The Best Kind of Sunday

Sunday has often been referred to as a day of rest, but for me it usually doesn’t feel that way. I spend so many Sundays at home working on lesson plans or grading student work, it often feels like yet another workday.
Today was different. This was the most relaxing Sunday I have had in a long time.
I slept in, but found even at 10 am, the streets of Oaxaca were unusually quiet. There was some sort of salsa-exercise lesson going on in the park, and the road running parallel to the park was a bit congested, but otherwise there was very little traffic and the city was so peaceful. It seemed most people were in church.

After a delicious breakfast, things were getting slightly more lively. There seemed to be some sort of parade of old VW Beetles down by the zocalo (VW Beetles are really popular down here)! Then there was a random protest march about stopping animal abuse. The best part was that it involved both kids and dogs!

I crossed the zocalo to purchase some Oaxacan chocolate and got free samples while I was there. Then as I crossed back into the zocalo, I encountered an orchestra that had magically appeared! I enjoyed seeing all the different sorts of people who were enjoying the music–young, old, locals, and tourists. Of course, in the background I could also hear the chants of people involved in some sort of student protest.

Later, I headed to the park where I enjoyed practicing my Spanish with two women who wanted to teach me about the Bible. They were very nice and also spoke rather slowly, which made it easier for me to understand them. When they left, I settled on a bench to read my book about the Dalai Lama (no irony intended).

All in all, it was quite a peaceful day. Thank you, Oaxaca, for teaching me how to slow down and relax sometimes!