anika in mexico

I had a very normal day today.

School was boring again. I left very early and actually arrived early which was nice since I had some time to relax before class started. At one point I got on the edge of being snippy with my professor when she started to give me a grammar lesson about a homework answer that I had actually gotten correct, but she’d misheard me. She backed off quickly though.

I made it to the bank again after school. The atm was again broken! This time I was feeling well enough to walk a few blocks down to another branch of the same bank. Thankfully their atm was functioning, and their line to get to a teller was actually a lot shorter than the other bank! I’m glad to have that over with.

I came right home. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to go out to lunch with Sigrid and one of her friends. I would have told her that I didn’t want to go (I was really feeling exhausted), but I at least wanted to be home so as not to leave her hanging.

But we had lunch at home like usual. The lunch outing isn’t until next week, thursday. We had a delicious soup and fresh tortillas with avocado. I prefer tortillas with avocado instead of butter. Fish, mushrooms and rice was the main course. The fish was really good. Reina cooked it with tomatoes, onions, and green olives on top. Plus I think there was some kind of vinegar based marinade. Tangy and good.

Throughout lunch Sigrid and I talked in Spanish. She’s been trying to remember to speak Spanish with me so that I can get some good practice using it. I think it’s great, and she’s very patient, plus she knows English so well that when I can’t think of a word, she’ll let me know what it is. I actually did pretty well and didn’t just talk about the weather, but also about art and cultural topics. It was fun. She thinks I can speak very well actually, and so is encouraged about speaking more Spanish with me all the time.

After lunch I thought about taking a walk since the sun was making a rare appearance, but I got sucked into drawing one of my patterns. Good thing too because just about a half hour after I thought I’d go for a walk it started raining like crazy. A true “aguacero” (I just learned that vocab word, it means very heavy rainstorm). If I’d gone walking I’d probably just be arriving at the lake when the rain started.

I was supposed to go to Tai Chi with my aunts, but it was cancelled because the teacher’s car broke down. Maybe we’ll go tomorrow.

So I just kept drawing. I started and finished one pattern, and I got about half-way done with another one.

I also managed to get my homework done, and studied for my “midterm” tomorrow. I’m not worried about it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Take, my Japanese classmate, was absent from school today. It was a little more informal with only me and Megan and the profesora. Mostly we had conversations and got a chance to review some vocab. We also checked the homework. For some reason, again, I didn’t do it all. I thought I did, but I apparently had totally ignored 2 pages. Ah well. I guess this is my week to be the bad student.

After class I got the directions to the “Casa de Cultura” from Angelika (the profesor) again. I went over there to see about art classes, but unfortunately they were all full except for an obscure “appreciating Arabic dance” and a “listening to classical music” class. No thanks.

After that disappointing investigation, I successfully completed my bank transaction and headed to Starbucks. This time, one of the girls that works there asked me a few questions (where are you from, what are you doing in Mexico, etc.) when she realized that I didn’t actually speak Spanish. She said that she’ll help me practice speaking in the future if I want. I thought that was pretty cool.

I was very productive today. I finally cracked open the PHP book, and after a little discussion with James, I made my very first PHP page. It was totally blank, but that meant it worked!

I made it home just a bit late for lunch, and Sigrid seemed to be in a bad mood. She was very quiet, and I felt like she was just kind of aggravated, though I’m not sure about what.

I intended to do my homework early so that I’d have plenty of time to focus on some other tasks, but I ended up just drawing. I had an idea for a sea urchin, and at first I just wanted to get the basic structure down, but then I had ideas for the details, and then I really was eager to see what the overall effect would be, so I finished it.

Then I decided to call mum, since I’d meant to yesterday, but never got the chance. Sigrid also wanted to talk to her. I got to hear the latest about my wieners and about her show. I kind of miss her, and definitely miss my pups, but apparently she confirmed with Sigrid that she is indeed going to come to Mexico for a visit, though she’s not exactly sure when just yet. I think that’s going to be super fun.

Then I decided that it was high time that I straighten up my room.

Then it was time for supper.

Then I finally, grudgingly did the last of my homework. I actually finished it all! Just in time for bed.

Another Monday. My back was really still bugging me, and I used this as the excuse as to why I hadn’t fully completed my homework (bad anika). It worked though. After class my professor told me that I should go right home and rest. I did just that.

I tried to be productive, and drove to the bank, but alas, I’d cleaned up over the weekend, and I left all the deposit slips carefully tucked into a safe place at home, so I didn’t have Teocrito’s account number, and so I couldn’t complete my transaction. I turned right around in the parking lot and left. The parking attendant gave me a funny look and a chuckle. I explained to him (in Spanish) that I had forgotten some important papers, and I’d have to return later. I also asked him what time the bank closed. He informed me that they close at 4pm. I briefly considered going to Starbucks, but even the thought of finding parking just seemed unappealing, so instead I just went home.

I was going to say hi to Sigrid, but she was on the phone, so I just went up to my room. My bed looked tempting, so I crawled under the covers, and I was out like a light. I slept until about 2:30pm. I got up and wandered downstairs to see that dinner was just about to be served. Lucky me. Sleep then eat. We had tasty soup and tortillas, then some meatloaf and fried potatoes and mixed veggies. Quite nice.

After lunch, I decided to return to the bank to finish my errand. Anne asked if she could come with. We both went, and were finished by 3:30. I thought of going to Starbucks, and Anne (who’d stayed home since she was feeling a little off) asked to come there too, just to get out of the house for a while. She had to meet Leonie at the house though, so we went back there first. Leonie showed up and came with us to Starbucks.

I sat there checking my email while the two of them carried on a very heated discussion–in German–each sitting on either side of me. I thought they were arguing with each other, but turns out they were just bitching about Leonie’s aunt, who is apparently very difficult, to say the least, and who is the reason why Anne is now staying at my house.

After a couple of hours, we went to take Leonie home. We eventually figured out how to get there, and also eventually figured out how to get back home.

A pretty boring, laid back day, but I think I needed that. I got back and pretty much just did my homework, wrote some in my journal and then went to bed.

There always seems to be at least one mosquito who starts buzzing around my head as soon as I turn off the light. That little fucker kept startling me awake all night. Really sucked. No pun intended.

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.

Mum arrives in Maryland from Germany today. She’s been there for a bit over three weeks. That means that I’ve been here for 3 weeks tomorrow! Time’s flying! I can’t believe that we only have one more week of the class when this one’s over. I guess three week classes would tend to zoom by.

I talked a bit with Teocrito about some of the places where I’d like to travel. I like talking with him about that stuff, because he’s only supportive. He never says that it’s not a good idea. He only offers good suggestions. He told me that I could quite easily drive my car to Villa Hermosa which is about 8 hours away. From there I can make a long day trip to Palenque, one of the places where I really want to go.

Today was the “dia de los bancos” for me. Teocrito picked me up at school and I drove my new car (which I still don’t have posession of just yet) to the first bank to see if they could withdraw $4,000 USD off my atm card. They discovered that they couldn’t but were sure that Banamex could. After much waiting and heated discussion at Banamex, we discovered the problem: mine is a debit card, not a credit card, so they couldn’t do make the transaction. To me that seems a little odd since I can use it both ways, but I decided to agree with them so I wouldn’t have to wait around any more for more negative answers.

I’m not sure if he didn’t understand, but Teocrito seemed to brush off my suggestion that maybe they had a way to transfer money directly from my checking account since I had the account number and also the routing number. He didn’t even ask the bank people about it. So as it stands, everyday after school, I have to drive (assuming I have my car) to Bancomer where Teocrito has his account, withdraw the maximum allowed daily: $5,000 Pesos from the atm, then go inside the bank and deposit the money into his “cuenta” or account and then somehow he is going to pay for the car. He showed me my daily process at yet another bank before we went back to where we’d parked the car, where he dodged into the first bank one more time, but at least that time I could wait in the car.

It’s complicated and confusing, but hopefully it’ll work. After the whole process which lasted about 3 hours, I was utterly exhausted and starving, arriving home just in time to take advantage of lunch.

After an incredibly delicious lunch of carrot soup, quesadillas, rice and salad, I read a bit about CSS then snoozed for a while. I made a playlist of all the things I want to listen to while in Mexico; some new stuff from Nic, and a lot of stuff I already know, but it makes me happy.

I tried to sit down and do my homework, but I think last night’s must have scarred me since it took me 2 hours. I didn’t want to start. I just finished tonight’s (it’s about 10 pm) and it took me all of 10 minutes.

Earlier this evening I was itching to do something creative. So I blew of the homework for the moment, and instead I worked on my weird sea creature composition, my pattern page (I’m actually working on 2. For the first one I’m drawing a different motif in each square on the page, using the size of the grid paper squares; they are tiny and the effect I’m getting as the page gets filled is really neat looking. The second is the same deal, but I increased the scale, using 4 grid squares for each motif.), and a new large sea creature that’s turning out to look like a decorative sea urchin.

I did all this out on the terrace, enjoying the cloudy, windy, yet warm evening. After a while I heard a little knock from the end of my room with the bathroom (the bathroom opens into my room and also into the hallway) and I poked my head in to see Anna and Leoni (the German girls)! There were rumors that Anna would be moving here for the remainder of her stay (they are leaving the 10th or 13th of September), and I guess the rumors were true. Apparently there was a bit of trouble at Maya’s place. Maya is Leoni’s aunt. Originally Anna was supposed to stay at another place, arranged by Maya, but the arrangement fell through. Maya’s apartment was pretty crowded with both girls living there, and Maya was none-to-pleased that it might be a long-term situation.

It works out well for her to stay here though. We already have the extra room that’s unused at this point, and she’s a friendly girl, so I’m sure it’ll work out fine.

She leaves pretty early in the morning to get to her internship at 8am. I was willing to get an earlier start if it would work for me to take her to a metro stop, but I’m not interested in getting up quite that much earlier. Her internship only goes until 1pm, so it seems like some afternoons maybe we can go do some stuff together which would be fun.

I showed her around the joint, pointing out all the necessary things to know. I made a list of important phone numbers, and gave her our address here. Most importantly, I translated some of what Reina said to her about how to catch the bus in the morning. I felt very proud, acting like a translator. I hope I got everything right. Haha.

I just killed a cockroach that was in my room. *shudder* I’d seen a few in the kitchen at night, but oh, no, not in my room. I don’t like cockroaches.