Perfect timing for a much needed break from school, as the Fulbirght grantees of the teacher exchange program meet this weekend for the mid-term meeting in D.F.. The day began with a refreshingly late wake-up. After enjoying some cereal (surprisingly not too expensive or overpriced here), I quickly took care of the ritualistic pre-cleanup before the cleaning lady comes; as Elba was scheduled to arrive between 10 and 11 AM. When she arrived at 11:15 and asked, “Am I late or am I good?” all I could squeak out was, “Oh, you’re fine.”
I left Elba to perform her magic and hailed a cab to take me to Andi’s, about 10 minutes and 25 pesos away. From there we went to try out the wood burning cooked pizza at La Posta, in Coyoacán. Since we read several reviews that highly touted La Posta, our mouths had been watering in anticipation of the tasty, gourmet pizza. We arrived to the restaurant at 12:30 PM and our stomachs growled as our eyes saw the black, steel gates bolted shut – the place opens at 1:30 PM. We drove around Coyoacán in search of a comparable spot that cooks its pizza in a wood-burning oven; none lived up to Andi’s standards, as a pizza connoisseur. So we returned to La Posta around 1:15 PM and we didn’t even have to wait to be seated. The location is a converted old house and there are various small rooms. We sat in an extremely relaxing one, due to its lightly colored painted walls and the art on the walls were of beach scenes. The service was impeccable and most importantly, the delectable pizzas more than lived up to the high expectations.
It’s a good thing we filled up before our voyage across the city. Our taxi crawled from Coyoacán to the Zona Rosa for an hour. We paid the 90 pesos and stumbled into the hotel, exhausted from the excursion. The hotel employees greeted us with, “Where did you just get in from?” We quietly muttered, “Coyoacán.”
Once Andi and I each stepped into our own room (each grantee had his own), our mouths dropped open and our eyes popped out – we had found our riches at the end of the journey. This isn’t any ordinary Holiday Inn, it’s quite new and so “lujoso” (luxurious). The room is divided into areas for work and sleep, there is free high-speed Internet connection available, remote controlled air-conditioning units and, best of all, there’s a shower with limitless hot water and water pressure so intense I had to fight my way towards the handles to adjust the temperature.
That evening at the COMEXUS office, there was a reception for the current grantees in Mexico from the U.S. and for past grantees from Mexico. It was fun to see everyone, especially as within this group you can find an audience or support group that will listen with interest and be able to relate and truly empathize. Of the past recipients, I met three who teach in Iztapalapa, the delegation in which my school is located. I’m excited to visit one of their schools and see the differences and similarities to my school.
