This was our first full day in Mexico. Everyday started with breakfast at 8 am, made by the wonderful cooks at CCIDD. After a morning reflection, we were off to the pyramids. They were only about a 30 min bus ride. We didn't mind the driving though because it was always interesting seeing different areas of Mexico. The pyramids were originally made by the Mayan people, and these pyramids dictated their whole life. There was three levels - the bottom level was for the everyday village people, the middle level was for warriors, and the highest level was for the astrologists that could read the stars and predict the weather and seasons etc. We had a very knowledgeable tour guide so it was very interesting to hear the whole history behind the pyramids.
After lunch we went to Cortes' Palace, which is in Cuernevaca. One of the most interesting aspects of this museum was the mural created by Diego Rivera. It depicted a chronological visual of the history of the region. This mural, which covered a wally approximately 30 yards long, started with the indigenous cultures and told the story of their initial contact with the Spanish when the indigenous believed Cortes was great, and ended with the eventual enslavement and devastation of the Aztec Culture caused by Cortes. Unfortunately we did not have a tour guide of this museum because we did not have enough time, but it was still a worthy visit as Cortes is very prominent in the history of Mexico.
Because it was Sunday, after dinner, Sister Kathy, a leader at CCIDD, took us to a Mariachi Mass at the Cathedral. It is called a Mariachi Mass because there is a mariachi band that plays all the music, so it was quite entertaining. The mass was in Spanish, but we could surprisingly follow along pretty well because it was very similar a Catholic mass at home. Most Mexicans in the area are Catholics so this mass is very popular. That evening there was about 4 masses. They started around 5:30and then started again every hour after. Cuernevaca has a population of about 300,000 people, so you can imagine they would have to have a lot of masses to cover everyone.
Everyday, in between activities, we had group discussions and reflections to talk about what we experienced, and learned. This was very helpful; Not only did this allow our group to become close knit, it also allowed us to learn about from the CCIDD staff.
After lunch we went to Cortes' Palace, which is in Cuernevaca. One of the most interesting aspects of this museum was the mural created by Diego Rivera. It depicted a chronological visual of the history of the region. This mural, which covered a wally approximately 30 yards long, started with the indigenous cultures and told the story of their initial contact with the Spanish when the indigenous believed Cortes was great, and ended with the eventual enslavement and devastation of the Aztec Culture caused by Cortes. Unfortunately we did not have a tour guide of this museum because we did not have enough time, but it was still a worthy visit as Cortes is very prominent in the history of Mexico.
Because it was Sunday, after dinner, Sister Kathy, a leader at CCIDD, took us to a Mariachi Mass at the Cathedral. It is called a Mariachi Mass because there is a mariachi band that plays all the music, so it was quite entertaining. The mass was in Spanish, but we could surprisingly follow along pretty well because it was very similar a Catholic mass at home. Most Mexicans in the area are Catholics so this mass is very popular. That evening there was about 4 masses. They started around 5:30and then started again every hour after. Cuernevaca has a population of about 300,000 people, so you can imagine they would have to have a lot of masses to cover everyone.
Everyday, in between activities, we had group discussions and reflections to talk about what we experienced, and learned. This was very helpful; Not only did this allow our group to become close knit, it also allowed us to learn about from the CCIDD staff.
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