An Unforgettable and Life-Changing Cultural Exploration of Oaxaca, Mexico

The two months that I spent living in a small rural village in Oaxaca, Mexico has greatly influenced my life in numerous ways. Firstly, it showed me the privilege that I've had in my life. Whether it was the many showers taken with a bucket of cold water taken from a creek that made me realize that not everyone had hot potable water available to them at any time in in a nice clean warm bathroom; the short walk to the latrine that made me think about the absurdity that I not only have a toilet with water in it, but perfectly potable water nonetheless - in my toilet; spending all day every Sunday laboriously washing my clothes by hand while praising the person who had the good sense to invent washing machines and how spectacular it is to be hooked up to a power line that powers many appliances that do much of the work for you; or whether it was listening to my host dad's stories of the hardships of trying to cross the border into the US in order to make money to send it back to his family in Mexico that made me wonder at my good fortune to be born into a middle class family in the United States, I have gained an appreciation for much of the commonalities and hidden (and not so hidden) privileges in life. Secondly I gained a whole new perspective on different aspects of life: what is it about (money or family?), differences in gender roles between our two cultures (in the village there, woman did do all of the cooking and clothes washing for the whole family and men went to work, both were very involved in their children's development - I met some of the best dad's I've ever known there, and they found it hilarious (but accepted) when I asked to cook with the women of the village), people's goals, family relations, etc.

Now of course, not all of it was peachy. There were moments where I missed my family and friends in the US terribly and longed for heated house and my own bed. There were times that I thought my family in the US would be disappointed with my time there because sometimes, stuff didn't get done as fast as many Americans are used to it getting done. And there were times where all I really craved was some good ol' refined sugar and a hamburger. This however would inevitably pass, and taught me to not take for granted my family and my friends.

Yes, there were tough times, and yes, there were times that I laughed uncontrollably and had huge amounts of fun. In all it was an amazing experience that words cannot completely describe, but one that I wouldn't ever forgo if I had the choice to do it again.