MEXICO February 17, 2010: Dia Cuatro en Coyoacan

Hola Amigos:

Llovio muchismo hoy y es esta muy frio en Coyoacan.

Miercoles, 17 de Febrero —

Woke up to real rain and cold.. it’s truly nasty today. Decided to hop a taxi to the Biblioteca en Parque Mexico where I would have lesson #3. The walk to the Metro from the casita is about 20 minutes and what with the rain, cold, and cobblestone streets it seems wise to just go by taxi. Again the trip was less than 8 miles, but it took more than an hour because of mucho traffico!

Too bad about the weather because the park was lovely — one of the nicest city parks I’ve seen.. oh well.. the rain is needed, so no complaints.

Taxi ride was pretty smooth (although the driver didn’t really know where the park was and luckily I had a map), but at the end it was comical as I only had a $500 peso bill (about $35) and the tab was 80 pesos ($6) and the driver didn’t have any change. I suggested (in my nearly perfect Spanish) that we could stop at a bank, but there weren’t any banks close; I suggested a farmacia on the corner, but they wouldn’t do it; I suggested the cafe on the other corner, but they wouldn’t do it. Finally I spotted a guy who looked like he might have a few hundred pesos (and I guessed that he spoke English, which he did), but he had only $400 pesos… He actually offered to pay the taxi, but I said no…

So, the resolution was that the taxi driver would meet me back at the park at 2 pm and take me back to Coyoacan and somehow we’d figure it out… which is what we did. Lesson learned: always have small denominations of money.

My lesson went well. I’m fairly good if I begin the conversation because then I have a general idea of where it’s headed and can actually maintain a conversation for several back and forth questions and discussions. My grammar is quite horrid, but I’m working on it.

Anyway, today we talked about a host of different topics. I learned that Maria is divorced and that her ex is a musician (piano). He works many jobs including teaching at the conservatory (classical); playing at the Sheraton (contemporary and jazz); doing assorted gigs and events; etc. Anyway, his flexibility enables him to pick up five-year-old Ricardo who attends a Catholic school (which the ex pays for).. I found out about Maria’s many sisters and brothers all of whom have professional jobs and I learned a bit more about seguro popular (the healthcare system which Peter thinks is phenomenal and Maria thinks is terrible, based on her experiences when her father died in a Mexican hospital.)

Came directly back to the casita; had lunch at the main square here in Coyoacan; worked on office and university stuff for several hours; and then it was dinner time. Mike’s class is doing mid-term presentations, so I meandered alone to a quite good, small restaurant a few blocks from here relying heavily on mi paraguas (umbrella).. I also found a flashlight in the casita which I took with me and used when I was on dark, cobblestone streets en route. Mostly I was watching the paving to make sure I didn’t trip and watching above to make sure the umbrella didn’t get caught in one of the very many low overhangs from trees, canopies, and other impediments. Made it safe and sound, and am now back to work in the room with the fireplace going strong!

Hasta luego
Fern