I'm still waiting!

Thursday 21 Jan 2010

Deja vu. I spent this morning exactly the same way I had spent the previous morning... waiting for Mexicans. Today was suppose to be the Boca Plata movie day. The girls were going to take me to see Avatar.

I rushed out and got some things done... picked up my laundry, grabbed a quick lunch at La Reyna, dropped off Sofie's guitar to be restrung, went by the bakery and went back home.

Then I waited... and waited... and waited.

I am starting to think this is some sort of Karma for how often I have been late to things with my friends back home. I am always the late girl.

I texted then 30 mins after they were suppose to be there and was told they were on the way. So I waited. I wrote some blogs. I chatted with friends. I amused myself.

2 hours later they told me they couldn't make it.

Now these are 15 year old Mexican girls so I'm not mad or anything. I was a bit worried for a while that they had gotten lost or hurt but who knows... maybe they got grounded. HA.

By the time I found out they couldn't make it most of the day was gone. I shrugged it off and dropped by the guitar store to pick up the guitar. It was strung and sounded beautiful. My fingertips trembled happily. =D

Hugo makes guitars!

see. he makes instruments out of, like, trees

I chatted with the guitar guy, Hugo, while he exercised the strings a bit. He was really nice. I tried to bribe his daughter to sing a song for me by offering her a peso. She wasn't having it. I did he her to say her ABCs and colors with me though. =D

Hugo's tools

I decided to launch phase one of plan BLUE EYED BUSKER. Phase one is... quietly practice playing the guitar outside. I took my guitar and walked down to downtown “Zocalo” and started scoping out nice places to practice. I didn't want anywhere too quiet or obscure but I didn't want anywhere too obvious or out there, either. I just wanted to get used to playing while outside... plus I needed to practice and it was a nice night... and I had spent all day holed up in my room.

I walked around in search of a great spot. Then I passed La Vaquita Negra (the black cow). Steely Dan references aside, I had heard that this was a great place with an awesome sandwich from several different people around town. I decided now was as good as anytime to try it out.

La Vaquita Negra.

La Vaquita Negra

I ordered the sandwich that had been recommended to me by my sources: The Toluquena. Toluca is known across Mexico for Chorizo (mexican sausage). The Toluquena had chorizo and cheese. Sounded good to me.

I got my sandwich. I took a bite. It was alright. Nothing to write home about (haha... and yet I am... huh) just seemed like a sandwich to me. I am not sure why it was SO recommended to my by separate people with no connection. Maybe I just don't appreciate a good sausage.

I walked around and finally came up to the fountains at Los Portales... MARIACHI ROW! There weren't many Mariachis out this night. Did I dare practice my guitar right here in the mariachis' turf? What if I got knifed?!

As I was pacing back and forth trying to find the best spot to do this a cute little teenage guy, Ricardo, handed me a flier for Pizza Mecha and said something Mexican to me. I smiled and fumbled some Spanish back to him. We went back and forth, in my awkward Spanish, and he said he thought I should be fine, that the Mariachis wouldn't try to kill me.

I wandered over to a dark spot against a wall and whipped my guitar out. I tuned for a bit and then Ricardo came back by and sat next to me.

Practicing guitar down Mariachi row... gotta watch my back... don't want the mariachis to knife me...

“So what kind of music do you play?” He asked me in flawless English.

My mouth dropped open.

“YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?!”

He laughed and nodded. Ricardo goes to English school on Saturday all day. We talked about American music and how much we both love classic rock and other random things. He hovered around passing out pizza menus while I practiced a couple songs.
We had a cup of coffee and a cup of tea and then I headed back home. It was late.

I ended up web cam chatting with my friend Juan Carlos, a Mexican I met in Texas (during my BA at A&M Commerce) who is getting his PhD in Canada. We talked about home sickness and adapting to a new culture. It was nice to talk to someone else who is in a very similar situation.

In the middle of the chat my internet died.

OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!


TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!!