Getting there/about Puebla

When I booked my flights on Priceline last May, everything sounded perfect:

American Airlines' 11:40 a.m. flight to Dallas, arriving at Dallas-Fort Worth airport at 1:05 p.m. Saturday (they're an hour behind us); a midafternoon Aeromexico flight to Benito Juarez airport in Mexico City that would arrive about 5:30. There, I'd be met by an escort from the language school who would whisk me through Customs, help me exchange currency and put me on an executive-class (i.e., fancy-schmancy) bus to Puebla, where my host family would meet me.

Then the surprise party department took over. Aeromexico cancelled the flight and put me on the 5:10, arriving at 7:45 p.m. That shouldn't be a major disruption, because none of the other plans is to change, but it means that I won't see much of the countryside from the bus en route to Puebla. It also means that I'll be a little bit tireder when I have to take my placement test Saturday night, and that I hope my host family prefers a mid-morning Mass Sunday, not the one at 0-dark:30.

My host city, formally called Heróica Puebla de Zaragoza, is the capital of Puebla state, and is about 80 miles south and east of Mexico City. The altitude is 5,000 feet -- a bit lower than Denver, and 2,500 feet lower than Mexico City. Puebla is a fairly prosperous city, well away from the narcoterroristas of the Mexico/U.S. border and the places like Cancun where ripping off tourists, legally or illegally, is a major industry.

Puebla has several claims to fame: It's a U.N. World Heritage city because of its beautiful colonial-era buildings. It's where the famed Cinco de Mayo battle was won (though the war was lost a short time later). It's where mole (MO-lay) sauce was invented by a nun trying to impress a visiting bishop. And it's where the beautiful Talavera tiles come from -- and where they form the facades of many buildings.

Puebla is unusual in that it was built from scratch by the Spaniards, rather than being built over or onto a pre-contact city. It's laid out in a grid plan, though that breaks down somewhat in recently-built areas. The focal point is the Zócalo, a large rectangular plaza. Similar to Monument Circle, it has shops and at least one church on its perimeter; at various times, there are concerts and political speeches. Today, it is a city of at least 1.3 million people. A Volkswagen plant (I think it builds Slug Bugs, among other models) is the biggest industry. Average October temps range from 66 to 50, with little rainfall. I chose October because the rainy season usually is over by then.

Nearby is a smaller city with a name to warm the hearts of hot-sauce fans -- Cholula. Yes, that's where the sauces come from. Unlike Puebla, it is built on an area settled earlier by indigenous peoples.

Until I get there, I will know nothing about my host family except that they get a small amount for my room and board, but don't really do it for the money. The photos of typical families show comfortable homes. I'll have my own room, and I hope my hosts have pets, because I'll be missing Ghost and Scruffy, the catboyz who share their home with me in return for my devoted service to them.

The school Web site -- www.sipuebla.com -- has many pictures of the city and the school, plus some historic information.

Next time: Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to school I'll go