Tlaxcala y Cacaxtla. Don't worry, I don't know how to pronounce them either!

Warning: This is another boring historical post. I can't help it, Mexico is just such an intereting place that I want to share what I am learning with all of you. And I don't want to forget it either. The University took us to Tlaxcala, a charming Colonial city about 2 hours away from the Districto Federal. The city is near El Popo, an active (but not dangerous) volcano. As we were driving, the volcano had several eruptions. The volcano erupts hot water vapor, which turn into clouds, which then change the surrounding climate. The volcano only erupts every few months so we just happened to be in the right place and the right time. Very cool!

The next picture is the official government building of Tlaxcala. It was built by the Spaniards after they colonized the area. But now, it is more like a museum. Every wall is covered in beautiful murals that depict what life was like before the Spanish arrived. The indigenous people depended on corn for their survival. The art depicts the importance of the staple food in their culture. In fact, Tlaxcali means tortilla in Nahuatl.

Of course, the Spanish built a church to convert the natives shortly after arriving. The interesting thing is that they had to invent some new arquitecture because the indigenous people were resisting worshiping in their cathedral. Our guide said that the people were opposed to the cathedral for two main reasons: 1) they were not accustomed to worshiping in enclosed spaces and 2)they had obvious resentment for the God of the colonizers. The Spanish responded to the resistance by building an open-air chapel across from the cathedral.

After Tlaxcala, we drove to the ancient ruins of Cacaxtla. They are in the process of being excavated so they don't look like anything spectacular from far away. However, when you walk inside, you can see several amazing murals. The colors are still bright after more than 1000 years. Especially the blue! It is believed that the people of Cacaxtla were of Mayan descent because they painted in a unique style and with colors that are known to have originated in the Yucatan. Nobody knows how they made such a vibrant blue color. The best guess is turquoise, but it is only found in Northern Mexico, which is rather far from Cacaxtla. It's a mystery!

Districto Federal

So you all know that right now, I am living in Mexico City. However, in Mexico, it is not called Mexico City. I think it is a little repetitive. Mexicans call it the Districto Federal. It is the capital and arguably the economic and cultural headquarters of the country. The best way that I can explain it is to make an analogy with the mother country. Imagine if Washington D.C.'s political significance was combined with New York City's economic and cultural significance. Combine the populations as well. And the traffic. And the pollution.

Three of the pictures are of the Zocolo, which is in the very center of the city. We went with our program the day after arriving. The tree and the Christmas decorations were still up. And the government sponsored a HUGE ice skating rink. It was a bit out of place, but tons of people were enjoying it when I was there. The flag in the center of the plaza was rather impressive. It is gigantic. We were eating dinner on the balcony of a restaraunt and it was still higher than us. I remember thinking that the Mexican flag is a Christmas decoration in itself. It fit right in with the tree and the lights!

The picture that looks different than the others is of The Plaza of the Three Cultures. I like the picture because it shows a little piece of each culture. In the foreground, you can see the ruins of Tlatelolco. Tlatelolco was a Prehispanic city that predates the Aztecs. In its era, it was the city with the largest and most important market in all of Mesoamerica. The Spanish arrived in 1521 and conquered Tlatelolco and the surrounding areas. There is a sign in front of the arqueological zone that says something to the effect of, "It was neither triumph nor defeat. It was the birth of the mestizo race that it Mexico today." After almost 500, Mexicans (caution: this is just an opinion-i cannot speak definitively for them since I am not one) have at least come to terms with their mixed identities. Which leads to the second culture, the Colonial era. In the picture, you can see the church and convent of Senor Santiago that was built shortly after the Spaniards took over Tlatelolco to symbolize the moral defeat of the indigenous people. Interesting fact: The Spaniards built the church from the stones of Tlatelolco. It is a literal and figurative representation of the mestizo. The third culture is contemporary Mexico. In the picture, you can see the huge government building and apartments. They completely surround the plaza. The space represents another dark spot in the history of Mexico, commonly referred to as the "Second Massacre of Tlatelolco." Several hundred student protesters were shot in the plaza in 1968, right before the Mexico City Olympics. Just as the Spaniards attempted to cover up history, the Mexican government has only acknowledged the deaths of 20 people. Their names are on a sign in the center of the plaza. In case you haven't noticed, I found the Plaza of the Three Cultures to be a very profound social space. It was a strange feeling to be in an ancient Aztec city and a world class city at the same exact time.

Certainly, the United States has cities with overlapping histories. And in some respects, America is a colonial country also. But as much as I try to compare the two countries, there is something very different about them. Imagine how it would be if the majority of Americans were a mix of Native American and British...??

La Casa de California

Just in case you are getting suspicious after seeing all the pictures of my fun adventures, I want to prove to you that I really am STUDYING abroad. I go to school everyday from 10-3 in a beautiful building that the University of California owns. It is called La Casa. I take a contemporary mexican history class in the mornings and a research methodology and a spanish class in the afternoons. There are 13 people in the program, 12 of which are women. There is 1 lonely/lucky boy, depending on how you think about it! All the people are super cool. So cool that I am sad to leave them. I am the only one in the program that is going to leave Mexico City. There is one other girl in the Field Research Program, but she is studying student movements so she decided to stay in the Districto Federal. But it should be just fine. I am looking forward to researching in Chiapas.

**I included a picture of one of the rooms in La Casa. It is not as random as it seems! Actually, it is the room where they signed NAFTA. We joke that it is haunted. If you look at Mexico's economy post 1994, you will see why!

Cholula--No Relation to the Hot Sauce!

I would have to say that Cholula is my new favorite place in Mexico. It is off the beaten road, about 20 minutes outside of Puebla. Perhaps that is why I found it so intriguing. We thought the bus driver dropped us up at the wrong stop cause we were in the middle of nowhere. But after walking for a few minutes, we were taken aback to see a yellow and white cathedral on distant hill. We walked towards the city. Behind the cathedral, we could barely make out the ancient Aztec ruins. The center of the city was bustling. People were eating and enjoying the breezy afternoon. It was exciting. It felt like Mexico...the real Mexico. We first went to the ruins. It is no coincidence that there is a Catholic church right above an ancient city. This was the Spanish conquestors M.O.A. They purposefully built over the Aztec cities. It proved the religious and political defeat of the indigenous people. And quite literally, it covered up their history.

After the pyramids, we climbed the hill to the cathedral. As we were walking, we stopped to talk to a woman who was selling fruits and nuts (see picture). She offered us to try one of her special treats. Grasshoppers! Of course, we couln't turn down the offer. To be honest, they tasted pretty good. I thought they tasted like salty peanuts. But then, since we liked the grasshoppers so much, she offered us a fly-looking thing. I am not sure what it was, but I could have lived without it!

The sun set as we were climing up the hill to the cathedral. The view from the top was breathtaking. It's a cheezy word (cursi, in spanish!), but I can explain it any other way. The color of the sky made the church look so beautiful. I took a ton of pictures, but I only posted a few of my favorites.

As we were walking down the hill, tons of families were walking up it. Then, we started to hear fireworks. We finally stopped to ask a family what the celebration was about. They told us that Cholula has 365 churches, one for each day of the year, so every night is a celebration. No wonder the atmosphere of the city is so exciting! We later learned, however, it is slight exaggeration. 365 churches would be a little over kill for the small city!!

Puebla

Puebla is a small Colonial city about 2 hours from Mexico City. We toook a bus and spent Saturday and Sudaay exploring the city. We quickly learned that Puebla is the home of mole poblano and dulces. A fabulous combination, I might add. The main church is on the $500 peso. (That is what the picture is about!) The cathedral is over the top extravagant. However, I loved Puebla for its colors. Every building has its own flavor. Hopefully, you can get a feel of the vibrantness of the city from my pictures!

Puebla is famous for its ceramics, especially this blue and white pattern. I went into every ceramic shop. My friends were totally bored, but I could not get enough. When I get my own house, I want dishes from Puebla!

*i do realize that these are the same pictures. i am just so computer illiterate that i don't know how to delete one of them*

This is a picture of the hostel that my friends and I stayed in. We shared a six person room and it came out to be less than 10$ a person. Breakfast included. Another reason why I love Mexico!

Los Tres Magos

Another reason why I love Mexico: The holidays don't end at Christmas!! They don't even end after New Year's Day. Mexicans celebrate Los Tres Magos, which in english, means the Three Wise Men. It is a really fun holiday, especially for kids. Kids set out there shoes on the eve of Los Tres Magos and in the morning there is a gift inside of them. The family drinks hot chocolate and eats a special type of sweet bread called Rosca. Inside the rosca, there are one or two little dolls of baby Jesus. Everyone takes their turn cutting the bread. If you find the doll, you have to throw a big party and make tons of tomales in February. I ate rosca but didn't find the doll any of the times. Thank heaven!! This picture is when I went over to my friend's house to cut the rosca. Her senora, the lady in the background, is so funny. We went over there around 7 and didn't leave until 9. She's a talker. And most of the conversation was directed at me. I should have never told her that I was going to Chiapas. She proceded to tell me that going to Chiapas was the worst idea in the world for a girl like me! I am sure some of what she said was true, but a lot of it was really political incorrect stereotypes about indigenous people. No need to do any anthropological or political economy research. According to her, the reason the people of Chiapas are poor is because there culture does not teach them how to work. At first, I thought there was a communication gap and I misunderstood her, but I confirmed her comments with my friends and we all heard the same things. We just laughed. You gotta love conservative older women!

Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan is an ancient arqueological site a few miles outside of Mexico City. Many people think that it was inhabited by the Aztecs, but actually, it was built several hundred years before the Aztec civilization. Our guide was an anthropologist and he new so much about the ancient culture. I don't think the ruins would have been nearly as interesting without him.

This is a picture of me and my friend Annie on top of the Sun Pyramid. The people of Teotihuacan believed that the sites they built upon were sacred so instead of building out, they built up. Each pyramid has several layers. I would love to say that the view from the top was beautiful. But in fact, all we could see was the intense smog layer covering Mexico City, the most poluted metropolis in the world!

I took this picture specifically for you, Megan! Now you can't complain that I don't have any pictures of people!

I doubt anyone but me finds the two sculptures interesting. But just in case, I posted them. These two sculptures are in the musuem of Teotihuacan. One depicts a woman giving birth. I find it interesting that she is sitting and recieving her own baby. The other, is a figure of a healer with his patient laying down. And next to him he has herbs and some sort of apparatus. The guide told us that the indigenous people of this area had such an advanced medical system that when the conquesters came, they told the Spanish king that he did not need to send a physician.

The picture of the man with a hat is so cool! This man showed our group how the people of Teotihuacan added color to their buildings. They used the eggs from an insect that feeds on cactus to make this amazing red color. Then he showed us how a vibrant yellow color can be extracted from this weed looking plant. Many of the stones still have color on them. These dyes have lasted for almost 1,000 years. It is mind-blowing, really!

El Mercado

These pictures do not do the central market in my neighborhood justice. The colors and sounds and smells are absolutely incredible. There is just nothing like it in the United States. Who wants to go to a supermarket when you can experience this??

Quick funny story: I went to the market a few days ago to buy some fruit. When I got home, I took the change out of my pocket. Something looked and felt funny about

one of the bills. I was convinced that I was given a false 50$ bill (peso). It was pink, had butterflies on one of the sides, and had a smooth, plastic texture. It looked and felt totally different than my other bills. I was soooo sad. It wasn't about the money--50 pesos is less than 5 U.S. dollars. It was more that my romantic notion of the market was totally crushed. There aren't dishonest people in the market... that guy wouldn't want to rip off a young blonde girl who definitely does not have the Chilanga accent...Thoughts such as these whirled around in my head for a couple of hours. As soon as I heard Patti get home, I ran down the stairs and showed her the bill. She laughed and told me not to worry. I had gotten one of the brand new, indestructible bills that the Mexican government just issued. I was so relieved!! Not only was I 50 pesos less broke, I could still shop at the market!!

I am absolutely in love with my bathroom! This is how you know that I am my mother's daughter, no maternity test needed. It is tile from floor to ceiling with beautiful sunflower and wrought iron motifs. I got a small case of food poisoning this past weekend so let's just say that I am more aware of the finer details of this lovely bathroom than ever before!

This is the wonderful family that I live with!Conchita, Ricardo, and their daughter, Patti. To celebrate Ricardo's 60th birthday, Patti made him his favorite dessert, a three milk cake--un pastel de los tres leches. I think that it sounds more palatable in Spanish!

Mi Casa Blanca

This is a picture of the house that I live in. We live on a street called Malintzin. La Malinche is said to have been an Aztec princess that Hernan Cortes took as a lover when he arrived in Mexico. She is thought of as the ultimate traidor because it is believed that she gave away many secrets to Cortes and thus assisted in the destruction of her own people. As we all know, "Women who behave rarely make history."