Un Día Sin Incidentes - An Uneventful Day

Oh no! We didn't do anything today but wash laundry and fiddle with the computer. Our camera is old, and is not compatible with the netbook, so Roger was trying to figure out an alternative. We should have checked it out before we left. Oh well, guess we'll have to post our pictures after we get home.

Our Mexican adventure today consisted of the intricacies of everyday life in the working class neighborhood Omar lives in. The houses are built of concrete blocks that are somewhat larger than bricks, and in multiple levels stacked on top of each other or running up the hillside like agricultural terraces. We observed a new level being constructed today.. The houses have concrete slab tops, and they just build a new layer on top when they need to. The mason on the roof was catching buckets of sand and concrete blocks his assistant was hoisting by ropes and pulley from the ground. After several hours of this, he had enough to begin building a new wall for the room being built.

The rooftops below offer an opportunity to observe private lives to a degree. There are chickens and a turkey on the roof next to Omar, and many of the concrete roofs have dogs running around on them. Satellite dishes are not uncommon. Of course, most people wash their laundry by hand and we can see washrooms and clotheslines on the roof. Omar has a common wash area on his roof for the tenants, and personally he is an exception because he has a washer and dryer on a little balcony in front. Karina washes with the machine sometimes, and has been washing a lot of the laundry by hand today. There is so much I take for granted, like having a washer and dryer, that I will pause to be thankful from now on.

Everything they purchase, including office-size bottles of drinking water and large tanks of propane (not those dinky little things they put in mobile homes), have to be carried up the hill and steep stairs. That is how materials for the houses are brought in as well. Omar's 5 or 6 story house was built by the workers carrying up the bricks, etc. stone by stone. Then articles of furniture, the refrigerator, everything. I'm so glad we have been able to experience this. It makes us appreciate how easy our life is.

(Just had a video Skype conversation with our friend Anna, who is in Italy for a 6 weeks. I love technology! It makes the world such a small place!)

We are struck by how people hustle to make a living, including on the subway. Our first ride on the Metro, we sat across from a fellow in what probably was regional costume. He started playing a few notes on his flute, then arose to introduce himself and began playing, crossing the subway car. He got a few pesos, and changed cars at the next stop.

Others hawk wares. Since we can ride all day for 3 pesos - about a quarter – the subway provides a large captive market.We have seen them selling candy, CDs, DVDs, and about anything that can be carried and does not bite or squawk. The more desperate carry a boom box and sing into a microphone, as in a karaoke bar, but with a cup held out. When you are in your car, they walk by with their wares in the middle of the traffic. People spray and wash windshields for money when traffic is stopped. You see men with hurdy gurdies frequently, including on the subways.

We have also observed that in this crowded environment, you can still see patches of green everywhere, even in this neighborhood, one of the most densely settled parts of town. The city has trees planted all over, in the streets and parks, and every home has potted plants or little gardens wherever there is room. Karen's comment was that it just shows how people have to have green around them.Omar's wife left a garden at the top of the stairs, with some producing banana trees, a rather large evergreen tree, roses, and a variety of flowers, all in pots in an assortment of sizes. Omar faithfully tends these to keep the garden alive.

We plan (as of 6:50 pm Friday) to go to the Castillo de Chapultepe in a magnificent park here. Sunday we travel to Puebla, a visit we have been anticipating with excitement. We will likely stay with Omar's family the first day and take a hotel room downtown for two or three more. After that, Oaxaca, Puerto Escondito, and back to Ciudad de Mexico.

Three weeks is a lot of time to fill, and we're doing the best we can!

Well, it's time to eat, Omar and Karen have been in the kitchen and it's hard to say what we're having – literally, since it's a dish I have never had before and can't begin to pronounce. We've considered renaming the blog something like Pobres, Pero Gordo (poor but fat), or perhaps Gordo, Pero Felices (fat, but happy).

Your touristas in Mexico,

Roger and Karen