This summer, 12 students and two faculty members are traveling to Oaxaca, Mexico to immerse themselves in the culture and language of Oaxaca, Mexico and develop their conversational fluency and understanding of daily life in Mexico by living with Oaxacan families and attending class at the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez. Please enjoy this blog post from Jesse ’26 as he shares about the groups exploration of the Zapotec Ruins of Mitla and workshop at a women’s textile weaving cooperative in the Valley of Teotitlán.
Hola amigos y familia!
Today was a wonderful day. In the morning we had breakfast with our host families, and then traveled to our usual meeting spot at 9 o’clock, Café Brújula. Once we were all there and ready to go, we took off to our first location, The Mitla Ruins.
We arrived at the Mitla Ruins, and our helpful guide gave us a tour of the area. There we learned about the history and culture of the Zapotecs. We witnessed the beautiful and unique architecture of the buildings, learned about the agricultural landscape, and even learned some words in their language.
After the tour, we went to get some ice cream at the local markets. We then left for our next destination, The Valley of Teotitlán, where we would visit a women’s textile weaving cooperative, and met the women who make naturally dyed rugs and other weavings. Once we arrived, we were introduced to lovely people of Teotitlán, and fed an abundance of food. My favorite food was the soup they prepared. After we ate, they taught us how they made their rugs, and demonstrated how they created the natural dye for the rugs. We were all extremely impressed by their work.
Finally, we said our goodbyes, and even purchased some goods to bring home. We arrived back at Café Brújula by 4 o’clock and parted ways with our big group in order to go home with our small groups. Later that day, I went to eat tacos with my friend Gershom.
