anika in mexico

I went to Starbucks again after breakfast to continue making my arrangements for San Miguel de Allende. I still didn’t have a place for the first few days, and I thought it might be nicer to have a place to go to when I arrive. I simply saw an ad for a place, and after visiting the website, I really liked the look of it, so I booked a couple of nights with them. That was easy!

I had to pick up some peanuts on the way home for Sigrid since she didn’t have any other botanas for the party. I don’t think I got the right ones, but better than nothing I suppose.

I had a few minutes when I got home to prepare for Walter coming to pick me up. I wasn’t going to be joining the family dinner today since Walter and Angeles had invited me a few days ago to have lunch with them at their house.

Walter picked me up, and we were soon at their place. Everyone in the family seems to live somewhat close by. They offered me a tequila which I gladly accepted. We ate some cheetos and other small botanas, and we chatted a bit about this and that. Mostly I told them about my plans for Mexico and about all the people in my family.

Their apartment is really cool. Lots of space and lots of light. It’s right next to a river, and the whole neighborhood looks like it could be in Germany.

They both showed me their art. Walter actually dabbles quite a bit in Graphic Design and had a few really nice pieces. Angeles does a lot of photo collage, all with black and white photos.

For lunch we had a good vegetable lasagna and a salad, and some nice coffee afterwards.

Walter pulled out a bunch of old photo books. It was pretty cool to be able to see photos of my great grandfather and the houses and factories that he’d designed. Walter said that he’d be willing to scan the photos and share them, which I really hope he does!

Eventually Walter had to go to a dentist appointment, so Angeles brought me back home.

I went upstairs and enjoyed some tea while I worked on a new pattern inspired by an element on one of the factories from the old photos I’d seen.

Chucho picked me up at 7:30, and then we headed over to pick up Hector to take him to the place where his band was going to play. It took quite a while to get to Hector’s, and he was very worried that we were going to be very late for the show.

It took forever to get to the club which was way out of town to the north. We drove through some very industrial parts of the city that smelled very bad. When I say “industrial” parts of the city, I mean, places you wouldn’t want your car to break down while driving alone, or with two other people in the car, and when I say that it smelled very bad, I mean they smelled really really really awful. Sickening really. I decided to smoke a cigarette because I figured that would be better then trying not to breath in the grossness. I was right. The cigarette was better.

Eventually we left the stench behind, or we just got used to it. We did get a little lost, but we made it to the bar only an hour after Hector’s band was supposed to play. Even so, we were still the first ones there!

We arrived and were a little disappointed with the venue, to say the least. It was an old row home converted into a bar/music venue, and it was very “low-fi” to say the least. Chucho worked his magic and managed to get us a private room upstairs for the bands to use. He also got us some free drinks. Eventually other members and friends of Hector’s band and the other bands showed up, and the little room was soon very crowded. There was one band that went on before Hector’s band, Candy, and one that went on after. Of the 3, Hector’s band definitely played the most interesting and listenable music.

After a while it became more of a party than a concert (it is basically a house after all) and again I was feeling rather isolated. I finally even left the crowded room to stand in the hall. Eventually Chucho noticed and came over to see what was up. He first thought I was made, but I just shook my head. Then he was like, “are you upset?” and I nodded. I couldn’t help it, I cried a little bit. I was just so frustrated, and I felt so out of place there. I don’t want to make a big fuss and say, “oh, please, talk to me, either in English or in slow Spanish since I can’t understand what you guys are saying.” Chucho was so sweet and really made me feel better. He even called a few people over to talk to me. Then these 3 random guys who were just there, though not part of our group, caught onto the fact that I spoke English, and then they were all in love. I seriously had a little fan club form around me, and they kept jockeying to stand right next to me, since I only had one side free because I was standing next to a tall bar table.

At one point one of them said, “American women are so beautiful. And you, you are so beautiful.” That was my favorite quote of the night (it was sooo cheesy!) until later when Hector said on the way to the car, “I was the one who played tonight, and you’re the one who ended up with a fan club!” We all had a good laugh about that. Then we went to pick up one of their friend’s who had gotten too drunk at a party, then we went for tacos, and then they dropped me off at about 6am. I lost one of my earrings in the process which I was kind of sad about.

I woke up and made my way to class through some tricky traffic, but still had a few minutes to kill before my professor arrived.

She got there just as I was in the middle of a very interesting conversation with Nic, but it’s one we can continue another time.

My prof and I talked a bit, and just as we were starting the test, the terremoto (earth quake) alarm rang. It was just a practice alarm because today is the anniversary of the big earthquake of ‘85 that devastated the city. I think the purpose was lost on the “crowd” because it’s mostly high school students who took the “break” as an opportunity to chat and smoke cigarettes. I couldn’t hear the voice on the loud speaker enough to even try to understand what it was telling us.

After a few minutes, we were allowed back into the building, and I started the exam.

It really wasn’t difficult, but I took my time, careful not to make mistakes. My technique worked, as I earned a 95% overall. She also gave me a 95% for my oral skills which I thought was rather generous. Although I talk a lot, I’m sure I’m not very accurate, and probably say lots of inappropriate things, with inappropriate tenses, etc.

After the test I just wanted to jet, but my professor carried on for quite a while, wishing me a good time while I’m in Mexico, telling me that I can call her if I need anything, telling me how well I’m doing with the language, etc. It was nice, but I just found it a little awkward, and I was glad when I could finally just go.

When I got home, I hung out with Sigrid a bit, but she was off to make 3 different types of cookies with her friend Susie, so eventually I just went back up to my room. I had enough time to finish my pattern before I had to go meet Karin for lunch. We ate and chatted a bit. She showed me the information for the school in San Miguel, but I don’t think that one will work out. Their courses require a full month, plus if you take the intensive course it’s 6 hours a day! I’d say that’s definitely intensive! After having a tough time with a 3 hour class, I’m not sure I want to dedicate 6 hours of my days to further education. Since I also don’t have a full month to attend the school, I think instead, I’ll look for another option.

Siggy arrived when Karin and I were already done with lunch. She had her friend Jimena with her, and soon after, her other friend Christine showed up. We chatted a bit, and then we all went our separate ways–them to go buy supplies for their group project, me to go get ready to see Bloc Party!

Chucho was going to pick me up at 6pm, but at 6:40 he called to say that traffic was awful and that I’d better drive myself to Polanco where we were all meeting. To get to Polanco, it only takes about 10 minutes tops without traffic. Today it took me almost 2 hours. I arrived at my destination at 8:30! The same time the concert was starting!

I sat down in the bar and had a quick beer, and within 10 minutes, Carlos, Chucho and I left Pollo and his girlfriend at the bar to walk over to the Auditorio Nacional to catch the show. It was pouring down rain. Earlier back at the house it had actually hailed enough so that the green grass looked white.

We all got very wet. I was absoluted soaked from mid-thigh down to the tips of my toes. But I was really happy and excited to get to the concert hall.

We had really great seats, thanks to Siggy. We were in row T which was perfect because we had a clear view of the stage, and could actually see what was going on.

Neither Chucho nor Carlos really knew the band. I suspect they went along either because it was a chance to go to a free concert, or Siggy asked them to go so I wouldn’t be alone.

I don’t think either of them really got into the music, but I sure did. I had so much fun dancing, clapping and screaming my head off. I got to hear all the songs that I really wanted to hear including Blue Light, Like Eating Glass, She’s Hearing Voices, This Modern Love, Pioneers, and of course Banquet among others. It was really a great show, and when we left the rain had stopped!

Chucho went back home right away, but Carlos was really hungry, so I agreed to take him to McDonalds. I had a Cuarto de Libre (Quarter Pounder with Cheese) which was really awful. the fries also seemed a little undercooked. At least they didn’t put ice in my coke.

I was going to drop Carlos off at the metro in Polanco, but he insisted that we go to another one so that he could drive with me and make sure I wouldn’t get lost. So I dropped him off at the station right on Reforma in front of Auditorio.

My shoes were still sopping wet when I got home, but I was totally happy.

No school today! I took the day off in order to attend Siggy’s talk at a Conference at the UNAM. Her talk began at 8am though, so she picked me up at 6:45am to give us plenty of time to get there. It was eeeearly, but it was still better than going to class.

We picked up Saskia and also Pancho who was vital to the plan because none of us girls had the faintest idea of how to get to the lecture hall where the conference was, but Pancho is very familiar with the campus, so he directed us, and we got there with no problem. We even somehow managed to get into the student parking lot with the help of a little sweet talk from Siggy to the parking attendant.

Chucho met up with us. We all walked to the hall, and soon were established in our seats. We had to wait just a few minutes before Siggy’s talk started. I understood probably 60-70% of what she said. I understood the gist of all her points, but missed a lot of the details. Still, pretty good I thought. Her speech was on the science of love–how the reaction in the body when one is in love is like the same effect that hard drugs have on your system, and so it sets up a dependence on the feeling of love, and it’s why everyone is looking for the next fix. Very interesting indeed.

After the talk, we met up with Siggy’s boyfriend who unfortunately missed the speech since he didn’t have the help of Pancho’s navigation and instead had been driving in circles for a half hour (the campus of UNAM is really like a maze, and a lot of it looks the same). We all went to the Arollyo for a nice long breakfast. We ate so much. I tried a lot of the things that were offered in the buffet. I had a couple of blue corn sopes, pozole (a delicious soup with the corn that pops when it’s boiled that you also add a bunch of fun stuff to like lettuce, radish, lime and spices, to suit your taste), an assortment of meats in various sauces (all spicy, and I liked most of them. the only one I didn’t actually eat was the dark mole ((mole is a type of sauce, not a small mamal. pronounced “mo-leh”)) because the meat looked suspiciously like a pig’s ear), fresh-squeezed orange juice with some carrot juice, 3 tepid cafe americanos (rather disappointing indeed), and juevos revueltos con jamon y queso (scrambled eggs with ham and cheese) which may have been the best eggs I’ve had since I’ve been in Mexico (aside from the ones we cooked on the plantain leaves). The ham and cheese made it extra yummy.

After we finally finished eating, we all were allowed access to the area where they have the adjoining ring for bull fights which occur every Sunday. It’s a very touristy location, but it is very festive overall, and I had a lot of fun looking around.

After the restaurant, it was already late when we got back to Saskia’s. She ran up and got her school books, and then we all (me Saskia and Chucho) went to Santa Fe and had a coffee. Saskia’s friend showed up and they went to have lunch together. Chucho and I didn’t really have a destination in mind, but we headed back in the direction of my house, and ended up in Polanco.

We parked near a big cathedral and went in to look around. It was an interesting mix of old and modern styles. Definitely very grand.

We walked around Polanco a bit, and eventually decided to get something to eat. We ended up at a place that serves delicious pastas for very reasonable prices. They start at $48 pesos which is less than $5 USD, but it doesn’t taste like $5 pasta. I had the spinach raviolis and they were soooo good. We also got a carafe of the house red wine, which Chucho informed me doesn’t count as alchol because wine is food. Heh. Whatever you have to tell yourself.

But it was nice, and I counseled Chucho on his girl problems. I doubt he took my advice, but that’s probably not the point anyway. I think he just needed a neutral ear to hear his story and offer sympathy.

At one point while we were sitting enjoying our wine, I got a text message from Siggy: “Concierto Joss Stone hoy. Alguien Quiere?” My response, “me, me, me!!” So we some how managed to all meetup (the traffic was the worst that they’d seen in a long time. It took Saskia and Siggy 3 hours to get back from school–usually a 20 minute drive). We went to Salon 21 where the concert was already underway by the time we arrived, but we still got to see Joss Stone perform a bunch of songs. She’s got quite an amazing voice, and a fun stage presence. There was one girl in the crow who had bright red, long, curly hair. I wonder how disappointed she was to see that Joss’s hair had changed and was now dark brown with chunky purple and blue pieces.

After the concert I was pretty tired, and luckily just had to drive Saskia back to her house before I could go home. Unfortunately I still had Chucho with me (he’d left his car at my house), and he still wanted to talk. Not that we didn’t discuss some interesting things, just that I was so tired already. As it was, I didn’t get to sleep until 1:30, and I so my homework stayed unfinished.

I told my professor that I’d left even earlier than the day before, but that I still arrived late. That wasn’t entirely true. I left later, but it still took a long time, though not as long as Monday. Maybe 40 minutes total. I was only 5-8 minutes late for class depending on the clock I checked, but my professor wasn’t there. So I pulled out my laptop and surfed the web a bit. 20 minutes later I was calculating how much time I’d let pass before I left. I decided I’d wait until 10:30. I had the internet to entertain me after all.

But I didn’t have to wait that long. One of the secretaries, who saw me enter the classroom as I walk right by her desk to get to the room, came in and talked to me in fast Spanish. I got the gist that she didn’t want me in that room, but I was more than a little confused overall. Finally she communicated that I was supposed to leave this room and go to another one. I told her that I didn’t know which one, and she told me she’d show me.

So I followed her across the hallway to another room, a mirror image to the one I’d been in, and saw my professor sitting there calmly. She assumed I was just arriving, and had bad luck with traffic. I said that I’d been a little late, but that I’d been waiting for a good 20 minutes. She was rather dismayed to hear that. We were both perplexed about why they secretaries would have let me go in the room in the first place.

She agreed to tack on an extra 20 minutes to class on Thursday to make up for the time. Great. I get an extra long class. Just what I really wanted.

Class went by slowly. My head’s still stuffy and fuzzy so when it came to the conversation part of the class, I literally couldn’t think of anything to say. Even the simplest terms were buried somewhere deep inside. I struggled to talk about my trip to the supermarket and all the things I bought. Not very enlightening conversation to say the least. Mercifully she agreed to stop the conversation and instead do some more activities in the book.

I’m starting to admit to myself that I don’t really like my professor. She’s too serious, too formal, and she doesn’t speak English which is frustrating when I ask her how to say something in Spanish, telling her the English word. She gets the same panicky look on her face that I must get when I’m confronted without warning with a question in Spanish, especially one that I don’t understand.

Today I didn’t know the word for “habit” in Spanish, so I asked her, “como se dice ‘habit’ en espanol. Blank panic looked back at me. She admitted she didn’t know what I was even saying. So I describe circuitously, “una cosa que se hace muchos veces y no es facil a pararse.” “Ah!” she responded. “Un habito!” (pronounced “ah-bee-toh) “no entendi la pronuncion.” Der. Habit, habito. Doesn’t seem like it would be too hard to remember. And how can you be that thrown off by the pronunciation of something? Anyway, that’s how it goes everytime I ask the translation of any word from English to Spanish. She just kind of flounders around a bit, and sometimes comes up with the answer.

After class I went right to Starbucks to meet Megan for coffee. After the struggle through the desert that is my class, talking with Megan was a much needed oasis. I haven’t had such an interesting, fast-paced conversation with someone in a long time. Now that I think about it, I probably talked most of the time, but I needed to speak freely and fluently for once. I didn’t have to alter my pace or over enunciate, either in Spanish or in English, to make myself understood. I didn’t have to simplify ideas, or circuitously describe a simple term because of my limited Spanish vocabulary. It was really fun. Megan and I get along well, and we both have interesting things to say, plus we can relate to each other in a way that I haven’t been able to with anyone else I’ve met here yet.

After a couple of hours Megan headed out, but I stayed behind to catch up with internet things and to learn some more PHP.

I headed home at 4pm. I told Sigrid that I’d not be around for lunch, so I had all the time in the afternoon that I wanted. Still by 4 I was hungry and tired of computing, so I went home to get something to eat and to do something different.

I made myself a sandwich with salami, cheese, tomato, and mustard. It was really good. Afterwards I ate one piece of orange chocolate that Sigrid had bought me.

I spent the afternoon/evening finishing up the pattern I’d started yesterday and doing my homework. My professor only gave me a few pages to do. I think she had sympathy for my stuffiness.

I ate dinner with Sigrid. When I went to join her in her little sitting room she was listening to Heino. I walked in and exclaimed, “Heino!” A look of utter bewilderment struck her face. “How could you possibly know Heino?” she asked. I told her that my mom was a fan because they used to listen to Heino a lot in Germany (go figure). She was then equally surprised that my mom would like Heino. She kept remarking how amazed she was by the fact all throughout dinner.

We ate hotdogs. She bought the hotdogs specifically because she was sure that I would love to eat hotdogs. At times I really do enjoy a good hotdog, and these were pretty good ones. Reina put good toppings on them too–onion, tomato, pickles and mustard. I’m amused by the things Sigrid is sure I will like, and the stuff that she thinks I don’t like. If she could only truly understand that I’ll pretty much eat any food made for me, and be very happy with it! If only life were always that easy!

But yes, the hot dog was good. I liked it a lot.

Listened to a bit more German folk music after dinner. This time it was some other guy I’d never heard of (probably the reaction she would have expected for Heino). She had fun playing her favorite songs for me on the CD, singing along with gusto to each one, and saying “listen, listen, this is really so great” before the start of the chorus.

After a few songs we were both ready for bed. German folk music will do that to you.

Monday again. It took me one hour to get to school. I think I was maybe 10 minutes late to class. It took me about 40 minutes just to get out of my neighborhood–a drive that usually is about 3 minutes.

I decided not to fret about it though, so I was pretty calm when I arrived at school, even when my professor bluntly asked, me “que paso?” without much sympathy.

Class crawled by as slowly as ever. Afterwards I again went to the bank, and was again confronted with an out-of-service atm. I didn’t even bother to stand in the somewhat long line to deposit the money that I’d withdrawn at the Supermarket.

Instead I went to Starbucks before lunch.

I got home in time to see Anne again before she left for Cancun. I’d heard earlier that day that another hurricane was brewing which she was dismayed to learn.

All her camera SD cards were full, and she asked me if she could transfer them to her memory sticks using my computer. I helped her out of course.

Then I went downstairs to have a very german meal with Sigrid. Weisswurst with mashed potatoes and green beans. It was very good. For dessert we got a whole bowl FULL of raspberries. That’s my favorite way to eat raspberries–just the unadultered fruit.

Afterwards I went upstairs to work on a pattern that I’d started and was eager to finish. I didn’t entirely complete it, but I got the first color done. I then went to read to Sigrid from our book. We also had some tea and cookies, and then I continued to read a bit until we were suddenly interrupted by Sigrid’s friend Lolita who had stopped by. She’s very german and when I offered her the chair I was sitting in since it was the most comfortable, she said, “yeah, that’s my chair.” A ha. I decided to return to my room rather than hang out.

After Lolita left, I took Sigrid to the supermarket again. This time she also wanted me to put anything I wanted in the cart. The only concession I made was to get a couple of pan dulces which are really good from that store.

When we got home, I went to my room and I got to finish the pattern I’d started yesterday. Then I started on another one that I got half-finished. I wanted to complete it, but I still had my homework to do, and I noticed it was 11:30. I blew through my homework carelessly and as quickly as possible and was done in an hour, then to bed.

First day of class. Took me 30 minutes to get to the turn that usually takes me 3 minutes to get to. Sucked. But the rest of the way only took 10 minutes, so I wasn’t late.

I waited in the cold cloudy courtyard. I stared at the white painted intricate cast iron chairs that were tipped up on their front two legs, leaning against the equally detailed white cast iron tables. There were about 5 of these arrangements. In the dull gloomy light of the drizzly morining it looked like they’d all gotten really drunk the night before, but weren’t flexible enough to properly pass out, so the tilt against the table was the best they could manage.

Only one other, rather unfriendly looking girl was sitting there. She barely cracked a smile when I said, “hola!” Maybe she just didn’t understand me.

After a few minutes wait I was ushered into the office and promptly told that I was going to have an individual class which I’d have to pay a extra money to take. I did so, and I met Marta, my professor. She’s nice enough. Perhaps a bit older and a little less energetic and “fun” than my last profesora, but she seems like she’ll be a good teacher.

In one way I think the class will be good for me. My prof said we were really going to have a lot of practice with conversation in class, with the bulk of the writing for homework. Class is 2.5 hours long, so it’ll be good practice speaking which I really feel is my weakest point right now.

On the other hand, I’m the only one in class, so that means I won’t be meeting anyone new. Kind of a shame since Megan has a lot of other stuff going on, and it would have been nice to make some new friends.

I think after this 3 week session, I’ll be ready to stretch my Spanish speaking muscles and venture out to some different parts of Mexico. I have a few places to look into, and hopefully I can get some details together in the next 3 weeks.

Class was a bit slow going. It’s a lot longer than my last course which lasted only 1.5 hours daily. Now with a longer class and all the focus on me, I have the feeling it’s going to be boring. But it’s good for me! So I’ll go with it. It’s only 3 weeks after all.

After class I went to the bank and deposited yesterday’s and today’s withdrawals. I have one more left. I thought I’d have to deposit another $5,000 only, but Teocrito told me it would have to be another $6,000. I did some calculations, and I think $5,500 is a fair number. It was supposed to be an even $4,000 USD for my car, and even with the $5,500 deposit, it’ll be $4,020 USD, so I think that’s what I’ll do and see if that’s a problem. I’d rather keep the other $50 or so for myself.

I had lunch with Sigrid, and it was a bit of drama. She believed that I didn’t like the mushrooms with noodles she served which couldn’t be further from the truth. It was one of the most satisfying meals I’ve had there, but it was very filling, so I didn’t take seconds. She kept offering me more food, but I kept insisting that I was actually full. She remarked, “how sad that you didn’t like it.” When I again said that I did indeed like it, she simply commented, “but you usually eat so much.” I admit that statement stung a little. Ultimately though, I just wasn’t sure what to say to her. I didn’t know how else to convince her that I truly did enjoy the mushroom sauce with pasta. But I’m not going to eat more than I’m hungry for just to prove that I liked the meal.

I decided to go to Starbucks since I hadn’t been able to be on the internet for quite a while. I stayed there for almost 4 hours. I chatted with mum and she agreed to give me a healing at 9pm.

I got home around 8:30pm. Reina fixed me 2 tortillas in a frijole sauce which was excellent. I ate them with Sigrid in her room while we watched a movie about inter-racial marriage, old school style. The Chinese woman was actually a white girl with makeup done to try to make her look Asian, and died black hair. The dude was this older looking American and they were willing to fight for their love even if it meant abandoning her family and moving to America. Um, yeah, anyway…

I lay down just before 9pm when mum started her healing. I actually felt some interesting things going on, and I got to discuss them with her when she called me at 9:15. We talked for over an hour. We both agreed it was nice to have a conversation with someone that we could really talk to.

Afterwards I still had a bunch of homework to do. It wasn’t too hard; mostly review. I got to bed by midnight.

I slept easily and soundly until 6am when I heard my door quietly open. You’d think I’d be alarmed, but I was mostly just curious lying there with my head turned away from the door. The light in the hallway was on, and I could see it shining across the room. No, I wasn’t alarmed. I assumed it was probably Sigrid or Anne, or maybe even one of the cats who I’d been told had been known to manage to open closed doors. Either that, or I was dreaming. So I just lay there for a few seconds expecting some familiar voice to say something or to meow, but nothing happened.

Curiosity got the better of me so I slowly, quietly turned my head. I saw Siggy’s head looking back at me. She whispered, “sorry, I left my wallet in your car, so I need your keys again.” “Ok,” I whispered back. She grabbed them, ran downstairs, and replaced them again in my room without another word.

I dozed back off to sleep until 9am when I pried myself out of bed. I was sleepy and out of it, even at breakfast. I said good morning to Reina twice: once before and once after breakfast. She gave me a funny look and then chuckled at me when I apologized as I reasoned that I’d not been quite awake when I greeted her the first time.

I struggled internally about going to school that day to take the exam I’d missed when I couldn’t make it to my friday class. Finally clear headed, I decided that I just didn’t want to go down there today. I briefly considered just not going, but my reason go the better of me, so I called to confirm that it would be ok if I just came tomorrow and take the exam after class. Indeed it was ok, and then I didn’t have to worry about it anymore.

Sigrid asked me if I would take her to the supermarket, and then we could go have lunch with Jenny.

I agreed, and she said that she’d call me from downstairs when she was ready. She didn’t call me until I’d read another 60 pages in my book. It was 2:30, and time for lunch. She hadn’t been feeling that well, so decided not to go to the market. We headed directly to Jenny’s who had invited us for lunch. I’ve made that drive in 10 minutes. Today it took me an hour. The traffic was crawling almost the whole time we were on Reforma. Apparently it’s not uncommon for that time of day.

We made it eventually, and I enjoyed a lovely Mexican lunch of tortillas, sopa, tequila, rice and cauliflower cooked with cheese and coated and fried–maybe a cauliflower and cheese fritter, or something like that.

We also had coffee and apfel strudel. The whipped cream tasted a little funky, like maybe the cream was a bit sour, but I ate it anyway.

Afterwards I headed home and Jenny took Sigrid to the doctor. I read some more, and then chatted with Anne a bit when she arrived back from a day of touristy activity.

When Sigrid arrived home again, she asked if we could go to the supermarket. I asked if she was sure she didn’t want to go tomorrow. She said she’d rather not go tonight, but that she really had to. So we went. I was going to buy a few things, but Sigrid insisted that I put them in her cart. I wanted a few other things which I gave to Anne to buy for me and then I payed her for them later.

Walking around the Supermarket was fairly excruciating. Back’s definitely not healed yet.

We had quesadillas and guayaba and tea for dinner. Afterwards I crammed a bit for my exam tomorrow. There are always more verbs I could learn, but I have to draw the line somewhere.

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.

Wednesay I went with Sigrid to her College. It’s very big, and she says there is never enough parking when school is in session. With registration still going on, we didn’t have a problem finding a spot. I was able to check my email and check my favorite sites for a long time while Siggy took care of some things at her work and with her professors. She was worried I would get bored, but really I can keep myself occupied as long as I need to on the internet.

She let me drive her car back to her house. I was a little nervous just because, you know, it’s Mexico City, but it really wasn’t too bad, even when it got a little “crazy”. People don’t follow the traffic rules most of the time, but everyone on the road doesn’t follow the rules, so in a way there’s this collective unconscious that makes things flow pretty smoothly. Everyone’s almost expecting you to pull some crazy maneuver to get where you need to go, and even if they get upset by it, it’s very fleeting. Horns aren’t used as a way to actually alert others, but instead are a great way to relieve some stress when you are in a hurry and things aren’t moving.

After the drive home we ate lunch at Siggy’s parent’s place. I really wasn’t much in the mood for food, but I ate it anyway. It was good, but then I was pretty tired, so Siggy let me go to her room to take a nap. I slept for 2 hours.

We then fought traffic to get to this really beautifully designed mall that has all the really high end stores. They also have a movie theater and we were going to meet Siggy’s friends to see Harry Potter. I really thought it was going to be dubbed in Spanish, but it wasn’t: just subtitles. I actually really enjoyed watching it. Afterwards her friends wanted to go somewhere else and eat. Still not so much of an appetite, but I agreed to go along. I tried an empanada con jamon y queso, but the filling tasted a bit too much like cat food for my palate, so I gave half of it to Fernando, Siggy’s maybe gay friend. He agreed that it tasted a bit odd. Then I nibbled on the left over bread from the fondue that Pancho and Fernando ordered, but didn’t order anything else.

I got home fairly late considering that I had to be up kind of early to get to the school to take my placement test and register for my class. The bottom lock was totally stuck, but luckily Siggy’s friend Santiago was there. He’s quite spry and in no time he hopped the fence and let me in. I went right to bed, but morning still came too soon.

I rolled myself out of bed and was ready promptly at 9 when Siggy told me she would call. She didn’t call until 9:30, and then it was to say that instead of her taking me, her father would drop me off and then I could take the bus or a taxi home. In retrospect, it’s really not a big deal, but for some reason, at the time, it really threw me.

If I’d known that the day before, I could have easily gotten all the information and felt confident about finding my way. But I didn’t. I was not feeling well and then also totally overwhelmed by the task in front of me.

Finally it was decided that Teocrito would indeed pick me up and take me to get the little photos taken that I needed to bring with me in order to register, then drop me at the school where I’d just have to figure things out.

Teocrito showed up earlier than I expected, and it took me several minutes to gather all my stuff and myself together, but I was soon out the door as quickly as I could have been. Perhaps he was a bit annoyed that I kept him waiting, but soon he warmed up, and I eventually kind of snapped out of my weird mood.

Teocrito was actually a great help. He didn’t just dump me on the sidewalk, but instead he asked the security guard where I should go, which was not on the main campus, but down a block to the right at La Casa Rosa. It was literally a pink house. He then parked and walked inside with me. He even sat and waited while I had a conversation in Spanish with the profesora. When we were going to start the written test, I asked him if he wanted to leave, and he came over and asked the lady a bunch of questions until he felt satisfied, and then he left.

I was really feeling kind of out of it, but I managed to get through 3 pages of the test confidently. Then my confidence swayed, and after struggling to remember irregular past-tense conjugations of verbs I finally said that I didn’t want to finish. So I placed somewhere between the 1st and second levels. Because of that, I’m going to take the semi-intensive course rather than the intensive course in which I’d have to start from the very beginning with numbers and the alphabet and all.

I’ll be starting class this Monday, and so I’ll be here for at least another 3 weeks.

After the placement test I had to pay $2,700 pesos (about $270 USD). I literally had $2,600 pesos, so I went to the atm, but when I was there I realized I’d left my atm card in my desk rather than toting it around with me everywhere, as my guide book suggested. So I called Siggy and she had to bring me $100 pesos which she did within a half hour, also picking me up. Santiago was with her since he had borrowed the car overnight and needed a lift to Polanco.

After dropping him off we went to buy me a spanish-english dictionary and a map of mexico city (which I now see is practically useless for me because the magnified maps of the two parts of the city where I’ll be spending the most time cut off right at my street, or right at my school). While at Sanborn’s we got a call from her mom and we had to walk (what seemed a long way in my weakend condition) to buy a kilo of limones and a cake. We stopped at some point and got a Chai Latte which really didn’t agree with me. By the end of our excursion I was feeling really terrible, so I had Siggy drop me off at home rather than go to her house for more food which I so didn’t want to eat at that point.

I got home and just slept. Somehow I managed to pull myself together for Karin’s party but I was not feeling 100% at all. I wrapped her purse in tissue paper and made these really cute little flowers also out of tissue paper. I was very proud of my wrapping job. When I handed it to her she said, “oh, well this must be a purse” and then unceremoniously unwrapped the thing and said, “oh yes, it’s very nice”. I suppose it’s her gift and she can do with it what she wants, but I would have appreciated a little more tact if not ceremony.

The party was ok, but I didn’t eat anything; just water and a bit of tea at the end of the night. I met these 2 girls from Germany. I think one of their names was Anna, but don’t remember the other. One was really friendly and I talked with her a lot. The other also seemed friendly but didn’t say much. I think she understood everything I said in English but wasn’t comfortable speaking it, like I am with Spanish. After 11:30 I finally got the chance to sneak off and lie down for a bit in Siggy’s bed. We left by around midnight, and by then I felt really quite out of it.

Today I’ve just been sick and taking it easy. Karin came in at about 10:30 and gave me some kind of tonic that I am to gargle and drink 3x a day. It’s ok and very mediciney tasting, but I don’t think it’s working any magic. I played some solitaire while Sigrid went to the garden to tell the gardener what to do. I made some more tissue paper flowers, this time with more variations that the ones I made for Karin’s presents. I read some in my text book, and looked up some spanish words, but mostly just took it easy and rested. Tomorrow I’m supposed to go to Metepec with Sigrid and then go look for a car with Teocrito, but we’ll see how I feel. I don’t want to push it.