Love and hate in Mexico City.....

[osodecanela]

I'm back in the states again, the weekend having come and gone. So many thoughts in my head, and there has not been the time to sit and record them all. I went right back to work on Tuesday, having arrived home at 1:30 that morning.

El 'DF' is a vibrant, beautiful, alive, filthy place. Love and hate it at once. Having cut my incisors in NYC, I'm no stranger to crowds and congestion. However, Mexico City truly takes it to the next level. With something like 23 million souls in metro Mexico City, it is the largest city in the hemisphere.

The place is on a high plateau, ringed by even higher mountains; in essence, it's a bowl. There's simply is no where for smog to go. With its altitude over a mile up, the air is noticeably thinner oxygen-wise. The ambient pollution however, makes the air 'chewable'. For four days, I felt like a goldfish in a bowl, who's water was in dire need of changing. Truly the air there kicked me squarely en mis nalgas. Breathing is not optional.

So much to see and do, yet so difficult to do anything requiring stamina, due to the air. Two flights of stairs and I was huffing and puffing. At the gym, I can do 45 minutes on the elliptical without killing myself, but this is at sea level more or less, and the air here is transparent most of the time. A group of folks decided to head over to the mercado at the Ciudadela to shop for gifts to bring home, the morning of my departure. I opted to join them, especially since my godchildren are still at the "what did you bring me?" stage. However, my copmpadres decided to hike the 2 miles there. I thought (no, I knew) they were crazy and took the Metro instead, promising to meet them there. Not exactly inert, as I still had 5 blocks to hike from the stations at either end, plus half a dozen long flights of stairs while in transit. It was still preferable to the walk through heavily trafficked urban streets.

It's time to head for home. More tomorrow, when there's time to really put pen to paper, or rather fingers to the keyboard.

Comments

[furr-a-bruin.livejournal.com]

Even as long ago as it was that I was there (early '70s!), the pollution was a huge factor in why my parents and I preferred Guadalajara to El DF.

[osodecanela.livejournal.com]

I have heard others ay the same. However, the unprogrammed Quakers (the reason for the trip) are in Mexico City.

[furr-a-bruin.livejournal.com]

Oh, I understand that. Just saying if you ever get the opportunity for a side trip.... ;)

[broduke2000.livejournal.com]

They just had a Smoke-In there, to protest the US bribing Mexico. Through US efforts, Mexico will now continue to incarcerate citizens who possess anything over 4 joints. Sorta makes you feel patriotic, huh? We can't allow another country to allow it's citizens to get high, now can we?

So maybe you're breathing in a little THC with that smog.

[danthered.livejournal.com]

Well, it's nice — sorta — to know the US behaves towards Mexico the same way they behave towards Canada.

[broduke2000.livejournal.com]

As I recall, Canada tries to reject our demands, and you guys have successfully held onto your version of the Fairness Doctrine.

While it's "anything goes" on the airwaves over here, in Canada you can't broadcast "all gays should be put in prison or killed because my bible says so."

At least, the last I heard that was still in effect.

[danthered.livejournal.com]

Canada tries to reject our demands

...and fails, because having different regulations is a violation of "free" trade agreements, and besides, everyone knows the US — being the laaaaaaaaaaaaaand of the freeeeeeeHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE and all — is right; it's the stupid rest of the world that's wrong.

(I'm an American who's lived in Canada since 2000, BTW)

[broduke2000.livejournal.com]

Nice beard, by the way.

[blktalon.livejournal.com]

welcome back