March 28th, This is why I took French. Je comprende maintenant!

I woke up around 10 30, had breakfast, and played on my lap top for a while. No one was awake/home so I walked around the house and hung out with myself. Bertilde (Lazaro's sister-in-law) came home around 2pm and asked what I had for breakfast and if I was hungry before we went to the Gregory Colbert exhibit. All of my conversation with Bertilde, by the way, is in French. I told her I got myself cereal and hadn't eaten since and in response, she said, "no one gave you food?!!?" So she had Dalia go and get a rotisserie chicken and potatoes while she made a salad with homemade queso and fresh orange juice. It was lovely.

After eating, Bertilde and I took the metro to Zócalo to see Gregory Colbert's photographs which were displayed in the Nomadic Museum. Dalia had made other plans for the evening and Betty was going to the gym, so they did not join us. His pictures were breath taking, regardless of the company. This is the link to see his portfolio: --- http://www.ashesandsnow.org/en/portfolio/ ----. The Nomadic Museum was a piece of artwork as well. It is a 6,000 square metre structure designed by both Gregory Colbert and the Colombian architect, Simón Vélez. It is an incredible Bamboo structure that accommodates two galleries for huge prints, and three theaters. Two of the theaters display "film haiku's" and the largest one displays a 60-minute feature film. It's truly breath-taking. There are so many people and the energy is so intense that it is hard not to follow the fast pace of the crowd through the galleries. Bertilde and I would stop and let people move around us like water moves around rocks, and we would take our time looking at each photo and then talk about our favorite ones and why.

After we left the museum, we looked at a model of a town built on water in Zócalo, and then proceeded to find coffee. I don't like coffee, but the Mexicans know how to do it. It's more like a dessert for me, than a strange tasting beverage many Americans are addicted to. We sat and had little desserts with our coffee and talked. Earlier when we were walking through the museum my brain hurt from having to listen, and quickly define what Bertilde was saying from French to English. I felt 3 seconds behind every word she said. After the coffee, it was easier. I just listened and responded now without dissecting each word.. I finally relaxed. We talked about my home life, divorce, growing up, what I wanted to do with my life and what she did with hers. The woman is brilliant and has her master's in French from a school in Montreal, Canada. She told me about hard times and good times she's had over the past few years, and how her kids have grown up since then. This was probably my favorite part of the evening. Not only had I gotten to sit for about 3 hours, but I had made a new friend as well.

After coffee, we left Zócalo by Metro. We got back to the house around 10pm, just in time to say bye to Mixanto, Dalia, and Betty who were heading off to a party. I am tired from walking around, and my body still doesn't know what time it is because of the back and forth jet lag I've had over the past week. Soon enough, I'll be back to normal. I'm going to Tecolutla tomorrow at 1 30pm though! I'll miss the family here, but I know I'll see them before I go back to the states in May. Maybe I can convince Bertilde to come and visit!