50p
Mexican Memories
“Look back. How else are you supposed to know how far you’ve come?”
Though it was a couple months ago, the sounds and smells are still as vivid in my mind as though it were yesterday, when my feet touched the earth of Mexico City.
The rise and fall of the voices that spread across the Palacio Nacional (National Palace, also known as the Reforma) grounds ran themselves into a steady hum that filled the air. People, as if moving to an unannounced beat, wove through the market, occasionally stalling in order to make a purchase. Since my trip to China in 2005, I had not seen so many dazzling colours and lively spirits. It was rejuvenating.
I stood out like a sore thumb. It was clear I was a tourist, what with my hesitant smile as I waited my turn in line when instead I was supposed to raise my voice in order to grab the vendor’s attention. Or was it the stumbling that my feet adopted as I struggled through crowds I was not accustomed to? I loved it. There was much satisfaction gained when I was able to successfully work my way through a cluster of people or purchase my own goods in butchered Spanish. Trust me, it was no slice of pie, and I was overwhelmingly appreciative towards those who tried to comprehend my amateur Spanish.
Not only did we go to the Reforma, we travelled to Teotihuacan, where we climbed the pyramids and witnessed the destruction that lay before our eyes. How the Spanish Empire built atop the pyramids, demolishing the once dominate Mayan culture. This archaeological site was built in 200 B.C. and was once an urban center known as the City of the Gods. Sketches and paintings cannot bring back the brilliance those structures once held under the sun’s spell. The stone is cracked, the colours deteriorated with age, and the sculpted lions and snakes are chipped and withered, however, you can find beauty in these historical sites when knowledge is cast upon them. I felt fortunate that we were able to see these tremendous reminders of the Mayan culture.
We Brentonians - Sophie. B-G, Nisan A, Laura G, Laura’s family and I - dined at a traditional Mexican restaurant, where the stained glass colours splayed and stretched themselves. On another occasion we spent our lunchtime eating in a cave located in Teotihuacán and watched as the employees subtly fed their most regular customer, Lola, a squirrel.
Though I spent nine days sightseeing on tour buses, spent three hours in the incredible Museum of Anthropology, seeing the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts Palace) and immersed myself in the culture of Mexico City, it was not enough.
Thank you to the friends I shared this trip with and with whom I hope to share many more great adventures . A special thanks to Laura G’s family for going above and beyond in providing us with amazing experiences; your warm hospitality knew no limits!
Mexico, this is not a ‘goodbye’ but simply a ‘see you later’. The easiest way to end this article (which trust me, could have stretched out longer than it already has), is by providing you, dear readers, with this: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.”
Mexico can do that to you!
Annie L
Though it was a couple months ago, the sounds and smells are still as vivid in my mind as though it were yesterday, when my feet touched the earth of Mexico City.
The rise and fall of the voices that spread across the Palacio Nacional (National Palace, also known as the Reforma) grounds ran themselves into a steady hum that filled the air. People, as if moving to an unannounced beat, wove through the market, occasionally stalling in order to make a purchase. Since my trip to China in 2005, I had not seen so many dazzling colours and lively spirits. It was rejuvenating.
I stood out like a sore thumb. It was clear I was a tourist, what with my hesitant smile as I waited my turn in line when instead I was supposed to raise my voice in order to grab the vendor’s attention. Or was it the stumbling that my feet adopted as I struggled through crowds I was not accustomed to? I loved it. There was much satisfaction gained when I was able to successfully work my way through a cluster of people or purchase my own goods in butchered Spanish. Trust me, it was no slice of pie, and I was overwhelmingly appreciative towards those who tried to comprehend my amateur Spanish.
Not only did we go to the Reforma, we travelled to Teotihuacan, where we climbed the pyramids and witnessed the destruction that lay before our eyes. How the Spanish Empire built atop the pyramids, demolishing the once dominate Mayan culture. This archaeological site was built in 200 B.C. and was once an urban center known as the City of the Gods. Sketches and paintings cannot bring back the brilliance those structures once held under the sun’s spell. The stone is cracked, the colours deteriorated with age, and the sculpted lions and snakes are chipped and withered, however, you can find beauty in these historical sites when knowledge is cast upon them. I felt fortunate that we were able to see these tremendous reminders of the Mayan culture.
We Brentonians - Sophie. B-G, Nisan A, Laura G, Laura’s family and I - dined at a traditional Mexican restaurant, where the stained glass colours splayed and stretched themselves. On another occasion we spent our lunchtime eating in a cave located in Teotihuacán and watched as the employees subtly fed their most regular customer, Lola, a squirrel.
Though I spent nine days sightseeing on tour buses, spent three hours in the incredible Museum of Anthropology, seeing the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts Palace) and immersed myself in the culture of Mexico City, it was not enough.
Thank you to the friends I shared this trip with and with whom I hope to share many more great adventures . A special thanks to Laura G’s family for going above and beyond in providing us with amazing experiences; your warm hospitality knew no limits!
Mexico, this is not a ‘goodbye’ but simply a ‘see you later’. The easiest way to end this article (which trust me, could have stretched out longer than it already has), is by providing you, dear readers, with this: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.”
Mexico can do that to you!
Annie L
75p
