Queretaro, Mexico: Puebla y Cholula

I am getting quite behind on my entries, I apologize. I rarely have time to sit down on my computer and scribble down an entry, but I'm going to make a better effort (after my Semana Santa vacations :) )

Shortly after going to Teotihuacan, I took a weekend trip to Puebla with my friend Katie. Honestly, I wish Puebla was the image that the United States had of Mexico because it is such a charming town with so much culture, art, delicious food and beautiful people. Unfortunately, that isn't the case, but back to my original point: the trip!

Katie and I arrived in Puebla, which is the city with the most Spanish colonial architecture in Mexico. At first, as we were walking towards the center, it looked like any other town in Mexico, but then we ran straight into the zocalo (the main plaza), which is filled with trees and beautiful flowers. To one side of the zocalo are local restaurants, artesans, and street musicians. On the other side, looms the incredibly Spanish cathedral that is just as imposing as it is beautiful.



Even though the majority of my friends said that the cathedral is gorgeous, after seeing the ones in Spain, I didn't expect it to be as large or intricately decorated as European cathedrals, but you could plop this cathedral in the middle of Spain and never realize it was built in Mexico. Incredibly gorgeous, incredibly impressive.



There are other smaller churches in the area that also have chapels that are even more impressive than the cathedral, in my opinion. One, called the Capilla del Rosario in the Church of Santo Domingo, is absolutely COVERED with gold. My jaw literally dropped when I walked into the chapel, I couldn't believe the beauty and detail of this chapel.



After wandering around the downtown area for a few hours and visiting the historic battlefield where the Mexicans defeated the French on 5 de Mayo, we decided to hop on a double decker bus and take a night time tour of Puebla. The music that accompanied the tour was cheesey and the tour itself could have been better overall, but we met some wonderful people. One man, named Ruben, took us out for coffee afterwards. Only later did we realize how important this man is -- he's the manager, the big honcho, of the Bank of Lima (the capital and the state). He's like the governor of Lima (the region, not the city). Nevertheless, big. honcho. We exchanged emails and are still in contact...who knows, it might be a good connection to have down the road!

The next day, Katie and I had a little adventure. In Puebla, there is a big zoo called Africam Safari and in this zoo, they have an actual safari that you can drive through in your car, taxi, or tour bus and see all sorts of animals native to Africa and the Americas: Lions, tigers, bears (oh my), flamencos, rhinos, hippos, jaguars, etc. Now, in theory, this should have been an awesome trip and, despite the setbacks, it was. In the first place, we should have gone earlier, but we decided to go with a tour and to my surprise, the big Estrella Roja bus went through the Africam Safari, dirt roads in all. Also to my surprise: there was traffic! And I'm not just talkin' a few cars ahead and behind you, I'm talking bumper to bumper, two lanes of Grand Rapids at 5pm rush hour traffic. With the bus lacking air conditioning and the temps reaching into the 80s, that part wasn't too much fun. At the very least, we knew when something interesting was coming up because all the cars would stop to take pictures and stare.

After our three hour (yes, three hours) tour of the Africam Safari, we finally headed back to Puebla to take showers after the sweaty, sweaty bus ride and headed out for another evening of aimless wandering among the various artesan shops and kioks in the city.

Oh, Katie just reminded me. She got stung by a bee on the bus in Africam Safari. It was a real African experience.

Anyway, the next day, we traveled to a near by pueblo called Cholula to check out the widest pyramid in the world, which also happens to be crowned by a church built in the 16th century. If you ever make it to Puebla, it is worth the half hour bus ride (it would be shorter, but there are stops) to Cholula. The church itself is incredible, looking over the city from it's perch on the pyramid (which is actually 2 pyramids built on top of one another). The coolest part of the visit, however, was to visit the pyramid instead of the church because you can go underneath, into these tunnels excavated by archeologists. The pyramid itself doesn't look like much on the outside because of all the overgrowth, which cannot be removed or the church will collapse. The tunnels, then, are actually on the outside steps of the pyramids underneath the hill that formed after the pyramids were abandoned.



The most incredible part of the pyramid, aside from walking through the tunnels, are the patios outside and behind the church. The main patio, used for religious ceremonies, has incredible acustics and if you clap, the reverberations sound like a duck quacking. I wish I would have taken a video, but instead you'll just have to take my word. It was awesome.

Phew. I think that's about enough from me. I won't be updating for another two weeks or so because I'm heading off on a two week vacation

Tokyo Swan 25: Daily Life

So for this episode, I decided to just turn the camera on and film whatever happened in the course of an average day off from school. This episode has a lot of good content, from showing off Keio University, the various shops that surrounded the school, and a fun trip for Chinese food in the classy Roppongi Hills area.

Also of interest in this video, is the footage taken at my dorm. Hopefully it will give students a better idea what dorm life will be like when they arrive in Japan. In a way, that’s remained one of the most important and lasting themes of the series. Those at WMU who are going to go to Japan in the fall are sure to meet just as many wonderful and unique individuals as I did.

I think this episode does a good job at capturing the good times I had with my friends. Funny, for an episode about just turning on the camera… I managed to get quite a lot done!

Besancon, France- on our way to Tours!

Right now, we’re on the 7:50 train to Tours for our 2-day trip. We’ll be visiting some well known castles later on. After Tours, we’ll be coming back to Paris and my friend Nikki and I will be staying in a hotel until her mom comes. Then I’ll be going to Arlette’s (host mom’s) mother’s place to hang out with Juliette (host sister) for the week. On Saturday, Juliette and I are taking the train back to Besancon. Then there will be four weeks left of classes at the CLA. When we get to the hotel, I’m going to look into changing my flight home a few weeks earlier to avoid having to worry about running out of money. When I bought the ticket home, I thought the 2 weeks would give me a bunch of time to travel and see France. It does- but money certainly helps experience the culture and the country to its fullest. I need to figure out plans for the rest of the vacation, and see what Juliette and I could do during our week in Paris.

~Tours, France~
Right now I write from the hotel Terminus in Tours. Quite the name for a hotel! It’s right next to the train station (very handy, seeing as how I didn’t exactly pack light, and get to drag all my heavy luggage everywhere with me!) We just got back from our last dinner together at a nice restaurant downtown Tours. Right now Keena, Brad and I are chilling in the hotel room, and i’m busily arranging my things for tomorrow. I’m excited to be going back to Paris, because there’s still a lot that I planned on doing that I haven’t tackled yet. Some things include:
-The Musée D’orsay
-Louvre
-Eiffel Tower
-Arc de Triomphe
-Sacre Coeur
-Notre Dame
-Meet up with Alexandros (Greek/French friend from Besancon)
-Try and get a hold of my friend from Michigan and great aunt who both live in Paris
And then, of course, there’s the dessert place Sarah was telling me about that seems fairly priced (15 Euro for a huge plate of tons of rich desserts for several people) but of course I forgot the name of the restaurant.
Also, I’d like to get a few more small souvenirs (I can’t forget about wine) and I plan on taking a bunch of pictures of the city as I go exploring.

These past few days, we visited chateaux (castles) in the Loire Valley- Amboise, Blois, Chambord, and Chenonceau. The entire week we’ve been eating very rich meals (several courses, France style) and plenty of wine to wash it down. Tomorrow our train leaves for Paris at 12:09, so I’ll probably wake up around 8:30, grab some breakfast (petit dejeuner), finish packing, and get all my stuff together.
This week has really been exceptional.

Queretaro, Mexico: Teotihuacan

Hola amigos,

I really need to get better about updating this blog. I always have so much to say because I wait so long, but hopefully my entries, albeit long, are interesting.

I would like to preface this entry about Teotihuacan with a little commentary on the situation Mexico in regards to the drug traffickers. I've been told by various people in the United States that according to the American press, Mexico is a very dangerous country to visit because of the violence between the Mexican government and the drug cartels throughout the northern region. While it is true that President Calderon has sent thousands of troops to Ciudad Juarez and other cities on the border, it is NOT true that all of Mexico is full of destitute people who sell drugs and kill people at random. The facts, as I understand them, are these:

Violence in Mexico is generally between competing drug cartels and/or the Mexican Army. According to many of my Mexican friends and family, tourists are rarely targets of such violence and are cared for greatly by the police because, let's face it, we're an economic asset to this country, especially now with the economic crisis. Nevertheless, I will be honest and say that yes, there have been civilian injuries recently because violence has broken out in public areas, but I assure you that this is far from Queretaro and is confined to the border. In fact, I have not had one single problem in Queretaro or in any of the cities I have visited in Mexico.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I can find out more information from my professors and family members, whom know much more than I about current events.

That being said, I'd like to talk about my day trip to the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City and the archeological site of Teotihuacan. One word easily sums up this trip: AMAZING! Being the history buff that I am, I was in seventh heaven looking at all of the amazing artifacts from the lost civilizations of the Toltecs, Mexica, and Maya.



This museum is incredible. Even if you don't like museums all that much, I'm sure you would love this one because there is so many incredible things to see, like this stone that the mexicas (aka Aztecs) used for their famous human sacrifices. It's incredible to think about what that stone was used for, let alone how ingenius these people had to have been to move the rock in the first place and carve it with such intricate details. Breathtaking.




After our brief visit in the museum, we boarded our bus to Teotihuacan. Even though I knew that Teotihuacan used to be one of the metropolis centers of the ancient Mesoamerican world, I never imagined that the abandoned city would be so huge and intact as it is. While the entire city is worth visiting, the main attraction of Teotihuacan are the two pyramids within the city: the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon, both of which are absolutely gorgeous and absolutely climbable.

As you might have guessed, these pyramids were used for religious purposes and in fact, Teotihuacan means "where men turn into Gods" because it was one of the major religious centers in ancient Mexico. At its height, this city housed around 30,000 people but incredibly, no one knows why the city was abandoned or what happened to its inhabitants, Roanoke style. But even so, the city itself is enough proof that a highly advanced civilization existed here in the heart of Mexico.



In the near and undetermined future: my trip to Puebla and Cholula. Until then, take care!

Kaitie

Tokyo Swan 22: Old House Tour

This week's episode is one that is more in tune with traditional Japanese culture. While it's great to wander the high tech streets of Akihabara, or hit up the exciting night clubs of Shibuya, it's also important to enjoy the more traditional side of Japan's culture when visiting. In Kawasaki (which was not too far from where I was living at the time), I took a trip to a local outdoor old house museum.

It was pretty interesting, being able to walk through many traditional style Japanese houses. After World War II, most of Tokyo had been rebuilt, so getting to go through these houses allows one to get a sense of what life was like many years ago in Japan.

This particular outdoor museum actually has some buildings that were designated cultural artifacts by the Japanese government, so it was certainly a great place to visit and soak up all the culture. While it's fun to enjoy all of the young and modern aspects of Japan, it's equally rewarding to step back and time and see how things used to be.

Besançon, France- Making the most of your free time!

Chances are, in between classes and group meetings, you’re going to have a lot of free time in Besançon. Take advantage of this opportunity to buy souvenirs from the petite shops on the Grande Rue and Rue des Granges, or visit Arc et Senans and learn about the salt mines (about an hour’s drive from Besancon, so try and find a willing host parent to take you!), or swim in one of the two public pools Besançon offers (only 2-3 Euro for students per visit). Make sure you have a swimming cap, though- that’s something they won’t let you in without at the piscines in France. (You can buy one upon entering for a couple Euro as well). I spent many a day just walking around the city, by myself or with a few friends I met while there, taking pictures of the scenery and historical buildings (especially the Citadelle). The more photographs you end up with when you come back to America, the easier you’ll be able to remember those precious moments you spent at Bar de L’u with a demi-fraises, or in Place Granvelle sipping a petit cafe with your host sister, or even of the CLA. Because as much as you don’t want to wake up at 8 a.m. every two days to take that Littérature class, you’d do well to have some semblance of what it looked like to show everyone back home that round, silver building where you had your fondest moments of French education!

Some students used their time to get involved with community activities, like Sunday mass. The picture above is the church located right in the heart of Place de la Revolution, right next to the Ginko office, Galéries Lafayette, Madigan’s pub, and Brioche Doree, among others. There are countless other churches throughout the city, like St. Jean (remember the church you passed on the way up to the Citadel that first week)? They have masses there, too! If church isn’t your thing, check out the University du Franche Comté’s music programs. I joined a choir while there, and it was not only fun but rewarding- I got to rehearse with 90% French university students, the other 10% American students from another University who chose to sing for their cultural activity. We sang songs not just in French, but in all sorts of languages, including english. This part was fun, as the other American students and I got to help with pronunciation as we sang Simon and Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Fair”. One of the other American students joined the theatre group, which performed with the choir at a final concert at the end of the school year. Not a performer? Talk to some other international students studying at the CLA and see what they’re up to- you can find out about Erasmus parties, night outings, and shopping trips as long as you ask around!

Tokyo Swan 21: Winter Wonderland

While the weather here in Michigan is now finally starting to show signs of spring, it has been interesting to reflect on the differences in the climate and weather here in Michigan versus the climate in Tokyo. In particular, I was really interested in how winter is like in Tokyo. Much to my surprise, it hardly snowed at all and even when it was at its coldest it was nowhere near as cold as it gets in Michigan!

So, one day when it did snow I decided to shoot another video to show what a really cold day in Tokyo is like. I went out with some of my friends to get some food, and we wound up going to a very well known Japanese restaurant known as Matsuya. It is kind of like the Mcdonalds of Japan, in regards to the fact that it’s very fast, very cheap, and very common. Certainly it’s not representative of finer restaurants in Japan, but it’s an interesting part of local food in Japan.

Also included in this video is a trip to the local starbucks. The starbucks there are actually very similar to the ones back home, but it’s still really interesting to check them out. Anyways, hope wherever you are in the world the weather is nice and you are having a good one!

Queretaro, Mexico: San Miguel y Guanajuato

I am terribly sorry I haven't written in so long. Between classes and a visit from my best friend, I've been quite busy and I haven't had a chance to sit down on the internet for more than 10 minutes. As per usual, this will probably be a longer entry about my trips to San Miguel Allende and Guanajuato.

First things first, two weeks ago I went with my Mexican culture professor to San Miguel de Allende. In actuality, we didn't see any bits of the town (aside from the view on the highway on the mountainside) because we spent the afternoon at a place called La Gruta. La Gruta is a beautiful hotel/spa that houses some of Mexico's wonderful hot springs. At first, I wasn't quite sure about going because I had seen pictures and though it is a beautiful place, it looks like a hotel -- they have converted the natural hot springs into pools and I thought it was a bit too...commercial for my taste. I quickly changed my mind when I actually got into the water, which is all natural (minerals and all) and it was just like stepping into a bath. The really cool thing about the Gruta is the fact that as the various pools got closer to the source of the hot water, the pools themselves got hotter. Finally, Maria Elena (our lovely professor) took us to the actually Gruta, which is a little cave that you have to swim to through a tunnel where the water is hot like a hot tub, but all natural and in a cave where the only light comes from these small holes in the ceiling that allows the sunlight to pore through. It was incredible and I really do want to go back or, at the very least, try another hot springs in another city.

All right, on to the next adventure. This past weekend, my best friend Christine came to visit me from the United States. Although she only stayed for a three days and four nights, we made the best of our time together. I walked her to death in Queretaro and showed her all the monuments and took all the pictures I've been meaning to take. I promise, soon I will give you a virtual tour of Queretaro through my camera lens, but that will have to wait just a little longer. On Friday, we decided to visit Guanajuato with a group of fellow WMU students and it was just a blast. The minute we got off the bus, Janell already ran into a tour guide who sold us a tour for 100 pesos (5 hour tour! What a deal) and we hopped into a big SUV to start our adventure.




I won't go into all of the details of everything we saw, but I will say that Guanajuato is one of the most interesting cities I have ever visited in my life. Most of the main streets are actually tunnels underneath the mountains because the city itself is built in the cracks and crevices of the mountains in order to protect the houses from the flooding rivers. Some of these tunnels, amazingly, are hundreds of years old and driving through them, walking down into the tunnels, is pretty incredible.




In our five our tour of Guanajuato, we packed in a lot of activities. One of the first things we did was visit a beautiful church in the hills called the Templo de San Cayetano. It was built by don Antonio de Obregon y Alcocer, one of the richest men in Mexico because of his gold/silver mine (La Valenciana), as a "thank you" to his patron Saint (I believe it was San Antonio). The church itself is gorgeous, mostly because all of the altars are 24 karat gold.




After this lovely homage to God, we went to the Inquisition Torture Museum! I have to say, this museum was just as fascinating as it was disturbing and disgusting. I can't actually believe that these types of devices were used on fellow human beings, especially in the name of Christianity.




The next stop on our tour of Guanajuato was the mine that I mentioned earlier, La Valenciana, that used to be one of the richest silver/gold mines in Guanajuato. Today, it isn't used for much other than a tourist spot in which you can climb down into the mine as the guide explains its uses and its history. We got a real taste of what its like to be in a mine, 24 meters underground, when all the lights suddenly went out and we were in pitch black darkness (only for 30 seconds, but still, it seemed like a long 30 seconds).







Finally, the reason I actually wanted to go to Guanajuato in the first place: The Mummy Museum. Of course, Guanajuato has many wonderful attractions and the city itself is breathtaking. But I wanted to indulge in the Mexican obsession with death by visiting the famous Guanajuato mummies. These mummies are naturally made as a result of the climate here and all of them come from the local cemetery. Interestingly, the bodies in this cemetery can only stay there for 6 years because of a lack of space and so the families have a choice of moving the bodies or, in the case that there is no family, the now mummified bodies are moved to the museum. They have a lot of interesting mummies in their exhibit -- the smallest in the world (a fetus from a deceased pregnant woman), a man who passed away in 1977, and of course, the first body discovered 1865. I know it sounds kind of creepy, but really, it's quite fascinating because the mummies have retained their hair, their skin, their fingernails, etc.






After our encounter with the mummies, we headed back to the hostel and to a taqueria next door where we met some lovely Australians named James, Alex, and Tatjana. We spent the entire evening with them wandering around Gunajuato, watching the street performers, and dancing salsa at one of the local clubs.

That, in a very large nutshell, was my trip to Guanajuato. Thanks for reading :)

Kaitie

Tokyo Swan 20: Roppongi and Tokyo Tower

Throughout the Tokyo Swan video series, I have to say that this one remains one of my top 5 favorite episodes. I think it captures the whistful sense of just exploring the city and being with friends. And believe me, in a city like Tokyo there's so much to explore!

The highlights of this episode include walking around Roppongi Hills. Now, when most people hear "Roppongi" they think of an area of Tokyo that is famous for having many bars and nightclubs that cater to foreigners living in Japan. However, Roppongi Hills is a subdivision of Roppongi and is a very upscale and classy place with art museums, giant movie theaters, and so much more.

Also, we walked around Tokyo Tower, which was actually not too far from where I was going to school at Keio University. This is one of the most famous landmarks in Japan, and it really is quite impressive just to stand near it. Throw in some footage from lunch, and some ice cream in the base of the tower, and you've got an all around fun episode!