Visit: Day 5

After the first apartment in Coyoacan fell through, we decided to spend the fifth day of the trip in Coyoacan again. We arrived early with low hopes, expecting to have to look all day and worried we wouldn’t find a way to get around the Federal District cosigner requirement. But less than two hours after arriving, we were standing in a huge apartment that cost less than the first apartment with the property manager assuring us that if we paid upfront, the cosigner wouldn’t be an issue.

By the time we had gotten back to the sidewalk from the apartment, we had decided that was the apartment for us. A few hours later, Jose was on the phone with the property manager with an appointment to sign the lease the following week.

We were finally able to relax, and we spent the rest of the day in Coyoacan in and out of our hotel. My mom spent the afternoon reading, while Anna, Jose, my dad, and I went to a health food store that sells gluten free baked goods. We bought conchas, the sweet Mexican bread with sugar on top, cookies, crackers, and bisquits. We found a gourmet store that sells goat cheese, which I have been looking for for a long time. There is an Asian market filled with gluten free noodles, soy sauce, and tapoica flour, as well as markets with goat cheese, gluten free bread, and fresh fruits, vegetables, and fish in Coyoacan. Just from the food selection, I know without a doubt that it is where I am supposed to live.

My parents feel much better knowing that Anna, Jose, and I will be living in a safe and beautiful place. My mom says that Coyoacan is probably as close to Healdsburg as we could find in Mexico, and I think she is right. It is still Mexico City, but its quiet, peaceful, and easy to forget about the city. We will have everything that Mexico City offers close to us, but we be secluded enough that we don’t have to live in the craziness of the city.

-Emma