Livin' in the Styx

It's funny. I've spent the majority of my adult life living and working overseas. The last few years have been so far off the "beaten track", that I had actually lost sight of it. So a recent decision to live and work in Mexico was rather bitter-sweet. While excited to see how things had changed since i lived here in the early '90s, I wasn't sure how I'd deal with the endless wave of backpack toting travellers. But, I had prepared myself for it. Yet somehow, fate, once again, seemed to have a different plan for me.

I opted to live in the southern state of Oaxaca. While certainly on the tourist trail, it's not the first place people think of when they think of Mexico. Although I'm not entirely sure why. With 16 different ethic groups, Oaxaca is Mexico's most diverse state. It's UNESCO listed for a combination of the capitals historic old town and the ancient site of Monte Alban. Not to mention a highly rated, somewhat undeveloped beach at Puerto Escondido. But who am I to judge tourism choices of others. But what some previous research showed is that Oaxaca was big enough to find work, yet small enough not to be overwhelmed by the masses of places like Mexico City or Guadalajara. But i didn't know how small things were to get.

Finding decent work wasn't the easiest. I was hoping to find something without having to get a work visa, as the requirements involved me having all my papers notarized back in Canada. By some random chance i ended up meeting with someone at a local NGO aimed at improving the education system in Oaxaca. While the state is ethnically diverse, with great historic cities and nice beaches, it still remains one of Mexico's poorest with education rating near the bottom. The NGO has a grassroots approach, starting quality schools in rural areas throughout the state. And maybe it was the Mezcal talking, but they wanted to hire me to do an assessment of the curriculum and the the execution of it in the field. Who was I to argue? So the plan was set of number of villages i would visit. Staying in each for a week or so. Giving the odd lesson myself. The idea was to stay either with host families, or in a room in the village if there was one available.

To say life in the villages was simple is an understatement. But i guess that could be expected when goats out number the people. I had prepared myself for tourist everyday in Oaxaca City, but the villages were totally off the tourist radar. And to be fair there was little reason to visit most of them. They all had a church, but it's not like you can't see churches in other parts of Mexico. There were no pretty pastel colours that you might find in the colonial capitals. Just simple everyday rural Mexican life. Sure, occasionally things would be whipped up into a frenzy if there was a political rally or something. Especially PRI, as they gave out all kinds of free stuff. But day to day life was filled with power cuts and water shortages. At least in the evenings everyone would congregate to the central square to hang out. I became a bit of an instant celebrity in each village. Everyone knew who i was. A great chance to practice my Spanish as next to no one spoke any English at all, including the English teachers. When people travel they brag about seeing the "real" country because they stayed at a hostel outside of town and ate street food. Good for them, as for me, i'll stick my methods. Living next to, working with and befriending people who are, in my opinion, the heart of the country.