Day 7
The Seedier Side of Life
Initial Impressions: Hmm, when you have to hang your clothes on the line to dry they get really 'crisp'. Jeeze if it is going to be this hot here I should have packed a different set of clothing *melt*. Ooooh! I just saw my first rat! And... a prostitute..... and... where the hell am I?!
Today I spoke with my actual Spanish instructor about testing up. She agreed and filled out the form. I test Monday morning!!! She said I can go at 9 am (when class would be) or I can arrive earlier. I think I'll arrive at 8 so that I can test and attend class on that day as well. She said she will me miss, as I will miss this class. The people are fantastic. I exchanged phone numbers with Mireille, the girl from Finland so that we can hang out while in Mexico. I also went to Staples to get a pencil sharpener and new notebooks with her and almost got smooshed by a bus, but as she said "it'll only be a flesh wound, like a little bit pregnant...totally workable". Lol, the people down here are awesome =D After that I headed home to catch up on homework and I got invited to a play about Samson (the biblical version) downtown by my Brazilian housemate. I'm not sure what my plans are tonight, but it is an option I have going on at the moment.
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| Cute little 'ticket' to hold my seat |
(Much, much later)
Well I decided to go to the theater, it was fantastic! I loved the performance and actually understood a decent amount of it. It was a tiny stage, and we were in the front row, making it very personal. They actors did a fantastic job of transporting you out of the this tiny cramped theater into the actual performance so that you pretty much never noticed the prop changes/clothing changes that occurred as they moved around the stage. I think I'll definitely be going to more of these plays while I'm down here. (I took the metro again to get to the theater, yay! I'm becoming proficient!!)
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| The play |
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| Mexico |
On the ride I also saw my very first prostitute(!!!!), followed by about a dozen more and a ton of strip clubs for men and women. There was also a huge gathering of punk/goth people outside a club on a very dark looking alley. Once we got to the end of the bus line *sad* we had to figure out where we were at. We ended up at the wrong end of UNAM... and not even NEXT to the school. The drunk guy was talking to my companion, trying to convince him to go with him this way. My companion was trying to tell him that it was cold and we would just take a cab but seemed to be leaning towards the "oh lets follow the nice older guy". At this point I intervened and said "I am freezing, I'm tired and my feet are killing me. I can't walk anymore we need to take a cab." As we are flagging a taxi down the one that stops doesn't have any identification on the window *yay 'adventure'*. I flat out refuse to get in it, pointing it out to my companion when the driver shows us his papers and explains that he just got his paperwork and hasn't had time to put it up yet since it costs 3 million pesos or something *sketchy?* I'm still hesitant and would much rather prefer to wait or even call one - depending on the amount of money we have between us left over. As I am deciding this my companion hops in the front seat, and I get the choice of either sketchy cab or drunk man talking about dirty slang, sex, and whores trying to show me a 'short cut'. I get in the damn cab. As we are driving to our place, the taxi driver explains his price is a bit more expensive (SKETCHY!?!?!) because its so dangerous at night. To emphasize this he begins showing us his stab/knife wounds.... at this point I've got my hand wrapped around the door handle and am trying to measure the window frame size so I can either "tuck and roll" out the door or try to squeeze my hips through the window in case of an emergency (Lol). Fortunately, we made it safely to our house (clearly, as I am blogging).
Well that was my epic adventure, wrapping up my first whole week in Mexico. I'm fairly certain after reading this my mother will probably want to drag me back home (Not going mom, sorry!) but I want to emphasize that despite how I end up in these random fantastical totally shady situations I end up landing on me feet (remember the kitty??? it was calico =P). And I don't share all the boring parts of the day where I am shopping in walmart/superama or I'm spending way to much time watching cartoons on the internet, or taking naps (I love naps). I will also try to post something interesting every day, but I'm certain that if I keep this pace up of getting lost, passing out, getting lost again, finding hookers and wandering around Mexico City at 1 am I will need a second vacation to recover from this vacation. (Shame right? It makes hilarious reading.)
Since I am home, have finished my blog and am safely locked in my room avoiding external input on my brain I am going to call it a night and sleep until 2 pm. :D
Sorry I didn't get photos of the rats or the hookers, next time... lol
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| the kitchen |
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| the ktichen |
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| stairs to my apartment |
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| Laundry! |
<3
Sounds like a nice adventure...as long as you didn't bring the rat home (he might play well with the lizard, or at least that's what "Beverly Hill Chihuahua" taught me) or try to chat up a hooker (never a good idea) then you ended up well. You eluded the drunk guy and escaped from the dangerous taxi! Maybe not quite Indian Jones, but exciting enough!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your mom knows you're safe.
I do wonder, though...now that you are there, are your dreams different or weird? Just curious if the change in social and geographic position would alter the subconscious imagery.
Well I didn't bring the rat home, avoided all dangers, and didn't have to tuck and roll out the taxi... Just because my mother knows I'm safe doesn't mean she likes it. :D
ReplyDeleteNo I haven't noticed any change in my dreams. In fact most evenings I'm too exhausted to even dream or have restless sleep. The weeks before I left I was having very strange dreams, of the airport and the city in Mexico. Of different places, or things that I might have experienced while I'm down here. Now that I'm here I've only had dreams one night, and it was relatively normal, dealing with some friends in the United States.
Rachael FYI:
ReplyDelete"Safe is always relative" ie. there is no guarentee that you won't have bad luck with the best of precautions, but here are a few suggestions for the first time visitor with little or no Spanish:
1) Know where you want to go. If you do not speak Spanish having a hotel card might help. 2) Do not get overly intoxicated. 3) If you have gone into a restaurant or club and you do not feel the place was a ripoff dive, ask cashier/manager for a, "TAXI de confianza, por favor" (taxi day con-fee-on-sa.)(You could ask them to call you a taxi (ya-ma-may un taxi por fah-vor) My experience is that they will be eager to help. (I have stood inside a place with Mexican customers while we waited together for our taxi's.) 4) Fix the price if there is no meter or it doesn't work before you go. (You can ask the cashier/waiter/managager -- Quanto? (Kwan-toe?)and confirm with the driver that price. 5) Do not take a taxi with someone already inside other than the driver. 6) Try to take a glance at the taxi driver license card before you close the door. If the picture does not match the driver, I suggest that you get out.
7) If you are just on the street, in a plaza or airport you have several options -- just do not take the taxi of someone who comes up to you asking if you want one. The rule in this situation is to choose your own taxi. I will even take one of the VW bug taxis if I see that it has just dropped off passengers. (Other people advise against using them at all as they are the most commonly robbed.) 8)Usually there are many places where taxis are lined up. Look for a sitio sign for a little re-assurance. 9) If you need help look for a policeman or shop owner. (Taxi, seguro. (say-gu-row) por fah-vor.) You chose the policeman, he or she choses the taxi.
The odds are heavily in your favor even if you do not follow these suggestions. These are just suggestions to try to improve those odds even more. I have taken many a Mexico City taxi without ever having a problem.
Read more: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/Mexico/Distrito_Federal/Mexico_City-957620/Transportation-Mexico_City-Green_taxis-BR-1.html#ixzz1bYsm4WEc
Thank you Carl!! I appreciate the advice, and the pronunciations. :D That is my most difficult part at the moment, as well as a lack of vocabulary to describe what I need. I have been using a few of these precautions but you've given me several more to use to feel safer. :)
ReplyDelete