The past two weeks have certainly been busy ones! Classes are starting to pick up, so more of my free time has been going to studying and assignments. Classes in Spanish have been interesting! I am taking Political History of Mexico, Neuropsychology, Physics, Dialogues Between Science and Religion, and a Medical Rotation class while here. All are in Spanish except for physics. It is definitely a strange and troubling feeling only understanding about 60% of what the professor says in class, but not only have we helped each other fill in gaps, but the Mexican students are also very kind and willing to lend us a hand.
So far I’m enjoying my coursework! I especially like my political history class, as it gives meaning to the (many) historical sites we have visited and will continue to visit throughout the semester. Additionally, in our medical rotation class, we have been preparing to start shadowing this coming week. We’ve learned about the structure of the healthcare system in Mexico, the most common health problems, and what patient care looks like here. We’ve also learned some practical skills such as how to properly administer various types of injections and how to bandage different parts of the body!
Outside of class we have been very busy too! The weekend of August 23 was mostly filled with fun in the neighborhoods and group runs in the Jardín del Arte (Art Garden). We did, however, take a morning to visit La Estrella de Puebla, the Ferris Wheel in town. This felt like a great decision until we were about halfway up; then I think we were all starting to feel a little nervous and making sure not to rock the car too much. Still, the view of the whole city with the mountains in the background was well worth the nervousness.
This past weekend included our first group trip! We went with UPAEP (and a group of other international students) to the town of Atlixco, which is about an hour south of Puebla.
On the way, we made our first stop at la Iglesia de Nuestra Madre (the Church of Our Mother) in the small town of Tonantzin. It was built by the Spanish Franciscans in the 1600s. What’s particularly interesting about this church is that it was built to evangelize to the indigenous of the area, so the inside is decorated with a mixture of Catholic and indigenous art and icons.
Next, we stopped about 15 minutes north of Atlixco to visit another beautiful, 17th century church, Templo de San Francisco Acatepec (Church of Saint Frances). Many of the churches here are decorated with hand-painted tile facade, yet the interior looks like a European basilica.
Next, we stopped at the base of a quick hike up to, you guessed it, another church. This church was on top of a mountain, so what was really special was the 360 degree view of the valley of Atlixco. We could see parts of the town in all directions with mountains and volcanoes beyond that. We also learned that there are still archaeological sites being uncovered in Atlixco which include human skeletons from over 1000 years ago.
Next we entered the city! Like Puebla the streets are incredibly colorful, the markets lively, and the whole city is full of life! We enjoyed a lunch at a restaurant on the Zócalo, or town square. After, we enjoyed wandering around the streets, trying the ice cream (my flavor of the day was Ferrero Rocher), and looking for flowers, as Atlixco is known as the City of Flowers. I also made my first purchase from a market in Mexico – a pair of handmade red and turquoise beaded hoop earrings!
By the end of the day, most of us were pretty exhausted, making for a sleepy bus ride back. We then managed to find the energy to go for a quick run in the Jardín del Arte and then rested up for our next trip on Sunday!
During this past week, there was a little switch in the rooming situation. One of the host families could no longer host their student, so Brendan (also from Notre Dame) moved in with Rocío and me. As a thank you and apology to all of us, Notre Dame decided to send the three of us on our own trip to Cacaxtla and Tlaxcala!
First our driver drove us to Cacaxtla, a small archaeological town in the state of Tlaxcala. The first pyramid we visited, Cerritos, was constructed between 600 – 950 AD and functioned more as it’s own city rather than a single pyramid. In the one large building, there was a temple, social space, bathhouse, and space for housing. Additionally, there were many walls of murals throughout the pyramid, highlighting different rituals and deities. The pyramid was abandoned around 1000 AD when the large Popocatepetl volcano erupted.
After the Pyramid of Cerritos, we went to another pyramid site, which was a ceremonial center for the Xochitecatl people. There are three pyramids here: the Spiral Pyramid, the Building of the Serpent, and the Pyramid of the Flowers.
On top of these pyramids were truly some of the best views I have ever seen in my life, so completely breathtaking. Although it was approaching uncomfortably hot at the base, once we climbed to the top, the wind was blowing so that it felt absolutely perfect. The pyramids are built in the Puebla-Tlaxcalan valley, so there is a stunning 360 degree view of towns and farmland encased in the massive mountains and volcanoes which unfortunately was impossible to capture with a picture. While up there, Brendan and I attempted to process what it meant to stand on something built 700 years before Christ walked the earth, something that left us both rather speechless.
(Brendan is sitting in the lower right!)
Afterwards, we were driven into the centro of Tlaxcala city, where we rushed in about five minutes late to 2:00 mass. As we were leaving the church, we ran into some friends of Rocío who also happened to be in Tlaxcala for the day. We then enjoyed exploring the city and markets. It reminded me a lot of Atlixco in terms of layout and architecture. For dinner we went to a restaurant that had prepared an extensive buffet for dinner. There was a woman making tortillas right in front of me and another woman grilling chicken and various vegetables. I tried many, many items including mole, nopal (cactus), and a type of mushroom soup. Very tasty!
At the end of the day, it was time to return to Estrella del Sur and get some much needed rest before the school week. This week will mark the start of medical rotations at Clínica UPAEP and this weekend is still up in the air! More to come 🙂
En Puebla Bailan Así 