The rest of my Mexico trip

Monday, I took two subway trains and a rusty, sagging bus to the hotel. As best I could tell, none of the stops were marked. So once I determined that we were reasonably close to the hotel I'd booked with my boss' recommendation, I made my way to the front with much stumbling and many 'lo sientos' (I'm sorrys) to the people I jostled, and told the driver where I needed to go. Either he misunderstood me (likely) or I misunderstood him (also likely), but I got off with no Fiesta Americana in sight. I asked a guy in a business suit, whose generous hand gestures helped me make sense of his verbal directions, and finally arrived at the hotel hot and winded -- from both altitude and exasperation.

The rest of the evening was pleasantly easy -- a nap and dinner at the swanky hotel restaurant. The staff liked me and made many jokes, surprisingly few at my expense!

The next day and a half were spent in meetings with my boss (who is Brazilian) and Mexican colleagues. Most of the discussions were conducted in English for my sake, but I followed the Spanish amazingly well. Everyone was warm and welcoming, and my ideas were considered with gravitas that made me swell with confidence and pride.

My boss proclaimed that it's his job to 'internationalize' me and when someone piped up that I'm famous in Mexico, he beamed at a job well done. I, of course, felt pangs of uncertainty about my decision to leave the company for the teaching gig in Chile. Maybe I'm bailing too soon?

I finally, wearily returned home after two delayed flights, and fell into bed after my second 24+ hour day this week. What a trip!






P.S. I'll post some photos soon, but I only took a few. Too many horror stories about tourists in Mexico City made me wary about taking out my camera.