It is hot, hot hot!

So, after a final day in Mexico City spent at orientation at Ibero and then visiting the UNAM, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. UNAM is huge, like bigger than UMASS huge. It has over 200,000 students. It wasn't too busy because they're only in summer classes but there were still students everywhere. It's a good school just like Ibero, but very different. It's public and free to those who live in Mexico D.F.

Friday morning we headed to the airport to fly to Tapachula. After checking in, we went to the terminal and found that even though our flight was scheduled to leave in an hour we hadn't been assigned a gate yet. We waited with about a half hour for them to post our gate, but I was surprised that they didn't post it ahead of time. I could imagine that situation happening in the United States and people freaking out that there it was disorganized. I wouldn't call it disorganized though, more like mellow.

Deboarding the plane in Tapachula felt like hitting a wall of heat. Unlike Mexico City it's a sticky, punishing heat. I don't think I'm ever going to get used to it, but we'll see. It rains pretty much every afternoon and cools everything down which is nice.

Our apartment is really nice, with AC and wireless. It's got a lot of space and is in a nice, central area of town. Last night, we went out and explored the two main squares. It's very different here than Mexico City. It's much smaller and less urban. The most noticeable difference is that as a group we stick out more. Tapachula isn't exactly a tourist destination and it's pretty clear they aren't used to a group of blondes wandering around. We get a lot of stares, but I think it's mostly out of curiosity rather than animosity. The main plaza, Plaza Hidalgo is busy and filled with vendors from all different backgrounds. Last night Rachel and I ended up talking with this man selling painted coconuts who had lived all over the US: Boston, LA, and North Carolina. He had come back to be with his girlfriend (maybe?) and child. They don't have papers, so for now they're here in Tapachula. It made me think about what my experience at DIF will be like, working with migrant and displaced children. I'm sure I will hear a lot of depressing stories, but will hopefully see some good things too.

I start work on Monday morning and am very nervous and excited. I don't really know what I'll be responsible for so it will be reassuring to get a better idea. Tomorrow we're going to relax most of the day so that will be a nice change of pace!

Mexico City: Days 3,4, and 5

So I know you've all been on the edge of your seats wondering if my luggage ever came and yes, it did! I appreciate my own clothes so much but shout out to Ombeline for letting me borrow her clothes!

A great end to a great day? Arriving home to my suitcase!!

Monday we got up early and we to the university, Universidad Iberoamericana for our first day of orientation. It's about an hour away from the convent by taxi, but I didn't mind since I got to see so much of the city. The school is located in what's called the Silicon Valley of Mexico D.F. and the nickname makes sense. It's on top of a hill and all gated in, but the neighborhood is completely different than every other one I've been in since I arrived. It's home to the HP headquarters, Santander bank, Roche Brothers, etc. There is even a Chili's restaurant (I almost want to go and see if their food is the same...). Anyway, we got the university and ate breakfast in the cafeteria. And guess what they had? Only the best breakfast food in the universe: omelets. I was so pumped and it lived up to my TDR-level expectations--delicious! We took a tour of the university which is gorgeous, but also very big and confusing. All of the buildings are connected. Mexican students usually live at home until they get married so there are no dorms. Next, we had a two hour run-down of Mexican history from this awesome professor of communications named Juan Eduardo. He informed us that pretty much everyone in Mexico is named Juan and Maria. Another fun fact that I was unaware of: the Zocólo, the main plaza of the city with the palace and the cathedral is actually built on top of ruins. And not ruins like, oh there used to be something here and they tore it down. I mean legitimately built on top of a bunch of pyramids. Insane.

We spent the afternoon wandering around the city after discovering that basically all of the museums close on Mondays. We went back to the Zocólo and went in the cathedral and wandered around the main plaza. What I didn't notice Saturday night is the number of people camped out in the center of the plaza protesting a variety of mistreatments. Whether they were asking for workers rights, better education, or an end to the drug war, they were all living together in tents in the middle of the plaza outside the national palace. Fascinating. We ended up eating dinner at this sort of touristy place overlooking the plaza, but it was worth the tourist factor. The food was great, I had sopes which are sort of like a small tortilla with different toppings, mine had spicy shredded beef and some type of fruit on the top? It was delicious and I also got guacamole which was delicious. Not to mention, we were eating on a roof with an amazing view of the Zocólo and the surrounding neighborhood. After that, we went over to the Palacio de Bellas Artes and people-watched outside for a while before heading home on the metro.

View of the Catedral Nacional from my dinner table

On Tuesday, we got up early and headed with the group from Loyola Chicago to Teotihuacán to climb the pyramids of the sun and the moon. We had a chartered bus and tour guide, which was pretty interesting because on the way out of the city he detailed all of the things we were seeing. The mountains along the city limits are covered in small houses, all along the side. Our guide told us that when people get married, they build additions above their parents houses, so many of the houses are awkwardly high.

Teotihuacán itself was beautiful. It's crazy to imagine that at some point an entire civilization lived there. Hiking the pyramids was tough, but the view and the experience was worth it.

On top of the Piramide de la Luna

View of the Piramide de la Luna from Piramide del Sol

 

On our way out of Teotihuacán we stopped at this touristy restaurant just outside the park and the food was pretty gross. Even our bus driver (a big Mexican man named Alejandro) didn't feel so hot afterward. It made me grateful that I've been eating delicious, pretty authentic food so far. Then we stopped at this farm that uses cactus plants to make a number of things, many tequila and textiles. It was so cool to see how one plant can be turned into an actual product. Then we headed back to the city and took a guided tour of the Palacio Nacional. It was beautiful, but the most striking thing were Diego Rivera's murals which are all over the palace and are a visual representation of Mexican history.

One of Diego Rivera's murals in the national palace

We took the metro back, which was sort of a new experience because it was during rush hour. During rush hour they have a women's only section, which was different. All of a sudden we realized that we were the only women on the platform and there was a collective "OHHHH" from the group when we realized it was rush hour. The car was much calmer and less aggressive than before, definitely an interesting change. Also, if I do say so myself, we're becoming pros at the metro.

Today we went back to the university for orientation with all 300 Mexican students participating in our program. Definitely overwhelming. Not sure if I've said this yet, but I'm getting used to sticking out. With my blond hair and blue eyes it's pretty clear that I'm a gringa, but it's definitely weird to get stared at everywhere I go. Anyway, orientation went pretty smoothly and I got to meet the Mexican students I'll be working with, which was exciting. Everyone was really friendly and I'm excited to get to know them better.

We had lunch at the university which was pretty good. One of the things I had was rice with a egg (over easy) which was great and reminded me of Spain where I ate egg on everything. I tried to order something called a "Cape Cod" at the juice bar on campus but they were out of blood oranges, so I couldn't get it. This made no sense to me because I have never eaten a blood orange on Cape Cod.

We spent the afternoon at the Museo de Anthropología, which is HUGE. It showcases indigenous cultures that are extinct but also ones that are still around. The most interesting was the Chiapas section because that's where I'll be going, so it was good to put a visual to all of the reading I've been doing. We metroed back and decided to try some street fruit near the convent (and yes Mom and Dad, I know that it could possibly have bacteria but we watched it get peeled in front of us and the man was very clean and had bottled water not tap don't worry!) The mangoes looked so good we decided to risk maybe getting sick for the sake of the mango and building up our stomachs. It's been about 4 hours and so far so good.

Tomorrow is our last day of orientation and then we're off to Tapachula on Friday morning! Crazy! Rachel and I will be working at the same site and we found out yesterday that it is less of an office and more of a community center. We'll be working pretty closely with kids which will be great. Can't wait to see what Chiapas has in store for me!

Convent Living-Days 1 and 2

So I've currently been in Mexico for roughly 24 hours and I am still in shock. It's been kind of a whirlwind: I got a call 8 hours before my flight that it had been cancelled and was re-routed through Miami (which wasn't all bad, they have a Pizza Hut). I arrived in Mexico only to find that my bag hadn't made it onto the plane to Mexico. Perfect. But luckily, Lynn Cutts taught me to be prepared, so I had an extra outfit in my carry-on.

I met up with the group and we headed to the taxi stand and ended up in an SUV taxi to the convent where we are staying for the week. Mexico City is busy and loud, but surprisingly American. I've already seen a Wal-Mart, McDonalds, Dominos, Subway, Starbucks, and Burger King.

My room at the convent

The convent is actually the cutest place ever. It's run by a group of old nuns who are friendly, helpful and so sweet. It has this great center courtyard with a breeze! It's dorm style, with a bunch of rooms in a hallway and a communal bathroom. The bathroom and shower are nicer than I was expecting, but it's definitely an adjustment from what I'm used to. First of all, the plumbing is so old that you can't flush toilet paper at all, you have to throw it in the trash which a. grosses me out and b. I always forget to do, so I'm secretly worried that I am going break the pipes or something? So, I'll work on that. I didn't think it would be an issue that the water isn't safe here, I basically drink bottled water anyway. But, guess what you have to use water for? Brushing your teeth. Our hallway has this giant jug of bottled water so I can take a cup of that and use it at the sink but it's totally against my routine so I keep forgetting and turning on the water.  So, we'll see how that goes. 

After we settled in, the group headed out to the Zócolo in the heart of the city where the Palacio Nacional and the Catedral Metropolitana are located. We metroed there, which was an experience. It is crowded and hectic and sort of a free for all. In DC there are unwritten rules of the metro, like don't escalefting, wait for everyone to get off before you get on, etc. There are no rules in Mexico City. When you try to get off, there's a wave of people trying to get on. I've gotten used to it, but it's different. What's weird is that people are aggressive, but they are friendly about it, not like angry American commuters. The most interesting/strange thing: these two boys holding T-shirts full of glass. When there was an open space on the floor of the train, they lay down the shirts and somersault onto the glass. They both had scars all down their backs. No one on the train, even Mexicans, seemed to understand why.

We walked around a little and headed to dinner at the famous Cafe Tacuba, which was delicious and also a fun place to eat. It's been around since 1912 and is decorated in traditional Mexican style. We even got serenaded while we ate!

Enchiladas Especiales de Tacuba

This morning, we woke up bright and early to a delicious breakfast prepared by nuns: chocolate, croissants, fresh fruit and picalitos which are sort of small tortillas with beans, salsa, and cheese on them. We went on the metro to Coyoacán to see Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivero's house, Casa Azul, which is now a museum. It was beautiful and had a garden in the center. The museum was set up like the house was when she was alive and it was gorgeous. There was this amazing daybed looking out over the garden and all I could think was that if I lived there I would sit all day and read and sleep. 

After the museum we went to the Plaza Hidalgo and wandered around. Then we went to the Museo Nacional de Culturas Populares, which showcased a range of indigenous art from across Mexico. 

We also tried churros y chocolate!

Then time for lunch, my favorite part of the day. We decided to try a hole-in-the-wall taco place over a touristy restaurant, which was definitely the right choice. It specialized in Oaxacan food and they make everything, even the tortillas right in front of you. I ordered a sampling platter with an enchilada de mole, taco oaxaqueno, chorizo, and rice and beans. Delicious. 

Well, that's all for now. I'm off to sleep and little before dinner and hope that my luggage arrives! 

Hasta luego!

Let the Countdown Begin!

So as many of you have probably heard since I talk about it nonstop, on Saturday I will be leaving for Mexico, where I will spend the next two months living and working in the city of Tapachula! It seems completely unreal, which is probably why I haven't started packing/haven't even really unpacked from school.

I've spent my last two weeks at home arguing with my mother over what is considered "modest" clothing, catching up on episodes of Teen Mom and Pretty Little Liars (quality programming), watching the depressing Spanish movies on Netflix instant, catching up with friends, and guarding lives at the lovely YMCA. While this has been fun, I'm ready to leave Chelms behind for a little while.

The program I'm doing is through Alternative Breaks at AU and I'll be with five other students. All of us will be working with different community based organizations in the state of Chiapas. Three of us will be in Tapachula, while the others will be in San Cristobal de las Casas. The first week of our trip will be spent in Mexico City where we will have orientation, then we split up and head to our respective cities. 


I will be working at the Sistema para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia del Municipo de Tapachula. I'm not totally sure what type of work I'll be doing there or if I'll be in an office or out in the field, but either way, I cannot wait to totally immerse myself in a new situation. 

When I applied for this trip/set out to convince my parents that it was totally 100% safe and a great learning experience etc, I actually had no idea where Chiapas is because it's not exactly a tourist destination. So just a frame of reference, here's a map of Mexico with Chiapas highlighted:

Tapachula is one of the southernmost cities is Chiapas and it borders Guatemala. Even though many regions in Mexico are currently experiencing a lot of conflict, Chiapas isn't one of them. It's most well-known as the site of the post-NAFTA Zapatista uprisings in 1994, but things have been pretty quiet there ever since. The region is home to a lot of indigenous groups and immigrants from South America. It's also famous for it's coffee, so I'm hoping to move beyond my love for iced cafe mochas.

Anyway, I'm not too sure how much I'll be posting but I'll try to be this thing pretty up-to-date and add lots of pics because those are always exciting.

That's all for now--next time I update I'll be in Mexico!