November Retreat in Photos

Here's the start of my reflections on my first retreat here in Mexico.  It was an incredibly life-giving week with close friends, and here's some photos!

This plaque is on an old building in Mexico City, close to where we stayed on the retreat.  It commemorates the Irish soldiers who fought on the side of Mexico in the Mexican-American war and were later executed by the U.S.  The plaque reads, "In memory of the  Irish soldiers from the heroic Saint Patrick battalion.  Martyrs who gave their lives for the Mexican cause during the unjust invasion by North Americans in 1847."  Just another example of the victors writing the history books.  It's a good thing to be educated!

Mexico City was a lot colder than Cuernavaca usually is, and it was the first time the 8 of us had been reunited for longer than an afternoon since orientation.  Lots of cuddling time!

giant poinsettia Christmas tree - Christmas has definitely come to Mexico!

Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City (on the Zocalo): according to my guide book it's the largest cathedral in Latin America, and we had some free time to look around inside.  Like everything else on the Zocalo, it's pretty big.

The Zocalo with the GIANT Mexican flag.  It was a little overwhelming, just because of the sheer size.

We had one short afternoon of sightseeing in Mexico City.  It was just enough time to learn how the Metro system works, visit the Zocalo, walk around inside the cathedral, eat lunch, and visit Templo Mayor/Tenochtitlán.  Templo Mayor was the center of the Aztec world, and the ruins were discovered in the heart of Mexico City in 1978.  We got to visit and walk around a little.  This is part of our group at Templo Mayor, with the cathedral in the background (that's how close it is to the Zocalo!)

Thanksgiving dinner!  While our Thanksgiving was a little late, it was pretty delicious, and well worth the wait.  Dinner with all the fixings!  Turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, jello salad, roasted veggies, stuffing, bread, homemade applesauce, and the ever-important pumpkin pie with vanilla ice cream!

I got a few cards at the end of the month that helped brighten my days!  These cards are from the Sunday School classes at Memorial Lutheran Church in Toledo, OH, one of the sponsor congregations for our country coordinator.  It was pretty exciting to get homemade cards, complete with stickers and drawings of tigers.

After the retreat ended we all headed to Tepoztlan to hang out and climb to Tepozteco again.  It's amazing how much easier hiking is when you can see!  It was also just a good time to continue our group bonding with some hiking, a movie, and walking through the Sunday market.

This is what Tepozteco looks like during the day.