!Bienvenidos a Oaxaca!

Dan and I are in Oaxaca City for the month of August to do Spanish language immersion. We are intentionally going to different schools and staying at different homestays to maximize our immersive learning. I chose the more intense program, where instruction is one-on-one. Dan chose the fun school that is less intense and has cultural activities. Basically I have long talks with my teachers where they constantly correct me, and Dan is in a small class but he gets to do a cooking class in Spanish after lunch.

Some of my instruction involves grammar exercises, but a lot is just conversation practice. After days and days of pretend conversations, we switched to more interesting subjects. One of my teachers told me (in Spanish) about his experiences with psychedelics. Another teacher told me about the vast Mexican heavy metal scene. He loves Metálica.

In an effort to fully immerse, I started watching a Telenovella called Amor Real, which ran for five months in 2003. There are a total of 95 episodes! It is set in 1800’s in post-revolution Mexico, with a plot that is basically Wuthering Heights. Here is a preview that is pretty entertaining:

https://youtu.be/JXlrdcq0t1o?si=DgfAPpNEln0WMr4l

Oaxaca City is a great fit. Most of the tourists here are Mexican, so not a ton of English is spoken here. Oaxaca has a sizable counterculture/edgy art/hipster scene! My Metálica teacher takes me to edgy bars and cafes for my conversation class.

A (quite expensive) bar that is emotion-themed

Before I left San Francisco, I was very mindful that I would need to tone down my look in order to blend in. I see now that Mexico has no shortage of counterculture and weirdos, and that I can find my people instead of trying to conform so much.