I got to my office around 6:50 am to get the books I was going to be distributing to my students. As I went to leave the office, my key wouldn't come out of the lock. I stood there for about 5 minutes, doing everything I could and almost breaking the key in the lock, but nothing worked. What do I do? There was NO ONE around (there aren't that many classes at 7 am) and I didn't want to leave my key in the door. I share that office with 2 other professors and if they showed up and saw my key in the door, they probably wouldn't be too happy with me. At about 7:01, I left the key there with the intention of finding someone on my way to my class.
I get to the classroom where I teach English III and the door was locked. There weren't any students around, either. It was a few minutes past 7, and my Mexican students do have a tendency of being late, but, NO ONE? Hmmm.... so, I went up to the "Enlace" to find someone to open the door for me (and to fetch my key out of the office door), and NO ONE there either. Does anyone else work around here? I went back down to the ground floor (class is on the 4th floor, enlace is on the 5th, office is on the 2nd floor of the building across the street which is connected by an indoor bridge on the 2nd floor, so yeah, I was running all over the place). I asked the security at the door if she could call someone to open my door for me and get someone to get my key out. By the time she got a hold of someone, she said that the classroom was open. Whew, back up to the 4th floor (this time I cheated and took the elevator) and time to teach! Did I mention I hadn't had any coffee? :) A few minutes into class Enrique, the guy from the enlace, came to give me my key. He did confirm tha,t yes, the lock is a little messed up and he would look into getting it fixed. After that my day did slow down, but I had to laugh at the circumstances.
I have had the chance to sit down and chat with my mentor, Yolko, twice now. I really enjoy our conversations because I get ask her about all sorts for things that I'm curious about without feeling like I need to culturally hold back or act a certain way. I asked her about her opinions on the Mexican government, how universities work here, and we were able to peacefully talk about and make comparisons with the United States. She studied at Stanford University so she spent her time in the US, which helps in our conversations and mutual understanding. What's most interesting for me is that I'm able to make comparisons with how the Mexican Government is PORTRAYED in the US with how people here actually feel about. Granted, I've really only spoken to 2 people (I also talked to Angeles' husband, my exchange teacher who is teaching my classes at FHS), but they seem to share the same reality. Here I thought the Mexican President was popular and well-liked. Yeah, not so much.
Yolko has also been a big help me understanding how things work at UACM. She said it's hard to compare UACM with how things are in Mexico in general because they tend to do things differently. She said they tend to be more of a socialist kind of university. I thought that was funny because if you know me, you know that I tend to lean that way, as well, which isn't the norm in the US. An example of how it's different at UACM than other universities that I've encountered is that they give students a lot of freedoms when they're registering for their classes. I have a few students that are in my English 1 and English 2 classes. To me, that's just weird and doesn't make sense, but she says they let them do it because if they're willing to put in the work for it, then why not? She sees how it doesn't really make sense, but it does go along with the philosophy of the university, "Nada humano me es ajeno".
Another interesting conversation that Yolko and I had today was about Earthquake Drills. She said they'll do a drill and there will be a loud bell, and we all file down the stairs to the street. That isn't too different from what we do in California. Then, I asked her what to do in an ACTUAL earthquake. Do we get under the desks and wait for the trembling to stop, then evacuate? No, she said, as soon as you feel it tremble you leave the building and stand outside away from the building (because it can fall). THAT is different. We talked about the earthquake here in 1985, the destruction that it caused, and compared it to the earthquake I experienced in San Francisco in 1989.
Food-wise I have been trying not to be too overindulgent. I have enjoyed a couple of plates of super-delicious enchiladas, tortas, and tacos, and you know I'm enjoying my helados here, too. I rediscovered malletes, which is what we ate in Cancun everyday when I went with my girls (and Gabe!) for our Senior Trip in '96. It's bread with black beans spread over it and covered in cheese, served with an avocado salsa. Yum. The fruit is what I'm letting myself go crazy on. The fresh fruit on the street is SOOO good. So far, my stomach has been ok (knock on wood) and I've been somewhat careful about my choices, but I'm not being a total freak about it.
Here's my blooper of the day:
I hadn't done laundry since I left Fairfield on August 1st. I think the fact that I can go this long and still have plenty of clothes is evidence that I WAY OVERPACKED. Oh, well, you live, you learn. So, I go to drop off my laundry at the closest place, according to Google. The guy itemizes my clothing, gives me a slip and I leave. When I got home I realized how RIDICULOUSLY expensive this place is because I'm going to be paying $62 dollars for my laundry. Yeah, I know. I'm pretty mad at myself right now, but I wasn't going to run back there and ask for my clothes back! It's a punishment for me not paying attention. What can I say... I'm really tired today.... I'll look for another laundry place soon.
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