Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Oaxaca
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Xico
We followed the path further, across an old bridge and found more lookouts over the large waterfall…..along the path was the occasional indigenous person selling home made wines, or jewelry. And eventually we reached the river that lead to the waterfall. We also found the next waterfall of the series upstream that flowed into the river. We put on our bathing suits and went wading for awhile around the bottom of the waterfall but not really swimming since it wasn’t deep.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Family
We live in the center of the city and really close to the school when I am taking classes. Right now I have a pretty full schedule (19 credits yikes!)….
Intensive spanish 5
Mexican cultures and civilizations
Prehispanic civilizations
Social problems and social action in Mexico
Contemporary Mexico
None of these classes are particularly difficult yet, the reading takes me a LONG time but maybe in a few weeks it will get easier. I would like to go and visit the bio dept on campus and find out what classes they have….that way other science majors at Juniata would be able to work on their major while abroad….if they want to.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Vale la pena
We sat on top of the pyramid for a while and around the edges on the steps….I ate an orange (best one I’ve ever had). It’s hard to imagine how they build that temple…and why. The Aztecs didn’t live at the top of the mountain, so they would have had to make the climb to the top every time they wanted to go. And speaking of the climb, how did they get all the stones to the top? If you’d seen the mountain you’d understand how this is so baffling….
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Teotihuacan
It was incredibly hot at Teotihuacan because of the elevation, so it was the first day I wore my cowboy hat….good thing too because I would have roasted on top of the temple without it! However it was nothing compared to the sombraro I found in a store near the parking lot...
Monday, January 19, 2009
La Ciudad de Mexico
We arrived in Mexico City around 8:30 and took the metro to La Casa Azul or “The Blue House”, which is where Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera lived. It is now a museum full of their art and craft projects. They are both very famous artist here in Mexico people visit their house from all over the country to visit their house, and see where they worked.
After lunch we spent time walking through the ruins of Tenochtitlan. This was the capital city of the Aztecs, and much of the ruins lie beneath the city. However, we were able to see many small temples and statues and it was hard to imagine the Spanish ever choosing to destroy it, especially after reading the accounts of how amazing Tenochtitlan was when it was discovered.
Finally we finished off the day by going to a bull fight. The stadium in Mexico City is the largest in the world…I’m not sure how many it holds but it was BIG. The atmosphere was great and everyone was having fun. The crowd plays a large part in the fight, as they yell “Ole!” and whistle at the torero (matador). It becomes louder as the night goes on and the beer runs out. If the fight was especially good, and the fighter was very brave the guys in the crowd throw their hats to the torero and he receives one of the bull’s ears as a prize. It was a very unique experience, I don’t think I want to go again as it was hard to watch…but I’m glad I was able to experience it.
What a long day….all of these excursions are exhausting!
Las Estacas
On Saturday we took a trip as a group to Las Estacas. Las Estacas is a park about an hour away from Cuernavaca where there is a natural spring. There is a river that is incredibly clear and visitors can jump into the river next to the spring and then float away. There are also rope swings along the way and diving platforms. The park itself is very beautiful with palm trees and gardens, and the water isn’t cold…just refreshing. We were lucky to have a nice day, so we set up our towels by the river, talked swam, ate lunch, bought smoothies and slept all day. It was literally like a little paradise.