The hazards of Mexican streets

For those of you who may have concerns about my safety in Mexico (yes, I mean you gram), rest assured that Oaxaca is a very safe city. That said, the most fear I have at this point is that I take my life in my hands every time I step onto the streets. Now, the obvious reason for this is traffic. Many of the intersections here have pedestrian signals, but often the cars will speed up for traffic lights rather than stopping. There is no such thing as right of way for pedestrians. However, I've worked out what I think is a pretty good system: I wait for someone else to go first. Clearly this doesn't work when I'm the only one at the intersection, but there is almost always someone else crossing at the busy streets.

The real hazard - and the one that is harder to avoid - is wet sidewalks. It's rainy season here in Oaxaca, and it's rained every day so far. Sidewalks in Mexico are generally well-polished, and therefore slippery when wet. Even without the rain this is an issue. Take for example my very dry day in Mexico City. Despite the total lack of rain, I slipped numerous times and once managed to soak my shoes, almost falling into traffic. Those of you unfamiliar with Latin America may wonder how this could happen, but I'm guessing anyone who's spent much time in Mexico or Central America knows exactly what I'm talking about. (I can't speak for South America, but I'm sure someone can fill me in.) Every morning, business owners wash their floors, brushing the soapy water out the front door and onto the sidewalks. Often they wash the sidewalks too. When I see this in front of me I know what to expect, but nonetheless, it's often hard to keep one's footing when wandering the streets in flip-flops, Toms or other equally inappropriate footwear. The only effective way around this hazard is sneakers, which brings me to my first packing regret: thinking I would be generally be attired in the aforementioned Toms or flip-flops, I only brought three pairs of socks.