I've been sleeping later than usual and I arrive for breakfast during the last half hour when there aren't as many other guests present. I sat at the main table but the woman from Delaware was holding court telling everyone what they wanted and didn't want to know about her rug business so I moved to the smaller table were there was a guest from Nicaragua who doesn't speak English and a Canadian and an American. I sat with Maria and we began to talk in Spanish, then the Canadian left and the American tried to engage me in English so I asked him if he speaks Spanish, which he does, so the three of us could all visit in Spanish which helped Maria feel included. Then she left, Steve and I switched back to English and tried to solve the world's problems. We both see the Occupy movement as the first whisper of some major public resistance and social change that may be headed our way in both our countries. Later I went to Bougainvillea Land or San Angel where I wondered around on cobblestoned streets faced by walls festooned with bougainvillea and through a couple of parks, then walked into Coyoacan where I got lost in the various winding streets and lanes. I saw some interesting murals, one featuring two images of Frida Kalho, one where her head is superimposed on the body of a deer. Various strangers helped me find my way back when I was lost, then at the metro station a man holding a baby helped me get my ticket right so I could insert it in the turnstile, and on the train I saw a young man get up and offer his seat to a young mother with a baby. When I emerged from the metro we were hit by a mammoth hail and thunder storm so I had to take shelter under an awning with a group of people. When the storm lightened a bit I ran across the street into a big diner type restaurant where I ate some of the best enchiladas I have had here. The place reminds me a little of some of the original Vancouver diners before they were taken over and hipsterized to death. The waitress was also very kind and when I left she stuck her head out the door and said come again. By this time the storm was over but the damage has been done and some streets are flooded.
I just had a great visit and interesting conversation with other guests in the living room, including a couple from Vancouver (Surrey) and their son and another couple from Toronto and another guy from Toronto. Something I have noticed about the many Canadians I have been meeting here is that we all seem interested in what other people do and where they are from. While the American and European visitors are often nice enough, except for certain bores, they don't usually take open interest in others but seem more interested in talking about themselves and their own occupations, activities and interests.
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