On Friday morning, we started our four-hour bus ride to Oaxaca. We had a day packed with things to do, but before we started we went to a buffet that served Oaxacan food. Then, we visited a black clay pottery workshop in the city. We watched one of the artisans make a jar completely by hand, with only the simplest tools, and it was really cool to see how they decorated the pottery. We got to buy some pottery from the workshop, and then we left to check in to our hotel. It rained a ton that day, so we weren’t able to take a walking tour of the city. Since we had some free time, we went to eat dinner at an Italian restaurant, then walked around and found a place that sold soccer jerseys so that we could have one for the World Cup games. After getting some ice cream, we went back to the hotel to rest up.
Saturday, we went to Monte Alban, an archeological site about 20 minutes from Oaxaca city. Since the Mexico game was at the same time, some of us went to a cafeteria to watch the first half of the game. During half time, we left to go on a tour of the archeological site, and saw pyramids, altars, and ruins of residences. We were 6000 feet above sea level, and the view was incredible with all the mountains that surrounded the site.
After visiting Monte Alban, we went to another buffet for lunch and watched Germany and Sweden play. Then we visited the widest tree in the world, the Arbol de Tule, and then went to a mezcal factory to see how tequila and mezcal are made. After a long day, we got back to Oaxaca at 6, then had time to explore the city. We found a coffee shop near the Templo de Santo Domingo, and then grabbed dinner at a rooftop restaurant. We went to bed pretty late, and the next day we woke up and went to the market. The zocalo and pedestrian street were both so fun and alive, and I wish we had more time to explore Oaxaca.
We left around noon for Puebla, and after a bumpy bus ride, we made it back around 5, giving me plenty of time to unpack, find my scrubs for the hospital, and eat dinner with my host mom.
--
My name is Lili and I am from Dallas, Texas! I’m an honors junior Nursing student and also minoring in Spanish. This summer, I’ll be studying in Puebla, Mexico in a service-learning health professions program. I’ll be living with a host family, taking Spanish classes for health professions, and also shadowing a doctor in one of the local hospitals. I’ll be writing about my experiences in the hospital, around Puebla, and on the different excursions my group is taking. I hope you follow along!
--
Nursing major Lili Barrientos is spending the summer 2018 term in Mexico with our U of A Faculty-Led: Spanish Immersion & Service Learning in Puebla.
Read more from Lili at https://lettersfromlili.wordpress.com/blog/.
Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/
