Today we go on our final training excursion to the town of Xochicalco. On this excursion we are to give our motor coach commentary on the two topics we’ve researched. This commentary and the presentation we must give tomorrow account for a significant portion of our grade. We are all nervous, so wish us luck.

Something happens when you have a group of people that have gathered in a particular place for a particular reason. I’ve likened this course to a boot camp and in many ways it is. Everything about this experience has been intense. It’s been physically challenging and academically demanding (it’s true when they say you really EARN your certification) which, in itself is intense. Then you couple that with the incredible beauty of the surroundings, the generosity of the people and the camaraderie of your classmates and you have the environment in which life-long bonds are created.

I first recognized this in the lavatory line at the Shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe. I was one of many women standing in a snaking line down a flight of stairs waiting to pay my 3 pesos to receive my strip of toilet paper and gain admittance to the rest room.

Standing in a line like this you pass the time smiling at the other women and exchanging simple greetings. For reasons that were personal to each of us we had all come to the shrine to see the Tilma with the image of the Holy Virgin. The crowds, music of the choir and organ and the sheer pageantry of the day was quite intense.

Out of respect for where we were visiting, I wore a skirt that morning. You need to know that I love wearing skirts on warm spring and summer days but I don’t wear them as often as I’d like and I have a reason for that. I have an irrational fear of tucking the hem of my skirt into my underpants after using the toilet then walking around in public totally unaware.

Well, that’s exactly what I did. I had come out of one of the stalls and was standing at the sink washing my hands when a women gently tapped my arm and spoke to me in Spanish. Naturally, I didn’t know what she was saying but I did notice that the other women had turned to look at what she was talking about and they were smiling. It only took a few more gestures for me to clue in and realize that the back of my skirt was tucked into my undies. Had it not been for the kindness of the pilgrims, I would have spent the rest of my visit unknowingly displaying my Fruit of the Looms to all and sundry.

Over the time I have been here in Cuernavaca, I’ve been privileged to meet and get to know some really amazing people. Each of us is here for our own particular reason and it seems like many of us are experiencing similar life transitions. We only have 3 more days here and already I feel a sadness growing among us. A bond has been created here – one, I believe for several of us, may be more than that of shared experience.

I know I will take each one of my classmates and instructors home with me in my heart. I look forward to working in an industry with these folks as I know that just like the woman in the lavatory, they will always have my back.

Yesterday was a free day with no classes so I took the opportunity to play tourist and join some of my classmates for a visit to the nearby town of Tepoztlan. What a wonderful town!

While they went off to climb the mountain to reach the pyramid, I stayed behind to explore the town.

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This is the view of the mountains from the parking lot

In the zocolo, I stopped to listen to these musicians.

I hadn’t planned to do it but when I got there I just knew I had to try. I climbed all the way to the second level (halfway up) and that was far enough for me.

This is in Teotihuacan and it is an ancient Mayan city built way before Christ. We started at the Pyramid of the Moon and walked way down the Avenue of the Dead to the Pyramid of the Sun. I was going to go straight to the museum but felt drawn to climb it. I would have gone all the way up but was ready to huff when I got halfway there.

I tell ya, being over 7000 feet above sea level sure makes it hard to exert oneself. Here’s some pics:

Pyramid of the moon

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Today we are heading into Mexico City and a visit to the Bascilica there. After that on to see some ancient pyramids in the desert.

The purpose of today is that we move our class onto a motor coach where we learn and practice the skills we need to master while on tour. Part of this is learning how to speak using the microphone on a moving coach using one hand to operate the mic and the other to hold on for dear life. This is going to be challenging for me. You all know how much I use my hands to talk, well, it looks like I’m going to have to learn how to tell a story without the use of my hands.

I’m bringing the camera today so I should have pictures and tomorrow is a free day for us (no class yeah!) so I’ve got a day trip planned with a few of the other students. It’ll be nice to have an entire day where I can just play tourist.

That’s one of the things that impressed me so much about this school is that they design the training so that you get the travel experience from both sides – a tourist and the tour manager. I think it’s a clever way to train tour managers.

The other day I said that I could not imagine trying to do this job without this specific type of training. I know that there are people who do but I know I couldn’t do this job without it. Although this is like a boot camp and the training is intense, everyone here wants you to succeed. The instructors are friendly and approachable; willing to answer all of our questions and give us tips and pointers.

Well, it’s an early morning today as we have to meet at the school at 7:45am. I’ll check in again…

The Palace of Cortez is home to the famous Diego Rivera mural that depicts the history of Mexico.

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I could have spent most of the day in this museum alone. It was so incredible!

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Here are some pics I took today of the Cathedral

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Rosita is the matriarch of the family that runs the language school and the guest homes. We have our big meal of the day (they call it comida), here at her house.

Terrace by pool

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This is where we eat

Here are some photos of the house where we are staying. I plan to add more photos of the interior and neighbourhood later. For now, this is the lovely yard.

Pool side

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View of the pool from the house

Here’s a little video of the school I’m attending. Throughout the year it is a Spanish language school and folks come from all over the world to learn Spanish.

My school uses the classrooms and grounds here for our program. I can think of a lot worse places to be for 8 hours a day.