Brook's blog

nuoveau riche en el DF

Brook — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:03:44 +0000

Last night I had another opportunity to go to a party with Mexico City's upper crust (ie really fucking rich). I can't say for sure that this family was nouveau riche but all the signs were there. They have a tire business in LA and a house in the new-richest neighborhood in el DF. The party was in the jardin but I went in the house and it was like an 80s movie about rich people- marble, lion heads, mirror walls, the whole nine. Even a maid in an all-white uniform. I can't even tell you what an asshole I felt like asking her how her night was going, half-drunk and clacking through on stilettos. I kind of love and kind of hate going to those kind of parties.

Mexico City Advice to Sharon in SC

Brook — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:27:13 +0000

A question comes in from a wanderlusting reader:

Hi Brook….I am visiting Mexico City “again” in October. I have seen all
the main attractions on a typical tour such as the Zocalo, Murals in Natl
Palace, Museum and Castle in C. Park, Guadalupe Shrine, Pyramids, Insurgentes
Market, Ballet, Xochimilco…What is left? I am presently trying to hire a
guide friend to pick me up in her car, and take me to other interesting
places not hit by the tours. Do you have any suggestions for requests I
should make? We will be in the DF for only ONE day (a Sunday) before heading
up to San Miguel Guanajuato, etc. on our tour bus with the rest of our group.
Thanks if you have time…Sharon in South Carolina

Hi Sharon,

The Mexico City Airport: Terminal 1? Terminal 2?

Brook — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:25:07 +0000

Hello all,

Because the Mexico City Airport (Benito Juarez, airport code MEX) opened a second terminal recently, I thought I would share a quick tip. The airlines that arrive at Terminal 2 are:
Continental
Delta
AeroMexico
Lan
Copa
Aeromar

All others arrive at Terminal 1. The metro (Yellow Line, stop: Terminal Aerea) goes to Terminal 1, and is very easy to find and take. You can take safe taxis from either terminal by buying a ticket at a taxi stand (not by answering one of the gentlemen yelling "TAXI!", they are not necessarily safe). I don't know Terminal 2 very well, but if you have to meet someone at Terminal 1, there are two international arrivals gates about 200 yards apart and very nearby is a restaurant called Freedom which is easy to find and a good spot to meet up.

Men (and me) in Mexico

Brook — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:33:58 +0000

I went for a run today, and then went to the grocery store after the park. While I was walking home from the grocery store, carrying my groceries, I got cat-called 3 or 4 times. I was wearing head phones so I didn't know what they were saying but I could see them. Usually In a walk to of from somewhere I will get one on average, and delivery trucks with two men in them are almost a guarantee-- maybe because they aren't in their own car, they are bored, and they have a buddy to back them up so they feel more bold. This time it was two grocery store employees together, two pairs in delivery trucks, and then the one that inspired me to write this post.

Mexican Spanish Slang

Brook — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:48:12 +0000

Some Slang Used In Mexico
I don't know it all, but here are some of the slang words and uses I have picked up in Mexico. Some of them may actually used in other Latin American countries as well.

Güey- Probably the most used slang in Mexico. It is like "dude," and is used ALL the time (pronounced almost like “way”).
Pinche- fucking (adj.)
No manches- No way! Not to be used in formal situations.
No mames- No way! The cussword version. Definitely do not use this in formal situations. literally it basically means don't blow me.
Mamada- blow job
@- used when a word can be male or female, to represent both the “O” and the “A” in the word.

Sights of Mexico: El Mercado

Brook — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:57:58 +0000

Perhaps my number one recommendation for a visit to Mexico City is to see one or more markets. There are major markets all over the city where people go to buy everything from fruit and veggies to clothes and toiletries.

Most markets also have an amazing butcher section. Don't seek that out if you are a squeamish vegetarian, but it is worth a look if you won't get sicked out. Huge cuts of meat, whole, skinned heads, whole bodies of large and small and generally unidentifiable animals. On hot days, flies everywhere.

Other than the general markets that are everywhere, almost always right near a metro stop, I especially recommend two:

Mercado Merced/Sonora (Metro Merced)

Mexico City Sights: Introduction

Brook — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:01:41 +0000

Hello all! My time in Mexico is winding down. I have only 3 months left on my contract, and then will be moving to NY where my fella lives. I have been thinking about what is on my "list"-- things I want to make sure I do before I leave. I was recently at a happy hour for NGO workers and environmentalists, and another gringa I chatted with mentioned that she was thinking about her list as well. I also recently had some visitors with whom I saw some of the basic sights again, and loved them just as much-- or more!-- than the first or second (or third) time(s).

A new kind of MMM

Brook — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:32:33 +0000

Most Mexican morning
The other day I had a conference, so I took an alternate route. Normally I have a short walk to work, through a mostly residential area. This day, I walked through the main park of my delegation (Coyoacan) and through business streets.
First, I saw every business owner doing what small business do every morning. First, they open the giant metal garage-style doors that protect storefronts at night, and then they wash the floor of the store or restaurant as well as the sidewalk in front of their door using soapy water and a broom to scrub. A lot of them also have giant squeegees that they use to push the rinse water out.

White Secret

Brook — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:44:29 +0000

A commercial for a skin-whitening lotion called White Secret has inspired some musings about race and skin color in Mexico. A few thoughts.

Money into power

Brook — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:16:53 +0000

Hello again, from the biggest city in the world!* A few weekends ago, I went to a very fresa bar with some of my lawyer friends here (young feminist lawyers from the organization I work for). Fresa, in Mexico, means rich, snooty, haughty, etc. Literally, it means strawberry, and it is used to describe the upscale young people of which there are multitude in Mexico City. First clue: you have to buy a bottle to sit a table, and bottles were around US$130. WHAT!? Bottles of alcohols like Bacardi and Absolut cost about US$15 in the grocery stores here.