Que conozcas mejor a tu cuerpo

It’s been a week that feels like a Kenyon April, so I have a lot to say, but I’ll keep it brief and quick so you don’t get bored – exchange student honor.

1.

“Soné con detectives helados en el

gran refrigerador de Los Ángeles

en el gran refrigerador de México D.F.”

– Roberto Bolaño

I arrived in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, last Friday, taxi-rode with a fellow participant to the Hotel Isabel (only after our taxista took us to a different hotel with Isabel in the name), and upon arrival realized that the program director was not present.  Nina (fellow participant, and female) and I spoke with the recepcionista about getting into our rooms, and the guy wanted us to share a double and pay for the room, which he claimed was not yet paid for.  So we waited for Rodolfo, and when he showed up, he straightened things out, and thus began our adventure in the refrigerator of México D.F.

2.

We stayed in el D.F. for three days, two nights, exploring and eating and sleeping, but not very much.  The first night, Norma (another program director) took us on a tour of the Zócalo and in front of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, qué precioso.  The next day, Rolando Guillermoprieto, marido of Jacqui (another director) and also cousin of Alma Guillermoprieto (¡no way!), guided us through the Palacio, and we saw some Diego and Siquieros and some Tamayo.  The murals were immense, and it cost 30 pesos to take pictures – so I didn’t take any.

3.

An excerpt from my journal from the night before the murals:

“Abbe laughed at the lesbianas kissing in front of the statues of Aztec kings whose names we could not pronounce.”

4.

Later on Saturday, we had the opportunity to explore el D.F. on our own – bueno, not completely on our own, but in parejas.  I was sitting in the lobby, chatting with la hija muy simpática de Rodolfo, waiting for the girls who never came down from their rooms; eventually Rodolfo gave me permission to wander on my own.  I did, I picked up the pedestrian speed-walk of Mexico City, and I visited the Zócalo and some cathedrals and a bookstore.  The bookstore was a little crazy because it’s back-to-school season, and the lines are enormous and scary, but I was still able to snag a volume of Roberto Bolaño.

Also while Walking Around, I realized that there were very few extranjeros/foreigners in Mexico City, different from the metropolises of the United States (I think?).  The exciting news is that, for a few minutes, I forgot to look at my skin blanquísima, forgot how tall am and how red my hair is, and forgot that I wasn’t mexicano.

5.

[Foto of la Santa Muerte, my favorite of México’s “icons”]

6.

And although I’ve been running in the mornings with my host hermano (como a las 6:00 de la mañana), never have I been more sore than after scaling las pirámides / the pyramids in Teotihuacan.  At the top of the Pirámide del Sol, I received the sun (as Norma suggested) for energy purposes.  Of course, while receiving the sun, I also received a sunburn.

7.

Sunday night we arrived in Cuautla, Morelos, nerves on end because we were (all seven of us) about to meet our host families for the first time.  And nuestros papás decided it would be a fun game to make us guess who belonged to whom.  My host mother, Isabel, muy amable, rescued me from the pool of squirming foreigners and drove me five blocks to her (pink) house, which is attached to a billiards hall that she owns and operates.  I met her sons (Isaac, Octavio, Oscar), and we chatted for a while on her patio about lots of things, like how tall my brother is and how hard it is to be vegetarian in México.

8.

The next day we had orientation, and the next day we had classes, and classes the day after that, etc.  I’m taking a class on colonial texts in Mexico, another class on Sor Juana and some writer on the revolución, a cooking class with Carmelita, grammar with Goyo, México de hoy with Norma, a field study, and then starting next week we’ll also be talking with some students from a university in Cuautla.

9.

It’s hard for me to sleep here because of the roosters and the dogs barking and the church bells across the street that ring every morning (or almost) at 6:30, 6:45, and 7:00.  It’s hard, but I like it, and I’m going to get used to it.  I would prefer to be colonized.

10.

“Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack” (Ke$ha)

“Antes de salir, me cepillo los dientes con una botella de Jack” (trans. C. Gordon & C. Philpot)

And it wasn’t quite Jack that I was brushing my teeth with, just the tap water, which was stupid of me.  Stayed home sick today, and that’s how I had the time to write this.  

Love to all, and I love México.  You should come visit me here, because I’m thinking I might not come back.