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Posted on March 19, 2006

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Posted from Oaxaca, Mexico at 11:32 AM local time

Update from Oaxaca

Mexico. I have been here for more than six weeks and am only now submitting entries to the site. Rather than cramming everything into a single post, I'm post-dating several entries. Cheating a bit, but I think doing so will make things more manageable and readable. (Plus, I have been writing along the way - just haven't had time to get things ready for submission.) More on Mexico in a moment. First, a few general notes...

ONEWORLDIMAGES.COM has now been live for over two months. While I have not yet finished making this known among friends and contacts, I have already received a number of comments and notes from visitors. I have not been able to reply to each of them, but I have read every message - and greatly appreciate the feedback. The site was given a big "circulation boost" when Macromedia selected ONEWORLDIMAGES.COM as its "Site of the Day" on January 31. In part as a result, nearly 75,000 pages were generated during the first two months. More interesting to me, some 6,000 distinct machines were used to access the site during this period. In Internet terms, those aren't huge numbers - but they're still larger than I'd hoped given my rather quiet launch and subsequent withdrawal into Central Mexico and Español. Among initial visitors, a significant number have accessed the site from outside the United States. A Romanian site has pushed a number of visitors my way, although I cannot decipher the text on the page that links to mine. A number of visitors providing feedback have been from India, a fact that gives me yet one more reason to put together thoughts and images documenting my experiences in India last year.

While the experience has certainly not been uniform for all visitors, I have received a few "I've been inspired" messages. For me, these have been invaluable in confirming that site development was worth my time. Thank you. I'll take the opportunity to reiterate yet again that my primary purpose here is to expose visitors to the beauty of the world and chip away at the barriers that divide us. Yes, there are differences among us - but they generally needn't be as divisive or scary as we make them out to be. Often, it is our diversity that gives life its flavor and intricate beauty.

My first six weeks in Mexico have been full of fun and challenging experiences. For the most part, the details have not been "blog-worthy," as I have spent a fair chunk of time studying Spanish. (I have included what I presume to be exceptions in previous entries for February and March.) In addition to language immersion, I have been able to visit a few of Central Mexico's most interesting sites and saw U2 in one of the world's biggest stadiums: Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. I just wrapped up a break between language courses in Puebla and Oaxaca - and managed to catch some interesting sites in recent days. Read on for my description of the famous butterfly reserve in Michoacán, details of being duped in Mexico City, my experience at the Spanish Institute of Puebla, first impressions of Mexico and its people, and the story of 9-year-old Bradley meeting Bono. Descriptions of Oaxaca (easily the most traveler-friendly city among those I've visited in the country) will be added shortly.