Tuesday, February 28, 2012

No Hablo Espanol!

Day 2 had come and gone.  Today was full of meetings, getting to know the team from Mexico, and some pretty fantastic food.  (I've decided that whenever I travel, I will never eat something I can get on a regular basis in the US.  It has proven pretty interesting so far.)  I'm excited about the transition here, our team in Mexico looks pretty solid and working with them is going to be good for us.  The transition really has nothing to do with me since my job is specifically centered around the US and Canada, but it's always fun meeting new people!  I do need to work on my Spanish, apparently two years of horrible teaching in high school just aren't enough anymore.  Those who were in my class can attest to that for sure.

Today we tried Argintinian and general Mexican food, both awesome.  We're going out for a team dinner tomorrow night, can't wait to see where they take us!  If you can't tell, I absolutely love food :)

Fun fact about Mexico: They're about 10 years behind us in regards to American music.  Today I heard three different places playing old Backstreet Boys songs.  Yes, I knew the words and no, I did not start singing along... out loud.  Now that I think about it, maybe they aren't behind, they just have fantastic taste in music.  Genius!

Well, not much else happened today.  Actually the most exciting thing just happened as I came across Field of Dreams on tv IN ENGLISH!  Halelujah!  Seriously, I need to brush up on my Spanish.  Maybe I'll pay more attention to the subtitles...  Gotta go, my favorite character is coming up!  Good old Moonlight Graham.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Mexico City, Day 1

Since I can't call/text anyone for about the next nine days, I figured I'd give a detailed blog about my time here in Mexico City to share some experiences I've had (and let my mom know I'm still breathing)  Today was a travel day, pretty simple.  Something noteworthy, I got to visit my first Admiral Club today, which was fantastic!  I can't imagine every paying for entrance, but being the freeloader I am I got to tag along with my boss.  Hooray Tetra Pak!  We landed in Mexico City and got through customs at about 4pm.  It's weird, when I travelled to Canada, it didn't really feel like another country.  But as soon as I took a step outside I knew I was in Mexico.  The life of the city is tangible in the air, I don't know how else to explain it.  We drove through some of the sketchier parts of the city all the way to the extremely nice area our hotel is located in.  I'll have pics at the end of the blog. 

The hotel is fantastic.  I'm towards the top of the building, which has an amazing view of the city.  Later we were able to walk to a little Italian restaurant down the street from where we're staying.  (Don't worry mom, we were in a group and completely safe)  I had one of the best plates of seafood linguine I've ever tasted and conversation was light and enjoyable.  It was very strange, we got to the restaurant at about 5:30 pm and it was completely deserted.  Turns out meals are eaten extremely late here.  We left around 7:30 and no one had come in to the restaurant yet.  I'll have to get used to that, considering I normally don't eat after 6!

Finally, we returned to the hotel and I got a little present from one of the girls I work with.  She knows my obsession with Asian food and snacks and brought me some delicious things I can't wait to try.  Some sort of candied and spicy dried squid and pretzel sticks!  Can't wait to try!

One thing that will be hard for me to get used to is all the children on the street.  On our way back there were no less than five small girls approaching every passerby, I assume asking for change.  They couldn't have been older than 5.  It was heartbreaking.  I hope while I'm here the Lord will remind me to be thankful for what I have and to show charity to others.  Good thing I brought my bible with me this trip, I think it will be a good time for some serious reflection. 

On a random note, I got the e-mail today announcing I am officially a covenant member of the Village Church in Denton!  The process of seeking out and joining a church on my own was so enlightening and good for my spirit.  I am so excited to see where this next step leads my life.

Anyway, that's about it for me.  It's 8:30 and I think I'm going to turn in.  Early morning and busy day tomorrow.  Prayers of safety and encouragment are always appreciated.  :)

The Admirals Club. Fancy diggs.

My hotel room... pretty sweet.

My room's view.  It's pretty spectacular.

My view at night.  I think I hear some thunder too, maybe I'll get lucky and there'll be a good storm!