the streets of Puebla

photos of the center of Puebla

Cathedral of Puebla
El zocalo (central plaza) of the city- there are many restaurants surrounding the park.

Life in Puebla thus far

I haven't written in awhile because I have been very busy visiting many, many classes and getting to know the city I'm living in for the next 4 months, but everything is going well and I am starting to feel a little more settled in! First of all, I now know how to ride the public city bus from my neighborhood to the center of puebla where my classes are and back..which is an accomplishment for me because I am not used to navigating public transportation on a daily basis, and here in puebla there is no schedule or map of the bus routes..,you just know what bus # you have to take and they come about every 5 minutes. It costs only 6 pesos (.50cents) to ride the bus, but apparently they just raised the price from 5 pesos. Therefore, my first week of classes at the BUAP (puebla's public university where I take classes) was interrupted by some of the university students protesting the bus fare increase which closed down the history department. Although it was a bit frustrating for me because I was trying to figure out what classes to take, it was also interesting to see how politically involved students are here and how they make sure their voice is heard..,something that doesn't often happen in the US. Anyways, I visited many classes here at the university to try to feel out who were the best professors and what were most interesting classes. Like many of the world's universities, students at the BUAP study only one subject (the liberal arts concept is very surprising for them). Although visiting lots of classes was stressful, I got to meet a lot of different students and experience different learning dynamics...including the fact that some professors don't even show up to class on the first day!
As of now, I am more or less sure of the classes I am taking- a Mexican 20th century poetry class, history of the mexican revolution class, a psychology and creativity class and a psychology of pedagogy (education) class. Hopefully they will work out well!
Other than that, I have been making mexican friends, exploring puebla, shopping, eating! and sleeping (to recharge my brain after speaking/ listening to spanish all day). Puebla is a very charming, old city with many churches, balconies and restaurants. The university buildings are very old and euroepean..they have patios with balconies and huge wooden doors. I haven't gotten a chance to take many pictures of the center of puebla, but I will soon and post them.
that's all for now...i promise to post more updates soon.

Cholula Cathedral at Night

My host family took me to see this beautiful cathedral in Cholula, the neighboring city of Puebla. The cathedral was built on top of one of the largest pyramids in mesoamerica!

Fiesta de Cumpleaños!

Malo Poblano- the famous dish from Puebla made of many spices including chile and chocolate
My mexican sister and her baby valentina with my birthday Piñata!

My host family!

I have been super busy getting to know my host family here in Puebla and trying to figure out what classes to take which is a interesting adventure, and frustrating, so I haven't had any time to write another blog post. However, I am putting aside some time to write about my wonderful host family, now that I have been here for about a week. I live with my two host parents, Rosi and Adolfo who are an adorable couple who call each other "corazon" which means "heart"...they are so sweet! They have been hosting students from my program for something like 6 years so they have a lot of experience with taking care of american girls! Their daughter Mine and her husband Anor and their baby of 16 month live in the house right now too! I love having the baby in the house and I like to play peek-a-boo with her and other games. They are all very, very nice and have made me feel very welcome! I have my own room and bathroom! The first night that I arrived, my family immediately called me "Sarita" and held a "fiestita" - little party- to welcome me including a cake. Little did I know that the family tradition is for the celebrated person to have their face pushed into the cake! Much to my surprise and laughter...I ended up with cake on my nose!
On our "free day" with our families last weekend, I went with my host parents to the huge and gorgeous cathedral in the center of Puebla for the sunday mass and I really enjoyed the experience in such an incredible temple. After the mass, we gathered with other Poblanos (people from puebla) around the various performers in the zocolo (central plaza of the city)- clowns, aztec dancers, etc. It was so fun to see all the families and kids spending time in the center, buying balloons, eating, etc. They then took me to a "must see" in Puebla...el volcan mas pequeno del mundo (the smallest volcano in the world!) There is also I large volcano on the horizon of Puebla, but this one is only 2-3 stories tall...a baby volcano! They also took me to see Cholula..the next city over where the colonists built a cathedral right on top of the largest pyramid in mexico...very symbolic, eh? I got to see it at night, all light up which was beautiful!
Other general things about my host family- my host mother loves to feed me!! Here in Mexico the main meal of the day is in the afternoon at 3ish and my host mother prepares fruit, tamales, soup, lots of things. They also introduced me to Cemitas, which are the "mexican hamburger" and HUGE! My host mother has taught me how to navigate around puebla on the crazy busses which have no defined schedule which i am eternally grateful to her for! well, I could talk about them for quite a long time, but I must go and have dinner with them now! I promise to post again soon about puebla and my adventures with trying to pick classes soon!

Link to more photos of Mexico City:

Mexico City