What Do Thirteen Mexican States Smell Like? A Year of Discovery

The speaker visited Mexico three times, most recently spending an entire year there as a university student. Every weekend of that year she traveled, gradually discovering 13 of Mexico's 32 states.

Her talk traces a route from Jalisco through Mexico City to central Mexico - Hidalgo, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Veracruz and Oaxaca - all the way to Chiapas, Quintana Roo and Yucatan. She shares specific stories: where to find the best chocolate, which pyramids tourists overlook, how she celebrated Día de los Muertos, what a Feria is, what gets added to beer at student breakfasts, how a friend invited her for a walk that ended on Mexico's sixth-highest volcano, or how in Tequila she lost everything except her keys - only to discover those weren't even hers.

The second part focuses on culture, regional cuisine, customs and traditions that you only learn when you have family in the country. There will be time for questions - including about solo travel, safety, high-altitude tourism, the best time to visit, and which landmarks are actually worth the tourist route.