This week, especially after a hectic week last week, I spent a lot more time relaxing and reflecting on my experiences from this week and last week.
Classes/Academia
We took a visit to a nearby lake. It was separated into two lakes, one that was filled with untreated wastewater and one that was more of a natural, surface water lake. A lot of the community got their water from this lake. Our projects were to visualize what it would take to carry the necessary water for a household and how to treat water, in many ways, including drinking.
Most lectures, we have in our villa. Specifically, in our kitchen where we all sit at the large dinner table.
We also visited Cantaro Azul for our class. The first day, we went through the design they produced for under-resourced communities to disinfect their water using UV lights. They went through four main designs of their disinfecting project. They found multiple different hiccups along the way. The community cared about aesthetics, they cared that the project was touching the floor, and they also cared about the maintenance.
We also visited Cantro Azul a second day to think more about the treatment of water at a larger scale. They went and also tested the water from their water source for any microbes, chemical, and other possible contamination. They have so much equipment in their lab to test for different contaminants. We got to understand and play with these tests. We also got a feel for how much testing they do and how often. It is difficult to treat water at any scale, but especially for drinking water.
This is us being able to see how E. Coli and coliform are tested. They put this under a blue light to look at coliforms and mark them.
Overall, through lecture and hands-on experiences, I learned so much about design, water contaminates, how to apply a design, and the things to consider when designing/making updates to designs.
Excursions
We began the week by eating at a quesadilla place that was highly recommended by our professors. It was just an older woman and her two daughters that help run the place (so, family owned). They also made the tortillas from scratch. It was soo yummy. I’ve already been twice.
Then, we explored around the main square of the town. It’s very bright, filled with historic buildings, cafe’s, local art shops, and tons of restaurants. Almost every night they also have music playing and on top of the pavilion, locals dance for hours.
Here is our favorite pastry shop in the centro
Here is a main street of the centro that goes down a few blocks, full of activity.
Me and Kiana with our drinks from the cafe, exploring the centro.
Some of our group eating at Cocoliche, another recommended spot from the professors.
After class, almost every day, my team and I did work at this cafe called amour negro. This coffee shop was in a bigger co-op business space, except it’s filled with natural lighting and plants. We were surprisingly productive everyday here, working for 3-4 hours daily.
The coffee here is also very artisan. There was water at the bottom of my cup (I got a latte), so I was initially suspect. Eventually, with a mix, it was great coffee.
Overall, San Cristobal has been completely different from CDMX. A much slower pace of life, but in its own way, so peaceful. Designing and building in Mexico, is completely different than in the United States. Social and Cultural norms are different so its important to consider these. The changes and how people adapt to designs are going to be different case-by-case, yes. However, in Mexico it is always necessary to understand what is appropriate and what is not.