To get here, I packed all night, and finally decided to trade 2 hours of sleep for having to finish getting ready at the airport (nails, hair, and legs). 7am rushed to the San Antonio airport to my first row of empty seats (seems to happen to me 90% of the time). As most flights these days I was asleep before they closed the door and woke up with the shuffle of getting bags from overhead bins.
Mexico City Airport is huge, clean, and pretty much like any other big international airport. However, on little sleep, I didn't think to explore much and only 20 minutes before my flight after my 8 hour layover of intermittent internet I paid $10 for, did I discover the huge sparkling mall.
My flight arrived at 9:30 pm and my couchsurfing host Gustavo (from Houston) met me at the airport and helped me figure out that renting a car would definitely not be worth it! I'm used to the independence of cars, and being able to offer rides, be in control, etc - but I'm loving walking and trying to communicate with taxi drivers.
The desert welcome event was already technically over for the arriving wedding guests, but I managed to get in touch with one of my good friends using Gustavo's US-landline phone in his downtown apartment and the party was just starting at Villa Suzanna. The cab driver had never heard of it, but for $17 and after asking for directions and almost not making it up the Milliondollar villa crowded cobblestone streets, I walked through the open door of a 5-story villa with a breathtaking view, pool, hottub, bar, and new and old friends enjoying the ipod-hooked-up music and local bartenders, chocolates, and more.
I came to this wedding knowing... the groom, and 4 great guy friends, wondering how I'll fit with an older crowd - from all parts of the country and the world, as a single youngun comparatively. What role was I walking into?
Within minutes I knew it would be amazing and everyone was so friendly - connections here and there.... Kelly knows Ashley who i danced and hung out with at Mardi Gras 2 years ago.... Fitz worked on a project with my old boss.... and people that I'd met at New Orleans Jazz Fest.... Aspen SneakerBall.. Vegas Birthday Party....Mardi Gras.
Conversations varied from egos and The Power of Now and sleep, to airplanes crashing, getting arrested at the Olympics, Hunter thinking my friends a Thug, midnight roadtrips to Vegas, how on earth the ladies could be reasonable and go to bed hours ago.
The evening ended at 4:25 after my guy friends, the groom, and I had spent hours, the last ones standing/dancing strong, conversing and laughing. It made me smile that myself and my good friends were the last, a reunion harking back to Vegas, Aspen, Boulder, New Orleans.....
There's already talk of how we can have another destination wedding, trying to setup guests :-)
Around noon I meandered out to find the sand sculptor my couchsurfing host was helping out. Apparently this sculptor makes $50,000 in 6 months in tips out here. I can tell why - it was incredible. absolutely incredible. Like a tourist I snapped a photo.
There's a definitive lack of vegetarian food available.
Again, a similar feeling to Vietnam of being a walking dollar. My humanity is tested when I'm constantly approached in such manner - my tendency is to want to ignore them, but they deserve respect and recognition as I can hardly blame them for their position - could I see myself doing the same thing in their situation? Than how can I be rude to them?
My American Tourist "know-how" was properly illustrated when the couchsurfer had to explain how to tell between USDollars and Pesos. The US symbol being $ and the Peso being the same but with ONE line - I was hardly looking close enough to notice. Yay for Americanism - and fortunately the exchange rate is easy to convert ...move the decimal over one spot!
I was dying of thirst from the heat after working a bit in the afternoon but nothing seemed to have fresh juice or Chai Tea despite their menus advertising them.
I ventured into the grocery store and bought: strawberry smoothie, mango, water, mango juice for a total of $4. It definitely crossed my mind to stock up on cheap food in a second suitcase!
I miss my cat.
