New clothes, the rest of the story...

I knew there was trouble when my downstairs neighbor met me in the courtyard when she heard the street gate close.  "I just want to warn you that Stuart is not happy right now.  The laundry man gave your clothes to someone else."  I also knew the next conversation was not going to be pleasant.  While I was at spanish class, Stuart had gone around the corner to our laundry, Hole Lavanderia (pronounce ohLAY), to pick up the clean clothes promised for today.  The owner tried to give Stuart the wrong bag of clothes, and Stuart, with no spanish, wouldn't take them, but couldn't talk to the owner about the problem.   My neighbor speaks more spanish than I do, and I thought together we could figure out what happened.  The owner was not at all happy to see us, and was almost angry that we came back to ask.  He told us his young employee had given the clothes to the wrong person, she had read the ticket number incorrectly.  When I pointed out that the clothes were obviously wrong because they are packaged in clear plastic, he sputtered some incomprehensible reply.  No apology, and no plan to recover the clothes.  He had no clue who had them!

What to do?  We don't travel with lots of clothes, so we're both down to almost what we're wearing today.  And, my favorite linen dress is in that lost bag!  After some thought, I knocked on my sweet landlady's door, and told her the story.  Her face went red with anger immediately.  She took my arm, and we marched around the corner for her to talk to el dueno.  ohboy, was he angry now!  Maria, who is a tiny woman, spoke very politely and very softly.  So softly, he had to lean forward to hear her.  He, on the other hand, almost shouted at her, and was positively nasty.  I don't speak much spanish, but I understand alot, so I followed the conversation pretty well.  "This is the third time she's been here today!".  "Yes, but she needed an answer, which you didn't give her.  What do you plan to do to recover the clothes?"  "I can't do anything!"

Maria and I walked slowly back to our apartments.  We'll go back tomorrow, maybe the person who has our clothes will return them tomorrow, she said.  Nothing appeared for four days.  The fifth day, we gave Hole Lavanderia a list of lost clothes, the prices, with concession for the age of the clothes. It came to a significant amount, mostly because Stuart had 6 pairs of Thorlo socks in that bag.

By now, Stuart and I agreed we'd never see the clothes again, and we'd never get any money.  That man has nothing to give us.  Friends who heard the story suggested he stole the clothes, and we laughed at the idea.  What would he do with my clothes?  But, we had to begin to buy a few things.  The one shirt we each had  was getting smelly!  We knew of a low-price department store we'd walked past hundreds of times, but had never been in there. We went in, and bought some t-shirts, some pants and some underwear.  Plain clothes, but it's ok.

You can guess what happened.  The sixth day, our clothes mysteriously appeared, freshly folded and bagged.  The truth was el dueno had stolen them, and was going to sell them.  Maria told us this was the third time that man had stolen clothes from people living here.  And, yes, we are using a different lavanderia  now!

So, now I have my clothes back, and some new plain t-shirts.  I cut the neck from them, bought some cheap trim and sewed it on. The turq shirt was too long, so I cut it off at the bottom, too.  The bottom curled too much, so I stitched a band on it.  And, I bought some black/white fabric at the Telas Parisina (definately NOT Paris fabrics!) for a skirt and had enough left over to make a tank top.  The black bolero and skirt were made from t-shirts I bought in the States. I cut them out at home, and stitched them up here. Thankgoodness, I hadn't finished them before the laundry scare!  So, here are a few photos of my new wardrobe, the silver lining:

Good restaurants in Oaxaca!

I've noticed the blog posts haven't been nearly as well written as some in the past, nor have I posted as often as I usually do.  That only means I'm having too much fun to spend time at the computer!  Here are a few pics of some beautifully delicious meals we've had:

A delicious salad at MexIta, an Italian restaurant at Martirez de Tacubaya 314, just south of the intersection with Abasolo.  The owner is Italian, he doesn't speak spanish, which makes our conversations pretty funny.  They make the pasta and bread daily, by hand.  We shared this meal with Joy and Rick.
  

A first course, above, I think it had carne inside the tasty wrap, with a picante salsa; below, chicken rellenos, stuffed with potatoes and carrots, the salsa is crema and veggies.  At Santo Sabor, a good comida restaurant.

This is chicken dorados, at Misael's restaurant, on the corner of Rayon y Fiallo, I think!  It's very close to Villa Maria's, and we eat there often!

 Pecan pie.  Dessert, at Paraiso  which is spanish for heaven.  And heavenly it is!  The Best desserts in the city, and good coffee, in a pretty courtyard.  In Col. Reforma

Stuart's shrimp, at La Teca.  I had  mole colorodito, but didn't take a photo!

 

Rajas, for tamales!

Gio is a new discovery for Stuart and me this year.  It's in Col. Reforma, on Eucalyptus.  Pretty, small, with about 4 tables in the back patio overlooking someone else's garden.  The chef, Miguel, is Oaxacan, but cooks in the french style.  He has one or two choices every day for comida, and when it's gone, he goes home!  Snowbird friends hosted their 50th anniversary party there, and it was very elegant.  Salad, and below, chicken and roasted potatoes.  Yummmy!

Another meal at Gio....the fruit dessert with crumbles, and the chocolate desser, and a pastel de fresat:

Another of our favorite, high-end restaurants is la Biznaga.  We usually eat there once.  The pretty central courtyard of what was apparently a Very Big Colonial House is open to the stars during the dry season.  There is a canopy they pull over during the rainy season.  The artwork is very good, as is the music.  We enjoyed Brent's last night there.  Tamales in banana leaves and ceviche.  Very good!

Every Friday and Saturday, the tianguis called the Pochote Market sets up in the courtyard of a small church by the old aqueduct, north of the periferico.  Organic foods, mostly, nicely executed artwork, good coffee and artisena mezcals, along with a few food vendors, very good street food. Last weekend, I had a to-die-for dish:  a sort of chinese pastry bundle filled with shredded veggies, heated on the comal, and served on top of a bed of greens.  With salsa.  No pic, what was I thinking?!?  But, here is a photo of the delicious little seed cakes that are available everywhere, but these were particularly tasty:

 From Tito's, on Garcia Vigil (I think!).  We'd passed this place several times, and finally went in for lunch.  Upstairs, pretty.  I ordered chicken crepes, with a really good poblano salsa.  The waiter was good enough to ask the chef out to make it.  Roast the poblanos, peel and put them in the blender with a garlic and onion.  Add some crema (nothing compares with crema in the States) and a little milk.  I made it last weekend at home, and it was tasty!  Oh, add salt, too.

Comala, on Carmenalta, is pretty jumping at night, but the comida is tranquil and very good.  70 pesos, which is very cheap!  Last week, we had this salad, and then a piece of grilled tuna and roasted potatoes with tons of garlic.  A piece of very light cake, like a sponge cake, for dessert.

Last Friday was the annual Dia de Samaritana.  The Good Samaritan Day.  All along Garcia Vigil, churches and restaurants and government agencies set up brightly colored booths, everyone dresses in their best fiesta clothes, and at noon the short church service begins.  Afterwards, the priest walks the 3 blocks with a straw brush and a comala of holy water, throwing the blessed water over everyone and everything in sight, signaling the beginning of the fiesta.  Line up early!  The fruit drinks and jamaica tea, free, go quickly.  A few pics from that fiesta:

A tour of the best restaurants in Oaxaca wouldn't be complete without a stop at Los Danzantes.  Comida Wednesday and Friday, the rest of the time you order from the menu.  It's a snowbird restaurant, which means it's a little pricey, so we eat there about one time.  It's memorable!  Below, the ceviche starter, and the roasted fish and roasted veggie main course.  Mezcal to begin, of course!

This last photo is all about how we really eat most of the time here:  on the street or at home, with food that is local and fresh.  Papayas like these grow in almost every yard or garden here.  I took this photo in Santiago Apoala last weekend.  That trip is another story!

Habitat for Humanity, Oaxaca

We thought there was no Habitat for Humanity group in Oaxaca, so we were happily surprised to step out of our courtyard one morning just in time to see a truck pass by with the HFH logo on the side.  Later that day, I googled Oaxaca HFH, and found them.  Stuart sent a note, in english, and a couple of days later received a response from Elizabeth y Raquel, obviously translated into spanish with an electronic translator.  Fortunately, my spanish has improved enough to write a simple note, and soon enough we had a date to see the job site here.

Habitat Oaxaca has a sponsor Angel from Boston, a group that gives money regularly, which is sorely needed here.  Right now, Habitat Oaxaca has 12 houses in the plans, and I think they work on about 2 houses at a time.  The 12 owners, and two paid employees, do all the work.  We met Marta, who's house is about 2 weeks from being completed.  She very proudly showed me the kitchen, 2 bedrooms, bathroom and living room.  The entire house is 7 meters by 7 meters.  Elizabeth showed us the beginning of another house, where the foundation was being dug through the sand and rocks.  The construction is concrete and block, normal construction for this part of the world. 

These two houses, and I think the other 10 in the current project, are in the barrio Santa Cruz Amilpas, which is tiny, close to the city, but off my map.  We turned off the paved street, at a bus stop, onto the dirt main street of the barrio, passed tiny houses and shops, everything covered with the dust from the dirt street.  We saw no more cars, but people walking down the hill to the bus stop.  We drove up a very steep hill, and parked to walk up a little further.  There is no way to negotiate these dirt streets in the rainy season, and I don't know how they walk in the mud.  But, the view of the valley to the east and south is spectacular!

We toured Marta's house, and saw the next one, which was close by, and then visited with Marta and an old woman who was cooking outside.  They served us beans and tortillas and coffee, and we had a visit while I asked a few more questions.  Stuart and I hope to put together a group to come back here...I'll begin to investigate the logistics of getting here/staying here, while Stuart talks to the Wilmington group about planning with Elizabeth and Raquel.  Here are a few pics....

The downhill trench is the bulkhead for the rest of the house.  I don't know where the septic tank goes, but there will be one!

 Oscar and Emilio were drawing the lines to "square" the foundation.

Oscar (in the red shirt), the job foreman, with the bricklayer.

Straightening rebar, using a hammer with a pipe handle.  It will take them at least 2 days to cut and straighten the rebar for this house.  Then, they'll begin tying the rebar, for the foundation.

It's simple construction, with the wiring buried in the cement inside plastic piles.  The windows and doors are all custom cut and set at the end.  The gas, for the cooktop, will come from a tank outside.  The water will come from a huge tank on the roof, which is normal.  Stuart came back the next week, and spent a morning tying rebar, getting an idea of how to make a simple tool to help the next time he's here!

Sunday walk about

  We went for a walk about this morning.  It was almost cold, by the time we left the apartment it was 60 degrees fahrenheit.  Of course, like the rest of the world, Mexico uses the celsius/metric system.  We have conversion charts, for people who are fahrenheit challenged.  Our destination: the train museum area.  Not necessarily the train museum, but I wanted a good look at the grafiti in the neighborhood around the old train station.

On the way, we walked past the Soledad Church.  On the quiet, Sunday morning streets, perpendicular to the plaza, the garbage trucks were lined up, 2 x 2, and they were all decorated with flowers.  Those fancy arrangements you see on the hood of the wedding cars.  And, flowers on the rear-view mirrors, and flowers on the lift-body.  Several dozen trucks, in two blocks.  Of course, I asked why the flowers and why the trucks were parked together.  The man I asked, a driver, was pleased to be asked, and told me today is the 30th anniversary of this group of trash trucks keeping Oaxaca clean.  He was proud, and I was, too.  I was proud that he understood my question and I understood his answer!

At the Soledad, the folks were getting ready for a fiesta.  The men were unloading the fireworks riggings from the back of a big truck.  Lots of mescal was being passed around, surreptitously, or course.  We'll check out this fiesta later today.  They NEVER start early.

At the railroad museum, we walked right in, no entrance fee required.  This woman, made of grasses, stood guard at the entrance The Oaxaca railroad station was opened in 1892.  People, livestock and cargo went in and out of here.  Lots of cargo, according to the pictures.

I was really interested in the modern grafiti, however, and we wandered outside.  The words in the above photo say, "The south will never die!".  Yep, true words!

I love the way the grafiti artists work with each other.  One graphic might end, and the next artist will make the first piece work with the second piece.  A sign, claiming authorship, was signed, "Tlacalocos".  Tlacalula is a nearby village; locos is spanish for crazy.  I took lots of pictures...

I particularly love the way this part is part fish and part hand, and the hand moved into yet another design (out of the photo).  There are many more paintings on the walls surrounding the stadium, el deportivo, and I hope to walk there soon.