No Shame in My Walmart Game

dragon birdbath

Yesterday was my first work day here and it went pretty well. The Internet speed was fine and the desk is big enough for my monitor, so that was good. The only problem I had was my neighbor playing his radio really loudly all day. At first I didn't mind it because as long as music doesn't have words, or at least words I can understand, I can work with it on in the background. So I was able to tune the Spanish words out.  It was even kind of fun for a while.

However, it just went on all day. By around 1:00 I started to lose patience. It felt like a torture method. Strangely it only stopped at 4:00 on the dot, exactly when I logged out for the day. So weird!

After work I took the bus to the Plaza Grande (it was a breeze!) and then walked up a pretty, tree-lined avenue here called Paseo de Montejo, which as apparently was modeled on the Champs  Elysees. The Paseo has a lot of Merida's historic mansions and museums, like this beauty.

There's always a lot going on here, and people come out in the evening since it's so hot during the day. They seem to just be gearing up when I'm thinking about bed. They eat ice cream, ride the horse-drawn carriages and hang out at the fanciest Starbucks I've ever seen.

At the end of the Paseo there's a roundabout, which has a statue in the middle. But what's funny is, right beyond that, is Walmart.

At home I hate Walmart, but here I love it because it has everything I need in one place- groceries, clothes, flip-flops, you name it. (Side note: one thing it does not seem to have is A/C.) This was actually my second trip here because on Sunday I went shopping and bought, among other things, a yoga mat...  which I promptly left at the taxi stand. However, I really want to do my workouts, so I had to persevere and go back and buy another one.

Things are cheap here. On Sunday when I was at Walmart, I bought the mat and a weeks' worth of food, and my bill was $35. The yoga mat was not even $10. Now that I have some "essentials," I look forward to finding the fruit and vegetable market near me, but I have to admit Walmart is a good place to know.

After Walmart, I kept walking around town. It was about 7 p.m. by now and it was beautiful out. I didn't want to go home. But I was really hungry, I mean bordering on hangry, so I eventually grabbed a cab (couldn't connect to wifi to get an Uber) and headed home.

Merida is growing on me already. People here are nice enough, but not overly friendly. In fact, they largely ignore me which, oddly, makes me feel more at home.