Friday, August 05, 2005

Welcome to Mexico

Now that I’m in Mexico City, and have been since Friday evening, you should know that when talking about the city it is referred to in many ways: I can simply say I live in México, or I can say D.F. (pronounced of course en español Deh Eh-fey), or I can call it La capital (the capital).

I left D.C. before 9:00 a.m. (8:00 a.m. Mexico City time) and had a connection through Dallas (where we sat on the airplane for an hour and a half to wait out the bad weather – I didn’t mind too much since they played a movie I had really wanted to see, Fever Pitch). I arrived in Mexico City around 6:00 and then moved very slowly through the Immigration line, it took almost an HOUR! Next, I picked up my luggage and scrambled to the Customs area. There you have to press a button, if the light turns green you simply pass through and you’re done, if the light turns red then your luggage is inspected. So, I crossed my fingers and saw the light turn GREEN! Finally, I saw a mob of people awaiting their friends and family and saw Mariana (my exchange partner Elisa’s daughter) and her Uncle Toño with a sign that said “Raquel”.

As we made our way to Mariana’s house, where she lives with her mother and grandparents, I already felt at home as I noticed all of the familiar restaurants and stores – Vips, Tocs, Gigante – and some new ones – Walmart, Office Depot, Home Depot. I felt even more at home once I arrived at the house and settled into my room.