Fragments of the life in Mexico City

You hear the horn, then the breaks, which is getting blocked, and then the sound of a huge BANG!!!

A car has just run into the side of a bus. All traffic in the two out of four lines are stopping. This result in loud horns from the cars further behind.

If you didn’t know it, then welcome to Mexico City, the city with the worst traffic in the world. A thing I’m getting confirmed in, this thursday afternoon when I’m coming out of the Metro General Anaya, close to my home. The clock has just passed 22.00.

Welcome to Rush hour! – the life as commute

Today was not the day where I should hear the Relaxed voice of Céline Dion singing “My Heart will go on” in the Metro because when I came down the stairs to the station of Barranca Del Muerto was it the sound of hundrets of people whistling I was meet with. I can’t even see the floor of the platform because of people! I’m stopping at the last stairs before I’m looking at Alvar, who I’ve been talking with since the ITAM. We are both decided that it will be more convenient and faster to walk to the next station, Mixcoac, which is a 25 walk from Barranca del Muerto.

When we are going out of the metro is people standing in a line waiting on the right filling before they enters the Metro. A lady is asking us why we are leaving, to what we both answer; “to many people. The station is full totally full!”.

When I’m entering the platform at the station Mixcoac, is it nearly comical, because here is there nearly nobody, no rush, nearly no people and I can continue my travel home more relaxed than when I was looking at all the whistling people at the platform at Barranca del Muerto.

The difference of 5 minutes can have a huge impact on how comfortable my one hour traveling to and from ITAM is. Because if I hit rush hour is the metro totally packed and I nearly can’t move in it, but if I’m taking a metro just 5 minutes before is it possible to get in and out of the metro without being pushed from all sides. Even though I’m using the time in the Metro to read, do I from time to time have the thought that if I should live here for longer time did I need to have a car! – A thought I never had had en Copenhagen where it is easier and cheaper to get around by bikes. But I think the picture above tells it’s own story and come with its own explication.

The ground is moving

The sound is coming back. The sound I heard the evening before in my room, the sound, which I at that time didn’t know what meant. It’s a sound of a big siren. I’m sitting in my Latino America class, when the siren is retourning, I’m looking at the clock, it is 12.30. Everybody is looking at each other, and then my professor, Mr. Silva is clapping his hands and saying “vamos”!

Everybody is leaving the class immediately. When I’m coming out to the corridor which is leading to the stairs is it full of people. Everybody in the building is leaving. The reason is that the siren is a warning for earthquake. The siren is starting 60 seconds before the possible earthquake is happening. The sound of the siren can be compared with the siren in Denmark when people need to be indoor because of centimenation in the air or bomb threats. A siren which people usually only hear once a year when it is being tested.

We are standing close in front of ITAM, waiting on the filing of the ground moving. A filling that I never got.. so after 5-10 minetines without the filling of anything can we walk back to our classes and continue the lecture.

On or way back I’m I asking Alejandro Baca, a classmate, if the earthquake is normal here in Mexico City whereto he answers; “it is different form year to year, because Mexico is located where there is a risk, so you never know. – But you should get the app SkyAlert because it is telling you about how strong the earthquake is and were it has hit”. And he continues: “It even can come with an alarm before an earthquake is hitting the aria where you are located”.

The earthquake today is very local, so I couldn’t fill it but only around 5 km south of ITAM was it possible to fill it.