Haya Llegado (I Have Arrived)

...in Mexico!  The truth is I have no idea weather or not Haya Llegado is correct spanish.  But I sure am trying!  Whew, what a day.

After a good nights sleep (I can{t find the apostrophe on this Mexican keyboard!  That button only makes parenthasis!) I scrambled to get my things together (hrm, no semicolon either...my blogging style will have to adapt and change...i{ll have to use lots of dot dot dots...) - anyway, all my stuff fits in a small backpack. 

Pack List

shaving razor and associated artifacts
toothbrush etc
small video camera and digital camera
blank notebook for songwriting and Spanish learning
spanish grammar book (old but looks like quality)
iPod touch (to blog on...although I cant seem to connect to the internet with it and now Im using a computer for 15 pesos an hour (12 pesos to the dollar)
headlamp (seemed like a good idea)
bandanas for blowing my nose and covering my eyes on the bus


two t shirts
three pairs of underwear (one of which is from REI and is supposed to take a while to get funky)
one regualr shorts, one running shorts
one button down shirt
a poly pro long underwear top and bottom
small pack towel
one pair of socks
new vibram 5 fingers shoes

I decided to only bring one pair of footwear - the vibram 5 fingers.  They look like toe socks and are in direct violation of my main objective here in mexico city: (I found the semicolon!): To blend in.  Well, that and not to look like I´m lost (heeey, I found the apostrophe too.)  It´s actually been kind of fun, I´ve gotten a lot of smiles (I think they´re smiling AT me, not WITH me but oh well) and made one friend because of my amusing and futuristic shoes.  First thing tomorrow, I will begin my search for a nice looking pair of locally made sandals.

Anyhow, when I got to the airport they had overbooked the plain and they offered a $500 voucher to anyone willing to wait (get this) an hour and a half for the next plane.  Umm...so yeah, I took that.  And I almost took their offer on the next flight for another $400 voucher to wait for the plane that got in at 7PM...but you know, first time in Mexico City, no plans, I know no one...I figured I should get in while there´s still daylight.

Then I landed, went through customs (for the first time in about 12 years! It was thrilling), changed my dollars to pesos and made my way to the subway.  Now, my spanish is pretty terrible and I was fully expecting to bumble my way through taking a train to...well I wasn´t exactly sure where but I had some ideas.  At least I knew a station that I knew was near a hostle.  I was clearly eminating the statement "I´m lost, please help me!" and within about 10 seconds a really nice woman (who it turns out was a waitress at an airport restaurant) told me to follow her, as she led me to where I needed to be.  As I was walking with that lady, a young woman overheard me speaking spanish and interrupted us to ask if I was French.  Yes, that´s how bad my Spanish is.  Well as some of you know, I speak fluent French so I guess it makes sense that my Spanish is Fracified.  Anyhow, nice lady #1 then passed me off to nice French speaking young woman #2 (a college student who had done a semester in France) and she proceeded to give me a 4 hour tour of downtown Mexico City which was pretty damn cool.  I ate some chicken with roasted poblano peppers and grilled cactus, then washed it down with a drink made from hybiscus flowers (called Jamaica).  Then we went to a cathedral that was litterally built on top of a myan pyramid, the ruins of which were still visible in one part (incredible). 

Then I made my way to the hostle I had heard about which I found with no trouble and paid 150 pesos ($12) for a bunk in the dorm.  I have one dorm mate, his name is Louis and he´s a great f#%&ing guy.  We just talked for about an hour, each in our respective broken spanglish and I took pages and pages of notes.  He sounded out every letter of the Spanish alphabet for me and I wrote the letters down phoenetically.  (It is just occuring to me that this computer is not able to check my spelling and I have no idea how to spell "phonetically".  Maybe I´ll just spell it...nevermind.)

The way you say W in spanish is "double-eh-oooo" and for some reason this evokes uproarious laughter from somewhere deep inside me.  I wanted to make sure Louis didn´t think I was laughing at him or his beautiful (s´frickin´ beautiful) language...it´s just so fun to say and it really makes me laugh.  One of those "learning a new language" things.  Anyhow, he had to turn in at 10PM because he´s a motorcycle courier and has to be at work at 2AM.  I wish I could forge a stronger friendship with him, I like him already.  But tomorrow I´ll be staying with a friend of a friend, which is cheeper and I´m sure I´ll like that person too.

Okay, I´m exhausted and still sick.  Time for bed.  Goodnight frineds, it was good to be in touch with so many of you before I left.  For those of you I didn´t get to say googbye to, I´ll be in Latin America for several months and you can only reach me through gmail (nimasamimiATgmail.com - I can´t find the AT button) and I would love to hear from you. 

Sending you warmth from luminous and expansive Mexico City.  6 Minutes left til the computer kicks me off...