A little more about my time in Mexico

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So besides visiting with my family in Mexico, I did do a few other things...

Ivonne, a girl who works for my host dad took me downtown to the "Zocalo" of Puebla one day to walk around, visit a museum and have some lunch while everyone in the family was either at work or school. She was a sweetheart and I got to practice quite a bit of Spanish with her.

The week before I left was filled with so much running around that I was exhausted that night and didn't go out. But Memo's (my family's eldest son) girlfriend Ileana and her friend Claudia took me for sushi (there are a lot more japonese restaurants in Puebla than I remember when I was there a few years ago), to the church of the mummy, and the fuerte. That night we met up with Ivonne and her friends for some "chelas", a new slang word I learned that's used in Mexico for "cervezas", and dancing. We then went to a nightclub (clubs seem so much classier there than at home) where one of Memo's drunken friends made me fall on my face...twice!...while dancing with me....lots of laughs, to say the least.

Olivia, mi mama mexicana, took me to the Cholula pyramid the next day. It's the widest pyramid in the world and there are over 5 miles of tunnels going through it that were built by archeologists for excavation purposes. The Olmecs built the first pyramid and each civilization that conquered the next built their own pyramid on top of it. There are at least 5 different layers which ended with the that of the Aztecs and then the yellow church on the top is of course a result of the Spanish conquest of the area. (It's pretty amazing that what looks like a natural hill is actually 5 or so layers of man-made pyramids...built all by hand....no horses or oxen!) We also went to the Iglesia de Donantzintla, a church built by native Americans that was unlike any other I've seen.

The night before I left I just chilled with the family while drinking what I called a Bloody Mary...but with beer (beer, tomato juice, salt, lime juice, and spices), and with Memo's friends. The flight to San Jose was nice and smooth and obviously, I got here safely! I'll wait to tell about my first week here after I get back from my weekend trip to Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast....yay for la playa! So until then....

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Photos

Zocalo street of Puebla
A shot of the downtown area of Puebla

el fuerte
The fort in Puebla where the Spanish defeated the French in the battle of Cinco de Mayo.

mira las hormigas!
Marching one by one down the wall of the fuerte

the "mummy" church
supposedly the mummy of a saint is inside the church

a closer look
all the decorations inside appear doll-like because the church was built by natives and they didn't know what the typical church was "supposed" to look like.

Comments

[Dorothy]

Thank you
I am so pleased to share your journey as you continue to explore and experience new things. Know that I love you and hold you close to my heart. OX Dorothy