After my first 4 days in Mexico City, I have so much to share about what I did!
The gang goes to El Babalu
On Wednesday, the group went to a salsa club called “El Babalu”. This ended up being a lot of fun and showed me a side of Mexico City I was glad to see, with dozens of people dancing salsa with a lively band. It was an experience that I would seldom find in the U.S.
The Wall Patriotismo
On Thursday, Jovanny and I went to “The Wall Patriotismo” which is one the tallest climbing walls in Latin America, being over 33 meters! I love to rock climb, so I was really excited to hear how closeby this was to our Hostel! The wall was outside and attached to a mega mall. After arriving, I did a few warm-up climbs on their short wall before attempting the tall one. I was able to just barely get to the top, and despite my forearms burning and throat closing from the dryness, I felt like I was on top the world!
Tecate Emblema
On Friday, the group decided to go to a music festival, Tecate Emblema. We got the tickets on Monday and for a while we thought we got scammed, but fortunately, the tickets arrived just in time. There was also a point where most of the group was considering not going because of how tired everyone was from all the previous activities, but in the end, everybody showed up and had a great time! The festival has amazing artists, like Morat and David Guetta! My feet might have been extremely sore the next day, but overall it was a great experience!
Teotihuacan Pyramids
On Saturday Morning, we saw the Teotihuacan Pyramids! We had to leave at 7:00 AM, which was challenging given that we had the festival, which ended at 2:00 AM, the previous night. We walked to the meetup spot bright and early before embarking on an hour drive to the pyramids and temples. Once we arrived, I bought a hat and we walked for a few hours, looking at the ancient remains.
During touring the pyramids, we saw a bunch of cool sites, including the markets. Throughout the tour, we saw a myriad of stands with indigenous people selling various handcrafted artifacts related to the pyramids. They sold things from jewelry to stone masks and obsidian knives. This part was fascinating to see and made me ponder how the people who live in the area go about their day-to-day lives.
As for the classes, we had learned so much in just 1 week. Exploring the Templo Mayor revealed how the Aztecs built their civilization around water deities like Tlaloc and adapted to lake life through innovations like chinampas, which, even though they are often described as “floating islands”, it is more accurate to refer to them as anchored and infilled agricultural plots. Our pre-course videos and Isla Urbana assignment helped me see how modern solutions like rain-harvesting revive ancient wisdom while addressing gender inequality, as women regain time and income once lost to water collection.
Overall my time in Mexico City, although short, was one of the greatest places Ive been to. From the food scene to the activities and the people I spent the time with, I will never forget the time i spent in Mexico City with my newfound friends!