Marilyn in Mexico 2008

Thursday, August 21, 2008

(Click on any photo to enlarge it.)

I wish I had been able to be in Oaxaca around the 20th of July because they had their gigantic celebration known as the Guelaguetza. Thousands of tourists enter the city and people from the hinterlands join in for the festival of ancient and regional dances and folkloric presentations. But back to my situation in the airport.

Since we were awake all night chatting in the food court at Mexico City's Benito Juarez International Airport, it wasn't hard to get to the United Airlines counter when they opened at 4 A.M. Usually when I'm checking in for a United flight and I have no luggage other than carry-on, I can just go to the automatic check-in machine and be done in a matter of a couple minutes. But here in Mexico the system seems to be about 20 years behind the times. Oh, they have 2 of the machines all right, but they lack the ability to check in standby passengers. So I stood in line and waited my turn.

Speaking of waiting in line, yesterday, when I wasn't boarded on my first-choice flight, I was told I had to go through the immigration line to be able to get out to the other part of the airport to see about about flights, etc. There must have been easily 250 people in the line ahead of me. It took about an hour, but at least I had a fun time talking to a young man in line beside me who was from Germany and was going to be spending 4 months in Mexico and 6 months in Brazil doing work on his doctorate in Latin American history. He speaks German, English, Portuguese, Spanish, had studied years of Latin, and was able to get around quite well everywhere. Finally arriving at the desk, I was told I hadn't really needed to wait in line, I should have just told someone to let me through. Thanks for the late advice!

No matter where you look in Mexico, you can see employees or police or other officials that seem to be superfluous. They don't really have anything they have to do so they try to look busy and official. They tell you to form a line here, or go see that person, or don't do this until a certain time, etc. It's so frustrating because the people you really need, like employees behind the counter helping get the crowds through, are too few in number. But there are dozens of other officials just standing around trying to look important.

It was chaotic when trying to get on the flight, because there are no machines that take in your boarding pass and spit out your stub. So the gate personnel try to do it all by hand and figure out who's on board, and if there are seats available, and who is traveling with an infant, and who hasn't boarded but their bags have, etc. Like I said, about 20 years behind the times.

I tried to figure out what this sign at the airport meant. Finally, when I couldn't figure out the shot/injection symbol (2nd from left) I asked one of the (many superfluous) employees, and she told me it represented the health room, you know, where they give injections. I couldn't remember a time when I or anyone I know had ever gone to the airport to get an injection, but I supposed it was possible someone might want to. In fact, in Oaxaca the other day, I noticed a painted sign on someone's garage wall, that they give injections, so maybe it's more common than I think.

I snapped a photo of this building in Oaxaca City to show that signs pop up where you least expect them. Advertised on this small edifice are a doctor's office, an X-ray lab, a lawyer's office, an automotive water pump shop, and a pizza parlor. I guess it's their version of one-stop shopping! But I don't know how much I'd trust the precision, the sterility, the worthiness of a doctor's office located over the local pizza joint! But unfortunately, that's probably just my prejudiced American way of thinking!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to board the 7 A.M. flight to San Francisco either, so I could wait and try to LA again this evening, or do something different. I decided I couldn't take another day waiting in the airport for a possible United flight (on the west coast, they only have one flight each day to LA and one to San Francisco), so I bought a ticket on Mexicana's 11:20 A.M. flight so I had an assigned seat. I don't know what my other fellow standby passengers ended up doing - I heard them trying to get on the next flight to Washington D.C. just to get north of the border. One of the ladies was traveling with very little cash, no credit card, no phone card, and she was in an unfortunate situation. I hope she made it out soon! Foreign passengers are charged a $23 tax in cash to leave Mexico from the airport.

My flight was nice. Mexicana may still be one of the few airlines left that serves a free hot meal to each passenger and beverages, including liquor. Everything was going well until, in front of LAX, I boarded a FlyAway bus going to the wrong destination (I didn't even realize they went anywhere else but Union Station!). My sister had offered to come pick me up in LA but I had declined, thinking I could save her the hassle of having to drive that far in the traffic. I was trying to nap, since I had gotten no sleep last night and only about 4 hours the night before. When the bus stopped, I awoke to see an unfamiliar station in front of me. Turned out I was in Van Nuys! (and I'm not even sure where that is on the map!) So I had to board the next bus BACK to LAX, so I could get off, go down to the departure level, and look for the next FlyAway bus that was marked Union Station! I felt so stupid, and tired, and I had now wasted 2 hours of precious time I could have been visiting with my family. I finally arrived by MetroLink to Claremont where my dad picked me up at about 6:15 P.M.

It feels so great to be back home! I'm enjoying every creature comfort I can - like hot abundant showers, air conditioning, clothes washer and dryer, using tap water to brush my teeth, pizza delivered to the house - and appreciating what it is to live in a non-Third-World country. I visited with an American lady in the airport yesterday who has lived and worked in Mexico City for the past couple years. She leads a life that I've fantasized: living in Mexico, working from home on her computer for an American company - what could be better?!? It seemed the best of both worlds to me. It was great to hear her insights into life in Mexico. For instance, she didn't think it was a good place to raise kids because the education expectations were low - every other day seemed to be a party at school, or no school at all, or practice for a song/dance performance (actually, it was starting to sound better and better to me as a teacher! ha ha!). People will spend what little money they have on a party to invite the neighborhood to, but live in poverty the rest of the time. Or if they don't have the money for the party, they'll assign different "godparents" to pay for certain portions of the fiesta. Like for the "quinceañera" party for a girl celebrating her 15th birthday, there may be a different godparent to pay for each component: the girl's dress, the shoes, the hair adornment, the bouquet, the attendants' dresses and tuxedoes, the cake, the beverages, the rented hall, the food, the music, etc. etc. etc. With lots of people helping out, the party can go on, and everyone has a great time.

What are my best memories about this trip? First, of course, was getting to know the Eslama family better. Arturo Eslama, the father, lives and works in Grants Pass, Oregon and I got to know him through Church. In fact, his wife Cecilia had lived there a couple years ago and that's when I met her. Second, probably, was the chance to see cool places from the past and present. Third was the opportuniy to practice and learn more Spanish in real-life settings, not just from a textbook. The whole experience was fantastic and memorable! Traveling really opens your eyes to what's out in the world and helps you appreciate what's back at home, too!