Orientation at Iberoamericana

We started the day travelling through the gorgeous Roma to Santa Fe, the business hub of Mexico City. Orientation day began. We met with Florian and Andrea, our guides, and had a tour around the Iberoamericana campus. Ibero is not only architecturally stunning but also has a vibrant student body that makes anyone feel welcome. Its size was overwhelming in the best way; I had never seen something so extravagant. They have an incredible sporting facility, observatory and library. We have an exciting few weeks lined up with topics on human rights, sustainability, migration, etc. We also have many weekend excursions to explore even more Mexican culture from a first-hand perspective.

After a couple of updates on timetables, activities, and more touring, we were invited to an open-day lunch with Florian and Andrea at Taquearte, a place for all taco lovers. We all tried grilled cactus with cheese as an entree. That was, for sure, an experience. For a drink, I tried the naranjada, which is pretty much orange soda and super refreshing. Then we feasted on tacos, the most fantastic thing I had ever eaten. My favourite one was the Pastor, pork shaved from a kebab onto a fresh tortilla that you top with onions, salsa (mild, of course), coriander and pineapple. Afterwards, we grabbed a coffee back on campus at Capeltic, a coffee shop started by a student initiative to promote indigenous coffee bean producers. This created an indigenous-owned and operated coffee chain not colonised or capitalised off of by colonial powers. Not only was the coffee delicious it is a great business to support. It has been an eye-opening day, for sure.

Tomorrow we have a scavenger hunt around downtown Mexico City with other Ibero exchange students. It is a sick opportunity to meet new people and get more comfortable moving around for the next 6 weeks. I am feeling very grateful to be here and excited about what is in store for us for the following weeks.