En el Aire Libre

This first week included the first excursions of many for the semester (I was very tempted to write Mexcursions but I thought better of it...). We took tours of Cholula and Puebla with the Amigos Internacionales. For reference, my understanding is that Cholula is inside the greater city of Puebla, sort of like Manhattan is to New York. And to make it more confusing, there are three different Cholulas: San Pedro, San Andres, and something else that currently slips my mind.

Cholula San Pedro is just a $5-peso ride away and has a lot of exploration-worthy sites to see. We were all supposed to go on a tour de autobus but there ended up being room for only half. Therefore, myself, along with about 15 others decided to proceed on foot.
The first place we went was El Convento Franciscano de San Gabriel Archángel. It was huge and beautiful with ornate decor. It was the first church I had been in since arriving and they happened to be having Adoration. It was so nice to be able to sit and feel at home from so far away. The air was thick with history too! I tried to imagine myself participating in Mass back when the church was built. A little bit of history: The church was built in 1552 and back then, Catholicism was still being brought to the indigenous of Mexico. They were used to having religious services in the open air, unconstrained by buildings etc. Therefore, the Spanish built the church with a massive courtyard where they could have services en espacios libres. Interesante! I wish so much that UDLAP had a Theology class for me to take about the religious history and development in Mexico.

The Zócalo, or public square, was swarming with people selling homemade goods, balloons, and food! There was a center "Kiosk" that had a couple of book stands and the bathroom. This was my first experience of having to pay for the bathroom and extra for toilet paper. The book stands also had some great material. Several classics translated into spanish, the first few Harry Potters, and countless Getting to know your Body pamphlets. Overall, it was a good first trip into town and I look forward to spending more time there.

There is a huge Pyramid in Cholula with a church on top. It is sort of the face of Cholula and is on all the postcards but I'll talk more about it later. For now, un gran metaphor: The pyramid, built by the indigenous, without the Catedrál, would only be earth. The Catedrál, built by the Spanish, without the pyramid, would fall flat. Interesante.

The trip into Puebla was a bit more overwhelming. It's huge! Or maybe it just seemed like that because it was all so new. We had a tour guide who was very knowledgeable and good at explaining things several ways and with hand gestures so that us Internationals could understand. He told us that Puebla is a very rich city. The official name is Puebla de Los Angeles because there is a tale (leyenda) that Julián Garcés saw a perfect city in a dream and went to make it a reality. The indigenous people could not live there unless they were servants and even then they could not talk to the Spaniards.
The first place we went was El Templo de San Francisco, another beautiful church. Inside there were a couple of glass coffins with what looked like statues inside. I had seen some in other churches, but there was one that was at the center of the alter that all of the students gathered around. It wasn't until about ten minutes later that I realized it actually was the real incorruptible body of Beato Fray Sebastián de Aparicio. He lived during the beginning of Puebla, had an enormous amount of faith, helped the poor indigenous, and lived the Gospel (el Evangelio). Apparently there are 968 milagros documented during his process of Beatification, which was in 1789. So, needless to say, that was pretty cool. The rest of Puebla was like a huge street party. There were balloon venders, bands, food stands everywhere. ¡Que divertido! Or actually, I should say, "Que Padre." This was the first  Mexican saying I learned here. It means "that's cool" etc. Interesting choice of words. Translated to english I'm imagining someone saying "Oooo Daddy." Oh! Some guy in my suite just said it. Es muy popular.

Well that is most of our first week here. Next time I blog it will be about my adventures as an actual student. Yes, school is starting. ¡Estoy lista para aprender!

But before we end our time here....

Mexpandable Waistlines-

Papel Picado

In Cholula, the walking tour group went to a restaurant called La Lunita. It was a cute little restaurant with lots of colorful papel picado (traditional paper art that hangs from the ceiling) and Mariachi players singing what we learned to be popular romantic songs. As I looked through the menu, again, I was lost. There was something I hadn't seen before however: Huitlacoche. I asked Juan Carlos, one of the Amigo Internacionales, what it was. I proceeded to learn that Huitlachoche is the fungus that grows on corn and apparently is it quite the treat. Specifically it is a type of parasite that attacks the corn and is spread by the wind. While it is considered a pest, clearly it should be used and turned into a sort of delicacy. So, of course, I ordered Quesadillas de Huitlacoche. How bad could it be? I like mushrooms...After we ordered, some of the french girls sitting across from me still didn't understand what is was. Juan Carlos was having a hard time trying to explain "fungus" in spanish so I decided to jump in. "Como es entre los dedos del pie" I explained, which more or less means, "what is between one's toes". I don't think they appreciated that very much...The french guy to the right of me made some comment like, "I'm trying to eat" or something. Bad choice.

Anyways, the meal ended up no being too bad. The Huitlacoche had the faint taste of mushrooms and was a little mushy. It was mostly gray with a bit of black, so not the prettiest thing to eat. I don't know if I would order it again, but I left, like all meals thus far, full and satisfied.