Weeks 69 – 72: Friday, December 13, 2024

Good evening, everyone,

And Happy 2025!

This is the first edition of my newsletter in the new year. I'm hoping all of you have entered the new year feeling refreshed and ready to take on the year ahead of us.

I personally am feeling pretty great after taking a long winter break, and now that I am back in Neblinas, I am ready to hit the ground running and make the most of the next 9 months.

To recap, when I last wrote, I had finished my first cistern project and was leaving for my winter break.

My first stop was to San Luis Potosí to visit my friend Ellie who works as a Peace Corps volunteer at one of the universities outside of the city. San Luis is a big-ish city, not unlike Querétaro, with lots of culture and charm. While there, Ellie and I walked around the historic center, visited museums, saw ✨Wicked✨ the movie (my second time watching, Ellie's first), and just generally enjoyed each other’s company! I'm grateful to Ellie for hosting me and for helping me get my trip off to a good start.

After spending a few days in San Luis, I took the bus down to the city of Guanajuato, a gorgeous colonial city in central Mexico. I arrived on Monday afternoon and stayed through Thursday, which gave me just enough time to see the city center and explore other important towns and cities in the state of Guanajuato.

On Tuesday, I booked a tour called "Mummies, Mines, and Tunnels," which delved into the not-all-so-beautiful history of Guanajuato, especially during the time of the inquisition and when the Spanish were greedily plundering Mexico for its gold and silver mines—of which Guanajuato has many. We started the tour off by going to the Mummy museum, but we didn't see the Egyptian mummies you're thinking of. No, the famous mummies of Guanajuato are nothing more than preserved corpses that were exhumed over the years to make room for more recently deceased individuals. How can they get away with taking bodies from their graves? Well, in order to save space, in the 1800s, the government imposed a tax on families to keep their loved ones "perpetually buried." I have since learned that this tax has been removed. But up until 1958, if a family did not pay the tax, the government would no longer allow that body stay in the municipal cemetery. Gruesome, I know. But it is a key part of the history of Guanajuato, and the mummies are quite the attraction.

After the mummy museum, we went to a number of other museums in historical homes that touched upon the brutal practices of the Catholic priests during the time of the inquisition and the torture they imposed on sinners. We also entered into the mouth of a still-active mine—the mouth having been closed off for the safety of tourists. It was interesting (if not a bit claustrophobic) going down deep into the earth and thinking about how taxing it must have been on the local people all those years ago when the Spanish began extracting precious metals from the earth.

The tour ended at the monument of the "Pipila", a giant statue of a local hero from Guanajuato that towers over the city at a stunning look-out spot.

On Wednesday, I had the chance to visit the towns of Dolores Hidalgo and San Miguel de Allende—both historically important towns in Mexico's fight for independence, and both beautiful. While I don't think the tour provided enough context as to the importance of these towns, it was still an enjoyable experience and I would certainly enjoy going back to those towns to learn more.

I truly loved Guanajuato. Everything from the colorful buildings to the panoramic views and the winding callejones—this city is truly a must-see. If I could do the trip again, I would give myself a couple more days, especially to be able to truly get to know the city of Guanajuato and its winding streets and alleyways. But that just means that I know I have another trip planned there in the future.

After leaving Guanajuato on Thursday, I spent a night in Querétaro and drove to the airport the next morning to catch my flight back to the U.S.

While home, I mostly relaxed and spent time with my parents and Loretta and with Abbi once she got in a few days after my arrival. We did our typical movie and Chinese food on Christmas day and enjoyed a beautiful California holiday season. Mom and I went to see a production of the Nutcracker per my request and Dad and I went biking on Coronado Island as we have done various times over the past 10 or so years.

To finish off my trip to SoCal, Abbi and I took the train from San Diego to LA where we galavanted and lived it up LA-style. We walked through downtown LA, had brunch at one of LA’s bougiest brunch spots, and then we went to a vintage bridal boutique to try on dresses! No spoilers as to the dress Abbi chose, but the experience was out of this world. It's crazy to think that we were in LA just days before the fires started. Sending well wishes to everyone out there who has personally or knows people who have lost their homes and other possessions in these terrible fires.

I had the best time visiting my friends and family while home. I’m so grateful I had the chance to go home one more time before finishing my Peace Corps service to see the people and places that I love, eat delicious food, and have some real rest and relaxation.

I flew back to Mexico last Friday, January 3, and made it back to Neblinas on Saturday, January 4—record time for me. This time, the transition back to site hasn't been so challenging. Once I got back to Neblinas, I had a couple of days to rest and relax, but then I jumped right back in.

This past week I was busy running around trying to officially finish my first project (purchasing a few more things here and there in an effort to close out the account) and starting the planning process for my next project.

While it seems like there is still plenty of time left in my service, I've officially reached the final stretch and I really only have a few months to apply for and execute my second project, so the pressure is on. Luckily, I am much more prepared for this project than I was for the last, and I am jumping head first into the application process and community organizing.

That's all I've got for you this week.

Wishing you all a wonderful new week. I'll be back next week with more.

Love,
Ilana