July 15 - Mexico City

We arrived in Mexico City around 6 pm, and it didn't take long for confusion to set in - there were few useful signs in the airport. We needed to call our hostel to have them send someone to pick us up, but we didn't know the country codes to use with our cell phones. Our first Spanish conversations in Mexico were with a phone card vendor, a security guard, who gave us the country code, and another guard who gave us vague/undecipherable directions to Terminal 1 (we had arrived in the new Terminal 2). For some reason, they would not pick us up in Terminal 1.

Exiting the building, we stood outside looking aimless, waiting for a shuttle bus we weren't sure would actually come. No one asked us if we needed help, and the nearby information booth was deserted. After about 15 minutes of eventless waiting, I asked a traffic guard, from whose answer I understood 'blanca' and followed the direction of her arm. After standing there for a few more minutes, we spotted a white bus pulling away. Running over and motioning our desire to get on, we paid 10 pesos and arrived at Terminal 1 a few minutes later. It is actually a bit far away. Almost as soon as we arrived curbside, a young man from the hostel picked us up and took us on a CRAZY drive west through the city to the Roma colonia, or neighborhood.

Having somehow made it to the hostel alive, we checked-in to our small but comfortable private room. After washing up in the shared bathroom, we walked down the street and bought some small groceries, came back, and collapsed.