Tuesday, January 29, 2013

January Travels


Acapulco 
When anyone thinks of Acapulco they think of beautiful beaches, great night life, and margaritas. While it can be like that for tourists, we saw a glimpse of what it was really like for the people that lived there. There is severe poverty in Acapulco. Going down the hill to get to where our hotel was, we passed by tons of shacks where people lived and there were small owned shops ran by locals that were basically just holes in the walls. This part of the city looked like any third world neighborhood. It is really sad to see such contrasts in life styles. Up the hill are people struggling to make a living for their family and for themselves and then down the hill you see 5 star hotels, incredibly spoiled tourists, and extreme capitalism.


Once we stepped on the beach outside of our hotel for the first time we were swarmed by locals trying to sell us things. They had dresses, tanning lotion, necklaces, henna tattoos, hats, sun glasses, food, tons of different things. It got annoying after a while because we got to the beach to have a good time and relax and it was hard to do because people would just keep coming up to ask us if we wanted to buy things from them. But it is understandable because that was probably the only money that those people would be making. That may be their only job and only source of income. It is really sad because they have to walk the beach everyday in the sun, holding all of their merchandize trying to sell stuff all day. We forget how lucky we are to have jobs like McDonalds and Taco Bell because at least we get a minimum wage and a guaranteed paycheck regardless of how small that might be for us in our country.

 These two pictures are just about 15 minutes away from the main strip



 This was the beach right in front of our hotel
 Profe playing some guitar
Someone coming up to try and sell us food under the tent
 Semester Group: (left to right: Fiammy Dizon, Norma Castillo, Brenda Sandoval, Freddy Gonzalez, Antonio Cisneros,Vanessa Alvarez, Amelia Gomez)

 
Puebla
  • One of the five most important Spanish colonial cities in Mexico
  • You can clearly see Spanish influences throughout the city
 
Profe loves his churches..




 Temple Ruins


 Profe getting his shoes shined


Museo de la Revolución

This pockmarked 19th-century house, which was closed at the time of research, was the scene of the first battle of the 1910 Revolution. (Three pictures above)

 "Fuertes de Loreto"
 This fort marks the location of the Battle of Cinco de Mayo, which Mexico fought against Napoleon III in 1862.

Teotihuacan
 
  • Teotihuacan, also written Teotihuacán, is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas




 on "la luna" looking out to "el sol"
 Making a blanket

Monday, January 21, 2013

Week One

Week One:



At the Cathedral in Cuernavaca



Walking around the center of town


Woman trying to sell goods on the street, like many in Cuernavaca

 First Impressions


El primer día en Cuernavaca y todas mis primeras impresiones. Es difícil venir desde un lugar como Sevilla y acostumbrarse a vivir en un lugar como Cuernavaca. Ambos son muy diferentes. Mi ciudad, Sevilla, es preciosa, siempre encuentras gente en la calle y son realmente hospitalarios. Mi camino a la universidad era bonito, largo y bastante social. Aquí por el contrario, me sentía insegura, puesto que tenía que caminar muy rápido porque el camino era muy peligroso y tenía que tener mucho cuidado y no hablar ni mirar a nadie. Las calles aquí son sucias y hay poca gente fuera. Quizás pueda ser porque todo el mundo aquí tiene coche ya que todo está bastante lejos y también suele ser peligroso caminar. Allí en Sevilla todo el mundo van caminando a todas partes o toman autobuses, hay mucha gente que no tiene coche o sólo hay uno para toda la familia. Me cuestionaba por qué yo quería irme de Sevilla a Cuernavaca, de una ciudad tan maravillosa a una ciudad sucia y pobre...Siempre he sido una persona que ha preferido los lugares poco desarrollados, los países del tercer mundo, aunque siempre he estado acostumbrada a vivir acomodadamente. Es muy interesante como tu normalidad puede cambiar de un día para otro, ya que todos tenemos nuestras costumbres aunque puedan parecer más normales o más extrañas para otros. Un ejemplo claro de ésto, es cuando estuve en Tanzania por un mes, me terminé acostumbrando a bañarme en la tierra, estar todo el día bajo el sol o a tomar todas las bebidas calientes. Mis amigos y familia siempre se preguntaban cómo podía acostumbrarme a éso y lo extraño y difícil que era, no podían entender cómo me podía gustar Tanzania con todo lo que tenía que pasar. Pero después de unas semanas no era nada, ya que todo lo que en un principio era extraño se volvió normal para mi. Éso es lo que pienso de aquí, necesito algún tiempo más para acostumbrarme y sentirme segura y finalmente me volveré a sentir en casa en mi nueva ciudad, Cuernavaca.

Pictures of la Universidad Internacional 
Where we all go to school: