That evening we went to see the movie COCO with 10 out of 15 members of the family. It was amazing. Makes me miss Disneyland and Plaza De La Familia. This movie was amazing in every way. It was so authentic, it was perfect. We all cried so much. It’s just a reminder that nothing matters more than family. That’s where we’re here in Mexico City for Dia De Muertos, to celebrate life and remember the dead with our family. la vida es buena. The next day we dressed up for Halloween but they don’t celebrate like we do. We went and got dressed up and then spent the evening at the Six Flags México City. They had the events like we do, but their mazes were a little more fun. They even had a Stranger Things maze and I almost cried tears of joy and fear during it.
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The second day we went and spent time in Toluca, a city about two hours away from Coyoacán. Our extended family lived out there and we went to spend time with everyone. We went down on Saturday and spent time with the family. Sunday was then spent going over old family photos, having Pan De Muertos and visiting the Cosmovitral and the Mercado. They had the festival of Anelfique. This was a pre De Los Muertos celebration and it was splendid. There was music and magic, and candy skulls everywhere. The costumes were so real it was like they came from Hollywood. They did not hold back. They were terrifying and so well done. I walked around with my family through there until we ended up at the Cosmovitral. The Cosmovitral was a museum with the artwork of Leopoldo Flores. The building originally was constructed in 1910 as the 16 de Septiembre Market. It was beautifully aligned and the color as the sun was setting was breathtaking. The mural was to set in order life as it comes together, and I could have spent more time in there, but the 2 hours we spent there would come to and end. The beauty of the city was amazing, I can’t get over it. It was one of my favorite days.
Monday and Tuesday were spent wandering the city around my grandmothers house. We went over old photos of my great grandfather and his life and his kids since then. We walked around the city and found the Museo Nacional de las Intervenciones. This is where the fight with the U.S. took place and my great great great grandfather fought during that war. He fought and when they thought he passed away they came and told his wife he was dead, she then died of a heart attack that night. This was the patriarch of my family. My Great, great, great, grandfather. He was not the kindest man, but very respected. We we walked past the museum that still holds the bullets holes from the battle. It was crazy to see them all. Seeing the past and where it all led up to, I hope I make my grandfather proud. I never knew he existed until a few months ago. Now i wish I knew more.
Today we headed our to Mexico City once again. This time we will be there for 12 days celebrating Dia De Los Muertos. The day of the dead. Being raised in the U.S. and never having any recollection of the past of my ancestors, I journey over with excitement. We headed over and had some inflight reads. My recent copy of Conde Nest Traveler magazine finally arrived a few days before and I saved it especially for this flight. The magazine was the readers choice awards. I even found pictures of Mexico City that said “Still the best” and we all know it is. The magazine held everything from best cities, to best hotels, and even food. when we finally arrived, I found myself yearning for the City I loved, Coyoacan, where Frida Kahlo lived, were the coffee was the best, and the church where my great great grandparents were married at. Since the earthquake in September Mexico mexico has not been the same. We could see the damage all over. The city is still recovering. The church of San Juan that I adore, had the top of it fall off durin the quake. It was so sad to see. I took pictures and compared them to my old ones. Though the church was shaken, it was not destroyed. Just like the country. Mexico is hurting, but it will heal. There has been so much help since it happened, but there is still work to be done. My heart was saddened seeing the damage, but we will get through this.
The rest of the evening when we arrived was spent talking and eating and wandering the city. It was a good day to end the first night. I find myself writing again about the one thing that is always on my mind, adventures. Whether big or something, not knowing what your day will hold is an adventure. I was reading through this month’s AFAR magazine, and I was almost in tears. I envy every single person within the magazine for getting to live their dream of traveling abroad. To be able to experience new places, and also come back to write about it. I envy them, but I know that my place is here. I found this quote yesterday, it read She’s not bored, just restless between adventures -Atticus. I found myself just resonating with this quote so much I couldn’t explain it. Over the past few months I have felt this lack of contentment in my life, and school hasn’t helped. I went from leaving our home to moving into a new one, from having my car catch fire on the side of the road, to facing the reality that I’m not where I thought I would be at 22. A lot has changed, I have changed, some good and some not so good, but it’s happened. I feel lost, but the only times in my life I can remember being free was through my adventure. It was through my travels, through stepping out of my comfort zone that I truly felt alive, I want to feel that again. I keep feeling like i’m never going to make, like i’m never going to leave these four walls that confine me. Yet, I know that my adventure is just beginning. I yearn for the fulfillment of an adventure just as much as I thirst for water, I am not satisfied with my life anymore. The travel bug is a deadly one, and once you’ve been bit, the poison settles in, you’ll never be the same. Whether its having coffee at your favorite cafe in Barcelona, or feeling a warm summer breeze a bridge in Paris, or even seeing the tombstone of your favorite writer in England, it becomes a part of you. It's the moments in your life where you didn’t have to feel afraid. Where you felt free to live and enjoy life and not just try to survive. It’s the moment where you knew that everything you were feeling, everything you were seeing, wasn’t a dream, it was real. Traveling is the moment in your life where you knew you were chasing moments. You were chasing and creating moments that no one can take away, because they are creating you. Through the challenges and struggles, you find your limits and find that there are some you were able to push further than you thought. Traveling changes your perspective on life. Traveling makes you richer, in ways money never could. Lastly, traveling brings you peace in the unknown as you let go of what is known. Life is an adventure, no one knows what tomorrow will hold, but know that until you step out of your comfort zone, you haven’t truly lived.
Yesterday marked a week since the tragic Vegas shooting. My family and I were able to head out for a small trip while my dad took care of business. We arrived around 5:00pm to the famous Vegas sign where crosses and memories signs were in honor of the victims. 58 people lost their lives during that tragedy, many more injured. Although the shooter has been caught the heartbreak has not been eased. The many people that were there yesterday were families of the victims, to visitors, to Miss Nevada. Seeing all the people there, some were walking, taking pictures, and some were even worshipping. It’s always times like this that everyone unites. It was hard to walk around and see the place that just a week ago held so much pain and confusion. Everywhere you walked, you could feel the pain of the incident. From where the sign was, you could see the Mandalay Bay hotel. It is so hard to think of what had been going through that man’s mind while being up there. What evil he had inside of him to open fire on innocent people just trying to enjoy some live music. The unity during the concert and while the shootings happened is just too much to think of. My heart aches for those who were there. The fear of dying being upon everyone there must have been traumatizing. I can’t imagine what they went through. I commend those who were able to help out during the time. I still see videos of people carrying wounded on the barriers and trying to get them to safety. I am thankful for those in law enforcement who spent long hours treating and protecting those who were there. The pain of this incident will continue for sometime, but we as a nation will heal. As United Nation we will rise back up from this. During this time we find that we are united as a people and we will not let this break us, we will stand tall, we will be strong. #VegasStrong
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AuthorReggie is a college gradute with a degree in English. She loves traveling and hopes to one day stay on the battle field for missions. Life is a book and everyday is an adventure, follow her on this journey and see the world through her eyes. Archives
November 2017
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