Chapulines and chicatanas – Oaxacan traditions It was difficult to decide which foods to include in this third instalment of Oaxacan Food from A to Z – since my initial list for the letter C included over a dozen food items. This is also complicated by the fact that the le

Another visit to Tlacolula to discover two more specialties of Oaxacan food A few months back I wrote about Sunday afternoons in Tlacolula. Two things that you can find at the market in Tlacolula every day of the week are the subjects of today’s Oaxacan Food from A to Z: blandas

Food and language – my two passions You may not know this about me, but I’m pretty into food. I guess you could call me a foodie. I studied food security in university and I now work for an organic produce distributor. And you know that I am also a language nerd, so when y

Big city nightlife in a small town Oaxaca is small compared to other Mexican cities like DF Guadalajara or Monterrey, but its rich culture is just as obvious at night as it during the day. Local and national live bands and DJs, karaoke, juke boxes and cantinas, Oaxaca has it all. Toda

Friday and Saturday mornings in Xochimilco Following up on my last post about the market and tianguis in Tlacolula on Sundays, this one is about El Pochote market in Xochimilco, one of Oaxaca City’s historic barrios. My favourite things at Tianguis Alternativo El Pochote Jewelry

Sunday afternoons in Tlacolula Tlacolula de Matamoros is a town just 40 minutes outside of downtown Oaxaca City. My wife spent weekends there as a child at her maternal grandmother’s house and she has many fond memories of escaping the city to go play with her cousins. Luckily o

Dumplings, please! When I was living in Hefei as a student I wrote a Facebook post called “Things I haven’t eaten in almost a year and will delight in soon.” This was over five years ago, and the list includes some items that are baffling to me now (salami with mayo on rye bread…?), b

A Year Was Not Enough to See it All in Spain In 2006, I got a job teaching English in the small town of Cuenca in Spain. I had never heard of Cuenca before and it was a long and nerve-racking journey to get there but it was definitely worth it. Although at times it was difficult livin

This is the second installment in a series about my favourite things about some of the countries I’ve traveled to (see Part 1: Cuba). The views expressed in these posts are subjective but I explain my choices so that you can determine if my favourites could become yours. In 2004 I par

My Introduction to Latin America This is the first part in a series about my favourite things about some of the countries I’ve traveled to. The views expressed in these posts are completely subjective but I will give an explanation of my choices so that you might determine whether or