Saturday, Feb. 13

This day we visited Cacaxtla, which was some Aztec ruins that still had murals and wall paintings still intact. the structure wasn't anything extraordinary, but the paintings were absolutely stunning. they were faded, chipped and unclear in some areas; but I knew what they were of thanks to my Mesoamerican art class :). The creativity and color of the images were beautiful! I couldn't believe i was seeing the images I had studied in my textbooks. One thing I thought was neat was at these ruins we saw the pens where they kept exotic parrots from South America. the Aztecs highly prized feathers, so they kept and traded birds for this reason. After this, we went over to Cacaxtla's neighbor, Xochialco. It was VERY windy there! It was simpler than Cacaxtla, but it had an interesting circular Aztec pyramid. On top of this pyramid was a large white cross. I was not sure whether this was an attempt for the Catholics to assimilate with the Aztecs, or a sign of dominance over the Aztec culture and beliefs. Ron had us meditate on this thought and write about it in our journals. It was truly a beautiful place to sit and admire the surroundings. We had a veiw of a valley with a grand mountain with snow and folding hills in the back.

Friday, Feb. 12

This was the day we went to the Anthropology Museum of Mexico City. They had SOOO many Mesoamerican artifacts!!! I could barely handle myself! My favorite piece was the Aztec statue of Coatlicue*. I did my research paper on it for my Mesoamerican art class, so I had seen so many pictures of it and studied it for months. Her story is kind of interesting... her statue was buried by the Aztecs so the conquistadors would not destroy it. It was later rediscovered on accident in 1790 during a sewage project. At first, it was a treasured and revered artifact, but the was demanded by the bishop to have reburied in 1805 because of her graphic imagery. (short history lesson :) We also saw the Aztec calendar stone that some believe predicts the end of the world in 2012. I was just amazed at its size and detail. It was nothing short of beautiful. After the museum I explored the surrounding park with Ron and a few other students. We tried some vendor snacks and watched an odd ritual/performance that involved 4 guys climbing a tall pole, winding up the rope that was tied around their waists, then twirling upside-down.. it was odd. It was mostly to entertain spectators for a bit and then ask them for money. After all this, we took our bags to the bus station and we were on our way to Puebla! it was a 2 hour bus ride with something interesting always out the window. When I did think Mexico could get better, we arrived in Puebla and it was even more beautiful! It had more of a colonial style than Mexico City and had less trash in the streets (which was nice). My roommates and I were lucky and scored the really nice room with a loft and out own balcony!! :) Later, Ron took some students out for a walk to the zocalo* and it was rather busy since it was a Friday night. We got our dinner and some delicious churros! All around us were so many people enjoying the soft coolness of the night and the Spanish croons of the live music. I am in love with this place.

*a powerful serpent/woman deity who gave birth to the sun, moon and stars; and she required human sacrifice for repayment.

*A central square where most the action happens.

Thursday, Feb. 11

This was a day I had been most excited for. The day we got to go to Teotihuacan. I had been anticipating this day since I learned about it in my Mesoamerican art class. I felt like a kid going to see Santa in candy land on my birthday while riding a pink glittery pony. Yes, I was a little excited. I was so antsy once we were in sight of the temple of the sun (it was SO BIG!). I had to be patient though and walk through where the common people lived before we would climb the pyramids... We finally get there and first saw the temple of Quetzalcoatl*, which is a beautifully ornate pyramid the Aztecs built another plain pyramid over... I don't know why they did this, but I am just glad they have it excavated now! Ron then led us to the pyramid of the sun, which is HUGE! Ron is a fast walker and I was the only one who kept up. The others took their time, but I was WAY too anxious to dilly-dally. I also learned a lot walking with Ron which was neat. We finally arrived at the base of the pyramid and I was just mind-blown. it was MASSIVE! As my eyes scaled its immensity, i could barely believe it was built just with hands... The trek up was not that bad (I think I can thank my adrenaline for that). The view from the top was gorgeous. I felt like I could see all of Mexico! I would have liked to stay at the top of thie pyramid all day... But we had the pyramid of the moon to explore next, which was further down the path. The pyramid of the moon isn't as tall. Unfortunately, we were only able to climb about half way up due to reconstruction/unstable steps. We then descended and saw other things I didn't really care about, then had lunch at the coolest restaurant I had ever been to! This restaurant was in a cave!! (well, like an open airy cave) It had a neat atmosphere and was much cooler inside which was nice after the long hike/climb. After this we were picked up by our van. I then conked out very quickly. Next thing I knew, we were in the city again and people were telling me to wake up and open the door. Apparently, we were going to see the Basilia Virgen de Guadalupe. It was a grand and modern church that held the original famous catholic depiction of Mary (I think?) It was a big deal whatever it was.

*the plumed serpent. Was a major deity to all ancient Mesoamerican cultures.

Wednesday, Feb. 10

This day we went to see the ruins of Templo Mayor. Well, what they have uncovers of it. the problem the archaeologists have is that Mexico city was LITERALLY built on top of one of the greatest Mesoamerican cities, Tenochitlan. The ruins of Templo Mayor are bordered by stores, buildings and the cathedral. The rest of the city is underneath the streets of Mexico City. there was actually another excavation site right between the back of our hotel and the back of the cathedral! I had fun watching the diggers :) they blew me kisses. While we were inside the cathedral, one section was noticeably slanted! It was because of the unstableness of the ruins it was built upon (It's way of striking back if you ask me). There was a museum next to it for Tenochitlan and all the artifacts from the area! I am incredibly thankful I took the class on Mesoamerican art before I came. I am able to appreciate everything so much more because of it. We also went to the Palacio de Bellas Artes. The building was spectacular and inside were murals de Diego Rivera, Rufino Tomayo and other people I do not remember. But they were big and really neat! We then explored Alameda Park where there were vendors and a lot of couples.

{pictures}

-Palacio de Bellas Artes

-me with Templo Mayor ruins and the cathedral in the back

-me with a replica of the stone of Coyoxalqui (neat story to look up if interested)

-the slanted church

-the veiw from our hotel room of the excavation site and the back of the cathedral

Tuesday, Feb. 9

We are up at a Ridiculous hour to meet at the airport. We first flew into Dallas, Texas which has a MASSIVE airport. We took a tram thing to the other side of the airport to catch our layover. We then all ordered lunch together. We got rather anxious knowing that we would be ordering our dinner in Spanish that night! Some of the girls (my included) had a minor panic attack when we found out that they generally do not sell tampons in Mexico. A few scoured the Dallas airport in desperation. We flew into Mexico City at night. The lights were like nothing I had ever seen! It was like seeing the stars from the other side of the universe. The airport was like every other one I had been in, but once we left in our van, my mind was flooded with the imagery of my new world. I couldn't stop staring out the window at what i was seeing! The quality of the buildings was so random. some looked brand new and some had an aged rubble look to them. The streets were crammed and no one seems to pay attention to the lane lines! If they could fit, that was their spot. And they reeeaaally threaten the limits of where they can fit. One thing I was dumbfounded by was a produce truck full of people on the highway! it had an open back where people (including kinds that looked 12 years old) sat with their legs dangling over the edge. This was on a BUMPY highway where everyone was going at least 50mph!! We also passed by what looked to be prostitute row... that was interesting. As we got close to our hotel, we saw the beautiful cathedral and giant flag of Mexico lit up in the zocalo*. It might have been my mental high at the time, but I have never seen such an elegant flag.

*Spanish term for a central city square. Where all the action usually is.

[The pictures are of the Mexico City lights from the plane and the veiw of the cathedral from our hotel room]