First Taste of Mexico

Friday morning:

So, here I am in Mexico City.  I got in last night and I met up with Marne and Acacia at the airport, from where we took a taxi to our hostel.  So far, my impression of Mexico City is that it’s enormous and stinky.  Not so pleasant… but expected.  Last night we checked into our hostel and then went outside to look for food.  There were vendors on the street selling food, most of them with signs of what they had to sell.  I asked one of them what a “patita” was, and she pulled one out of the pot.  A chicken foot.  I don't understand how that is that even edible!  So we thanked them politely and went over to a different cart that sold more recognizable food… little tacos.  I had one with beef, potatoes, and cactus, and a second one with chile relleno and potatoes.  They were so delicious!  And only 10 pesos each! (=about 90 cents)  The guy that sold them to us was really cool to talk to… He asked me why I wanted to learn Spanish and I told him about my parents’ nursery.  He asked me about minimum wages and how many hours were worked per week… told me that he lived in a poor community outside of town, and for many people, potatoes were the only thing they could afford to put in their tacos.  Not even a little beef or chicken.  And that for many Mexican people, buying a pizza is a luxury.  It was fascinating talking to him.

We’re getting ready to go out right now… and I know we’re going to try and sniff out a few museums as well as visit the big temple which is right down the street.  Four more students are meeting us here at this hostel later on today, so we’ll have a larger group tonight.

Friday evening:

What a day!  When we first left our hostel, my first thought was: “Overwhelming!”  So many people in the streets, and people selling food and jewelry and knick-knacks and clothing.  We went and picked up a map from the tourist counter down the street and started at the cathedral.  When we first walked in, there was a small mass being conducted at a small altar in the back.  Farther in was the main altar, in front of the choir space in the center and surrounded on all sides with chapels.  It took me right back to the majestic cathedrals of Spain, but with less of a turistic feeling, because of the mass being held.  When we left, they were reciting the rosary.  I could follow along with the first part, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee.” (in Spanish, of course)

Inside the Cathedral... so pretty.

The Cathedral from the outside.

After the cathedral, we walked through the Alameda Central, a pretty park-like area absolutely filled with vendors, and asked a nice vendor man where the Museo Mural Diego Rivera was, and he helped us find it… just across the block.  The museum was neat; there was a massive mural inside painted by, you guessed it, Diego Rivera.  As we were leaving, we asked one of the guys behind the desk where we could find more works by Diego Rivera.  He directed us to a little man next to the counter who was missing most of his upper teeth, who pointed out all the places on the map where we could find Rivera’s works, and after asking us where we were from, asked if we had just two minutes for him to explain the relevance of the US to the mural inside.  So we followed him back in and experienced an amazing 20-minute explanation of everything on the mural that pertained to the United States.  At one point I had to act out Frida Kahlo while he was Diego Rivera. =)  In the end, he insisted no pay (we tipped him regardless) and wished us luck on our way.  It was a very pleasant surprise.

On our wander back to the area where our hostel is, we stopped at a shop full of sweets – pan dulces (sweet bread), tortas (cakes) empanadas filled with various fruits, and much more.  I got a little pan dulce covered in sugar for 3.50 pesos, and it was delicious!

Which brings me to another thought – everything is so cheap here!  The exchange rate is currently 1 US dollar = 11.6336 Mexican pesos, but to make things easy I just move the decimal to the left one place.  For example, my lunch today was 53 pesos, which I thought of as about $5.30, but really it was $4.56.  And last night, I bought two tacos from a street vendor, each for ten pesos!  The food is so good… I think I need to take up running to balance out how much I am going to eat.  Because the eating is mandatory. ;)

All in all, I’m really enjoying myself here in Mexico, but I can’t wait to go to Queretaro tomorrow and see the city in which I will be spending the majority of my time.  There is a group of seven of us here in Mexico City, and sometime tomorrow we will catch a bus for Queretaro.

Here's a few pictures from today:

Street vendors

The backside of some street vendors... Backed by a poster of what appears to be a political sign.

Lunch - Two chicken enchiladas, covered in green sauce and white cheese, with a small serving of beans on the side.  Que sabroso!

There are tons of shoe-shiners on the sidewalks... and most of them have this little McDonald's canopy.

One of the vendor shops.

This stray started this terribly sad cry of a howl and a bunch of people around started laughing, saying "Aw, that poor thing!"

Mounted police

Inside of the Post Office.  Upstairs was a little museum about the history of boats in Mexico.

So far, my impression of the locals is that they are generally very nice, easy to talk to, and not pushy about selling their things, which makes it fun and easy to browse.  It also makes me feel comfortable to ask people dumb questions, such as asking the taxi driver how much to tip, asking the mounted police if I'm allowed to take pictures of them, etc.  I feel very comfortable in finding my way around, which is always a relief when going to an unknown place.

Well, that's all for now, folks!  Don't be afraid to leave me a comment and let me know if you're enjoying the blog... it's a lot easier to keep it up when you know someone's appreciating it!

Besitos!