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After finishing this course I'm so glad I took it! I found it really interesting and it really broadened my awareness of Mexican culture and gave me a deeper understanding of it's origins. Mexican culture is so rich and interesting and I'm so glad I had the chance to deepen my knowledge with this class. Furthermore I really enjoyed the assignments that we had, they were really challenging but also allowed a lot of creative freedom which I really enjoyed and is something that I don't get a lot at my home university.

Me encantó este curso y tengo ganas de continuar aprendiendo sobre la cultura Mexicana. ¡Gracias Griselda!

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I think it's so interesting to hear about communities of different nationalities in the U.S especially as the U.S media that we consume outside of it mainly consists of WASP type people. My dad lives in the U.S and I always find it so interesting how diverse it is because I feel like we don't really see that outside of it. I think the culture of the U.S is a fascinating concept because it is so big and essentially built on immigrants, giving it such a variety of sources and yet again we don't really see that outside of it. I love that there are whole communities of different nationalities in the U.S who create their own sort of cultural mix, taking things from their own culture and mixing it with likeable aspects of U.S culture. I've also met quite a few people who have lived in the U.S but moved back to Mexico after a few years which I think is really interesting and I've been wondering what that says about life in the U.S versus in Mexico. I can imagine that people might find life in the U.S too impersonal after living in Mexico, I wonder if people feel that.

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We were talking about what it means to have a nationality today and what makes you a national of a country. I think this is really interesting especially when nationalism has become so associated with being right wing and these sorts of people have taken being proud of your country something negative. I personally believe you can be a national of wherever you feel a sense of cultural belonging to which generally implies that you live or have lived in the country for a significant amount of time or have strong familial ties to the country. It was interesting to consider Mexican Americans as you can see the pride they hold for Mexico even if they have lived their whole life in the US but I think familial traditions really make you feel a connection to the country.

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I watched the 'Las Tres Muertes de Marisela Escobedo' a while ago and it has had such a lasting impact on me. I had never heard of the story previously which is interesting as the attitude about Mexico in the UK is that it is completely unsafe and basically a free for all. But interestingly we never really hear specific stories from the country which I think creates the impression that it is all Mexican people that are dangerous when in fact that is not the case. I understand why this story was not able to spread to the UK and was astonished to see the level of blatant neglect, or more likely involvement, the government had in this case. It was  heartbreaking to watch and the impact it had on the women of this country is something I'll never be able to truly understand. The strength of Marisela and her family was incredible and I'm so glad to see that her son is keeping up the fight in the United States.

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I think it's really interesting to see where traditional clothing comes from in a country so I loved seeing the old photos of revolutionary fighters in sombreros and ponchos. It's so interesting that in many countries things that have become stereotyped and used as costumes can either be completely inaccurate or still hold some truth. For instance in Scotland it is a stereotype that everyone wears kilts and plays the bagpipes and those are the things that people always ask me about when I say I'm from Scotland. Although it may seem like a narrow understanding of our culture when you go out in Edinburgh you will be guaranteed to find someone playing the bagpipes and wearing a kilt, in fact I would say I see someone wearing a kilt every time I'm in the center of edinburgh because they are very commonly worn for special events or for traditional bands. I think it was because of this that I expected to see Mexican people wearing sombreros and ponchos in the cities and I had many friends asking me to bring those items home for them. However it definitely is not like that here, apart from Mariachi bands I don't think I've ever seen someone wearing a sombrero. Its interesting how such an old image of Mexican's can last for so long and really be the basis of knowledge for people in so many other places and yet it is something that you hardly see here. I suppose Mexico is too big and the culture to varied to ever be able to narrow it down in such a way.

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Thinking of the labels people use to talk about the Americas made me think a lot about how people in Latin America must feel about the word 'American' being synonymous with a person from the USA. I've thought about this for a while and have been trying to make a conscious effort to avoid labelling someone as 'American' when they are from the USA to distinguish them from other countries in the Americas. If you think about it that is the same as saying someone is European, American is such a broad term really but the USA has managed to take ownership of it. I think it is important to acknowledge the fact that people from the USA aren't the only Americans and don't make up all of America because as they have such a tight grip over the world and are in many ways the model of modernisation, we need to remind them that they are a part of something bigger than themselves.

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I've been in San Luis Potosí this week and I think it's one of my favourite places in Mexico. It's like Guadalajara's calmer little sister, it has everything that Guadalajara has but on a slightly smaller scale and it is perhaps better preserved. I always find it interesting to see the differences between people in different Mexican cities as sometimes it can be so stark. In San Luis Potosí for instance I was completely taken aback when a car actually stopped for me to cross the street. I don't think that has ever happened in Guadalajara and I think this sort of courtesy is something that comes with smaller cities. I think there's more of a community feel here and everyone seems a little bit friendlier and more chilled out. I've also been to some amazing museums and art galleries since I've been here and have been appreciating the street art in the city. I think one of my favourite things about Mexico is the street art, it makes it such a colourful and vibrant place and really has the power to change a place. It is something that I'll really miss when I go back to Scotland and is perhaps one of the advantages to a less strict environment in that sense.

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We talked a bit about the border between Mexico and the U.S and the history between them and it reminded me about when I went to Texas a while ago. I went to a museum of Texan history in San Antonio and on all the displays they had the descriptions in English and Spanish, which obviously makes sense as there is such a high Latin American population in Texas. However I found it curious that the only part in the whole museum that didn't have any Spanish descriptions was the exhibition about the war between Texas and Mexico. This struck me as really odd because if you are from Texas or Mexico I would imagine that you are aware that there was a war between the two territories. I was wondering if it was a subtle way of hiding the way the were portraying it so that Spanish speakers wouldn't be able to take offence? But I couldn't imagine that it would be particularly offensive given that it is a museum and should be displaying the information from a pretty neutral standpoint. I think it was perhaps an oversight but it still seems strange to me that one of the most relevant parts of the museum for Mexicans was not accessible for everyone.

This made me start thinking about the attitude of the U.S towards Mexico and Mexican people in general and how contradictory it is. They love to choose parts Mexican culture to enjoy and celebrate however it so many ways Mexicans in the U.S are so disadvantaged and unable to enjoy the same privileges as white citizens. I think people often forget how much of society in the U.S is made up of Latin Americans, the second most spoken language is Spanish and they make up a huge percentage of the work force in the U.S. The U.S was built by immigrants and continues to be supported by them and it seems like so many people forget that.

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We started talking about the Mexican Revolution which was really interesting as it's something I don't know very much about but I'm starting to understand the significance of it. It's crazy because once you start learning about it you start to see things related to the revolution everywhere. I think I've seen street called '16 de septiembre' in every city I've been in in Mexico and I realised how significant that date was last year when I was lucky enough to celebrate el día de la independencia in Guanajuato. It was such a cool experience and was very interesting to see how Mexicans celebrate important dates like this (from my experience it involves a lot of alcohol). We were actually in a club on the day and I remember them playing AMLO's speech and everyone went insane, it was really nice to see how much national pride people have here. Although this experience gave me a lot of insight into the culture and customs here I didn't actually learn much about the revolution or how exactly Mexican independence came about so I'm glad to be able to start learning about it properly rather than listening to drunken patriotic rants in a club! (here is a picture of my friend and I on independence day, some people had put Mexican flags on our faces but they were the wrong way round so looked more like Hungarian flags...)

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For a different class I have been looking into the history of the LGBTQ+ movements across the world and it made me wonder about the history here in Mexico. I found that LGBTQ+ rights are still developing in Mexico and progress is being made every day. In fact as of the 6th of April 2022 congress in Jalisco finally passed a bill changing the law to allow same-sex marriage, which is a huge step forward. Although the supreme court in Mexico changed the legal definition of marriage to include same-sex couples in 2015, local laws meant that it was still legal to restrict marriage to only heterosexual couples. This has since been deemed unconstitutional and from 2009 to 2021 24 states have changed their civil codes to approve same-sex marriage, so things are definitely improving in Mexico. I find Jalisco particularly interesting and as I'm studying in Guadalajara I hear a lot about the attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community here. Guadalajara is unique in that by many it is considered the gay capital of Mexico but it is also one of the most catholic places in Mexico. I find this fascinating and I'm very excited to see what gay pride will be like in Mexico and in particular Guadalajara.

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Griselda briefly mentioned axolotls in class today which reminded me of a short story I read a couple of years ago by Julio Cortazar called 'Axolotl'. The story follows a an unnamed character who becomes obsessed with the axolotls at the aquarium, he ends up going very frequently to observe them until he suddenly becomes one. This short story is representative of the magical surrealism genre which I believe is a genre unique to Latin America. This story was so interesting to me when I read it as I'd never encountered a story like this before in which something so incredible and unthinkable happens with no explanation. It really challenged me in a way because you just have to accept the fact that this man has turned into an axolotl even though it makes no conceivable sense. Cortazar introduces the story from the future, when the man is already an axolotl, and so there is no suspense or surprise when he turns into one and this really changes your perspective on the story. It means you aren't speculating about what will happen in the end but rather just thinking why and how did this man turn into an axolotl.

The magical surrealism genre is really fascinating to me and something I definitely want to explore more, it is so unlike anything I've ever read and really forces me to suspend my disbelief. Thinking of 'Axolotl' also reminded me of 'Aura' by Carlos Fuentes which is another story in which you have to completely suspend all logic and just absorb yourself into the story. The ending was a complete shock to me and really engrossed me in the book. I need to read more of this genre to challenge myself I think as my British logicalness can't quite handle it yet!

(A picture of an axolotl I saw at the zoo the other day)

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I think the main thing I learned from this class is that I will never master Mexican slang. I feel like I learn a new meaning of the word 'pedo' everyday! It is really interesting though and I enjoy learning about the origins of these words. I'm also interested in learning more about Selena and her story, I've seen that there's a film and a series about her life which I might watch and also lots of documentaries. I didn't know that she was from the United States, it's amazing how much she connected with Latin America and became such a strong cultural icon.

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Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz's poem was really interesting to me as I think it's really timeless. It shows the enduring theme of the hypocrisy of men and shows a history of the gaslighting of women by men through means of patriarchy. I find it interesting that Sor Juana was a nun, maybe this gave her an outside perspective into the relationships between couples at this time which allowed this incredible perceptiveness. Its amazing how the theme of this poem is still so relatable for so many women and I think it shows how the machismo culture in Mexico has been a controlling force in the culture for so long. Its also sad that these themes are still so relevant and that there were clearly women aware of this unequal power dynamic between men and women and were unable to enact change. Whilst more people are aware of the inequality of women in most societies its clear that if we can still relate to a poem about sexism from the 17th century that we still have a big problem.

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We started a group project on the caste system today which is something that I find really interesting. I think the topic of race is something really fascinating in Mexico and I hadn't really thought about it before coming here. The racial discrimination here is so evident though and its fascinating that it is the indigenous people who are at the disadvantage. I looked up some statistics and found that in Mexico if you light brown skin you are 29.5% less likely to attend a university than if you are white and 56.7% less likely if you have darker skin. This is astonishing to me but it also makes complete sense. With eh caste system having been implemented into the culture for such a long time it was bound to have lasting affects even after it was supposedly abolished. The social impact of something like this will most likely never disappear as it is so deeply and, for most people, unknowingly ingrained into society.

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Today we played Lotería which at first reminded me of playing lotto in my Spanish classes in high school where we would pick a set of numbers that the teacher would call out and the first to get all of their numbers would win. This was slightly different however as I wasn't speaking in broken Spanish and trying to remember whether sesenta or setenta is 70. It was really fun and I think it gives a good insight into family life in Mexico. I think every culture has some sort of equivalent game to this which brings people together and although its competitive it brings people closer together.

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I find the role of Malintzin and its implications for the wider perception of women in Mexican culture very interesting. I think it shows a pattern of women being villainized in Mexican culture and demonstrates how long this machismo attitude has endured. It is something I would like to look into more but I have noticed a few examples of women being demonised in Mexican culture and specifically in literature. La Malintzin is the first example of this as she is made out to be a traitor to her country but from what I have heard so far Hernán Cortes is not hated in the same way despite literally colonising Mexico. I need to do more research into this as I am not sure of the attitude towards Cortes in Mexico but he appears to have a better reputation than an indigenous Mexican woman. Furthermore I find the story of La Llorona very interesting as it is an extremely popular folklore story in Mexico but it portrays a women in such a demonic way it makes me wonder what kind of implications this has on Mexican society.

Having read Octavio Paz's Los Hijos de la Malinche, I think it's clear to see how this villainization of women has impacted the culture and the language in an almost imperceptible way but when you analyse it you can start to see the ways in which machismo has infiltrated into the culture and continues to affect people's attitudes towards women.

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I find it very interesting the idea that people call the Spanish conquest many different names. Although we didn't learn much about countries outside of Europe in school, apart from the countries that Great Britain had colonised, we did briefly touch on the Spanish conquest. Similarly to the way we talked about the colonies of Great Britain, we talked about the conquest in a positive light. We often referred to it as a 'discovery' rather than the colonisation of a country. The emphasis was always on how much the native Americans needed support to develop and how these primal people were able to thrive with the support of such a developed nation. This is very similar to the way that Great Britain talks about our past of colonising. Although we do learn about it in school, it tends to be glossed over a bit. We avoid learning about the uprising and independence movements against us. I wonder if this is similar to the way they learn about the colonisation of Mexico in Spain or if they avoid the topic completely as they do with other topics such as the dictatorship of Franco. School is a very powerful tool to shape our political mindsets and you can see how even omitting information from our teaching can give us a different outlook.

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Phrase of the week: 'En el pedir, está el dar'- in the same way you ask for something it will be given to you.

Similarly to the way I found the orientalism comparison interesting, in that people were misinterpreting and thus spreading misinformation about Mesoamerican culture, I found it very interesting to see the way that certain things were translated wrong. The mistranslation of 'teotl' leading people to believe that the Mexicas thought of the Spaniards as Gods is fascinating. It also shows their perceived superiority that they didn't question that the Mexicas would think of them this way.

The way that the Mexica's understood Gods is also very interesting and I see some similarities with asian religions as well. Often in asian religions the Gods have  terrestrial representations of themselves and thus interact with people, the contrast with this and western religions is intriguing. It appears that the Gods for the Mexicas were a lot more accessible.

I'm interested to see more of how the culture was misinterpreted in the next class as it also shows a lot about the cultures of the people perceiving it this way.

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·      Cosmology and cosmogony- the first refers to the branch of astronomy that studies the universe as a whole (logos). The second is the mythical/religious narrative that explains the origins of the universe and everything in it, including the human being (mythos).

·      Both deal with the idea of certainty against chaos

·      Anthropogony- explains the origin of humanity and by extension its culture through myths or religion

·      Theogony- explains the origin of a god or the lineage of gods in a religion

This class we learnt about how the calendar worked in Mesoamerica. I knew that the calendar worked differently from in Europe and I'd heard references to the Mayan calendar before, often with predictions from the future. This obviously makes more sense now that I know that the calendar is cyclical. I'm not entirely sure if there's a difference between the Mayan calendar and what we learnt about so that is something I need to ask!

I really like the drawings and paintings of the Gods, they create such a strong image in your mind.

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I really enjoyed the reading for this class and found lots of comparisons with the way that the initial scholars perceived the culture of Mesoamerica with Orientalism. It also reminded me of how even now people perceive Mexican culture incorrectly and often follow trends such as boho fashion without realising that a lot of what they wear is actually traditional Mexican styles. While it is not for me to tell people what they can and cannot wear, especially in defence of a culture that is not mine, it does make me sad that people are oblivious to the beautiful culture that their mass-produced clothing has been inspired from.

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In this class I found it very interesting to talk about the transition from hunter-gatherer to farmers. It's something that I've never really thought about or read before so I found it very enlightening. Furthermore I've never considered the initial development of a country in comparison to others so I found it very interesting that Mesoamerica developed so late in comparison to others.

I think nomadic cultures are fascinating, I've studied Hinduism a lot and the origins of it lie in nomadic cultures. The way things are passed down orally and manage to last such a long time is amazing to me, it really shows the strength and pervasiveness of the culture.

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Phrase of the week: 'mal del puerco'- feeling heavy and drowsy after eating a heavy, high carb/protein meal.

I love learning fun phrases like this and have definitely related to this one specifically many times in Mexico.

I found it really interesting to talk about the meaning of nationalism in this class as in Scotland (where I'm from), nationalism is becoming associated more and more with being right wing. I found it interesting how the actual definition of the term differs from the way that people actually act when they call themselves nationalists. Their definition of it tends to focus more on the exclusivity of it rather than the more positive aspects.

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I am excited to see where this course will go as I really want to widen my understanding of Mexican culture. I'm hoping that this course will go deeper into some of the topics I find really interesting such as how religion and gender have shaped the culture. I hope that by the end of the course I will have a deep understanding of how the culture has developed to become what it is today.