I'm in my last week of six-hour Spanish days, packing up the apartment I can't wait to leave, and negotiating my deposit back over WhatsApp with a landlord who's taking my early exit personally. Also: the Fungi Festival, psychedelic cumbia, nooks & crannies, and weed honey.

The expat episodes begin on July 1st.

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Thank you for listening, please do it again, but get your shirt out of your mouth.

Onefjef is produced, edited & hosted by Jef Taylor.

Hellooo.

This is CDMX Dispatch number nine.

Hello, everyone.

Just gonna jump in for a quick one today, but I do hope you're all thriving.

I hope you're all doing wonderfully well.

I hope you're all enjoying the lives that you have chosen for yourself.

And if you're not enjoying the life that you've chosen for yourself, then

I recommend you choose another life.

It's not so difficult, except that it is.

It's rather difficult, to be honest.

But difficult things are important.

They build character, as they say, or that's what I keep telling myself.

They're also more exciting than the easy things, so

Do what you will.

Do what you will

For those of you who are wondering, who are saying to yourself or to me, Jef,

when is the expat, when are the expat episodes going to start coming out?

My response to that, to you, from me, is they will come out

in July, beginning of July.

July 1st is what I'm shooting for, which is a Wednesday, which is perfecto.

So stay tuned for those.

I've been extremely busy and overwhelmed for the last couple weeks with all

sorts of things, life things, work things, social things, Spanish

things, Mexico things, all the things.

And I'm taking six hours of Spanish a day.

This is my last week of six-hour Spanish classes every day.

Well, two three-hour classes.

I'm learning a lot, but by the time I'm done, I'm exhausted.

And one of my classes is always kind of mixed changing people,

and it's been a fascinating class.

I wish I could make a sitcom about it, to be honest.

Um, I, I don't even know how to describe the, the chaos that

goes on inside of this class.

I wouldn't say actual chaos, but just hilarity because there's

people of all different levels in there, and yeah, it's, it's crazy.

I actually met a, met a, a friend in that class, this, um, 20-year-old

German guy who is getting ready to hitchhike across the United States.

Uh, super interesting dude.

Um, yeah, Germans are just generally interesting in my mind

'cause they're German, you know?

I don't know.

I don't think I've ever met, like, a extremely dull or uninteresting

German, but again, I haven't met a lot of Germans, so… Not again.

I didn't say that before, so why did I say again?

Hmm.

Habit.

So yeah, still taking those.

This is my last week though, two more days of that, and then I don't know if

I'll go back when I come back to town in three weeks, two weeks, whatever,

three, um, in, whatever, in July.

I would like to because I really do enjoy the, uh, classes and the field trip.

We went on a field trip last Friday and it was super fun.

Super fun.

Uh, we went to this place called like Sunken Park.

I don't know.

I'm not gonna describe the field trip because it's ridiculous to

describe things that you experience be-- but, uh, you know what I mean.

Anyway, it was fun.

Um, and I'm learning Spanish although I'm now overwhelmed by… Like I've

learned so many different tenses now.

There's apparently 17 tenses.

I may have mentioned this.

Apparently 17 tenses in Sp- tenses in Spanish and that enough, I don't f- I've,

I've learned probably six, seven of them but now it's like I'm overwhelmed by it.

It's very confusing.

Um, there's a lot of different tenses, a lot of different conjugations, irregular

verbs, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

You don't realize how complicated language is until you start

to learn a language, you know?

Um, they're complicated.

You kinda take it for granted because you're just like,

yeah, I, I have gone to that.

I have gone to the store a few times.

Um, I went to the store a few times and just start thinking about the nuanced

differences between these different…

Anyway

It's also rewarding, of course.

And, and I'm actually proud of myself because I'm getting better at Spanish,

which I've never really leaned in this much to learning a new language,

and, uh, it's, it's rewarding.

So I recommend it to anybody who's considering it.

Uh, it also makes it easier to understand people here in Mexico City.

So there's a twofer there.

So yeah, after I finish those classes, I'll have more time freed up to,

to, um, buckle down and edit some of these interviews and get them out

to you, my valued listener, to enjoy and absorb and so forth and so on

I've also had some work.

Been doing some work which isn't interesting enough to go into.

Um, and as I said, I'm moving out of this apartment in, uh, one week

from today, as a matter of fact.

Um, and I've had this quite extensive back and forth with the landlord.

My lease, uh, first off, my lease says that… I wouldn't have signed

the lease had it not said this.

It's a six-month lease, but it says either party-- this says this

in Spanish, so I can't, you know, quote verbatim, but either party may

leave the lease or, uh, you know, end the lease with 30 days notice.

So I have given 30 days no- I gave 30 days notice.

Uh, but the landlord, I guess he didn't understand what the lease said.

I don't know.

But he was kind of being a dick about giving me the deposit back.

I was trying to be as friendly as and open as I could, and, uh, yeah, he was

just kind of responding with like…

I think he's just-- I understand he's angry because I'm leaving early, but I

can't stay in this apartment any longer.

But that doesn't, you know, justify not giving me the deposit back.

So I've had to go back and forth with him on, on WhatsApp, of course.

And last night, I think I had a bit of a breakthrough, I think, and I think that

it's starting to lean towards I will get my deposit back, but I don't know what the

terms of that are gonna be or how much of it I'll get back or, or anything really.

I honestly, you know, say would say a 60% chance right now.

Sorry, drinking water.

60%, maybe 65.

I'd like to get that deposit back.

It's 21,000 pesos, which is about, you know, 1,200 bucks, maybe 1,250 now,

because the value of the peso compared to the dollar, or the value of the dollar

compared to the peso continues to drop.

I'm 52 years old.

I don't entirely understand converting money.

Oh, well.

I mean, I do.

I'm not, like, idiotic, but it's just still, you know.

No matter

So yes, hopefully we'll get the deposit back, and I've started to pack.

I've been packing up.

I'm trying to get the apartment back into a good condition.

I've got, you know, the apartment's big and there's all

sorts of nooks and crannies.

Nooks and crannies.

Did I just say nooks and crannies?

I did.

You did, Jef.

You said that.

Oh, well, I don't regret it.

Um, a lot of places… I-- anyway, this is not exciting to talk about unpacking

to, to move, but this is what I'm doing.

Uh, and it kinda feels good to pack 'cause I'm, I'm really ready to

get out of this, this apartment.

It's starting to annoy me more and more the closer I get to my exit

date, which I guess, um, makes sense.

But yeah, it's not horrible, but I'm just excited about the new

apartment, and, like, I'm excited, I'm excited about starting, like,

the new phase of my, of my life here.

The next round, if you will.

Not like this is a boxing match, but I mean, in a, in a manner

of speaking, it kind of is.

Yeah.

Went to, uh, f- the Fungi Festival over in Huerta Roma Verde, which is

this, uh, eco center kind of park right near me here in Roma Sur.

It's an awesome place.

If you are living in Mexico City, you should go there just to wander around.

It's a really, it's a vibe.

I don't really know how to describe it.

There's like all sorts of ecological exhibits and, and like buildings and

like there's a coffee shop there.

You can sit outside and drink coffee.

It feels like you're like in a respite from the city 'cause it's

kind of separate from the city.

It feels like you're in your own little oasis separate from the…

There's chickens, there's kitties.

Kitties, cats.

I guess there may be a kitty or two.

I don't know.

I haven't seen the kitties.

If I did, I'd be there more often, believe you me, 'cause I like kitties.

Um, anyway, went with a friend of mine to the Fungi Festival, which has been--

There's like a festival at this place, Huerta Roma Verde, every weekend and

I, I'll usually like wander through once every weekend just to see what it

is, and it's usually, you know, fest- fantasy festival, et cetera, et cetera.

Uh, but this one was heavily advertised, Fungi Festival.

Love the name, like fungi.

Why not?

Let's go.

So went to this festival and, you know, there's a lot of vendors

selling like, like honestly like just a lot of mushrooms,

obviously, uh, fungi, if you will.

Uh, but also like, you know, weed, um, mushroom gummies, uh,

psychedelic, obviously psychedelic mushrooms, all sorts of things.

I don't know how the law works in Mexico City and how this-- I think

mushrooms might just be legal here, but marijuana is not necessarily

legal, but it's kind of legal.

There's actually places in the city you can apparently go, and I've

seen one once, where it's legal to stand outside and smoke weed.

Like there's three legal smoking areas.

They're not very-- The one I saw was small, and I knew I saw it 'cause

I just saw this like little area that was kind of roped off a little

bit with just like 30 people just smoking what I assumed was weed in it.

So it didn't look fun, but you know, who knows?

So that's weird.

Uh, and it's also like what, what exactly is the law here about marijuana?

I imagine the law is wherever the police at the time decide it's

going to be, which is usually the case, and then you bribe them.

But it is very confusing because they're literally like open- openly selling it

at this, at this fe- fu- fungi festival.

So

But it was really fun.

There was like, my friend knew that one of the, the DJ who

was playing, so there was a DJ.

That was fun.

Uh, we ate some like, um, like weed honey that was honestly delicious.

They gave you free samples, and it was a, it was a sizable sample, I'll be honest.

Um, am I saying I'll be honest a lot in this episode?

I think I am.

I wonder why that is.

Hmm.

Anyway, uh, yeah, the DJ, there was a band playing for a while.

Um, we talked to this interesting Mexican woman for a while about

how she's changing apartments.

There was an amazing band that played.

I believe it's a cumbia, cumbia band that played.

I think it's a Colombian music.

But anyway, cumbia, and they were awesome, and we were sitting

in this perfect place for them.

I actually recorded, uh, a little bit of what they sounded like, and

I'm gonna play that right here.

Like psychedelic cumbia.

There's an- another genre that's kind of come out of cumbia, which

is called psychedelic cumbia.

I think it came out of Peru or Colombia, and it is like cumbia

music combined with like, obviously, psychedelia into this very old, new,

past, present, future kind of a vibe.

It's really great.

If you get a chance, give it a listen on the old, uh, Spotify

or Apple Music or what have you.

Psychedelic cumbia.

Just go to, like, some of the top ones or playlist or whatever.

You, you do what you need to do.

Um, but yeah, it was, it was really fun.

It was really fun.

And, uh, anything else that's gone on in my life that's been exciting?

Many things have gone on that have been exciting and/or emotional and/or eventful

in the last two weeks, but a lot of them I'm not gonna go into and because they're

not interesting, and the others I'm not gonna go into because it's somewhat too

personal, which you're probably thinking, "But Jef, have you listened to the podcast

you've been making for the last year?"

Like it's, it's a little bit personal.

And I say back to you, "Yes, I realize that," but for some reason, I have been

inside of myself for the last month or so.

Maybe you've noticed.

Maybe la- maybe the last two month.

Maybe since I've moved here, I've been kind of inside of myself,

like kind of hiding myself.

I don't know why this is.

Not hiding necessarily, but not feeling as open as I have felt in the past.

For example, when I was on my road trip.

Maybe it's 'cause there's too much going on.

I often feel overwhelmed here with all the things, but nevertheless, perhaps

someday I will talk about all of it 'cause it's dramatic and exciting and a bit sad.

Quite sad actually.

Now you're like, "What is it, Jef? What is it?" Sorry.

While I'm thinking of it though, um, you, you, you there, you know

what you should do right now?

Go to patreon.com/onefjef, O-N-E-F-J-E-F, and sign up for as little as $5 a month.

That's 100 pesos.

Would more people sign up if I made it, like, $3 a month?

I wonder.

Maybe it's too expensive

I'll consider that.

If you have thoughts on it, email me at [email protected].

So yes, patreon.com/onefjef.

Sign up, support the podcast.

This is an independent podcast.

I'm the only person involved, and it's a lot of work.

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And the number one thing that they've found is the, uh, that gives the most

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So in a sense, I'm giving you a gift of happiness that you can give back to me.

See what I did there?

Patreon.com/onefjef, and thank you to all of my present listeners

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That is, you are my heroes, my idols.

Um, you are the elite of the elite.

You are the crème de la crème.

You are the, uh, apple of my eye as, as it were.

I think that's enough.

Thank you very much for continuing to support the podcast.

Que mas, que mas?

The World Cup is in full swing here in Mexico City, and, you know, I'm not

a big fan of soccer, football/soccer, football, football, soccer, whatever.

I'm not crazy about it.

Sorry, water

I'm not-- I've never been that crazy about soccer.

I played it when it was-- when I was a kid, and honestly, it was a

bit traumatic, so, uh, uh, after that, I just didn't want to, um,

I was bad at soccer.

I was not a good athlete when I was very young.

I mean, I'm not a good athlete now, I don't think, but I, I do more

athletic things, and it doesn't matter.

When I was a kid, I mean, I don't know, five, six, seven, eight, I don't

know how old I was when I was playing soccer, but I would, I would like for

some reason I had this… I was addicted to, like, I would take the top of my

T-shirt and put it in my mouth 'cause I was probably nervous, you know?

And my dad would yell from the sideline.

He'd be like, "Jef, get your shirt out of your mouth."

Why do memories like that stick with you?

God.

And there'd be like a big circular circle of slobber, like, on one dot on

my shirt because I'd had it in my mouth.

Oh, kids.

Anyway, but being in Mexico City during the World Cup has really made me, um,

enjoy and appreciate soccer a little more.

I still think it's quite slow.

There needs to be more scoring and excitement, but whatever.

But yeah, I've gone, watched a few games.

I went last night with a friend of mine to watch, uh, I don't

know who even was playing.

Argentina and Algeria, I think.

Maybe.

And, uh, that was super fun.

Yeah.

I mean, it's an excuse to go out and have some beers and stare at a TV.

Um, so I mean, I guess you don't really need an excuse for that, but, hmm.

And tomorrow is the Mexico City versus South Korea game.

Tomorrow night, I think I'm gonna go.

The school, the language school I'm going to is, uh, Lengua y Cultura.

Shout out.

I recommend.

Um, is having a gathering at some bar with whatever students wanna go.

Um, we're all gonna meet up there, and that seems like fun, so I might just do

that tomorrow night, which might be later now that you have listened to this later.

You know what I'm saying.

Time is but a circle, though.

In a way, I am recording this podcast, and you are listening

to it at the exact same time.

Or perhaps you've already listened to the podcast, and I'm just recording it

now because time is a circle, my friends.

Please like, rate, and review the podcast.

Uh, it does help with the algorithmic gods.

It makes me feel better to see a new, fresh review there in Apple

Podcasts, which is the place you should write a review if you can.

Makes me feel happy, makes me feel like, "Oh, look, somebody wrote

a nice review about my podcast." Makes me feel warm inside.

So please go do that, and if not that, then just rate it, uh,

five, 10 stars, whatever, and, uh, you know, give it a thumbs up,

subscribe, whatever you need to do.

Do all those things.

And if you wanna contact the podcast or follow the podcast, actually…

Uh, well, I'll do contact first.

How about that?

If you wanna contact the podcast, I've already told you, is

[email protected] or 669-241-5882.

669-241-5882. That's kind of like a weird, like, John Cage or something.

Um, not my best.

Give it a call.

Leave a voicemail.

I may or may not play it on the air, as I deem.

As I deem.

Can I end the sentence with just as I deem, or do you

need an extra word after deem?

See, I am studying a language.

Can deem work by itself?

I don't know.

Let me know if you want to, 669-241-5882.

Let me know if deem can be used as a standalone word in the English language.

Thank you very much in advance.

And yeah, I, I think that's gonna be it for this week.

Um, I know it's been kind of scattered and, uh, kind of short

this week, and I think some people actually enjoy the shorter episodes.

Maybe they don't.

Just let me know, 'cause I have no idea what you like.

What do you like?

Please tell me, you the listener.

If you're listening to this right now, please just take a minute

right now or after you listen.

Don't stop the podcast, of course.

As soon as this is over, which is almost over, so y- be ready.

Pick up the phone, 669-241-5882.

Leave me a voicemail.

Tell me what you like about the podcast.

If you want me to play you on the air, just say so.

Or send me an email at onefjefpod, a quick email, [email protected].

Say, "I like when you do these episodes. I like when you do

these." It really would help me.

Like, I'll give you what you want, I mean, to a degree.

I mean, let's see how far we can push it.

If you have requests of what you'd like to hear, just let me know.

I'll see if I can do that for you.

I'll take requests.

Why not?

I mean, within the bounds of the podcast, you see?

I'm not gonna go crazy here, right?

Anyway, I would love to hear your feedback.

Um, but I am getting more listeners, so thank you to all the-- welcome, and

thank you to all the new listeners.

Welcome to onefjef Nation or onefjef Squad or, I don't know, something like that.

I think onefjef Nation's amazing.

I mean, that's the thing to do, right?

onefjef Nation.

Anyway, yeah, thanks for listening.

I hope you enjoy.

Uh, this is not typical of the show.

Well, maybe it is, actually.

Maybe old listeners are thinking, "Yeah, Jef, this is exactly what the show is."

I don't know.

Maybe it is.

I clearly have not been reflexive enough, reflective enough when

it comes to the podcast of late.

I- maybe I don't.

I should go back and listen to some of the episodes.

Who am I kidding?

I've listened to some of the old episodes, and whenever I listen

to them, I'm like, "Goddamn, that was better than I thought it was.

That's actually good." So I like the podcast.

I like it, and isn't that what's important?

I'm making a podcast that I enjoy.

So if you enjoy it too, that's wonderful.

Let me know

And yeah, thank you for listening.

Thank you for being a human being in this world, this chaotic, confusing world.

Thank you for being a human being that gives me your ears every now and again.

Um, and I am trying to find a quote of some sort or a, um, you know what

I mean, to end the episode with.

Um,

Oh, is this Carl Jung?

I don't know.

My… I have this quote app, quotations app, where I can just-- somebody

says something wacky, um, I can just write it down so I can remember it.

I've got a ton in here.

But my old quotation app became obsolete, so it stopped working.

So I found a new one, and I've transferred them from the old app,

but they transferred all weird.

So some of the attri-attributions, um, are not accurate.

But I think… Well, let me know if you think this is

actually Carl Jung, um, famous psychotherapist, so forth and so on.

But it's a good quote, whoever said it, but I think it was Carl Jung.

So we'll go with that.

"I'm not what happened to me. I'm what I choose to become."

I'll see you next week Very good, Jeffrey