In the past few days, when people have said to me, “Oh, you’re new! How do you like it here so far?” My response has been — thoughtful pause — “I like it…”
Everything is starting to grate on me, suddenly. The noise. The endless horn-honking. So much freaking horn-honking, I start composing symphonies of horn-honks in my head. Could one have a Hallelujah Chorus of honking? What about that gloomy Transylvania theme song, always blaring in haunted houses? That thing was made to be honked.
Then today, we woke up to find we had no water. It’s a problem throughout our neighborhood. Undeterred in my quest to become the cleanest woman in Mexico, I ended up taking a medieval-type shower, heating up water on the stove and then carrying it into the shower in my largest mixing bowls. It actually worked pretty well, to be honest. Something tells me tomorrow it won’t be as fun.
Other things I don’t understand about this country: Why paying a bill at the bank takes at least an hour. Why getting Internet at home, if you don’t have a phone line, takes two to three weeks. And why men make that weird lip-smacking sound at women walking down the street. It sounds like they need a toothpick.
I’m looking forward to getting out of here, at least for a little while. My friend Joy and I are going to the Yucatan at the end of the month, which will be nice.
So I’ve officially descended from my new-resident high. Still like it here, but it just feels more real. Not as magical.
One step closer to real Defeña status.
No water and Marcelo Ebrard is building artificial beaches. What do you think about that?
Artificial beaches? I hope not. Why not just make a pool with sand around it at a resort?
Could the problem possibly be related to the fact that there are too many people in Mexico City?
Hi Diane: I’m not so quick to blame the number of people, actually. I haven’t read enough to definitively cross that off as a reason, but maintenance seems to be a big reason, too. The pipes are old and leaky and need repairs. And NO ONE conserves. There is no culture of conservation here at all, save for the phrase “CUIDA EL AGUA” occasionally popping up on detergent commercials. Also, it seems to me that the government isn’t competent enough, or doesn’t have enough money or manpower, to come up with a sustainable solution. Every year it’s dry; every year the city cuts off water service, and people pay for private water trucks. Then the rains come and everyone’s satisfied and forgets about the problem. This year, the cut-offs were particularly severe, from what I’m told. Maybe that will spur government officials to come up with a solution, but I’m not optimistic.
I’m sorry to hear about the horn honking. I hope the water situation works out.