My first week in Mexico I stayed at the minor seminary of the Archdiocese of Tlanlapantla. The seminarians (high schoolers) were very friendly and it was a bit of a challenge trying to communicate with them with only halting Spanish on my part and little to no English on theirs. Still, we had a good time, and made some friends.
The day after our arrival (Thursday) we went to the Anthropological Museum in Mexico City. Many interesting things there...but I have to say a lot of it was frightening, all sorts of Aztec artifacts, all having to do with human sacrifice...and lots of it at that! It was very weird to think that the things that I was touching and seeing right in front of me, ran with human blood just six hundred years earlier.
On Friday the we all travelled to the ancient pyramids of Teotihuacan. We climbed to the top of the Temple of the Sun following in the footsteps of priests who climbed the step incline of the pyramid centuries before us. The view was awesome and the place was truly amazing! Never before have I been in a place so completely ancient...and I did it without even leaving the continent!
The ride to the pyramids was a bit of an adventure though...traffic in Mexico City is just plain crazy. There is next to no order on the streets and they are flooded with cars, buses, motercycles and pedestrians. Many time there seemed to be only a few inches between the side of our bus and the the vehicle next to us...not something that makes you feel very comfortable. Well on the way to the Pyramids our bus bumped (nothing serious) with another vehicle...basically just scraped the side a bit. We were stuck while they sorted out the affair for about an hour before another bus was called to take us the rest of the way to the Pyramids. This bus was not as professional as our previous charter bus...as was proved but the bus driver pulling over at a certain point and dropping off some old tires before continuing on our way...goes without saying that this was a huge reminder to us that we were not in the U.S.A. anymore!
The Next day we went to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The place is absolutely awesome and the devotion that is still given to the Virgin is astounding. The Mexican people have a great gift in this holy place, and I felt so priveledged to be able to visit the place that she appeared and see the Tilma with her image imprinted upon it with mine own eyes. The Tilma was very beautiful, even after all these years, and it was very moving being so close to something so holy.
Needless to say this is a very quick rundown of some of my expieriences in the past few days...but I don´t want to spoil the story telling when I get back...since I get more enjoyment out of telling a story over a few beers with you in person than via the internet. Keep me in your prayers...it is a little hard being in a place that you don´t understand the custumes and the language that well...but I am doing well, so don´t worry about anything! The keyboard is a little weird and everything (including spell check) is in Spanish, so if things don´t look quite right, it is due to the limitations of my understanding. I love you all and miss you all very much...or as they say in Espaniole, te qiero mucho!
Buenas Noches me amigos!
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