crossing the border

2-3 jun 2000

2 June 2000
San Francisco International Airport, 5:22am

I got to the airport at 3:45am for my 6:30 flight. There were 4-5 families ahead of me, all Hispanic. The ticket counter didn't open until 4:15, so I stood in line for a while, watching the kids run around. One very little one kept pushing a toy car across the floor. He would give the car a push, then spend about a minute just watching it where it stopped. Perhaps he was hoping someone would come along and trip on it.

The folks in line with me all had luggage carts, loaded up with the largest suitcases I've ever seen. Each of these could have held all of my luggage, and each family had 5 or 6 of them. Their luggage carts looked like the armored and patched-together vehicles from one of the 'road warrior' movies. I stood surrounded by these, feeling very intimidated.

When I got to the counter I asked how much it would cost to upgrade to business class. The woman told me that I should have called 24 hours in advance. Oh well.

"Well, if I had called, how much would it cost?"

"Ciento. One hundred dollars." She looked apologetic. "Do you want to upgrade?"

Huh? "Yes I would, very much so."

So I'm flying to Mexico D.F. business class. Luxury, even the slightly wider seats of business class, is addictive. And the ability to sleep better in the wider seats is worth every penny of $100. I think if I had bought the business-class ticket, it would have cost several thousand dollars more. This is a bargain.

Time to board. Then to sleep.

Ron

Approaching Mexico D.F., 12:10pm:

I watched Pedro Almodovar's 'All About My Mother' on the plane. It was an incredible film, very moving and sad. I think it was his best. Stop reading this and go watch the film. You'll be glad you did. As a bonus, it's in Spanish!

3 June 2000
Oaxaca, 13:15:

Okay, it's my second day in Oaxaca and I've got huge stomach cramps. From the questions folks asked at orientation, it appears that I'm not alone. It took me a while to figure out where I got it, but I finally realized that I brushed my teeth with tap water this morning. Damn, but better now than later. I would *hate* feeling like this and having to drive, but I expect that it will happen. Unfortunately, there are enough intestinal parasites and bacterium that folks never develop an immunity.

Supposedly yoghurt helps. I've eaten some and it appears to have eased the cramps. I also took a few Pepto Bismo tablets as a preemptive measure. One can never be too safe when it comes to explosive diarrhea.

I had my orientation at the Instituto Cultural this morning. One of the things that they told us was that we should not take pictures of children without the permission of the parents. Apparently, there is a rumor going around town that foreigners come to Oaxaca and snap pictures as part of a baby-stealing ring. It sounds like an urban legend, but 6 missing kids recently turned up in Canada, according to the local paper. (Blame Canada!) I think this may apply to all of South America as well.

They also told us that there are a large number of 'zocalo boys' that make their living off of favors from foreign women. They didn't mention foreign men, but I expect that there are several flavors of boys available. The orientation also warns that SIDA exists in Oaxaca, and to "mix safely with the locals."

Class will consist of lecture from 900 - 1300, después una hora por comida, followed by conversation from 2-4, lunes to viernes. Sabado y domingo are free, though they usually have tours on domingo.

You may have noticed the random Spanish in that last paragraph. I want to try to use it whenever I know the word. Deal with it. You may learn something!

That's enough for today. I'm going to lie down.

Ron

3 Junio 2000
Oaxaca, 20:00:

I took a siesta for about 3 hours, and I feel much better now. Resting really helps. I also feel much better because I found a very friendly internet cafe which helped me configure my computer to access their network. I now have a fixed IP address, which I think will work for me all month. Yay!

Granted, I'm typing this right in front of a huge speaker blasting "Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light!" Otherwise, though, I have no complaints.

Ron

P.S. Now blasting "I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing, I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing, I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing you!"