Mexico D.F.

I'm working on becoming a Mexican citizen.  It's a kind of long process, but the total cost of all the paperwork and fees is about $150, which is tens of times less that it will cost to get JP's US citizenship.  I've had to go to several places in Queretaro to get the requirements for this process, and one paper had to be picked up in Mexico City.  I went on thursday.  It costs about $30 round trip to get to and from Mexico (haha mom, I can pay less to go to the bus station instead of the airport!), so JP didn't go with me, and he couldn't really take off work anyway. 

The Mexico City Metro Area has over 20 MILLION people.  It's one of the dirtiest cities in the world (although they're doing well at cleaning it up), and one of the most dangerous as well (which is also being worked on).  For some unknown reason, I feel a lot safer in Mexico City that I do in large cities in the US, Chicago for example, but I have no idea how to get from one point to another in Chicago or other large US cities.  I feel unsafe taking public transportation in Portland Oregon, which I seriously doubt has a high crime rate.

Anyway, I mapped out my route to the Federal Police building where I needed to get my paper.  Go to Mexico on a nice bus.  Go on the subway (Metro) from the bus station.  Change Metro lines twice.  Buy a MetroBus ticket and go about 10 minutes on that.  Get off and walk 4 blocks to the Federal Police building.  A lot of people look at me and know that I'm a foreigner, but there's always room for doubt - there are many mexicans with my skin, hair, and eye color.  By mapping out my route before I begin using public transportation, I somewhat avoid looking like a lost tourist, which cuts down on the risk of being pick-pocketed or worse.  All credit/debit cards that I don't plan on using stay home, as well as wedding rings, driver's license, and other things that I won't use and want to keep for years to come.

The paper-pickup took less that 10 minutes, which is EXTREMELY rare for paperwork here - I waited HOURS in each immigration visit in Queretaro.  And I had planned to spend hours in Mexico.  So, I went to the Capitol Mall, some free museums, the zoo, and ate lunch a a Burger King across the street from the Angel of Independence.  I think I walked for about 2 hours, counting walking around the zoo.  It was a nice, cheap, day of exploring and recharging.  And I still am weirded out by the fact that I've been to the Capitol Mall and the Capitol building in Mexico like 8 times in 4.5 years...  I've only been to the US Capitol once I doubt I'll ever have the chance to go back...  I like living here!  :)