Week 1 – Ciudad de Mexico

It was an uneasy start for our journey to Mexico. After transitioning through multiple places, from Auckland → Sydney → Los Angeles → Mexico City, feeling upside down during three days of “sky life” and experiencing flight delays and baggage problems, etc., we finally arrived in Mexico. For the first week, we stayed at a decent hotel in Santa Fe, Mexico City. It was a super busy week as we were trying to settle down, adjust to jet lag (17 hrs), study and explore Mexico City. It was nice to meet and mingle with the other participants from the programme, who came from Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, and South Korea.

The first challenge I came across in Mexico was the language barrier (as I expected). It was difficult to communicate as many locals don’t speak English, and most of us can barely read or speak Spanish. However, people were very nice and willing to help us. Meanwhile, the language barrier has facilitated my Spanish learning and “sign language”. 

Mexico City’s downtown is densely packed with lots of people and traffic (jams). It’s a lively city full of street performances, markets and peddlers, with countless churches, museums, and art galleries. I randomly visited a few museums which were overwhelmingly good. Most of them were free entry. As I walked along the historic centre, I learned a lot about the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan and colonial history. The most unique part of downtown Mexico City is that every street offers a different vibe; some are rich in Mexican cultural heritages, some have many European colonial architectures, some are very modern and arty, and some are chaotic. 

We then visited Coyoacan, a colourful small town where the famous artist Frida Kahlo lived. Unfortunately, Frida Kahlo meseum’s ticket sold out quickly, so I didn’t get a chance to see her house. We had some lunch at the market and spent half a day wandering around on the uneven cobbled streets, enjoying sightseeing the unique little houses and the exquisite merchandise and artwork in the market. 

On the last day in Mexico City, we visited the marvellous ancient pyramids at Teotihuacan. It’s one of the most impressive attractions I’ve ever visited. I was deeply admired by the wisdom of these ancient humans and their civilisation history.