ándale pues...

For some reason, when I imagined life in Mexico this year, visions of free time danced in my head. Why? I do not know. Between travel, book-writing, online teaching, research, school, play dates, hosting family/friends/students, making friends, celebrating, head colds/sinus infections/ear infections/GI distress/skinned knees/flayed feet feet, shopping, eating, figuring out how to take the garbage out, and really a thousand other things, we seem to pretty much constantly be going. Going. Going. Lots and lots of fun, sure. But busy.

So, I need to push the rewind button and post about what happened shortly after my last post in March. Which I'll do just as soon as I pick up A. from school...

Nescafé, clásico.

Truism: Every time I am in Mexico, I will eventually find myself drinking Nescafé. Usually, this is because I have procrastinated buying or brewing more barely-drinkable beans. Pobrecito México, so many lovely coffee beans, so few people who know how to roast them... The last few days I haven't been able to make it to the Zapatista store to buy the only moderately-drinkable coffee I have found in Zac. So, Nescafé it is. Even though this would seem like a strange hell for the discerning coffee addict, I actually don't mind. The label improbably claims that it is "100% café puro," but Nescafé doesn't taste like coffee. It tastes like México.

Travels within travels within travels...

Well, I've been meaning to post on our recent trip to Mexico City. But I haven't gotten around to it because we're so busy doing a million things. Like taking a trip. Or planning our next trip. Soooo, anyhow, we had a wonderful time down in el D.F. It truly is one of the world's great cities. We left Zac. early and managed to arrive at the bus station an hour early, which was great because it was below freezing in the station. On the taxi ride there, the driver kept wiping the condensation from the windshield, until he realized he was just wiping ice. Inside the cab. It was as cold as I've been in Mexico. And that includes schlepping up Picacho del Diablo in the rain...
The bus ride was actually nice. We rode the super-lujo ETN, which has wifi, lunch, and big chairs which recline. A. was freaking out about the prospect of riding the bus. Seriously. D. didn't quite enjoy it as much as we did. We stayed in a fancy hotel on Reforma, the D.F.'s Champs Elysées. The first night, we attended a reception for the Fulbright scholars. We weren't there for two minutes before A. had run off with a gaggle of kids to play escondas and Simon dice. I spent the night alternately chasing after her and after the buffet and open bar. That's why I know virtually nothing about the other Fulbrighters. Ava did make a fast friend, M., whose folks are Fulbrighting in Oaxaca. They were basically inseparable for the rest of our stay, touring, building forts, and comparing Polly Pockets.

The next day, we tagged along with M. and her dad on a tour to Teotihuacán. I think I can count the number of organized tours I've taken on one hand (finger?), but it was great and caused me to rethink my opinions of touristing. We went to the Plaza de Tres Culturas at Tlatelolco (which I've never seen. Site of some great massacres through history), La Villa (where the image of La Guadalupana, Reina de Mexico, Emperatriz del las Americas, etc. resides), and on to the incomparable Teotihuacán.

Some my earliest memories are of climbing the pyramids here, when I was five, or so. Remarkably, they seem unchanged. They are still huge, steep, and breath-taking. The scale of the constructions is difficult to get your head around. The Pyramid of the Moon was constructed over 300 years. They built a new layer each century (52 years, according to the progress of the Fourth World). M. helped A. figure out the basics of pyramid climbing. I was by far the most nervous one, trying to keep A.'s hand on the cable and to keep her from running.

The views from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun are just unbelievable. Words aren't going to help much. When you're up there, you realize that the city is right in the middle of a valley. The pyramids mimic the contours of the surrounding hills.

We saw some spectacular murals in a partially restored palace. They include a panel depicting a vision of Tlaloc in heaven. Apparently, butterflies played an important role in the cosmology of the locals, representing the maturation of a person. The warriors were associated with butterflies, as are high priests, etc. The murals really are exquisite. Even Fennec thought so...

That evening, D. attended a reception with the US ambassador, but apparently, he didn't want kids messin' with his crib, so A. was personae non grata. It's possible that I was not welcome, too. God knows, the US has to keep up appearances...

The next two days were spent exploring Bosque de Chapultepec. Us dads went to el Museo Papilote with the kids, which is a great kids museum, except that it was completely overrun with kids. Unbelievably crowded. But, I suppose that's a good thing. Big hits included riding on the Autobus Magico, an IMAX 3D of underwater life (This blew A.'s mind--she would periodically jump from her chair and try to grab various critters as they swan by.), and the recycling exhibit, where we made paper dolls out of recycled paper pulp. Very cool. We ended up spending the whole day there and we still need to go back.

On Saturday we spent a beautiful day in Chapultepec Park. Once we could find our way in. It is an immense and amazing place. Around every corner is something new. Monuments, castles, museums, lakes, etc. We spent an incredibly brief time at the Museo de Anthropologia. This place trumps any other antiquities museum I've seen (take that British Museum!). I only got to spend mere seconds in the Sala de Culturas del Norte, Sala Maya, and, of course, the Salas Mexica and Teotihuacano. Spending two hours here is like stopping off in the Land of the Lotus Eaters for a quick bite. Alas, we had to leave and see off our new friends on their return to Oaxaca (I want to visit!). 

We then headed off for a quick tour of the Mexico City Zoo. The zoo is free. It is basically sponsored by McDonald's. You can get a Big Mac with your giraffes, fries with your poisonous snakes, etc. I give Ronald my regards on his chocolate sundae, which must have some narcotic in it. We quickly purchased a map and did reconnaissance for foxes. In a moment that will go down alongside the discovery of the New World, D. found where the fennec foxes were located. Real fennec foxes. Big ears and everything. Even though the little guy was comatose (hey, they're nocturnal...), he sure was cute. We walked back to Reforma, stopping to shop for super-cool Adidas-knock-off vinyl bags, hit the Zona Rosa for dinner, then went back to our palatial suite.

Sunday was time to catch the super-luxe landplane back to Zac-Zac. I love D.F., I really do. Every time I go, I feel like I need another two weeks or so. It is un gran ciudad, Biggest Big-City in the World. Maybe I haven't gotten out enough, but LA, New York, Paris, London, Rome, Athens got nothin' on the cradle of Meso-American civilization. Next time, I'll see all those things I missed...

It's off to the Yucatan in just a little bit. I can tell you, that trip just sounds brutal. We're looking forward to seeing NM friends, Baba and Uncies, playallday, Merida, the beach, and our old friends the Classic and Post-Classic Maya. Time to catch a breath and, well, travel locally. A Dios rogando y con el mazo dando....

A carnival, of sorts

A. and I spent the evening down at the little plazuela below our house, where they have set up a mini-carnival in honor of the festival de Jesus. It's a big week for our neighborhood church. Every morning at 6:45, they are banging the bells, Quasimodo-style, every afternoon the danzantes are in the churchyard dancing the Matachinas. A. was beside herself with excitement. It was state-of-the-art fun (well, if you're a six-year-old...) and weird in only the way only a small Mexican carnival can be. Apparently.

I'll post soon on our trip to Mexico City, which was a regular pachanga. I've been too busy with work and fretting about the demise of higher ed. in NV. Anyhow, the world goes on, the show goes on....

Feliz Dia del Amor y la Amistad

The immortal Pedro Infante and I are wishing you all a happy Valentine's Day, al estilo mexicano...

bien empapado

We have had a very crazy week down here in humanity's cultural patrimony or the cultural patrimony of humanity, or something. We moved into our apartment at the beginning of last week. It is the second floor of a newly renovated house in a very nice neighborhood in the centro. There's a beautiful church out the front door, a view of La Bufa, and a little plazuela a block away that hosts vendors of elotes (steamed ears of corn, slathered in crema with chile) and classic Mexican hamburguesas.

So, we were feeling like we could finally unpack and relax after a month of living out of boxes/suitcases. The thing is, the day after we moved in, it started to rain. Not a nice friendly light rain, but as they say in New Mexico, a serious male rain. Then, it got cold again. Life in Zacatecas, like most of Mexico, is pretty much open-air. Few houses have heat or insulation, and most feature various gaping holes to the outside. When it get cold, you've got to get your hands on space heaters and blankets. Lots of blankets. Being a self-respecting gringo from the frigid North country, I did not really think 40 degree weather and rain was much of a threat. But, after sitting in it for about 24 hours, I was forced to reconsider.

It was at about this time that the roof started to leak. Over the bed. Thus began a couple of days moving furniture and buckets around to avoid/catch the multiplying incursions of water. Basically, water stains appeared all over the ceiling, and it was difficult to tell when one would begin to drip. Our solitary space heater was working so hard we eventually converted it into an arc-welder, melting an outlet and causing much excitement for A. and D.

Then the hot water went out. This was basically the last bit of consolation we had left. Much cursing and gnashing of teeth ensued, but this is a family blog, so I'll skip that. I suppose the low point was when I was up on the roof around midnight trying to clear the standing water when I realized that wet snow was accumulating. On second thought, it wasn't really a low point. It was actually quite beautiful watch snow fall on La Bufa and the city below. It seemed so absurd that I had to laugh. But, still. It was cold.

I really shouldn't be complaining, in light of what they've been going through in the Valley of Mexico. Eventually, the clouds cleared, the drips slowed. The sun came out. Our landlady (La Licenciada) swung into action, delivering heaters and sealing the roof, which was for some reason left unsealed after construction (I found inventive ways to curse those responsible). As D. said, we were basically living in a terrarium with sweating walls and ceiling. But, we began to get settled. Spirits lifted. Internet arrived. Order was restored.

Now, the sun is out and the sky is blue. All is squared away here at Casa Boehm Jackson, or rather, Jackson Boehm. Yesterday, Baba arrived on a red-eye and is probably already exhausted. Dress-up, princesses, witches, and what-not are the order of the day. Right now A. and her Baba are having ballet lessons in the living room (A. is the teacher). Poor Baba. It is very nice to have our first official visitor (I think Daddy was more of a fellow traveler). You should all plan on paying a visit. No rain clouds or drip buckets, guaranteed.

Diorama

After three days of involvement in the Mexican educational system, a few things are apparent:

1. It's hard work being a parent. I mean like, hard homework. So far, we've had to build a diorama of the tundra, think up a story exploring a value like "liberty," "truth," "virtue," etc. (A. has decided on "The Fox Who Cried 'Boy'"), cut out and laminate parts of a game exploring the life cycle of six animals, and attend a meeting on the organization of a parade for the kids. On top of this D. has been running around to every papeleria (stationery shop) in the city tracking down the many and varied implements of learning required by school. There are many, many papelerias in Zacatecas.
2. It's really important to be on time picking up and dropping off your children. It's mainly important because so few people are.
3. You should really keep yer kid clean. With a real bath, hot water and all.  Scrub them down. If you don't, they'll probably smell and other kids won't want to have anything to do with them. I mean, come on.
4. If you're good, there is a chance you will get a star.

In other news, Skype is very cool (as is google chat). It's even cooler if you have a webcam on your computer. It is pretty much like what you were promised by science fiction. So, if you know us and want to talk, by all means set up Skype on your computer. It is easy and free. If you are a gmailer, there is video chat which works quite well, too. Just fire up a chat and install it. I discovered this today buggin' one of my fav nieces. This info is particularly important for certain Grandmamas, who shall remain anonymous.

Also, today I got my first welcome-to-Mexico-gringo-you're-too-tall greeting, in the form of a low-slung canopy support smack in the middle of my brow/sunglasses. It didn't put me on the mat, but it was a near thing. I usually average 1 to 3 of these a month. Since I can still see, I'm looking forward to the next occasion...