TAXCO

Sunday, a few of us took a trip to Taxco. It is about an hour away from Cuernavaca. The city itself is known for its silver, but what was more impressive was the view! It is built on the side of a mountain, and looks similar to Monaco (without the ocean, unfortunately). There are a few sights to see, and we spent out time walking around, up, and down the streets. It was an impressive city and I would've liked to spend more than one day there!

Teotihuacan

We went to Teotihuacan on the Sunday of the Mexico City trip. It is about an hour outside of Mexico City. Amazing ruins! There are many, but the most prominent pyramids are the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. The Pyramid of the sun is the largest...and it felt great to conquer it! Climbing it was a bit of an endeavor!

Frida Kahlo's "Blue House"

When in Mexico City last Saturday, I was able to go to "Casa Azul". It is the birthplace and lifetime home of artist Frida Kahlo. It was also (at times) home to artist Diego Rivera. I was unable to photograph the her amazing work in the museum, but have photos of the outside and some of her work located there. The house is located in Coyoacan, which at a time was a small town outside of Mexico City. As a result of the major growth of Mexico City, Coyoacan is now considered a neighborhood of the very large Mexico City.

Mexico City Zocalo

Last Saturday, I went to the Zocalo of Mexico City (the city center). There, I was able to tour the Cathedral, National Palace (major government building), and Templo Mayor. Templo Mayor is an area of old ruins that were uncovered during the building up of the city. If you look closely, you'll see the skulls in the walls of the ruins!

Housing

Here are some pics of where I am staying...even though I didn't include yet a photo of the inside of my room. The picture that shows the large window (on the left hand side of the building) is my room. Also, there is a picture of the outside of the house, which shows an example of the walls that are around each house here (for safety).

Comida

Just in case you wanted to know/see what I had for lunch today....This is the vegetarian meal del dia from the university cafe. Scott, notice...not tacos! Still haven't had any! Also, look at the brooms those guys sweep with...I find them oddly similar to our Halloween witch brooms. Maybe when Halloween is over, this is where they go to live and die....

Cuernavaca Sights

We spent Sunday wandering around the city center of Cuernavaca. We had some time to go to Cortez's Palace (which most of the pics are of) and do some shopping. It has a famous Diego Rivera mural on one side, which was cool to see. The pics I'm putting up are from the palace, as well as around the Zocalo (city center).

Birthday Fiesta

Steven and I spent the day at a birthday party! It was amusingly non-traditional...or at least what I expected! There were burgers on the grill, and cake (including one that we baked here last night...minus an ingredient and a bit of confusion with the oven...but it turned out ok!). They also had swimming, an inflatable, and a Yoda pinata! Yep...Yoda! It was a long and tiring day, but filled with a lot of laughs and entertainment!

TEC Campus

Well, we made it through the first week of teaching! We spent most of the week on campus: taking classes, teaching classes, trying to get passwords that worked and ID cards. However, I am very lucky to have a fantastic and enthusiastic class that I'm teaching. It has been very hot (as I expected, yet not!). We are super glad the weekend is here! Here are pics of the university where I am teaching. We have a couple fun things planned for the weekend, and I want to get some pics posted of where I am staying, as well as attempt to explain it! I'm on it tomorrow!

Day trip on day uno!

Well, I am here! We started Sunday with a trip to Xochicalco (So-she-cal-co), an area with pyramids, temples, and ruins. Steven and I joined up with our professor and a family he knows here to head out for the trip. It took about an hour to get there. Pay attention to the large stairs! According to the 8 year old boy with us, the aztecs must have had very long legs and big feet!