Mexico DF

Went to Mexico yesterday with Salvador. It was a great trip. We left at about 10:30 am and when we got to the city we took the metro to Chapultepec park (Chapultepec comes from "el cerro del chapulín" or the cricket's hill.) It may be my favorite place in Mexico City, although I still have a lot to see. There is a castle there (which I can never seem to find the entrance to), many statues, a pond where you can rent paddleboats, a museum of contemporary arts, a museum of modern art, and many grassy areas to lounge around and read books. There are also lots of interesting things to buy and a lot of people selling shaved ice and homemade paletas (popsicles). But my favorite thing about Chapultepec Park, and quite possibly my favorite thing in Mexico City is El Museo de Antropología. It is huge! One could spend days and days there just looking at all the mayan and aztec artifacts. There are also a lot of colonial artifacts and the bones of a mammoth. The exhibit on homosapiens and neanderthals is really interesting as well. It makes you wonder what the Earth would be like if neanderthals had evolved just as humans. And why didn't they, if they supposedly had bigger brains and a stronger bone structure and like homosapiens were apex predators? Makes you wonder. Anyway, I also love the amazing fountain at the museum that is beautiful and keeps it cool outside of the exhibits so you can rest in the cool spray.



After we went to the Anthropology Museum we took the metro to a colonia called Polanco. It is a beautiful and high class neighborhood and we ate lunch and then walked around in a plaza where the stores were obviously not made for us meager teachers. Very expensive. Lots of designer names. It kind of felt like being in the States for a minute.



After we left Polanco the real adventure began. We took the 7 line to the 2 which weren't bad. Obviously we didn't have seats because it was about 6 o'clock but it could have been worse. And then suddenly...it was. As soon as we got off of the 2 at Hidalgo to go North on Indios Verdes, the insanity began. The station was so crowded it was just a mob of people pushing and shoving trying to get to the train. When we finally got to the front of the line I was afraid to get too close to the tracks as people were completely ignoring the yellow caution line. I waited for 2 trains (each time the door closing with a piece of someone's shirt or backpack sticking out of the doors as the train zoomed off. This of course after the people waiting on the anden were pushing them in far enough that the doors would close. ) when I was at the front and finally a train stopped, the doors opened and I didn't really have to do anything. I lifted my foot to get on the train and my feet didn't touch the ground again until we pulled into La Raza and I stepped onto the platform. All I could say was "¡Dios mío!" and kind of scream and just float along. I had one hand wrapped tightly around my purse (everyone knows the metro is where you get robbed) that had all my money, my camera, and Salva's wallet in it. The other hand was pushing people as I was trying not to get stuck in the doors again. These are not doors that pop open again when they close on something. I didn't want bruises all over my arms and head like the time I was going to the Smashing Pumpkins concert and didn't quite make it in on time. But this time I made it in. It was kind of like a stampede, but with a much lesser degree of panic. It was like being carried in a current. I was stuck. I was "standing" in the middle of the train completely surrounded by men. There was one other girl but she was lucky enough to be standing on the one seat in the corner. Thankfully, Salva had forced his way in as well so we weren't separated which would not have made the situation any easier. My main problem with the Metro is not actually how crowded it can get, but more the heat. Oh my goodness the heat. And it's a disgusting swine flu incubating heat that just makes you feel gross. Fuchi Fuchi metro. Not to mention the reason the trains were delayed was because it was raining so some people were wet and the air was thick and humid. And HOT. No ventilation. I tried to put my feet down on the floor of the train but could only stand on other peoples' feet. It kind of reminded me of the Mars Volta concert were I was smooshed really hard by people trying to get closer to the stage and my back cracked all the way up my spine...and the guy behind me had felt my spine cracking and was like "Ayyy ¿Estás bien? ". But that was an exciting, vertebrate aligning experience (until I was pressed up against the smoke machine which I'm sure had some carcinogen in it. I was coughing and blowing black boogers out of my nose for days). This experience was....not. This was yuck. Only 3 stops to La Raza which of course was basically empty and then one stop to Autobuses del Norte. I have never thought of Mexico City as having fresh, clean air. But as I climbed the steps leaving the subway my perspective of clean air was slightly skewed. Not exactly the crisp September air of Michigan, but it'll do. All in all, it was an adventure. And hey, you can't beat a trip around the city for 2 pesos (less than 20 cents).