More CDMX!

Continuing with random observations:

8) The kids are working! Lots of people have little stalls or stands or they just take up space on the sidewalk selling things. I've seen kids playing around their parents while they work, but I've also seen them trying to get people's attention, helping display stuff, and just now we saw a small child carrying a mop bucket down the stairs of our hotel to help his parent, too.

The metro here has separate cars for women and children, and recently I saw a lady asking if when she visited the city, her 15-year-old son would be able to ride in the women/children car with her. People were incredulous. One person said, "That car is for unaccompanied women. You'll have a man with you." It helps me see how much "younger" 15-year-olds are in the US than here.

9) Wash cloths aren't really a thing. We had to ask for a couple, and the gentleman at the front desk took a minute to understand what we were talking about. We did get a couple, but when they were dirtied, they weren't replaced like the towels and shower mat.

10) People walking their dogs in Centro Historico seem to carry a large plastic bag with several pieces of half-sheet paper in the bag. When their dog does their business, they use a piece of paper to pick it up and put it in the bag. That way, no matter how many poops your dog(s) has, you only have one plastic bag!

11) Hot carrots are awesome.

12) Shoes get really dirty. The hotel where we're staying now even provided shoe mitts and little sponges to buff our shoes. We need them! I walk at home, outside and off-road, and it's not the same thing. I guess it's a combination of the pollution falling to the ground and just a lot of outside life?

13) I had read before we came that if you don't speak any Spanish, to stay in the touristy areas and you'll be able to get by okay... but I don't see how! We have toddler-level Spanish and have made it with effort... but there has been only once that we were even offered an English menu (which we declined), and maybe three or four times in over a week so far, someone has switched to English when talking to us. Overwhelmingly, everything we've done has relied on Spanish, including Uber drivers asking exactly where we were going even though it's literally in the app. I'd say that if you're traveling to Mexico City, study Spanish for a while first! 

James started Duolingo about a year before I did, and I started with French just to hit the ground running. After we got back from Montreal in May 2024, I switched over to Duolingo. After about a year of just that, I started listening to the Duolingo Spanish podcast, then other beginner and intermediate Spanish podcasts. Some were lessons proper, and others were just people talking or telling stories.

If I'm having to rack my brain to order for Mal at Subway, I don't see how someone having no Spanish could really have a good time without much frustration on the part of both the visitor and the vendor or customer service professional.

More later!