For example, the guacamaya, a sandwich filled with chicharrón (fried pork skins), avocado and the spiciest salsa I've ever had in my entire life, is only found in the city of Guanajuato. Another example is poc-chuc, a marinated pork dish found only in the Yucatán peninsula.
Art: Mexican art is unique and well-recognized around the world. Some really cool examples are alebrijes, tejidos (embroidery) and murals. Alebrijes are colorful folk-art sculptures of fantastic creatures, as featured in the movie Coco. Even with such a wide variety of mediums, all of this art is emblematic of Mexico. What Mexican art or artists are you familiar with?
Ancient Cultures: Two of the three largest Pre-Colombian American cultures, the Inca, the Aztecs and the Mayans, were located here in Mexico. The Aztecs lived in the central part of the country and the Mayans lived on the Yucatán peninsula. The ruins of ancient cities like Teotihuacán, Tulum and Chichén Itzá can still be explored today. The buildings and objects from these cities are fascinating! It has been awesome to be surrounded by all of this history. Here, you see references to these ancient peoples everywhere, not just in museums or textbooks.
I hope that in my last three-and-a-half months teaching English I will be able to continue learning more about Mexico and the people that live here. I hope to continue sharing what I have learned with students in the United States with the goal that they too will discover new things about this beautiful country and be inspired to travel one day.
Traveling gives you so many unique opportunities.
