01/17/2020-1/19/2020 – Experiencing the center of Cordoba and Veracruz

Friday was a different kind of day with only one somewhat impromptu class and no planning to do. We had a quick meeting, I got to do yoga and workout, and then in the evening our friend Hannia’s mom and Hannia, with her friend Carmina, invited us to go see the town center and get some dinner. They so kindly wanted us to get to do more than just hang out on campus, since we’re not really supposed to leave by ourselves. We saw the classical colonial church there, which was beautiful both in the light and when it turned dark, with deep details. The town center was bustling; people keep describing it as a “small town/city”, but it felt decently big and busy while we were there! Hannia’s family happens to own one of the hotels in the center, so we got to go up to the roof of the hotel to get an unparalleled view of the plaza, and the cars and people moving about below. We walked through the building where the Treaty of Cordoba was signed, giving Mexico its independence from Spain, which included a beautiful indoor courtyard area. We also got to see some different types of coffee plants outside the coffee museum there, and we ended our trip by picking up some tacos al Pastor and enjoying them in Hannia’s home, which they so quickly welcomed us into and emphasized that it was our home too.

On Saturday, Hannia, her mom, Caramina, and their other friend Arantza picked us up again to head to Veracruz for the day. They were very determined to not have us be stuck on campus, which was very sweet. First stop was the Acuario de Veracruz, where we saw really amazing fish and animals, including the cutest penguins that kept following the presenter around in the enclosure, and some very entertaining dolphins. It was great to see that there was a conservation focus in many parts of the aquarium, an aquarium which seems to be quite widely visited across Mexico. Next, since we were at the beach of course, searched for some yummy seafood at a large, open restaurant called Villa Rica which spilled out to the beach. I got delicious shrimp in a garlic-butter ish sauce, with carrots, cauliflower, and chayote, and rice on the side. We spent a bit of time on the beach there, which was quite clean and wonderfully warm, and then finally visited Guero Guero, the ice cream shop, once again to enjoy some helado by the beach. Language was sometimes hard, and I felt awkward at times, wishing I could be a bit more involved with the banter or chatting that was going on. But overall, it was a day undeniably well spent in beautiful Veracruz with such generous people!

The feeling of insufficiency of my Spanish peaked on Sunday, however. On Sunday, we ran out of water we were able to drink, toilet paper, and had little food left. The place where we normally got water was locked, and we needed to go to Walmart although we were not supposed to go off campus by ourselves. Due to the situation however, and due to a family emergency of Ms. Sonia’s, we decided we didn’t want to bother her more and decided to venture out to Walmart by ourselves. Walmart was going all well except for some not so nice cashier people who, after I had asked one of them to repeat something she said, and she took a look at Meriah and I, decided to make fun of us and what we were buying. This didn’t feel great, after already feeling deficient about my Spanish skills, but we called a taxi and headed home shortly afterwards, where we were able to enjoy the fruits of our Walmart run, which was also much needed for our fun activity for Monday’s organic chemistry class…