Interesting People

Hello again,

As I mentioned, there was more to my Saturday than what I included in my previous post. During our journey around the city, we came across two very friendly people...

The first was a woman, probably late twenties, who overheard Sasha and I talking in English at one of the stands. As we began to walk away, she came running after us and began to talk to Sasha. After a minute, they both come up to me and Sasha simply says that she wants me to give her English lessons. I have to admit that it was a little weird that this woman would just ask a stranger for lessons, but she continued explaining to us that she can read well, but has no one to practice speaking with. She then takes out a piece of paper and pen and asks for us to write down our phone numbers and e-mail addresses so she can contact us.

The second encounter took place on the metro back home. Someone was selling bubbles (the kind that don't pop) on our car, so Sasha and I decided to buy some. The woman standing next to us saw us joking around, and asked where Sasha was from (at first, she thought I was showing him around). We explained to her that we were both exchange students from Russia and the United States respectively. Her eyes lit up: apparently her daughter always wanted to study in the united States. She went on to ask us about grade requirements to study at our Universities, and how we liked Mexico City.

So, we go to get off at our station and she followed us off, and wanted to know if we could give her our e-mails and phone numbers!!! Before we know it, she pulls out her cell phone to call her daughter. Even though she had no credit left on her phone, she was quick to explain to us that we had about ten seconds to talk to her and ask for her e-mail as well. It was kinda funny; she woman first yells "tu correo!" and then hands the phone to Sasha. not knowing what to say, he hands the phone to me, where I hear a quick "who is this?" before the phone dies. Even though we didn't get her address, the woman said that we could get together one weekend. Her family owns a house outside of the city and told us that they could take us out there to experience life outside of the city. We finally managed to go our separate way, where immediately Sasha and I ran out of the station before someone else asked us for our contact info.

One side note: During our initial discussion the woman asked if we had to pay to attend our home universities. I was honest and told her that we do have to pay, and immediately she said never mind. Apparently her family could not afford to send their daughter to the US. Although I explained to her that there are scholarships available to students, she still said it was unlikely it would be enough. Little things like that make you really appreciate the opportunities that you have the fortune to have, and to take advantage of them while you can.

A Very Random Saturday

Hello everyone!!

Like I said in my last post, I am ready to catch-up on my lack of posts. This past Saturday, my friends Julia, Sasha and I went to see the play Oedipus Rex. It was interesting, the play was filled with chanting and tribal-like dancing with painted sheets.


After that we went out for lunch where I discovered a new combination of foods that is quite tasty: salsa and eggs! Luckily the salsa wasn't too hot, unlike the salsa they serve as appetizers.
Following lunch, Sasha and went to go sight-seeing in the City Center. Although we both have been there before, there is so much to see and do that we didn't mind going back. When we got off the metro, we came across a small comic book convention, so we decided to go check it out (for only 5 pesos a ticket, why not?). Below is a picture of the poster outside of the convention (forgot my camera, so all of these pics were taken from my blackberry):




Although the place wasn't huge, we still had a great time. Sasha ended up buying a SpiderMan comic book and I found an original Japanese version of Pokemon Gold (for the very high price of 150 pesos, how could I pass it up?)

After the convention, we headed off to the city center. I took these next two pictures on the way there. The first is a picture of one of the few skyscrapers in Mexico Ciy. One of the greatest differences I noticed between New York and Mexico City is how they are laid out. New York, especially Manhattan, has taller buildings but is more condensed. Mexico CIty, on the other hand, doesn't have many skyscrapers but is far more spread out. The second is a picture of another building we passed on the way (I believe it is an opera house).

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After quite a bit of walking, we finally got to the city center. There we did... more walking. It really is a great place to go, there are always stores to walk through, especially used book stores, and street vendors selling souvenirs (if you want to see more pictures, look up in my past posts about the city center). Even more so, now that we are approaching the holiday season all of the stores were all decorated from Navidad. I took the picture below just for fun.



We also got to see the rehearsal for El Evento de las Luces, which is supposed to take place November 11. Since I have class Thursday nights I probably won't be able to see it, but you never know. At least we got to see the rehearsal!

In addition to all the sightseeing, we came across some very interesting people. That, however, will have to wait for another post...

The City Center

Hello everyone,

I know it's been a while since my last post. This past week has been really busy with work. I've had two group projects to work on in addition with other work (I have two exams and a paper coming up). Anyways, last week I got to go to Mexico City's historical district.
It was my first time on the Mexico City metro! It wasn't as clean as Washington's, but definitely better than New York's subway. The one thing I had to get used to was the fact that everyone pushes to get on and off. I even had a little girl (about 7 or 8) shove me to get on in time! Also, there are always people moving from car to car selling things like snacks, notepads and CDs. The guys who sell CDs wear a backpack with a speaker inside and blast the music on the CD they are selling (the first time scared the crap out of me lol).

Below are photos and videos from the trip.