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 had planned to meet Megan at Starbucks at 11am, so after breakfast I headed over that way. We both arrived at the same time. We talked a bit about my plans for San Miguel, and she gave me some tips. I felt pumped up about my idea to go there. She says it’s a beautiful town with tons of art and I’m sure to love it!

Megan also mentioned that she was planning tomorrow to go to the orphanage that she visits every week, and asked if I might like to come along. I said that I’d love to, so we plan to meet tomorrow at her house at noon.

When she left Starbucks, I decided to spend some time on the internet trying to get a few things in order for my upcoming trip. I was just about to submit my registration form for the art classes I wanted to take at the Instituto Allende, when, right above the submit button, I saw the sentence: “you must submit this form 4 weeks before your intended start date.”

I immediately became annoyed and frustrated. Things have been falling through lately left and right, and this was yet another example. I thought, if this doesn’t work out to go and take a class there, I might just go home. I seriously considered it too. I even looked up flights for next week, and I found one for just about $120 on October 3rd.

But I tried not to get too carried away, and reasoned that I should call the school first thing when I got back home.

But first thing when I got home, Sigrid suggested that I get something to eat. I was a tad annoyed, but I soon felt much better after getting something in my stomach. My mood was leveled, and I was much better prepared to deal with everything. I called the school, and it was no problem at all. The woman I talked to was so friendly, and put me down for both of the art classes I wanted. She said that she’d keep an eye out for me on Monday.

What a relief. I get to go to San Miguel de Allende after all. Now I just have to figure out a hotel situation. I called the place that looked like the best deal, but didn’t get through, so I’ll try again tomorrow before I calling to another location.

After all the made up drama subsided, I took Sigrid to the grocery store.

Then I drove over to Karin’s because Teocrito is going to take my car and get everything fixed and get the verification done for me tomorrow. It took me almost an hour to get there. I only know one way to get to their house which involves a tricky left turn where 3 lanes turn into one immediately after the turn, so I just had to sit in the traffic at the light.

The way home took 5 minutes with Teocrito navigating.

I had supper with Sigrid, but then headed to bed.

I woke up at 10, but didn’t get up til 11. Today was supposed to be the day of cookies, but I feel like everything is just falling apart lately. I went downstairs to have breakfast and see what the plan was. Sigrid fussed over me a lot, refusing to let me have cereal when that’s what I said I wanted to eat. She remarked, “oh come on, that’s no breakfast.” So instead I had to eat eggs and toast. The eggs were kind of scary. They were hard boiled, but the “whites” were an odd gray blue color. The yolks were bright yellow, and it didn’t smell bad, so I went ahead and ate my 2 scary eggs, but I had to kind of not think about the odd coloring.

After breakfast Siggy called to try to figure out the deal for today. She mentioned that she was bringing her boyfriend, Santiago, and this really upset Sigrid. She said that she couldn’t possibly feed so many people for lunch, and if her boyfriend came we’d have to make something more special than what she’d already planned. She also said that making the cookies isn’t fun, it’s work.

Personally I don’t know why she’s so surprised. I was there when Siggy and Sigrid first decided that they would be starting the cookies this Saturday, specifically so that Santiago could also come and help. So now I’m just waiting for Siggy to come so we can work out exactly what is going to happen.

When Siggy stopped by, she brought two dresses over for me to try on. They are both very bright. The one from her is bright fuschia, and the one from her mom is bright fuschia and orange silk. Both were too tight toward the top once I tried to zip them. She and I are invited to a wedding today, and I guess she actually would like to go. It’s so funny because I briefly thought about bringing my black formal dress, but I really thought I wouldn’t need it. Now of course I wish it were here. *sigh*

I decided to go for a walk because it was decided that Siggy would come back after lunch to help make the cookie dough. I walked to the lake, around it once, and back. This took almost an hour, and when I returned it was a little after 2:30, the time that I’d said I’d return. All my aunt said to me was, “oh, you’re so late.” I didn’t really know what to respond to that, so I was like, “uh huh.” I wasn’t sorry so I didn’t apologize. As I walked into another room she said, “I was just joking, I wasn’t actually angry.” So I said back to her, “ok.” I personally don’t find that kind of joking very funny, especially when you can’t distinguish the difference by the tone of the person’s voice.

Then we had lunch. It was ok, but Sigrid is always making a fuss about what I eat. She told me to take all the potatoes. There were 3 largish pieces of potato left, and I’d only taken 2. Luckily she can’t see very well, so when she checked, she thought I had indeed taken all 3. Sigh. She has it in her head that I “always eat so much” which isn’t at all true. Sometimes I eat more, sometimes I eat less, but it’s like if I don’t eat enough to satisfy her tastes, she thinks something is wrong. Anyway, it’s just a minor frustration I’ve been dealing with.

After lunch I called Siggy about the dresses, and told her that they didn’t fit. She said she was going to call her friend and arrange some other options, and that she’d have her friend call me. I wasn’t sure when that might be, so I decided to lie down for a while, then I fell asleep. I woke up when Siggy did indeed return, at about 5:30.

The thing that annoys me most of all about days like today and yesterday when things just kind of fall through, is that it means a day wasted for me. I’m there, I’m on time, I’m waiting. I could have gone to the Bazaar de Sabado like I’ve been wanting to for the past few weeks. I could have actually gone and done something new. But instead, I sit and wait at home, expecting that at any minute things are going to get going, but they are always pushed back.

After Siggy finally arrived, I guess I snoozed for another 1/2 hour before I got up. By that time they were totally done with everything. Great. I waited all day for absolutely nothing.

To add insult to injury, we’re not going to the wedding after all. She has the most legitimate reason not to go–a father of one of her friend’s died today and she has to go to the funeral. Ok, these things happen. So I called Chucho who last night had invited me to see an friend’s band play tonight. Originally he’d offered to pick me up, but now the band’s car broke down, so he’s taking them and all their stuff to the show. There was some vague reference that another friend of ours is going, and he said that he’d message me with his phone number, but I’ve yet to receive a message from him. He finished our conversation saying that he’d call me in 2 hours. Great. I get to wait another 2 hours to see if anything is actually going to happen.

I decided to go to Starbucks, instead of just sitting around waiting for something. When Chucho finally got in touch with me, he said that he would pick me up, but I told him that afterall, I just didn’t want to go out.

I stayed at Starbucks until it closed. I was the last one there.

I drove home, and parked in front of the house for a while. I didn’t want to go inside yet. At home when I feel somewhat melancholy, I like to just drive around, maybe go somewhere remote and just sit by myself for a while.

But I’m in Mexico City, which is very different than the area where I live. Green-space is scarce, and somewhat scary at night. Not a place you want to hang out by yourself at night. But I wanted to be around plants for some reason.

Since I just wanted to go somewhere, without a specific destination in mind, I started driving. I remembered that Siggy had said that the lights at the Zocalo are great because it’s still decorated for the Independence day, so I headed down Reforma. As I came near the Angel statue I passed by an outdoor festival of plants and flowers. In full swing, even at 10:30 at night. I found my green space, even if it was the urban version!

After I’d meandered up and down the aisles a few times on either side of the street, I considered walking across the busy traffic circle to sit on the steps of the Angel of Victory statue, but instead I headed back to my car. I had in mind to continue down to the Zocalo, as was my original intent. Somewhere I must have missed a turn because I was suddenly in an area that I didn’t recognize at all. The neighborhoods were getting shabbier. The smells were getting worse. The trash was getting more plentiful. The puestos that were lining the streets were getting more and more ramshackle.

I didn’t immediately panic. I figured I’d just go back the way I came and follow the signs to the Zocalo, or to Lomas, or to Periferico, and that then I’d be ok. I saw a sign for the Zocalo, so I turned down the street. I felt somewhat smug at my Mexican street smarts, until I ran out of signs pointing me to the Zocalo. Again I was driving in unfamiliar territory. The first wave of panic washed over me, but I reasoned it back, and held it at bay for a while.

I saw a sign for Insurgentes, a familiar name that I sort of knew would eventually lead me to somewhere that I would recognize. But I guess I got on it in the wrong direction, if I got on it at all. Street signs in Mexico city can be scarce at times. The road suddenly turned into more of a highway with tunnels, 4 lanes, and exits to places I’d never even heard of. I didn’t really know what to do, so I just kept driving, hoping to eventually find a place to turn around, or find a place with a familiar name.

I was driving fast and getting hot with the panic that was taking full, firm control over my level headed reasoning.

Eventually I found a place with a familiar name. “Pyramides de Teotihuacan” which incidentally is waaaay outside of the city, and you need to go through several toll booths to get there. I was driving in the right lane, but I spotted a U-turn to the left, so I pulled a fancy/stupid maneuver to get to it just in time.

Headed back to the city, I felt a bit better. A bit less panicky. I saw a sign for Chapultepec and I felt even better. That’s right in my neighborhood! But my night wasn’t over. I wove in and out of local lanes and the highway, trying to figure out where exactly to go to get to the “Chapultepec” exit that several conflicting signs promised. I ended up in another quiet, not so savory and equally unfamiliar section of town. At this point I wasn’t even panicky, I was just pissed off. Pissed off at the crappy signage in the city, pissed off at other cars on the road, pissed of that it was night time and getting later all the time, pissed off that I was still so unfamiliar, even when theoretically so close to my neighborhood. So I made another U-turn, took a right down and unmarked lane, and suddenly, with no fan fare, no fireworks, no drum roll, I was back on Reforma in the direction of Lomas.

Sigh.

All the panic, all the hotness, all the frustration, all the desperation and pissed off feelings faded away in an instant. I knew where I was! I’d be home and in bed in a matter of minutes. And I was. Whenever I told anyone what I ended up doing that night, I just said, “oh, I went to Starbucks and worked on some stuff.” I figure what they don’t know won’t harm them, and I wouldn’t want to worry them unnecessarily.

I had my exam in class today. I finished it up in about 20 minutes. My professor thought that was pretty fast, so she asked me how long I’d studied Spanish in school. I told her all in all it has been about 4.5 years, but it’s been 10 years since I’d studied it. I also mentioned that most of what I was learning was still review, but it was necessary because without it, I wouldn’t remember a lot of the vocabulary, plus it’s good to be reminded about a lot of the grammar rules.

We talked quite a bit today, which I enjoy the most because the time seems to go quickly, plus it’s where I need the most practice. We did some exercises in the book, learning about the future tense. Overall I’d say it was the best class I’ve had in this session so far which is encouraging. Though when we were checking homework I got a bit frustrated again with her method for correcting me. She’ll repeat back what I just said, making it a question. So then I know that I got it wrong, but I won’t have any idea what part of it is wrong, and I get a panicky feeling until she finally clears it up and just corrects the mistake. But until she does, she just looks at me expectantly and a little smugly, waiting for me to correct the mistake myself. sigh.

After class I called Siggy and we agreed to meet. She gave me some “Siggy” directions, meaning she would say, “ok, so you do down this road, then you get to a point where you go to the right, but make sure you don’t go under the bridge because then you’ll go onto the highway. Then you’ll come to 3 exits and you take the middle one, and then you go down a ways and eventually come to some stop lights and you take the third one to the left, and then you turn right, and you go down that road a ways, and when you get there, just give me a call and then I’ll tell you where to go after that.” The whole time she’s saying this, I’m trying to make sense of it in my head, but I work well with exit and street names, so usually I just say ok, and then start driving, and sometimes her directions make sense, and sometimes I’m glad to have a map.

I got there, figured out how and where to park, and then went into the radio station to meet Sigs. She was kind of busy, so I actually ended up having to wait for about an hour before we went out to lunch. We thought of getting sushi, but it was really crowded, so we went around the corner to “La Tierra Buena” which I really liked. It’s not exactly organic, but the serve a lot of healthy, fresh foods. I had a delicious mushroom soup and a panini with queso panuelo.

Saskia joined us partway through our meal. She’s taking an Italian class at Siggy’s school. I walked back to campus with Siggy and she showed me the store “Lumen” which has a decent amount of art supplies. Then I went with her to rent a couple of movies she needed. She thought of one that I should see and got it for me.

Then I headed back home, and traffic wasn’t too bad yet. I got back and Sigrid had a bunch of old ladies over for tea. I quietly went to the kitchen to make my own tea, then headed upstairs where I finished the pattern I’d started late last night. I was pretty beat though, and I just wanted to curl up for a while. I ended up snoozing until Karin woke me up. She wanted to tell me that the power was out in case I was on my computer or something. I got to chat with her a bit, and it was cool because I got the sense that she really understands why I’m here, and is ok with the fact that I’m taking it easy. She invited me to have lunch with her tomorrow.

I went downstairs and she helped me make a couple of quesadillas with spicy avocado sauce which I ate in the kitchen by candle light with Reina and her kids. I also made some tea which I brought with me to my room. Not much you can do in the dark.

I haven’t done my homework, but I’m not inclined to do it by candlelight.

I hope I’ll be able to sleep tonight.

The drive that took me 40 minutes yesterday only took 12 minutes today. There was hardly anyone on the road the whole way.

Class was looooong today. First of all, this session has longer classes, plus it’s just me. It’ll just take some getting used to. I had an interesting conversation with my professor today about graffiti and as we talked I quickly presented a thesis that I hadn’t thought of before: there are at least 3 different types of graffiti or wall art in Mexico City that I’ve categorized. By the end of the conversation I realized that there are actually 4: Sanctioned advertisements on rented walls, traditional style graffiti art utilizing color, shading, depth and skill, stencil style graffiti, and regular ugly scribble-y tags of symbols that mean something to drug dealers and gangs. I find the different types of graffiti that decorate the city interesting from an artistic perspective, but my professor hates it because the walls of her house are constantly tagged with the drug-dealer/gang variety of graffiti. I can understand her distaste for graffiti in that respect.

After class Karin called me, and we decided to meet at her house to get my car verified (something you have to do every six months, otherwise there is 1 day per week that you are prohibited from driving. basically it’s an emissions test). To do so we had to cancel my doctor’s appointment, which wasn’t that disappointing since I’d become a little wary of the whole thing after my vague conversation with Sigrid about the doctor and the technique he uses.

For some reason I really didn’t want to go to the bank, even though it would be almost my last trip. I struggled over the decision in my head, ultimately choosing to go get it over with. I should have trusted intuition again. The atm was broken/out of service when I arrived. I could have walked a few blocks to another branch of the same bank, but I just didn’t have it in me.

Instead I went home, read for a half an hour, and then headed over to Karin’s to meet her at 2pm. She didn’t show up until 2:45pm. Her maid didn’t show up until 2:25pm, so I had 25 minutes to lean on my car and finish the pattern I’d started a few days ago.

We ate a really nice lunch of soup and vegetables and rice and tortillas and chicken wings.

Then we headed out to get mi coche verified. On the way, I gathered all the papers from the glove box (Karin drove), and we realized that it wasn’t due for verification until September/October, not July/August as we first expected. Still we had to go to the verification place to wait for Teocrito who was getting Siggy’s car verified. We then dropped him off at the airport and I followed Karin home.

I had a nice afternoon with Karin since we were in my car with one another for about 3 hours. She told me some fun stories about the places to where she traveled with my mom, and I also learned about how she became a real estate agent. My back kind of bugged me, but it wasn’t terrible.

I didn’t get home until 6pm where I stopped only briefly. It had been a long day, and I really wanted to be by myself, so I headed out to Starbucks where I fiddled with my flickr photos and updated my journal to Aug. 28. Now I’m only 2 days behind, but catching up fast. Just in time for the weekend when I can get behind again.

10:30am! It seemed like it was maybe 8am at the latest. What a shame to sleep in so late in such a beautiful place. I got up and at ‘em right away. We had a simple and tasty breakfast of toast and eggs with ham and cheese with chocolate milk.

I walked around the house and took a few photos, and took one last dip in the pool. I took a quick shower and got all packed up (most of my stuff had already gotten home with Anne in my suitcase that we shared).

Back in the car we headed back to Mexico City. On the way I saw a small part of a larger work of grafitti that I liked the look of. It inspired and interesting new pattern that I’m not entirely sure I like, but not entirely sure I don’t like either.

As we came over the hill that overlooked the city, we could actually see it! Mexico City! The sky was really clear. You could still see a bit of the haze of pollution, but really it was a remarkably crisp sunny scene. Even all the native Mexicans traveling with me (meaning everyone in the car but me) exclaimed at the view of the city. They pointed out to me the main areas that I was familiar with. It looked so small and simple from our vantage point, but soon we were in the thick of it. It was still a gorgeous day, and the traffic was very light. Siggy mentioned, “It’s really a beautiful city without the traffic and pollution.” We all heartily agreed.

We dropped off Fernando near his house, then drove back to Saskia’s where we managed a ride from one of their drivers back to my house. I then let Siggy take my car to school since she was running late and was a bit frantic. She ended up dropping the container of lunch that Reina had given her, and it splattered all over her, so I let her borrow one of my shirts as well.

I had lunch with Sigrid, and then went upstairs to “rest”. I fell asleep until 9pm, when I was stayed awake for a while, reading and working on my new pattern. I eventually got a little hungry, so I stole downstairs and had a bowl of honey nut cheerios with part of a banana (the part that wasn’t brown and mushy).

Back upstairs, I read some more and at some point Siggy came in and gave me back my keys, and thank you note scribbled on a post-it, and a little bag of foil wrapped chocolate bunnies (conejos).

Surprisingly, I was able to go back to sleep pretty easily.

Happy Birthday Max! You’re 5!

Today was off to a normal start. I’m really settling into a routine here. I got up almost too late for school, which happens when I really get used to a schedule. I managed to get there about 10 minutes early (I’ve been arriving 30-40 minutes before class starts to check email or review my homework). My professor was 5 minutes late, so it was a nice amount of time to relax a bit.

Class was really fun today. We were learning about “esa es la mia” “eso es el tuyo” “esa es la suya” “eso es el nuestro” etc. (this item is mine, that is yours, that is hers, etc.). It was funny because to start the practice, my professor stole my bottle of water. Claiming it as her own, she affirmed, “esa es la mia.” I was rather shocked, and with a swelling, indignant tone I splurt out, “nooo. esa es la miiia!” That was the desired response, and soon enough I caught on to what she was doing, and then we all had great fun stealing each other’s waters, pens, books, papers and erasers, proclaiming them as our own or assigning them to a new owner. We were all laughing with gusto by the end, especially when we looked over and saw Megan clutching her purse on her lap, protecting it from being appropriated by someone else, even for the moment.

I walked out with Megan, and she mentioned that next week she might be meeting with her Israeli Graphic Designer friend for coffee, and that I was free to join them. I think that would be fun if it worked out.

After school I went through my usual routine: supermarket for a few forgotten items and ticket validation (today it cost the same as it would have at the school, so I’ll just park at school next week), bank transaction, then to Starbucks for a venti capuccino and some internet time. I continued my correspondence with my new old friend, got even further addicted to facebook, IMed with a few friends, and just generally wasted some time.

Of course when I wanted to leave, it was raining. Not storming, but it was a steady downpour. I got impatient, so I dashed to my car and got soaked anyway. 30 seconds after I was in the car it stopped raining. I was just in time getting home to join Sigrid for some mole de olla. It was amazing and delicious. It’s basically like a one pot stew. A little spicy with a tasty broth and lots of vegetables and a little meat, accompanied with fresh, hot tortillas. It was perfect, and I probably could have eaten 3 more bowls full, at least in theory.

We were joined by Jenny and Walter. They suggested that I go check out this “Saturday Bazaar” that oddly enough only happens on Saturdays. They even showed me how to get there in my brand new Guia Roji road atlas of Mexico City. Walter even provided me with a few contigency plans in case I missed this or that exit, and a few options for how to return depending on where I end up parking. Should be a fun adventure for a Saturday afternoon.

Jenny mentioned that the other day a woman at her usual produce stand gave her 3 artichokes and told her that if she leaves them out to dry, eventually the center opens up and a beautiful flower blooms from the middle of the dried leaves of the artichoke. Jenny said that she was entirely skeptical, but that today one of them did indeed bloom–a bright purple pincushion that looks incredibly unlikely, but also very beautiful. I was intrigued, and I mentioned that I’d really love to see it, and maybe take a few photo graphs. I arranged to meet Walter at their place at 5 after he’d had a chance to run some errands.

In the mean time Anne (I found out she spells her name this way, pronounced Ah-neh) came back, so I invited her along, and we both headed over to see the unusual blossom together, with a brief stop at a supermarket so she doesn’t have to starve.

Igor, the Alaskan Husky greeted us, and soon we were face to face with the mystery flower. It was indeed unexpected. All the artichoke leaves were dried and shriveled and opened out to the edges, revealing this round purple pincushion of a blossom, about the size of a standard CD. Its two friends still haven’t bloomed, but one of them looks like it could be yellow or orange. The shapes and the textures were very interesting indeed, and I got some great photos of all three. (I seriously mean to add photos to this blog soon; bare with me!).

After staring at the blossom and taking a slew of photos, we went to the backyard so Anne could see the view. It’s really beautiful, even with all the new buildings that have or are popping up.

After the brief visit, we headed back toward the house, stopping at Starbucks for a refreshment and some conversation. It was the third time that day that I’d been in the area, and we even parked in the same spot that we’d occupied when we went to the supermarket.

After Starbuck’s we headed back home where we figured out some plans for night time activities. It’s going to be Mama Rumba’s for some salsa dancing!

I wasn’t feeling great. I wasn’t sick, but my lower back had flared up again. I don’t know exactly why. I hadn’t done anything specific that made it hurt. I thought of a few suspects. It could be my bed (it’s pretty hard and uncomfortable) it could be my new car (perhaps it’s not ergonimic in a good way for me), maybe it’s the chair I’d been sitting on in my room while doing my homework (I finally realized that there was not base support, so the cushion just sags through the hole, offering no real support–this is my main suspect actually. I realized that the other chair in my room does have a nice firm seat base, so I switched immediately, but I’m afraid the damage might already be done).

But I managed to get ready, and by the time Siggy stopped by to pick up Anne and me, I’d just decided to go for it. I’m glad I did, and after drinking some tequila, my back was feeling much better. After a little more tequila, I allowed myself to be dragged out from behind the table onto the dance floor, where Pancho gracefully dealt with my ineptitude. After a shot of straight tequila, I suddenly could dance with no problem, and after another, I was dancing with strangers, whirling and twirling quite convincingly. After a while they played Rigaton, so I could bust out some of my best home-grown hip hop “moves”. (Up until that point they’d had a live band playing great salsa music.) Then they played this song where they sing, “pass the bottle” and so we did just that… passed the bottle of tequila and everyone drank from it.

We stayed until the club closed, finally getthing back in Siggy’s car. We had to take her friend Elsa home. On the way we all ate Principe cookies. Anne and I were dropped off at around 4am.

I’m tired tonight. Maybe because I went without my 2-3 hour nap today. Hehe.

I talked with Mum which is always a boost. She got back from Germany yesterday, and she’s quite glad to be home. I don’t want to air all the German family drama, but she had some difficulties with her sisters over there, like always. The only reason I mention it is that it is such a contrast to the family dynamic over here. Hearing the latest odd stories from the German side, makes me appreciate being part of the family community in Mexico even more.

I’m accepted here without hesitation or suspicion. While at times the family here gets a little too close for comfort (esp. for me, used to being left to my own devices most of the time), I recognize that all the minor “drama” here stems from the fact that people care about one another, are genuinely interested in one another’s lives, and only want what’s best. Since I realized this, I just kind of roll with the punches, and everything has been working out.

I got my car today! Teocrito dropped it off for me on his way out of town. I was on my own! It was a great feeling of liberation, sitting by myself in my car in the little driveway. I sat there for a minute or two, soaking up the feeling of independence. How I’d missed it. I drove to school with no problems. In fact I think it’s kind of fun to drive here. You can ignore certain rules at certain times and you just have to kind of nudge yourself into traffic where and when you want to go. I parked at the Gigante (supermarket that has everything from socks to auto parts to cactus fruit). I bought a few things I needed anyway so I could get my parking validated. Less than $1.50 to park for about 3 hours. I think I’m going to try the school’s parking lot tomorrow. It costs a little more, but I can park for up to 8 hours for the same amount.

After school and shopping, I followed my nose to get to the bank section, and I completed my little complicated transaction, getting closer to a paid off car.

I then drove to Starbucks and parked with the help of a “viene, viene” (”come, come”). A “viene, viene” is an unofficial parking attendant. You find them in all popular locations that have street parking. They claim a few spots on the street as “theirs” and then they help drivers who want to park to get into the space. They also help you exit safely, stopping traffic if necessary. While the driver is off on whatever important errand, they keep an eye on the car to make sure it stays safe. When you leave you give them maybe $5 or $10 pesos (50 cents to a dollar) for their help.

Something great happened today which has nothing to do with Mexico. Indeed I could have been anywhere in the world with internet access to get the news. I got a message on myspace from a friend I have not seen in maybe 17 years. She lived 2 houses down from me until I was 10 or 11 when she and her twin sister and the rest of the family moved to Michigan. I never heard from or saw her after that. I’d done an internet search a few times over the years for either her or her sister, but with no luck.

But now she’s back in touch! It’s weird to have this connection with someone that really I don’t even know at all but also really fun and exciting. I’m so curious about what she’s up to these days.

Anyway, after Starbucks where I drank my usual capuccino and indulged in a pan de chocolate, I headed back home for dinner. Again, not much in the mood for homework, I decided to call mum. That’s when I got the update about her trip to Germany, and had the chance to fill her in on everything that I’ve been up to. She seemed really happy that I’m having such a good time here.

I was in a good mood after my conversation, so I went downstairs and read to Sigrid from our book for a while. We were almost finished with the chapter when her friend, Lolita showed up to play cards. She invited me to play also, but I opted out and headed upstairs to my room.

Still not in the mood for homework, I continued my creative pursuits. I dragged my comfy chair out onto the terrace and made myself a hot cup of black tea with milk and sugar. While reposing outside in my chair with my tea by my side, I drew a really cool weird flower. Not quite finished yet (stippling can be a bitch), but I think it’s going to look really cool.

Finally I reluctantly turned to my homework, but luckily Anna was back home by then to distract me a bit. I didn’t quite know what I was in for, as I ended up serving as a sounding board for all her frustrations.

It wasn’t under amicable terms that she left the last place she was staying to come here. It was Anna’s friend’s aunt’s place that she had to leave because the aunt decided she didn’t like Anna’s attitude or something (which is odd because Anna is the most friendly gregarious person I’ve met here so far). So Anna’s still rather intwined in the situation since her friend is still in the picture, even if the aunt would prefer that they went their separate ways altogether. She’s having a hard time with the whole situation, and she doesn’t really have anyone else to talk to in Mexico, plus I think she needed some reassurance that it really was ok for her to be here–that she wasn’t a nuisance etc. I could provide a sympathetic ear, so I let her talk.

I managed to get her to come downstairs with me so I could eat some supper while she continued talking, so all in all it wasn’t too bad, just long.

So when I finally got to my homework, I really wanted it to just be quick and mindless, but I guess that goes against the point of trying to learn a language, right? I did the basic exercises easily enough, but my professor assigned 2 different writings to do. I did one, but I’ve decided to blow off the other one for tonight. Bad student. Bad.

written 08.14 and 08.15.2007

Today I woke up, but I didn’t want to get up. First time that’s happened so far. Not sure why, I just had this sense that I’d be happier in bed. Somehow I rolled out from under my warm covers and hopped into a hot shower, soon feeling much more awake.

I had a quick breakfast, and then carefully packed my bag, double checking that I had everything, including my purse, securely stowed in its place in my trusty Swiss Army messenger bag.

Without further ado, I called the taxi service who was there in a hot minute. Off to school, arrived no problem, paid no problem, then I found a spot in the shade to use the school’s internet. I updated my blog, and checked email, but it was actually really cold out, so I retreated up to my classroom where Megan already was sitting, checking some information about travel on her phone. We talked about the homework which was really hard, we both agreed.

The class following was anything but fun. It was a struggle. Turns out Megan was actually really frustrated about the section we’d just completed, feeling that we rushed through it too quickly before she could really “get it”. I kind of sympathize with her. We focus a lot on grammar. We construct careful sentences, we fill in blanks, we listen to examples, but we don’t really practice how to use them in conversation. It’s tough because conversations don’t really work that way, and if we have to think about what we are saying in terms of using the grammar rules we just learned, we often all get that “deer in headlights” look since we’re put on the spot and have to perform. Of course our minds go blank and we all become fumbling stumbling idiots.

I’m not sure what the solution could be, but honestly, I don’t think the time we spent reviewing the material in class today really helped to further our understanding of the topic. After class I mentioned the issue to Sigrid who though it was weird that they focused so much on grammar, and that it might be better to find a conversation focused class. It’s an interesting idea, but I still want to see how the rest of the course goes. We still have 1.5 chapters to get through!

Finally class was over though. Megan offered to give me a ride, but I told her my uncle was coming to pick me up at noon, and she bruskly said, “oh, of course, that’s great” but was a bit huffy and just kind of departed abruptly. I think the class had really frustrated her today.

So I hung out on campus today until about 11:30 when I phoned Teocrito who said he was already nearby! I met him just outside the building, and we walked over to… my new car!

I knew we were going to see it, but I didn’t realize he had it and it would be there to meet me. It’s really cute. It’s not a Vocho, but it is a VW. A Golf to be precise. It’s a ‘99 with only 68K kilometers which is really low. I’m going to pay about $4,000USD but it includes full coverage insurance until 2008. I could stay here all next year if I wanted to! At least according to the car and the insurance. Unfortunately it is a bit more than I’d hoped to spend, but it really was a good deal, and it’s a good peppy little car–perfect for crazy city driving.

I’m feeling a little insecure about the money I have left, but I’m pretty sure it’s still plenty for me to stay here for a couple of months, take some classes and even travel on a budget. Plus, my family can sell the car when I’m gone, and I’ll hopefully get most of the money back, so I won’t be broke when I return stateside.

I took the car for a test drive to Siggy’s school, where Teocrito dropped me and took the car. I met Siggy and Saskia and went to check out the “Getting to know Mexico City” course that I was interested in. Saskia was looking into a beginner’s Italian course so she went with me to the department since Siggy had an unexpected meeting.

Unfortunately it won’t work out for me to take the course. It was designed for “intercambios” or exchange students here on a student visa, which I definitely am not. I’m just here as a tourist and as such I can’t take official University classes, but I can take courses or seminars that are not for credit as a cultural pursuit.

Saskia dropped me off at home since Siggy had still a lot of work to do.

I was really tired after lunch, so I took a nap and then spent 2 hours doing my spanish homework which wasn’t exactly hard, but took a lot of thinking and dictionary look-ups.

I read a bit in my guide book after that. I’m trying to decide where I should go first on one of my excursions. I might take my first free week between courses to just visit some of the interest points around the city, up to 3 hours away. Robert and Kathleen might be goingt o Merida at somepoint and it would be cool to meet up with them. Also mum was thinking of coming down here, so we’ll have to figure out when that’s going to happen too.