So Week 8 kicked off a two week period where we had a little more academics than usual, starting with a physics test the Tuesday after we returned from our vacation to Oaxaca. However, we welcomed a three day trip to Mexico City as a nice break from studying and essay writing!
We woke up early Friday morning and boarded the buses to Mexico City. After a beautiful 2.5 hour drive through the mountains, we arrived and went straight to Museo de Memoria y Tolerancia (Museum of Memory and Tolerance). The museum, which was about the Holocaust and other genocides, although a strange and unexpected introduction to Mexico City, was very well done and very moving. One of the most powerful parts for me was walking into one of the trains cars used to carry thousands of Jews to the concentration camp of Dachau.
We then headed out to visit the US Embassy. One of the US-Mexican ambassadors spoke to us about business relationships between the US and Mexico. We touched on other topics such as tourism and narco trade and how these affect the US, as well. It was very neat to hear from a US ambassador about how these things directly affect both the US and Mexico.
After the US Embassy, we ate lunch in this beautiful restaurant in downtown. In typical Mexican style, the meal had four courses and lasted almost two hours. We also had a mariachi come by and serenade us in the middle of the meal.
Then we checked into our hotel and had a bit of free time before walking to the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) to watch a traditional Mexican ballet. Construction on the center started in 1904, but was not completed until 1934. As a result, the outside of the center has beautiful Neoclassical architecture, while the inside has an Art Deco style. The ballet was absolutely stunning to watch. It was not at all like ballet as we think of it in the States. The dancers had beautiful multicolored skirts which they used to paint stunning pictures across the stage.
That night, we decided to go out and explore the nightlife. First we went to a restaurant for wine and dessert. Then we decided we missed South Bend a little too much, and went to an ice bar. For those unfamiliar, an ice bar is a bar made completely out of ice and kept at below freezing temperatures. Luckily they hand out large coats to everyone upon entry.
The next morning, we boarded the buses for Xochimilco, a little town outside of Mexico City known for their canals. We then boarded the long colorful boats with long tables in the middle. On the boats, we were served brunch, cooked right there on the water. We were also serenaded by mariachis and xylophone duos, all with their own boats.
After getting off the boat, we were able to wander around the markets there in Xochimilco. There were all sorts of things like blouses, shoes, art, and tapestries. It’s also fun to talk to the vendors and hear how they make their products.
After getting back to the hotel, we had pretty much the rest of the day free. After napping and resting for a bit, Emily, Mary, and I decided to go out for our first non-Mexican meal in a while. We walked from our hotel to this cute little Italian place and enjoyed a long dinner of pasta and pizza! After the meal, we went back to our hotel room and Katie joined us for a fun late night chat.
Sunday morning started with a big breakfast before we started our 3 hour walking tour of the city. We saw all sorts of things, such as the Palacio de Correos (Postal Palace), Cathedral of Mexico City, Palacio Nacional, which is the Mexican equivalent of the White House, and Templo Mayor.
After the tour, we went back to eat lunch in a house-turned-restaurant right near Palacio de Bellas Artes. The house was absolutely stunning and filled with hand-painted blue tile. You could also feel a noticeable slant of the floor, due to the city being constructed on lakes and settling over time.
After lunch, a few of us ran (literally) to get a little ice cream before boarding the bus to visit the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe and go to mass there. As the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe goes, in the 1500s a man named Juan Diego heard music coming from the hill of Tepeyac (near Mexico City), and this lured him to the top. There he saw the Virgin Mary looking like a native princess. She told him he should build a shrine to her at the top of the hill. However, when Juan Diego went to tell his bishop, he didn’t believe him and wanted a sign. Mary told Juan Diego to return to the top of the hill, pick some flowers, and show them to the bishop. This would have been a miracle, as it was the dead of winter and flowers weren’t growing. So Juan Diego picked some of the miraculous flowers and brought them in a cloak to the bishop. When we dropped the cloak, not only did the bishop see the flowers, but a miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Then we boarded the buses and drove the two hours back to Puebla! Sunday night was a late one, as I had a lot of schoolwork to complete before heading into our midterms week. However, in Week 9, we went back to Mexico City for a school trip and got to do more exploring of Puebla. More to come 🙂
En Puebla Bailan Así 