, I had a real conversation with a woman on the bus, when I got on the wrong bus.  I asked a question that she actually understood, and I completely understood her response.  What a sense of confidence that gave me, with such a childish conversation!  Reading signs is good practice, too.  I never leave the house without my little dictionary!

I have a 15 block walk to class each morning.  It's cold, about 55 degrees, and I've worked up a little sweat by the time I arrive, walking fast because I'm afraid I'm going to be late.  By the time break comes along, all the other students and I are taking off jackets and scarves, and by the time we leave for the day, it's warm.  The walk is nice, there is neither much pedestrian nor car traffic at that time of day (8:30).  The walk home is a battle, between the school kids, the cars and buses, and adults walking arm-in-arm on the narrow sidewalks.

Finishing class at 1pm puts us closer to Mexican time for meals.  Most people eat the big meal of the day between 2 and 4, and a light supper.  Stuart and I have eaten in a couple of old favorites and a new favorite so far.  We really like Sabor Antique, on the corner of Doblado and La Noria.  The comida corrida (meal of the day) is very good, and less than $4US. We had a choice of 2 soups, and 2 main courses.  It includes a pitcher of fruit water, tortillas and a dessert.  Yesterday, I had chicken consome:  chicken broth with a little rice and a chicken foot in it.  Yep, a chicken foot, ankle included.  I suspect that chicken foot, left untouched in my bowl, went back in the cook pot.  For the main course I chose a poblana guisado: poblana pepper (no heat) stuffed with a stew of beef and vegetables.  It was served with nopale/tomato/onion (cooked) and carrots and squash.  Stuart ordered castillo y mole: beef short ribs in a mole (prounouced MO-lay) de guaje.  Not a chile!  A bean pod, very common here. 

Oaxaca is known as the land of Seven Moles, but in truth, there are as many moles as there are kitchens.  Mole can be made from almost any vegetable, with any combination of nuts/chiles/spices as you can imagine.  The meat, if any is served, is cooked in what we gringos would call a very bland way, mostly boiled.  The difference is that the water is flavored with a few spices such as oregano and garlic.  The meat is a minor player on the plate, letting the moles and salsas take the show.

This weekend, I'm going to make some stock from chicken feet.  I see piles of them in the mercado.  I'll try to get a photo...  now, it's time to hit the books!