More like a oaxaqueño everyday...

So I had in my mind that I would take my car in to make an appointment to have it checked. If I had a phone I could have called, but not a big deal to drive over to car dealers auto mile near Plaza del Valle. It is about 20k, but by now I know how to avoid the traffic snags and construction. As I got close, about 1k, the other side of the street was closed by a massive march.

Drivers did what they normally do, jumped the median and started driving whatever way they could. So we were facing cars coming head on, but quite smoothly, everyone adjusted.

I got to the dealer and they said, "Fine, let's do it now. It'll be ready at 6." I was used to dealers saying bring it in in a couple of weeks. I jumped at the chance to get it over with.

So I found myself with seven hours to kill. No biggie. And that, my friends, is a big change in attitude. Waiting seven hours seemed short.

I figured I would go to a movie and walked between the two cineplexes to see what was playing and when. I thought maybe a couple of flicks, but then saw that "Avatar" was playing at 2PM and there is an easy 3 hours.

I walked the malls and killed a couple hours, bang, bang. Made my way to the theater to discover I was the only one there. Imagine that - alone in a big beautiful room with great sound and picture, watching "Avatar" in 3D. Very cool. The usher laughed with me as I turned in my glasses. His work was done. No clean up. I hadn't even gotten popcorn.

Back to the dealer, killed another hour or so and the car was done, clean and tweaked. Not too expensive, either compared to the States, but dealers are always higher.

At least it was done and I was ready to head home.... however, the march had turned out to be marches and most major roads were blocked. So I, along with everyone else in rush hour traffic went into "getting around the blockades" mode. Obviously, it is total chaos and can be frustrating, but it is just a part of normal life here, so really it is no big deal. I know my way through the city now and got through the mess pretty easily.

You have to remember that centro has narrow streets and lots of buses and taxis. Knowing who to follow and when is key. Never argue with a bus. They have total right of way simply because they are crazy.

So between the waiting and the driving madness, I think I am getting used to this place and doin' OK.

Just think about this. People actually protest here. Imagine if thousands of people shut down the roads surrounding a major US city. Maybe the politicians would wake up.... then again, no chance of that happening.

I mean, the largest march here was in support of the PRI candidate for governor. Nothing like pissing off thousands of voters by blocking traffic for ten hours. There's an effective political strategy. Kinda like banksters whining about their million dollar bonuses or senators cutting off unemployment and Medicare payments. Brilliant. Where do I vote? How many times can I do it?