Mexico: Nazareno Xoxocotlán, Oaxaca
Feb 13, 2009 5:52:17 GMT
Post by bixaorellana on Feb 13, 2009 5:52:17 GMT
I live south of the city of Oaxaca, which is the capital of the state of Oaxaca.
My area is rural, although we have pretty easy access to goods and services. Xoxocotlán is a separate town that now abuts the city of Oaxaca as they grew towards each other. Nazareno is a very old hamlet that is politically part of Xoxo (as it's called locally). It was a settlement before the Spaniards arrived, but the local people became serfs on the on the hacienda established there after the conquest. This situation remained up until the late 1930s. Most of the people in the village are related in one way or another & have been here forever. They are extremely accepting and friendly to me even though I'm a foreigner.
I don't live right in the town, but in the fields right outside it, not too far off the highway that goes to Zaachila, a market town where I do my weekly shopping. I find the rustic surroundings quite beautiful in their way. Here's a picture I took in the late afternoon on December 29, as I walked back to my house from the highway.
I can catch a bus into Oaxaca on the highway, which I do to keep from driving the car in Oaxaca's awful traffic. I mostly go into Oaxaca to visit friends or to get books from the library -- there is an English-language library there.
The roads around here are not paved, so it's dusty in the winter dry season, and quite muddy during the rainy season. There are also no street lights on my end of the road, so it's black as pitch at night, which I quite like.
The fields are usually plowed by oxen, although occasionally someone will hire a tractor. Sheep, goats, & oxen are herded up & down my road several times a day. These particular oxen live catty-corner across the road from me. Note in the foreground the plow they pull.
Most of Mexico is still set up so that people can live comfortably without owning a vehicle. There is lots of public transportation, and small stores abound. We don't have a pharmacy in our town, but do have three meat stores, several very small grocery stores, a tortilleria, and a couple of internet places. I can even get pictures scanned right in Nazareno because there is a technical college here.
My mechanic is within walking distance, and there are hardware stores & tire repair places fairly close by.
So, I hope that gives a little idea of what it's like where I live.
My area is rural, although we have pretty easy access to goods and services. Xoxocotlán is a separate town that now abuts the city of Oaxaca as they grew towards each other. Nazareno is a very old hamlet that is politically part of Xoxo (as it's called locally). It was a settlement before the Spaniards arrived, but the local people became serfs on the on the hacienda established there after the conquest. This situation remained up until the late 1930s. Most of the people in the village are related in one way or another & have been here forever. They are extremely accepting and friendly to me even though I'm a foreigner.
I don't live right in the town, but in the fields right outside it, not too far off the highway that goes to Zaachila, a market town where I do my weekly shopping. I find the rustic surroundings quite beautiful in their way. Here's a picture I took in the late afternoon on December 29, as I walked back to my house from the highway.
I can catch a bus into Oaxaca on the highway, which I do to keep from driving the car in Oaxaca's awful traffic. I mostly go into Oaxaca to visit friends or to get books from the library -- there is an English-language library there.
The roads around here are not paved, so it's dusty in the winter dry season, and quite muddy during the rainy season. There are also no street lights on my end of the road, so it's black as pitch at night, which I quite like.
The fields are usually plowed by oxen, although occasionally someone will hire a tractor. Sheep, goats, & oxen are herded up & down my road several times a day. These particular oxen live catty-corner across the road from me. Note in the foreground the plow they pull.
Most of Mexico is still set up so that people can live comfortably without owning a vehicle. There is lots of public transportation, and small stores abound. We don't have a pharmacy in our town, but do have three meat stores, several very small grocery stores, a tortilleria, and a couple of internet places. I can even get pictures scanned right in Nazareno because there is a technical college here.
My mechanic is within walking distance, and there are hardware stores & tire repair places fairly close by.
So, I hope that gives a little idea of what it's like where I live.
