Tuesday, July 2nd was everyone's first day at their site placement and it was our second for Yamila and myself at Equinoterapia. Carolina had told us on Saturday that those were her busiest days because children were not in school and then that Tuesdays and Thursdays would not be so busy. It was true, in a 4 hour time span there were maybe about 3 or 4 patients.That day when we first got there Carolina told us that we were going to learn how to become one with the horses. She told us all about how horses are very good at reading emotions and connecting with people. The first task of the day was for Yamila, she was told to go into the corral and catch the young, wild horse which was frantically galloping around because the dogs there were scaring it. Yamila had no idea where to start so Carolina told her to go stand in the middle of the corral, and within a few minutes she had the horse.
Then it was time for my interactions with the horse. To be able to connect more with the patients, Carolina wanted me to ride the horse, but not as I normally would. I rode the horse as if I was a child getting therapy. To really feel the movement and connection of my lower body muscles and the horse's muscles, I had to ride the horse with my eyes closed!!!! At first when she told me to do so I did not believe it. Carolina was right there in the corral the whole time and Yamila was leading the horse so I was completely safe. I had my feet free and held on to nothing. They started to move the horse and my body got very tense because I felt like I was going to fall off, even though I was not at all. I didn't know which direction they were leading the horse but it felt like I was going in a circle. Carolina just kept telling me to relax and take deep breaths. I eventually got comfortable, but not after sweating a lot and shaking off my nerves. Once I opened my eyes Carolina had me do some other breathing exercises to help me relax. She also had me do different exercises such as bringing my legs up and down, moving my arms around, and even laying down to hug the horse. Especially the lower body exercises were a lot harder than I could have imagined. It was definitely a work out.
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| Happy to open my eyes and hug the horse. |
Everything I did while up on that horse gave me a better sense of what the children go through with therapy. It made me appreciate my chance to work there a lot more and it also gave immense value to what I was doing there for me. That truly was an experience I had never imagined I would have. It was a little scary but totally worth it. After a few patients that day, Yamila and I headed home all horsed out.
Life in Oaxaca Later That Day:
Tuesday afternoon and night consisted of two really fun events. A few days before Dr. G. had told us about a cultural event at Casa de la Cultura Oaxaquena. In one of our first days, Dr. G. had also told us about the local baseball team, Guerreros de Oaxaca. Being a big baseball fan, I looked up their schedule right away. Dr. G. had looked up their schedule too and saw they had a game on Tuesday and let us know if we were all interested, several of us were so we decided to head out for an adventure.
Cory, Chris, Yamila, and myself headed out to La Casa de la Cultura to watch a dancing event. We met up with Dr. G. there as well. Children and young adults of all ages performed traditional dances of different parts of the state of Oaxaca. It was absolutely beautiful, all of the outfits were gorgeous, and all of the dances were perfect. We sat there with our mouths open the whole time in awe of how these children were doing these magnificent dances.
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| The center courtyard |
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| The cutest couple in Oaxaca, they were so in love and you could so see it. |
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| They were perfect |
We did not get to stay the whole time because we were then headed to the baseball game. The dances that we did see were fabulous and we all wanted to learn them. It was a very heart warming performance. This was no special event or for any special occasion, it was just a celebration of culture. Culture and traditions are so important in Oaxaca, something I am not use to at home. Everyone is proud of where they came from and who came before them, therefore it is always being celebrated. It was refreshing to see such pride and celebration.
All of us meet up with Steph and Monica and went to the baseball game. It was very similar to an American minor league baseball game, except for the language difference of course. It was fun to experience something so similar to home, yet something so different. This night was also when we had one of our first big introductions to the beetles in Oaxaca. As soon as the big lights went on once it got dark, the flying beetles came out. They were not a bother, but gross and large. We watched them fly into the net behind home plate and then land and be stuck on their backs on top of the dugout. It was quite an interesting sight to see and additional entertainment.
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| The girls at the game |
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| The crew |
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| Yamila and I with the mascot. |
We left the game early but the Guerreros ended up winning. On our way home we stopped at the Zocalo to grab food. As we walked through the streets we came across a little parade/performance.
Everywhere you went in Oaxaca you never knew what you were going to see. We headed home after our long and fun day. Every day was filled with something more and more special. I always went to bed anxious for the next day to come.
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