Day 7 (6/8/11)

Our first full day in Mexico! As I looked outside our window I could see only a glimpse of how large Mexico City is. It’s truly amazing to me how much land this city spans. I could also clearly see the pollution has an effect on visibility here because there was a large haze over the city. I’ve included my first view of a morning in Mexico City below.

This day started out with a small breakfast in our temporary hosts’ home (check out pics of their nice house below). Then we went to their church (called Las Aguilas) to meet some of the leaders of the school there and to learn more about the culture here. I got there by way of taxi by the way, and this was a much nicer ride than last night from the airport (mostly because he drove a lot slower). Once we arrived at the church (pictures below as well) we were warmly greeted by a few of the teachers there.









We met three women named Claire, Chela, and Elise and one man named Enrique. Claire is an American who moved to Mexico three years ago and now teaches English in the school that is known as Mexico City Christian Academy (which shares the building with Aguilas Church). Chela and Elise are both Mexican women who have gotten a college degree here in Mexico and teach in the school as well. Enrique, whose nickname is “Qique”, teaches math at the school. Each of the teachers gave us a short presentation that introduced us to different parts of Mexican culture and what to expect out of our stay here.
After a few presentations the teachers let us know that they had prepared authentic Mexican food for us (and it was very yummy!). I really think I’m not going to have a tough time with the food here (just so long as they don’t make it too spicy). Then towards the end of our time with the teachers we played a local game called “Loteria”, which is similar to the American game “Bingo” with a little twist. Instead of just getting 5 numbers in a row, you must get all your spaces on your card filled. They also play with pictures instead of numbers being called out.
Following this we went back the host house and helped repaint a wall that they didn’t like the color of. We then took a walk as a team through the local streets around the house and I’ve added some pictures of the views we have and some of the coolest houses we’ve seen in the neighborhood. The day ended with us eating dinner and then playing a few rounds of a new card game they taught us called “Dork”. In conclusion, it’s so far so good in Mexico. It’s still too early to tell, but I think I’m going to enjoy my time here.