Welcome to Mexico

I was able to go to Mexico for a work project in the beginning of April.  It was a fantastic experience.  We were doing a project with Stimulo down there and it was funded through CIDA.  Stimulo is an organization much like Parkland CLASS who works to provide and increase the quality of life for people with disabilities.  I can’t even begin to tell you how humbling this experience was.

            The first thing I had to get over upon arriving in Mexico was the culture shock.  I don’t even know how to explain in, saying it was interesting or breath taking just doesn’t even seem to do it justice.  So the first culture shock to get past is the driving.  There don’t seem to be a lot of road rules in Mexico, seatbelts seem optional (only the driver has to wear one), helmets were not present,

you cross the street at your own will and as you dare, and I don’t think that many of the drivers know what a signal light is.  So once you get passed all that, being on the roads is totally fine, no worries.  The next is that really all the groceries are different.  And coconut milk down there is not something I would recommend. 

            The poverty is ever prevalent, but there are lot’s of examples of riches too.  Flying into Mexico City you could see the ironic juxtaposition of rich and poor.  Like over a fence it could be a grotto and on the other side it was a mansion. 

           

  But was it beautiful!!! So green and the flowers were amazing. 

            We stayed at Casa Azul in Cuernavaca.  It was a really beautiful resort, and unless you knew where it was I don’t know that you would find it. (I only saw two streets named while down there)  And that was something else I noticed, it’s not a lot about flash in Mexico, on the outside it looks like everything else, EVERYTHING looks generally the same, but on the inside you could find paradise.

my room

            The hotel was beautiful and I was so impressed!! The artwork and the design of each room is unique and it is to represent different areas of Mexico.  I was able to see two rooms ( I had to change rooms because the first room I had did not have a fridge).  The first room was full of bird artwork and the second was very jungle theme. 

            Cuernavaca has a lot of history, it has a historic cathedral and Cortez’s palace, his summer palace.  I am not sure that I know a lot of the history of Mexico, but well I thought Cortez was the Spanish conquerer.  So I found it interesting, puzzling even that this man’s summer castle was a museum, and something that seemed to elicit a lot of pride from the people of Cuernavaca.  I think I need some history lessons to better understand this history. 

            But I loved my time down in Mexico!!

strange wonders to see Scotiabank everywhere in Mexico