Veracruz, Veracruz

These last few days have been an adventure- in a good way, and not in a good way where I have to tease out the goodness and make the best of the worst! After an upsetting Friday where my plans, once again, were shot and I was told to wait until Monday to go to the community, I began Saturday not knowing whether I should a)stay and wait for a grad student of Dr. Torres to arrive to Papantla (I didn´t know when she would get in); b)go visit Linda, a dotty but kind old woman who wants to take me to a waterfall in a nearby town; or c)pack up my stuff and get myself away from the heat and stress of Papantla for a few days and go visit my friend Nelly in Veracruz.

I ended up waiting for Lindsey, who called at 3 pm to say she had arrived (at 12 that same day! grrr!), so I went to go meet her and planned on taking the bus to Joloapa afterwards, though the only one I knew of left at 3:15. As always it took longer than I expected to meet and talk to Lindsey, so I ended up going back to my apartment and deciding in a frenzied rush to try to take the last bus to Veracruz that left in 20 minutes. I threw some stuff in my bag, saw a haggard face look back at me in the mirror as I rushed out the door. I flagged down the first taxi I saw and got to the station with 15 minutes to spare, so I got in the line of the only checker, an old woman slower than a dead sloth, and waited impatiently, like a good American. Finally I got to the window, asked for a ticket, and..."no, no hay un autobus que va a Veracruz hoy..." she said, slowly and painfully like death by sword. "Esta segura? Porque dice en el internet que hay uno ahorita..." I pleaded, looking more like a gringa loca than ever, unwashed, practically melting in a greasy ball of desperation on the shiny, tiled floor. The woman just looked at me briefly, then turned back to do some menial task as slowly as possible with utter concentration.

I turned away, stunned, and stood for a moment facing the stares of the small,crowded station. I shuffled outside slowly, feeling the anxiety and desperation and indecision and desperation bubbling up to the surface, leaned against the wall, and started to sob uncontrollably. Not just little sniffles, but those body-rocking, eye-socking powerful sobs that come with snot and weird noises and headaches. People walked by, trying to ignore me and I them, until a woman got out of her car, walked up and stopped right in front of me, looked me in the eyes sincerely and said to me in perfect (if accented) English, "Can I help you?" I just looked at her mournfully, forced a weak smile, and with a little shake of my head choked out, "Maybe...no I don´t think so, but thanks," and I started to cry even harder. The next 20 minutes I spent wandering around, alternately walking back towards town and staggering back towards the bus station, doubting the words of the old woman, still crying and keeping my head down so as not to face the looks of all those who kept staring. I finally decided to just go to the other bus station and go to Joloapa to visit Linda, but still something kept tugging at me, telling me not to go. I got on the bus anyway (after getting off and on at least two times to the confusion of all), paid my fare, and was on my way when I jumped up, rushed to the bus driver, and asked if there were buses of that line that left for Veracruz. "Si, si hay..." I thanked him and jumped off in the middle of the street, rushed back to the bus station, and after an agonizing 15 minutes decided to get on the bus bound for Veracruz.

As we left I felt good about my decision (a good sign!), and after a long 5 hour bus ride full of stops in nameless towns and putting up with half sharing my seat with a man drooling on my shoulder, I arrived at the bus station in Veracruz. Nelly and I found each other, loaded up in her friends truck (4 people CAN fit on one bench seat, by the way), and we headed off for the center of town. After a quick walk about and a little live music (which was great, and I love you Austin!), we went to a friend´s house where I got tipsy off of one drink after not eating since that morning. Needless to say, I slept long and hard after such a day.

The next morning we started off by going to the market, a smorgasbord of vegetables, meat, manufactured items, artesanias, and delicious...FOOD! The smells were overwhelming- in one moment you would smell some sweetly baking bread, in another a smell of rotting meat, and another of newly pumped plastic. We ordered some juice and enchiladas from a jam-packed stand, surrounded by people shoveling down foods of all flavors, colors, and smells, but almost everything containing tortillas. I had the enchiladas sencillas con mole; four tortillas (probably fried) folded like delicate little napkins, doused with delicious sweet-smoky mole, and sprinkled with white cheese. MMMM! I practically licked the plate clean. From there we headed to San Juan de Ulua, an old fort/prison located island full of bloody history. It started as an island of sacrifices for the Totonacs, became the first treasury of the new world, then a fort, then finally a prison, where many a legendary bandit was kept and tortured by the tight quarters, dripping water, and awful weather. Furthermore, floodgates were opened to create a moat full of sharks around the then-island to discourage escape. Pretty cool...

Dead tired, I was in desparate need of some coffee, so off we went to the center of town again to a place called Cafe Parroquia. They´re famous for their signature coffee; they bring out a glass with a shot or two of espresso, you tap the glass as loud as you can with your spoon and wait for the milk-boy, a waiter carrying two silver kettles full of hot milk, which he pours into the cup from a height of 2-3 feet to make it nice and frothy. Yummm- I already miss it (sorry Papantla, but your coffee isn´t fit to throw in some creep´s face!) The only thing that bothered me about the place was it´s tradition of hiring just male waiters, though I guess it beats other places hiring just busty women.

Afterwards- you may not believe this- we decided to go to...the mall, Plaza de las Americas. Apparently the only movie theater in town is there, and it looks just like one here- big, crowded, with carpet a color designed to confuse you into not noticing stains and other distasteful things. Surprisingly, though, the trapped rabbit feeling never came up- either I was just too tired and desensitized or maybe, just maybe, I´m able to cool my jets and not judge so much anymore! And you know what? It was actually wonderful to be in a movie theater, all dark and cool and anonymous, absorbed in a silly film that was in English- I forgot I was in Mexico and started making comments to Nelly in English!

I decided to delay my flight till the next day as we wandered around a bit more then headed over to a Karaoke bar their friend Felipe works at, where again, I didn´t judge or feel awkward and had a great time (and 5 drinks)! We headed home, exhausted, and the next day had to go to Nelly´s and Wendy´s school, the University of Veracruz Engineering Campus, to have their final project assessed. We waited, and waited, and waited for it to be done to go to breakfast, but finally I gave up at 1 and decided to go to the Parroquia again. After my lechero and huevos a la mexicana I wandered around the center all day buying this and that and poking around the churches and Malecon (seaside area), blissfully unaware that just a few blocks from me there had been a shooting at 2! Apparently it was related to narco-trafficking, and was the first of its kind here in Veracruz. With a couple hours to spare, I decided to go on a tour of a barge docked near the Malecon; at the entrance I ended up meeting Angel, a young sailor from Veracruz, who flirted with me so respectfully and, well, un-creepily, that I didn´t mind. After the amazingly brain-freezingly boring barge tour I tried to get to the campus to catch my bus, but after a frenzied attempt with the help of many to get me there on time, I ended up missing my bus and going back to campus with Nelly to fart around on the computer until 1 am (her circuit still wasn´t done! Poor Nelly!)

I got on the bus this morning, a little contrite that the community had been expecting me Monday, but nonetheless refreshed from such a nice little jot. And I learned so much in just a few days, being with people from here I felt comfortable talking to and asking questions. It feels so good to travel, to get out of the little bubble we create that contains our routines, our paths, our thoughts. To just let go and have fun. And the trip back was beautiful- the beaches are incredible and so naturally beautiful, I hope to visit them someday.

I have decided to go to the community (finally!) tomorrow morning with Lindsey, so work shall begin!

Kareoke!

allison