Tenochtitlan Narrative Report

I have arrived at Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs capital. I’m hanging around as a fisherman. From here on, I will be lurking around the village to witness their everyday life. I must leave to fulfill their need as a fisherman, but I shall return in a short bit to report. I have returned as promised, and I have a lot of news to inform you with. Last night was my first night as an “Aztec”, boy was it different! I actually had to bathe, I just assumed that since they aren’t as civilized as us, they didn’t know what a bath was. Was I wrong though! It was weird, very weird, we had to walk down these stone stairs and into this stone pit, that’s where we cleansed. Since that was a part of their daily routine, I had to participate and pretend that I knew how to do it right. Just between you and me, I had NO idea what I was doing! Get this, only the NOBLES have slaves, nobody else other than them, inconceivable! The poor don’t have slaves, we have to work all day while the king and priests get to sit and watch everybody else work in the hot sun. To top that off, none of the poor get to wear
A fellow fisherman who I befriended, told me all about the slaves and their role. First thing, slaves and children have to go to school together. Second thing, slaves were not captured, you become a slave if you commit a crime or if your family was in debt and needed to sell you for money, HARSH! However, if your parents were slaves, you don’t have to be a slave. If you were to be sold into slavery, you’d still be allowed to marry a freewoman, or if you want, you can marry another slave. The confusing part about this is, you can buy your way out of slavery. My friend also told me about “our” specialized professions. One specialized profession here is being a teacher, another one is a being a merchant. The last specialized profession is a priest, very lucky! Some jobs here that are highly respected are being a solider and being a