OaxacaToday was a travel day. We left Veracruz at 9:30 a.m. and stopped in Tehuacán (The city of water) around 1:00 p.m. There, we toured a mineral water bottling plant for the company Peñafiel. There was a natural spring underground connected by tunnels. We then had lunch and resumed our trip to Oaxaca. Due to road construction we were delayed for over two hours. By the time we got to our hotel, we just had time to have dinner and sleep. Hoy fue un día de viajar. Nos fuimos de Veracruz a las 9:30 a.m. y paramos en Tehuacán (La [View Full Entry]

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VeracruzThis morning we went to the fortress of San Juan de Ulúa in the port of Veracruz. It was an old Spanish command post situated on the port entrance. When it was used, it served as a home to presidents, military headquarters and prison. Much of the fortress was constructed with coral rock and has bridges that connect different areas. It reminded me of a fortress from 'The Pirates of the Caribbean'. From there we went to a public middle school where we met with teachers and students. It was a great time to tour the school, see it facilities, [View Full Entry]

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VeracruzToday was a slower day than usual. After beakfast we headed to the Zempoala's archeological site to see some very interresting ruins. They were not as large as other sites, but still great to see. For one reason or another, we were not allowed to climb on the ruins as you are in other places. Then we went to Chachalacas beach to walk, eat and swim on the beach. Nice to day to reflect on our trip so far. Hoy estuvo más despacio de lo normal. Despues de desayuno fuimos al sitio arqueológico de Zempoala para ver una ruinas muy [View Full Entry]

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L.A. to VeracruzNos fuimos de Xalapa hoy y me senti un poco triste. Xalapa es una ciudad muy bonita con calles empedradas y callejones donde se resaturantes y cafes. Ayer por la noche algunos de nosotros del grupo salimos a comer postre en el centro. Encontramos un local con musica y mucha gente hablando y pasando el tiempo. Me senti muy a gusto y seguro en esta ciudad, y me gustaria regresar. Viajamos mucho hoy. Primero fuimos a la Hacienda Lencero, que antes era la casa del Presidente Santa Anna. Era una casa maravillosa, con jardines, lagos, y arbo [View Full Entry]

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UntitledThis morning we went to the Universidad Veracruzana to hear two different lectures. The first was by Dr. Rodríguez who presented on “The Impact of Climate Change in Veracruz”. There were many different aspects presented on the enviornment and how much of a negative effect man has had on the area of Veracruz and the need for conservation. Interestingly most of the research is being done by the U.K. and other European countries. The second lecture was by Dr. Rivera on “Politics and Society in Contemporary Veracruz”. There wa [View Full Entry]

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Xalapa from CaliforniaFrom the city of Puebla we headed to Xalapa. (Pronounced HA-LA-PA) On our way we headed went to a childrens orphanage for boys called IPODERAC. Its a great place which serves street children who are runaways or abonded. There are 60 boys that live there, and are sent to school, taught independents life skills, socializing skills, and technical skills. The boys range in age from 6 years-old to 18 years-old. All of them are there by their own choice, and the organization is privately funded. It as started 40 years ago by a woman that [View Full Entry]

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Puebla/CholulaToday we headed to the Universidad de las Américas in the city of Cholula. About 30 minutes from Puebla. We first heard a lecture by Dr. Ramirez on ‘NAFTA and Migration Issues’. The topic extremely interesting and very complex, and really left me with more questions than answers. One interesting note is that NAFTA in Spanish is referred to as TLCAN. We were then given a tour of the campus, which is one of the few universities in Mexico that has dorms on campus. We then had a lecture by Dr. Aguirre who spoke about ‘Mesoamer [View Full Entry]

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PueblaAfter breakfast we left Mexico City and headed to the city of Puebla, by bus. Fortunately, for my vertigo, we are traveling by bus in Mexico, instead of airplanes as we did in Canada. The trip to Puebla normally takes two hours, but because of road work, it took three. We first went to the site of the Cinco de Mayo battle. Now just to clarify, May 5th is NOT Mexico’s independence day. Mexico’s independence day is actually September 16th. Instead, Cinco de Mayo commemerates Mexico winning a battle against the French that took place in P [View Full Entry]

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Untitled UntitledToday was a travel day. We left Vancouver at 1 p.m. and six hours later we arrived in Mexico City. There was turbulance on the flight but it went by quickly. The two people sitting next to me were very funny and told me about places to see while in Mexico. We went straight to our hotel which is Zona Rosa, and went to sleep. Hoy fue un dia de viajar. Salimos de Vancouver a las 1 p.m. y seis horas depues llegamos a la ciudad de Mexcio. Hubo turbulencia pero el vuelo paso rapido. Las dos personas sent [View Full Entry]

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UntitledAfter breakfast we went to the Vancouver Library to meet with author David Bouchard. He spoke on the importance of being a good reader and on Canadian culture. He was a very engaging speaker, and spoke a lot about indigenous people and culture. He himself is a Métis, a person of aborginal and French descent. We then went to Granville market for lunch, which is a large farmers market, before heading to Grouse Mountain. I had the great idea, or bad depending on the time you asked me, to climb the mountain. Let’s just say that it was straight [View Full Entry]

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