Day 2

---

Wow, my very first day in Tenochtitlan! I'm a bit tired after the shaky canoe ride, and it's also very early in the morning. However, the streets are already packed with people, with commoners starting to set up their marketstands, some filled with vegetables, others with homemade pottery and jewelery. What a grand city; it's even more spectacular than I imagined it! I walk by priests and government officials and bow my head slightly. They are highly respected here, second only to the emperor and his family. The priests conduct all the religious ceremonies, and the officials are hand selected by the emperor and have the power to rule whole cities! I then pass a group of higher class merchants, like my father. These men are also known as pochtecas, and they are the class that I aspire to become a part of. I recognize them because they dress in very simple clothes, but hold their head high in a way that lets you know that they are wealthy and important. I pass by a couple of nobles with slaves, and then a mother surrounded by five young children, three girls and two little boys. It is the mother's job to raise the children, to teach the little girls how to weave, clean, and run a household, and to get the boys to fetch water and wood, and eventually go to school. I give her a cursory nod of approval, as women bring these children into the world, which is almost as honored as a man fighting in war. I humbly march on, eager to see what else awaits me in Tenochtitlan.

---