We began the day with a visit to the Benjamin Franklin Library, run by the U.S. Embassy and open to the general public. I was particularly impressed with their website and the countless resources that it offers, especially for teaching English.
From there we headed south where there still exists proof of Mexico City’s beginnings as a land built on water, in Xochimilco (zo-chee-meel-co). The “trajineras” (the boats) are brightly decorated with vivid colors and each has a long table with chairs on each side. We set off down the canals, spurred by two boatmen with long poles, like the gondolas and gondoliers of Venice. Within a few minutes there were two tubs on the table full of ice and one piled with an assortment of glass bottles of beer and the other with glass bottles of Pepsi, Fanta Naranja, and Manzana. Then a woman hawking jewelry was aboard and mariachi bands floated by followed by two men playing a xylophone. We were serenaded for a while by the mariachis and were approached by canoe vendors with souvenirs like models of the “trajineros” (Jeannie and I bought one each to put in our classrooms – to hold paperclips and the like), blankets and other trinkets like the rubber bats, that gave me the heeby geebies, but that Esther’s kids enjoyed. Boats with all types of food also abounded – you could buy a whole meal or candied apples even the ever-popular “elote” (corn) coated with mayonaisse, sprinkled with cheese, lime, salt and chile powder. It was a fun, relaxing ride and a great way to spend a Friday afternoon with friends.
