Another dispatch from the TPRS foreign correspondent in Oaxaca, my stepson Adam, as he chronicles a weekend visit from his father:
On Saturday, one of the places our driver, Tito, took us was Monte Alban, some Zapotec ruins near Oaxaca. It was fun and interesting, as I have previously chronicled. On the way out, we saw a woman having her picture taken in front of a ruin while she was talking on her cell phone. I commented that this is just what every photo album needs: a picture of its owner talking on the phone in the middle of the most important Zapotec ruin site in the world. At that moment, something clicked in dad´s brain. He suddenly realized that he should have brought his "Total Connectivity Solution (tm)" with him to the ruins so he could have his photo taken while using it around the ruin site. This, we decided, would be a hilarious gag when the photos circulated at the office, dad doing work on vacation at a 2000 year old ruin. Sadly, he did not have his Blackberry, which we lamented for the rest of the day.
Sunday was Market Day for us. We walked the 10 or so blocks from the Zocalo down to Mercado Abastos, the largest market in the city, and wandered around a bit. The first thing that struck us was the amount of porn being sold at the market. Tons of porn. Cartoon porn, gay porn, anal, lesbian, if it can be turned into pornography, it is being sold as such in Mercado Abastos. The amount of pirated CDs, DVDs, and video games was also quite a shock. Dad, as usual, was fascinated by the meat market (shocking, huh). They sold intestines from pigs, cows, etc. They sold chicken: chicken feet, meat, heads, livers, gizzards. They sold cows: sliced beef, ground beef, beef roasts, cow hearts, livers, spleens, and kidneys. They sold sausage, boars heads, etc. It was an interesting and yet macabre trip through that part of the market. Dad wanted to take a picture of all the dead animals, but for some reason did not. He did, however, take several pictures of me standing in front of produce stands, so if he shows those to anyone, know that I am not that nerdy, I was coerced into it.
I can hardly wait to see what he has to report when Susan goes down for a visit at the beginning of July.
