Distrito Federal- Trip to Mexico City!

This weekend we traveled to Mexico City, and I fell in love! My friend Claire and traveled with our Mexican friend Aldo (God bless him) to the city, where we met up with his Mexican friends. Don't worry, we were outnumbered by locals and completely safe.

On Saturday we traveled to Chapultepec, the largest city park in Latin America. It's very similar to Central Park, with a lake, markets, cool historic building, and a lot of green space. My favorite thing was the Castle- it used to be the home of the President but is now a historical museum. I've learned so much about Mexican history that it was very cool to see real artifacts and buildings.

Later we went to the Centro Histórico and saw the Cathedral, the Zócalo, the National Palace, the ruins of Templo Mayor, the giant Torre Latinoamericano, and of course the markets and the giant masses of people everywhere! Loved it!

At night we went to Plaza Loreto in the South to see a band called Quiero Club at a really cool bar/music venue. We got VIP seating because they asked us where we were from, and they were so excited that we came all the way from Canada (I just said Canada to make it easier... close enough, right?) to see them! We got to meet the bands and sit in a really cool area. The concert was greatttt.

Sunday we went to Bellas Artes to see the Art museum/palace. It was really neat, especially the architecture of the Palace itself. We ate lunch in the Casa de los Azulejos (House of Tiles is the translation), a huge old mansion that is covered in blue and white tiles. It was delicious. Afterwards, we spent hours in the Sunday market in the Centro.

(Forgive me for not having more pictures- I hate looking like a tourist! Wikipedia has better pictures anyway)

 

 P.S.- Sunday, on the subway, I met this girl wearing a Packers t-shirt! Needless to say, we talked and she told me that her whole family is Packer fans and they were all heading to watch the game together! How cool is that! And don't worry, I had someone updating me during the game and I caught the end.

For all of you suffering in the depths of frozen Wisconsin...

I was told to upload some pictures of sun and life. So I walked around campus a little bit after class today and snapped a few. The campus is incredible, there are gardens everywhere and every building has a courtyard in the middle. And don't worry, I'm surviving the weather. Today it was about 78 degrees with a beautiful blue sky and bright sunshine :)

 I have a bunch of classes in this building- Language building

 Behind/in front of the Centro Social (Union kind of thing)

 Spiderman was on campus to advertise for the Superhero themed party tonight

 Meditation garden that I found today! So pretty

 La Hacienda- awesome building, they say it's haunted! 

 The sun!

 The other building where I have my classes- Humanities- it's my favorite! 

 Ignacio Bernal dorm- it looks like a palace

 Fountain in the big open meeting area in front of the Union

 These are for Jolyn

A stray cat. Don't worry, I did not touch it. 

Discoveries

think that blogs are supposed to be for sharing random thoughts one has had with people that don't care, so here goes. Here are some things that Mexico has figured out that the US still needs to work on (or I just have never experienced in the US, meaning we need more):

-Milk boxes: If you want an individual milk, it comes in a cute little box with a straw, none of the carton or bottle nonsense. And tastes so much better. Also, the milk is so pasteurized that it doesn't need to be refrigerated. Hello making packing lunches for kids easier and healthier.

-Toilet flushers: a lot of toilets here don't have the little flush lever on the back of the toilet- instead they have a foot pedal thing on the ground. Hello less germs. 

-Light switches: In my room, when I open my closet door, a little light turns on. Also, I can turn on the light by my bed with a switch by the door OR with a switch by my bed. Duh. 

-Solid dish soap: Maybe this exists in the US, but here they have this little container of semi-solid dishsoap, and all you do is get some on a sponge and it works really well. And smells good. 

-Bars: At a lot of bars, some bartenders circulate throughout the crowd to take orders and deliver drinks, rather than having everyone crowd the little bar and have to wait forever to order. How do they get through the crowd, you ask? They have whistles and flashlights. 

-Employees: In the parking lots of big stores, malls, and busy streets, there are people that work as... Parking directors? They tell you the next open spot, direct you when you can/can't pull out of your spot, help you parallel park, and help you find your car if you don't know where it is. You have to tip them, and I'm not sure who would want the job, but it sure helps drivers. Can you imagine how much easier Black Friday would be? 

And whoever told me I needed adaptors for my plug-ins lied. There are 3-prong plugs everywhere, and in super convenient places, unlike our houses and libraries. 

I'll add more when I discover them.

-Speedbumps: "topes" are EVERYWHERE! Every street has a speedbump every 10 feet, and if not, at least twice a block. They are huge and difficult to get over in a small car. I have been told that they have them to avoid having a lot of Sports cars on the streets, but who knows. Maybe they slow down, but it also just makes them buy bigger cars. Crazy.

Update:
In Mexico it is in style to put your kids on leashes. I took these creepy pictures we were in Chapultepec. Don't get me wrong, I agree that it makes a lot of sense, because there are kidnappings and dangerous people, but when there is a 11year old looking girl wearing a leash because it's cool, I don't quite agree. They sell them in a variety of colors and styles, and everyone has one. Every child from age 1-12 wears one. Jump on the bandwagon, United States.

 

Adventures!

The University took us on trips this week, to see the city of Cholula (San Andres Cholula is the little city we're in) and Puebla (the bigger city). Both are incredible and the weather has been so perfect! Cholula has a really strong indigenous culture, so there is tons of color everywhere! Puebla is designed like a European city, so there is an awesome plaza (called Zócalos here) in the middle. 

I can't wait to travel (and shop) more! I spent the days with the international students which is super interesting because everyone speaks different languages. For a while I was with a girl from France, a girl from Canada, a girl from Australia and a guy from Mexico, so we had to translate everything 3 times! Very cool experience. 

We ate at a few different restaurants in the cities, and they were all good. The food interests me a lot, and I always bug the Mexicans I am hanging out with by asking them what every little thing on the menu is. Puebla is known for Mole Poblano, a kind of sauce made from chile and chocolate- it's pretty good! And the best news is that the food/water hasn't made me sick yet, so I plan to continue eating all semester :)

The view of Cholula from the top of the Pyramid (which is mostly just a hill, the majority of the pyramid is underground) 

Everything in Puebla is so nice and clean and fancy! 

 All of the buildings are colorful!

 A market in Puebla

Don't worry, we asked first! This is my friend from Canada- she speaks English, Spanish and French completely fluently! It's incredible.

 El Zócalo en Puebla- palm trees!

The cathedral in Puebla- they say it's gray because it was built by Europeans and they don't like color. Also, the big door in the middle was open for some reason when we went, and the door is special because it absolves everyone's sins as they walk through it. So now I am pardoned of my sins, without having to go to confession :)

 The view of the cathedral and zócalo from a rooftop cafe where we went! So fancy and cool!

This feels like vacation.

I don't think I've ever had so much fun in my life. Everything is perfect- the campus is prettier than botanical gardens, the weather couldn't be better, the food is bien rica, and the people are wonderful.

Here are just a few pictures of my dorm, or Colegio. We're going to Cholula today to explore, so I'll be sure to take pictures of the pyramid and everything!