My Inner Muse

Unconscionable The swollen belly of the abandoned The bloated face of the dead The tears of a father unmade These are the images that haunt But the voices grow so loud, with rancor and fear As a line forms against them The unnamed, unseen, un-human Scourge to their way of life Artificial divisions, man-made With barbed wire and barbed words Fueled by contempt and the righteous indignation Of those that came before How quickly have we lost our humanity? To criminalize, ostracize and demonize Those that come in peace For that, which we ourselves take for granted? These unconscionable acts Cannot be tolerated nor ignored They are beneath our dignity They undermine our humanity They are a disgrace to our nation – Response to a powerful documentary called  Crossing Arizona

We are winding down our last few days in Mexico City. On Friday we head to the states of Tabasco and Veracruz by the coast. There it will be hot, tropical weather instead of thunder and hail storms. Today it hailed as we walked home from dinner! Earlier today we (L-R: Magdalena, me and Marlene) visited the rich suburb of Polanco and enjoyed a nice lunch and some Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. Then we took our Cuban professor out for drinks and fondue before heading home to cook dinner for our host family. Eating... eating... eating... that was the main theme today. Here is a picture of our host mom, Isabel, and her friend, Arturo. They always have Tuesday game night with Tequila and it's fun hanging out with them. It's finals week! I am finished with my Group Therapy class/final and my Critical Issues class/final. I have a few more assignments in Liberation Psychology to turn in and have Spanish classes through Thursday. Then I will get Latam Family Therapy certification!! I a...

Aztec Pyramid Ruins We spent an amazing weekend in Malinalco, a mountain town about 2-3 hours aways from Mexico City. This is a very spiritual place and the site of old Aztec ruins where young men would go through special rites to become Jaguar Warriors or Eagle Warriors. We began our journey by taking a bus to Malinalco and arrived at an important river where the men would first ask for blessings from their Aztec gods before beginning their quest. After taking our blessing at the river, we were crowned by the local townspeople and were ready to begin our quest. This place has both Catholic and indigenous influences as you can see by the saint's statue behind us. After leaving the river, we visited the site of the old Aztec sacred place which is inside a cave. Unfortunately, when the Spanish first arrived, they either tore down all the indigenous places of worship or they built their own churches right on top. We spent a few hours exploring the city of Malinalco and v...

Aztecs Today we were given an excellent overview of Mexican history from ancient civilizations like the Toltecs and Olmecs to the rise of the Mayan and Aztec civilizations to the Spanish conquest and through the Mexican liberation. There is an incredible history here that I don't believe most Americans fully understand. The longer I am here, the longer I feel that we are living under discourses about Mexico that suppress any positive information about its history, culture, food, customs, etc. Instead we are bombarded with news about drug trafficking, immigration stories, terrible stereotypes of Mexicans being lazy and Mexico being a dangerous country. I learned that Mexico City is the 2nd largest city in the world. It is ENORMOUS. There is so much to see in this city (let alone the country) and we have only 4 weeks left to explore!!

I had an accident on the way to school today; a heavy metal post fell right on my foot as I was walking through a construction area in a heavy rain storm. A man knocked it over in front of me and it was excruciatingly painful. I though I would pass out; and for a few seconds I thought my toe had been cut off as I watched blood formulate on my right foot. But I have all my digits, thankfully. The road conditions are pretty bad in some parts of the city, so instead of watching the scenery, I have to keep my eyes on the ground a lot. We also had an amazing dinner at a culinary school in La Condesa. It took four hours and the food and service were exquisite.

So much has happened that I can't possibly keep up with this travel blog. This city has incredible sights and things to do, and I have gotten a different appreciation for Mexico than when I first arrived. In the past week and a half we visited the famous Basilica of Guadalupe (shown above) where thousands of pilgrims come each year. We visited Coyoacan where Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo lived and worked. We explored the Bosque de Chapultepec and the amazing Museo de Antropologia. We explored the pyramids and ruins at Tenotihuacan -- I am in awe of the city these ancient people built centuries ago. We went salsa dancing and have seen some amazing films and documentaries about Latin America. My eyes have been opened to the negative discourses that we are surrounded by every day in the US with respect to Latam, and I feel a bit ashamed that I haven't traveled here much during the 20 years I've lived in San Diego. Aside from Guanajuato, Costa Rica and now Mexico City, I have mo...

Today was the first day of classes and it was a brutally long day. I was in class from 9 am to 8:30 ( I feel like I've been here for a week already. :) The best part was visiting the Zocalo which is the main center of power and culture in all of Mexico. It's the site where the Aztecs first built their kingdom and the Spanish later built their biggest cathedral and the Palacios Nacional. It's one of the largest urban plazas in the world according to the guidebook. Very humbling, though, to see this symbol of brutal colonialism -- the cathedral was built by tearing down the ancient pyramid and using the gray stones. The Aztecs were the slave laborers. Here are a few photos. I plan to go back to visit the Aztec ruins another day.  Cathedral Aztec Pyramid Ruins Main Basilica Inside of Basilica, impressive gold Baroque and Gothic interior.

I have been suffering from terrible headaches these past two days. I am told it's a combination of acclimating to the altitude and smog, but will hopefully subside in a week. For now, though, it's making me a little miserable. Today we performed some street theater, acting out scenes of oppression on the streets and having discussions with passersby. I was playing a child in a domestic violence scene in which my dad was punching me. We were frozen in a specific pose. The premise was to engage people into having a dialogue about what they were witnessing and asking them what would they do to change the situation if they could. People were able to physically move us into different positions. It was an interesting exercise and we got a lot of different reactions. Tonight we ate tostadas from a street vendor. I think it was my best meal so far. Que rico! Here are my roommates, Michelle and Magdalena. We are having fun together despite the crazy amount of homework and re...