The most beautiful scenery I have ever seen, I saw while driving through the desert to Idaho in the summer. Everything was a grainy type of sand made from the reddish clay of the entire horizon. Huge shelves of rock jetted into the sky, the color of dried blood and chili power - everything the brillant colors of orange and red against a pale cloudless sky. American natural beauty at its most pure, most unrefined, real form.
Mexico's landscape reminds me of the same, but everything is blanketed in green that only barely covers the ground. The same mountains stare defiantly at the sky but these ones are spotted with brush and scrawny, spiraling trees that twist in a frozen dance. There are places where, by whatever means, the ground has been carved away to reveal the same deep, dark colored ground I'd seen in Idaho. And thats when it hits you: We all stand on the exact same ground. A ground that was sacred to others before us and will continue to be even after we're gone. It doesn't matter what language is spoken above the ground. The earth murmurs to and sustains itself across all mankind's borders.
The feeling of being connected to something like landscape in such an intimate way can only come from its lack of human footprints. Only in the sprawling forever, that currently is the land somewhere between Cuernavaca and Puebla, can you really feel a connection to something beyond yourself. Beyond your country at heart or at foot, a connection with untouched creation that waits to be discovered. Its in the moment that you discover it that you come to realize that every minutue, every second you are in awe of everything around you, every second you forget everything else...every second is precious. You will never relive this single experience ever again. Its unfortunate that some people only ever realize this years after their experience.
Mexico's landscape reminds me of the same, but everything is blanketed in green that only barely covers the ground. The same mountains stare defiantly at the sky but these ones are spotted with brush and scrawny, spiraling trees that twist in a frozen dance. There are places where, by whatever means, the ground has been carved away to reveal the same deep, dark colored ground I'd seen in Idaho. And thats when it hits you: We all stand on the exact same ground. A ground that was sacred to others before us and will continue to be even after we're gone. It doesn't matter what language is spoken above the ground. The earth murmurs to and sustains itself across all mankind's borders.
The feeling of being connected to something like landscape in such an intimate way can only come from its lack of human footprints. Only in the sprawling forever, that currently is the land somewhere between Cuernavaca and Puebla, can you really feel a connection to something beyond yourself. Beyond your country at heart or at foot, a connection with untouched creation that waits to be discovered. Its in the moment that you discover it that you come to realize that every minutue, every second you are in awe of everything around you, every second you forget everything else...every second is precious. You will never relive this single experience ever again. Its unfortunate that some people only ever realize this years after their experience.
Before we hit Puebla, we stopped in Cholula, which is known for its very large pyramid that dates back to the era of the Olmecs (who were the original civilization in Mexico, 
even before the Aztecs). In order to get to the pyramid, instead of taking us through the city, our guide decided to take us through another way: a labyrinth of underground tunnels that swirl underneath the pyramid itself. This started off as a great way to get out of the hot sun. It soon became a little trickier for some in the group who were a bit claustrophobic. The tunnels themselves are pretty short in some places and the walls are definitely right next to you on either side. What made it worse for some people was that the guide kept stopping to explain things in some of the tightest places. I thought it was extraordinary, but some other were pretty glad to get out of there. Another thing: My photo here makes it look as if the tunnels were well lit. You can thank the aperture on my camera for that one because they were not.
After leaving the tunnels, we emerged to see the pyramid, or what was left of it. This one, like so many others, had also been destroyed by the Spanish so that a church could be built in its place. The pyramid was a bit too big though, so only the top half of it was destroyed and a church was built on top of it. We walked through the ruins for a while and even climbed to the top of the stairs of one part of the pyramid for a better view of the town, but after awhile the heat was getting to us so we hoped on the bus to go to another sight-seeing area.
The next place to see was La Iglesia de Tonantzintla, which is known for having a specular inside which is entirely borroco (very intricate designs). Its also a bit of a joke because when the Indians were forced to
build it for the Spanish, they carved themselves into the architecture as angels and carved the Spanish as demons. The chapel was very small, but SO extravagant. Its mostly just overwhelming because there is so much going on on the walls, everything is gold plated, everything is godily adorned, and everything is happening all at once and YOUR EYES HURT! Also, everything is 3D, because the walls are carved in what's almost layers. It was beautiful, but not quite my style in a church. I feel like I would have spent more time examining the walls than paying attention to a mass.
Finally, we were on our way into Puebla and ended up arriving there about 8 at night. Dinner was at the hotel, where we got our first real taste of the original recipe for mole, a sauce served over meat (usually chicken) which is made from chocolate and chili. I thought it was OK...but I probably wouldn't order it again. However, its quite the Mexican experience, so you have to at least try it.
Real quick, the hotel, by the way, was awesome! I was rooming with two other girls and our room was two stories! It was so cool. Everything smelled clean and wonderful, and it was cool and dry with a balcony. It was also nice to have a bed that was firm with a soft, puffy pillow. So yeah, so good.
That night we took a quick tour of La Capilla del Rosario, another church with tons of intricate designs that was also gold plated, and then we all just relaxed and walked around the town and took in the sights, smells, and sounds. We went through the market and bought some gifts and then met up with Ramiro and the Gettysburg teachers (who are the cutest Argentinean sisters you've ever met) for some food and drinks. Everything, per usual, was red, green and white - banners and streamers and lights everywhere - to celebrate Independence Day (which is tomorrow!).
The next day, we were up bright and early to see Los Fuertes (forts) de Loreto y Guadalupe, which are forts where the battle against the French took place on Cinco de Mayo. There's not much to tell here. We simply walked about the fort and didn't enter it at all which was disappointing and I still don't know why we couldn't go inside.
After the forts, we went to La Cocina (kitchen) de Santa Rosa. This was an old convent for nuns that was quite a bit different than other convents in that the women were severely mistreated. Our guide introduced us to the convent by taking us into a main room where there was a ton of modern...and very disturbing...art. By art, I mean mannequins which had been chopped up and had wires and tubes coming out of them. For instance, one piece was a black, curved chair (the "body") with long mannequin arms that reached painfully out of it. Its "head" was a radio-type thing that kept playing the same drum beat over and over again while gears turned inside it and made the. most. horrible. sound. ever. It was a screeching, nails against chalk, pain-induced screaming noise that almost instantly gave us all headaches. THE BEST PART was that through the hour long tour you could hear this creature screeching no matter where in the convent you went. It was the worst and it made it so hard to concentrate let alone translate the Spanish our guide was speaking in the back of our heads. To this point, I have no idea what that particular piece of art was supposed to symbolize. The whole hallway was full of these things that looked like they climbed out of Silent Hill (I kid you not). It was so scary to walk through alone, as I did later, especially with that THING screaming at me in its high pitched screech.
About the convent, women there were not allowed to have any contact with men whatsoever, which meant that they could only listen to church services through a thick screened wall. They were made to sleep on wooden boards with no blankets in order to keep them from dreaming, because their dreams could have possibly been tempting. It was pretty awful, but women in those days had a choice between marrying the man their father chose or joining a convent, which many found more appealing.
After the convent, we went to the Library Palafoxiana, which was i
n a community center that was putting on a show. Lots of music with little kids dancing in outfits that looked much like the traditional Mexican Doll. It was adorable. The library itself had tons of books that were all worn out and antique looking. That made sense since they were all from the 1500s and some, earlier. They were ordered by subject and all in Latin. There were some on ancient medicine, theology, science, scriptures, mythology, and more. It was very cool.
After that we had some free time to eat lunch and roam around Puebla. I don't know what I ate but I was sick the rest of the night and had to shut myself up in my massive room with a cup 'o noodles and MTV...in Spanish. So thats the end of this day. Sad times.
The next day, we ate, checked out, and bused over to Tlaxcala which is a small town whose native inhabitants are considered the "traitors" of Mexican history because they sided with Cortez when he fought the Aztecs. By the time we got to Tlaxcala, nearly ALL of us were tired and sick. Two of us had fevers and none of us wanted to do much but sleep off our weekend. Still, we enjoyed Tlaxcala as much as possible and toured their City Hall to see more murals (these ones, NOT by Diego Rivera).
Finally, after Tlaxcala, it was home to Cuernavaca and then a good night's sleep.
Pictures of ALL this stuff and MORE can be seen HERE.
TODAY is the day before Mexico's Independence Day, which means all of tonight is going to be a constant party. Mexico likes to celebrate the night before and then sleep off a hangover during the actual independence day. I already plan on getting no sleep tonight, as my neighbors love to party every night, let alone the night before their country's independence!
Today my school had a pot luck where all our host families made food and dropped it off at the school. We ate good food, listened to traditional Mexican music
, and drank some traditional Mexican beer. Ok, just kidding, but it WAS included with our pot luck. On school property too! There are just some things I have to get used to....:) After the food, some of us went to lounge by the pool and others went home to sleep. I'm here writing this blog.
Hope everyone is well! !Viva Mexico!
Love,
Kels
even before the Aztecs). In order to get to the pyramid, instead of taking us through the city, our guide decided to take us through another way: a labyrinth of underground tunnels that swirl underneath the pyramid itself. This started off as a great way to get out of the hot sun. It soon became a little trickier for some in the group who were a bit claustrophobic. The tunnels themselves are pretty short in some places and the walls are definitely right next to you on either side. What made it worse for some people was that the guide kept stopping to explain things in some of the tightest places. I thought it was extraordinary, but some other were pretty glad to get out of there. Another thing: My photo here makes it look as if the tunnels were well lit. You can thank the aperture on my camera for that one because they were not.After leaving the tunnels, we emerged to see the pyramid, or what was left of it. This one, like so many others, had also been destroyed by the Spanish so that a church could be built in its place. The pyramid was a bit too big though, so only the top half of it was destroyed and a church was built on top of it. We walked through the ruins for a while and even climbed to the top of the stairs of one part of the pyramid for a better view of the town, but after awhile the heat was getting to us so we hoped on the bus to go to another sight-seeing area.
The next place to see was La Iglesia de Tonantzintla, which is known for having a specular inside which is entirely borroco (very intricate designs). Its also a bit of a joke because when the Indians were forced to
build it for the Spanish, they carved themselves into the architecture as angels and carved the Spanish as demons. The chapel was very small, but SO extravagant. Its mostly just overwhelming because there is so much going on on the walls, everything is gold plated, everything is godily adorned, and everything is happening all at once and YOUR EYES HURT! Also, everything is 3D, because the walls are carved in what's almost layers. It was beautiful, but not quite my style in a church. I feel like I would have spent more time examining the walls than paying attention to a mass.Finally, we were on our way into Puebla and ended up arriving there about 8 at night. Dinner was at the hotel, where we got our first real taste of the original recipe for mole, a sauce served over meat (usually chicken) which is made from chocolate and chili. I thought it was OK...but I probably wouldn't order it again. However, its quite the Mexican experience, so you have to at least try it.
Real quick, the hotel, by the way, was awesome! I was rooming with two other girls and our room was two stories! It was so cool. Everything smelled clean and wonderful, and it was cool and dry with a balcony. It was also nice to have a bed that was firm with a soft, puffy pillow. So yeah, so good.
That night we took a quick tour of La Capilla del Rosario, another church with tons of intricate designs that was also gold plated, and then we all just relaxed and walked around the town and took in the sights, smells, and sounds. We went through the market and bought some gifts and then met up with Ramiro and the Gettysburg teachers (who are the cutest Argentinean sisters you've ever met) for some food and drinks. Everything, per usual, was red, green and white - banners and streamers and lights everywhere - to celebrate Independence Day (which is tomorrow!).
The next day, we were up bright and early to see Los Fuertes (forts) de Loreto y Guadalupe, which are forts where the battle against the French took place on Cinco de Mayo. There's not much to tell here. We simply walked about the fort and didn't enter it at all which was disappointing and I still don't know why we couldn't go inside.
After the forts, we went to La Cocina (kitchen) de Santa Rosa. This was an old convent for nuns that was quite a bit different than other convents in that the women were severely mistreated. Our guide introduced us to the convent by taking us into a main room where there was a ton of modern...and very disturbing...art. By art, I mean mannequins which had been chopped up and had wires and tubes coming out of them. For instance, one piece was a black, curved chair (the "body") with long mannequin arms that reached painfully out of it. Its "head" was a radio-type thing that kept playing the same drum beat over and over again while gears turned inside it and made the. most. horrible. sound. ever. It was a screeching, nails against chalk, pain-induced screaming noise that almost instantly gave us all headaches. THE BEST PART was that through the hour long tour you could hear this creature screeching no matter where in the convent you went. It was the worst and it made it so hard to concentrate let alone translate the Spanish our guide was speaking in the back of our heads. To this point, I have no idea what that particular piece of art was supposed to symbolize. The whole hallway was full of these things that looked like they climbed out of Silent Hill (I kid you not). It was so scary to walk through alone, as I did later, especially with that THING screaming at me in its high pitched screech.
About the convent, women there were not allowed to have any contact with men whatsoever, which meant that they could only listen to church services through a thick screened wall. They were made to sleep on wooden boards with no blankets in order to keep them from dreaming, because their dreams could have possibly been tempting. It was pretty awful, but women in those days had a choice between marrying the man their father chose or joining a convent, which many found more appealing.
After the convent, we went to the Library Palafoxiana, which was i
n a community center that was putting on a show. Lots of music with little kids dancing in outfits that looked much like the traditional Mexican Doll. It was adorable. The library itself had tons of books that were all worn out and antique looking. That made sense since they were all from the 1500s and some, earlier. They were ordered by subject and all in Latin. There were some on ancient medicine, theology, science, scriptures, mythology, and more. It was very cool.After that we had some free time to eat lunch and roam around Puebla. I don't know what I ate but I was sick the rest of the night and had to shut myself up in my massive room with a cup 'o noodles and MTV...in Spanish. So thats the end of this day. Sad times.
The next day, we ate, checked out, and bused over to Tlaxcala which is a small town whose native inhabitants are considered the "traitors" of Mexican history because they sided with Cortez when he fought the Aztecs. By the time we got to Tlaxcala, nearly ALL of us were tired and sick. Two of us had fevers and none of us wanted to do much but sleep off our weekend. Still, we enjoyed Tlaxcala as much as possible and toured their City Hall to see more murals (these ones, NOT by Diego Rivera).
Finally, after Tlaxcala, it was home to Cuernavaca and then a good night's sleep.
Pictures of ALL this stuff and MORE can be seen HERE.
TODAY is the day before Mexico's Independence Day, which means all of tonight is going to be a constant party. Mexico likes to celebrate the night before and then sleep off a hangover during the actual independence day. I already plan on getting no sleep tonight, as my neighbors love to party every night, let alone the night before their country's independence!
Today my school had a pot luck where all our host families made food and dropped it off at the school. We ate good food, listened to traditional Mexican music
, and drank some traditional Mexican beer. Ok, just kidding, but it WAS included with our pot luck. On school property too! There are just some things I have to get used to....:) After the food, some of us went to lounge by the pool and others went home to sleep. I'm here writing this blog.Hope everyone is well! !Viva Mexico!
Love,
Kels
4 comments:
That's wonderful kelsey. Although you made it sound like you had a terrible time and yes I still think it was EXHAUSTING; it sounds like some bits of close up history you'll never forget. Don't party too hard tonight! I love you.
Wow....what a weekend. Sounds like it was hard and fun. Great pictures too. You'll never forget these days. Go for it!
Dad
Looks like things were fun :-) i am glad things are better. Beer at school, good food, and sleep. Sweet! :-) love you much and hope to here from you soon soon soon!!
Amazing I dont think you realize just how amazing this all sounds to me. Im so glad that you are having such a full trip Keeps you learning and connecting. I envy your life now. :) But really thats so wonderful sounding... well minus you getting sick, thats too bad. I wonder about the mole you eat.
:
Ill have my mom and grandma make you some when you come back.
:
On that note i dreamed that you meed my dads dad last night. it was cool maybe you can meet him that would me just over the top cool.
:
I loved the pictures you really do have an Eye for photography and campuring time and space with a single click of a camara, Im glad we work together. :)
:
sorry i did not read this sooner but i have been swamped with school. I miss you and im glad that you seem to be slightly connecting an seems like enjoying the trip more.
:
I cant wait to talk to you soon. I love u an miss you punk. Its hard to forget about you... not that anyone would do that but remember you are in my prayers.
Post a Comment