impresiones primeras

I expected to find Mexico City with 1) at least twice the cars, 2) at least twice the people, 3) 5 times as many motorcycles, and 4) insufferable air quality. Al contrario, on the way from the airport, I had to ask the taxi driver what was going on that the city was so quiet. The people have not left work yet, he told me. At 6 p.m. it would be crazy.

My first impression is that I don´t feel that I am in Mexico as much as I would feel I was in say, Colombia, when I was in Colombia. It is still a big city, but it´s not hot, not as congested, not as polluted as I was told it would be. As my first impression of Mexico, it didn´t seem like a place that thousands of people would risk their lives to get out of every year. People walk with the same airs of purpose as they do in Philadelphia. Working, shopping, etc, which I suppose you could expect in a downtown area. As for myself, I really feel like I blend in, I want to say, more to the credit of the city´s cultural proximity to my home country than to my own fitting in. I didn´t feel people´s eyes on me as much as other places. On the other hand, for all I know, I may just be getting used to Latin American cities. Maybe if I go back to Cali, Colombia, it won´t really be as congested as I first remember it. I can´t really be sure if it is myself or the city that is different than expected.

To be honest, happy as I am with how comfortable I feel here, I am glad that I did not plan to stay here for long. You could almost say that I´m unimpressed with how impressed I am. First thing tomorrow morning, after breakfast, is to take the first bus I can to Ciudad Oaxaca.

Mexico City preparando para el dia de la Independencia, Sept. 15