Mexico City, 2009, 12

Thu., Nov. 12, 2009 at 5:28 a.m.

I have three nights left in Mexico City before I return to Vancouver.  This could be a good time to begin to assess the worth of this visit.  First I would like to talk about the bed and breakfast where I´ve been staying this month, the Red Tree House.  This is an interesting concept in bed and breakfasts, as the establishment appears to have developed organically since the  current owners bought it five years ago.  They had not been thinking of a bed and breakfast at the time, but soon were putting up friends as house guests and soon their friends as well and eventually they realized they had turned into a guest house.  They have since done extensive renovations by adding rooms and enlarging the courtyard.  They´re quite professional and they are good at what they do.  The house is beautiful and elegantly decorated and furnished.  The breakfasts are great and satisfying and staff and management are kind, courteous, hospitable and helpful.  So what´s wrong with this picture?  I think they need to develop a further awareness that not all hotel guests are the same, and some have different needs.  Not everyone staying in Mexico City is necessarily going to be out late at night, nor is going to be inclined to sit in the the livingroom sipping wine and chatting noisily with other guests till late in the evening.  Some people like to retire early for bed, say at nine or ten at night.  Some of us need to be able to do this for our well being, and there should be here  a reasonable expectation that their needs for peace and quiet be respected. For example, given that I am here for a month one would have assumed that I would have been given a room with a private bath, since all of their rooms except two have private bathrooms, and I think it´s a no-brainer that a shared bathroom could be tolerable for guests who are going to stay for one two or three nights but not for the long term.  Also, given that after staying for a while one is going to notice certain irritations that would not have registered in the short term, one would hope that they would have put me in a quiet part of the house, especially given that I had reserved this place nine months in advance. As it stands, I had to put up with a noisy room and a shared bathroom for three weeks.  Early in my stay when I complained about the noise management basically told me to put up and shut up, and this for me was very upsetting, but since I felt basically at their mercy, and very vulnerable I cowed and let  them have their way.  It was only when the bathroom  I was sharing with another guest began to leak and needed extensive repairs that they moved me to a quieter room with a private bath.  If I ever return to Mexico City and if I ever decide to stay again at the Red Tree House (and this is a BIG if) I am going to ask for and expect better treatment or it is simply not going to happen. As for the other aspects of my stay here: 1. Spanish immersion.  I think I´ve done alright with this, but being surrounded by hotel guests speaking only English has been a bit of a handicap.  However, staff and management have been pretty good and consistent in communicating with me  mostly in  Spanish and my ear for the language and ability to communicate spontaneously seems to have improved.  I still have work to do in this area.  Of course being out and around in Mexico City has made it essential for me to communicate exclusively in Spanish with people in restaurants, cafes, the laundry, museums, transit staff, etc., and even for spontaneously asking people for directions when lost.  I´m also reading mostly Spanish, except for one book that I brought with me. 2. Learning more about the culture and history of Mexico. This has been happening every day since I got here, with visits to museums, churches and other places of architectural and historical interest, talking with people, etc., seeing the ruins at Teotihuacan. 3. Gaining more of an appreciation and respect for Mexicans.  This has been iffy.  I have found the people here to be very irritating, noisy, constantly in my face and totally ignorant about how to behave in public.  On the other hand, I have found most Mexicans I have talked to one on one to be very pleasant and courteous and enjoyable. 4. Rest and respite.  This has been good so far.  Apart from dealing with the crowds and traffic I have been able to largely enjoy being here, resting and eating reasonably well, and enjoying outings and parks, and interesting places to see.  One week of Montezuma´s Revenge has not helped, but it has helped me lose between ten and fifteen pounds that I am glad to let go of and hope that I can keep off once I´m home. 5. Further insight into the social and class structure in Mexico.  I would say that this has been very successful, especially after attending yesterday´s demonstration. So, altogether I would say this has been a successful trip.  I have also managed to finish three new paintings here which is a bonus. I´m currently trying to get to sleep earlier in order to prepare for my flight home Sunday morning.  I´m also avoiding other guests, especially since being at yesterday´s demonstration. I was so moved and overwhelmed by what I saw, these poor vulnerable campesinos and workers, many of them elderly, standing up courageously for their rights against an arrogant and indifferent governing administration and at such a huge risk to their safety and lives with all the riot police at the ready, that more than ever I am convinced that I am seeing here a very different Mexico from many of the visitors here and I am going to have to be very careful that only the worthiest swine receive my pearls.