anika in mexico

The plan today was to go to Xochimilco and to the Dolores Olmeda Patino Museum. I got a fairly early start, and headed to the museum first. It’s a bit out of Xochimilco, but nearby. It’s the old hacienda where Dolores herself used to live. She was an avid art collector and patron/contemporary of Diego Rivera. She has tons of Diego’s art, Frida Khalo art, as well as other pieces from artist and artisans from around the world.

It’s really an amazing museum, not only for the art, but also the buildings and the grounds. There are peacocks roaming around everywhere, along with ducks and turkeys, and the Mexican hairless dogs called the xoloscuintles. I spent almost 5 hours at the museum. I looked at the art, walked around the cobble stone paths, observed and photographed the peacocks and hairless pooches, and had some queso fundido and a cappuccino in the cafe where I also sketched a bit and started a new interesting pattern. On the way out I stopped by the museum store and bought a few postcards for people that I probably will never send, as is my habit. Hehe.

By the time I left the museum, it was close to 4. Not really time enough to really go to Xochimilco, but I decided to drive down there and get a feel for the area. Which is what I did. I drove around the old town square, and on the way out I saw some trajineras to my right. I missed my chance to pull into the parking place, so I turned around so I could go have a look. I popped out of the car for a minute, and of course was immediately confronted by several navigators of the boats who wanted to take me on a tour. I told them that I didn’t have time today, then I shot a few photos before hopping back into my car.

It took me a while to get back home since traffic was already getting heavy, but I made it back by 5 when I said I’d meet Teocrito who was going to get my oil changed and fix something with the tire for me so I’d be all ready for my road trip. At 6:30 he finally showed up, just as Karin also came by to pick me up to go to Tai Chi. I didn’t really want to go, but she can be very convincing, so Teo left with my car and I left with Karin.

The Tai Chi guy was about an hour late, but in the meantime Karin gave me a tour of the school that apparently used to be her grandmother’s house. It was absolutely huge, and I can’t quite imagine all the things she said were different. Apparently most of my cousins went there for elementary school.

Finally our instructor showed up, and we had our Tai Chi session. I actually really liked it because it was mostly just exercises, and not so much actual Tai Chi.

Obviously I got home later than I expected since the class finished an hour late. Karin invited me to go with her the next day to the Ranch, but I told her I was going with Jenny to the market in the city that she goes to once every two weeks.

I had a quick supper and headed to bed since I had to get up early to meet Jenny.

I’ve learned my lesson from the past few days, so I decided I wouldn’t rely on anyone today to do stuff with.

At breakfast Sigrid mentioned that she’d been invited to Gerardo’s for lunch for his son’s birthday, and although she didn’t say as much, it was clear that I wasn’t really invited. That suited me fine. (Turns out that when Gerardo heard I was in town, he and his wife both were soooo sorry that they hadn’t invited me. They thought I’d already left to San Miguel.)

I decided that I’d go to the Museo de Anthropologia. Sigrid was concerned that it was going to be very crowded, but I didn’t mind. I went anyway. I found a parking spot on the road with the help of a “viene viene” and headed over to the Museo through the park, passing the Museo Tamayo on my way.

I was just in time to take a seat at an outdoor stone bench around a venue where the Voladores perform. Four of them climbed up a very tall pole that swayed quite a bit with their movements. They wound up long thick ropes around the top of the pole, and attached the other end around their waists. Then they jumped off head first, and they safely circled the pole as the rope slowly unwound. In this manner they continued to “fly,” getting closer and closer to the ground with each turn. At the last moment they flipped right side up and caught the ground running. Then they asked for donations.

After the show I walked over to the another little show that was going on. Traditional Aztec dancers were pounding their drums and shaking their rattles and playing with fire. They carried on in the hot sun for quite a while. Then they asked for donations.

Next I meandered over to the museum. I passed security and walked into the lobby area. It did look rather crowded, so I didn’t buy a ticket. I figured it would be better to come back on a less crowded day when I can really enjoy the exhibits. I walked over to the gift shop area, but also didn’t go in there because I would’ve had to check my bag, and that line was also long. But the walls of the museum shop were glass, so I got to gaze at all the pretty wares for sale. I spent quite a bit of time looking at some of the painted silk scarves that had amazing patterns all over them. There was one motif of a bug that really caught my eye (it was just one small part of a large intricate pattern) and later would inspire a nifty little patternof my own.

When I left the lobby area, I was surprised at the two lines of people waiting to get in. I didn’t have to wait at all to get through security, but now the two lines wound all across the large entrance plaza, and I had to cut through one of them to get out!

Feeling extra good about my decision not to go in, I crossed Reforma to head down to the Jardin Botanico. They installed an exhibit that is hung on the large fence that circles the park. It apparently changes often. When I saw it last time, a few weeks ago, it was a showcase of photos of the amazing natural beauty of Mexico. I’d expected to see the same photos today, and was glad that I’d get to take a closer look at the photos of nature and animals, but instead there was a new exhibition. It was photos from a magazine that covers the political climate of Mexico. There were photos of death, violence, destruction and presidents. In a way it was amazing to see the images, but it was also kind of unexpected and jarring on the otherwise sunny cheerful day. About 3/4 of the way through I had to just avert my eyes, and continue my walk to the Jardin without looking at the remaining documentary photos.

Once I entered the Jardin, I focused my attention on the plants, trying to distance myself from some of the horrible scenes I’d just taken in. I did a pretty good job of it. It’s a very tranquil place. Some areas are sunny with lots of cactus and shrubs. There’s an area with water plants, and and agricultural display with corn and chiles growing. I found a nice little plaza with lots of trees. There were plenty of benches underneath the shade, and I picked on toward the back edge of the plaza, and sat down to work on the pattern that had been sparked at the Museo gift shop.

I drew for quite a while.

Eventually a couple of ladies came over and sat on the bench next to me. One of them had her son with her. He was full of energy and just wanted to go play, but the ladies were tired, and just wanted to sit. At one point he was jiggling the bench we were sitting on, and his mom asked him to stop because, “ella esta dibujando” (”she is drawing”). That piqued his curiousity, so he peered over to look at what I was doing. He pointed to the lines I’d made with a dark green marker and asked, “es negro?” and I said, no, it’s a very dark green, but he looked rather confused, so I pulled out my black marker, and drew a bit next to the green to show him the difference. Then he started talking about how sometimes trees have leaves that are dark green. Eventually the ladies felt rested and the three of them continued on their way.

I got up shortly thereafter, and decided to head back home after a brief pass through the greenhouse.

I got back and continued working on the patterns I started. Met up with Sigrid, had some supper, then to bed.

Today was pretty much a wash. My back was really acting up today, ever since the morning.

I made it to and through class somehow. After class I went to sign up for the intensive course of the next level, at the same school (Universidad de la Salle). I talked to Teocrito tonight and he said we’ll go to UNAM to check out their courses on Monday or Tuesday of next week, but my classes start again on Wednesday, so I don’t know what exactly we’re supposed to do. It’ll be cool to see the main campus of UNAM anyway. It’s supposed to be a little city in and of itself.

It was an hour after class before I actually left school. 1) because I went to sign up for the next level, and 2) because I was just moving so much more slowly due to mi dolor de espalda.

I dutifully went to the bank, but then I headed straight home to lay down. It’s the only position I can be in where my back won’t hurt. I ended up talking to mum for a long time which was good. We got all caught up with everything that’s been going on. We discussed when she’s going to come down for a visit, and we also talked about my dogs. They’ve got the fleas, but then Kasi apparently also has mites (mystery of the patches of hair that were missing, finally solved! Sucks that it really is mites, but at least there is something that can be done!) (apparently it’s not contagious, so no one worry), plus she got spayed 2 days ago. Despite being a bit groggy, she seems to be doing quite well which was good to hear.

I’d planned to meet Carlos and Karen and the Studio museum of Frida Khalo in San Angel, but my back was hurting too much so I thought it better to skip it, which was kind of sad since I’d been looking forward to it quite a lot.

I had lunch with Sigrid. Reina made this amazing lasagna with corn, zucchini, poblano peppers and a poblano pepper sauce. Very green and very tasty. I was really uncomfortable sitting at the table (dolor de espalda) and so soon after finishing I went back upstairs to lie down again. This time I also ended up sleeping for most of the rest of the afternoon.

I have my exam tomorrow, but I’m having a hard time concentrating, so I think I’ll just go tomorrow and wing it. It’s not supposed to be too tricky, so hopefully I’ll do ok. I’ve already signed up for the next session after all.

I talked a bit with Anne (who is studying nursing), and she recommended a salve for my back that might help, and Sigrid actually happened to have it! I put it on, but I’m not sure if it’s worked its magic yet, or if its magic will be able to help me.

I also talked to Karin tonight and told her that my back was really hurting, and she’s going to take me to see some type of doctor/healer next time they take Sigrid, either tomorrow or Tuesday. At this point I’m willing to try anything. I just hope my back pain doesn’t get in the way of going to Cuernavaca this weekend.

I woke up early this morning: 6:45am, in order to call mum again. Last night at somepoint it suddenly hit me that Kasi was having her surgery today (to get spayed) and I didn’t know if mum knew about the certificate that I had from the humane society. It was a good thing I called, because indeed she didn’t know about it, but with my vague recollections of where it might be, she was able to find all the paperwork.

I went back to bed and snoozed for a half an hour before getting up.

No hot water.

I really thought about not taking a shower, but it was really necessary, and I knew I’d be happy and awake when it was over. I gritted my teeth and tried not to think about the cold water that coursed over my body. I managed to get mostly clean, and I was right, I did feel better when I was done, even though my teeth were chattering and I was prickly with goosebumps.

Not only was I frozen, it was drizzly and gray outside (the hurricane had started to move over the city), so I dressed in cozy clothes.

The rain did one good thing: cleared up traffic. It took me all of 10 minutes to get to school today. The other day it took me 40.

Take was present in class today, but again it seemed more casual than usual. Maybe because it’s coming to an end and we’ve learned all the main topics we need to know? Again it was mostly a day of conversation and clarification. My profesora actually gave me a really nice compliment.

She’d suggested that we don’t say, “no hablo espanol!” but instead to say, “hablo un poco de espanol” or “hablo espanol basico”. A few minutes later I asked a question which lead to the comment. She said that she doesn’t think I have just a basic level of Spanish, but that I lack confidence in speaking. She noticed that most of the ideas I communicate are fairly complex and complete, even if I don’t know every word as I explain my thoughts.

I was pleased to hear the compliment, and when I think about it, she’s probably right. I did take 4 years of Spanish in high school and another semester in college. Most of the grammar we were learning, I remembered that I’d had before, but I just couldn’t recall every intricacy of every rule. When I started the class, I knew it would be good for me to review everything, but until then, I felt like I was in the “right level”. It was definitely a boost to hear her opinion.

I got home and it was still raining thanks to the hurricane. I followed Jenny to her house to have lunch with her and Sigrid. Walter offered me a tequila. How could I refuse? For the meal we had taquitos that were crispy, moist, delicious and addictive. I again tried ate (pronounced ah-tay), this time made from guava. It was better than the kind we had made from quince at Karin’s one time, but it was still too sweet for my taste. This time they offered it with cheese, which was better, but I think I’d prefer just cheese.

My back was bugging me, but I managed to get through lunch. When we got home, I got a call from Siggy who conferenced me with Carlos. He and Karen were going to a Jazz concert at the Museo Tamayo and I was invited to join them. It was 5:45 and the concert started at 6:30. I got ready to go in 10 minutes. Sigrid had suggested that I take a taxi rather than driving down there and having to deal with parking. I called the taxi stand. They didn’t have a taxi available, but said they’d send on in 10-15 minutes. So I waited. Next time I looked at the clock it was 6:30! So I called Siggy for advice, and she said that I should just drive since there was a parking lot near the museum. So I decided to drive. And I entered the traffic that itself resembled a parking lot. Nothing was moving. It took me 20 minutes just to go 4 blocks. I could have walked there faster. I decided to give up. It just seemed impossible. I called Carlos who said that if I could, I should still come since the concert didn’t start until 7:30. I was skeptical, so I said I’d just go home. But then I called Siggy and she laughed when I told her the way that I’d tried to go. She gave me the directions for an easier “back way” and her assurance that I could still make it by 7:30. So I called Carlos to say that we were back on!

Once I got through the traffic muck around my neighborhood and got to the “back way” Siggy had recommended, things cleared right up and I was at the museum withing 20 minutes total! I was even early for the concert, so I found Carlos and Karen and got to catch the tail end of the guided tour of the art in the museum.

Eventually we made our way to the concert area where they had free wine and beer. I opted for the free red wine. I should have gone for the white. Bad white wine is usually better than bad red. Actually I should have gone for the Corona. They can’t mess that up.

The concert started, and my expectations weren’t too high. I don’t proclaim to be a jazz enthusiast, follower, enjoyer or afficionado. I’d even say that I don’t like jazz if given the option. But this jazz was ok. It was very melodic and the musicians were really having fun playing. Plus the music was infused with Latin beats, so the overall effect pleased me. My favorites were the few Bossa-Nova-esque songs.

After the concert Carlos and Karen walked with me back to my car, and we agreed to meet the next day at the Frida Khalo museum in San Angel. I got back in my car and headed back home. By then the streets were totally clear everywhere.

Throughout the evening, my back was really hurting, but I’m glad I made it. I was home by 9pm and I hadn’t eaten, but the rest of the house was dark! I fixed myself a sandwich and ate by myself in the breakfast room. In my room I edited some photos, caught up with my journal and finally got to bed very late.

I started my Spanish language class yesterday! I think it’ll be really good. Teocrito was only 15 minutes late arriving to take me to school. Yesterday there was only one other person in my class, and coincidentally, she was American and also has an apartment in D.C. and here she also lives in Las Lomas, so probably is near me here! Her name is Megan and she’s been in Mexico City for 4 years, but hasn’t really learned much Spanish. I think it’s just so easy to get by because most people have some English and they love to practice. Plus she also said that her friends would get frustrated with her slow Spanish speaking pace, so it’s just easier to speak english.

Our profesora, Angelica told us we should always ask questions and practice practice practice.

After the first class I was pretty tired and not sure what to do. There were a couple of things that I could have done, but I was still feeling pretty crummy in general, so I just sat on a bench on campus and watched the people, noting that the girls really wear an interesting variety of shoes. My only task was to get home. So I walked to the taxi stand that Teocrito had showed me before dropping me off that morning. I checked my facts and then got a cab. It really wasn’t too difficult as the attendent there helped decipher the map Teocrito had drawn for me. I was home in a few minutes and it only cost me $2.50 which apparently was cheaper than it should have been if I’d actually taken a sitio taxi. I looked it up and I’d actually taken a libre taxi which are a bit less safe, but safer than taking just any taxi off the street.

I was fairly well beat by the time I got home, so I just had a nap and then some lunch and then read some and eventually did my homework (so weird that I actually have homework). Sigrid arranged that I would join Saskia and Pancho the next day to go to El Museo Nacional de Arte.

Today Teocrito picked me up again, this time he was 10 minutes EARLY!! I wasn’t counting on that at all and I ended up making him wait for 10 minutes. Ah well, he was still in good spirits and immediately began asking questions of me to answer in Spanish.

Today we were joined by another student, Take (Tah-kay) who is from Japan but spent a number of years in the U.S. and went to Cornell for Architecture. He’s also 28 and we discovered that his birthday is a mere 6 days before mine. He’s working for a small firm under a fairly famous architect here in Mexico City. He hasn’t had any formal training in Spanish, but he’s been studying on his own for 8 months, and he really does speak very well. He said that he hasn’t even tried Japanese food here, so I think maybe I’ll take his lead and do the same.

Today Megan mentioned that she has some artist type friends who she could ask about possible classes in the city for me to take. She seems very friendly and helpful.

Class was ok, but it was a bit of a repeat from yesterday since Take was new (he actually went to the first level class yesterday, but he already knew too much since he’d been learning on his own).

After class I sat on the same bench in the center of campus as the day before and continued a little sketching I’d started the day before. I texted Pancho who agreed to pick me up on the way to Saskia’s. We met Saskia at her place. She lives in this amazing condo. Apparently lots of important people live there. She has an incredible view of the city from the sitting room.

Soon we were off to the Museum. It was really interesting to see the progression of Mexican art, but in some ways I’d love to see more contemporary stuff as much of the older painting is very similar to what was going on in Europe, at least from a cursory survey. There was one artist, Angel Zagarra or Zaragga or Zarraga. He did some really interesting and unique figure paintings that were very stylized and reflected the Art Deco style going on at the time. I’ll have to find out some more information about that guy.

Afterwards we went back to Saskia’s and then Pancho took me right back to my house.

I was starving, so as soon as I got home I made a sandwich. Sigrid was out, which was kind of nice to just have the runn of the place and not have her making sure I’d eaten enough, or not to have her tell me to put on another sweater or to close the window. She actually did all that later, but that’s another story. I had a nice sandwich and some beet salad.

Tonight I went and saw Reservoir Dogs at this place that isn’t an actual theater, but usually has bands play, and you can also eat and drink there. It was pretty cool, but the chairs weren’t so comfortable.

When I got home it was raining and of course the bottom lock got stuck again. Siggy was the valient one to hop over the gate this time.

Then I went straight to bed since mornings always seem to come too soon when you have to get up early.