14 Oct - Oaxaca, Mexico

Hi all... we`ve now been in Oaxaca for a couple of weeks. We`re staying with the Giron Family who have about 4 or 5 extra rooms which they rent out to Spanish students and volunteers. Nice people, and good to talk with to help improve your Spanish.

We`ve been volunteering with the Centre for Street Children. Although, they`re not actually street children, they`re part of a minority in Oaxaca State called the Triqui... indigenous to the area and often ridiculed, they retain their own language and culture still alive today.

Oaxaca is a town gripped by strikes. Los Maestros (Public Teachers) have been on strike since May, and have a pretty strong political influence... calling for the governor`s sacking amongst other demands... They`ve burnt upturned cars and blockaded public streets and graffiti is everywhere, shops, town square and even the churches and central cathedral. Karen has more detail about the teachers, as she`s been discussing some of this stuff in spanish in her classes.