When taking the metro feels like a shoe sale and waiting feels like it's part of the plan.

It's been way too long since I've posted my last update on this blog but I'm grateful you've found your way back here anyway.  

The last couple of months didn't really include a lot of  travelling and since I am here to write about my journey and not my aupair life and family vacation (who visited me December till January)I haven't keep you updated. 

But I thought today was a good day to tell you about two last experiences in Mexico city I don't wanna keep from you before I talk about my actual journey/the reason I'm here for.

When you arrive  in Mexico City people will tell you  2 things about taking the metro. One thing is that you shouldn't take it at all because it's dangerous or they tell you that it's okay to take it but you to "never" take it in the rush hours. 

So because I'm such a smart girl...I took it ..in the rush hour -well mainly because in my last month in Mexico I took a spanish course- which made taking the metro unavoidable at that time of the day.

So where do I begin : It's like jurassic park? like another planet, like people traveled back in time  and behave like animals again. I'm not even joking ..as soon as some people enter the underground the seat in the metro might turn into the most important thing in their life's. 

The first time I took the metro:

 I noticed that women had a separate part - so the risk of sexual harassment is lower- you have to imagine you're in a city of over 8 million people and in the metro you feel like at least 70 % of those millions are right next to you, literally breathing in your neck.

To be honest, in the moment that I saw the "just women and children" sign I felt relieved and never had in mind of taking the mens wagon ever.... 

But karma hit me hard as I felt elbows pushing me from left and right, old Mexican women with the height of 1,50cm pushing their way through the crowd, trying to leave the train before the doors were even open yet (is this international ?)

If you don't fight back ...you will get smashed. It felt like a huge shoe sale to give you a better image  and we all know that women can be unpredictable when it's about certain thing's.  I just did not expect a seat in a metro would be one of them. As I got the second time an elbow pushed in my stomach I've decided to stick to the men's wagon who were way more calm. To sum it up I'd still avoid taking the metro in the mornings and afternoon's and stick to taking an uber if your buget allows it. 

"Espera a todos"..one of the 8 rules that the family I lived with, set for dinner. 

Nothing people would usually question, nothing I would question either, but somehow this phrase is not only useful when we're talking about dinning. When you're in Mexico you wait at least once a day for something or someone and the worst thing about this, you cannot really be mad about it. Why not?

Because this is culture and you cant travel and complain about it being different than the place you came from. Also, you're traveling and the people your meeting arent your family or closest childhood friends. You juat gotta learm to adapt. At the beginning this was so hard to me, because I've grown up in a country where being punctual is already in your genes in most cases. So I've had my difficulties but when your in a country in Latinamerica or any southern one I can just advice not to meet up with people at one place and expect them to be there. It's always the smarter way to visit them first and start going together to a place or just in general be 30 to 40 minutes late (at least if it's a group) . I've wasted too much energie in being mad or disappointed or trying to figure out the reason why people let me wait. Trust me- there is no answer- it's just cultural differences and nobody does it on purpose because the Mexicans have a lot of patience themself- they don't usually dont get your rush. And as you might have noticed my last post was months ago...I feel like I kinda started to go with the flow....well let's call it a small wave instead.

Much love from Playa del carmen where I'm volunteering till my friend arrive's so our journey can -after 8 months of waiting- begin. Next post will follow this week.