Drew Haciendo Trabajo

Adios Readers

2011-02-27T15:20:00.000-08:00

A few people have asked me in the last couple months if I miss Mexico. The short answer, aside from tacos al pastor, is no.

Ever since I moved home from Mexico City at the beginning of December, I wanted to write one final post for this blog, summing up my experiences in Mexico. As I sit here on this airplane, returning to Naperville after a weekend in Florida, I guess now is finally the time. I really am glad I kept this blog. I know the updates were a lot less frequent this fall compared to the first year of having this, but the reason why is that after a year there, and having realized in August that I did not want to stay in Mexico after finishing my Master's, I had a lot less interest in Mexico.

My master's program was three semesters. I moved to Mexico in July of 2009, and the program started that August. For the first two semesters, I lived near school, in the very very far south part of town, in an area that was really boring. I spent the summer after my second semester at home in Naperville, and when I moved back for the final semester, I fortunately lived in a very fun neighborhood, Condesa, an hour away from school on public transport. The fact that I only had to go to Tec twice a week this past semester made that situation a lot easier. But I truly was a lot happier this fall, living with fun roommates in a neighborhood full of nightlife, and I had lots of good friends that lived closeby. So fortunately my final few months in Mexico definitely were fun ones.

First off, I do wanna thank my friends and family who were very supportive throughout this. I suppose I should make some comments about how I feel about Mexico. Certainly one of the biggest frustrations was with the bureacaucy, especially at my school Tec (a frustration shared by nearly all Tec students). I've spent an enormous amount of time and money dealing with the school, and I really hope that I'll have all the correct paperwork to actually receive my degree at the graduation ceremony in April. I did enjoy the classes themselves, and my professors were good. I particularly enjoyed the lectures of Macario Schnetti (I recommend reading his columns in El Universal, one of Mexico's leading papers). My master's advisor Carlos was extremely caring, friendly, and helpful. And I am very proud of the thesis that I finished, "Gringos en Mexico", I'd love for you to read it sometime.

I definitely did like the fellow students at Tec. They were very friendly to me, invited me to things, etc. I had a blast passing notes with Ale, enjoying my close connection to Sr. Presidente thanks to another classmate, my fellow foreigners Pamela, Nicolas, Ulga (semi-foreigner) and Lukas among others, my gringo amiguita Ashley. I love that at one graduate program in Mexico there were 3 people with strong Purdue connections. Antonio, who has been invaluably helpful throughout this graduation process. David, who I enjoyed hanging out with when he came to Chicago. And finally, Ceci, a (half-gringa) girl I was very lucky to meet at Tec and who I hung out with a lot. For all her artsy-fartsy bohemianness, and despite having 2 personalities that didn't always get along great, she probably is the most interesting girl I met in Mexico.

I went into Mexico knowing that my classes would be at night, and expecting that I'd be able to find some part-time job to do during the day. I did have my research job at the school, but I wanted to have a job apart from the school. Apart from a few odd jobs tutoring, that never really happened, and that was one of my biggest frustrations. I had a couple offers for full-time jobs, but with being a full-time student at night, that wasn't really plausible. I really did try to get a job, particularly in finance, and I really was left disappointed that that never happened. There were a lot of days that I didn't have anything to do until 7pm, and I would basically be by myself all day. That got pretty boring at times, and pretty lonely at times too. I like being busy and having a schedule. One of my biggest frustrations with my time in Mexico was that, being 'just' a student, I always felt like an outsider. I like to think that had I had the responsibilities of going to an office daily, I would've made more friends, been happier, and felt more like a part of society. Quien sabe?

Like I've said before, one place that I definitely did appreciate was Union Church. I met some really quality caring people there.

The expat crowd in Mexico City is really cool. My friends (Jordan, Liz, Damian, Kendall, Paulina, Ceci, etc) … I really did make some great friends in Mexico, most of whom were follow expats like me. Jordan, my tennis buddy;. Liz, a really cool gringa, and someone who has really impressed me with 'Global Luxe Group', the export/import business that she started last year in Mexico. Damian, Will, and Shawn, 3 gringos who always were willing to host a good party in their sweet depa in Roma. Paulina, another good Tweeter. The ASF kids. All the Frenchies that I lived with this fall in Condesa. Robbie, a great Christian and someone who has a passion for serving the less fortunate that we should all have. Nic, a very fun guy from SoCal. And finally, Kendall, a new gringo like me that I had a blast with during my first two semesters. We spent an absurd amount of time sitting in traffic in taxis, but he was always up for trying to have a fun night. He's also one of the very smartest, hardest-working guys I know. I can't imagine what the last year has been like for him since he's been home, but I do know that he's going to be extremely successful in life.

I wanted to give a special thanks to Jacqueline and the rests of the Josts, my 'host family' here in Mexico, and to another Chilango, Oscar, for introducing me. You were extremely nice, and as a huge golf fan, it was great to play at a course as nice as Bosque Real, among other things. Truly a very friendly and caring person. More cookies will be on the way someday … I promise!!

There were some amazing things that happened that would've never happened if I hadn't been living in Mexico. In roughly chronological order…

-Going to the US/Mexico World Cup Qualifying game at Estadio Azteca in August of 2009. I've never been to a more amazing sporting event in my life. The thrill was unbelievable when the US went up 1-0. Considering that the Yanks have never won at Estadio Azteca, it certainly was not surprising that they ended up losing 2-1. I love that 500 Americans flew down to DF just for the game. I love the cadre of cops surrounding our section. The Mexican fans had no problem pissing in cups and throwing them at our section … for the entire game. I got a story published in the Naperville Sun about my experience at the game. My favorite sports writer Bill Simmons came to Mexico City for the first time just for the game, and I loved his basic argument: "There's no team in America in any league that has fans that are as passionate about their team as Mexican fans are about el Tri". Unsurprisingly, the Sports Guy had brutal diarrhea for multiple weeks after returning from the city.

-My great amigo Adam came and visited me for a long weekend. It was a very brotastic weekend … and, in some ways, a weekend that seems to still be going on.

-My parents and sister were able to visit me after I had been there for 2 months. It was really nice for them to come. They liked the city … apart from the traffic.

-I got to go to an LPGA Tournament in Guadalajara in November of 2009. It was sandwiched between two 8-hour bus rides in a 30 hour period, but it was still worth it. I'll be blogging the LPGA Season, a blog I have (crappily) already started.

-I took two trips to Acapulco, one in November of 09, and another a few months later in April. I stayed at One Hotels, a nice discount hotel on the strip. It's great having Acapulco only a few hours away from DF, though the $50 US toll each way is awful. The city is insane, but the weather is nice, and if you get outside of the main city, there are some beautiful quiet beaches, like Pie de la Cuesta.

-I took a ton of photos in February of 2010, and published a different one each day. I really enjoyed doing this.

-I joined the Junior Club that same month, a tennis club in Condesa. I had fun there, and playing on red clay was great, as was having a place to relax in the extremely chaotic city. But I do wish there had been more people my age there, and I do wish it had been easier at times to find a playing partner.

-In April I spent a weekend in Nueva Vallarta, "near to" Puerto Vallarta while working at a junior golf tournament. It was beautiful there.

-I got to go to a concert of Jot Dog, a new Mexican pop band that I like, and I was able to meet the group afterwards. Give them a listen, it's good stuff.

-I was in a TV commercial for Banorte, one of Mexico's leading banks. I passed the audition, and was hired for the one-day shoot at a soccer stadium in Pachuca. It was an extremely long day (we had to be at the bus at 4:30am, and didn't return till 10pm), but it was a cool experience. I'm still trying to find a copy of the commercial. They mainly picked me because I'm an American guy … it's something I've been working at my whole life.

-After a summer at home, I returned again in August of last year. I moved into an amazing penthouse in Condesa. I really enjoyed living there, and the view was amazing.

-I discovered the glory that is the Caliente sportsbook. Just loved betting there, and loved the regulars. Good food too … waiting for books to become legal all over America.

-A fun night partying with gringos on the night that Mexico celebrated its 200th Anniversary. We did the 'grito' near the Angel, it was a very fun night.

-I played a golf tournament in Hidalgo. It was a very fun day, and again, all the people I played with (none of whom I knew beforehand) were very nice to me. Not wanting to take a shot of tequila, I made an extremely impressive 25-foot par putt (I'll try to ignore the fact that we had such a long par putt in a 4-man scramble).

-One of the more memorable Thanksgivings of my life: I spent the day at the Sportsbook watching football, and at night went to a party hosted by Shoshana.

-My final 48 hours in Mexico, which featured tennis in gorgeous December weather, a fun night with my fellow Boilers Renee and Rubi, dinner at the famous Mexican restaurant California Pizza Kitchen (where the girls asked for an English menu for me), staying up all night to do a paper, lots of time dealing with Tec bureaucracy, and also spending an insane amount of time in traffic. But I also got to eat at the best restaurant I dined at in Mexico, Naos (thanks Jackie!).

***

So here we are, and I'm left with one thought: Am I glad that I moved to Mexico? It definitely was great after a life of living in the Arctic to spend a winter in warm weather, near the ocean. I really did love that. Certainly a big reason that I decided to go was the warm weather, but also the adventure, the notion of being an American abroad. And of using that gringo-ness to hit on girls, something that I was honestly quite excited about before moving, and which definitely did work at times, though I never ended up having a serious girlfriend in Mexico.

Still, I left a good-paying job in Chicago, and, nearly three months after finishing my master's, I am still unemployed and job-searching. More than that, can I say that I really liked Mexico and that I was truly happy while I was there? Honestly, no. And the main reason why was that I never really felt like I was a part of something. It was frustrating that there weren't any Mexican guys that I became close friends with. It was certainly frustrating for me and scores of other Americans on how unreliable Mexican girls can be.

Whenever I think about how I want to describe Mexico, the phrase that keeps returning to mind is "closed off". People in Mexico, especially the upper and upper-middle class that I was generally around, simply aren't as willing as Americans to meet new people. They never go through the experience of moving to a college dorm at the age of 18, living with someone they've never met, on a floor full of people and a dorm full of people that they've never met. They're not as likely to move to multiple cities. And, given the huge fences around all their houses, they're not even really that likely to know their neighbors. As an outsider in that culture, that was very hard to deal with. One of my favorite stories to describe this closed-off nature came from an American friend. He and two other American guys were at a bar, and saw two girls standing at the bar. They approached them to start talking, and immediately one girl left. Right away, she returned with a security guard, who kicked the guys out just for trying to talk to the girls.

So, truly, Mexico was not as "fun" as i thought it would be. I don't think there's a clear answer to "Am I glad that I moved to Mexico?". I did complete a master's degree, which really is something that I am proud of. Who knows what experiences I could have had if I had stayed with Accenture, or where I would be in my life now. But I will say this. There were a lot of challenges in Mexico: loneliness from not always having that many friends, daily boredom from my lack of a job to go to, and a mountain of bureaucratic issues to constantly deal with. But I stuck with it until the end. I finished the task that I came to Mexico to complete in the time that I planned to complete it. Sticking something out has not always been a prominent feature of my life, but in this case, I did it.

I had a very blessed life before I went, and was lucky in countless ways. That luck often did not appear in Mexico. But I know that dealing with those challenges and frustrations has made me a more mature person, and I really think that it's made me more capable of handling the hard times in life. I think I'm a lot better at handling frustration than I use to, something that I can really ascribe to having spent the last year and a half in Mexico City. I'm not necessarily happy that I decided to go to Mexico, but am I happy with the person that I have become as a result of my time there.

My Master's Thesis

2011-01-23T18:52:00.000-08:00

I finally finished my master's thesis, "Gringos in Mexico."

You can download it here - http://bit.ly/etgb8X

I'm still in Naperville, job searching and waiting to see what will be the next phase in my life. I'm going to write one more post for this blog as a giant summation of my experiences in Mexico, and I hope to do that real soon.

I hope you're all well.

A Great Mexico City Food Blog

2010-12-01T07:35:00.000-08:00

Just found this blog on food in Mexico City, the design is amazing and the articles are really interesting. The author is from Texas, and she runs a business giving culinary tours in Mexico City.

I'm finishing my master's in the coming days, and will be moving home to Naperville a week from today. Hopefully I'll find some short-term work to keep me busy in the meantime (retail, restaurant, etc.), but my main focus will be on finding a job. I'd like to stay in the US, but am open to any city ... preferably a warm one, with a beach!

I'll write one last entry before I leave, summing up my experience in Mexico.

Best Mexican Restaurants in Chicago

2010-10-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

A very good top 12 list.

The Tacquerias of Colonia Narvarte

2010-10-05T06:08:00.001-07:00

The New York Times jas a lot of interesting articles on Mexico City.

Here's a piece on good tacquerias (taco restaurants) in Colonia Narvarte, a neighborhood fairly close to my house.

Good Restaurants in Mexico City

2010-09-21T09:28:00.001-07:00

A list, that I plan to keep updating, of good restaurants in Mexico City.

Bistrot Charlotte (Lope de Vega 341, Polanco T 5250 4180): “It’s a very friendly place. Charlotte is always there to welcome you. The prices are fabulous. The other day I had a wonderful artichoke salad and a duck liver mousse. The portions are very generous. I had to ask for a doggie bag for the leftovers.”

Bakea (Sierra Ventana 700-5, Lomas de Chapultepec T 5520 7472): “Delicious and eclectic meals. The chef has done his basic training. He knows Spanish and French food. Everything is well seasoned. “

Contramar (Durango 200, Roma T 5514 9217): “A very high standard, very well-prepared seafood. I love the tostadas with fresh tuna.”

Rincón Argentino (Mazaryk 177, Polanco T 5254 8775): “Rigorously professoinal. The steaks are extraordinary. And I love the empanadas with cheese and chile strips.”
L’Olivier (Presidente Mazaryk 49, Polanco T 5545 3133) : “I love the atmosphere and the open kitchen, and the way they throw foie gras on top of everything. I’ve had an excellent fish there. Sometimes they’re a bit careless. It’s better at night than in the afternoon.”

Izote (Presidente Mazaryk 513, Polanco T 5280 1265): New mexicana cuisine.

Pujol (Francisco Petrarca 254, Polanco T 5545 4111): “Beautiful, with good ideas and attractive presentation.”

Bistrot Mosaico (Michoacán 10, Condesa T 5584 2932):

Tezka (Amberes 78, Zona Rosa T 5228 9918 ext. 5067): “It’s fantastic, if you’re not hungry. They do all those experiments that the Spanish chefs love to do. The technique is marvelous and the dishes are works of art. But only if you’re not hungry.”

Puntarena (paseo de las palmas 275) seafood, tuna hamburger

Rexo (condesa, esq de Nuevo Leon y Vicente Suarez) fairly-priced Italian food, pretty good

Los Arcos (Liverpool 104) seafood Sinaloa style ; tostados de camaron, callo de hacha, tacos de marlin

Danubio Uruguay 3 – seafood

Casa merlos – (victoria cepeda 80, observatorio) really good Puebla food , only open Thursday – Sunday

Nick san – ( bisques de Durazno 39) good sushi

Suntory – (filadelfia y Magdalena, col. del valle) amazing Japanese food, very expensive but if you don’t get sushi , the teppanyaki (grilled chicken and veggies) is very good and can be had for under 200pesos per person.

La Buena tierra (Michoacán in Condesa) vegetarian food

Seps (closeby Buena tierra) good pecho de ternera

Fonda Garufa (Michoacán 91) good Argentine food

Patagonia (Campeche en Condesa) good Argentine food, new restaurant

2010-08-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

Great New Mexico Blog

2010-07-20T08:01:00.000-07:00

Recently, a gringa friend of mine, Liz, opened a new business in Mexico: Global Luxe is an international manufacturer's representative and consulting firm dedicated to helping companies enter the Mexican market.

You can visit the website at http://www.globalluxegroup.com.

She also operates a really interesting blog that you can visit at http://mexipreneur.blogspot.com/.

Samantha Brown visits Mexico City

2010-07-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

I love the Travel Channel. It is swell. Here's one of their most famous personalities visiting the Big Taco. I'll update if I can find the full episode. The neighborhood she visits in this clip is Condesa, the neighborhood where my tennis club is and where I'll possibly be living this fall.

Back Home in Gringolandia for the Summer

2010-05-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

Hola (Hello) everyone, just wanted to check in and half-heartedly pretend this blog was still alive. I wish I would've updated it more, oh well, I'm here now.

The last month was pretty fun. School went well. I went to Puerto Vallarta over a weekend and helped out with a golf tournament. And a week and a half ago I spent all day in Pachuca shooting a commercial for Banorte, which is one of the biggest banks in Mexico. It was soccer-themed and I was a member of the foreign team playing Mexico (the role was a real stretch for me). There were at least 100 extras as fans in the stands. It was the first professional acting job I've ever done and the crew was super-productive and did a great job of keeping things moving. Having said that, we were still on the set for 14 hours. I'm not sure if the final commercial is ready, I can't wait to see it, I'll post it if it is put online.

Well, I'm home until August. I just hope to find a job and work a lot and stay busy and have fun. Sounds simple.

I'm going to visit Europe for the first time ever this Friday, and I'll be there 'til May 30th. I'm flying in and out of Lisbon. Once I'm there I'll be flying from Lisbon to London, then taking the train from London to Paris, and then flying from Paris to Lisbon. I was worried that my flight this Sunday from Lisbon to London would be cancelled would be cancelled due to the volcano. Well, I got a call this morning saying the flight was cancelled due to a British Airways strike. I got a full refund, and I'm about to rebook on easyJet, but there's a good chance that the easyJet flight will be cancelled as well due to the volcano. If that's the case, I'll likely forgo London and spend those days in Portugal and Spain. I still really want to get to Paris since I already purchased a ticket to the French Open tennis tournament (one of the year's 4 major events). So we'll see what happens. Either way, I'm excited to see my buddy Jon, who is teaching English in Portugal.

55 Years of Mexico City History, as told by Sports Illustrated

2010-04-12T16:07:00.000-07:00

'Sports Illustrated', founded in 1954, is probably my favorite magazine. I was going through their archive recently and found they had a lot of interesting articles about Mexico City. Not surprisingly, there are a lot fewer articles from the last twenty years. In that time, SI has had a lot less foreign stories, and in general fewer long form articles. It used to be a lot more about hunting, nature, and travel, and now it's heavily focused on mass-market sports (NBA, NFL, etc.). I'm sure the rise of niche magazines for things like hunting, etc. is a reason for this. All that being said, you can find nearly every article ever published in the magazine online for free.

Organized chronologically, here's a few interesting ones about my new city:

-A 1955 article on the Pan-American Games in Mexico City and the affect of the 7,200-foot altitude. I definitely noticed that when I first started playing tennis here.

-A 1955 article about the newly-booming Acapulco, only a few hours drive from Mexico City and a popular weekend retreat for many Chilangos (Mexico City residents).

-An article about the city in general and being a sportsman here, from 1957.

-A 1959 article about Cuernavaca, a weekend town an hour outside of Mexico City.

-A 1960 recap of the U.S. Davis Cup team (tennis) playing a match against Mexico in Mexico City.

-A 1965 article on DF's altitude, as athletes prepared for the 1968 Summer Olympics to be held in Mexico City. (Was 'summer' a bit unnecessary?)

-A lengthy 1966 article on the success of the Mexican Baseball League in luring American stars in 1946.

-An article about the 1966 playing of the Eisenhower Trophy matches, a men's amateur team golf event, that was played at Club de Golf Mexico, the course in my neighborhood (that unfortunately is muy privado).

-A 1967 piece about the social life of the city.

-A story about the 1967 World Cup of Golf (featuring Arnie and Jack) which was played at the aforementioned course.

-A fascinating piece, written in the summer a few months before the Olympics in October 1968, about a gringo driving to Mexico City from America.

-An article written just before the Olympics discussing the tragedy of the government massacre of students at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas.

-A lengthy feature reporting on the sports results at the Olympics.

-An article by Australian Roger Bannister, written post-Olympics, about the effects of competing at such high altitude on the runners. He was the first person to run the mile in less than four minutes.

-A couple months after the Olympics, an in-depth analysis of Bob Beamon's awe-inspiring leap.

-An article reporting on Mexico hosting the 1970 World Cup.

-College football has a long history in Mexico, and this piece from 1971 reports on Notre Dame coming to Mexico City to play a football game against the Mexico City Redskins. The same stadium would host a regular-season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers in 2005. This city has been mentioned as a possible site for an expansion team in the NFL.

-A long and very well-written 1976 article on boxing in la capital, easily Mexico's second favorite sport behind soccer and a chance at freedom from poverty for many youth. (Cock-fighting might be a close 3rd).

-An article from 1981 on former Boston Red Sox star George Scott playing baseball for the Mexico City Tigers after he couldn't get signed by an MLB team.

-An article on the 1986 World Cup, where Diego Maradona and the 'Hand of God' helped Argentina win the championship in Mexico City.

-Rick Reilly's 1989 Mexico Pacific Coast travel guide. Not directly about Mexico City, but related to exico City in this way: What I possibly love most about living here is how many amazing things there are to do within a reasonable drive or a very short flight. Knowing you can have a short drive to either the Pacific or Caribbean, or any variety of parks, makes this chaotic city worth it.

-A 1994 article on Jorge Campos, perhaps Mexico's most famous soccer player in the '90s and a star goalie for Pumas, one of the three teams in Mexico City.

-A 2005 preview of the US trying to finally win a soccer game at Estadio Azteca, and the reporting on the failure yet again.

-A 2008 article on John Carlos, one of the 'Black Power' sprinters at the '68 Olympics who has traveled a long journey from pariah to hero.

I hope you get some enjoyment out of reading this. I just wish the green fees at Acapulco golf club were still $1.20 and that you could rent a house at Las Palmas for $5 a night.

Hola Hola

2010-04-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

Hola, how's it going? Things are basically the same here in the city. The semester ends in five weeks, and then I'll start my final semester in August, and finish the master's in December.

First Lady Michelle Obama is coming to Mexico City tomorrow. It is her first official solo trip abroad. I'm still trying to get an invite to one of the events.

We had spring break a couple weeks ago and I went to Acapulco for a few days. It's really nice having it only a few hours drive from Mexico City. Nothing crazy there (it was past the peak of American spring break season), but very crowded from all the domestic spring breakers.

I just bought a plane ticket to Europe for the end of May, it'll be my first time out of North America and I'm very excited. My friend Jon from North Park (we played golf together) is moving to Lisbon, Portugal soon to teach English after a year teaching English in South Korea. I'll be flying in and out of Lisbon (the tickets were cheaper there than to anywhere else in Europe) and will be visiting London, Paris, and hopefully Barcelona. After that I'm planning on spending two months in Chicago before heading back to DF. I hope you're all doing well. I'm definitely excited baseball is back, I'm watching every Cubs game possible. This is our year!!!

http://www.twitter.com/vikingdrewby

Back in Business

2010-03-19T20:04:00.000-07:00

I hope you've all had a good March so far. I've been away for a while but it's nice to be back. My month has been good, having fun, playing lots of tennis at the Junior Club, went to a Davis Cup match for the first time in my life (Mexico vs. Guatemala), and that whole school thing from time to time. I'm still trying to decide if I'll spend the summer here or in Naperville. A big factor in that is if I can get a job here for the summer, so we'll see what happens. Still living in Xochimilco, but if I know for sure I'll be spending the summer here I'll try to move ASAP. In Latin America, spring break is always during Holy Week (the week culminating in Easter Sunday, April 4th this year). I'm not sure if I'll be talking a trip, but I sure hope I do.

I went to Miami last weekend and I met up with my parents and sister. It was the first time I'd been to Miami and we had fun there. Here's a general album from the trip, and here's a brief album from our visit to the Everglades. The PGA Tour (golf) was in town, and I went on Saturday for the third round. I hadn't been in a couple years, so it was fun to see, it was the CA Championship at the famous Blue Monster course at Doral. It was a World Golf Championship event, the first of those events that I've been to, and all the top players were there, except for Tiger Woods. For the life of me I couldn't figure out why. Ernie Els won the tournament on Sunday, it was his first win in a long time and it's great that it happened.

If you are looking to hang up a poster in your room, I highly recommend this photo of me. If you'd like, you can send me your printed copy and I'll autograph it.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 28th

2010-02-28T21:06:00.000-08:00

And February is now over.

I took about 400 pictures this month and picked my favorite one from each day. I'm really glad I did this project. Thanks to this guy for the idea. I really recommend trying it sometime, it really makes you appreciate the funny little things that happen in an otherwise mundane day. A friend of mine's sister passed away last fall and after that I remember him saying how important it was to appreciate every day. This album has definietly made me do that.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 27th

2010-02-27T19:01:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the prettiest neighborhood in Mexico City is Condesa. Close to lots of different parts in the city, and a center of art, parks, restaurants, nightlife, and my tennis club.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 26th

2010-02-27T08:12:00.000-08:00

I have spent a lot of time this year hanging out at this taco stand near my house. They have a variety of tacos, including tripe, beef shank, beef, chorizo-style sausage, tonque, brain. And of course, they have the most famous taco in Mexico City, tacos al pastor. When my friend Adam came and visited me from Miami, the first thing he wanted to do was eat tacos al pastor. Wikipedia provides this definition of tacos al pastor:

Usually pork, it is marinated over one or two days with a blend of different chili peppers, spices and herbs (such as adobo), and then slowly cooked with a gas flame on a vertical rotisserie called a Trompo (lit: spinning top), very similar to how Shawarma is cooked, with a piece of fresh pineapple on top.[2] The juice from the pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain, which breaks down protein and makes the meat very tender. When ready, the meat is then thinly sliced off the spit with a large knife. It is served on small tortillas, with finely chopped onions, cilantro and a small slice of pineapple, and usually topped with some lime juice and hot salsa.

This interesting video describes tacos al pastor as Lebanon's Contribution to Mexico (and no, we're not talking about Lebanon, IN, the town my mom grew up in and we visited roughly 1,000,000 times growing up). Mexican history is highly shaped by Lebanese immigrants. Most notably, Carlos Slim, the country's richest man who was briefly the world's richest man, is the son of a Lebanese immigrant. My best friend here, Kendall, is from Austin, TX. His grandfather and his grandfather's brother emigrated from Lebanon a long time ago. Kendall's grandfather decided to move to Texas, but Kendall's grandfather's brother stayed in Mexico. Kendall is finishing up his year as a Fulbright Scholar here and has been staying with his Mexican relatives.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 25th

2010-02-26T07:46:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the two things most synonymous with Mexico City are pollution and traffic. As I've mentioned before, the mayor of Mexico City has taken a lot of actions to attempt to solve these things. A big initiative lately has been the promotion of bicycles. The main street through the city, Reforma, is closed to cars on Sunday mornings and is widely enjoyed by pedestrians, roller-bladers, and bicyclists (as an aside, the Lake Shore path is easily one of the top five parts of Chicago life). The city lately has had a big push to encourage more people to utilize bikes as part of their day to day lives. A huge concern about biking is safety, as drivers here are careless and generally insane. But even in the center parts of the city (Roma, Condesa, Reforma, Polanco), where everything is compact, hardly anyone takes a bike. You could ride your bike through Chapultepec Park, but not too many other places. I live in the far south part of the city and down here it is massive suburban sprawl; biking is very impractical down here. Apparently this month the city has finally begun constructing new bike paths, and more free bikes are available around the city. There's a cool CNN video report about the attempts to offer free bike rentals and encourage biking in the city.

***

I found out all the previous info just now. When I saw the posters below at a Metro station yesterday, which encourage citizens to use bikes for daily activities, my first thought was "This'll be a huge failure." Nobody in this country rides bikes, certainly not the well-off people features in these ads. But as I started researching this campaign, I remembered this Adam Carolla rant on why things never get done. His point is things never get done because people always say 'Well, that won't solve all the problems', and then people don't do anything at all. I have no idea how impactful this program will be, but given the low cost of the program, it's definitely worth trying out.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 24th

2010-02-24T22:45:00.000-08:00

We're in the home stretch now of this month of photos, with all dates from now on ending in 'th'. Once a month, a group mixed between foreigns and Mexicans come together for a monthly party called 'Mexpats', a play on the term expat (expatriate), i.e. people living in another country. I've met some good poeple at these events.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 23rd

2010-02-23T12:33:00.000-08:00

Sunrise over snow-capped volcanoes, taken from the 50th floor of Torre Mayor during my monthly 'Cristianos en Negocios' breakfast. Amazing.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 22nd

2010-02-22T14:21:00.000-08:00

One of the most interesting things about living in Mexico has been the introduction to new food.

Most days I eat lunch at Tec's cafeteria. Living in Mexico has opened my eyes to a whole new world of food. My favorite: mole negro, a chocolate-chili sauce. What I hated: chicharrón, i.e. fried skin of a pig. Gross! I've also tried cow-tongue and cow-brain tacos, they were okay. I really like eating tripe tacos; I'd never eaten tripe before.

Here are some good Mexico food blogs:
http://goodfoodmexicocity.blogspot.com/
http://mexicocooks.typepad.com/mexico_cooks/

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 21st

2010-02-21T20:13:00.000-08:00

Often at stoplights here you'll see street performers doing a routine and then going car to car for tips. Until today, I had never seen a dog in the act.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 20th

2010-02-20T19:59:00.000-08:00

I recently joined the Junior Club, a rather old tennis club in Condesa. The people there are really nice, all fourteen courts are red clay (very different style of tennis) and you must wear "tennis whites" while playing. I have one friend, Jordan, who already belongs, and we're trying to meet other people to play tennis with. It was a lot easier in the days when moms made play-dates for us.

Jordan and I played tennis today, and then had lunch there. Unlike most private clubs, the prices on food and drink are really cheap (the power just went out in my house for 3 seconds, and then came back on. This is rather normal for here) there. And they got a sweet pool. Like I said yesterday, the weather is a big reason why I moved here, and it sure is nice to lay outside by a pool in February.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 19th

2010-02-20T07:54:00.000-08:00

One of the main reasons I moved to Mexico was for the weather. Hard to complain about sunny and 75 degrees on February 19th. Yesterday Robbie Lear and I went golfing El Copal, a course just north of Mexico City. Despite getting rather last on the way there, we eventually found the course and had a really fun afternoon. It was pretty surreal to be on a golf course surrounded by slum-filled mountains, but I suppose that is an apt metaphor for the socioeconomic extremes of Mexico.

There are a few driving ranges in the city, but none owned by people with any clear idea about what to do to really make their businesses succeed. From a business standpoint, golf should be free. The ranges should be doing all the can to offer free beginners clinics, host specific companies for free "Golf 101" days, etc. The cost to the ranges of things like this would be next to nothing. Of course, none of them are doing anything like that. I'd love to be able to open and operate driving range here. It's not that golf is inherently disliked by Mexicans; nearly all the caddies, themselves from poor backgrounds, get to play for free once a week at the course they work at, and they all love the game. I think lots of people would like golf here, and eventually be willing to spend lots of money on it, if they were first given lots of chances to try it free.

So, who wants to spot me the money to open a range here??? I'll be waiting...

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 18th

2010-02-18T20:25:00.000-08:00

After living in the Midwest my whole life, one of my favorite things about living in Mexico City is being surrounded by mountains. It was really cloudy and rainy the last two days, and the clouds were low enough that they were covering the tops of the mountains. Let's just hope it's sunny this weekend!

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 17th

2010-02-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite feeds on Twitter is "The Mexico City News." This feed, written in English, is similar to "The Onion," and offers sarcastic commentary on DF events presented as if it were actual news. One of their most constant targets is the Mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, a man who never has shied away from the spotlight. He'll probably run for President in two years, and he hates when there are days that Mexico City is not setting some of world record. But, to his credit, he has accomplished a lot in terms of environmental issues.

One of the best things to happen to the city is the Metrobus. I just joined a tennis club and I ride the Metrobus every time I go there. The bus, which has its own lane, improves travel times and is much less intrusive on the environment than the number of mini-buses that were operating before. It's still a popular myth that Mexico City is the world's most polluted city. In this report released last fall, it isn't even in the top 10. To honor DF on the implementation of the Metrobus, Harvard recently awarded Mexico City with the 2009 Roy Family Award for Environmental Partnership.

The Stilings are well affiliated with Harvard. I'm practically the most distinguished researcher at their Center for International Development. My uncle was a featured usher at the 2008 commencement. Oh, and uh, for what it's worth, my sister actually went there (showoff).

Naturally, there are now posters at every stop informing residents of this prize.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 16th

2010-02-16T20:39:00.000-08:00

La clase de martes se llama (más o menos) 'La Politica en Mexico'. No se exactamente el nombre pero este suena bien. Hablamos y hablamos y hablamos, basicamente es una version de 'Hardball' pero sin el guapisimo Chris Matthews. Es una clase donde todos dan sus opiniones sobre la politica en Mexico. Para mi, es poco aburrido. Prefiero clases de matematicas, donde hacemos problemas y aprendemos ecuaciones nuevas, o clases donde aprendemos muchos hechos especificos. Es decir, me gusta salir la clase con una lista de estadisticas/hechos nuevos. La clase no usa 'Powerpoint', es una clase de 'freeform'.

De todos modos, me caen muy bien con la gente. Hay tres de mis amigos en esta foto. La en la izquierda se llama Rene nació en los estados unidos a padres mexicanos. Se mudó a Mexico con su familia en la edad de 12 más o menos. En el centro hay Lucia, los dos se graduarán este semestre. La en el la camisa rosa es Alejandra. Empezamos el semestre pasado, y tomamos todas las mismas clases (y nos graduamos en diciembre!).

Todo por hoy! Espero que todos esten bien, y espero que este blog sirva para una patada en el culo para aprender espanol wey. Confíame, vale la pena ... las chavas aqui les encantan mi espanol!

Haz click aqui para ver el resto de las fotos.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 15th

2010-02-15T15:09:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling rather spry right now considering I only slept 1 hour last night. As long as I can make it through an easy lecture from 7-10 tonight, everything will be A-Okay!

The constant traffic of Mexico City actually leads to jobs for numerous local entrepreneurs. Many perform as window washers or performers, doing juggling or acrobatics of varying quality. But the slow stream of cars also leads to many people who walk in the middle of the road on highway entry ramps looking to sell to drivers and passengers alike. There are some things that a driver would naturally be interested in purchasing while waiting in the never-ending hell that is traffic in Mexico City: candy, cigarettes, open containers of alcohol. But the fun doesn't end there. I've seen this guy for several weeks now, and he's still going strong. Now, I've honestly wondered who would feel that the on-ramp is a perfect time to buy a puzzle. However, given the possibility of the Mexican version of this happening, perhaps I should buy one the next time I'm on that entry ramp to the Periferico.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 14th

2010-02-14T18:42:00.000-08:00

One of the thing I've been happiest about here in Mexico is that I've found a great church. I started attending Union Church in August. The church is English speaking and has been meeting in some form or another in Mexico City since 1873. The community is 2/3 Mexican, along with several Americans, some Europeans, several people from various countries in Africa, several from Jamaica, and some from Asia. Many of the members are part of the diplomatic community. If you're interested in checking out Union sometime I'd love for you to join me.

Starting this Monday, Robbie Lear will begin leading a weekly discussion group about faith and life at the Hard Rock Cafe in Mexico City at 7:30pm. I won't be able to attend due to classes, but I definitely to encourage you to check it out.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 13th

2010-02-13T18:26:00.000-08:00

One of the more enjoyable facets of compiling this photo diary is thinking I know which picture I'm going to publish, and then having something pop up unexpectedly. I had a couple of good ones, but I saw this around 3pm today and knew this would be the pic of the day.

'Fresa' in Spanish means strawberry. But if you hear the word in Mexico, it generally refers to a class of people (Wikipedia):

Fresa (which is Spanish for strawberry) is a slang term often used in Mexico for a cultural stereotype of superficiality to youngsters of whom many come from a high class and educated family.

The term fresa (then often likened to the "preppy" stereotype), was born in the 60's to define teenagers with a conservative mentality, who didn't drink and enjoyed being from traditional families. During the 80's the meaning changed and became a term to describe the lifestyles of the young and rich.

The fresa accent is also different (faked) from the typical slow-pitched Mexican accent, with a higher established accent, different tone and "proper" vocabulary.

In her semi-autobiographical debut novel, 'Mexican High,' Liza Monroy describes the life of the daughter of an American diplomat, attending The American School, perhaps the capital of fresa-dom. The novel, written in English, is very entertaining and is a really interesting look at life in Mexico City, including the over-the-top excesses of some of the school's student. There's an American diplomat family at my church, and one of their sons (who is a senior at The American School) said that the book is rather accurate. I definitely recommend reading it.

I've often been told that, for a variety of reasons, I am super gringo. Do they think that's supposed to be some sort of insightful statement? One thing I really love about being here is playing up the 'Dumb American' routine (something many would argue is not a stretch for me). Somehow, I was shocked to find out that I didn't quite blend in at a party last night. With this shirt, and perhaps the loss of the ability to follow through on any sort of plans whatsoever, I thought I was a lock to become puro mexicano.

***

Last night a girl told me I was a total fresa. I couldn't have asked for a better compliment.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 12th

2010-02-13T07:38:00.000-08:00

A friend from school is a reporter for Fox Sports Mexico. Last night her show did a live shoot at a restaurant in DF. It was a really fun night.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 11th

2010-02-11T21:11:00.000-08:00

Compared to America, with a variety of major cities each specializing in something different, Mexico is much more concentrated. There are three major cities in the country: Mexico City in the center, Guadalajara a few hours west, and Monterrey way to the north. In addition to being its nation's capital as well as perhaps the de facto capital of Latin America, D.F. is the nation's leader in business, universities, media, entertainment, sports, politics, and, naturally as the capital, government institutions. Nearly all my classmates from my program at Tec work for the federal government, including at the Bank of Mexico, the consumer protection agency, the Health Department, the House of Representatives, and even the President's office!

There are several government health institutions near my house, including the National Cancer Institute.

You can tell that this is a new facility. Given the numerous problems Mexico faces, it can be easy to overlook the progress the country is making. I learned a lot about this institute by watching a really powerful video Lance Armstrong made. The video is titled 'Stigma & Silence: Global Perceptions of Cancer'. I really hope you watch it, it's about nine minutes long and definitely worth seeing. It was really interesting to learn about how Mexican culture reacts to cancer. Lance came to Mexico last year and had a meeting with President Felipe Calderon to discuss the progress Mexico making is making to battle and treat cancer. Here's a short video of Lance talking about his trip to Mexico. I really admire President Calderon. He's making the tough and painful choices Mexico needs to make to be a greater country, and I can tell he is extremely sincere in the work e does.

A classmate of mine from North Park University, Peder, still just 23, has been receiving chemotherapy for about a year now, and had more chemotherapy treatment this week. Please keep Peder in your prayers.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 10th

2010-02-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

A friend from Tec works at Profeco, the Mexican consumer protection agency. Given all the Toyota news lately, it's been pretty crazy there.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 9th

2010-02-09T20:42:00.000-08:00

I love playing basketball. I spent most of my winter break playing at Edward's. I was happy I finally got to play again today. I was definitely making it llover.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

Iztaccíhuatl

2010-02-09T08:52:00.000-08:00

I was very happy today to find out the name of the mountain I photographed yesterday. Joy, a Texan blogs here from DF, also took a picture of the mountains yesterday, and she was able to answer my question about the name of the mountain I took the photo of.

It turns out I took a picture of one of the four peaks of Iztaccíhuatl. Wikipedia has a lot of good info about it ...

"The mountain has four peaks, the highest of which is 5,230 m (17,159 ft) above sea level. Together, the peaks are seen as depicting the head, chest, knees and feet of a sleeping female figure, which is visible from either the east or the west. Iztaccíhuatl is a mere 70 km (44 mi) to the southeast of Mexico City and is often visible from the capital, depending on atmospheric conditions.

While the first recorded ascent was made in 1889, archaeological evidence suggests that the Aztecs and previous cultures also climbed the mountain.

This is the lowest peak that contains permanent snow and glaciers in Mexico.

Iztaccíhuatl lies to the north of Popocatépetl, and is connected to it by the high pass called the Paso de Cortés.

...

In Aztec mythology, Iztaccíhuatl was a princess who fell in love with Popocatépetl, one of her father's warriors. The king sent Popocatépetl to war in Oaxaca, promising him Iztaccíhuatl as his wife when he would return (which Iztaccíhuatl's father presumed he would not). Iztaccíhuatl was falsely told Popocatépetl had died in battle, and believing the news, she died of grief. When Popocatépetl returned to find his love dead, he kneeled by her grave. The gods covered them with snow and changed them into mountains. Iztaccíhuatl's mountain is called "White Woman" because it resembles a woman sleeping on her back, and is often covered with snow. (The peak is sometimes nicknamed La Mujer Dormida ("The Sleeping Woman").) He became the volcano Popocatépetl, raining fire on Earth in blind rage at the loss of his beloved."

Apparently, it has not erupted in nearly 12,000 years.

We certainly don't have these in Chicago.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 8th

2010-02-08T20:17:00.000-08:00

I think the snow-capped mountains surrounding the city are gorgeous. The most famous site one can see from the city from time to time is Popocatépetl, which is actually an active volcano. This peak is one of the four peaks of Iztaccíhuatl. It has a peak of 17,159 feet.

It was very clear outside today and I was able to get a great photo from the rotunda on campus. I really hope to get hiking in the mountains sometime, I know there's some tour groups that take day trips to do it. Who's with me???

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 7th

2010-02-08T08:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I watched the Super Bowl in a movie theater. I was very surprised the Colts lost, and I thought they played way too conservatively. It was nice to see a fellow alumnus of Naperville Central be the winning coach in the Super Bowl.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 6th

2010-02-06T21:39:00.000-08:00

This week Mexico experienced perhaps its heaviest February storms ever, a month that is normally entirely dry here. Some parts of the country saw over two and a half feet of rainfall. Sadly a number of deaths here in Mexico can be attributed to the storms, and parts of Mexico City were totally flooded. These were some of the same parts of the city that only get running water three days a week due to a serious water shortage in the city (not surprisingly, those in the better off parts of town don't face water rationing). For as bad as the rains were, they actually might have an overall benefit on the city by filling the reservoirs, which have been dangerously low.

Here's a really interesting 'Wall Street Journal' article on the water situation in Mexico City: "Residents of the capital use on average more than 75 gallons of water a day, the city estimates, far more than their counterparts in most European and American cities whose daily rates are closer to 40 and 50 gallons a day, respectively."

So anyways, as it was raining hard Wednesday night around 10pm, I knew the power was about to go out. It goes out occasionally, especially during storms, but usually comes back within a few minutes. This time, I had to wait 60 hours. And this time, the water stopped working too. Having my university right near my house made this a lot less stressful, and it honestly didn't bug me too much. I'm very blessed in my life, and I still had a bed to sleep in at night and food to eat.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 5th

2010-02-06T09:58:00.000-08:00

Parts of my neighborhood have been without power or water since Wednesday night due to the strong storms this week. This taco shop refused to be deterred.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 4th

2010-02-04T18:43:00.001-08:00

The insane rains continued today, but around 4pm, I finally saw this. I took this picture while driving south on the Periferico. Apparently it´s sunny starting tomorrow. I sure hope so. I have not had running water or electricity in my apartment for 24 hours.

Here's the link to the entire album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 3rd

2010-02-03T20:12:00.000-08:00

Rain in February in Mexico City is very rare. Mexico is known for the rainy season from late May through September, but is generally rare the rest of the year (and even though, it only rains for a couple hours at night). Being a weather nerd, I headed over to weather.com to check out the monthly rainfall for this time of year. In February in Mexico City, it only rains on average 0.40" a month (comparably, most months in Chicago there is 3" of precipitation). That's what makes the last week so strange. It's been cloudy and rainy most of the last week. There was a hard downpour overnight, it rained all day today, and not surprising at all, my power went out for a while because of the rain. Though tomorrow looks like rain all day, fortunately this weekend is warm and sunny. Unfortunately, next weekend it looks like the rain is coming back. I found this explanation of why it is raining, but I'm not going to pretend I understand it.

Here's the link to the entire album.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 2nd

2010-02-02T16:11:00.000-08:00

Today is day 2 of my picture a day album for the month. This is a picture of a rather unusual chessboard on campus. I think my Tec campus is very cool. Now, if I only knew how to play chess, it'd be even better.

Here's the link to the entire album.

A Bewitched Episode Set in Mexico City?

2010-02-01T23:21:00.000-08:00

I randomly found this while surfing around the Internet today. "Bewitched" had an episode set in Mexico City. Very campy, but worth a view. It even references Chapultepec Park. Here it is, parts 1, 2, and 3:

This is from 1969. Apparently it was the last episode that Dick York was in. He was replaced the next season by Dick Sargent.

Black History Month

2010-02-01T21:55:00.000-08:00

Today is the first day of Black History Month in the United States. Earlier I talked about the black power protests at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Last year, during Black History Month, ESPN created a documentary about this protest. It included Toy Smith and John Carlos' first visit back to DF since 1968. Here's the Facebook page for the documentary. I haven't seen it yet, and haven't been able to find anywhere online to watch it. Posted above is the trailer. The movie seems to be playing at film festivals now. I haven't found anywhere to buy the DVD. I'm going to contact ESPN for more info on seeing the film, and to see if there's anywhere that they are streaming the film online.

Also, in 2006, the National Museum of Mexican Art, located in Chicago, created an exhibit called "The African Presence in Mexico." Mexicans of African ancestry are most highly populated in the Caribbean states of Mexico. The exhibit has been on a national tour for five years, and is at the Smithsonian through the summer. It is returning to Chicago this fall.

A Picture A Day - Mexico in February 2010 - February 1st

2010-02-01T21:31:00.000-08:00

A few days ago my friend Matt suggested I took pictures every day this month and post the most interesting one each day. I really liked the idea, and it doesn't hurt that February is the shortest month.

Here's today's picture. I went to Cuernavaca for the first time today, a popular weekend retreat an hour south of Mexico City. It's mainly popular for it's partying on the weekends. Well, today was a holiday and I thought it'd be good to go see the city since everyone's always saying I should see it. It was okay, looked like most colonial Mexican cities, I'd imagine most people love it because of the house parties there. But anyways, it was nice to walk around for the day. I drove Go-Karts for a bit, that was really fun. I visited a Cathedral built in the 1500s. And, I had a really good lunch at a place called Casa Hidalgo. For some reason, I found these salt and pepper shakers to be hilarious.

Here's the link to the rest of the album.

A Day in Mexico City

2010-01-21T23:58:00.000-08:00

(This blog was handwritten in class tonight starting at 7:45 pm. I eventually finished this entry at 9:30pm)

Today was a particularly silly day in Mexico City, a city sure to be full of them as the capital of a country that this year celebrates the 200th anniversary of its Independence and the 100th anniversary of its Revolution. I started off with my typical morning routine of watching the silly Mexican morning shows (which my mom is not a fan of since they have too many scantily-clad women dancing around the set for no apparent reason) and reading a bunch of newspapers online. Without any set daytime schedule for now, my weekdays can be very different day to day. Today I had a meeting at noon in Lomas de Chapultepec, near my church, which is a 30 minute taxi ride sin traffic from my casa in Tepepan, Xochimilco, and, as I experienced yesterday, an hour and 40 minutes during the rush hours. Tired of paying for taxis, and with plenty of time to spare (as someone who has always been late my entire life, I love living in a city where everyone is always late. My good friend Ale (check out her Mexico City blog) once even said that I am always on time, something no one has ever told me in my life) I decided to take the Metro. On January 1st of this year, ticket prices for the Metro went up 50%. Additionally, I live so far south (ha, getting tired of me saying that? Don’t worry, I’m trying really hard to move to Condesa, Roma, or Polanco) that I don’t even live remotely close to the Metro. Though I live within walking distance of my school, it’s still so far south that this part of town has its entire own train line that is not part of Mexico City’s Metro, the Tren Ligero. After a 20-minute ride passing, among other things, Estadio Azteca, the northern end of the Tren Ligero arrives at the same station that houses the southern-most part of Mexico City’s Metro. Unfortunately, you have to buy separate tickets for the TL and the Metro. And, TL tickets went up 50% as well at the start of this year. Granted, Mexico City has among the cheapest Metro tickets in the world, and both tickets went from being just 2 pesos (16 cents) to 3 pesos (24 cents), but I still think it’s worth a mini-rant when anything goes up 50% overnight. Nearly 4 million people a day ride the Metro, and DF can certainly use more money. Keeping the poor in mind, this still is the cheapest Metro in the world, but, as I just realized, relative to the daily minimum wage, the Metro here is more expensive than Chicago’s.

So, I left my house around 10am, and stopped to get a chicken quesadilla at a little food stand around my house (apparently saying I wanted a “quesadilla con pollo” wasn’t enough to include cheese until I asked specifically for it. Hmm). So anyways, I walked over to the Periferico stop on the always packed TL (RUN MORE CARS!!), got to the Metro at Tasquena, bought some tickets de Nuevo, and got on the #2 blue line, which is always a los less crowded. The Metro here is a much smoother ride than Chicago’s and moves very fast. I knew I had to transfer to one of the train lines going west, and then to another line going north, but I forgot to specifically check which stop I had to get off to in order to transfer west (the cars don’t have full Metro maps, just maps of their own line). Turns out I picked the wrong one, but it wasn’t that big of a deal, as the new line I was on would drop me off near where I wanted to be.

While on the Metro, I started thinking about my favorite episode of Seinfeld, “The Subway.” In this episode, the gang meets up at the coffee shop, and realizes they each have to ride the subway somewhere that day. Jerry ends up on a car with a very obese man who happens to be naked, but the two become friends and spend the day at Coney Island. Elaine is on her way to be the “Best Man” at a lesbian wedding, but her train undergoes a power outage and she is stuck for a long time. Kramer hears a tip about a horserace, bets on a huge long shot and makes a killing; unfortunately, someone followed him out of the OTB and back onto the subway trying to steal Kramer’s money (fortunately for Kramer, an undercover cop arrests the jabroni). George, on his way to an interview, is invited to a hotel by an attractive woman he assumed he was rich because of the nice clothes he was wearing. In the hotel, she ties him up on the bed (which he first enjoys), and she plans to steal all the money in his clothes. Considering it’s George, he has virtually no money on him, so she decides to just steal all his clothes. During the closing credits, the gang meets again at the coffee shop, with George naked covered only by a bed sheet, and Kramer paying for the meal with his huge wad of cash. I tell you all this because while I was on the Metro today, I really think it’d be funny to do a remake of that episode in Mexico City. Maybe one of my economics will let me do that instead of taking a test our something.

So anyways, I got out of the subway in the middle of the gorgeous Chapultepec Park, a park with a zoo, historical monuments, museums, and a lake for paddleboats, among other things. This park is west of downtown, and bordering Reforma, the most famous street in Mexico City, which fortunately has seen a resurgence over the last decade, with lots of new high-rises being constructed, including a new HSBC building and Torre Mayor, the tallest building in Latin America. There is a club on the 51st floor of the building called Piso 51. Once a month, I attend a breakfast at the club called “Cristianos en Negocios” (for Christians in the Mexico City business world). We’re planning a big event to reach out to the business community in April, it should be good.

…So, (many more random thoughts to come, an homage to Bill Simmons, ESPN’s ‘The Sports Guy,’ the author I’ve read the most of over the last year. I enjoyed his 700 page “The Book of Basketball” (clever title!). The book was released in the fall, and, 6 weeks after arriving at a shipping warehouse in Mexico City, was finally delivered to my house one day in December). So, I’m in Chapuletepec Park, and still have about an hour to spare, so I take a lovely stroll around the park. There was a winter from November to mid-January, with lots of highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s, but that seems to be done for good. For the next four month, until the rainy season starts in earnest in May, it’s abundant sunshine nearly every day, and litrally no humidity. Today it was gorgeous, high in the mid-70s like it’ll be from now on, and clear skies (for the most part, ‘smog’ here is way less common than most people think). Being so high in the mountains, it still drops quite a bit once the sun sets, to the low 50s or high 40s overnight. I enjoyed the park, and started heading north along Reforma to the office I had to get to. Along this strip of Reforma, hanging on the fence that borders the park, there is always a cool art series on display, in a line of a few dozen 3-foot by 3-foot posters with a common theme. The last one celebrated the 50th anniversary of Fidel taking power in Cuba (That’s gone well!). The current series celebrates a very influent political cartoonist that was very influential in the second half of the last century. I forgot his name right now, and didn’t have time to read but of few of the cartoons, but hopefully I’ll be back there before it’s gone. Reforma closes during the daytime on Sundays for bikers and pedestrians, and the city rents bikes for free during that time. For as chaotic as any largely poor city with 20 million people would be, the city does do a lot of little things to make life more enjoyable. I already wrote about bringing winter to the Zocalo. Last year, a Harvard environmental center gave DF a major award for creating the Metrobus, which is a step in the right direction, and its noteworthy that Mexico, and possibly Mexico City, will likely host this year’s global environmental summit (which was held in December of last year in Copenhagen). Today, I saw something pretty cool. Pino Suarez, a major “intersection” Metro stop, has a computer center where people can go in and access the Internet. In a country where internet access is extremely overpriced due to the virtual monopoly allowed by the government, allowing access for people at home is a small but meaningful step in a country with such inequality.

Not wanting to be late to the meeting at noon, I hopped in a taxi, and five minutes later, I was at the office, 10 minutes early for our meeting. The whole ride cost $2. It’s nice living in a city where a decent length taxi ride can cost cheaper than the taxi flag fee in Chicago.

My meeting was with a fellow gringo. He has lived here for twenty years and he played a major role in developing many of the city’s biggest office buildings. Two of my best friends have worked in commercial real estate for a few years, so I’ve heard a lot about the industry. This was the first time I had met him in person, and he was really friendly and told me lots of interesting stories about the changes in Mexico over the last twenty years. We talked about Denzel Washington’s “Man on Fire,” and he pointed out how it really was was an extremely realistic look at life in Mexico City. I also highly recommend “Y Tu Mama También” for its ability to show the panorama that is Mexican society.

After the meeting, I went over to a small mall near all these offices, mainly because I wanted to see Sports City, this fancy health club that has a few locations around the city. The place was nice, but apart from having a pool (and, since this is Mexico, several tubs of hair gel in the locker room), it wasn’t any nicer than the gym at my school, which I can use for the rest of my life for free. The Sports City I went to costs $2000 US to join, and $400 US a month. Wow! Definitely a bit more than the $40 a month I paid at X-Sport (and, from what I saw while I was there, the Old Town X-Sport has much better eye candy).

After the tour, around 1:45, I wanted to go to a part of town a bit north of where I was, Interlomas. I’ve only been there once, a week ago went I went to a friend’s apartment there, and I wanted to see it a bit more. The first taxi I got in wasn’t using its meter, and only quoted me a price, something that I refuse to do when I don’t know what the ride should cost. As it turned out, I should have gone with him. Woops. The next taxi used a meter, but told me he was going to double what the meter said at the end of the ride. Here’s why. Even though we were only going a bit further away, we were still going to Mexico State. Mexico City is exactly like Washington, D.C. It’s often called ‘DF’ because the city (Ciudad de Mexico) is also the Federal District (Federal District, DF). Additionally, many people, especially those that live in the provincia call this city simply “Mexico.” Like DC, this city is surrounded by states. Mexico (the country’s official name is the ‘Estados Unidos Mexicanos,’ or ‘United Mexican States’) has 31 states, plus the federal district, which is surrounded by the states of Mexico and Morelos. Wait a minute, a state with the same name as the country’s capital? That’s so dumb! I’m glad the U.S. doesn’t do … oh, wait … burned!

Well, I still wanted to get there, and even though it was only 10 minutes away, by leaving the District, the taxis wanted to double the fare. Having none of this, I finally found a driver that didn’t say anything about double the fair. I made it clear that I wanted to go to “Interlomas,” and, several times during the ride, I made sure we were still going there. His route didn’t seem right.

Sure enough, it wasn’t. At all.

We ended up in Santa Fe, fifteen minutes away from where I started, and not remotely close to Interlomas. Normally, one could blame the accent I hope is improving, but Interlomas and Santa Fe sound nothing alike, and he repeated the I-Word several times. By the time we got there, he said he had gotten the two confused. Taxi drivers here aren’t so good when it comes to knowing where things are, especially outside of the small neighborhoods each one likes to stay in. I got out of the taxi without paying, and he drove away without trying to fight me about it. Santa Fe is a very modern and upscale commercial and residential area on the far west side of town. It has Latin America’s largest mall, and lots of office buildings, but not much else. It’s dead on the weekends, kinda like like the Loop is on the weekends. I had only been to Santa Fe once before, and that was when Boston Consulting Group flew me down there for an interview in April of 2008 (got dinged on that one). I didn’t feel like walking around there, and it’s basically necessary to have a car in that part of town (no Metro stops there … think of the Woodfield Mall area in Schaumburg; though, sadly, Mexico has no IKEA yet (an IKEA that my roomies, Linda and Molly, and I once had a funny trip to). So, I hopped on a bus that I thought would take me back to where I wanted to go, so I hopped off and looked for another taxi. Fortunately, the driver was my age, and was really knowledgable about the city. By this time it was around 3:30pm,

(it’s 9pm and class let out an hour early (w0rd!), but I’m still on campus, trying to finish handwriting this blog. It’s pretty fun handwriting a blog. Often in class, paper tweets get passed back and forth between @alepalestino and @vikingdrewby)

and I just wanted to get back home. So, we quickly got on the Periferico (a highway that I live very close to and use a lot, it encircles Mexico City) and headed south for the 30 minute drive home (thankfully there wasn’t traffic at this point). In six months here, I've never seen things so clear. I was finally able to see the snow-capped volcanoes in the surrounding states. I didn’t feel like going over to Tec for lunch like I usually do, because I then would have to go back to my apartment before going back to Tec for class at 6:30. The dining options close to my house are rather limited, a few women run mini-restaurants from their kitchens but I can’t say I’m a fan of those.

So, facing limited options, I did what any good American would do: I went to McDonald’s. There is one a very short walk from my house. I don’t go there too often, yet somehow I have gone there twice in the last three days. My preceding visit occurred Tuesday after a really good workout. Corey Lambert was happy to hear that day that I ordered his all time favorite food, Chicken McNuggets. Today, since it was the McTrio Del Dia, I went with the Quarter Pounder with Cheese Combo. Solid choice. After that, I headed over to El Globo, a bakery chain around the city. I got some chocolate something or other and enjoyed it with a glass of milk when I got home. It was glorious. I rested for a bit and then headed over to Tec at 6:30 for class. I somehow got good grades last semester, and I like my 4 classes again. The other students in the program are all cool and nice. My program has a summer exchange with Georgetown and Harvard. I’m not sure if I’ll do those, but, having said that, 1) it’d be cool to spend a summer in Boston with my hermana Erin, 2) it’d be fun to be an exchange student in my own country, and 3)it’d be a fantastical ego boost to know that the Harvard stickers on my parents’ cars aren’t technically just for my sister anymore.

Well, that was my day. Time to take my $1.50 taxi home, call my parents, and finish the night watching the second to last episode of “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.” I really like Conan and I hope he can find a new show.

DONE! If you made it this far, I sincerely thank you.

¡Que te vayas bien wey!

Back in the EUM, Don't Know How Lucky I Am, Back in the EU, Back in the EU, Back in the EUM

2010-01-09T16:40:00.000-08:00

I got back to Mexico City this afternoon after an amazing month at home. Cold today, but the weather forecast for the next two weeks is very nice, a while in the mid60s before regular highs in the 70s. Yo me gusta! Classes start onday, the semester ends in the middle of May. Like I mentioned, this is my 2nd of 3 semesters to get the master's. Certainly will be job searching some. I really hope to move to Roma/Condesa/Polanco very soon, hopefully something good will work out because I am so bored living by Tec!

Upon arriving at the Mexico City airport today, I had to push the stoplight to see if my bags would be searched. I got green, which meant they wouldn't be. I was so happy I won!

I really hope everyone's year is going well so far. I'm really gonna miss everyone back in Chicagoland.

New Mexico City Blog - Heading back to DF soon

2010-01-03T17:19:00.001-08:00

One of the girls in my program, Alejandra Palestino, has a new blog. She started last semester full-time like me, and she also works full-time at Profeco, the Mexican consumer protection organization.

Here's the link:

http://alejandrapalestino.blogspot.com/

I'm heading back to Mexico City on Saturday. Assuming I stay full-time, I'll graduate from my master's in economics and public policy program in three semesters, so this is the start of my second semester (my final semester would be this fall). This semester starts Monday the 11th. I still hope to find something this semester to keep me busy during the daytimes.

I've had an amazing time in Naperville, lots of fun with friends and families, parties, meals, eating out, watching lots of sports, some shopping and going and playing lots of basketball with the old gang of idiots at Edward's. I've also been doing some volunteering Alexi Giannoulias. He is the treasurer for the State of Illinois, and is running for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama when he left for some other job (I can't remember what that job was). The primaries are on February 2nd, and as of now have a lead in the polls for the Democratic primary. If we win that primary, the general election is November 2nd against the winner of the Republican primary. The Republican candidate is very likely to be Mark Kirk, a U.S. Congressman from the northern suburbs with a very distinguished record in the Naval reserves; additionally, he is very popular in the conservative movement. The Democrats currently hold this seat, but Roland Burris, the man who was nominated to to temporarily replace Obama and currently holds that seat, is not seeking election. I expect this will be a very close race in the fall. Anyways, this is the first political campaign I've worked on, and it's been a good experience. I'll continue to help this week before I head back, and hope to be able to continue to help the campaign moving forward, even while I'm in Mexico.

Being home has made me really appreciate the great relationships I have here in Chicagoland. It's really cool to be somewhere new and experience new things and new cultures, and grow as a person and gain new skills. But I was really lonely at times in Mexico and definitely realized how long it takes in places to make new relationships, especially when moving somewhere entirely on your own. One of my good friends is teaching English in Korea and he's gone through a lot of the same things I have. I'm open to staying in Mexico for a while if I get a good job, and if I feel more comfortable in terms of friendships and my overall happiness. And, I truly love living in a warm weather place, and I hope to be able to do it for the rest of my life. But that also means being away from so many great people here in Chicago. Hopefully some balance can work out in Mexico, or anywhere warm, where I can be happy and have a good job. And if not, there's always home. I'm more than blessed with what I have in Chicago, -16 wind chills notwithstanding.

Christmas in the Zocalo

2009-12-20T14:50:00.000-08:00

Here are some photo of the Zocalo, Mexico City's town square that features the National Cathedral and the Presidential Palace, decorated for Christmas. The city constructed an ice skating rink, tents for snowball fights, and a sledding hill. The lines for all of those are extremely long.

Back Home

2009-12-10T07:17:00.001-08:00

Back home at my parents' house, in a retirement village in Naperville. It is obviously freezing here. Hoping to find some job / volunteering to keep me busy as I'll be here until returning to Mexico City January 9th.

Going to Acapulco

2009-11-29T07:53:00.000-08:00

In a couple hours, I'm going to Acapulco. I'll be staying at the new Hotel One Acapulco. From what I've read, Hotel One is a fairly new semi-luxury hotel chain in Latin America. Acapulco, located about 4 hours south of Mexico City on the Pacific Ocean, was the first resort city in Mexico. In the 50s and 60s it catered to the Hollywood jet-set crowd (Elvis made an Acapulco movie that, not surprisingly given the low quality of many of his films, was not actually filmed in Acapulco), but since then, it's gone downhill as other new resort cities (Puerto Vallarta, several hours north of Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas on the Baja Peninsula south of California, Ixtapa, a quiet resort town a a few hours north of Acapulco that my family and I enjoyed, Cancun, the over-the-top city on the Yucatan Peninsula in the Caribbean and the more serene Riviera Maya a few hours south of that) have sprung up.

Prices for certain thing can be outrageous in Mexico, including telephone and internet service, imported electronics, and the lady who has a monopoly on laundromats in my neighborhood (to wash and dry 3 loads of my own laundry costs me $17 US). The bus lines (which I'll be taking today) and wealthy drivers take instead a very nice highway to Acapulco that rarely has traffic. The problem: a one way trip on it costs $50 US in tolls. That being said, if you have 3 or more people in your car, even counting gas and tolls, it's cheaper to drive a car than take a bus. Here's an interesting article on that highway. There are back roads that one can take to Acapulco for free, but they take about 9 hours instead of the 3.5 to 4.5 hours on the expensive super-highway. This highway is owned by a private company. Though the price is annoying, it is good that taxpayers don't have to subsidize a road used primarily by wealthy people.

One really interesting thing to me is from all the hotel reviews I've read, it seems nearly all the hotels in Acapulco, even the ones associated with good brand names, are in desperate need of renovations. I think the hotel chains have sort of ignored Acapulco since more foreign travelers are now going to the other Mexican resort cities. Nowadays it is a very popular college spring break destinations for the Gabachos from up north. Certainly what keeps Acapulco popular is that it is the closest resort city to Mexico City. Wealthy Mexicans still go there a lot, but many of them stay in their own vacation houses there. Given the recession and the fact that it's not a busy season for the hotels, prices are really cheap right now for hotels (though flights to Acapulco and Mexico City are almost twice as much as what they were in better economic times, when I'd imagine more flights were being scheduled).

Anyways, I'm very excited, I haven't been to the beach since I got here over 4 months ago.

Heading home for a month in Naperville starting December 8th!

Mexico in a Nutshell

2009-11-18T13:32:00.000-08:00

This article I found today gives a great summary about everything about this country: geography, history, politics, economics, present challenges. It's a very good explanation of why Mexico is like it is.

Sunday Wrapup

2009-11-15T17:28:00.000-08:00

I would call this the weekend wrap-up, but tomorrow is a holiday (Anniversary of the Mexican Revolution of 1910) so we still have one more day of the weekend. This is a big year of celebration for Mexico, as it gets ready to celebrate its 200th birthday.

I was very happy to see Michelle Wie win the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara. She has worked very hard and I feel good for her that she no longer has to hear the "When will she win?" question. I can't imagine how stressful it must have been to have constantly put up with that.

Finally, a funny article about this country from an issue of the Wall Street Journal this weekend. Three years ago, Felipe Calderon (a conservative) defeated Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (Amlo, the liberal/populist former mayor of Mexico City) for the Presidency, which came with a six-year term (presidents here cannot run for reelection). The contest was extremely close, and it's very likely that there was fraud. Amlo refused to accept the result, and has been running a government ever since then. He and all his ministers take their government very seriously and act as if they are in a real government. Not surprisingly, they public support is very low. Still, it makes for great comedy whenever the "Legitimate President" feels the need to make a proclamation.

12 Hours in Guadalajara

2009-11-14T08:54:00.001-08:00

Thursday night, I took the 7-hour overnight bus to Guadalajara (the country's second largest city, a couple hundred miles west of the Distrito Federal), to see the penultimate tournament of the 2009 LPGA season. The Lorena Ochoa Invitational was first played last year, it is a 36-player invite that despite only being in its second presentation already draws all of the top players in the world. The event is played at Guadalajara Country Club, the course where Lorena Ochoa, currently the top-ranked player in the world, grew up playing golf. The course was really cool, with lots of hills, some solid foliage, very close to downtown and lots of cool modern condo buildings surrounding it.

I walked 18 holes with a group of three Americans (a rarity in the increasingly Asian-centric LPGA). The group was Cristie Kerr (a former US Open champion with over $10 million in career earnings), Brittany Lang (a 24-year old former Dukie) and Brittany Lincicome (also 24, the winner of this year's first major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship). The group all started the day at 3 under after shooting 69s the first day, and they all shot 70s yesterday. I spent most of the round talking with the player's families and agents/reps (there was a group of about 8 following the group), and they were all nice.

Every time Lorena's back home, everyone wants her attention constantly. Combined with launching some new ventures and being engaged to a divorced airline CEO with three kids, Lorena has had a relatively tough year by her standards. That being said, she still has a chance to win the player of the year race (the season concludes next week). Her main rival is Jiyai Shin, a 21-year old South Korean rookie who has already won seven times on Tour (including one major, the 2008 British Open). Jiyai enters today's third round with a three-stroke lead over Michelle Wie, the 19-year old Stanford Cardinal who has still yet to win professionally. Ochoa is a few more back. The tournament is on the Golf Channel today and Sunday at 3pm central (tomorrow is the 4th and final round).

Some random thoughts:

-Overnight bus rides aren't so bad

-Watched 'marley and me' on the bus ride home last night (dubbed in Spanish, obviously), first time I had seen it, I definitely liked it

-Guadalajara Country Club is amazing, it has an equestrian park, tons of tennis courts (including two with roofs/lights), a great course, and a beautiful clubhouse (snuck in for a tour / free food in the press center). Listing price to join: $185,000 US! (the average country club in the US costs between $30,000-$40,000 to join). That fee doesn't include annual dues, etc.

-These players just play mistake free golf. Jiyai Shin usually only drives it 240, hits tons of fairway woods when other plays are hitting mid-irons, but just doesn't make mistakes (bogey-free 66 for her yesterday)

-Laura Davies seems to follow my philosophy on the driving range: take approximately 2 seconds until hitting the next shot

-They all take forever on the putting greens

-Jiyai Shin was really personable when I snuck into the press conference. She has a good command of English and made me laugh a few times. That being said, language barriers aside, I do think the LPGA faces a marketing challenge when it comes to the fact that so many of their top players are Asian. One thing that really surprised me as that for many of the Asians, when their name was called on the first tee, they barely looked up. It's one thing to not be able to speak with the fans, etc., but you don't need to speak English to look up and wave and smile at the crowd.

-Will Wie win? (I'm an alliteration aficionado)

-Mexicans still aren't the most sophisticated golf fans (soccer fans, lucha fans, etc.) in the world. Several fans would routinely applaud Ochoa's playing partners for missing putts. Very weak sauce move right there.

-Good food and drink selection, but I was disappointed with the lack of desserts in the press center

-Natalie Gulbis withdrew due to back injuries. Tough start to my day.

-One marshall allowed us to enter a crossing, and thinking she actually knew what she was doing, we did so without looking. Turns out Juli Inkster was addressing her ball on the tee box. Woops!

Protests in Mexico City

2009-11-12T05:40:00.000-08:00

Ken Ellingwood of the Los Angeles Times really is the best American reporter in Mexico City that I know of. He consistently does a great job of reporting on not just big government/political issues, but also on how life is for daily residents here in DF.

Here's his article today on a huge protest yesterday that attempted to shut down traffic. Protests here commonly shut down traffic.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-mexico-protest12-2009nov12,0,3029785.story

Anyways, I'm glad these workers were forced to protest. President Felipe Calderon, with the support of the majority of citizens, recently shut down a government-run electricity company that was losing billions of dollars a year. This country has lots of huge government companies that lose lots of money (especially the oil company Pemex), so I hope the president has the ability to streamline more of those, and to privatize if necessary. This country sorely needs new laws that promote greater competition and weaken the hold of monopolostic companies (both private and state-run).

Being on time

2009-11-08T19:59:00.000-08:00

Very good article (in English) about how no one in Mexico City is on time for anything ever.

The article quotes a writer, who, in typical Mexican fashion, says there's "nothing we can do" about being late for everything. There's times when I wonder if that phrase should be Mexico's national slogan.

Checking In

2009-11-01T17:38:00.001-08:00

Currently live blogging the World Series game, www.twitter.com/vikingdrewby

Very slow blogging the month of October, sorry about that. I could pretend I was busy but we all know that's not true ... at all. So, anyways, how's it going? Being so high here in the mountains, weather is definitely starting to show it here in mexico (my capital 'm' isn't working). Apparently, just being so high up in the mountains, most of the next few months will be fairly cloudy during the day, mid-60s and a lil windy, and mid-40s and windy at night. Sadly not beach weather, but certainly better than the midwest where I've lived my whole life.

I'm definitely happy with the group of people I've met here. I really like the other students at Tec and I'm enjoying the classes. I translated a paper for my advisor that's getting published here in January.

Still the most frustrating thing is not having anything to do during the day. I've been doing a lot of job searching, but that obviously takes a long time. I've been trying to go to a lot of business events around the city (mergers and acquisition reception, breakfast for the Dominican Republic's Treasury Secretary, mexpat parties, etc.) and am meeting some good people, but nothing yet. I'm pretty flexible about things, so hopefully something will happen soon. The average job search in the US now lasts 7 months, so I realize it just takes time. For comedy sake I went to an Accenture recruiting event on campus last week, seemed like a very exciting company to work for! The other major problem still is living as far south as I do. most of my friends live more in the center (areas like Condesa, Roma, and Polanco), and more businesses are there (and also wayyyy west in Santa Fe). So, if I find a job, I would likely move. Until then, it's not worth it, considering the traffic to get to school

Day of the Dead, a huge holiday here in mexico, is being celebrated today and tomorrow. Families gather in cemeteries to remember their loved ones. It's more celebratory than melancholy. Been eating a lot of Pan de muerto lately.

my friend Kendall (his never-updated blog is linked on the right) has had swine flu the last flu days. Fortunately none of the other students in my house have had it.

I went to a costume party Friday, mainly gabachos, it was very fun. Went as Forrest Gump, here's the photo. Definitely glad I got the haircut, even though my dance partner in salsa class thought it was so bad that she basically was laughing the entire way through our class a few days again (though, my still-improving moves could be a significant factor). Halloween is getting bigger and bigger here, I saw lots of kids Trick or Treating yesterday.

This article is a very good summary of the biggest news story in mexico here during the past month. President Felipe Calderon decided to shut down a state-run electricity company that was losing $3 billion US a year, and the populace strongly supported the move. Power goes out a lot here (I've had to throw out a lot of spoiled food), so hopefully it'll get better now that a new company has taken over. The article implies the president, for the short term, has a window to make mexico more economically competitive (break up more monopolies and unions, better tax collections, etc). The other big news is the president trying to get a sales tax increase in order to keep the country's finances in order. That definitely doesn't seem likely. my favorite newspaper here is milenio. If you're on Twitter, I recommend following the mexico city news, a feed (in english) that offers a sarcastic take on news in mexico.

I really miss playing golf. Hopefully over winter break there'll still be enough days in the 40s that I can play a couple rounds of golf, I haven't played since I've been here and really miss it. Golf is extremely expensive here in mexico (and most of the developing world), and despite golf's addition as an official sport in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, I don't see that changing much at all, at least not anytime soon. Nonetheless, I greatly respect guys like this Tony Ciabattoni, an American living in Colombia and attempting to make golf accessible to people of all classes.

This semester will be entirely complete December 7th, and assuming I don't have any obligations to keep me here, I'll probably be back in Naperville by December 10th. I'll be home for an entire month and hope to find some 'holiday job' (retail/restaurant). maybe I'll work as a viene viene. Possible quick trip to Vegas w/ my sister and her boyfriend's family during the month, but otherwise nothing else planned. Definitely looking forward to being home, and hopefully I can stay busy while I'm there. I'm planning on coming back for the spring semester, hopefully I'll find some sort of job for this spring. If done full-time, the program runs 3 semesters (not sure what I would do in the summer).

Well, I hope everyone's doing well. It'll be a weird Thanksgiving for the Stiling family; I'll be here, and my parents will be with my sister in Boston as she's recovering from hip replacement surgery. I'm hoping to organize a Thanksgiving meal here.

Enjoy November!

www.twitter.com/vikingdrewby

skype: drewby222

andrewstiling@gmail.com

New Book on the Mexico City Olympics

2009-10-14T06:08:00.001-07:00

I just found out about this book and thought you might be interested. SI Writer Richard Hoff has recently written a book about the 1968 Mexico City Olympics called Something in the Air: American Passion and Defiance in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. It tells the story of many athletes, including George Foreman, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Bob Beamon (who broke the long jump record by an amazing 22 inches), and Dick Fosbury (who established the modern form for high jumpers).

I hope the book talks about why the IOC decided to award the Olympics to Mexico. As I mentioned before, this was the first time the Olympics was hosted in a developing country.

My parents and sister visited last week, and we all had a good time (despite some awful traffic at times). Personally, I'm still hoping to get to the beach soon.

The Olympics - 2016 and 1968

2009-10-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

Anyone following my Twitter yesterday knew that I was a little obsessed with the vote for the 2016 Olympic host city, which culminated in Rio de Janeiro being chosen as the winner. Friday was a pretty exciting day in that sense. I was bummed about Chicago losing, but it was an interesting day nonetheless. I woke up at 1:30 AM to watch Chicago give its final presentation in Copenhagen, Denmark, site of the vote. First Lady Michelle Obama gave an amazing speech telling of her childhood growing up on the Southside and how her father, even after being diagnosed with MS, still went to great length to keep playing with his kids, and how he would have loved seeing the Olympics in Chicago, a city that has never hosted the Olympics (aided by St. Louis's stealing of the Olympics in 1904 after Chicago had been selected to host). Chicago's videos were pretty good, but the speeches of Mayor Daley, President Obama, and Chicago 2016 CEO/Chairman Patrick Ryan were rather bland. And, I can't imagine the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was too thrilled with the president being in Copenhagen for only 5 hours, instead of the multi-day visit of Brazil's tubby president Lula (a president and a country that certainly wanted the Olympics more than my own). Despite having what many neutral observers thought was the best bid, Chicago lost in the first round of voting, finishing in 4th (Tokyo was 3rd and eliminated after the 2nd round of voting, and Madrid finished 2nd in the 3rd and final round of voting).

I really wish Chicago would have won. I understand the arguments about budget overruns, etc., but more than anything, I think it would've been a blast to have the Olympics in Chicago. I do think the IOC made the right decision in choosing Rio. It's a very fun city and the Olympics, have never been in South America (or Africa ... ha, or for that matter, Antartica ... ask my mom about the continents, she's an expert!). The Olympic games really did need to go to South America, and specifically to Brazil, an emerging economic powerhouse. But I definitely was frustrated by the disrespect the Euro-centric IOC gave to Chicago (and the United States in general).

Philip Hersh, the Chicago Tribune's excellent Olympic sports writer, gives a great explanation of the significant disconnect between the IOC and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). The IOC feels the USOC hasn't been active enough in the international sports movement (not especially surprising from a country with globally successful leagues). There was also some behind the scenes deal-making to make sure Chicago got knocked at first, and some foreign IOC members were outspoken about the poor treatment Chicago got despite its very solid bid. When you combine the dislike of the US by the IOC with the strong desire to give the Games to Rio, Chicago, in hindsight, was logically dead from the start.

Given the small likelihood of the IOC giving less voting power to the Europeans, it is necessary to have their support going forward in order to win a bid, and we had none 0f their support this time. The IOC basically wants a greater level of deference from the USOC and additional US Olympic television revenue (ignoring the fact that half of the 12 premier Olympic sponsors are American companies). In the twenty-two years between 1980 and 2002, the US hosted the Summer or Winter Olympics 4 times. It is now guaranteed to go 16 years (2002-2018) without having the Games at all, and given the animosity between the USOC and the IOC (along with the fact the 2016 Olympics are in the Americas), it seems unlikely now that the US would host the 2020 Summer Games. If the USOC really wants to host the Games more often, they'll need to significantly strengthen their relationship with the IOC (however unpleasant that might be).

This week will also importantly decide whether golf is included in the 2016 Olympics. An IOC committee approved golf to be an official medal sport starting in the 2016 Olympics, and the general IOC body is expected to approve golf this week. Golf, despite not being in the inaugral 1896 Olympics, was an official medal sport in 1900 and 1904. Since then, it has not been an Olympic sport. I strongly feel golf should be in the Olympics, and nearly all the top professionals have put forward their support. Golf is an increasingly global game (the world's top ranked female is Mexican Lorena Ochoa), and I believe if golf became an official Olympic event, national Olympic committees around the world would give more funds to golf, allow greater access to people of all income brackets. However, the selection of Rio possibly hurts this. Chicago, Tokyo, and Madrid all have high quality tournament-caliber golf courses. Rio ... not so much ... at all. The only currently viable course is two hours away, and even that course would require significant upgrade. If golf is approved, it'll be interesting to see if a tournament-caliber course will be constructed in Rio, or if they'll have to go far outside the city to use one. I really hope golf will be approved this Friday.

***

Now, as I'm sure you're not wondering, why is so much written about the 2016 Olympic bid on a blog about life in Mexico? Well, in 1968, Mexico City became the first city in Mexico, the first city in Latin America, and the first city in the developing world to host the Olympic games, hosting the Summer Olympics that October. That summer saw significant protests worldwide about a variety of things. Those protests were not foreign to Mexico. Unfortunately, as the result of the horrific actions by the government of Mexico at the time, approximately 200-300 protesters were killed in Mexico City shortly before the Games. The scene took place the Plaza of Tres Culturas on October 2nd of that year. The President at the time sent troops dressed as civilians and ordered them to fire on the military patrolling the protest. This was ordered with the purpose of the military now having a reason to start firing into the crowd of protesters (with the goal of killing the protesters and returning order to the city for the Olympic games). Sadly, despite Mexico's more open democracy, no one has yet been charged for that crime.

The Opening Ceremony took place on October 12th, and outside protesters did not affect the Games at all. Certainly the most remembered part of the Games took place after the men's 200 meter final. Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos took gold and bronze, respectively. Australian Peter Norman finished with silver. During the playing of the U.S. national anthem, the Americans both gave the infamous black power salute (Michael Jordan, really an all-around jack-ass who clearly doesn't care about using his influence to better society, would have his own Olympic protest in 1992 when he almost refused to take the medal stand due to the requirement to wear the official team warm-ups during the medal ceremony. Naturally, this was about money: Jordan was protesting Reebok's logo (and not his personal sponsor Nike) being on the threads. Classlessly Jordan used the American flag as a prop to appease his sponsors. This was the biggest moral stand Jordan has ever taken in his life). Tommie Smith and John Carlos were expelled from the Games and the subject of much criticism around the world. Peter Norman's stand against racism cannot be overlooked either, as he wore a patch in opposition to racist policy in Australian. He was ostracized as well, and was not allowed to participate in the 1972 Olympics.

Probably the most impressive athletic accomplishment of the games was the long jump performance of American Bob Beamon. He obliterated the long-jump record. Not to take away from him, but the extreme altitude of Mexico City (the first Olympics competed significantly above sea level) likely played a role in this performance, but it was still very impressive nonetheless.

The Olympic stadium was built in the south of the city, in Coyoacan, just off of Insurgentes (a north-side street that is the longest in Mexico City). The stadium is part of the campus of the country's biggest college, UNAM. Since the Olympics, el Estadio Olimpico has been used as the stadium of Pumas, one of the most popular teams in Mexico's soccer league. South of the stadium is Villa Olimpica, the former Olympic village that is now used as housing for residents.

***

Thankfully, the rainy season is now over. It's sunny, 70s, and clear, all day, every day.

Anthony Bourdain - No Reservations - Mexico City

2009-09-25T14:43:00.001-07:00

Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel is one of my favorite TV shows. Here's an episode from last year of him coming to Mexico City. He had David Lida, a great American journalist living here, as a behind the scenes consultant during the episodes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5KLl8-FFkk (part 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PLLS5LZrTM&feature=related (part 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrBAC6nYvCQ&feature=related (part 3)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwpcD7Kmht4&feature=related (part 4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRCIYxmAwgM&feature=related (part 5)

During the episode, he visits the nearby state of Puebla and tries mole negro, a chocolate-chili sauce extremely famous here. Chicken with mole negro might be my favorite dish here.

My biggest criticism with the episode is that he doesn't visit any high-end restaurants in Mexico, even though he often visits several high-end restaurants in other cities. I think it's too simplistic when talking about food in Mexico to just focus on the street food or the simple family eateries, especially when earlier this year a Wall Street Journal reporter went to great lengths to highlight the amazing fine dining options here. I remember watching some idiot on 'Top Chef' once claiming that Mexican found cannot be haute cuisine. Fortunately, he didn't win, and fortunately for Chicagoans, there's some amazing high-end Mexican food in the city, most notably the restaurants of Rick Bayless. Unfortunately, even some Mexicans don't realize their food can be like this (I remember a student a month ago commenting to me that Mexican food can't possibly be gourmet).

Parque Lincoln

2009-09-20T21:41:00.000-07:00

Abe Lincoln, above.

MLK, below.

I spent a decent amount of time in Polanco this weekend. I went to the apartment of an American there Saturday night who recently moved to D.F.; he's working for a bank here and lives just off Avenida Presidente Mazayrk, the most upscale shopping street in the city. What I love about Polanco is that it is one of the few walkable parts of Mexico City. You're within walking distance of many restaurants, shops, bars, and parks, and there's always a lot to do. Where I live, I always have to take a bus or taxi to get to anywhere interesting, so it's very nice to be in a neighborhood where you can walk to most places.

My church is fairly close to Polanco, and after church today I went with a few people to have coffee in Polanco. Beforehand, we stopped by Parque Lincoln (Lincoln Park ... hmm, that name sounds familiar). This park has two amazing statues, on separate sides of the street, facing each other. A statue of Abraham Lincoln on one side of a street directly faces a statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. Both statues were donated by the United States government. One of the guys in my group said that when he was learning English, he watched the "I Have a Dream" speech, and was moved to tears.

It was really interesting to see these statues, especially considering that I'm currently reading "To the Mountaintop," a biography of MLK, but more specifically, a biography also about his faith. It's fascinating to read about how certain he was of the rightness of his mission, as well as his acceptance and understanding that he would eventually be assassinated. It's also interesting to read that he reluctantly came to his position as a civil rights icon; he initially was much more interested in being a theology-oriented, middle-class pastor. MLK's biography also has a fascinating interlude about Lincoln's visit to Gettysburg. Last year, I read "Team of Rivals" , a fascinating biography of Lincoln's ability to bring his rivals together in his administration, and ever since then I've really come to see him as our greatest President. In a society such as Mexico, where racism isn't literally as "black and white," but nonetheless is a significant problem, it's nice to see the recognition of two seminal figures who fought for human equality.

U.S. Ambassador's Visit

2009-09-14T14:52:00.001-07:00

Article on the visit to Tec by the U.S. Ambassador (in Spanish)

http://viewer.zmags.com/showmag.php?mid=whhrfp#/page0/

FOOTBALL (www.twitter.com/vikingdrewby)

2009-09-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

So, I am definitely happy the football season is upon us. I enjoyed watching the Michigan-ND game yesterday, as well as the OSU-USC game at night. Hopefully I'll be able to watch Northwestern games at times. I'm going to an authentic local eatery tonight (Hooters) to watch the Bears game. And I'm playing fantasy football for the first time in several years. I got Tom Brady and Randy Moss on my team. Some expert claimed that any team with the two of them on it would be (barring injury) guaranteed to win your league. We'll see. I'm able to watch nearly all the American sports I want through either tvpc.com or justin.tv, and am now watching Tiger close up his victory in Chicago.

Things are going well here in Mexico City. Last weekend my friend Adam visited me, we stayed in the city the whole time and spent the weekend taxi-ing around saw most of the neighborhoods. We also both lost a tacos-al-pastor eating contest to a girl (I had 12, Adam stopped at 13 when he saw Dolores eat her 14th and knew she could keep going). We went to the top of Torre Latinoamerica, a major DF landmark.

Monday night, the newly confirmed U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Carlos Pascual, came and spoke at my school. He gave a very interesting speech about the lessons learned in fighting organized crime in America. In the past few years, the government of President Felipe Calderon (who was elected in 2006 to a six-year term (re-election to President is prohibited in Mexico)) has began a major military assault on organized crime. Thousands of Mexicans have died by the hands of these newly desperate gangs since then, but I believe the severe weakening of these gangs (which has begun to happen) is necessary for Mexico's long term success. So many businesses, especially in the northern states where the battles are the worst, cannot do anything without having to pay an extortion fee to these gangs. Selling a house? The gangs demand 10% of the sale price. I was and am very impressed by the determination of my Ambassador, and the Mexican government, to destroy these gangs and bring greater peace and prosperity to the Mexican people.

Mexico had a bit of a scare with an airplane hijacking this past Wednesday, but it was quickly and peacefully resolved. That same night, the Mexicans beat Honduras 1-0 at home at Azteca (thanks to the Chicago Fire's Cuatehemoc Blanco's penalty kick). The U.S. won at Trinidad that night to take sole possession of first place in the group standings, and with two games remaining in North and Central American World Cup qualifying, the U.S. and Mexico both seem good picks to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. There have been heavy rains this week, but the severe drought affecting Mexico and Central America, the worst drought in 60 years, still continues.

School is going well, and I like the people there. Independence day is coming up, it is celebrated on the the 16th of September. Next year is Mexico's 200th anniversary of independence from Spain. Today I had the traditional Independence Dish, Chiles en Nogada, and definitely enjoyed it. I also just checked out a cookbook by Diana Kennedy, the resident expert (and snob) of Mexican gastronomy.

I hope to get to the beach soon. Very, very soon.

Ask A Mexican!

2009-09-12T18:07:00.001-07:00

For all those questions you've had about Mexicans and Mexican culture ... http://www.ocweekly.com/columns/view/32466

This column has been going on for a couple years. Every week, a Mexican American answers, usually sarcastically but always in a hilarious manner, readers' questions about Mexican and Mexican culture. Very good stuff.

Great Michigan game today ... Go Blue!

Other Mexico City Blogs / Magazines

2009-09-07T08:12:00.001-07:00

Here's some good links on other similar blogs about foreigners living in Mexico City:

http://joyvictory.wordpress.com/ - Journalists living in Mexico City

http://wagamamawonderings.blogspot.com/ - American couple living here

http://goodfoodmexicocity.blogspot.com/ - DF food

http://garydenness.co.uk/ - A Brit living herer

And one English magazine about living in Mexico:

http://www.insidemex.com/

Welcome Back

2009-08-31T08:19:00.000-07:00

Hey, I know it's been a few weeks, but had I updated a week ago, it probably would've been really lame, so here we go. Things have been getting slowly better here, I'm meeting more people and getting busier, so that's definitely a good thing. This Friday my friend Adam Glassberg is coming to visit, we'll be celebrating Labor Day weekend here in Mexico City. I'm definitely hoping he's up for going to Six Flags ... we shall see.

This past weekend was pretty nice. Thursday I went again to my favorite restaurant here in DF, Oro y Azul. It's on the insanely huge UNAM campus and serves authentic Mexican dishes gourmet style for very low prices. After class on Thursday nights, many students in my program go to a bar near campus, Toros y Burros. I busted out some sick moves on the dance floor. Of course, me and my mexican amiga Ale got into a fight with the Viene Vienes. These have to be some of the worst people on Earth. They stand in the street and try to act as valets for street parking. They are all over Mexico, and if you don't pay them their extortion, it's very common for them to scratch your car, etc. Of course the lazy and corrupt police do nothing to stop their illegal jobs. Such is Mexico. Ale is in all my classes and we only speak in English together, in class she's my translator when I need it (in a way, I guess I'm a special needs student here).

I'm becoming better friends with the 5 other people in my house, and there's other exchange students that live in a house right by mine, so a bunch of us went to a party around here Friday night (after my customary Friday night in Mexico / Saturday afternoon in Korea Skype chat with my NPU golfing buddy Jon Holt in Korea).

I spent most of Saturday translating a paper from Spanish to English for my advisor. Extremely easy, but also extremely boring (he is a nice guy though). Saturday night I went to a BBQ to welcome the new Fulbright Scholars to Mexico City. The party was in the Roma colonia, north in the city, fairly close to the previously mentioned Condesa, the best area in town for nightlife. I saw my fellow North Parker Riley Clark there, he just moved here and is living in that neighborhood. For the next year, as part of the Fulbright program, he'll be working at a conservation agency in DF. I also met a cool guy named Kendall, he's part of the program, from Duke and is very proud of Duke being named the no. 2 douchiest college in America (they would be number one but GQ didn't feel it's right to name Duke number one in anything). I'm planning on spending the next year trying to convince him to not go back to America to work for a consulting firm where he has a job waiting (I don't miss Accenture one bit).

Sunday was relaxing as normal. I went to Union Church, the English speaking church I've been going to for a few weeks. It's a mix of Americans, Jamaicans, workers from the African embassies, and many Mexicans. It's in a beautiful (and rich) neighborhood, in the central-west part of town, Lomas de Chapultepec, and the church has been an English church there since the 1870s. There's about 100 people there evey week and they've been very nice. Sunday night I went and saw Bandslam a movie I'm guessing many people haven't heard of. It's a high school comedy, a group of kids form a band to enter a competition; very similar to a 1980s John Cusack and definitely good. When I got into the theatre, I was the only one there, but another American soon entered. Frank was his name. Frank is from Michigan. Frank works at the Embassy. Frank has worked for the State Department in many parts of Latin America. Frank enjoyed the movie like I did. Frank gave me his card in case I ever need anything from the embassy. Frank is a very nice guy.

This is lining up to be another normal week, classes at night. I'm still looking for some type of job to do during the day, I've been talking with a few people and been applying some places, so I'm sure something good will come soon.

If you want a good idea of Mexico City life, I definitely recommend reading David Lida's blog. He is an American journalist that has been here for about 20 years, and his blog does a really good job capturing some funny and interesting parts of living here in DF.

A good local paper (in Spanish) to read is El Universal. The town also has an English-language daily I recommend, The News. Check me out at www.twitter.com/vikingdrewby

I miss everyone back in the US and I hope you're doing well.

Raining Again ...

2009-08-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

The evening rainstorms have just stomped again. Pretty amazing in the summer here, sunny and 72 all day til around 6-8, rain for about 30-45 minutes, and then clear at night.

I'm sure most of you read my article in the Naperville Sun, but the link is below in case you haven't.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/sports/1716120,6_2_NA14_SOCCER_S1-090814.article

The Mexico-U.S. game was amazing to be at, though the Mexican fans did act like ass-clowns at times (i.e. the entire pre-game, during the game, and after the game). For all the recent criticism about the Cubs fan throwing the beer from the bleachers, not a peep was raised aqui about all the times that American players got hordes of debris thrown at them when they were doing corner kicks. Nor was the complete lack of class of Mexicans mentioned when referring to how they blew horns during our entire national anthem. SI writer Grant Wahl felt the same when wondering why some dipshit felt the need to pour a beer on his laptop. Our section of Americans had beer (more likely cups of piss) thrown at us the entire game, and the security surrounding us didn't attempt to throw out any fans for acting like pendejos.

All the Mexicans I've talked to say the people that go to the game are crazy. But none of the national media here that I've seen was critical of the fans' behavior. It's rather hard at times to respect a people when you see so many of them act like I did at Azteca.

That being said, the Mexican team thoroughly played better on Wednesday. They controlled the ball much better than we did. Americans, as usual, need to improve their footwork and first touches. I think our defenders played especially well considering how much Mexico controlled the ball. That being said, the US almost came away with a tie. The altitude and noise of Azteca make it extremely difficult to play in (El Tri has only lost one World Cup qualifier there ever), so let's hope the US gets back to form in early September for their next WC qualifier in Utah.

Otherwise, things are going fairly well here, still not many close friends, but I realize those friendships take time to develop. I am meeting a lot of really nice people, especially at my program. The classes are all at night but the people are really social and really cool; there's a solid mix of fellow extranjeros as well. I still don't have a ton to do, especially on the weekends, so hopefully that changes soon. Given how little I have to do during the day, I'm still full into the search for some sort of job to do during the day, most likely some teaching related position.

Here's to hoping I've finally beaten down Moctezuma in our 5-day battle.

Cheers!

School's Out For Summer! ... til tomorrow

2009-08-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

Hello, world. My first day of classes is tomorrow at Tec de Monterrey, starting on my Master's in Economics and Public Policy. I'll be in 4 classes this semester and they're all from Monday-Thursday night from 7-10pm. During the mornings I'll be helping out the professors w/ research.

So far, I guess I'm neutral on being here. I've met some cool people and had some fun nights out. The people here have been really friendly (drivers not withstanding, who are all major-league assholes). And I really think I'll like my classes and doing the research. Like I've mentioned before, I think my biggest problem so far is living in the part of the city that I live in, Xochimilco (one of Mexico City's 16 boroughs). I live here because it's within walking distance of the university, but I definitely might move somewhere north once I have my car after Christmas. It's really far south, and all the fun places to hang out are really far north (it's a 30 minute taxi ride even without traffic). There's nothing especially historic / interesting in my neighborhood, just kinda random suburban sprawl; it doesn't really feel like I'm even in Mexico City. If I had to live anywhere, it'd be in Condesa or Polanco, two cool neighborhoods up north. I had to go to the U.S. Embassy Friday and it was nice to be in a part of town that actually felt like historic Mexico City. The embassy is near the city's biggest park, Bosque de Chapultepec and its most famous statute, El Angel, southwest of the city's historic zone.

Overall, I can't say I'm a huge fan of Mexico City yet, hopefully it'll come. The weather is pretty amazing year-round (low 70s), but the extreme sprawl of the city makes it feel kind of lame, especially considering that I'm at the far outskirts of the sprawl. Interesting how my opinion of the city is definitely based on where I live .... though I think many Lincoln Parkers would feel the same way about Chicago if they were forced to live in Morgan Park without a car. In terms of high-rises, there really is no clear downtown at all the way there is in Chicago for example. The newest area of building is Santa Fe, an upscale business district west of the city where it seems like every building is less than 10 years old. The public transportation in the city is good, but due to the huge size of the city (I've read it's between 30-40 miles north to south and approximately 20 miles east-west) it can take nearly 2 hours on public transport to get from one part of the city to another. Traffic can be terrible, taking a couple hours to drive north south during rush hour, and traffic can stay bad until 9 at night. I haven't noticed the pollution, nor have I really noticed being 7,000 feet above sea level.

Wednesday afternoon, I'm going to a World Cup qualifying game between Mexico and the U.S at the 105,000 person Estadio Azteca. The World Cup is in South Africa next summer, and while the United States is in good position to qualify, it is far from certain that Mexico will qualify. I'm very excited about going to this game. The U.S. has never won in Mexico, so a victory would be a great way to cement a solid summer for the Yankees. The game is at 3pm Chicago time, check your local Spanish channels (and probably Fox Soccer Channel), it'll be there somewhere.

I can't say I'm totally happy now, but I'm certainly glad I moved here since this was something I had on my mind for a couple years. We'll see how it goes.

Settled In

2009-07-23T16:26:00.000-07:00

So, I'm all settled in, living in a decent studio near my university, Tec de Monterrey - Campus Ciudad de Mexico. Mexico City has 14 boroughs (take that New York) and I live in Tlalpan, one of 20 million 'chilangos' for the moment. The campus is really nice but unfortunately it's superrrr far south in the city. Most of the fun places in town (the Polanco and Condesa neighborhoods) are in the northwest and take a lil over an hour to get to by the train (and I don't have a car!!!). Taxis home are probably $15-$20 US from that area, at least quite a bit cheaper than Chicago for how long of a drive it is. It's illegal to have someone drive my car down for me, but maybe I'll drive it down myself after this semester. Ha, or find a BFF that lives near me and has a car! (Think MTV would give me a reality show for that?)

I've met a few cool people here, but unfortunately some live really far away. Hopefully I'll meet some cool people in my classes. They start in a little over 2 weeks. My classes are Mon-Thur night from 6:30-10, and I'll be helping professors most mornings doing research, so I def will be busy Mondays through Thursdays.

I've done a couple interviews to get a test-prep job teaching SAT or GRE courses, so hopefully that can fit in my schedule somewhere.

Welp, I wanted to move to Mexico for a couple years, so I'm glad I did it. It is kind of strange being here, and I'm not certain if I'll stay here for the entire 2-year Master's degree, but at least I went through with something I wanted to do.

Saludos. BTW I'm on twitter at www.twitter.com/vikingdrewby

First post

2009-07-16T14:30:00.001-07:00

Tweet.