Oaxaca - The Work

3 weeks in Oaxaca. Wow. I can’t believe how much I’ve seen, experienced, and learned during this time! 

My visit to Oaxaca started out with a good mix of chaos, discomfort, and tons of questions. But not to worry! I was able to find what I needed to work through the weirdness.

So, where did all this chaos come from? First of all, my hosts completely forgot I was coming. That of course led to them not having my room ready and scrambling as I arrived. Also strange, was that the room did not reflect the description: a rustic, cozy cabin. This was a shack. Like, for real. (In general not a problem. But if you tell me one thing and that absolutely does not reflect reality... nope. What else will you bend the truth about?!) Next up was the what felt like copious amounts of people that had access to the property* and were just kinda hanging out at the pump track and going in and out as they pleased. To follow that, I was told I can’t exit the area my shack is in after a certain hour, because the guard dog does his job well, doesn’t know me, and will probably attack. To round it off, the hosts were going to have to leave early the next day for a few days. All that combined in just the first 4-5 hours of getting there left me a pretty nervous wreck and I barely got any sleep that first night.

*imagine a large property split into three strips. The first strip is where the farm and pump track are, as well as my shack. A wooden fence divides it from the second strip, which is the car park, laundry, and dog kennel area. The third strip is the largest. A beautiful big yard with a pergola, an awesome outdoor kitchen, and the family’s quarters.

The next day, I did as the host had told me, and went to the main side of the property to meet the cooking class staff and see what they wanted me to do. When I showed up, the guests/students were already there. The instructor told me to sit down. I assumed he knew I was the volunteer, he assumed I was a guest. About halfway through, one of the staff asked me if I was the new volunteer. I told her I was but realized the team had absolutely no idea I was coming. Yay for more chaos! After the class I hung around to help out with cleanup and started to get to know the team a bit better. We all had a bit of a laugh about how nobody knew anything and how strange this start to my volunteering was (shoutout to Vicky, Yoli and Esteban!). A little later Andres showed up, introduced himself in fluent English, and asked me how my first day had been. This was my first chance to speak my mind. So I did. And Andres was a huge help. He listened, understood where I was coming from, and offered solutions and support. He made me feel so much more comfortable and explained in more detail how the whole business works, who has which roles, when people show up on the property, etc. (Thank you, Andres!)

Pump Track

The Shack

The Car Park

Cooking Classes

This was the volunteering spot that I had been most excited about. And putting all the weird host stuff aside, it was absolutely amazing! I got to help out with cooking classes during each of my shifts. I got to learn how to make corn tortillas with a metate (mealing stone) and a comal (griddle). I got to learn all about the different types of moles, make them, and taste them (Fun fact: not all moles have chiles, and not all moles have chocolate!). And when the non-English-speaking instructor was teaching, I got to help with translating for the students. Oh yeah, and daily visits to the local market, plus tasty lunches! So yeah, super fun work! I had an awesome time with the team - thanks friends! 🥰

Part of the outdoor kitchen

Cocoa beans on the comal

Pergola

Next up will be all the non-work related adventures, so stay tuned!

Hasta pronto :)

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