Today we went to Teotihuacán. The name Teotihuacán means "City of the Gods" and could also mean "City where the dead become Gods" in Nahuatl. When Aztecs discovered Teotihuacan was discovered around the 6th century it was almost totally abandoned. Archaeologists hypothesize that the Aztecs saw the enormous pyramids and thought that the people who built them must have been gods, or something like gods. The Pyramid of the Sun is the largest pyramid in Central or South America, in terms of volume. The Pyramid of the Moon is slightly smaller, but still really impressive. The site is definitely one of the most amazing places I've ever been. I looked at the pyramids and was in awe of both their size, and the time and effort required to construct them. I can't even imagine believing in something enough to build a pyramid more than a thousand meters wide BY HAND. We climbed the Pyramid of the Sun and got a pretty good view of the valley.
Pyramid of the Sun. As Billy Fucillo would say, "It's HUUUUUUUGE!"
Pyramid of the Moon.
Sarah and I on top of the Pyramid of the Sun!
The Pyramid of the Moon as seen from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun
After Teotihuacán, we went to a local artisan's shop. He showed us how Mesoamericans used the maguey (scientific name is agave) plant. The plant exudes a juice used to make pulque, which can be further fermented and refined to make mezcal and tequila. But ancient peoples just drank pulque. The skin makes a durable paper, and the fibers are used to make cloth. The pointy tips of the leaves can be weapons or needles or writing implements. Maguey plants live about 15-25 years.
Maguey plant! I like these a lot.
Then, the guide showed us different precious stones that can be found in Mexico. He had some beautiful specimens of obsidian, and jade, and turquoise. He carves obsidian right at his shop, so we got to see how obsidian figures are created. He even had xoloscuincles (pronounced show-low-squink-lace), those hairless dogs I mentioned in my last entry. I highly recommend a visit to his shop if ever you visit Teotihuacán. I don't recall the name but it's right down the road from the pyramids and it has beautiful obsidian figures out front.
After Teotihuacán we had lunch at a restaurant in a cave, hence, it was named "La Gruta" which means "cave" in Spanish. The salsa was excellent! Thus far I love all the food I've eaten.
Our last stop was the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron saint of Mexico. It's Church Central. There were 5ish churches on the grounds. The Virgin of Guadalupe is a bigger deal the Benito Juarez. In the Basilica there is a moving sidewalk and all it does is take you underneath the fancy portrait of the Virgin so you can take pictures. I got on the moving sidewalk and wondered, "Where are we going now?" Why, to genuflect underneath Our Lady of Guadalupe, of course!
The old Basilica.
I just packed up all my stuff because tomorrow we go to Puebla. I am excited but also pretty nervous to meet my host mother. I'm worried that we won't get along well because I won't be able to communicate with her in Spanish. I guess I'll just have to try my best. She has had students from my program in the past, so I'm sure everything will be OK.
Word of the Day: Escaleras. It means stairs. There were manymany escaleras on the Pyramid of the Sun, and then more at the Basilica. In general here there are more escaleras and less elevators and escalators.
I went there!!! Yay! -Anna
ReplyDelete