This is a post I have been trying to write for over a year now. It is about my week in Mexico City that was a hybrid study abroad and mission trip. I haven’t been sure how to write it because I wanted it to be one big post about the entire thing, but I realized that wasn’t possible. Then when I really thought about it, there were pretty much three parts to the trip, each with its own theme and reflection. There was the first day where we did the sight seeing like the pyramids and Our Lady of Guadalupe. Then there were the next three days that we spent doing mission trip work: visiting parishes, an orphanage, and a dump. Then there was the last day which was spent in an old part of the town and at a lecture, so I thought this would be the best way to split it up so that I actually finish it: The Sights, The Mission, and The Ending. I am going to write and post these in chronological order so without further adieu, here is The Sights!
Mexico is a country that has always been on my mind. From learning Spanish and realizing that my type of Spanish is Mexican Spanish from the high population of people of Mexican descent in my state of Minnesota, Mexico is the first country to come to mind when I think about Latin America. I tried to convince my parents and family to go a couple times to go to Mexico. I was quite jealous when my parents finally went to Cancun without me my senior year of high school. I’ve dreamt about the beaches and the coastal culture of Mexico forever. Puerto Vallarta was on the top of my list of destinations in Mexico, yet this is not the type of trip I got to Mexico.
Three years ago through the options at my university I saw this class to Mexico that was led by the Catholic Studies program. I have always been interested in the Catholic Studies program but never had an opportunity to take any of the classes so I thought this was a way to get my Spanish speaking study abroad experience that I wanted while also experiencing the program that my university was so well known for. I was really excited about it. I thought it was a great way to experience culture in Mexico since it was to the country’s capital of Mexico City. I just didn’t know what I was really getting myself into.
As I learned more about this trip I was starting to think, “This is not what I signed up for” or, “I am not Catholic enough for this. I want to have fun.” I read through all the rules. No shorts for females. Males and females can’t be in each other’s rooms. No going to bars. No going anywhere at night. And the one that made me most upset, no picture taking. Not that the rest of these are things that I really would be doing, but it still made me feel like I wouldn’t have much freedom on this trip. It was hard after my last study abroad experience to Ireland where I had all the freedom in the world. I didn’t have anybody telling me where I could and couldn’t go. I was starting my experience with bar life. Plus I actually had females to hang out with. The only people on this Mexico trip were seminarians, so who was I supposed to hang out with? Not to mention I was going to spend my 21st birthday on this trip. I felt my chances of celebrating slipping away.
The class started a week before the trip and I realized I didn’t know any of this stuff. I tried to learn, but theology and philosophy have never really been my strong suit. I made the best of it though and talking to the seminarians about my own as well as their previous travel experiences. I also got to know the two professors. I bonded over having visited Cahokia with Nancy and Ireland with Dr. Naughton who has Irish citizenship since his family was from there. I started to feel like this trip wouldn’t be so bad. I was starting to look forward to it. It definitely would be a different way of traveling for me. I had never been on a mission trip before and I wasn’t used to staying off my phone on trips. These things I worried about are probably what made the trip so special though.
Day 1
The first day there was short. We got in late so we basically only had time for mass in the hotel and dinner. We set up mass in the back room of the hotel. It was a concrete floor and the workers were in and out since it was their break room. We set up folding chairs in front of an altar dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. It was a different mass experience for me. I struggled with kneeling on the concrete floor. I realized I maybe just had to sit it out and say a few extra prayers at the end. I felt a little out of place when the seminarians wouldn’t let me help put the chairs away. Yes I am a woman, but I am perfectly capable of folding and moving chairs.
After that we headed to dinner at a nice Argentine restaurant. They didn’t want to take us to the classic Mexican restaurants because they didn’t want us to get sick, so that is why our guide Butch stuck to Argentine and Italian restaurants. I tried to keep it as unique as possible so I ordered empanadas which I learned is an appetizer there rather than a main course so I was sitting awkwardly while everyone else was chowing down on their steaks. At least I sat with our Mexican bus drivers, so I would listen to them talk to each other or the servers and practice my Spanish by trying to understand what they were saying. While the trip was still not my idyllic Mexican vacation of Mexican food and culture, it still was something special and that’s what I started to see that night. It is still a special experience and a side of Mexico I was exploring.
Day 2
The next day was dedicated to sightseeing. Breakfast was around 7am upstairs where there was the kitchen and dining room. I had to take the elevator all the way to the the top floor which I was a bit nervous about that first day because I was all by myself. The seminarians had each other. The professors had each other. Our guide had his drivers. I had myself and I wasn’t sure what to expect from other people getting on and off the elevator. I quickly discovered this was a silly fear. Anyway once I got up, a server came around to get my breakfast order which was included in the cost of our stay. The breakfast options were not exactly the grand Mexican breakfast I was expecting, but I still enjoyed my eggs, refried beans, and bread. I learned after a couple days though that we should order juice with our breakfast and not water, because after one of our group members got sick we discovered that this was tap water, so I stuck to orange juice and coffee for the rest of the trip.
We had just a couple things lined up for this day, but they were bigs things. First we went to the pyramids of Teotihuacán before then going to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I should have known the second I stepped off that bus at the pyramids that I should have put on sunblock, but I didn’t. I have this problem where I think if it isn’t super hot I don’t need sunblock, but that isn’t always the case. Even though the temperature could not have been any more than 60 degrees, the sun was warm and strong. The high altitude of Mexico City makes it a bit colder than the rest of the country, but this also means it is closer to the sun. I got a little sunburned as I slowly cooked while we walked around the pyramids for a couple hours without my sun protection. I wish I could say I learned my lesson, but I never do. People always feel bad for me when I am sunburned, but it is my own fault, so the sympathy feels out of place. I got what was coming.
In the end though I was really happy they brought us here considering its indigenous religious significance. This pre-columbian city is so old that no one really knows for sure who the inhabitants were. It is thought to be multi-ethnical just like Cahokia, which is quite possible considering at one point it was one of the biggest cities in the Americas. What we do know is that the name was given by the Aztecs as it is a Nahuatl name which is a language you will see a lot of in this region of Mexico. I think many Americans (from the US) don’t realize that just like indigenous languages exist here in the states, they exist in Mexico and the rest of Latin America as well. They were once colonized too. That’s why I am often so confused by our country’s view of the Spanish language because it is colonizer language just like our own English.
The pyramids were unlike anything I had ever seen before. There was so much to see as it is nearly 30 to 40 miles in size and each part of the site was unique in its own way from the murals to the famous Temples of the Sun and Moon. We had a mini tour and then we were able to explore on our own. There was a lot to it and a few different sections and areas to the pyramids. Sometimes you were able to climb the pyramids, which I did do with a couple of the guys. We chose one of the smaller temples though.
Our trip did not include lunch, so I munched on one of my many protein bars on the bus on the way to the shrine. It is safe to stay I was tired of protein bars by the end of the trip and I haven’t eaten one since. One week of them will do that to you. I don’t know how athletes eat them so often. They do the trick but aren’t the tastiest thing in the world. The bus was maybe about an hour to our next stop. The pyramids are located a bit out of the city while the shrine seemed to be right in the middle of it. It was really interesting seeing the difference between the city and that outside it. Its a huge contrast. Outside of the city is what I had imagine Mexico to look like and felt very much like I was in Latin America. Mexico City didn’t feel too different to the cities I am used to visiting in America and Europe. Obviously it is so huge that not the entire city felt this way, but I could definitely sense the difference between the walk to the basilica from the bus and where we had just been.
I am not sure what I had expected from the shrine but it was not this if I were to be completely honest. First you have the basilica which looks more like a modern mega church than the pretty only churches I was expecting from Mexico. That is because there is the old and the new basilica on this site. Of course we attended mass at the new basilica which houses the the Tilma in which Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared. We attended the Spanish mass here which was a completely different vibe from the mass we had the night before in the basement of the hotel. I couldn’t decide if I liked it or not. I don’t care for modern church buildings. I feel more connected to the rituals and prayers in the older churches that are full of art and other beautiful things. I suppose here had one of the most beautiful things of all though, the Tilma with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Although it is displayed behind the altar, it is a bit difficult to see from the pews.
Luckily you can get closer. After mass we headed towards the back where there is a hallway to view Our Lady. Here you could get on the moving belt to stand and see the image. Once the belt gets to the end you can go back around and hop on again, which we did multiple times. Its really interesting the different things you get out of it or thoughts you have each time you see it. We had instructions for this time at the shrine which also included some journaling and reflecting. I want to share a bit of my journal from that day with you.
Today has been a day on reflecting on and witnessing God’s creation. This how I see God in travel with each site I see and person I talk to. I recognize God’s beauty. It been a reflection of my own life as well. I’ve found myself thinking about how lucky I am to witness beautiful and foreign sites and engage with new culture. Many people don’t have that opportunity as I would expect many people here in Mexico City don’t get to experience much outside of it.
I’ve travel quite a bit, but I’m still alway surprised by the places I go. That’s how I feel about Mexico City. The people have been very kind and patience with my not quite perfect Spanish. This has actually make me more comfortable in speaking Spanish than I have ever been. It also has made me very happy when I see the people’s faces light up when they realize I can understand and speak Spanish
– January 10, 2023
I will share a bit more about that in a bit, but first let me tell you what else we did around here, because the Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe is much more than just the basilica with the image. There is also the old basilica which we did of course check out as well. This church built in the late 1600s was the original home of the Tilda. After some damage that made it no longer the most ideal spot to house it with as many visitors as it gets each day, it was closed in the late 1900s. The new basilica was built to accommodate all the visitors and to be the new home. The old basilica was closed for a bit, but after some reconstruction was then opened again for anyone who wants to see the original home. I could see why it no long was a fitting location for the tilma just by the few steps we took inside. The floor was very uneven.
From here was headed up the steps to the top of Tepeyac Hill where the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe took place. This is where, in 1531, Mary appeared to Juan Diego and asked him to build this shrine that would bring many of the indigenous people to the Catholic faith. I think although this wasn’t the location of the Tilma, it was my favorite spot at the shrine. First there was an amazing view of the cathedrals and the rest of the city from up on this hill. Then there was the little chapel there. The Little Hill Chapel was built on the exact spot Mary appeared to Juan Diego. It is not quite as extravagant as the basilicas here, but the simplicity held a lot of power. I felt much more connected to the apparition here than I did at the New Basilica. We spent some time praying here in the chapel before we had our free time to walk around the rest of the site and work on our journaling.
While I’ve been seeing God through the culture and the sites, I’ve also been looking out for the more obvious signs of God here in Mexican culture. You can tell the people have a strong devotion to God. I could see it in the faces of the people at mass. They were there because they wanted to be. I could tell that some of them also didn’t feel worthy by the amount of people who remained seated during communion. This might just be because of the way the church and culture don’t go together. I don’t know these people’s lives and what they go through each day.
– January 10, 2023
My reflection was mostly based off the connection of the church and culture in Mexico, which was the main focus of our time spent in Mexico. We spent that week ahead of time learning about the role of religion and the church in life and then we were going to see what that really looked like in Mexico. I think the thing that surprised me the most about this is that we weren’t studying the surface aspects of culture, like art or music. We were studying the deeper parts of culture, the role of the church in the people’s lives and how their unique experiences impact religion in Mexico. It was a very different experience to what I was used to in my travels, but I think that’s what made this trip so unique and impactful for me.
In the next post you will see more of the impact of this experience and my reflections on it as we visited local parishes, a dump, and an orphanage. It is in no way a normal travel experience, so be prepared for heavy subjects. That is how we change and become better people though, by taking on difficult matters, having conversations, reflecting, and changing our thoughts and actions. I think everyone should have an experience like this at least once it life, because it completely changes your perspective on everything.
The Journal of Wanderlust 