Saturday, August 14, 2004
My Life in Four Short Paragraphs
Sorry it's been so long since the I've last written. I don't know why it's taken me so long to get back and write some more; I just haven't sat down to do it. I really haven't had anything hit me that I should write here, either. Of those gazillion thoughts I mentioned last time, about a bajillion are still around, running through my head. I have had time to sort out some of them and talk about others. Perhaps one of the factors in me not writing is that I haven't been on the computer very much. There have been several times that I have not even turned on my computer for two or three days in a row. That's odd for me, because I used to check email at least a few times a day. I reckon that with life settling down here and getting simpler (and more complicated) that I've not been thinking about email quite as much as I did for my first month here.
Since I last wrote I've been on a couple of adventures. One was back to the USA to go to a wedding. I also got to see some of my family for a day or so. That was nice, since I hadn't been planning on seeing them until at least December. We also ate some good food. We ate at Toot's and the Bell Buckle Cafe. Mmmm.... The wedding went well and I had a good time and was glad that I could go. Two of my friends from my first two years in Mexico got married. They met on the field and had a long-distance relationship for a year and a half. And the wedding was in the Atlanta area, so the day after the wedding I went to see the Braves play. That was my third Braves game this year, and I've been in Mexico City for over two months. How cool is that? Tonight is the Titans' first preseason game of the year, though, and I think I might be able to attend only one game this year, the game on Christmas night.
Last Saturday I went to Xochimilco to ride on the boats. For those of you who aren't familiar with the history of Mexico City, I'll give a brief lesson. Mexico City was founded as Tenochtitlan, the home of the Aztecs and the eventual center of their empire, around the year 1325 on a small island in a shallow lake in a large valley surrounded by volcanic mountains. As the Aztecs grew in power and numbers, they needed more land, so they sunk wooden boats full of dirt into the lake to make more land, and hence built a system of canals among the manmade "islands." The Spaniards came and made the city of Tenochtitlan the capital city of their western empire (New Spain), and as the city grew and grew over the centuries, the lake was drained until all that is left of the original system of canals is in Xochimilco. It is a popular place for both tourists and Mexicans to go on the weekends and hire a brightly colored wooden boat with a driver that pushes the boat up and down the canals with a long pole. Vendors selling all sorts of cheap souvenirs and food and drinks come along in small boats, as well as Mariachis who will play you a song (or however many songs you can afford). So anyway, it's one of the places in Mexico City that I really enjoy. That was the second time I had been in the 2.5 months or so since I've been back.
Tonight I ate real Mexican tacos, after having a conversation with my brother about the sheer goodness of REAL Mexican food. I really like the American style of Mexican food, but I really like real Mexican food also. Tacos de bistec... little chunks of thinly sliced steak on a soft corn tortilla, covered in lime juice. Can it be beat? I'd have a hard time finding something to do so.
I don't guess there was a point to anything I've written tonight. Hopefully next time I won't be so long in writing.
Since I last wrote I've been on a couple of adventures. One was back to the USA to go to a wedding. I also got to see some of my family for a day or so. That was nice, since I hadn't been planning on seeing them until at least December. We also ate some good food. We ate at Toot's and the Bell Buckle Cafe. Mmmm.... The wedding went well and I had a good time and was glad that I could go. Two of my friends from my first two years in Mexico got married. They met on the field and had a long-distance relationship for a year and a half. And the wedding was in the Atlanta area, so the day after the wedding I went to see the Braves play. That was my third Braves game this year, and I've been in Mexico City for over two months. How cool is that? Tonight is the Titans' first preseason game of the year, though, and I think I might be able to attend only one game this year, the game on Christmas night.
Last Saturday I went to Xochimilco to ride on the boats. For those of you who aren't familiar with the history of Mexico City, I'll give a brief lesson. Mexico City was founded as Tenochtitlan, the home of the Aztecs and the eventual center of their empire, around the year 1325 on a small island in a shallow lake in a large valley surrounded by volcanic mountains. As the Aztecs grew in power and numbers, they needed more land, so they sunk wooden boats full of dirt into the lake to make more land, and hence built a system of canals among the manmade "islands." The Spaniards came and made the city of Tenochtitlan the capital city of their western empire (New Spain), and as the city grew and grew over the centuries, the lake was drained until all that is left of the original system of canals is in Xochimilco. It is a popular place for both tourists and Mexicans to go on the weekends and hire a brightly colored wooden boat with a driver that pushes the boat up and down the canals with a long pole. Vendors selling all sorts of cheap souvenirs and food and drinks come along in small boats, as well as Mariachis who will play you a song (or however many songs you can afford). So anyway, it's one of the places in Mexico City that I really enjoy. That was the second time I had been in the 2.5 months or so since I've been back.
Tonight I ate real Mexican tacos, after having a conversation with my brother about the sheer goodness of REAL Mexican food. I really like the American style of Mexican food, but I really like real Mexican food also. Tacos de bistec... little chunks of thinly sliced steak on a soft corn tortilla, covered in lime juice. Can it be beat? I'd have a hard time finding something to do so.
I don't guess there was a point to anything I've written tonight. Hopefully next time I won't be so long in writing.
