Pyramids, Crickets, and Spanglish: A Holy Puebla Adventure

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to live in a city with the world’s largest pyramid down the road, wild chickens and dogs, and rainfall that arrives like a biblical event—welcome to our life in Puebla.

You quickly learn to treat your umbrella like your wallet—never leave home without it! Sometimes it’s for shade; sometimes it’s for survival. It rains here usually in 30-minute bursts that dump three inches of water faster than you can get your umbrella open. Just yesterday, a passing bus baptized us in street water!  Everyone carries a backpack for umbrellas and rain ponchos and extra bags for ny shopping we might do, as they don't provide bags.  And we also carry our laundry back-and-forth to school each day.  Here's me feeling like a pack mule!

Mornings are sacred here—strong coffee, spiritual reflection, and attempting to read the news in Spanish, which usually ends in us clamoring for words with Carmena (our amazing anfitriona -- host) and asking Google Translate for mercy. BTW, she would give a five-star chef a run for his money!  And even though we walk 10,000+ steps a day, my pants aren't feeling any looser because the food is incredible and I don't want to miss a thing!

And yes, I am now fluent in Spanglish. Full immersion is great… until your inner monologue can’t remember if it's conjugating in English or Spanish. The classes are intense. The language is alive and some things are starting to make sense!

Another awesome thing I enjoy are the abundant fresh flower shops and the friendship with our favorite barista, Alfredo.  I love living in a place that has my coffee ready for me each morning.  Feels like I am a local or something!

Walking and driving here is like a trust exercise with God. There is no speed limit—just faith. Drivers either go “sandals to the floor” fast, or stop “sandals to the floor” hard. Both involve screeching. We have yet to see a brake repair shop. Coincidence?  At each intersection, there is a great debate if the cars will adhere to the traffic signals and if it safe to step into the street. Plus the running man signal light always entertains me, even if the drivers don't adhere to it!  BTW, we survived the DMV and received our driver's licenses! (Well, I did..... Pat goes back for a second test next week.  It's tough to make it through a test in Spanish when your knowledge is limited!)

We had a pilgrimage to Cholula and visited the world’s largest pyramid—yes, it’s under a mountain—and a gold-laden church sits atop it. 

Would it surprise you to know that the tallest pyramids in the world are actually here in Mexico? With a total volume of 4.45 million meters squared, with a 4-sided base measuring 450 x 450 meters and a height of 66 meters, the Cholula Pyramid is the largest pyramid in the world. At first, this pyramid could be mistaken for a hill. When the Spanish invaded, that is exactly what they imagined it to be, and built the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios on top of this hill. Little did they know what lay beneath the ground. It was spiritual treat to tour with the Catholic priests and monks from our Spanish school. Franciscans, Benedictines, and yes… Cappuccinos. (Okay, Capuchins, but still—even God jokes, right?!) 

Perspective - there are two people at the bottom of the stairs that look like small rocks!

One sobering part of the tour: There is evidence of the sacrifice of children with various explanations given. One explanation was that during a drought, the priests believed that children should be the messengers to beg the rain god, Tlaloc, to bring rain to the land. 

In local neighborhoods, the front yard is for parking, and the backyard (if you’re lucky enough to have one) is where you hang the laundry to dry). But Carmena’s backyard? It's a sanctuary. She’s turned it into a garden filled with peppers, cilantro, and joy.

Every morning, we walk out and inhale grace. There’s even a swing set that looks older than me!

Healthcare here? Efficient, humbling—and affordable! We walked into a doctor’s office, no appointment, got all our U.S. prescriptions reviewed/re-issued, and paid $3 USD in less than 30 minutes for the both of us. 

Filling those prescriptions, however, required visiting multiple pharmacies and a lot of pointing. I am still hoping for a local optician—my contacts are more overdue than my library books!

It happened. The tacos struck back. After one too many spicy meals, I had to ask Google how to say, “I clogged the toilet.” Let me just say, that is a very specific kind of humility. But also a rite of passage- especially when you learn that your host doesn’t own a plunger!  The water for the plumbing is stored on top of the buildings in a sistern.  So, if you use the restroom on the bottom floor, chances are pretty good that gravity won’t do its work very efficiently, lol!  Important lesson:  only use the upstairs restroom.  AND when you are out and about, always bring your own TP!

We took the Hop On/Hop Off bus—en español—to learn more about life in our new city.

We’ve learned Puebla is equal parts beautiful, bold, and bursting with surprises. There is still so much to be explored but we thought we would share some of the beautiful architecture and color that Pueblans call home.

Mexicans are resourceful and respectful of their land and what grows on it.  Also, they don’t waste any part of an animal—everything eaten—leading to some interesting menu choices that I am not brave enough to try just yet!

Crickets, ants, and worms are considered a great source of protein.

They are also considered exotic foods/comida exotica. I did try chapulines (crickets). I did not enjoy the mental image of insect antenna in my teeth. Flavor: great, tastes like sunflower seed shells. Texture: crunchy. Emotional damage: medium. 

We visited an exhibit of enormous creatures covered in intricate beadwork—it looked like a unicorn exploded into a museum. 

We also went to La Collectoria, a café inspired by book written about a year of handwritten love letters. The romantic words cover the walls—and the strawberries and raspberries in my parfait came straight from the backyard garden. 

The Talavera Factory tour was amazing!  Fun fact:  each piece is hand made and takes a minimum of 3 months to go through the entire 6-step process.  The paints are minerals from Africa!

It’s one of Puebla’s most famous crafts, and now we understand why everyone loves it and why it is so pricey!

On another note, our Customs complications continue. I can’t even begin to share how challenging this experience has been. We only have a few more days to find a “Hail Mary” until FedEx returns our items to the US and we will have to return to start the process all over-- this time with the correct documents that have to be issued in person in the US in order to claim your items in MX.  Don’t even get me started….  I’m sure this is a sign from God that we really don’t need much.  Afterall, we’ve lived out the same carryon suitcase for 5 weeks now, and Jesus didn't tell his disciples to bring anything with them except a staff for their journey and to wear sandals.  He specifically said not to bring anything else.  

I thought it was funny that I wore this t shirt when I was meditating, as we have really been trying to BE present with everything around us.  It makes me smile because a wild chicken visited me in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the Zocalo.  And little did she know she would probably be someone's dinner that night...

God is so clearly present here—in the laughter, the language mix-ups, the gorgeous architecture, the pride in Pueblan heritage, and the gracious people who open their homes and share their tables. We are so blessed to be here and love our new home!

Thanks for journeying with us!