Dias de los Museos and Metro

Okay,

So I am trying to hustle this bustle as I am miles (days) behind.

I actually came online here in San Miguel de Allende, to look at where the Scotia Atm is as I once again find myself up a stream without a paddle, or more literally, in a city without money (of course, I have asked 3 different people for directions or location and gotten 3 COMPLETELY different answers... ) .

HAPPY DIA DE LA REVOLUTION!! 100 years today.

I Have been celebrating by singing ONE DAY MORE from Les Mis, in SPanish (well, trying).

More about that when I get to it... still got Puebla...

Note to self: Still must write about Puerto Vallarta return aka the ride with the drug dealer and what could be considered a semi-whorish teen beauty pageant.

Anyways, I spent the other day, Wenesday, in 4 different museums. Firstly, the Anthropology Museum... people say you need 3 hours here, which you do - unless you walk fast and don´t read stuff. I appreciate Mexican culture, bit I have read so much that I feel I have learnt nothing. My brain cannot contain all the dozens of cultures and indigenous and histories. One day I might read a book on it or something.

It was great - lots on the different cultures, all divided by location, as well as all the best artifacts from the ruins... Aztec and Mayan and Oaxacan too. Up until now I had no contact with the Aztecs, they have very different items, used less scultures in the buildings but more paint and paintings. This is just what I have gathered, don´t quote me. Well, you could quote me, it is not like any historian or anthropologist would take what I have to say seriously.

I have an embarassing admission. I am a unstoppable cryer-crier (you think I would know how to spell this) and my love of Mexican culture mixed with a sadness to be leaving this great country in what was 8 days, let a few tears loose... in the museum. I am happy with the fact that I may be the first person who can say they have cried in the Mexican Museum of Anthropology (kids or injured not included).

Next outside I saw the guys do this entertaining thing where 4 of them hang from a pole as the may-day around it, upside down, playing instruments. Now, THAT is entertainment. I sneakily left my bag in the bag holding place (Pantenaria? I think, I use them everyday (all stores, supermarkets etc have them) but haven´t paid too close attention to the formal name. I love that it has one though. It is close to the name for a Bread shop... Panderia?. Anyways, I went over to the Museum of Modern art to see Frida. Alas, she had left and hadn´t even sent me a note! And I thought we were close. I had been at her house only the day before.

Modern art aint really my thing. I like paintings that take skill in painting. Which is why I appreciated the next museum that I metroed to - The Museum of Popular art. They have a museum for everything in Mexico CIty. ¨Everything´s up to date in Mexi City.. they´ve gone about as far as they can go¨... I missioned through this one (note, due to my ID i don´t have to pay.,.. if I was payin, I´d be stayin), loving the special display of Pinatas made by artists, and a Revolution display involving art and items of Emiliano Zapato and Frankie Villa - the fathers of it.

Next I headed to the Institute of Bella Artes, which is one of the main attractions, coz of it´s outer beauty. Inside, there are murals by the famous old artists of Mexico, namely Diego Riveria again... which I had to pay $30 pesos to photograPH! I sucked it in though, since once again, my Student ID got me through the door. I say in Spanish ¨I am a Student of Oaxaca¨, but sometimes leave off the Oaxaca, so they racistly say ¨But not of Mexico¨and then I whip it out. BooYah. Just joking about the racism.. generally, apart from Indig issues down South, Mexicans are very open and there are various references to my pals Ghandi and MLK jr through out the place. There were African slaves that came here, wonder why there aren´t African-Mexicans? Cos there wasn´t this segregation BS.. they didn´t live in Negro.Ville, or whatever the community of migrants was in my mum´s city.

Anyways, there is usually other displays there - including one of Riverias, but they were closed at the moment. My typical luck. There was one of a Man - Saturnino Herran (accent above A), which was brilliant. He is what I mean by talented - especially with Crayons and Pastel... he made them look SO real... he did a lot of people´s faces, which is my fave. He did some beutiful ones of Mayan people too.. he really gets the skin and features in perfect colour and shape. He had also done a lot of the same pictures, but done them closer up and with other mediums. No photos allowed here unfortunately, but I just added two up the top - first with Crayon CRAZZYY.

So it was getting on in the day, time for me to get to Puebla. I was originally going to go the day before, but the closed-city monday threw those plans. So I went down to the metro, for the billionth time, taking 3 different lines North, which I hadn´t taken before. This was to get to the bus station, the same one I had taken to Oaxaca in September - my first Mex travel extravaganza. By this time I was confident with the Metro, although I noticed at my first, busy stop that there was a strong police presence and that there was a ladies and girls only section. I was lining up for the train when 3 men, one Smart-Casual and two in suits came and pulled me aside. They said they were security, I looked at the policeman (with a shield and baton) for confirmation, he didn´t comment - but he let me go too, so I trusted all was well.

They took me a wee way to the security office, at this time I was just panicked trying to get to the bus station and get to Puebla - angry at myself that I was getting there a day late already.
They wanted me to pack away my Camera, as they said someone will cut the cord from around my neck.
I hear my Dad doing his token scoff now.
I know, I was naive. I felt so stupid, as these 5 or so men looked down at me. I was apologising in my broken spanish, trying to not sound like too much of a stupid tourist.
I had gotten cocky.
I must have come across as very upset, because one of the men got mad at the others - saying they had been to scary with me.They actually hadn{t, but kept apologising and saying things like ¨We wouldn{t want your experience in Mexico to be ruined´ and ¨We want you to enjoy yourself here¨, they were very nice.
I was more relieved than scared, grateful for the good people in this country who continue to look out for and help me. For every bad person wanting to cut my camera, there are at least 100,000 people who go out of their way for you.
It did not occur to me that someone would have scissors in the metro, I thought around my neck was actually safer than in my bag with someone could grab.
A TLC song comes to mind ¨Dumb, Dumb, Dumb¨.

I thanked them, shook all there hands, but they weren{t letting me go alone. So, I had two security escorts with me, in the crowded ¨Women and Children only¨ cart. One in a Tan suit, with an official badge, the other ´Undercover´in a blue polo. And so, they travelled on three different lines with me, asking me questions about my life as we walked from one to the other (one walk was about 2 km long, with a blacked out area with lots of police in it.. I don{t know why). My undercover man took me right out of the metro and into the bus station. I was very grateful, but moreso touched by their kindness.

Note to Future Mexico tourists: Do not be afraid to ride the metro. But, be weary off the normal toursit track, e.g. anything north of Bella Artes, this is where it turned a bit scary...

An interesting day... starring Casa de Frida

Hola.

I saw this painting, vida la vida, in the flesh.

I liked it. I liked the whole house actually, where Mexico¨s Art Power couple - Frida and Diego Riveria - lived.

I thought it was weird how they didn{t imitate it in the film.. I thought I knew exactly what it was going to look like.

I finally thought I was going to see some Famous Frida Kahlos... all over Mexico I had heard they are all in Mexico city.

Update: Don{t know where they all are, but of the 30-odd I would recognise, only saw 2 in the house I had seen before. No paintings of her with monkeys.

I had liked her art, but it was after the film that I kinda became obsessed with her. The pain she had physically, after a bus crash, for all her life - and then her miscarriage really is what drove her. I saw the casts she had to wear and the bed with the mirror that she used to paint herself (note - she did a lot of self-potraits, because she spent a lot of time bed-ridden).

I feel like I am in some kind of Frida-fan cult now.

I read online - and got told by a staff member at Museo FK - that Dos Fridas, one of her most famous paintings was in the Museo of Modern art. Well, I was so pumped for this one I brought a badge with it on to wear there.

Got there, expo over.

The annoying thing about this city is that time goes really fast. The big museums take like 3 hours and to get from one place to the other on the metro envolves a lot of time travelling, walking to change lines and waiting. I feel like I accomplish little here each day, e.g Frida Museo was the first thing I did in the day, didn{t leave til 2pm. So there is this place with pretty boats that float around, Xochilmico. I don}t know if this is actually the name, I am writng it off the top of my head and can not be arsed searching it.

Anyways, you go down the river on a pretily decorated red and yellow boat. I was told on Sunday night that to do it cheaply you must go on the weekend.. if only I had that info earlier. Finally got there, it was a huge mission on a few different trains, then followed the signs as many enthused men on bikes pointed the way (they sit on their bikes at the station, then one of them jumps into gear at the sight of a tourist)... I was told it would be $200 pesos, bit over $20 per boat. Unfortunately, coz It is low season, they must be desperate.

I jumped in with 2 Argentinian girls, we started away. They asked the price, when I asked what they said... they told me $370 pesos each! OH. HELL. NAH. That is over $40 Nz.... over $100 for the boat - to quote la favorita oracion de mi madre ¨Give me a break¨.
My heart was pounding, we were pulling away, I was trapped.
So, being the cheap and dramatic person that I am, I jumped up, dove onto the neighbouring boat to escape. So, due to the very slow speed of the boat (since the trip is 45 mins, I doubt it will get much beyond leaving the parking area and then reversing back in), it was really just a little step-jump, but I was shaking my head vigourously going ¨Yo escuchi $200 por todo (I heard 200 for all) No quiero, No quiero! (I don´t want)¨ STOP THE BOAT is what I was saying in my head.
They were all ¨Impossible¨ for both the stopping and the price, I didn´t feel bad about drag-queenly high tailing it out of there when scam artists were involved. So, with my money in my hand and photos on my card, I flounced out of there.

I headed for the centre (the sun set on the train mission home) where I stumbled across a night exhibition of art especially for the Revo and Bicen (Just some Mex 2010 slang..)

(NOTE: THIS IS ONLY HALF THIS ENTRY... I REWROTE IT TWICE AND IT KEPT NOT SAVING. I THEN WROTE IT IN AN EMAIL TO MYSELF (I am my number one sender of emails to my inbox... followed by Mum, then the Lady from school wanting me blimmin timesheets, then Oxfam) BUT NOW IT WILL NOT LET ME USE COPY AND PASTE.

Ah, if only Mexican Electricity had not killed my computer then I would be able to use that (there is free wireless EVERYWHERE in mexico), instead of paying once a day. Could have sponsered a Child with this money!

10 days left! 10 dias mas....

Hola,

So my day in Ciudad de Mexico did not go as planned. I know what you are thinking ''You're in Mexico... lighten up!'', but I have been light for many a days now and I am done. With 16 weeks with everyone else on Mexican time, I am wanting structure.

It is all because it is the 100th Anniversary of the Revolution on Saturday... here, like Aus, when a Public holiday lands on the weekend they give you another day *the flaw in this system is that I kept working on public holidays e.g. Christmas and Boxing Day, and then people who didn't were getting the larger paychecks for the next monday} anyways, here they celebrate it beforehand.
Which meant in the park I was among thousands of people, which wasn't that bad coz I went at 10am... Mexicans generally do not get moving till about midday, but then my 2 museums I planned to see were both closed. I did not see this one coming! Mainly because Public holidays are when all the tourists are in town, and places just advertise as being closed on Xmas. You may be thinking "It's a public holiday, the museums need to give their staff time off too!'', to that I tell you that all the staff still work. Everyone is in there cleaning and so the guards are all outside guarding the cleaners. This is why I was confused that it was closed ..it looked so open.

Other people from my hostel were there *one texan from US withfluent Spanish and 2 Belgin girls who had just come the night before... don't know how they didn't have jetlag... they are 7 hours diff, like NZ (bar daylight savs) but the other way or something. We went to the zoo in the park, with free entry, that had an incredible selection of animals, although mainly I wanted to see could hardly be seen &(gorilla, panda, cheetah).. most of the animals were sleeping at midday. Many of them had sad conditions, the panda that wasn't on display was in a medium sized plain room with no light...he was sitting at the door trying to open it.
There was also a strong chlorine smell in the park, so I suspect that the water wells of the animals are very strong with it.. their poor skin!

Anyways, after that I headed into town... i didn{t really accomplish much... I think I have many a hour unaccounted for actually, I don{t know where the time went! I know I checked out a few other museos... all closed. I walked around, wasting time until the Light show.. WHICH I WAS TOLD STARTED AT 7pm.... so I was there at 6.15. My back is still store from standing in the same position. My feet a bruised with a cracked heal... you would have thought I had been doing serious farm work. No, just standing. I talked to a Belgiun for a while, he was bored by Mexico City and bolting after 2 days.. I didn´t understand - I think this city is Fantastic! Everyone has different experiences though... we went to the zoo because this guy who had never left his small town in Oregan before this made it sound like the best experience of his life. For a Belguin (spelling?) living in London, having travelled all of South American and Europe, can not find anything exciting. Poff I say! He did make some funny comments like ´´there are a lot of gay people here.. I have nothing against them... I have just never seen one before´´...(he is staying in the same area I am , the Gay district...Zona Rosa..I realised this as I got off the metro with all the boyfriends... it has been confirmed with the clubs and flags etc..LOVE IT) then he told me that he has decided to go to Puerto Vallarta.. staying in Romantic Zone, aka Gay zone, but he doesn{t know that.

These damn staff here! Anyways, So moral of the story is it started at 9pm... so for almost three hours I stood there FREEZING.. didn{t even claim a particularly good spot...
ALTHOUGH, the show was SOOO AMAZING. They really went all out coz of 1810 and 1910 being the most important days in Mex History.
There were dancers, there was video, there was music, there was LIGHT ... lots and lots of light. It was in the town square with lights on the huge old buildings and cathedral. SO COOL.
I took lots of phots of course, so although most of them didn{t come out... you still get the point. I will add them once I am back home.....in 10 days (give or take 2 days-7 for jet lag)...

It was very theatrical.. reminded me of WOW actually, there were THOUSANDS there. On the way home (it was 1 hour and a half) they closed off all the centro metro stations so TRILLIONS of us walked about 10 mins to the one that was opening at 11pm. I felt like I was part of some big event.. a sea of people. After they opened the Metro doors (luckily I had a spare metro ticket, or else I literally would have been walking home, with less than 2 bucks on me), it was a CRAZY display of urgency to get through.. the nice get left behind though. I learnt that early on. People push through, forcing room. They don´t mind about how uncomfortable other people may be. It is like selfishness takes hold, this is why people have been trampled to death. When the lines going through the machines paused for even a second everyone started whistling. Like everyone.. it was ringing in my ears. I felt a definate sense of accomplishment when I passed through those gates.

So another time, I made it home through the metro at night... alive. I was expecting to be scared of this place but I am probably too casual. A man told me on the metro to remove any wallet from my pocket.. not that I had one. I didn{t think I would be able to exit the hostel at all, but all is well. At my school they originally turned me off coming to Mexico, as one girl who goes there tells them horror stories and so eveyone is scared. Remember, there are twice as many people here as there are in NZ.

Yes, I thought that number was incorrect. One staff member told me the show was 7, another said there were 17 MILLION more people in this CITY! I am no longer listening to them.

Ciudad de Mexico - what a huge MoFo!

I have made it to the big smoke!

I flew here, so it took very little time - you may recall I overnight bussed last time... well,

this time it was cheaper to fly... $29 plus some taxes.

Anywho, I am at a hostel where they pick you up for free from the airport. This is the reason

I booked it... so dammit, I wasn{t leaving that airport until they got me.

After I sent my flight details as instucted, they sent a reply saying I have got to ring after I am through customs and outside the airport, then it would take 30 mins for the car to come.

I replied with an email asking if they could just come an hour later... as I do not have a phone (well, that works) and as I did not have to clear customs (have¨not brought a bag... it is with a stranger in Puerto Vallarta - fingers crossed it remains there and he lets me have it back... long story really, will have to bust it out another time).... anyways they were all ¨NO¨ and I was all ¨I have a feeling this will be another Maria MisAdventure...¨

It was. No one answered the phone for hours, so I just sat in the airport hungry and tired but without energy to move. After finally getting through to them and them being all ¨We were expecting you hours ago, there is no car now¨ but telling me to call back, I sat back on the ground and shed a few tears in the typical tired-hungry-alone-iwannagohome fashion.

A man came and talked to me, his name was Angel.

I have this thing where I still wanted to go to the hostel and give thema chance and better my relationship with them. I don´t want to have angry feelings that remain unresolved. I am here now, the relations are fine - I hold some power too coz I booked through Hostel world which means that I write a review.

Anyways, I walked the streets all arvo-night (I am not in the centro, it is safe out here at night)

along this main drag which has the ¨Angel of Independence¨ statue and various other statues and art along it. What a beautiful stretch of road it is! There are all these seat-sculptures along it, I really enjoyed walking along, sitting on all the chairs and admiring the outdoor art displays they have especially for the Bicentennario... they also have big faces of important players in thisand in Independence (which is on the 20th, but as that is a Saturday the day off work and celebrations are happening tommorrow... they heard I was in town) in lights.

There is one of those bike systems where they are mechanically attached and you can use them if you have a card...go Green! There is also a rule that my teacher Laura told me of where the cars with Licence plates A-L drive one day and M-Z on others... the flaw in this is that lots of peeps now bought two because of this. Although the Metro system is big and quick and 30c... it is CROWDED as are the buses... word on the street (actually from the 20-odd year old who works here) is that there are 26 million people here .. ???? Will have to look that up... coz yes, that math would mean that it is 6x NZ.... wow. I also learnt on plane here that it is the 3rd BIGGEST city in the world.... NUTS!

I discovered from Markets and shops and clubs and love that this is the gay district. Who wants to sing Cher? or Rent? or any other Musical?

I went to bed at nine.. woke up at nine. I was the first person in my room last night and the last to leave this morning so I haven{t seen any of my roomies. I went into town via that same big stretch I harped on about - to see it in its daylight glory.
And boy, was it glorious! There is a road passing through the middle - and get this - on Sundays they CLOSE IT OFF so people can ride their bikes, push scooters, wheelchairs, rollerblades, skateboard, roller blade-scooters (these amazing things I had never seen before.. I want one quite badly), prams, dogs and anything else with wheels. There were 100s of peoples and families out having a gay old time! TANDEM BIKES ARE COOL HERE!
At the intersections there are workers who hold up rope stopping the bikers when they have to let the cars through.. there is free water.. there are aerobics classes in the street - everyhting about it was fabul0us! I have decided that i have to live somewhere where I can go rollerblading on Sundays. It is a anti-diabeties promo (5people in mexico die of this every hour, so obviously it is a big problem), with even Red Cross demos with dummies and all for first aid.

I hit up two museums - I didn{t go to the main one in the centre because Sunday is free-day for locals so it was packed. Instead I went to the Museum of Memory and Tolerance... I can{t help myself... I didn{t know it was there but I walked past it and had to go inside... it was mainly Holocaust based, also with my main interests Rwanda and Cambodia... I have never actually seen a museum display on the Nazi-BS but obviously it was all very heart breaking... there were real items there - star of Davids, a train cart that took people to the Camps (it smelt of death, I swear), shoes of children that were confiscated in the Camps... that was the stuff that broke me.
There was a machete from Rwanda which made me sick to my stomach... I just do not get it.

So, that was intense! Later on I wandered before finding myself in the National Arte museum. There were beautiful works there from centuries back, mostly religious.. some HUGE.
I saw my first Diego Riverias which was exciting... although I don+t really like his stuff he is Mexico{s most famous and treasured Artist. He was known for murals mainly... hopefully I will see them in the Palace museum when I get there.

Mexico City town is very beautiful.. there are still LOTS of old buildings, more than I expected as I know they have had there share of large quakes. It isn{t as foggy and bleak as I thought it would be.. I think it is beautiful. There were tonnes ofpeople around on Sun... I have never seen so man y people... I was all thinking it would die down on Monday... boy, was I wrong!

Food diary: Esquites - Amazing corn soup, Churro Relleno con Cajeta - Hot stick donut with Caramel sauce inside, Litre Juice of the stall holders {specialty{ aka Melon, Pineapple, Guaba and Papaya... boy was it good! At the hostel there are eggs and toast for breakfast.. I love mine Mexicana (which takes on a diff meaning everywhere I have learnt) here being with tomates and peppers... bueno!