Mexico
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A Parting Gift
Scarlett Gilligan, UDLAP, Mexico When we think about sustainability, we often think green, recycling, taking public transport, but often it can be so much more than that. Being on this year abroad, I feel like I have been given so much and after speaking to some of my friends, we decided we needed to give something back to the community that welcomed us so kindly. After spending a year in Cholula, with street markets calling my name, I don’t dare to think of the amount of clothes I have accumulated. I couldn’t be more thrilled to see my wardrobe beaming with colour, but my suitcase to go home isn’t so…
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More than the headlines
by Scarlett Gilligan, la Universidad de las Americas Puebla, Mexico N.B. In late February 2026 there were reports of cartel-related unrest and violence in Mexico. This was primarily in western Mexico, but some other cities, including Puebla City, experienced some spillover disruption. This blog is a little more serious. As important as it is to focus on the amazing things that a year abroad can provide, nothing is ever perfect. Just like anywhere in the world, things can change overnight. This week in Mexico, a large figure in the cartel realm was killed, sparking violence across parts of the country. We found out on the way back from our Malinche…
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The UDLAP Handbook They Don’t Give You
by Scarlett Gilligan, Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Mexico I have the world’s best privilege of spending semester two in Cholula; however, for most of my friends, they have moved on to other places, jobs, continents — you name it. This got me thinking that despite being here for a semester, I am still learning about my university. Don’t get me wrong, I do love this place, but UDLAP can be very confusing — it is wonderfully random. So, here I will provide future generations with little tips and tricks I have learned whilst being a student at UDLAP, which will hopefully give you the prime experience! The Gym First…
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Environmental sponging
Scarlett Gilligan, la Universidad de las Américas Puebla, México I am penning a new term right now, hear me out. Being on your year abroad is about learning — obviously — everything you can’t in a classroom. I can say where I have learned the most about myself and about everything is my house. You are going to come across so many different things on your year abroad within an international community and your general environment. Be a sponge. I want you to absorb it. You are going to spend so, so, so much time here, and you don’t want to waste any time constantly asking why things are the…
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Learning to Learn
Scarlett Gilligan, Universidad de las Américas Puebla. At our age, we’re more than used to adapting to new ways of learning and our education systems constantly changing — one of the few good things to maybe have come out of COVID. Use this to your advantage because, at least for me, moving universities was such a strange experience. Thanks to our historical turmoil with education systems, we can use this adaptability to help us prepare and transition to new little flips. Keep in mind your experience may be totally different, this is just a bit of food for thought if you are preparing to leave! One big thing I had…
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If you want to make a fried egg…
by Anna Cole, Universidad de las Americas, Mexico Calling Mexico home has taken a lot of adjusting to. The biggest challenges so far have mostly been compromises.
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Meat- free in Mexico – can it be done?
Travel with a dietary restriction can be hard, but luckily in Mexico, many places are coming around to the idea that not everyone eats meat, animal products, or gluten. In more cosmopolitan areas, such as Cholula, la zona rosa ‘the pink zone’ and La Condensa of Mexico City, and touristy areas like Isla Holbox just a stone’s throw from Cancun, you can often find restaurants specifically dedicated to the alternative-eaters among us – or at least recognition on the menu. In fact, there was an amazing vegetarian taqueria on my street in Cholula, meaning I was actually able to try soya-based alternatives for the classic dishes I’d been dying to…
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It did happen to all of us – dealing with the Coronavirus Pandemic whilst abroad.
On Monday the 23rd March I was, much like the rest of the country, sat at home with my family in the UK, hearing for the first time that we would now be in lock down. Just a week prior, I was saying goodbye to my sister as we both boarded flights after an amazing trip around Quintana Roo and neighbouring Islands, hers back to London and mine back to my hometown in Mexico. To say that, at this moment, I was oblivious to the virus and how it could potentially impact my year abroad would have been a lie. As my sister works in the NHS, and was also…
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Mexico City Must Dos
Although I am usually more wowed by the breath-taking scenery that Mexico has to offer, in all of the bustle and traffic, there are some, not so hidden, city gems that have really stuck in my memory as amazing places to visit. And seeing as direct flights from the UK usually land in the Benito Juárez International Airport here, why not take a look around… Museo Nacional de Antropología Their collection of artefacts spanning the development of different civilisations, be that Aztec, Mayan or Olmec just to name a few, is divided across 23 permanent exhibit halls. If you wanted to look at every piece and read each plaque it…
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‘It’ll be lonely this Christmas’? Reflections on a Christmas away from home and family.
Ever since I can remember, my Christmas Day has involved being at my own house or that of a close relative, with lots of my family squeezed around a table, or a couple of different shape and height tables, sat on emergency chairs, stools or even the garden bench, with food filling every possible space and bits of cracker debris in your gravy, dogs barking, everyone talking at once and reading out the joke already heard twice so far, and it being my favourite day of the year. So, it may have sounded like a very privileged problem to have, to feel deflated that I would be spending Christmas day…
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México 101: All of the essentials (that I can think of) for moving to this beautiful place.
VISA • In the UK: You’ll need to organise this through the Mexican embassy (all information can be found online) and make a trip to London to bring all your documentation. There they will then take your passport and hold on to it for a few days to process all your documents and put a temporary student visa inside. • On the flight: you will be handed a migration form so just follow the instructions and make sure you fill out the bottom part aswell (which is a repeat of the same information because one of them is your copy) • Arrival in mexico city: in immigration just hand them…
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Life After Toronto: Where Next?
By Paul Alex Treadaway, University of Toronto I genuinely have no idea what I’m doing or why this photo was taken in Guanajuato, Mexico By May last year not only was the Toronto cold beginning to lose its bite as the snow melted into a optimistic Spring, I was all done and dusted studying at U of T. Home time? Well no, not quite yet. The explorer inside me, (Insert a hilarious Dora the Explorer joke here) had some unfinished business to attend to.
