Somos Estamos en Mexico

Buenos Dias!

We arrived in Mexico mid-February and stayed around 11 weeks. We loved so many things about the language, culture, history, and food. 

Safety

Yes - the state department travel advisory labels some states in Mexico "level 4 - do not travel", others as "level 3 - reconsider travel", and others as "level 2 - Exercise Increased Caution When Traveling". We only went to the areas that were level 2. We stayed home after 9/10pm at night, and we only used Uber instead of street taxis. With these precautions, we felt very safe.

Spanish Language School

Our trip primarily revolved around a Spanish language school (Spanish Institute of Puebla), where we studied for 9 weeks. Clare tested into level 7 and Adam tested into level 4. We had group classes from 9am to 1pm, a buffet lunch, and then 2 hours of private tutoring either by a college student or another teacher. Below are all of the "maestras" who taught us along the way.

 

We loved our break time during the day, where we would sit out on the terrace of the school and talk with our friends. Most other students were Baptist missionary families, getting better at Spanish before they deploy to other parts of central and south America. Jared and Amy Mitcham were always so sweet. Jared was in Clare's group class all 9 weeks and he also enjoyed playing Adam in chess during breaks, as well as sharing a birthday celebration!

City of Puebla

The city of our Spanish school is the fourth largest city in Mexico, about a 2 hour bus ride from Mexico City. It is rich in history. The battle of Cinco de Mayo against the French happened here. The Mexican "revolution" (civil war) also began on a local street. There is a system of tunnels underneath the town and a set of forts on a hill.

This place sits at around 7,000 ft above sea level. So, the temperature is really mild all year long. Most homes have neither air conditioning nor heating. Almost all buildings have beautiful interior courtyards. 

The "Zocalo" or center squares/parks are full of life with clown shows, orchestras, skateboarding, and dancing (we even happened upon swing dancing in the city!). And, there's a catholic church on almost every corner. Below is a view from the rooftop of McDonalds in the center plaza.

Puebla is also really well known for its food. Several Mexican staples were invented here. Ever heard of Mole Poblano or Poblano peppers? That just means "from Puebla, Mexico". Chiles En Nogada and Tacos Arabes were also said to have originated here. [We were so lucky that Cole Bloom on the bottom right was able to visit us for a week in Puebla and then also spend some time with us in Mexico City.]

Cholula, a town right next to Puebla, is known for it's three volcanos, two of which are active. It is also known for the "largest" pyramid in the world by area of the base. To our naked eye, it just looks like a hill with a church on the top and excavated ruins below.

Holidays

We were so glad to be in Mexico for major holidays. First, we got to see their version of "Carnival", where hundreds of homemade muskets are fired off during a parade that lasts about 4 hours.

We were also there for holy week. Their biggest celebration of the year, probably, is Good Friday or "Viernes Santa". It is celebrated with processions.

And of course, we celebrated our first anniversary in Puebla at Mural de los Poblanos, a very fancy restaurant in town. We both wore the shoes that we had worn to our wedding <3

Health Problems

Unfortunately, not everything was sunshine and roses. Clare had a sprained ankle and walked around on crutches for a week. Also, due to the poor sanitation with tap water and overall hygiene levels at restaurants, we both felt at least a bit of stomach upset pretty much every week. One time, Clare went into a clinic to get an IV of fluids and antibiotics for a stomach infection. While they were hooking her up to the IV, Adam ended up fainting and hitting his head a couple times on the way down. So, we both ended up in hospital beds for an afternoon. How silly! We're all better now though! 

Random activities

While in Mexico, while not being sick, we enjoyed how many bookstores there were with just piles of books. We bought a respectable number, I guess! Enough to fill an entire carry-on. 

We watched a Lucha Libre fight, which is all staged. But, people still yell and scream like it's the real deal. The acrobatics were impressive. We also watched a number of movies in theaters because movie tickets were just $2.50 on Wednesdays.

We played a sport called "Padel", which is similar to pickleball and racquetball. We met three young Mexican guys at the courts, played with them, and were invited to their house for dinner. It was lovely!

We took a macaroon baking class from a baking school, took a salsa dancing class, and an acro yoga class, just for the heck of it.

We loved all the fresh squeezed juices with fresh fruits as well as Horchatas. Guava pastries were really good in Mexico City. We enjoyed tacos al pastor a lot. But, what surprised Adam most of all, is he fell in love with a drink called "Pulque". It's an old alcoholic fermented smoothie with a gloopy consistency and a taste similar to Kombucha. Apparently, the Aztecs used to drink Pulque a lot.

Mexico City

Finally, we spent some time in the capital. We loved just sitting in coffee shops on the beautiful forested streets of Condesa/Roma. We also saw the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the most visited Catholic shrine in the world.

One of our favorite activities in Mexico City was a boat ride on the canals in Xochimilco. We loved it so much, we did it a second time with our friend Cole! All of Mexico City used to be a lake until most of it drained away. The only water left from that lake is in these canals. Also, the axolotl, an endangered amphibian, is only known to exist naturally in these canals. While on the boat, we got boarded by a mariachi band who played on our boat, we bought drinks and snacks from vendor boats along the canal, made our own guacamole, and we visited an animal sanctuary with axolotls, lizards, and snakes.

Last but not least, we visited Teotihuacan, a giant pre-Hispanic city with the third largest pyramid in the world - though it looks more impressive than the biggest pyramid in Cholula.

When we got back from Mexico, we took an oral placement test with ACTFL, the official American foreign language certification organization. Technically, these results indicate we could be Spanish teachers in the USA! Converting these results to the European standard, Adam's level is around B2 and Clare's is around C1. While we feel like we would be embarrassingly bad Spanish teachers, we do feel like we really accomplished something during our honeymoon.

Our one year honeymoon is coming to a close soon! The next stop is to visit a handful of cities around the United States to try to choose where to put down roots! See you around!