Semana Santa

It’s May and I realize that this post needs to be titled Better Late Than Never. Still, I really can’t skip over how important the last two weeks of March were. 

Rewind to the week leading up to Easter. Schools were closed for 2 weeks as families flocked to vacation getaways over Semana Santa, or Holy Week, which runs from Palm Sunday to Easter Saturday. 

Semana Santa is also the time when the nighttime (and often daytime) sky cracks and bursts with loud noise makers as friends and family celebrate time together; the streets are choked with vendors selling crafts, sweets and decorative palm branches as elaborate ceremonies, Passion reenactments and solemn processions create a colorful and meditative atmosphere the week preceding Easter. 

During Semana Santa my parents came for a visit and it was quite the experience showing them around! Unfortunately my brother, Ben, wasn’t able to come along due to work and all sorts of school-related stuff - we missed you! – but he was definitely on our minds the whole time.   

I think Ben was especially pleased with his Mexican “recuerdos”: soccer jerseys, lucha libre masks and a pirated WWE Wrestling DVD we bought at the market.

Anyway, while my parents were here, we travelled to some incredible sites:

Teotihuacan, where we climbed the world’s 3rd largest pyramid and walked around what was once the largest Mesoamerican city.

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A stay in Cuernavaca to see where I live and meet my new homestay family. 

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Then there was Puebla, a colonial center that is home to many ornate, gold churches, Talavera pottery, and mouth-watering food (tacos arabe, mole, churros, and so much more!).

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And, finally, we found ourselves in sprawling, urban Mexico City where it seemed like every single one of the 20 million people who live there were also out in the crowds for the tail-end of all the Semana Santa activities. 

Look closely: there’s my mom on the left leaving the crowded Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral.

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It was fun to visit a lot of these places together but what I enjoyed most was the chance for my parents and Mexican homestay family to meet each other. We all got together at the house for a few hours of cake, music and good conversation – even despite the language barriers! It was one of those wonderfully surprising moments that allowed me how to experience genuine hospitality and family in a new way.    

Fortunately, after my mom and dad left I didn’t have to spend Easter alone wallowing in feelings of homesickness. I did feel a little sad about the fact that Easter this year would not be a big occasion with my homestay family but instead, a few of the other volunteers and I met for an Easter service and brunch at an English-speaking church where fellow volunteer Peter sings in the choir. It was nice to get dressed up, meet with friends and do something that felt familiar (i.e. church, singing, the tons of flowers and soft smells, cute outfits, Easter bonnets, etc etc.). 

More than anything else, it was special to find good fellowship in the company of the other volunteers that morning and later at our country-coordinator’s house for a monthly meeting/Easter get-together. It was a busy day but it felt like a nice way to cap off a memorable few weeks of religious and cultural significance with the ones who have held me with immense grace and care so far – especially on the heels on some big changes.  

A classy Easter morning brunch complete with mimosas! Katherine, Peter and Sara.

A while back when my parents were here and as all the Semana Santa festivities took place, the weather was warming up little by little. Now I find myself in the midst of one of the hottest months in this part of Mexico. Cuernavaca’s hilly landscape is transformed into a parched, brown terrain until the rains come in June. 

In this heat, water is scarce and cold showers are a treat. I haven't had any encounters with scorpions yet but as the ants, spiders and other insects come out in full force, and the cockroaches in particular seem to be multiplying, I’m beginning to perfect cockroach-murdering skills. A quick whack or squishing them with my flip-flops seems to do the trick and I’m still basking in the glow of my personal record a few weeks ago: 4 dead cockroaches all at once - even managing to kill one mid-flight! Yeah!

I’m definitely looking ahead to rain clouds and cool breezes but, until then, there’s a wedding that I’ve been asked to be part of at the end of this week. I have somewhat of a vague idea of what to expect (I wish I knew more but I’m just going to have to relax and go along with the surprises on this one – my dress isn’t even made yet!) but it sounds like it will be a fun time and a good way to get to know the family better. I can promise more details in a bit… with pictures to come. 

In the meantime I promise more updates soon, wishing you all well, 
Katie