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March 03, 2007
Cuentos del Hyatt, un Policía Sordo, y La Película de Mi Vida
Things have been going really well all and it´s hard to believe that we´re already into March. Wow how the time passes! It´s amazing to think of all the great things that I´ve had the opportunity to do and even more amazing to think I haven´t even been here for half of the time yet!
This week, I discovered the great secret of going to the Hyatt hotel, one of the nicest hotels in Merida, to use the pool. I know, I know what you´re thinking. How could I use the pool if I´m not a guest there? But, using my cunning skills and sharp thinking, I passed as a tourist every single day this week. It´s been really hot the last few days, so I decided that it would be una buena oportunidad to cool off a bit. Every day, I wore my most touristy looking t-shirts, shorts, and I carried my camera with me. I entered directly though the front door, and took the elevators to the rooftop, where the pool is located. On Wed., someone happened to question me and I told him that I was staying on the fifth floor. But nothing actually happened as a result.
Last night, I went over to Erich´s house to watch a movie which I have now claimed to be the story of my life. But before I tell you about the movie, let me recount the events of last night.
So Erich invited me over to his house and while I appreciate the invitation, I wasn’t really thrilled about going. Traveling north here in Merida on the buses is especially difficult and often, I end up waiting for buses more than anything else. But I took him up on the offer. I went to the Walmart and stood there waiting for a North’bound bus to arrive. The first one passed me. Then, about twenty minutes later, I saw the second one approaching. But just as it neared, a horse-carriage driver pulled up in front of me by the sidewalk and started offering me a discount for his horse and carriage ride. He definitely thought I was a tourist and began bargaining desperately so that I would agree to take a ride. Because I couldn’t get rid of him, the second bus passed. It had no room to pull up in front of me because the horse was there.
Finally, I ended up taking the third bus but before I paid, I questioned the driver about 5 times if he was headed towards the Costco (which Erich lives near). And he told me 5 times with certainty that indeed, he was heading towards the Costco. But despite the conviction that he showed, he of course was lying to me. I ended up taking a bus all the way north to Grand Plaza.
Once I arrived at Grand Plaza, I wanted to call Erich for directions to walk to his house. But of course, I was out of minutes on my cell phone. So, I asked a cop for directions. Little did I know that the cop was deaf and that his hand gestures were sign language--- not crazy spasms. ¨Senor,¨ I said. ¨¿Porque no me contestas?¨ And I kept repeating myself over and over again, getting more and more frustrated because I didn’t realize that he was actually deaf. So, I ended up walking to an Oxxo and buying a phone card. I called Erich from the Oxxo and just as I started to head towards his house, it started to pour.
At Erich´s house, we watched a movie that his elizabeth, Deanna, had apparently shown to the Butler group during their orientation. The movie, LAuberge Espagnole, was a French film, about a student in France that decides to study abroad in Spain for a year. The student comes to love the culture, the sites that he visits, and practically everything about the experience. And along the way, he ends up learning a lot about himself and the type of culture that he comes from. I just really felt like I could identify with the main character, And what was even more cool was that the movie was half in French and half in Spanish. So, I was able to follow along a little bit with the French and obviously very well with the Spanish.
As main character, Xavier, notes about his own study abroad experience, ¨ When you first arrive in a new city, nothing makes sense. Everythings unknown, virgin... After you've lived here, walked these streets, you'll know them inside out. You'll know these people. Once you've lived here, crossed this street 10, 20, 1000 times... it'll belong to you because you've lived there. That was about to happen to me, but I didn't know it yet.¨
And I feel the same way. Two months into my study abroad experience, everything is coming together more and more. I´m starting to see the same people over and over; I´m getting to know the same sidewalks, the same tiendas, the same places to buy food, to buy drinks, to have a good time… And I guess I never expected that I would when I first came.
Today, I went to Chichen Itza with my Antropologia Mexicana maestro and class. More details to come, since this café is closing, but I had a great time.
Im going to leave you with another quote from the movie, since I enjoyed it so much:
´´I'm going to write. Everything seems simple and clear. I am not that. Nor that. But I'm all that. I am him, him, him... "I'm going to write books" I am her, her.. I am French, Spanish, English, Danish. I am not one but several. I am like Europe, I am all of that! I am a real mess! Now, I can start telling you everything. Everything started here when my plane took off. No, it's not about a take-off. Well actually, it's about a take-off. Everything started here.´´
Everything started here. Everything about my experience started right here with my own thoughts and my own words. So please, do keep reading.
Posted by jlsumich at March 3, 2007 09:53 PM