Met Artie at the entrance of the Museo de Anthropologia near the big stone statue, as planned. Except that the entrance and the statue are about a 3 minute walk apart... So it took about an hour for us to actually find one another. Good times people-watching, though.

While going back and forth from the Museo to the statue bearing its name, I passed a girl playing cello near the vendors. We made eye contact and I had a feeling there would be more to the story...

Artie and I walked around the vicinity of the zoo for about 2 hours, talking to vendors and trying to find the entrance. I voiced my suspicion that the zoo in the Bosque Chapultapec was really just a myth told to unsuspecting tourists, whose diverted business as they wander lost and confused benefits the hundreds of vendors in the park.

We finally got into the zoo about half an hour before closing. 3 sad looking elephants. Same with the bison. Many things not quite according to the educational labels, like an ostrich in the kangaroo spot.

At the antelope place, this girl named Ady, a Mexican with white skin and red hair and freckles (quite rare down here), started talking to us and immediately asked if we would be her friends and showed us pictures of her family she was carrying in her purse and told us that lots of people get kidnapped here and gave us her e-mail address. I kept my eye on our pockets and belongings the whole time, but in the end I think she was only a nice (if a bit weird, or possibly just really lonely) girl trying to reach out to the foreigners...

Although certain aspects of getting to see all the exotic animals is admittedly kinda neat, in another light the zoo just seems cruel. The MacDonalds as the only eating option inside was disappointing, too, what with all the awesome taco stands just outside (with veggier, albeit probably slightly less sanitary, options). But hey, entrance was free, I got to walk around and I had good chats with someone else having some adjustment issues with Latin culture and the UNEP office environment (btw, Artie is from Trinidad). So, overall good day.

Best part... As I was walking down La Pasea Reforma on my way back to Auditorio Station, I found myself walking beside the cellist and her mother. We started talking, in Spanish, and two lovely things happened: 1) I actually understood her & 2) we got along really well. We all took the metro southbound together and exchanged email & phone info. New friend #2 of the week. Yay!

P.S. Yes, Mom, Kim (this week´s new friend #1) and I hit it off, just as you suspected, and even though I am not encouraging you to conspire with any more strangers you meet at weddings to find me contacts down here, I owe you a thank you...