New Friends, New Cities, New Experiences #HogsAbroad in Mexico #ThrowbackThursday

Learning to make black clay pottery in Oaxaca.

 Hi!! My name is Chloe Williams and I am in the School of Art studying graphic design. I am also working towards a Spanish minor which led me to dreaming about studying abroad one day. This summer I had the opportunity to study in Puebla, Mexico through the Faculty Led Program at the U of A. Being in the Spanish Language and Immersion program increased my confidence in the language dramatically. It also gave me a wonderful experience learning about the history of Mexico and its culture.

Our group visiting the pyramids

My first week in Puebla was a whirlwind of events. We arrived at the end of May and began an orientation session at UPAEP, my host university. The staff at the University had prepared us dishes native to Puebla such as mole poblano and frijoles charros for our first day. Traditional Mexican dancers came in and showed off their talent. They tried to teach us afterward even though we were all horrible at it! The best part about the first day was meeting other students. Our Arkansas group quickly became friends with a group from Colombia and enjoyed the challenge of speaking in Spanish with them from day one. We bonded over hilarious errors in communication and spent time with them after classes for the rest of the week.

A Baroque museum in Puebla

Throughout the weeks, I attended four hours of language class every day. My professor prepared us with writing and speaking practice as well as games so the time always went by fast. In the afternoons, our group attended cooking and dancing classes. It was such a fun way to experience more of Mexican culture and have a nice break from the intensive language course. Every day I went home to my host family and my two host “nephews” who were two little poodles! I adore the time I got to spend with my family there. Our nights were filled with deep discussions, games, and laughter. They helped me navigate the city of Puebla and gave me a deeper understanding of the Mexican lifestyle.

One of the many beautiful churches of Puebla

My favorite part of the experience was our weekend trips. We visited a new city at the end of every week so I was able to see more sights and variances in culture. I could never choose a favorite place because each one was so special from the waterfalls of Cuetzalan, a small town in the mountains, to Mexico City, one of the largest cities I have ever been to. There were so many foods to try, markets to walk through, and museums to visit. Seeing the art in Mexico and learning more of its history were especially exciting! My art history lectures came to life when we were shown pieces from the Aztec and Mayan empires. The colors of Mexico itself are an inspiration for any artist. Every building, piece of clothing, and artifact seemed to be alive with vivid color and energy. I cannot wait to return one day to visit my host family, try new foods, and take in the warmth of such a special place.

Delicious market food

Taking in the scenery

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Graphic design major & Spanish minor Chloe Williams spent the Summer 2019 term abroad with the U of A Faculty-Led program, Spanish Immersion & Service Learning in Puebla, Mexico, with the help of our Office of Study Abroad Scholarship and the Department of World Languages, Literatures & Cultures.

Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/

Mexico Surprised Me #HogsAbroad in Mexico

Casa Luis Barragan (Roof Top), Mexico City

My name is Claudia Contreras, I’m part of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design as a fifth-year architecture major with a minor in Interior Design. This past summer (summer 2018) I studied abroad in Mexico. I’ve been in Mexico several times due to having family to visit, but I have never experienced the beauty of Mexico until this summer. Mexico surprised me with its beautiful colors, its amazing architecture and its welcoming Mexican community that made us feel like home anywhere we went. 

Market in Mexico City

Zocalo, Mexico City

Our trip started and ended in Mexico City. We started our adventure two weeks after the spring semester ended and returned to reality on August 5th. Our study abroad consisted of introducing us to a complex new social and physical context through extensive travel research in different regions of the Mexican nation complimented by a design studio in Mexico City conducted in the annex and garden, designed by Luis Barragan, Mexico’s greatest 20th Century architect. While in Mexico City, we lived with Mexican families, and as we immersed ourselves in the culture by embracing the rhythms and experiences unique to urban life in the world’s most dynamic metropolis.

A view on the ocean in Campeche

Ruins of Palenque

With the study abroad program, at the University of Arkansas, I got to travel to places in Mexico that I would never imagine. I can now add Campeche, Palenque, Yaxchilan, Puebla, Veracruz, Tlacotalpan, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Cantona, San Miguel Allende, Mineral de Pozos, Guanajuato, Queretaro, and last but not least, Mexico City.

Santo Domingo Yanhuitlan

Hogs Abroad happy to admire Mexican Architecture

Teotihuacan

The sky is the limit (on top of the Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacan)

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Architecture & interior design student Claudia Contreras spent the summer 2018 term in Mexico with our U of A Faculty-Led: Latin America Urban Studio program in Puebla, Mexico, with the help of our Office of Study Abroad Scholarship.

Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/

Personalized to Me #HogsAbroad in Mexico

I had the most amazing experience studying abroad! I attended the Puebla, Mexico program under the health professions bracket. This program to me was unique, it was 5 weeks long (which to me is the perfect amount of time, it was in the summer) and it was personalized to my degree and future profession, nursing! 

My favorite parts of the experience included my host family, the weekend excursions, and the amount of free time we were able to have. My host mom, Rosa, cooked AMAZING food every day and I was so blessed to be able to eat that well every day because we all know college student diets aren’t the best! Rosa and her family were so incredibly welcoming and supportive!! They also taught me a lot about Mexico, took me to popular sites in Puebla, to the markets, and even taught me some of her recipes (her salsa verde was my favorite). 

The weekend excursions allowed for the students to learn more about the culture and explore different cities in Mexico. It also provides opportunities for souvenir shopping, photo ops, and getting to know your fellow study abroad candidates! What I loved most about this trip was the amount of free time we were given, both on the excursions and from the day to day basis. There is so much to explore in Puebla, and we got through most of them during our time there. 

I cannot begin to explain how improved my Spanish was upon my return home from Mexico. Areas that I lacked in included listening and comprehension, however after 5 weeks in Mexico myself and my peers noticed overall improvements in our confidence in speaking with others in Spanish. This study abroad experience was everything I had hoped it would be plus more! 

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Nursing major Hannah Mosman spent the summer 2018 term in Mexico with our U of A Faculty-Led: Spanish Immersion & Service Learning program in Puebla, Mexico with the help of our Office of Study Abroad Scholarship.

Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/

Puebla #HogsAbroad in Mexico

Hi! My name is Mariana Pacheco. I am a Fulbright College Student majoring in Spanish, Political Science, and Latin American and Latino Studies with a concentration in legal studies. For the summer of 2018, I studied abroad in Puebla, Mexico. 

When I arrived, I met my amazing host family that welcomed me with open arms. The first week in Puebla, we toured the city, the university, and we had different professors talk to us about volunteering and service programs in Mexico. Our first weekend in Mexico, we visited Cholula, the city neighboring Puebla City. It was breathtaking. There was a beautiful castle above a pyramid. We were able to walk all the way to the top where the view of the city was incredible.

From the second week to our last week in Mexico, our schedule was mainly the same. We volunteered at an orphanage called Casa Del Sol in the mornings. I had the opportunity to help take care of the babies and toddlers. It was such a great feeling although it was also sad to see all those kids without a family. In the afternoons, we had our classes. Because there were only 3 students including myself in class, we were able to travel around the city and learn a lot about the culture of Puebla.

Our second weekend there, we traveled to Cuetzalan and Yohualichan. Those towns were beautiful! Cuetzalan had a big market where many traditional items like clothes, head wear, key chains, and mugs were being sold by the local people. Yohualichan was very different from any town I had seen. It was small but had a large area with pyramids.

Our third weekend in Mexico, we traveled to Mexico City. This to me was a dream come true as I have always wished to go there. We got to see the National Palace, the National Museum of Anthropology, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Frida Kahlo’s home and the pyramids of Teotihuacan. We were also able to experience the exciting atmosphere in Mexico during Mexico’s national team’s soccer game against Germany in the World Cup. We saw how the whole country came to a stop while the game was on. Everyone was watching it and when the Mexican team won, everyone was cheering unlike anything I had ever seen.

Our last weekend in Mexico, we traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico. This was also an amazing experience. We saw how black pottery and mezcal were made. We also were able to see more pyramids and the Arbol del Tule, the tree with the stoutest trunk in the world. We also saw indigenous groups selling their beautiful traditional style clothing. However, we also witnessed a lot of protesting. There were flyers and banners all over the center of the city as a form of protest.

Overall, my experience studying abroad in Puebla, Mexico was amazing to say the least. I tried a lot of new food that I never thought I would try. I met amazing local people that I still have contact with even till this day. I also made awesome friends with other students from the University of Arkansas that were studying abroad. I highly recommend everyone to study abroad in Puebla!

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Spanish & Political Science major Mariana Pacheco spent the summer 2018 term in Mexico with our U of A Faculty-Led: Spanish Immersion & Service Learning program in Puebla, Mexico with the help of our Office of Study Abroad Scholarship.

Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/

Whirlwind Tour #HogsAbroad in Mexico

After the third alarm was snoozed, I knew it was time to get up and finish packing. "Wake uuup, we have to go." Indistinctive mumble came as an answer; another alarm.. "Now it's really time" I was worried that I will run out of water in the shower, especially on Sunday morning. Eventually, I made it to the green-tiled bathroom and opened the window towards the courtyard - Mexican sky was gloomy, as it knew that it's our last day here, I could hear the noisy avenida Chapultelec, but couldn't see it since the main part of the house was separating the street from the living quarters. As I was admiring the last morning in Mexico City my lungs were filling up with air and smoke and memories unwillingly one by one started coming back from the very beginning of our journey.

Enormous vast city scape framed by mountains on the perimeter suddenly opened up right in front of us. How did we end up here? - I was asking myself. We landed in Mexico City and after airport formalities we got in two vans and headed towards our first destination - Zocalo. First thing I've immediately noticed- incredible amount of shoe stores, filled with the most outrageous kinds of shoes one can imagine - sparkles, bright colors, cheap materials. As I was admiring the vitrines through the window, someone in our van shouted with excitement- "look ahead!" I couldn't resist that call and I saw how enormous Mexican flag unfolded in front of us on the main plaza right above the cathedral.

Zocalo. Mexico City. May 2018. 

In the beginning of the trip I decided to never look at itinerary. It was unnecessary since our every move was so well organized that I could just rely on day by day instructions, and surprise myself every time I get to a new place. Therefore I wasn't expecting that we're staying right on the main plaza, with windows facing it. Once we got out of the car I felt the exhaustion and lack of fresh air. Flying up to Mexico city you can see the thick coat of white smog, and at that point I realized that I'm right in it. High elevation was also contributing to the situation and I've noticed that most people from my group in one way or another got affected by it. The sun was high above our heads, burning every millimeter of exposed skin. We dropped off our bags at the hotel and went to find food and start exploring. Centro was very crowded and loud - every corner - obnoxious musicians, dancers, singers - everyone is trying to sell something and everyone is asking for money. The next striking thing we've all noticed was that building facades are crooked, and then we realized that buildings in their entirety don't have a single straight edge, unintentionally, yet forced by natural phenomenon. The city is sinking every year into the lake that was people's main enemy for centuries since the area became inhabitable. The lake kept fighting back against humans for years by flooding the city, sinking it and transferring the earthquake waves. The city is standing on a huge bowl of jelly.

Hotel window in Mexico City. 

Next day we explored a little more of downtown and the area where we would go to studio and live once we are done with our "grand tour." Of course I didn't make an attempt to remember anything from that walk because I needed to experience it on my own and I knew I would have that opportunity.

In the morning our plane landed in Campeche. We met our bus driver, Anjel that would spend with us future 3 weeks on the road. Campeche was a colorful colonial city, which for Mexico could be considered typical - every house is different color, tiny streets, all facades form continuous wall along the street edge and hide numerous courtyards, mazes of rooms and corridors. Absence of vegetation didn't help on our tour through the city; we had to jump from one isle of shade to another where it was possible. The city was set as a fortress and had a massive white wall around it, along with that several plazas opened up for public with porches with cafes, shops and a church on each plaza. That day alone we visited 5 local churches and realized that there will be abundance of those on the trip. After the tour we figured out that the Gulf of Mexico comes almost up to the city walls and I think it's a shame to get this close to the sea and not even attempt to see it. We wanted to keep this experience rather exclusive to our tiny group of three since leaving the city walls would carry a bigger responsibility for the group, especially when we didn't know what to expect, so we went. We set on the edge of the wall, the water wasn't a resort material, but it smelled like the sea, the sun was gently touching our shoulders and faces and we felt at ease. For the rest of the day after our return we went on drawing around town and completing our assignments for the day. At night the plaza filled up with families, children, couples, mariachi bands and dancers. We decided to pace the square to set up the proportions and draw the area. Team work saved us a lot of walking, although we realized that we could predict most of those proportions just by looking at the place - we've been trained for that for many years after all.

View from the city wall in Campeche.

In the morning we've seen our first Mayan pyramid site - Edzna. It was the most brutal drawing experience of the trip - the sun was right above us, the site was covered with grass lawn and had almost no shade. Sweat was dripping of my forehead while I was trying to pick the colors for my drawing; the bugs were all around - ants and flies. They were biting, crawling on the sticky skin and flying all around us. These were the worst drawings on the trip, but they remind me of the place, which makes them priceless. 

Edzna

After Edzna we visited former fabric plantation - la Hacienda, which used to be a complex of residential units and amenities for plantation workers. They've worked with cactus to make a fabric out of it. Today the estate was remodeled and serves as a luxurious hotel, escape from the busy world. We've been told multiple legends that Mayan people believed, including the concept of the tree of life - hollow tree that contains water in its trunk was a life-saving wonder for those that happened to find themselves in the middle of the jungle. 

Tree of Life

We left Campeche on the next day and headed towards Palenque. I had no idea that Palenque would be so magical. But the road there was quite bumpy – three of us got food poisoning or “Montezuma curse” over us, I was one of the trio, and we had to make multiple stops along the way, but to our good luck we were traveling along the Gulf and the weather was fantastic – the sun was shining, sea breeze and the beach along the road. When we made it to Palenque I couldn’t believe that what I was seeing was real. I’ve asked multiple times if we are really staying here and if it’s not a joke, but when the staff at the reception desk warned us to check beds, bathrooms, our shoes and clothes each time before we use them for snakes and scorpions - I was thrilled! Finally at least something dangerous! (Before we left everyone was talking about how dangerous Mexico is, but that warning was as dangerous as it got for me on the trip). 

Monkeys in Palenque.

Our hotel was located in the most beautiful rainforest – things that you see in travel shows and adventure movies: banana trees everywhere, flowers colored in the most toxic palettes; intense deep green color surrounds you from every side. The air was so thick that you could almost touch it, yet it was fresh and sweet, filled with moisture and nectars of the plants. I was mesmerized by how within seconds perfectly bright day turned into an aggressive thunderstorm that soaked us all through as we were making our way to the only restaurant in the area. That restaurant had the most wonderful atmosphere – live music, young people, dancing, bittersweet performance and great food (at least it seemed great at that time). 

We’ve visited two sites in the jungle – Palenque and Yaxchilan. Both of them developed around the mountains. Palenque had lots of tourists, while Yaxchilan strikes with its remoteness – all you hear there – monkeys screaming out hellish sounds, like if someone released a huge beast that will attack any moment. It’s been a lot of sketching and walking up many steps. Yaxchilan was only a river away from Guatemala, on the way there we’ve seen posters that are welcoming refuges from Guatemala and by the time we got there we received text messages that welcomed us to Guatemala, although we never crossed the border. 

Palenque Archeological Site

Chiapas, the state where Yaxchilan was located, looked very poor from our windows – tiny huts, barely dressed people, farmland and nothing around but jungle and mountains. Those people were real long forgotten Mayan civilization, that wasn’t destroyed, yet stopped its development. They don’t speak Spanish, they don’t have mixed blood in them, and they are the actual Maya.

Village on the way to Yaxchilan 

Tlacotalpan in Veracruz had a staged feel to it. As soon as we drove up there, we noticed empty streets, where the only people that were there stood next to our hotel. Local musician immediately came to greet us with music. As we walked the city everyone that was left there (not that many people since everyone is trying to move to the big city) were informed of our presence in town, therefore nobody asked – they knew everything. 

Tlacotalpan.

Next on the list was eight hour serpentine road through the mountains to Oaxaca with teacher protests; Monte Alban – Aztec site in the clouds on top of a shaved mountain; Puebla with the most wonderful rooftop on top of a very creepy hotel; San Miguel de Allende, with jazz and the coldest pouring rain in the middle of the night; Mineral de Pozos with the most Western landscape that one could imagine – dry desert with cacti and open horizon; archeological site in Cantona with black volcanic rock; and of course Guanajuato. 

Road to Oaxaca

Mineral de Pozos

Cantona Archeological Site

Guanajuato was a very different animal from the rest of the things we’ve seen – we were driving along the mountain range until we suddenly went into a tunnel, which we expected to be a short pass, yet we spent about an hour in complete darkness underground, questioning where are we being taken. Eventually we’ve seen the light and we were borne into Guanajuato. The city stretched out all around the bowl between the mountains. It consisted of three major layers: residential housing on top, public and central area at the bottom of the hills and the underground veins of the city. Due to endless rain we had to spend a lot of time in bakeries and coffee shops, which from there became a tradition for the rest of the trip. I fell in love with Mexican bakeries and had to try as much as I could. 

Guanajuato: overlooking the city. 

Queretaro was our last stop on the tour. It associates with the smell of roses, geometrically trimmed tree canopy and the most comfortable bed on the entire trip. By the end of the trip we were exhausted from constant change of place. Each of us had a small carry-on bag that we took on the plane with us with no liquids and we had to manage three weeks of living out of that carry-on. There were countless hotels, pyramids, monasteries, churches, streets, navigation and food questions, countless hours on the bus with gas stations and speed bumps. It was an unforgettable trip, and in this exhausted but euphoric state we returned back to Mexico City for 7 weeks of studio work and exploration. 

Bakery in Queretaro

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Polina Timchenko, 4th year Architecture student at Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design. Polina spent the summer 2018 term with our faculty-led program, Latin America Urban Studio.

Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/

The Final Days Abroad #HogsAbroad in Mexico

Packing + hanging out with friends + coming back to the US has been hectic, but here is my recap of my fifth and final week in Puebla!

Monday:
This week my rotation is in surgery, so I’m spending all week in the OR watching different surgeries. Today I watched a coronary bypass surgery, which was one of the coolest things I have ever seen! It is so humbling to see a beating heart and also to see how much knowledge the doctors have to fix a heart. Seriously, there are so many times where I had to write in my notes to look up how they were doing the surgery, because it blew my mind that they were able to take a vein from the leg and put it in the heart. We were there for about three hours, but only saw about half of the surgery. At one point, the surgeon had to step out to change gloves, so we were able to stand near the patient to watch them put him on bypass and watch the heart. I think I’ve said this before, but the heart is my favorite organ, and it was so so cool to see it beating and working in real life.


Tuesday:
There weren’t any surgeries today, so me and the other girls at my hospital went to a starbucks close to us and talked about our time in Mexico! Later that night I went to dinner with some friends, and also to the Estrella de Puebla.


Wednesday:
Today Mexico played in the World Cup, so some friends and me went to go watch the game at a restaurant! The atmosphere is so fun and it was a nice break from the hospital. Even though they lost, they made it past the group stage onto the round of 16. My mom came to Puebla to visit me and so we went to dinner in El Centro, and I got to show her around! It was so nice to have her in the place where I’ve spent the past month, and I can’t wait to show her around more. At night, I went out with some friends, but we didn’t stay out too late since we had to go to the hospital the next day.


Thursday:
My last day at the hospital did not disappoint! After waiting around for a little bit, I got to scrub into a brain surgery to remove a tumor! The doctors we observed were all very helpful and willing to teach us, and it was so cool to see how complex the surgery was, but also how talented and knowledgeable the surgeons were. It was an 8-hour surgery, and I only was able to stay for 3 hours of it. But what I saw was unforgettable and I learned so much even from just observing. I was sad to leave the hospital, but I’m so grateful for the experiences I’ve had and everything I’ve learned.

the doctor and resident who let us scrub in!

Friday:

Today since we don’t have our hospital rotations, we had a farewell breakfast at a restaurant near school. Afterwards, we went to a drive through safari about 30 minutes from Puebla! It was such a fun experience and a fun way to spend time with everyone one last time before we went back to the states. After spending most of our day there, we headed back to Puebla where I grabbed lunch with my friends near UPAEP. At night, we went out with some of our intern friends from the hospital, to celebrate the end of their intern year and us leaving! We went to their favorite place to go dance and it was so fun to see everyone one last time! They taught us so much in the hospital, and so kind to become friends with us. I’m going to be sad to leave Puebla and the local friends I’ve made here, but also grateful that my U of A friends will all be together once school starts!

Saturday:
Today is my last day in Puebla! In the morning, my friends and I went to the market in El Centro with their host parents. We shopped around for a little bit, and I bought some Talavera and other souvenirs. Then my friend’s host parents took us to some of the tunnels that run underneath Puebla. They were telling us that the tunnels were how the Mexican army was able to beat the French during the Cinco de Mayo battle. It was really cool to walk through, and we probably wouldn’t have found the tunnel without the host family’s help! Next, we went to a store called “La Oaxaqueña”, where we bought chocolate, vanilla, and mole from Oaxaca. For lunch, the host mom bought us cemitas (which is a giant sandwhich- google a picture of it!) and we ate at their house. For dinner, my host mom invited her whole family over for mole Poblano, and it was the perfect last meal in Puebla. Later that night after we had all packed, my friends and I went out for some ice cream and to hang out together one last time in Puebla! Five weeks went by too quickly; I am not ready to leave this city and all the memories I’ve made here, but I know I will be back in Puebla soon.

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My name is Lili and I am from Dallas, Texas! I’m an honors junior Nursing student and also minoring in Spanish. This summer, I’ll be studying in Puebla, Mexico in a service-learning health professions program. I’ll be living with a host family, taking Spanish classes for health professions, and also shadowing a doctor in one of the local hospitals. I’ll be writing about my experiences in the hospital, around Puebla, and on the different excursions my group is taking. I hope you follow along!

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Nursing major Lili Barrientos is spending the summer 2018 term in Mexico with our U of A Faculty-Led: Spanish Immersion & Service Learning in Puebla.

Read more from Lili at https://lettersfromlili.wordpress.com/blog/.

Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/

The Road to Mexico City #HogsAbroad in Mexico

A lot has happened since the last post, 3 weeks ago. When I last left off we were in the City of Pueb­­­la, since then we have traveled through numerous sites, a few towns, cities, and ultimately landed in Mexico City.

A rap circle in the plaza, the bellas artes are spreading!

During our travels we would eat breakfast at the hotel around 7:30 and start our day by driving or walking to where we would be drawing for the day, it would vary from being just outside the hotel to several hours away. On our way to a new city or town we would stop somewhere along the way to draw, such as the abandoned mining town of Mineral De Pozos, this happened several times.

(Above) The Long Furnace of Mineral De Pozos.

We spent 3 days in Guanajuato City, Guanajuato. I believe this is my favorite city. Crushingly narrow streets wind through a landscape of buildings that are seemingly stacked and scattered throughout an area between mountains. Haphazardly, the city developed after the discovery of gold.

A river once ran through the mountains and terrain, it flooded often and destructively. After being diverted to the subterranean. The riverbed was paved and a road replaced it, this currently acts as the only main road in and out of the city.

(Above) Street art from a tunnel in Guanajuato.

(Above) Drawings from the Museo de las Momias de Guanajuato.

(Above) View from the Monumento al Piplia Guanajuato.

Our trip, although rigorously academic in nature is peppered with lessons of life (they’re free on this trip!) and opportunities to variously infuse our experiences with exciting flavors. To list these situations would diminish their uniqueness. To hopefully satisfy – think - a month of frequent uncomfortable situations. A majority of the time you can only relate through being Human.

(Above) 10 Pesos for pictures with the mummies!

Finally, we arrived in Mexico City, after almost a month on the road we can unpack without thinking of how if all fits back together in the morning! To top the relief of unpacking, Mexico upset Germany the next morning in the World Cup. For the first few days we explored the Centro Historico. The buildings in this area span many generations. From when Mexico City was known as the City of Palaces to structures such as the Torre Latinoamericano and the Palacio de Bellas Artes. One of these first nights was magically spent around the Angel of Independence, I highly recommend a quick Google search as I was unable to capture it well.

(Above) View from the top of the Torre Latinoamericano.

(Above) Aztec sculpture at a street corner in the Centro Historico.

As the week progressed we moved throughout small parts of the modern massive city. We spent our days at Biblioteca’s, Hotels, Museums, Cathedrals, Housing Projects and the Frida Kahlo and Diego Riviera house in San Angel.

(Above) Museo Soumaya.

(Above) Biblioteca Vasconselos.

The official start of our studio class was about a week ago now. It has been filled with satisfying work as we split into site model and analysis groups. Friday afternoon came and we had a few critics from the United States and Mexico City to view the work! The project will be worked through over the next 5 weeks, we will have two regular critics with a visitor every now and then!

(Above) Group site analysis for the first week of studio.

Yesterday we spent our morning at Teotihuacan and finished the afternoon at la Villa de Guadalupe. Two pilgrimage sites near each other, both have massive importance in the development of the country today. Creating an interesting comparison between the ancient and modern country.

(Above) Looking at the image of Guadalupe from below.

As we prepare for a relaxing day after a long week of hard work we wait, both here and in the United States for the Mexican Presidential election outcome…

-Bryan Murren

P.S.

It’s been a busy week since the above text was written. As I work through editing it, I believe it’s only right to provide an update. After a long Friday at the Universidad Iberoamericana my sister and mother met me at their hotel, they were visiting for the 3 day free weekend. That night we dove straight in to the heart of Mexico at the Luchador, the arena filled quickly with chanting, drama, and frequent booing. The day after consisted of a trip to the Luis Barragan house and studio, a few hours at the San Angel market and an afternoon in the Centro Historico. Yesterday, their last full day started with a visit to the Torre Latinoamericano, the Museo Nacional de Anthropologia filled the middle of the day and we ended the day watching the Folkloric Ballet at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, not too far from the Torre. Being able to share such a wonderful experience with family was a blessing.

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Bryan is spending the 2018 summer term in Mexico with our U of A Faculty-Led: Latin America Urban Studio program.

Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/