| Samantha 的个人资料Postcards from Mexico照片日志列表 |  工具  帮助 |
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3月31日 Curious GeorgeI am in Chiapas! It´s a good thing I started running again this week, it was enough preparation to RUN to the boarding gate at the airport (Mexicana Airlines has nice planes but horrible service!).
I had a little itirnerary of things to do up to Wednesday, before going to San Cristobal, but this is now going down the drain in order to go on an adventure I had been thinking about for two years, but didn´t see the possibility in. I´ve found an elementary school teacher who is going, and decided to hop on board.
We will leave the town of Ocosingo at 9 in the morning, and get on a truck that will take us 130 kms west, to a lake called Miramar, deep in the jungle of Lacandona. The ride will take about 7 hours because of the roads. When we get there, we will have to ask the village leader for permission to stay there, must guarantee that we will rent a guide, and will hopefully stay with Mayan families as boarders. The lake is pristine, no boats allowed, no pollution, almost no civilization. It´s full of alligators, howler monkeys, and has an island with Mayan ruins that you have to canoe to.
I´ve never been so excited to leave civilization! Updates and photos will follow on Tuesday- if we get permission to stay, and avoid becoming gourmet reptilian food ;)
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3月27日 Goodbye, Easter BunnyEven though I have just under two months left, I´m already forced to say goodbye to a very special friend, Xempita. Apparently rabbits don´t enjoy plane rides (they can easily have heart attacks) and I am giving her away this week, so that she can adjust to her new home before I leave.
Considering her general lack of personality at the beginning of our relationship, I´m surprised how depressed I´ve gotten over the idea of giving her up, and how much I´m going to miss her. I wrote out a giant guide for her next owner, and realized how much spirit she has- little flips when she´s happy, sleeping with her eyes open, nibbling on my favourite shoes when she´s playful... sigh. I´ve doted a lot of attention on that ball of fur, and can only hope that she will continue to be this spoiled.
Te amo mi gatonejo What Will They Lock Up Next?I´m trying to check the final details off of my Chiapas trip list. One of my to-do´s was purchase a small lock, so I headed over to the supermarket.
I had a general idea of where they would be located, and when I arrived to the spot, I saw that the locks were locked behind a glass cupboard. If I wanted to pick up an air rifle, that would not be a problem, I would just go to the sporting goods... but locks are secured?
Other items kept from the reach of the public: toothbrushes, batteries, hair dryers, and Mentos. Yup, the Fresh Maker. NarcoturismOne of the strangest articles I´ve read here: http://www.mexiconews.com.mx/23938.html 3月24日 Chicken Swingin´I live in one of the largest cities in the world, in a nice neighbourhood, across from a University, and my neighbours have started a poultry farm on their roof. I can´t see it, but I hear their rooster make the most woeful crow one can imagine.
Seeing this just makes me reflect on the bizarreness of my life in general. From lunches with powerful politicians, to watching people roll over broken glass in the metro... having my photograph taken numerous times for newspapers and magazines, to meeting drug lords at hockey games... chic nightclubs, to the neighbour´s children swinging a chicken around like a bucket. I don´t have the imagination to create a stranger reality. 3月19日 The NeveríaAfter an exhausting day of art exhibitions and a foreign film, a friend and I stopped into a nevería (ice cream shop) off of Insurgentes, to recharge.
The shop was a hole in the wall, but you could tell it was good because it was full of locals. The dog-eared menu also told customers that it´s been in business since 1921. There was an aged picture of the shop hanging regally on the wall, along with faded posters of Paris, and strange modern pieces.
The place reminded me of my grandfather´s old barber shop for some reason, I think it was the colours and the time period, that fact that neither place ever changed. The shop so nostalgic that I had to take a photo, an image that I haven´t been able to stop reflecting upon. 3月17日 Mayan Dreams SquashedIt looks like the Central America version of my Mayan Dreams trip is just not meant to be. Some of it is my fault for not planning sooner, but I had to know that I would have enough money to do it.
It turns out that my passport is expiring at the end of the month, just before I planned to go. No problem I thought, the Embassy gets them back really fast here... but no. Turns out there´s a backlog.
I went to try begging at the Embassy in person anyway, taking the morning off of work and sitting in traffic. When I got there, it was closed. I had called about visiting, they said nothing. I had looked at the website before I left, no notice. When I arrived, however, it was full of guards having a chat at the front, and they told me it was closed because of the ¨manifesto¨. I had no idea what that was, but I think it had something to do with Bush visiting the country.
I realized that with my passport being processed, I might not be able to get on any planes for the holiday (my license has expired as well, I only have my Mexican ID). I decided to talk to the airline to find out, using their chat system. The short version of the conversation went like this:
Me: Explaining the situation.
Michelle (painfully slow customer service rep): You need your passport to leave the country.
Me: But did you see that I only want to go to Chiapas? Inside of Mexico.
Michelle: Ok, use the passport.
Me: But I won´t HAVE the passport, only my FM3.
Michelle: Procede with the document.
Me: ?
Me: Which document?
Michelle: You choose the document.
Me: Do you understand that I only have an FM3 to travel? Within Mexico? Can I use only it or not? (By now I switched to Spanish, explaining everything again).
Michelle: Yes, use your FM3, you don´t need your passport to travel within Mexico (which I already knew).
So after 45 minutes to just get that answer, I was asked to fill out a questionaire, which gave Company X a bad report. However, I couldn´t even send the questionaire because it kept saying I needed to fill out information that I had already given...
I didn´t even get upset. It´s was just one of those days.
(Update: I have my tickets to Chiapas and after booking my hotels tonight, I´ll find tours there and leave the rest to fate).
The Booty Shakin´Bridal ShowerI couldn´t decide what to wear- something simple and practical, or something with colour? Something sleeveless for the hot weather, or something long-sleeved, since I knew it would cool down in an hour. Why was my brain behaving like this, when I was already running late?
I rushed to my friend Gaby´s, hoping that somebody I knew would be there. I held the buzzer, and a middle-aged woman came to open the door for me, introducing herself as Gaby´s mom. As I walked through the hallway, the sounds of cheering women and pounding music got louder. As I entered the living room, a circle of ladies were standing and clapping, while in the middle, a toothless old woman was gyrating her body like a teenager. She was wearing a tight, shiny, purple body suit like a 1980´s pop star, and she danced like she was having the time of her life. Welcome to a Mexican bridal shower.
I had expected polite, uncomfortable conversation over crust-less sandwiches, but at this party I danced all evening.
They had a lot of games involving props. For example, they passed balloons around the room, and when the music stopped, the woman with the balloon had to get up and put on a costume. At the end, the woman and her ¨back-up dancers¨ had to have a competition to see who could lip synch the best. There was a master of ceremonies, microphones, synchronized songs... one of the games involved a poll in the middle of the room, where the women had to strip off the silly lingerie costumes they had put on! It was so organized and choreographed, I thought, who in the world has friends with the time to put something like this together? You would have to hire somebody! And that´s just what Gaby´s mom had done.
It was one of the funniest evenings that I´ve had in a long time, and I would love to get into this business in Canada, but wonder how we would ever get Canadian women to shake their booties like that. It would take more than new sandwiches, it would probably take a cultural revolution. Something to work on. 3月10日 Mayan DreamsI have a week off of work during La Semana Santa (Easter Week). The idea was go and meet an old Auzzie friend in Guatemala... but he has changed his plans and will come to Mexico in May. I was really dissapointed with the idea that this dream sitting in the back of my head wouldn´t be happening. And then I thought, why not just do it myself? I had been planning to travel to Central America when I felt comfortable enough with my Spanish to get myself out of ridiculous situations, and I´ve already proven that ability on numerous occasions.
And so the plan is turning into reality. I´ll probably finalize it on Monday once I finish researching and booking hotels.
I´ll fly from Mexico City to Chetumal and catch a bus to Belize City. Over the past couple of years, Mexico has opened up its skies to some low-cost air carriers, and it´s cheaper to take a 1.5 hour flight than it is to take a bus for 24 hours.
I had a hard time deciding if I should stay on the coast of Belize (gorgeous Caribbean water!) but I am itching for the jungle... so I´ll go straight to a place named San Ignacio, where I will join tours to visit Mayan ruins, see an underground Mayan cave that was only discovered 3 years ago, go on zip lines across the jungle canpoy, visit a baboon sanctuary and take horseback expiditions.
After Belize, it will be off to Guatemala and the spectacular Mayan ruins named Tikal. From Tikal, to the laid-back island of Flores where I can do some canoeing and snorkeling. From there the plans get a little hazy, because I want a nice city to pick up a tour, but within a reasonable distance, since it will be Good Friday, apparently the most wonderful and celebrated day in Guatemala, but also the busiest for traffic. I think the most ideal will be a smaller Mayan village with deep rooted traditions and Guatemalan tourists rather than foreigners. The only other goal is to ride on at least one form of transportation with lifestock in the aisles (the infamous chicken bus).
Finally, I´ll bus it from Guatemala City directly to Tapachula in Mexico, and fly home.
I´m the kind of person who would like to plan everything obsessively down to the last detail, but to do that in this corner of the world would be a recipe for disaster and dissappointment. As long as I tour with others, use my Mexico City sensibilities and sense of time, I think this will be the trip of a lifetime.
Parenting 101My friends Mike and Liliana are expecting their first baby (a boy they will name Emilio) in three weeks. To help the young couple get started, my department at work decided to throw them a baby shower.
At the fiesta, it was revealed that Mike has never changed a diaper before. To prepare him for his upcoming duties, our secretary brought out her daughter´s doll- one that talks, blinks, eats, and well... you know. Mike learned to feed the tot some watered down salsa, and then recieved step-by-step instructions on how to change it.
Now that professor M has completed his lessons, baby Emilio can feel free to arrive any time! 3月3日 Following the Via LacteaMy decision to return North in a couple of months has completely changed the dynamics of my life, and I've found myself taking a closer look at everything around me, energetically, but also nostalgically.
I went to the zoo and art galleries today, trying to rediscover the city with my fresh eyes. It was a sensory overload, and I though, how can I have a four year degree in fine art and not be recording this properly? The tipsy toddlers wobbling infront of my feet? The smell of peanuts roasting in sugar? The sound of the giggles coming from the river... the sun burning new freckles into my skin? I decided then and there that my new resolution is to take at least one good photograph a day, a photo that tries to catch the energy that floats around me.
When it was time to head home, I strolled towards Reforma Avenue and scanned the busses passing by. I tried to find one that was going fast, because if they aren't traveling at a speed that makes me clutch the bars on the seat, I feel like I'm never going to get back. Tonight, I waited for a bus that was going slow, so that I could daydream and take in the scenery. Yes, traffic has become romantic. The bus glided and the spiky-haired driver soflty nodded his head to the polka music he had playing on the radio. It was just our bus and a thousand other vehicles, slipping in and out of lanes, forming a wave of red and white lights in the twilight. The only way I can explain the feeling was like watching a movie of my life.
When I stepped off the micro I was listening to a song called Via Lactea (Milky Way). Suddenly, I felt the urge to look up at the sky. The stars punched out of the darkness, and a full moon illuminated my path. When you can't adequately explain how you feel, blame it on the moon. 3月1日 Colin, you're a kickin' Canadian!During my family and I's regular chat on Tuesday, my dad said,
"I bet you're going to find things are very different when you get home", and of course that's stuck with me, because I know it's true. The reverse culture shock idea excites me and troubles me.
Today I was working hard in my office, and barely noticed a rapping on the door. I finally glanced up and saw a woman holding a package for me, saying it had arrived from home. I felt like I had won a prize! It was a package from Colin, with a Lonely Planet guide to Canada and 4 CDs with Canadian music, so that I would remember what I have to look forward to when I return.
Of course I thanked him, but I'll do it again a few more times. It's always nice to have a kickin' patriot to keep one grounded. Besides, who has a Lonely Planet guide to their own country? |
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