Week 1

     This week, we began our life in Mexico.  So far, it has been great.  On day number one we arrived at the Mexico City airport where some "Amigos Internacionales" helped us catch a bus to Puebla, the city I will be living in for the next few months.  My host mom, Aurora, picked me up at the school and immediately asked if I had eaten. Shocked and dismayed by the fact that I had not eaten for nearly 12 hours, she immediately called home to Angeles, the maid, to make me some pasta.  Little did I know, dinner would be forthcoming only an hour later.  However, dinner here is more like lunch at home, while the biggest meal of the day is eaten around 3pm.  The next day we had our first true day of orientation.  We received all of the information we need about the program and took a tour of the campus, which is extremely beautiful. 

One of the many gardens/green areas on the campus.  It's more like a park than a school campus.

   On Wednesday, we registered for classes which was a process. Things don't run quite so smoothly here as a result of the laid-back attitude, but I got a full schedule in the end.  After that, Sam and I went with some other international students to a taqueria and had Tacos al Pastores.  I don't know exactly what is in a Taco al Pastor, but they were delicious.  I am confident they have pork, pineapple, onions, cilantro, and chiles.  Then, we played soccer with some local students. Unfortunately for me, an average player here is like a superstar in the U.S.  

     Thursday, we took a tour of Puebla, the major city here, which is only 10 minutes away from UDLAP.  In fact, I am living in Puebla even though the school is in Cholula.  The zocalo, the main plaza in the center of the city, is beautiful.  We got to see a few beautiful churches, but there is one in particular that I want to return to.  Near the zocalo is the Capilla del Rosario, supposedly the eighth wonder of the world.  It was closed when we got there so we weren't able to go inside, but apparently everything inside is made of gold.  That day, I had my first taste of Mole Poblano, but the local students told me that the restaurant we ate at is very commercial and not really traditional. At night, Aurora and her friend Charo took me out for taquitos which were .... also delicious.

The Zócalo

     On Thursday some students took us on a tour of Cholula, which they call a small town even though there are 95,000 inhabitants.  We walked to the top of Tlachihualtepetl, the pyramid with the largest base in the world.  It was buried by the Spaniards when they conquered Mexico. Then, to add insult to injury, they built a church on top of the pyramid.  From there, we had a a nice view of the volcano, but it was a bit hazy out so the pictures aren't very clear. After that, they took us to get lunch and eventually to a big indoor market with everything you could possibly want.  The fruit and vegetables were about five times less expensive there than they are in the States.  

     The weekend has been low-key, just hanging out with the host family and relaxing.  The first week has been amazing.  More updates next week!