First Week Reflection (RAH)

by: Jordi De Jong

I can’t believe we’ve been here for a week already! And, that we’re out of Mexico City! Wow! Anyway, I feel like I have learned and explored so much in this short amount of time that I can’t wait for the next three weeks (although I could definitely wait for the grocery shopping…. cooking is not my strong suit I fear).

I was surprised by how many of the concepts from my Environmental Studies class I saw reflected in Mexico City’s history and relationship with water. At Isla Urbana, the presenter talked a lot about the how cultural perspectives of the inhabitants of Mexico City changed how they viewed and used water, which shaped how they built and expanded their city. And, he mentioned how much of their work besides simply installing rainwater harvesters is educating the local populations and instilling in them the value of water — changing a more consumerist perspective into that of stewardship. It reminded me why I want to minor in Environmental Studies; it’s so important to not exclude the non-technical aspects of an engineering problem. Dealing with Mexico City’s issues with water requires more than just designing systems to reduce the effects of floods or create better water filters. It requires learning about the community to see what their needs are and addressing those needs as holistically as possible. Isla Urbana really takes this mission to heart by helping empower individuals, especially women, and communities to take control of their water availability and quality. It showed me that engineering involves a lot more soft skills than I give it credit for (expanding my single story)!

Water tank at Isla Urbana offices!

What also helped me understand how important cultural background was to comprehending Mexico City’s relationship with water was our exploration of Chapultepec and visiting the Museo del Templo Mayor. Without learning the history of what inhabitants of the city have done previously to combat flooding issues and source drinking water, I couldn’t think about what solutions might be possible. Knowing what had been tried before, what the current situation was, and the strengths and weaknesses of different systems was incredibly valuable — especially learning how culturally important water has been to the Aztecs, to the Spanish, and to modern-day Mexicans.

Mural by Diego Rivera in Chapultepec

I also REALLY enjoyed visiting the chinampa! As one of the solutions/innovations by the Aztecs, chinampas are incredibly effective engineering solutions to creating agriculture in the salty basin of Mexico City. They were both critically important to the success of the Aztec empire and a productive, sustainable method of production that exists and thrives to this day. I guess these were another expansion of my single story; I knew that the Aztecs were a great empire, but they’re often not considered as civilized or advanced as ancient peoples like the Greeks or Romans. However, their structures, farming methods, and sustainable development (as opposed to Spanish colonizers…) was fascinating and much more advanced than I would have expected. Being on the chinampa was awesome too, because it felt like we weren’t in the city anymore, even though we were. The process of farming was traditional, but had been tested for maximum efficiency and productivity and worked with, not against, the environment to benefit humans. Plus, the family co-op had a really cute dog 🙂

Gang hard at work weeding on the chinampa

Final place I want to touch on is our visit to the Hacedores Makerspace! They were so welcoming and instructive, and I had an absolute blast soldering for my first time ever and racing robots against each other. Besides crushing the other teams with our robot, I also was inspired by the efforts of the Hacedores team to spread makerspaces. I have never really taken advantage of the OEDK’s many resources, and I had taken the fact that I had access to them for granted. The dedication and creativity of the engineers there helped me see how many people from Mexico City are also committed to spreading engineering and addressing engineering problems. It’s not like we as foreigners are the only ones who care about this field or these issues!

The winningest robot team (and robot)! Shoutout Liam and Sammy

Overall, super baller week (even if I was dead tired most of the time)!! I was so inspired by the people we met who have such passion and enthusiasm for the meaningful work that they do. Other highlights included meeting up with Archis, the Palacio de Bellas Artes, Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Castillo de Chapultepec, and getting Frankie to dap me up.

New and old Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe (peep the sinking of the old church)