Mexico: two-week mark

Well, I am still in the learning phase, that's for sure. At least now I can navigate around certain areas with relative ease, which helped out a lot today, but still didn't save me from failing on a couple counts.

First of all, I wanted to send a letter, but my Internet search showed that post offices are few and far between around here. The nearest-ish is in the Zona Rosa, basically midway between work and my house. So I got out of work a little after 4, and instead of heading to the metro with Burns, I walked all the way down to Chapultepec and over, just to find - of course - that it was closed. The security guard informed me that they were open from 8.30 till 4pm, inconveniently enough coinciding with my work schedule. Ooook. I guess tomorrow I'll take the lunch hour to wander back there - it's not exactly in the greatest spot transit-wise either, which complicates things.

Second fail, part one, was when I tried to find a laundromat yesterday to do my laundry (which badly needs doing). Right, Sunday, the day everyone does their laundry? Well, I guess that's not the official laundry-doing day here, because the two I stopped by at were closed. Fair enough, everyone needs their day of rest, etc. So today, after the botched attempt at mailing my letter, I took the Metrobus home from Insurgentes and stopped into the laundromat so see what the deal was. They closed at 6; it was now 5.30. Offfff course!! Again neatly making it really hard for me to get home from work early enough to get it done. My plan is now to drop it off in the morning, have them do it, and then pick it up when I get home from work. Let's see how that goes.

So, I guess I should rewind a bit and see what needs talking about. I went to work last Monday, but was feeling pretty shitty - my cold was only getting worse. I had a brutal cough, was blowing my nose all the time, and my eyes ended up getting infected. On Tuesday I stayed home and got some meds from the pharmacy (they offer a free medical consult to get you to shop there, I guess.), and I didn't go back to work until Friday. Both days I was doing my United Nations "Basic Security in the Field" course and the Advanced part of the same. It is basically to educate UN staff on what to do in dangerous situations, e.g. hijackings, bombings, natural disasters, etc. They (sorta) teach you to stay away from land mines and how to navigate using the sun/stars/whatever, how to avoid getting AIDS, cultural sensitivity, and so on. So pretty much, it applies to people going out to duty stations, and not to us sitting in our office building getting paid (or not) to type for a living. But it was a not-bad way to spend a day and a half, especially when I wasn't feeling that great.

Highlights from the security course:
-- Outdoor tip: "Avoid camping under coconut trees."
(No further explanation. Just that.)
-- Cultural sensitivity tip: "Find out how close you can stand to someone without making them feel uncomfortable."
-- Security question: "Does this package look suspicious to you?" (Package is oily, smelly, and lumpy, and making noise, with wires poking out and a badly typed address on it.) "Yes/no."

Ohhhh yeah.

Friday and today I worked on editing an article on the Mexican economy and the financial crisis, and apparently I am going to start translating something on the film industry tomorrow. Also today, I went to the other UN building (houses everything except ECLAC) to get my picture ID done. So now I have an official UN ID with my face on it! Howww exciting.

About my office... the people are super nice and there is a gorgeous terrace where we can go eat for lunch, but there is no fridge to store my lunch if I bring it - I guess I need a lunch pail. :( I work on the 13th floor and I don't know my unit, and Sarah works on the 11th, in the agricultural section. I share a little office with a Mexican girl named Natalia, who is really nice, and works on water and sanitation projects. The back wall of our office is made of glass, which means we have a great view of the city (and the pollution smothering it), and there is also a Mexican flag just outside, which is nice.

I have been taking the Metrobus and metro to work, but there are a couple other possibilities I'm investigating to get there, because I'm not convinced that this is the most efficient method. The Metrobus is nice, but the metro makes for a long walk to my line because there are three lines that meet in the same station (Tacubaya), and then it's really hot down there, and super long lines to take the escalator up. I walk the stairs, but (I'll blame the altitude for this) one flight of stairs basically tires me out. Then from Polanco, I still have to walk 10 or 15 minutes to work. So it's a really roundabout way of getting there. Tomorrow I'm going to head the other direction and try to catch a bus to Masaryk from the Alvaro Obregon metrobus stop on Insurgentes.

On the weekend Sarah and I went out a little bit, we got a beer after work on Friday (upon my insistence) at a pub on Masaryk, and later went out with Pedro for another drink. On Saturday I went to the airport to hang out with Marco -for five hours, thank God I like Starbucks here- and by the time I got home I was pooped, as was Sarah, so we didn't do anything that night, but Sunday we went to the Anthropology Museum in Chapultepec Park.

I guess that's all the news for now... I'm feeling 95% better, and do not want to be in my house more than necessary. So I think I'm going to go wander around Condesa after posting this! Saludos a todos.