I'm going to catch a sitio taxi to the airport at 4:30 for my early morning flight back to the US, and I can't sleep. Part of it is simply nerves- I never sleep well the night before big trips, and this is a pretty big trip. The other thing keeping me up is this annoying sinus whatever it is. My ear is stopped up, I've got some dull headaches, my eyes tear up, and my nose is leaking like a faucet. I wonder if I've got a cold, or a sinus infection. On the beach in Colima, I took a powerful blow of wave to the face which blasted into my nose and sinuses. After I got back to Pepe's house an hour or so later, I tilted my head to the side, and bunch of seawater ran out of my nose. Maybe there's still some stuck in there. At any rate, it's going to make flying that much more enjoyable.
So here's my 2:30am list of things to do when I come back to Mexico:
Diego Rivera murals and the National Palace
--Oaxaca city and beaches
--Chiapas
--Tulum, the ancient Mayan ruins on the dramatic cliff overlooking the gulf of Mexico
--San Luis Potosi and Xilitla, to see the waterfalls, canyons, and the giant surreal fantasy garden of Las Posas
--Small town Day of the Dead celebration
--Complete the Turibus circuit in Mexico City
--Bike around the city in the monthly cicloton when the government closes major streets to form a giant bicycling loop around the city.
--Centro de Abastos in Mexico City
--More salsa dancing
--Asado tacos in Hermosillo
It's a actually a pretty short list, and really there's only a few places and things I didn't get to do in Mexico City. In six months, I actually did quite a lot. Some things I'm most proud of accomplishing:
--improved my Spanish a lot
--surveyed and photographed a ton of modern and contemporary architecture in and around Mexico City
--visited six or seven cities and villages outside of Mexico City, some of them twice
--made friends with locals and other internationals
--became a part of Tatiana's office
--improved my social skills
--traveled across the country to visit a new friend in his home village
--grappled with understanding the complex social and political life of the country/city
--got some attention for writing about Mexico in Archinect.com
--bought some really interesting ceramics
--pushed the culinary frontier to seek out the best Mexican food
lots of reading about the city- two histories, one classic work of fiction, and a history of food
Considering I didn't know anybody here before I came, I think I did pretty well. I am of course in debt to K, who rented a room to me cheap and became a good friend. I am also in debt to the Prado-Patino family who welcomed me in to their family when I arrived, and held my hand to guide me through the first month of living here. If Alejandro had not shown me how to ride the paseros, I think I would have lacked the confidence to do a lot of other things here. And I am also in debt to the friends who made both of those things possible- my old friend Salvador and my ASU classmate T Cody.
So here's my 2:30am list of things to do when I come back to Mexico:
--Oaxaca city and beaches
--Chiapas
--Tulum, the ancient Mayan ruins on the dramatic cliff overlooking the gulf of Mexico
--San Luis Potosi and Xilitla, to see the waterfalls, canyons, and the giant surreal fantasy garden of Las Posas
--Small town Day of the Dead celebration
--Complete the Turibus circuit in Mexico City
--Bike around the city in the monthly cicloton when the government closes major streets to form a giant bicycling loop around the city.
--Centro de Abastos in Mexico City
--More salsa dancing
--Asado tacos in Hermosillo
It's a actually a pretty short list, and really there's only a few places and things I didn't get to do in Mexico City. In six months, I actually did quite a lot. Some things I'm most proud of accomplishing:
--improved my Spanish a lot
--surveyed and photographed a ton of modern and contemporary architecture in and around Mexico City
--visited six or seven cities and villages outside of Mexico City, some of them twice
--made friends with locals and other internationals
--became a part of Tatiana's office
--improved my social skills
--traveled across the country to visit a new friend in his home village
--grappled with understanding the complex social and political life of the country/city
--got some attention for writing about Mexico in Archinect.com
--bought some really interesting ceramics
--pushed the culinary frontier to seek out the best Mexican food
Considering I didn't know anybody here before I came, I think I did pretty well. I am of course in debt to K, who rented a room to me cheap and became a good friend. I am also in debt to the Prado-Patino family who welcomed me in to their family when I arrived, and held my hand to guide me through the first month of living here. If Alejandro had not shown me how to ride the paseros, I think I would have lacked the confidence to do a lot of other things here. And I am also in debt to the friends who made both of those things possible- my old friend Salvador and my ASU classmate T Cody.
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