Coutry mouse in the ciudad

well-

i made it.

i will be writing this in all lower case as i refuse to try to figure out the keyboard at this particular point in time. maybe later. i am safe here in mexico city with gabe´s wonderful abuela Viola. she is a real spitfire and has been a real help. she welcomed me right away with some pineapple juice and we sat in her nice open green yard and just chatted. it was like being with mary nell-except a lot more coherent.

anyhow-my first night was uneventful-spent some time getting the low down on the recent influenza epidemic- don´t worry- it sounds like sars freak out kinda stuff. nothing real to worry about. funny enough-i was just asked by some local underground reporters to share my opinion of the current epidemic and how i think it´s being dealt with. truth be told-i don´t really know what the hell is going on-i guess i just figure if it was that serious- they´d really be making sure people weren´t out and about. but i have my little mask, i haven´t felt sick other than dropping a huge post paella poo this morning- sorry but i just had to share that with you all.

speaking of which- the paella party yesterday was phenomenal. there were 30 people from gabe´s extended family and his uncle Eddie made a paella. I got to watch him. He said-for your first time- you watch. I told him that I am the same way when I cook. anyhow- we were ready to eat at the stated 230 pm time. no one showed until 330. mexico. abuela was teasing about that because she grew up in the states- she still operates like an american. this is despite her having lived here for 61 years. she´s lived in the same house for 58! it is definitely frustrating not being able to speak the language. but i guess it´s good motivation. so once i get down to oaxaca-i´ll be ready to go. still, several of the younger generation, spoke good english, and we had a gay ole time talking. the uncles started drinking very early and didn´t stop until the last game of dominoes had been played around 11pm. abuela got a little pissed at her son Eddie for getting too drunk- and there was some small level melodrama in the kitchen before i went to bed. but it was the full experience of eating, kissing a lot of people on the cheek, eating some more, and drinking pretty much from 3pm until 10:30pm. i had a ton of fun.

anyhow-today i figured i would venture into the city and actually do something. so i had a nice morning breakfast and brief outing to see a local church with abuela, and then she showed me the metro stop-conveniently down the street from her place. i changed out of my pants and button up into my shorts and crusty white tee, and hopped the metro downtown. the only real funny little blooper i encountered-aside from initially not understanding abuela´s directions-was putting in my metro ticket and then trying to push through the gate on the wrong side. a couple behind me got some free gringo entertainment. the other great part about where abuela lives is that the metro station nearest her, goes straight into the zocalo- which is the city´s center-which is the only place i really cared to go.

i figured i get right down here and there´d be internet cafes everywhere- and i could finally let you all know about my whereabouts. nope. i walked in a large circle- too prideful to simply go up to the tourist booth and ask- figuring i´ll find one soon enough. nope. i walked for about 30 mintues and nada. so as i came back to the zocalo, i ran into the aforementioned reporters who, after asking me their questions, were willing to answer mine. they pointed me down a nearby road. i walked another 15 mintues. nada. i came back and went straight to the damned tourist booth and she smiled when i asked in spanish if she spoke english- and promptly pointed me to a hostel three steps away. funny.

so after walking through the busy streets and seeing the big ass churches here in the city- i got to admit- not my thing. i´m sure it´d be sweet to go to a soccer match-which i would´ve had the chance to do but the stupid influenza thing has much shut down. so i´m planning on catching a bus to the beach tomorrow and get the hell out of the city. get to the beach. get some fresh air and surf. the name of the place is puerto escondido if you want to google it.

i hope all is well with you all.

i´ll let you know as soon as i can when i get to the beach.

besitos