If I could travel back in time ...

...I would travel to Mesoamerican Mexico. And that is not just the history major in me, the ancient Aztec ruins and the pyramids at Teotihuacan are incredible. Those civilizations had to be so amazing! The architecture that remains is architecturally imposing and on a huge scale. The original buildings were painted bright colors and decorated with gold and precious gems. Walking around the pyramid complex I tried to imagine what it would have been like to live during that time as well has imagining what the Spaniards must have thought upon arriving in a land so full of wealth and culture and knowledge. This weekend I traveled to Mexico City with the entire CIEE group. The pyramids at Teotihuacan were my favorite place that we visited. It was so much fun to climb the massive steps of the Moon Pyramid and the larger Sun Pyramid and then to look out over the entire complex. I wish I could have been there at that civilization's peak even for just a day. Below is a photo that I took from the Moon Pyramid of the Sun Pyramid. The smaller pyramids are thought to be for different deities. Next to these pyramids are grassy hills that have grown over several smaller pyramids (unfortunately you can't see them in this picture).

Mexico City was an interesting experience on a number of levels. It really opened my eyes to the Mexican identity. Mexico City not only has a lot of indigenous history that Mexicans are very proud of, but the capital also has a huge religious significance as the location of the Basilica of the Virgen de Guadalupe. Millions of visitors and pilgrims stop at the Basilica to pay homage to this major icon of Mexican identity. The city has both the very rich and the incredibly poor. The wealthy people live in the middle of the city where the national buildings are located around the main plaza which is called the Zocalo. The poor live in what is basically a garbage dump and what has become home to some 3,000,000 people. Mexico City has skyscrapers, massive cathedrals, museums, cafes, bars, hotels, and taxis everywhere. It is a fun city despite having a reputation for being dangerous and dirty (both of which are a reality). And if Spanish was not the language heard everywhere, you could almost imagine you were in New York City or London. I really enjoyed the time I spent there, and I learned a lot. However, I was glad to return to Guanajuato at the end of the weekend. To the left is a picture from the gardens at the Basilica of the Virgen de Guadalupe. You can see the homage being paid by the indigenous people to an equally indigenous version of the Virgin Mary. Below is a picture of me in front of one of the churches honoring the Virgen de Guadalupe with Mexico City in the background.


Comparing Guanajuato and Mexico City is like comparing night and day. The language is pretty much the only thing the two cities have in common. Mexico City is arranged on a grid system with straight roads and square intersections. In Guanajuato there is no such thing as a right angle. The streets follow the shape of the land and the buildings follow the streets. Mexico City is full of bustling people who are in a rush to get where they are going. Businesses are located in tall skyscrapers and people live in tall apartment buildings. There are policemen at every intersection because the traffic lights are not capable of managing all the cars, trucks, and taxis. Guanajuato has worked hard to preserve its colonial appearance and to maintain its small town feel. People know each other and stop to chat with each other. Businesses open whenever the owners feel like opening. The houses and buildings are painted bright, cheerful colors and traffic is funneled through tunnels under the city so that cars are not clogging the streets. Mexico City does offer a lot that Guanajuato does not have access to. The museums in the capital are much larger and have bigger displays and more information. One of the first things that I noticed in Mexico City were the number of bookstores. In Guanajuato there are two very small, limited bookstores. Instead, a book fair comes to the city every so often and people can buy and sell books for two weeks before the fair moves on. The two cities are so very different, and while both have a lot to offer, I definitely feel more at home here in the mountains, in Guanajuato.

Conflicting Images

Over the last few days I have been observing life in Guanajuato, and I have gradually come to realize just how diverse and unique this city is. For example, yesterday I was walking to the Mercado de Embajadoras and I came around the street corner to see a man walking his four heavy-laden burros down the street beside some construction workers who were digging a hole with a modern backhoe. Modern technology side by side with the traditional.

Then, last night I went with my host family's kids and their nanny to take the kids to their swimming lessons. These swimming lessons were at what would be the equivalent of a country club. The place had playgrounds, tennis courts, a picnic area, and a snack canteen. It was really nice, and it was obvious that it was frequented by the more wealthy people in Guanajuato.

Contrast this with the festival I saw today. I was walking down the street that leads to my classroom and which is next to a large church. As I made my way down the street, I heard an incredibly loud jingling behind me and I turned to see several people decked out in traditional, very fancy costumes. They were wearing massive, feathered headresses and colorful, woven outfits. The jingling was from the bells that they had tied to their legs. They were celebrating the saint of the church near my classroom. There was live music and these giant plastic heads for the children to wear and then dance in. (They kind of looked like the guy with the giant, plastic head in Shrek, if that gives you a mental picture.) I tried to take a picture without looking really touristy so you can visualize this experience.

In one of my classes were were talking about how the indigenous languange of Nahuatl has retained some of its words in the Spanish that the people in Guanajuato speak. However, Mexico has also adopted many English words and made them Spanish. One example is the word gogles or goggles. Basically, just say goggles with a Spanish pronunciation and you've got it.

When I first arrived in Guanajuato, I did not see much that screamed "indigenous" and I was a little disappointed. However,the more time I've spent here, the more things I've noticed. I think that my experience here will be very interesting as I discover how the very old and the very modern live together in the same city.

Hasta luego!
Becky

Hola Guanajuato!

I made it to the "Gatlinburg of Mexico" as I heard one person describe Guanajuato on Friday afternoon around 5 o'clock. And since then, I haven't had time to stop and think. I've had all sorts of new experiences to experience and new sights to see.


Friday was pretty laid back. After arriving the CIEE group gathered and spent some time getting to know each other. There are 16 of us and we are from all over the US. It's an interesting mix of accents and backgrounds. We ate dinner at the hotel and met the program director Karen, the assistant director Eduardo or Lalo, and the program coordinator Rebeca. They went out of their way to make us feel welcome and at ease.

The picture below is of the flowers at the hotel. They are beautiful and can be found all over the city.

Saturday was a busy day. We had orientation at a recreation center in a natural reserve on top of a mountain. It was chilly, but the view was amazing. We talked about culture, homestay logistics, and health and safety stuff. I tried the local, traditional coffee. It is not at all like our coffee. It tastes almost like hot cider because they put cinnamon in it and it comes sweetened. It was good though and the warmth was appreciated. After orientation we headed back to the hotel and had several hours of free time. I decided to wander around with three other girls and see if we could find the downtown area and the historical Centro. We succeeded and found out that it really is true that if you walk downhill you will end up the the town center. The city is full of twisting, narrow callejones or alleyways that give the city character and make it extraordinarily difficult to figure out where anything is. The Centro is really interesting. There is a huge Catholic church that is orange and yellow on the outside and full of gold-plated altars on the inside. The University of Guanajuato is just as amazing as the pictures. I got up the energy to climb the stairs so that I could see the city and it was completely worth it.

Saturday night we met our host families. I live with Queta, Julio, Paula and Cesar Enrique. Queta runs a newspaper that focuses on cultural and social news and Julio is a secretary for the Secretary of the Economy. Paula is six and her favorite color is pink and her favorite cartoon is Tinkerbell. Cesar is three and he loves cars and Spiderman. They are unbelieveably cute and so full of energy it is tiring. We have colored together and watched cartoons. Paula never stops talking so I suppose that is how I will learn Spanish.

Sunday we went on a tour of the famous sites around Guanajuato. We went to two different mines and went down one of the mine shafts. Guanajuato is mining central...I think that the area around the city produced 30% of the world's silver at one point. We also went to an hacienda with an amazing garden. It was really neat to imagine what it would have been like to live the life of a wealthy landowner/mine owner. We went to the Iglesia de Cata in Valenciana which is a nearby town. The church was beautiful and there was a wedding about to start when we got there. I found out later that my host parents were married in the same church. After the iglesia, we went to a statue called Cristo Rey. It is a huge statue of Christ on top of a mountain. The view from the overlook is absolutely stunning and unlike anything I have ever seen before. We also went to the monument for El Pipila, who is a local hero. The view of Guanajuato from the base of the statue was incredible. The picture below gives you a glimpse of what I was looking at and also where I get to live for the next five months.

The rest of the day was spent with my host family. I'll describe them in further detail in a later post.

Today I started classes with CIEE. I had Spanish class for three hours this morning. Then I went to the bank and exchanged my money. In the afternoon we had the Prope class. Basically we talked about how Mexicans view knowledge and education as well as learning several important Mexican phrases. I hope that my Spanish skills improve rapidly.

As they say in Guanajuato, todo es posible, pero nada es seguro.
Becky