No tengo nada

It has been a minute, has it not? I was busy overhauling my daily routine to better equip myself for daily studies and student life. Ha, yeah, one class a day... right. Baby steps for the old lady.

So now I get up at 5:30am so I can shower and breakfast before arriving at Ibero for two hours of study prior to Español 1. Then I find a spot on the mezzanine in the library near the architecture section and peruse the books for an hour. After that I study either GRE practice or Spanish. Then to class for two hours followed by a return to the library with my friend Rebecca. We try to study for a few hours, but we are usually interrupted by some socializing until she catches the bus at 1pm and I then take one more hour for study before getting picked up at 2pm. Agt. 3xL and I then go home for lunch. Hopefully I was motivated enough the night before to prep some vegetables for whatever dish I am inspired to make. After lunch it is a struggle to stay awake and study more GRE. But I try and usually get some work done. This is punctuated by catching up on correspondence and other such diversions.

Last weekend we managed to get away for a day trip to Valle de Bravo which is a lake resort near some volcanoes way up in the sky much closer to the clouds than my house. We nearly ruined the car driving around on back mountain roads to find a small fish farm to practice and teach new fishers how to fish. There were no fish, but plenty of livestock to harass. And plenty of soggy volcanic soil (which stains btw) to stomp around and ruin your shoes in. We had some lunch near the plaza in a restaurant that was not so good, but I found out later that the rest of the group wanted to eat from street vendors and that they agreed to eat at the restaurant for me. Sigh... I would have said "GO! Feed yourselves! I'll find some tacos bye bye" but alas the group solidarity could not be compromised. Until... I couldn't handle all the gossip in Español and needed to break free of groupthink to wander about the shops and vendors along the tiny winding streets. It was very beautiful and we had a popsicle at magic hour.

See above for some photos.

Ondas

Que ondas?

So I am told this is a way to say "what's happening?". Ondas are waves. My waves currently are as follows:

1) Spanish classes at Ibero.
2) Flamenco lessons at Ibero.
3) Modern dance techniques lessons at Ibero.
4) Trying to chat with the server, Jose, at Ibero.
5) New girlfriends from Bangalore and Oslo.
6) Montezuma's revenge (I was doing so well, and then wham...)
7) Mexican Catholic funeral for a dear friend taken too soon.
8) Pressure to really really start studying for the GRE and doing something with myself.
9) Homesickness comes in waves about once a week. I don't know how other people feel when they miss home, but how it feels to me is frustration and fatigue. I feel angry that I can't just go do something I used to do. Then I feel exhausted by trying to keep up with all of the new information and sights and smells and tastes and all the cheek kissing. I was speaking with a very dear friend of mine in Chicago about how I am not even a "hugs" kind of person until I really get to know you. I am usually very formal and polite with handshakes or nods and smiles so it is really taking a lot out of me to LEAN IN and touch cheeks and make kisses in the air with people. I am regularly discombobulated by it.

And then I think it is sweet, and I am touched by it and wonder why Estadounidenses are not in the habit...

Lots of mental and emotional energy is spent on these things. I miss Trader Joe's and thick crusty European style bread. I miss Chipotle (shut up, don't laugh). I miss going for walks outside whenever I feel like it. I miss knowing where I am. I miss corner bars and micro-brews. I miss eavesdropping! One of my favorite pastimes! Sigh...

I like the mountains and the rains. I like the friendly people. I like the ups and downs of working things out with Agt. Triple L. I like the neighborhoods. I like Spanish. I like my new sofa. I like seeing all the dogs on the street even though I know they are dirty street dogs. I like the lagartijas that do push-ups. I like discovering new things like the college radio station (yay!).

Now I will enjoy making dinner and preparing for another day at the universidad. Dulces sueños.

DF Geography... or How Do You Know Where You Are if There is No Lake Michigan?

Right here, south of the 24th parallel, smack dab in the middle of the country sits a wee little state: Distrito Federal. It used to be a lake. The locals thought it was so fantastic to live on an island in the middle of a lake in a valley surrounded by volcanoes that they just kept making the island bigger until all that was left was a soggy neighborhood called Xochimilco. This is the Venice of Mexico City and one moves about the place via canal. I am told it is a great place to party but something about getting drunk on a boat on a canal in DF doesn't sound like so much fun, especially after experiencing how the dry parts of town smell... just sayin'. I expect it to be very romantic when we finally visit there. Where was I? Oh, the lake.



I am a woman who has spent my critical navigtation years in two cities perched right on the West edge of Lake Michigan. There you always know the lake is East. Even when you can't see the lake, you know which way it is by the magnetic pull of the suspiciously empty horizon just past the buildings. It is so prevalent, such a strong coast, that your sense of cardinal directions becomes completely based on the lake. Out-of-towners don't believe you when they get totally turned around and you tell them "no, because the lake it that way" which means you automatically know exactly which direction everything is.

So... if you fill in your lake, how do you know which way is East, or North or wherever? You could remember by the crest of the mountains if you could see them regularly through the pollution. You certainly can't count on a street grid, pff. There are a few tall buildings, but as single points, you find yourself on a radius which could be any direction. Hmmm. Perhaps the rain? The rain next to Lake Michigan always comes from the NorthWest. Here, the rain always comes from the SouthEast. Naturally I was totally turned around for a few days until I became determined to position myself correctly, geographically. Now I can follow the rains which I can see from my fantastic vantage point at 28 floors up. I can watch them cross the whole valley and see sunshine on either side. Also, way up in the sky here we are also right up in the clouds. Yesterday the clouds were right outside my window. Down there in Chicago the clouds are waaaaaaay up in the sky, far far away.