Although I still have three full days in Oaxaca, I'm already starting to feel the blues from leaving this place for awhile. I'd love to return in November, but it's too early to make plans. Here are a few of the things I will miss:
- The uncanny way of running into people I know (and enjoy) time and time again--as if I were in a small village, not a huge city
- Speaking Spanish with everyone from vendors to the many people here I consider friends
- The absolutely fresh and delicious fruit and rich coffee!
- The wandering musicians in the Zocalo area
- Walking the stone sidewalks and cobble stone streets for miles each day
- The smell of roasting (or toasting?) coffee as I pass several of the coffee shops in the downtown area
- Shopping!!!
- The always visible contrast between the old and the new--(by "old" I mean pre-colonial and colonial structures--as in very old!)
- The cool, fresh air in the morning, and after a quick shower or heavy rain (actually it's raining hard as I write this, our first steady rain since I arrived here on the 5th.)
- The religious celebrations and cultural processions (with music and dancing) which occur in the streets at frequent intervals
- The amazing artisans of Oaxaca and the surrounding villages
- Looking out at the mist on the surrounding mountains every morning after I wake up
I do love Durham, of course, and consider myself lucky to be able to spend time and nurture friendships in both places.
