I'm back. I haven't been posting much because I've been quite busy preparing a paper on my work, and am hoping to submit it for publication by the time I leave (can anyone say "pipe dream"). Moreover, I want my posts to be meaningful, and as such I don't post unless I have something interesting to report.
As I'm sure you're all aware, the US soccer team had a, how shall I put this, less-than-satisfactory performance when they came here to play Mexico. They put the game on in our house, and at halftime, the score being 0-0, a friend and I decided to head out to a bar downtown to catch the rest of the game. Once we got to the bar the score was already 2-0 Mexico. At that point we decided it would be a waste of time to watch the rest of the game as soccer games rarely score above two, especially with less than a half remaining.
So we walked back to the bus. On our way to the bus we walked through the town square. There were TVs everywhere and I noticed the score had changed to 3-0. While we walked through the artisans' market on the way to the bus stop, Mexico scored another point. By the time we got back the game was over, Mexico having beaten the US by an astonishing five points.
Of course, before the game we had been sure to talk plenty of shit to our host family about how the US was for sure going to win and Mexico had no chance (after all, we did beat Spain). And as you can imagine, when we showed up for dinner we were subjected to all sorts of ridicule. Whatever; who cares about soccer, anyway?
Today, Dr. Ramos took me to la Universidad Nacional Autónomo de México (UNAM), one of the most prestigious universities in Mexico, along with one of my coworkers, one of our collaborators from another university, and another professor from Tec. Initially, I was under the impression that we were to attend a conference there, so I was all set to put on my "I'm totally not bored right now" face that I have gradually perfected after viewing Powerpoint after Powerpoint of biological tedium.
But there was no conference (I must have misunderstood; apparently, my understanding of Spanish is even poorer than I had initially thought). The actual reason we went was because Dr. Ramos wanted me to see UNAM and the surrounding neighborhood, Ciudad Universitaria (CU). He devoted his entire workday to this end.
So this is basically a repeat of the last post on Mexico City. Once more I was shuttled about town, wined and dined, again without paying a penny. And once again I had a great time. The team and I bonded, talking about everything from Taco Bell to US and Mexican politics to Canada and its merits as a country (i.e. I made fun of Canada a lot).
I still am in awe of the incredible hospitality and kindness of the Mexican people. People here have consistently gone out of their way for me. I'm sure going to miss Mexico when I'm back in Boston being treated like an average Joe.
