While writing in Europe, I documented many of my dreams. I remember the vivid dream I had on the plane ride to Barcelona and the revelation I had inside the dream about the reality of where I was. Well, after transferring in Atlanta this morning and finally losing consciousness, I had a dream that originally Kathryn’s friend Henley was in. I wanted to have a 3-way with her and Julia but by the time I brought it up, Henley had become Katie Morgenstern. So I’m standing by a glass window with them watching this sort of geyser explode. At first, it’s very tiny and no big deal but quickly the explosions turn huge and dangerous. We turn and run. My friends go downstairs while I run up, round the corner, and now I’m in a room. It’s my private office where no one came come in and bother me. I sit down at my lap top, put on my headphones, and decide to download some porn. To heatherkozar.org I go! And then I hear this announcement over a loud speaker. “Ah fuck”, I immediately realize. “This is a dream and I’m on the plane to Mexico City.” I figure I’ll wake up soon so no sense trying to continue downloading.
So I open my eyes and flip up the window shade. There is Mexico City. My first thought is that here is a new city I’ve never seen before and I had no idea what to expect. I see the haze over the entire valley and find it a terrible shame at how plain ass day it is. I thought L.A.’s pollution was bad. This brown smog covers the whole valley! I just wanted to grab a giant vacuum and suck it all clean. The city was vast though. Brown mountains surrounded the immense valley on all sides and even had some hills in the middle. It resembled Phoenix somewhat.
The walk to immigration was long but once we got there, we zipped through customs and as we approached baggage claim, I noticed my bag at the end of the carousel at the same time Julia noticed hers. We grabbed our luggage, exited the area, and immediately spotted Fernando amidst the waiting crowd. It was so great to see him; for those that don’t know, Fernando is like my brother. I first met him when he was an exchange student from Colombia who came to the States when I was young and lived with my family for a year. The experience was such a memorable one for him that when his sister, Adriana, decided to join the student exchange program a couple of years later, she stayed with my family also. They both became so close us that they’ve stayed in close contact over all these years. Adriana eventually married a guy named Brett who grew up down the street from us and they now reside in Massachusetts just a couple of towns away from my mom & dad. Fernando is married to Juliana and they have two daughters; Andrea is 5 and Natalia is 3. He’s been extending an open invitation to come down to Mexico City and stay with them for three or four years now. I tried a couple of times to get down but it’s never worked out. When Julia and I were looking for an inexpensive vacation itinerary, Mexico seemed close enough to find a cheap flight for, which we did. And with lodging for half the trip at no cost, it was finally the right time to venture south of the border to spend some quality time with my big brother and his family.
Driving through the city, a couple of things struck me right away. First, the city is much more colorful than I had expected. Many houses and buildings were painted in bright, fluorescent hues. Also, it was a lot more modernized than I thought. I just thought of Mexico City as a polluted, dirty city and it is in some places but that doesn’t mean it’s not also vibrant and lively. With a population of 21 million, you’re apt to get a whole variety of neighborhoods and social climates.
Our first stop was at Coca-Cola, where Fernando showed had to pick up something from his office. December 12th being a national holiday here, the office was closed so we were able to poke around the floor without disturbing anyone. Fernando has quite the comfortable office with an incredible view of the city right behind him. He escorted us up to the top floor where a total of four executives have offices. Now, this place was lush! All I could think of was The Simpsons episode where Homer gets hair from using Dimoxinil, instantly gets promoted to Vice President, and they give him the keys to the executive washroom. This floor was the executive washroom! I always knew Coca-cola was a a big business name but you never stop to think just how much influence they have. It clearly shows here.
It was a long drive back to Fernando’s apartment in the complex of Frondoso. We say in New York that to get from any place in the city to any other place in the city takes half an hour. In Mexico City, it’s an hour. We picked up Andrea at another building before driving over to his tower. I’ve met the girls once before when they came to Massachusetts about a year and a half ago; I know Andrea understands English but it’s a a good opportunity for me to brush up on my Spanish.
“Tu me recuerdas?” I asked her when she gets in the car. (You remember me?)
“Si.” she smiles and nods.
The Ramirez’s have a gorgeous apartment on the sixteenth floor with an impressive view of the surrounding mountainous areas. We were lovingly greeted by Juliana, Juliana’s mother who is staying with them until Sunday morning, and Natalia. We’re all heading off to a school play that Natalia is in. It’s not long before she descends from the bedroom in an adorable ladybug outfit.
We head off to the play which takes place outside. Each class takes their turn coming to the front stage to perform a song and dance. Many of them are so young that they have no idea what to do so they just look at their teacher and follow along. Some even cry throughout the performance. When it’s Natalia’s class’s turn, she comes out dancing before the music even starts and when everyone else is confused, she keeps dancing, sometimes doing her own thing but clearly having a better time than most of her peers. It was very amusing but after another ten classes following hers, I had had enough and was ready to leave. I was patient out of courtesy of course but there is only so much toddler entertainment one can take.
After dropping off the girls, Fernando, Juliana, and her mother, took Jules and I out to a quick restaurant for some quesadillas. Each was served with a variety of salsas and spicy sauces to try out. My favorite was the steak and cheese quesadilla. During dinner, we went over our itinerary ideas with them and they gave us suggestions on how we should map out our stay here. Tomorrow, we decided it best to go to Chapultepec park and see the Anthrolpogy Museum there. Since it’s close to Coca-cola, Fernando can drop us off on the way to work.
Day 2
I slept well last night. I was exhausted when I went to bed at 11 but by 8:45 this morning, I was awake and refreshed. The family was out so their live-in housekeeper, Marisol, cooked Julia and me a full breakfast – huevos rancheros, toast, cantaloupe, O.J., and coffee. It was delicious. It was tough to communicate with Marisol not only because my Spanish is still a bit rusty but because she is also very shy.
Shortly afterwards, the family showed up and Fernando drove us down to el parque de Chapultepec. He dropped us off in front of our first stop – the museo de Antropologia. The Anthropology museum is world reknowned. Its centerpiece is a gigantic outdoor courtyard with an immense cylindrical waterfall. Each room is devoted to a different group of Mexican settlers, everyone from prehistoric man to el nortes, the mayans (although the Mayan exhibit was unfortunately closed for renovation), Oaxacans, Teotihuacan, and of course the Mexica. The Mexica are known outside of Mexico as the Aztecs so I was pleasantly surprised to see them referred to here as the name which they called themselves. I learned much about these people from reading Gary Jennings’ epic novel, Aztec, so it was wonderful to read up on their actually history, observe the actual layout of Tenochtitlan, and to see their true artifacts up close. In the mid 15th century, they ruled practically all of central Mexico but were abruptly wiped out
when Cortes arrived in 1521. Once their civilization collapsed, he had all of their buildings demolished and built his own city on top of it, which is how modern Mexico City began. Seeing all of the miniature sculptures of Tenochtitlan, it’s such a shame to know Cortes did what he did. It would have been amazing to witness theses structures intact today. The only pyramids that remain in existence are those of Teotihuacan whichc we’ll see on Monday. What I didn’t know until today is that their civilization predates the Aztecs by over 1000 years. I can’t wait to see on Monday something so massive that’s comparable in age to the Roman Forum.
We completed the museum just in time to walk outside for the 1pm show of the Los Voladores de Papantla. Essentially, each of the colorfully dressed members of the four man team climb up a long thin pole and subsequently, attached to rope, they jump off together and swing around in circles dangling upside down as the rope slowly unwinds them down to the ground. One of the guys even played a flute while performing this stunt. Julia and I were previously familiar with them as we’re big fans of the reality show The Amazing Race. (Adrenaline rushes? Traveling around the world? Healthy competition for $1 million? It’s right up our alley.) The first episode of the latest game had sent all the teams to Mexico City and we had watched twins Derek & Drew perform the same stunt here to win the Fast Forward clue.
After that, we traversed through the park and headed to el Castillo (the castle). Fernando had recommend we take the tram up but I insisted to Jules that we walk, which is always more refreshing and more rewarding. I didn’t realize the castle was stop such a high hill but this opulent structure reminiscent of Versailles (though not as grand), has an incredible 360 degree panorama of the city. Unfortunately, we were limited on time but were still able to get a quick tour of the castle and grounds plus snap some great photos of the city below. Additionally, the walk up and down hill turned out to be great exercise.
We met up with Fernando back at the museum at about 2:45. We drove off and about five minutes later, it dawned on me that I didn’t have my camera! Panic set in once I confirmed the truth by searching through my bag and deduced it was left on the ledge we had sat on while waiting for Fernando. Stuck in traffic now, Fernando made a U-Turn and headed back the way we came. He pulled over to a corner and said, “If you run down this street, you’ll come to the museum.” So I jump out of the car and fly down the road at top speed with no idea who much distance I have to travel. I run flat out for a minute or two before I pass under the familiar bridge and come up the hill to the ledge. There sitting peacefully is my camera. I grab it and now I realize how oft of breath I am! I slowly return to the acr, triumphant yet exhausted and humbled. I almost never let something like that happen; I’m the guy who proudly touts that I’ve never lost my wallet or keys, never locked myself out of the house, and yet this almost became my 2nd foreign adventure out of 4 in which I’ve lose my camera. Man, am I lucky.
Fernando had to make a stop at a bank; he found an available one with an incredibly slow and long line. So Julia and I took the time to walk over to the Angel of Independence statue, which is only few blocks away and what we know as the first pitstop from The Amazing Race. I swear this is such an Amazing Race tour – we are so lame.
By the time Fernando’s errand was complete, we were all starving so he took us to an outside hamburger & fries place. The following is a bold statement: That was arguably the best cheeseburger ever. I know I know… that IS bold!!! Maybe it’s the traveling and the Adventure. But this burger was incredible! Big juicy, two kind of cheese and lots of it, with lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup, and hot sauce. Plus, they definitely cooked some tasty spices in the meat. We all concurred on just how truly delicious it was. Even the curly fries were exceptional! I never though I’d say the best burger I ever had was in Mexico but here we are.
Following that scrumptious meal, we returned to the apartment where I was ever so enthusiastically greeted… ok I was tackled… by mi dos sobrinas (nieces). They completely jumped on top of me and wrestled me to the ground. I then picked each up in one arm and carried them across the apartment to their parents. They are such great kids. We played in their room for a while and I read to Andrea while Natalia vied for my attention.
Digression: My Spanish is already much better than I thought it would be. Words are coming back tot me fast and I'm even able to converse with the girls. I can translate almost anythinig but I get intimidated when locals speak to me in their fluent fast talking manner. Then, I get tongue tied and stutter out, "Uh... habla ingles?" Julia suggested I stay calm and say, "Yo hablo espanol solo un poquito. Mas demiasado por favor?" (I only speak Spanish a little bit. Can you speak slower please?) She's right. I just need to take it slow. But I'm doing much better than I did in Spain. It's beneficial to constantly be around people who are speaking the language rather than when I was in Spain and just hanging out with people who spoke English.
Fernando and Juli went out to the Coca-cola holiday party so they very kindly lent us the Audi to drive around to a nearby place with some cafe and restaurants. We essentially just had some coffee and beer before returning home. No reason to party like crazy, especially if we're driving in a foreign city. It's easy to get lost in this town and there'll be plenty of chances to party in Acapulco.
