[ The Final Stretch ]

Tuesday morning we began by exploring the temple and former convent of Saint Dominic. We had met a woman just days before who did her doctoral thesis on the iconography in this church!

We then took the van to Jaltepec, where we met with a former student of the program, Carla, and her uncle-in-law who is the historian. He told us all about the legend of 6 Monkey and the work he is doing to teach kids the codices. In villages like Jaltepec, their own history is often forgotten, and the Aztecs are the main focus of history books. 

(Thanks Danny!)

It was also really cool talking to Carla because she had run a workshop in Oaxaca City at the Casa de la Mujer, where teenage girls learn about being proud of their indigenous identities as well as other feminist issues. Carla specifically talked about language and education barriers; her workshop had focused on going to college as it is often rare for women in villages to do so.

After that, we went to watch a ball game! It was pelota mixteca--a descendant of the type of game pre-Hispanic communities played in all of those ball courts! Once we had watched for awhile, we got to try it!

Game Face

But Actually Goobs

On the way home, we stopped by what had been 6 Monkey's Palace (and is now a cornfield). Carla's father-in-law owns it, and John and Danny were saying that archaeological excavations here would be great! Mostly, though, we just looked for obsidian and potsherds.

Our trusty van was looking epic and deserved a shoutout.

On Wednesday, we drove all the way to Tilantongo, where John Pohl had done archaeological surveys and ethnographic work to better understand places in the codices.

This was the church he was married in!

Luckily, there is now a road that goes all the way to the top of Monte Negro, so we didn't have to do the 5 (but more likely 7) hour hike! Monte Negro is another large formative site. I thought this one was really neat!

(Thanks Danny!)

On the way down, we also stopped by La Casa del Agua, where people ask for rain. 

Thursday morning we left bright and early for Apoala!

I really like this picture because you can see the road, pot holes,
mountains, and I swear you can see that it's morning. 

Apoala is located on a shelf in the Nochixtlan Valley. It is
almost entirely Mixtec people and speakers.

In the codices, Apoala is known as a origin place for the Mixtec people. It is depicted as a huge serpent, with a cave for a mouth on one side and a waterfall for a tail on the other. Apoala's symbol is a hand grasping quetzal feathers! So, to explore Apoala we began with the waterfalls!

I even treaded into the pool! It is muddy because
it had just rained, but it is usually bright blue!

We then went into two gigantic caves! One of them had a spring, which is the source of the river, and another had a wish-granting shrine and talking bishop (made of stone).

Credit to Danny on the next two:

These were our cabanas...

...and the river next to them!

It was such a beautiful place and very, very remote. I'm so glad I got the chance to visit!

Friday morning was the beginning of the end. It was our last full day in Mexico, and we spent it traveling back to Mexico City so we could catch our flights on Saturday. The drive, as always, was incredibly scenic and beautiful!

Look at all these cacti!

Friday night I packed, then Saturday morning I went to the airport with Lucie and Carley! It was bittersweet to say goodbye to everyone, but I will definitely see Lucie at Colby and I hope Carley (who is at Connecticut College) can visit us soon! :) 

The flight from Mexico to Chicago went by swimmingly, but once in Chicago I found out my next flight to Des Moines was cancelled. With no hotel and no more flights that night, I rushed to the megabus station and just barely caught it in time! It was a very stressful few hours! 

We made it into Des Moines at 4:30am, and my selfless mother drove the hour there to pick me up and the hour back to take me home! 

It wasn't so bad with this sight for sore eyes!

We finally got home at about 6am, so I changed and went to detasseling at 7am! It was a long day without sleep, but without work the next morning I got a solid 16 hours in. :)

And with that, I am now detasseling until college classes start back up again! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This trip as a whole has been so incredible. I can't thank Colby or my parents enough for making it feasible and allowing me to go. It was definitely a great way to talk to others in highly academic fields and get their perspectives on what to do. It was also fascinating learning how to combine different interdisciplinary subjects into a more cohesive and insightful report. Perhaps, though, one of the biggest things I learned on this trip is how much attitude and expectation shape experience. I was so lucky to be around upbeat and cheery people throughout it. I was also lucky to have had experiences in Nepal and India, which made me a lot more prepared and comfortable in Mexico. While I loved getting to see and explore so much (both in terms of sites and food!), I am equally excited to be back home. Having my own bed is such a comfort, and not ordering off a menu at every meal is really nice too. :) 

Well, that's it for this blog. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read through it--it means a lot! :)

Paz y amor,

Abby