estoy aqui.: The right kind of wrong

My timing seems to be perfectly off. Considering it's only my third day this makes a lot of sense since I'm still adapting. For instance, I go to order a coffee and I'm the only one who seems to have that inclination... or it's lunch time (in my head) but no one else is sitting down to lunch for at least another couple of hours. Then of course, when 4 pm rolls around, all I can think is "Happy Hour!" but then again, I am the one sad gringita having a cerveza. I know, ¡pobre gringita! ¡que lastima! But it's kind of nice have the place to myself.

Today I explored el Centro and beyond to some of the surrounding neighborhoods. As beautiful and romantic as the downtown area is, it had a comfortingly touristy feel to it and therefore I fit in way too much. I could see the eyes of the vendors light up every time I walked into a shop, and yes I bought too much shit. But of course, what a bountiful trap. Nonetheless, I knew this wasn't where I was going to find what I was looking for so I meandered in an unknown direction, setting my destination for a cathedral I had not yet visited off in the distance. I crossed the main street, bustling with chaos and clamor and found myself on the "other" side of the bridge- off the beaten path.

I'm not completely sure but I think I ended up in the area I was told to steer clear of... "¡cuidate!" It was certainly run down but so full of character- smells textures people etc, and much more exciting (though less pleasant) than el centro. Every neon-colored, crumbling nook was filled with people hard at work on various different jobs- a laundry mat, a barbershop, and a wood shop all crammed into one block with a tiny, tiny, tiny tortilleria on the corner and even stray dogs (my favorite thing). MMMM the smells- bitter and sweet.

I was at last in the right kind of wrong place. You know this when every one who walks by gives you a discrete look of confusion; then there I was snapping photos of EVERYthing. A realization hit me at one point- I need to not let this sort of gringa self entitlement get to me. This happened when I caught myself scoffing and walking in the opposite direction when I spotted two other foreigners
near el centro (some of the first I've seen yet!)... "pinche tourists."

My explorations ended where they began, El Centro, and in a perfect way. I sat down at a Parisian-esque café, ordered a Corona, and much to my delight, witnessed some beautiful live music as a thunderstorm rolled in. Ay, que rico.

some photos from today, click to enlarge!: