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Published: November 20th 2008
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Hola everyone,
I am extremely busy here with the end of the semester just around the corner. I had a final exam today in my Literature class, so am now finished with that. I just have the rest of this week and next week of my other classes and then I am finished. However, it's been very busy which means the time just keeps flying by even faster. I want to write about my experiences, but because I don't have a lot of time, this entry is probably going to be shorter and more condensed than I'd like...but here goes.
Two weekends ago I went to Mexico City and Teotihuacan with my ISA group. I had been to both before when I went in high school, but was really excited to go back and see everything again. Now almost 5 years later, I definitely appreciated everything more. We arrived on Saturday around noon and got right to exploring the city. We first visited the Palacio de Bellas Artes, which is a theater and art museum, and not to mention gorgeous. Afterwards, we walked to the Zocolo, which is the center of the city. This is where one of the
main government buildings is located, Palacio Nacional, along with a very old, and beautiful, cathedral. We first went to Palacio Nacional where there were many paintings by Diego Rivera and other various artists. Afterwards we went to see the Aztec ruins that are located right in the center of the city as well. In fact, the city was built right over these ruins, and even though these have been found, some believe there are probably more ruins located underneath the city. We got to walk through the ruins which was really interesting, especially when you look around and realize it is located right in the middle of the city. Afterwards we went inside the Cathedral which was beautiful just like almost every church I've seen here in Mexico. After this we had free time to explore the city on our own and see whatever we wanted to see. After finally finding some food, a group of us headed to the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe. If you don't know the history, in the 1500's in Mexico, the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared on a tunic of a man, after she had appeared to him in person, instructing
him to build a church. She also instructed him to pick roses from a deserted area and bring them to the Bishop to prove her request. It was then that the image appeared on his cloak. It is said that this original cloak is what is displayed in the Basilica. Many people have of course inspected this image, and have dated it back to the 16th century, and can not detect the type of pigment that makes up the image. After over 450 years, the image still remains very clearly, without signs of deterioration. It is located in a new church constructed in the 1970's, and is enormous and of course beautiful. But we also walked around and checked out the older churches, which were amazing as well. They also have a monument dedicated to Pope John Paul II and they have his special "bus" that he would sit in when he visited Mexico City. It was a very long day, but very interesting, and I enjoyed seeing these places for the second time.
The next day, we started at the Museum of Anthropology, which is one of the most interesting museums I've ever been to. I went there
in high school as well, but enjoyed it so much more this time around. It is a museum dedicated to the history of the people of Mexico. Each exhibit displays artifacts from different times in Mexico and from different indigenous groups. My favorite rooms were definitely the Aztec and Mayan rooms. We spent two hours there, but one could easily spend half a day or more looking through the exhibits.
Afterwards, we headed to Teotihuacan, which are Aztec pyramids located north of Mexico City. I had also been there in high school, but because it was one of my favorite parts of that trip, I was so excited to go again. It is very difficult to put this place into words, as it is just so incredible, especially when you stop and think that people once lived there. So I'm really not going to try and explain it much, and even though the pictures are quite amazing, they really don't do it justice. Climbing the pyramids again was definitely the best part. The views from the tops of the pyramids are amazing, and I never wanted to leave. We spent 3 hours there, and it was not nearly enough
time.
Overall it was a great weekend and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to see these places again. This past weekend my parents and sister Jenna came to visit, and we had a really great time. I'll write about that next time...until then - hope everyone is doing well - and I'll be seeing you soon.
Love.
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Kelsey
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I didn't know all of that about Mexico City..how cool! Can't wait for you to come and visit Winona Sara!!