Day 17- Soy Mexicana?

If it weren’t for the fact that I feel the need to take pictures everywhere I go, I think I might actually be able to convince people I’m from Mexico. Oh yeah, that blonde thing isn’t helping much either. But I do have my times, like today, when I feel like just another Queretana. I had my first excursion alone- usually we are just too busy to have time for things like that, or there are always others who want to do the same thing anyway. But for two hours today, while others wanted to either rest or work online in the comfort of their homes or Starbucks, I ventured out. I walked to the bank, which took a half hour, used the ATM (having 2.50 pesos, or about 20 cents, was kind of a problem), and bought a drink and snack as I walked a few blocks to the major park nearby. I had seen on the way to the bank that the park looked closed, which seemed peculiar, and indeed it was. Remembering that it was still siesta time, I decided to walk around the outside of the park (yes, it is fenced in, otherwise your mental image right now must be very odd) and looked for signs indicating park hours, took in this part of the city, and looked at artwork on display. After making it around, I found the sign, and learned that the park is closed on Wednesdays. So I went to the bus stop and figured out which bus would get me closest to where I would meet the group for our evening get together, then rode the bus back into downtown.

The point is, I did daily things, blended in, and felt like I belonged. There are still times when I wonder if people are looking at me and wondering why a gringa is walking around town on her own, but it’s never because I worry that I can’t do it. It’s not a language issue- I’ve had the Spanish skills to shop and ride a bus for 15 years or so- but a cultural and societal issue. And there was such a feeling of empowerment being on my own and knowing that I could become just another face in the crowd.

A common topic among the group today was that people are now ready to go home. It’s a weird thought. On one hand, I know that my work here is done. After tomorrow, when I have my final meetings and classes, I will have completed the coursework I came here for. Waiting for me at home is the next step. On the other hand, I have become so comfortable in the culture now that I have no idea what kind of culture shock awaits me in transitioning back. I know it will have only been three weeks, but it feels like so much longer. I feel completely disconnected with where things where before, and it was such a negative place in that last week that I have to figure out how to reconnect without going back to that place.

I thought I had connected the internet before I came to my room tonight, but something is not hooked up right and I am not sure if anyone is actually home, so this will be posted tomorrow. I will leave tonight with a view of the arches, the old aqueduct that runs along the southeast part of the city, near my house and on the route that I walked today. I believe I have posted the view from above at the beginning of my trip, so now is the view from the street at the end.