Un Fin de Semana Ocupado

So Friday I headed to school after reading for a while to attend the "Latin America Today"class. I stood outside the room it was supposed to in, and waited for the class that was inside to get done. But they were writing, which seemed weird to me. And no one else was waiting outside. When it got close to noon, which was when my class was supposed to start, I decided to try the other class by the same name. That room was completely empty, even around 12:10. I walked back and forth really stressed out, and finally looked on the walls where the classes are posted, to make sure I had written down the right rooms. I had, but both of the classes were on Thursday from 12-2. So I completely missed them.

I decided to go to a different class so that I'd have enough units, so I went to the other class I had been interested in from 12-2. It was called Prehispanic Art in Meso-America. I got there late, obviously, but was able to get a seat. The prof made a lot of jokes, but seemed to also enjoy humiliating students. And I didn't understand the assignments that were going to be assigned. And a bit part of the class was going to the anthropological Museum that I already couldn't handle. So I decided pretty early on in the class that I didn't want to take it, but couldn't very well leave.

I got home and was a bit frustrated and sad, after sitting through a class I didn't like. Before I had gone into the class, I had seen Miguel walking out. I should have asked him why he wasn't going to take the class, so that I would not have gone in myself. I sat around my apartment, and wondered how I was going to get to the party that our Contemporary México professor was having that night. She had told us the public transit route that would get us close to her house,a nd then suggested we take taxis in groups from there. I wasn't sure of anyone who was going, and didn't want to head all the way over there alone. FACEBOOK TO THE RESCUE! I got on facebook, and saw other people from my program online, so asked them how and when they were getting there. So Rebecca, Ko, Rachel, and I headed over there together.

First we took a pesero (bus), and then a tram, and then the taxi. While we were waiting for the taxi, someone told us how to ensure we weren't being cheated: The meter should be using the setting called 3-d. Other settings had different rates per time. The taxi we got didn't have a front passanger seat, so Ko ended up being stuck sitting on the floor. The meter used 1-d, and it was ridiculously expensive. We didn't say anything, but it was frustrating too because the driver made it seems like he knew where he was going, but he really didn't. So we turned around a few times and then we called the professor who talked to the driver and told him how to get there. It started pouring when we got close, so that made things a bit more difficult. It was hard to see the road.

When we arrived, Marijane and one of the program's directors and his wife were there. We all talked for a while, and then a bunch of people arrived together who had got out of class at 6pm. They arrived just as we were about to eat. There was lasagna (meat, veggie, and vegan - yay!!), a salad with assorted greens and grapes with a delicious dressing, and bread. It was all very yummy! Then people talked for a while, and then we played a game called "mafia." It was similar to assassin I think. When someone suggested that I was the one murdering people, I laughed uncontrollably and apparently turned really red (which is a little disconcerting, because I didn't even feel like i was that red. If I was red then, I turn red all the time. So much for not letting people know my emotions).

We played twice, but two differnet ways. Luckily I was never the "mafia," because I wouldn't have been able to decidewho to kill. I was able to guess one of the people who was the "mafia" though. It was Rachel, and her expression seemed kind of forced the whole round.

Again the macaroons were a big hit (in fact, the professor emailed me later and invited me and a few other people to come over and make them sometime, so she could learn how to make them). When it got pretty late, the professor called us taxis. We tried to fit 7 people in our taxi, which worked alright. This taxi didn't have a passenger seat either, so I ended up on the floor. Most of the taxis I have been in don't really have working seat belts, so it doesn't especially matter where I end up sitting. Other people in the taxi were: Rebecca, Francisco, Cat, Ko, and Rachel. after a bit in the taxi, the driver asked us where we were going, and we told him where our apartment complex was. He said he couldn't drive that far, because "his tires were shot"(according to Cat), so he took us to a sitio (place where safe taxis congregate to be called to pick people up) and and we switched taxis. This time we split up in two groups, and so Cat, Francisco and I shared a taxi back to my apartment. After we got there, all seven of us used the bathroom and got ready to go out to a club. Ale met us at home (he dad has been visiting this whole week) and came with us! It was nice to get to have a longer conversation with her.

We walked to Club New York. Some people got drinks, and danced. We got a table, and I sat there for a while watching people's stuff, but I also danced some. Two of the glasses ended up getting broken (I don't see why bars use glasses that are easy to break), and I danced some. At one point this guy started dancing with me, and I felt really uncomfortable. Rachel helped me get out of that situation, and Cat checked in with me about it later. Nice to have supportive friends.

Some songs I know came on, and they were fun to dance to. It was enjoyable, although we left quite late. When we got home, Ale and I talked for a bit, and then Cat joined us. Then we all went to bed. Cat and I talked for a while about gender and other fun things, which she said was good, because it meant she didn't go to sleep drunk and therefore didn't have a hang-over in the morning. We were supposed to be at the field trip at 8am in the morning, and since was probably didn't get to sleep until after 5am, Cat texted the person in charge of the field trip at 7:45 am to say that none of us would be coming. Marijane said they went to a really cool archaeological site.

Rachel had accidentally left her purse at the professor (Lucía)'s house, so it was decided after we got up that Cat, Rachel, and I would head back there to get it. Rachel and Cat took showers at our apartment, and then we all headed to Coyocan. Rachel went to her house to get some clean clothes, and Cat went to were she used to live (she moved way up north where her UNAM campus is), to get some clean clothes, since some of her stuff is still there. I went with Rachel and got to see her house. it's coolt o see people's different living situations. She has a big bed, but not much floor space and no desk, which seems disappointing (especially since i think we're required to have a desk). We ate in the mercado. They got rice, soup, and peppers filled with cheese. I had rice and some of their tortillas, and we all had guava water (which, like lime water, as far as I can tell, is kind of like watered down juice). Then we walked through a Tiangis. (I'm not sure that's how it's spelled, but it's tents where people sell a variety of things).

Then we hoped on a pesero and took it to the tram, and then got in a taxi. We arrived at Lucía's house, and got Rachel's purse. Then we walked back to the tram (not too long of a walk, but it was downhill). And the we took the metro back to Coyocan. Rachel had been locked out of her house, and thought her keys were in her purse, but it turns out they weren't. She, Rebecca, Rosalinda, Ale, and Marijane were all going to a club Saturday night, so Rachel wanted to get some different clothes for goign out. Cat, Rachel and I went to a cafe. I got a sprite float with lime sorbet, Rachel got a tamale and coffee, and Cat just got coffee. Rachel went to try to get into her house, but no one was home (turns out one of her host family members was giving birth). She ended up getting a hold of the other UC student who lives there and she came home and let her in. Cat and I did some reading in the cafe while we waited for Rachel.

Then we headed back to my apartment. We took the a pesero to Copilo, and then a metro to the stop closest to my place. There's a Walmart right there, so Cat and I got some food to make for dinner and ingredients to make more macaroons for Cat to take back north with her. Then we headed home.

Ale and Rebecca were home, and so Rachel joined them and Cat and I started making our dinner. We made Gnocci with pasta sauce, and spinach with pecans, and had bread to soak up extra sauce. Quite delicious. When we started eating, Marijane and Rosalinda arrived, and everyone tried a bite of our food. They all left as Cat and I were getting started on the macaroons. We laughed a lot, ate plenty of chocolate, and burned our fingers on the hot chocolate. One thing that had me almost on the floor laughing was picturing easter eggs filled with milk in an egg carton.

Afterwards we were both pretty tired, so after Cat used my computer to check her email we went to bed. I woke up in the middle of the night as everyone was getting back from the club, and I was really thirsty, so I went into the kitchen to get some water. As I was kneeling on the floor to pour water out of our jug, Rebecca turned the corner and got freaked out.

This morning, Cat got up before me and folded the blanket she had been using to sleep on the floor. I got up a bit later and she was about to leave, because she had to head back home. She had left us a note, but couldn't get the door open, because the dead-bolt uses a key on the inside as well as the outside. So I let her out and about ten minutes later realized she had left the macaroons that we had made specifically for her to take with her. So we met near my apartment and I gave them to her.

Then I started in on more Foucualt reading. Ale's dad, who had spent the night here the last two nights too said he wanted to make us breakfast. He went to Walmart, after talking to us about what we could eat I had said an apple would be perfect. He came back and made pancakes for himself, Ale, and Rebecca, and then brought several apples, mangoes, peaches, and bananas back, as well as two types of cereal. Very kind of him!

I'm now done with all the Foucault and now have a 115 page book to read. Ugh. I got online around 4 today and really hadn't been online, beside briefly glancing at my email last night, for 48 hours. woah. This was a fun weekend though. Lots of social interaction, which was good, since I was kind of lonely during the week. I need to start making friends in my classes, but it's hard when there's only class once a week for each of them.

I am going to have to figure out what to do to get 1.5 more units. I could try to contact the professor of the class I wanted to take and see if I could be in it, or maybe I could talk to one of the people in charge of the UC program here. I think I remember them saying we could take units through them and do some sort of project. hm......

There's going to be a party tonight at Ko's place to say goodbye to some of the students who are in our program who instead of attending the UNAM are doing field research. They're mostly leaving tomorrow to head to wherever in México they are doing their projects. I don't think I should go, since I have so much more reading to do (that book has to be done by Tuesday, but I also have to prepare a presentation for tomorrow), and I was already able to get a lot of social interaction this weekend. If I don't go tonight, it sounds like I'll meet up with Marijane tomorrow so I can help her understand Foucault, since apparently some of his work is expected to be common knowledge for one of her classes. Yay for Foucault. I was talking to my dad about what I had read, which will probably help me prepare for my presentation tomorrow. Thanks dad. Now to make a licuado (smoothie) with the mames (a type of fruit) that Cat left.