Mexico City

It's Day Three in Mexico City.

I'm sitting in my shorts and tank top in Dad and Linda's rented penthouse apartment, listening to the birds chatter among the cactuses on the patio and the traffic surge 7 storeys below. We have just eaten pancakes with cajeta (goat-milk caramel) and fresh mango, and we are awaiting the advent of Uncle John, Aunt Pat, and cousin Victoria so we can embark on a family trip to Xochimilco, the remains of the Aztec floating gardens. Apparently this will mean renting a boat and gliding amongst the other Palm Sunday merrymakers, purchasing ice cream from floating vendors and listening to the strains of passing mariachi bands.

And to think five days ago I was in a staff meeting.

Snapshots so far:

The apartment comes with a housekeeper/maid, Margarita, who takes public transit two hours each way twice a week to tidy the apartment, do the tentants' (our!!) laundry, and arrange things aesthetically as she sees fit, including hiding shoes one may have carelessly left in plain sight. She also brought us a plate of homemade potato patties, something like Mexican knishes, just out of the goodness of her heart (and possibly out of a conviction that we will starve to death from eating weird non-Mexican rabbit food).

Being approached under the purple flowering trees in front of the glorious museum of anthropology by a small flock of English students: "Do you speak English? Is okay talk to us five minutes? To practice English - it is our exam." (Furtive glancing around.) "Over there is the teacher, she keeps big eye on us!" We of course complied and spent a pleasant five minutes answering such probing questions as "What is your favorite color? What is your favorite sport? What is your favorite food in the City? What is your religion?" After each of the five students had earnestly presented a few questions and noted our answers in their notebooks, they presented us with "a small gift for thank you" of tiny wooden tourist spoons and eensy ceramic pots filled with 17 lentils apiece and anointed with an orange sticker proclaiming "Mexico City." The second group of students, who approached us three minutes later, awarded us with large strawberry lollipops. Val and I amused ourselves at intervals in the museum concocting more interesting practice questions: "What is your favorite abstraction? Who was your favorite Marxist? What was your best experience with orthodontia?"

Aha, the family is at the door!

More to come.