My journey began with two flights, with the second one touching down in Mexico City where three other group members and I rendezvoused with our first in-country contact, Assul. After grabbing our bags, exchanging money, and having a wonderful lunch, we met with the remainder of our group, which numbered eight in total. We left the airport in three separate vehicles, and after a quick somewhat bumpy car ride, arrived at our hostel for the night. The remainder of our quick one-night stay consisted of touring downtown Mexico City, which made me realize why Mexico City is the eighth most populated city in the world.  The sheer amount of people did not take away from the twisted beauty of the city. While parts of the city are beautiful cobblestone streets, others are slum-like with cinderblock homes that run up the various mountains surrounding the city. There is also this inescapable smell, which is accompanied by smog, likely coming from the high population of the city.

The next morning after a quick breakfast, we loaded our luggage on a van and departed for the pyramids of Teotihuacan. A little over an hour northeast of the city, Teotihuacan is a collection of pyramids and other structures spread over 32 square miles. After shopping at the entrance, we spent a few hours hiking around the site, after which we had lunch and departed for our next destination, Puebla.

We took the van from Teotihuacan to a bus station in Mexico City where we boarded a large bus bound for Puebla, Puebla. Roughly two and a half hours later, we arrived at our destination. After yet another three-car taxi trip to the hotel, we explored a small amount of downtown Puebla and ate traditional soup for dinner. Assul left us for the night and we met with our other in-country contact, Cynthia, who was going to be our guide the next day.

The next morning, we explored downtown Puebla and visited handcraft markets as well as an art museum. After a quick night, we departed for Cuetzalan on a van into which all of us barely managed to squeeze. We left Cynthia behind, and Assul once again joined us. Our driver, Saulo, also served as the project foreman, overseeing the project on which we would be working on once we got to the farm. We arrived in Cuetzalan, a small town in the mountains of Mexico, at 9:30 p.m. after a very bumpy ride and promptly had dinner at the Hotel Tazelotzin and prepared to leave the next morning.

Our destination for the next two nights was a ranch/school around an hour and a half from Cuetzalan. This would be the site of our project, which was to construct a bamboo dry bathroom, which would split waste to compost in a safe way. This project was very important due to the lack of effective plumbing throughout the rural parts of Mexico. It also helped show the ease of building with bamboo, which is a very fast-growing plant. Saulo explained the project and then we split up to unload our bags where we would be staying. The guys, along with Saulo got to stay outside in a school building which only had a palm roof for protection. The girls stayed in the main cinderblock building near the entrance to the ranch.

After unpacking, we began the project. There was already a cinderblock base, so all we had to do was cut the bamboo, place support poles, and transport the palm leaves for the roof. After we had gathered materials, we spent the next two days working on the bathroom. The support poles were the first bamboo pieces to be installed; with the help of some of the farm workers, we accomplished this task in just a few hours. We then began to split the bamboo into fourths; these pieces would then be used to form the slat-style walls of the bathroom. After nailing the slats into place, we began the process of weaving the roof from pieces of palm that we had split the day before. This process was the most tedious, as it required four people, one per roof support, and one worker perched precariously on top of the structure. Following the completion of the roof, we placed two ceramic toilets within the structure and the project was essentially completed. After a quick lunch, we packed the van, said our goodbyes, and headed back to Cuetzalan.

The remainder of the trip consisted of travelling, with a stop in Cuetzalan that included a tour of the town, amazing traditional food, a visit to the Yohualichan Archaeological site, and a beautiful waterfall hike. From Cuetzalan, we returned to Puebla for one last dinner at a delicious artisanal pizza bistro in downtown Puebla. The next morning, we returned to the Mexico City airport via bus, and departed the country on our separate flights back to the United States.

Overall, this was a very memorable trip and my first out of the country. I met new people, learned many aspects of teamwork, experienced a beautiful and kind culture, ate delicious food, and saw ancient sites that baffled the mind. Hopefully, I will return for another alternative break with the college in the future; this trip provided the perfect mix of cultural experience, leisure, and fulfilling volunteer work that had an impact on the place visited.