The Farmer's Market was full of great local foods including yak meat, buffalo meat, chili peppers, and corn; there were all kinds of interesting beauty products such as lotion bars (like soap only its lotion for your hands), creams and salves; and there was a great xylophone band performing nearby with a great beat. It was either Jamacian, Native American, or Mexican, but they jammed on the same 4 chords and everyone was rockin' out! Pretty fun. There's a short video of the group below. Dad bought some chili powder so he can put it in things when we get home.
The Arts fair was pretty cool too. Lots of different crafts such as knits, woodwork, and jewelry; but there were also lots of paintings and ceramics to look at as well. Mom and I bought two really pretty beaded necklaces that had squares of oyster shell on them. Mom commented that I was getting the longer necklace because it was more of a style with girls my age. The woman who made them said that her niece likes to wear necklaces to her waist, so she decided to see how it would go. Obviously I bought one, so it must have been a good idea!
After the fair, we went to the plaza, where the people living on the Indian Reservation were sitting on the sides of the Governor's Residence Building selling their crafts. There was the most beautiful turquoise jewelry I've ever seen, along with belts, beaded earrings, and pottery. I'm determined to get or make a black clay pot before I go home (picture of some in a store on the right). As long as I have room in my luggage...
At the end of the sellers, I started talking to one of the guys who looked like he wasn't selling much, but eager to talk to people. He asked where I was from and I said that I was from California and go to UC Berkeley. If you've never told anyone from another state that you go to Berkeley, do it. It's amusing to see how impressed some people get, and how some people automatically hate your guts. Anyway, the man said that he was a professor at UNM and that he taught Medical Terminology, which really impressed me in turn. We talked for a while about the Jemez mountains, and he told me he knew a professor working on obsidian from out there, and studying the effects that fire has on the resources. OBsidian absorbs water over time, and so there is theoretically a way to tell how old it is; but when a fire comes through, it dehydrates the obsidian so that you can't tell how old it is. It's frustrating, so this professor is trying to get as many hydration rates as possible before more fires sweep through the area.
Anyway, the guy was really interesting, his name was Chris, and I hope I see him around campus during my stay here. It would be nice to know a familiar face besides my classmates!
Next, we went to the The Georiga O'Keeffe Museum, and it was very interesting to say the least. It really gave me a sense of New Mexico, and although I had known her name for a while, I could never picture how her work looked. The exhibit we saw was all on her abstract work, which she did to kind of start over afresh and come up with new ideas about what to paint. There were quotes on some of the walls of the eshibit, and one of my favorites was about how she didn't want people to read about her work, she wanted them to look at it and do the work on their own. Another interesting thing about her work was that she was trying to just show the shapes of things she liked, picking out the qualities she wanted to portray instead of mimicking the object. If I ever take up painting again (I'm going to try and draw at some point this trip), I might try that approach and find that I have more to paint from that perspective.
All of this we did in the morning. I know, it was a lot.
For lunch, we went to this awesome place called the Cafe Paris, which was in a wide allyway between two buildings with outdoor/indoor seating. It was set up European style (relaxed), where you let them know you're there, sit somewhere, and just hang out. Very lax compared to the strict "wait to be seated" or simple "seat yourself". You kind of just have to know what to do. The walls were painted rustically, and the ceiling had a giant Eiffel Tower painted on it. Our waitress wasn't french, although she had a French accent. We figured that she was probably Hawaiian, but her husband was French. It was definitely a family-run place. There was an accordion player who played both "La Vie en Rose" and "Santa Lucia"--so he was obviously well-versed. But the place brought me back to Europe. I had Ratattouille for the first time, wrapped in a crepe--it was delicious!! I just regret not getting a French pastry... maybe one of these weekends I'll make it there again :)
After lunch, we walked around shops again (where I saw the awesome apron on the left, and black pottery above), and Mom bought some dried, hanging chili peppers to bring home. Then we walked aaaaaaall the way back to our car. We had parked by the farmer's market, but we definitely had more stamina walking to the downtown area than walking back. We went back to the hotel, rested, and then we began our afternoon drive. We had decided to visit a few things: the museum hill, the Opera House (which was in the middle of nowhere), and a place to eat dinner. I was asleep a lot of the time, I'll admit, or just checked out listening to music. It had already been a long day and it was barely 5.
First we took the drive to the museums, which were all closed for the day. However we had decided to makes plans to go the next day, more on that later. The drive was cool, and you could definitely see a lot from up there. There were many different institutions in that one place, all having to do with Anthropology! I need to go back someday (which is the feeling I'm getting from this entire area... I need to come back someday).
When we got to the Opera House, Mom said that my Nana (Mom's mom) had been there before, but it was open air. Now they had redone it so that there was a roof, but it was still open-air enough to let the wind blow through. Below is a picture I found on Google Images. It was closed, but still cool to know about. Next time I'm here I'll make sure to see a show there.
At the end of it all, we ate at a place called Gabriel's, which was right off the freeway. It'll be easy to find again, that way. It looked like a house with a parking lot in the back, but it was a really quality place with GREAT guacamole. They made a bowl of it right in front of us (only later did we find out it was $11.50), with garlic, cilantro, tomato, jalapeño, and a bunch of other fresh, delicious ingredients. It was awesome, and the atmosphere was great. There was a garden we checked out afterwards (once again, it was like a house), and we got back in the car and headed home. Long day, but I'd never remember everything without this blog to look at later!!
Wowwww such a legit-looking opera house. I'm so excited for you, that you get to have adventures in New Mexico, girrllll. :)
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