Well, I made it through my weekend (well, five days) in Mexico City, and I can now say that I have been in the biggest city in the world, climbed the third highest pyramid in the world, and traveled via the third most used subway system in the world. I had such a good time and I was really lucky that things turned out so well, seeing as how I went there alone and with absolutely no plan.

Here are some memories I don’t want to forget:

*Sitting by this cute old lady on the bus and finally having the courage to strike up a conversation with her. I think she invited me to stay at her house, but I’m not sure.

*Figuring out the subway system alone and feeling very white.

*Seeing how the majority of Mexicans actually live. My friend Moisés took me to his house and I got to hang out with his family. His mom cooked me wonderful meals (The onion and pepper tacos were actually pretty good!), we played board games (playing Uno Stacko is just so much more fun in Spanish), they sang me Spanish hymns, and we even salsa danced in the living room! They don’t own a TV or even a microwave, so it was interesting to see how they do things. I realized that I’m tired of hanging out with these rich Mexicans with their fancy cars and preppy clothes. That’s not the Mexico that I came to see and it is definitely not representative of how most of them live. Okay, tangent...

*Being introduced to Moi's church friends from Chile and Peru who were visiting and five seconds later going out with them (without Moi). We tried on sombreros in the market, were serenaded my mariachis, took pictures with some girl who was having a quinceanera, and I tried horchata for the first time. I didn't speak English the whole night (except when Nivaldo tried to tell me stuff in English and I had to correct him) which was so great.

*Going out for a drink with my British roommate from the hostel. We went to a bar where a Mexican chick band was rocking out to Metallica. I thought it was ironically funny.

*Salsa dancing to the radio at a taco stand outside of a 7-eleven at midnight.

*Climbing the pyramids at Teotihuacan and eating sandwiches and doing jumping pictures at the top.

*Eating in a restaurant downtown in which I was the only customer and watching as my food was prepared right in front of me. I discovered that I love banana licuados. It's basically milk with fruit and sugar it in, so not quite a milkshake because it's runny.

*Visiting Moi's univerisity, the biggest in México with over 300,000 students.

*Seeing cute kids on the street dressed up asking for "treats for their pumpkins" on All Saint's Day and Day of the Dead. Also seeing altars set up all around town honoring the dead. Some were very elaborate, with flowers, food, skulls, pumpkins, and tons of decorations.

*Eating absolutely NO CANDY on Halloween!!! October 31st isn't celebrated at all here.

*Going to the Castle of Chapultepec, where Hernán Cortéz, Maximiliano, Benito Juárez, and Porfirio Díaz all lived (though not at the same time, of course).

*Going to a zoo that was free and laughing at the cacti in the penguin's cage. Only in Mexico. . .

*Going to the top of the Latin American tower. The view was comparable to the other tall buildings I've been to (Space Needle, Washington Monument, Eiffel Tower). The only differences were the layer of smog and that the city goes on for miles (er, kilometers).

Now for some pics. Sorry I couldn't figure out how to flip them.

Day of the Dead offering




























Some stuff from the Museum of Anthropology










































At the zoo. Look closely and you can see the penguins and the cactus.














Do I look Chilean? My new friend Nivaldo.




























Moi and me at his university.




























Jumping on the top of the Pyramid of the Sun.














Another one with the timing off a bit.















A little ritual sacrifice of the gringa.














But it's all in fun, right?














Moi, his brother Noë, and me




























Traffic and a gorgeous sunset.














The famous angel statue.