President Calderon at PAACE Automechanika Mexico

So it's been a while since I've written because I've been finalizing everything for my event that is finally closing today! I will breathe a huge sigh of relief after this year's show is finished...it has however been a success! We had a special participant in the inauguration of the show on Wednesday...President Felipe Calderon. After hours and hours of meetings with his disorganized security staff over the past week, we finally worked came to an agreement with them. These men did NOT like the fact that I was a young gringa, a woman or that I had any type of ability to make a decision. They basically forced us into changing the hours of our event to accommodate the President's arrival and according to my staff here, we could have had some serious actions taken against us if we did not submit to their requirements...event shut down, inability to ever enter Mexico again (which would make me cry!), etc. Apparently they are not the people you want to mess with here in Mexico. On Wednesday, I entered the convention center to find out the Calderon's security staff had completely taken over with an army marching outside, metal detectors, barricades in the show and security bodyguards EVERYWHERE. It was quite the ordeal. All of the planning, headaches and trouble however paid off because when Calderon entered the building, he greeted me in the typical Mexican way with a handshake and kiss on the cheek.

College Football and Aztecs Rule Malinalco

A little out of order, but better late than never.  I spent Friday, July 3rd exploring the beautiful town of Malinalco, rich in Aztec history.  As you can see from the pictures, the scenery is gorgeous.  I climbed to the top of the lookout that is home to several ancient Aztec temples (of which one is pictured above).  I think they may have re-created the thatched roof since the 1400's but the rest of the archaeological site really does appear intact.  

Another interesting aspect of Malinalco?  The college football fans.  Pictured above you will see evidence of a true Georgia fan.  Later in the day, I saw a man heading toward the location of this parked vehicle wearing a Georgia hat.  I'm convinced he is the vehicle owner although I couldn't pull out my camera quickly enough to share a picture of the car's owner with you as well.  I also spotted a Mexican wearing an Auburn football hat.  I'm telling you, US college football seems to have traveled long and far.

100% Guapo, Somos Novios

I spent my Sunday exploring the colonial cobblestone streets of Coyoacan.  The streets are lined with beautiful trees, colorful buildings and homes and the suburb is bustling with people on the weekends.  I started off the day chilling in the park and eventually made my way to the central plaza to enjoy a cold michelada, quesadillas and my book of Spanish stories.  The central plaza is filled with people on the weekends due to the craft market, restaurants and excellent people watching.  I found one corner where they were playing music and about 10 older couples were dancing to the rhythmic beats.  My favorite performer?  This adorable little muffin (that's for you Mere) man with his shirt and tie.  Since the shirt is a little hard to read in the pictures, let me spell it out for you.  The front of the shirt is clearly pre-printed and it says "100% Guapo" or "100% Good Looking".  Now on the back of his shirt, he has clearly added his own text that says "Somos Novios" or "We are Boyfriend and Girlfriend".  The nice lady dancing with him?  Clearly not his girlfriend as he was moving on from dance partner to dance partner with each and every song.  Precious guapo man was quite entertaining, and I must say, I think he made my day.

What's for Sale?

It's amazing the stuff you find for sale here on the streets of Mexico City.  No matter where you go, whether it be dining out, strolling down the street or driving through the city, you can be sure that you will be bombarded with some amazing offers.  Not only will you find a wide array of goods for sale, these goods will be sold by a wide array of people.  From small children to middle-aged men to crippled little ladies.  I know, it sounds sad.  Let me get back to these amazing items.  Haven't you always wanted to buy a small house plant off the street while you were eating an empandada?  Talk about efficient here...how about a fresh artichoke?  Or maybe some candies and a pen that lights up?  Boxing gloves?  My favorite so far...an entire board of shoelaces for sale.  Sorry, no picture of the shoelaces or the shoelace guy.  When you are on the Metro, they want to sell you cd's of Mexican music.  How do they promote this amazing offer?  By standing next to you blaring their music through their speakers which are located in their backpack.  I rarely see people buying which makes me wonder why people continue to spend hours and hours of their day selling shoelaces when they could be doing something else, but, asi es la vida.  Next time Silvia is here for a visit, we're going to sell an assortment of colorful straws (popotes) and see how we make out.  

Raw Meat, No Volcanos

This weekend Silvia came in town for a visit and it was GREAT to have here here.  Due to the fact that we are both foreigners and both blonde, we are quite the scene here in Mexico.  Most of the time people are fairly polite, but we do end up drawing the attention of the trash collectors (they told us they loved us), taco joint waiters and your random guy in the bar.  Their favorite English line (which I know they have practiced multiple times over) is always "Where are you from?" to which I usually respond Germany, Canada or maybe even China, just to throw them off.  Then of course they have either traveled to, seen on television or have a relative in Germany, Canada or China.  

All weekend we were planning our Sunday day trip to two volcanos outside of Mexico City.  From our travel books and online research, the views look amazing.  On Sunday we ventured out to see these "volcanes" via metro, then bus, then foot.  We accidentally got off the bus too late at the wrong town but according to the local convenient store worker, there is a great view from the top of the hill that can't be missed.  Our loud talker taxi cab driver drove us to the top of the lookout and we saw quite possible one of the most disappointing views ever...gloomy gray clouds, no volcanos in sight.  We then headed back to the town where we were originally supposed to get off the bus and at this point caught in a bad rain storm, headed into the market.  There was raw meat everywhere (check picture for proof, do you like how they dress it up with a basket of flowers?) and people attempting to sell it to us.  I'm not sure exactly what the sanitary regulations are for how long raw meat should be sitting out, but I can guarantee you that this market's meat was sitting out for far too long.  Laughing at our lack of success, we ran in the rain to the next bus we saw passing by the main road toward the DF.  I think I will steal some volcano pictures off the internet and pretend that we really did see them - we deserve it after our 6 hour trip! :)

Cobertura de Prensa y Superama sin Risotto

As many of you know, I've had the pleasure of spending quite a lot of time with the press / media here in Mexico over the last two weeks. I know you've all been dying to see some of the results, so here are a few pictures and a published web article for you!

Now, I've been to my local grocery store here several times (The Superama) but last night was a special occasion because I actually had plans to cook a nice dinner of fresh salad, mushroom risotto and garlic bread. One would think that the ingredients for these items would be somewhat easy to find considering the Superama is more "upscale" grocery store here that carries international foods and brands. Apparently arborio rice (for you non-foodies, this is the rice that MUST be used to make risotto) is not common here in Mexico. After asking approximately 5 Superama employees and searching the aisles high and low, I decided to take myself over to customer service for some better service. A very nice lady ended up calling several Superama stores throughout the city just to tell me that my precious arborio rice was nowhere to be found but that they would probably have it at Walmart. Really? I think I should start a risotto import business here in the DF.

The Outcast Gringa

So today I had plans to go with a girlfriend to a movie event.  She told me she had a ticket for me for this private screening so the plan was to meet her around 9:30pm at the fanciest mall in Mexico City and go from there.  I'm excited about this movie experience because I'm thinking it will be a challenge and test of my Spanish capabilities.  I had a long day at work so ended up going straight from the office to the mall.  I arrive.  My friend Paula tells me she is in a tent at a private event downstairs, and to call her when I found the place.  I'm outside the tent, surrounded by bodyguards waiting for my friend Paula to appear with my ticket and thinking to myself...what happened to the movie?  Meanwhile, I'm scoping out the scene...I'm the only gringa by far...also the only person dressed in business attire.  The people at this event are just plain cool.  Whether they are in fancy dresses and high heels or jeans, nose rings, sweatshirts and converse sneakers, they are just cool.  I however, am quite the opposite in my black pans, black heels and classic blue sweater.  Wow.  Nevertheless, Paula arrives and we enter a swanky promotional event for a Mexican cellular company - plasma screens everywhere, beautiful people, excellent complimentary appetizers and cocktails roaming the room.  Not my typical scene, I attempted to make myself comfortable for the next hour and half and actually stand up straight in a crowd of people pushing, crowding and grabbing for appetizers and drinks.  It was insane.  Nevertheless, I'm now at home, happy in my bed.  I've now learned to get the FULL story before I attend any future events involving tickets.  

I have an early morning tomorrow to prepare for our mid-day press conference...I'm fairly certain I will have some good stories come the end of the day tomorrow!  In the meantime, saludos desde Mexico!!

First Full Weekend in the DF and Tepoztlan

So I have successfully completed my first full weekend in the DF!  

Friday night I went to an excellent dinner with a friend at a Japanese restaurant called Shu in Santa Fe, followed by a Mexican pub with a cheesy Mexican rock band singing "I want to rock and roll all night..." among other American tunes.  The musicians actually weren't that bad, but the singer I could have done without.  I spent most of Saturday napping, strolling through Parque Mexico and enjoying Mexico City's excellent cafes.  The day was beautiful.  Early Saturday night I headed to Condesa's famous cantina for mezcal called La Botica.  Here you can choose from many different types of mezcal off a handwritten menu on cardboard.  The place really is a hole in the wall but attracts an artsy upscale crowd with a very cool vibe and the best mezcal in the city, served out of medicine bottles.  We had dinner at my favorite sushi restaurant down the road and from there strolled throughout Condesa to visit friends at a few different bars and clubs.  Sadly enough, my night did not end with tacos al pastor.  I'll have to change that next Saturday.

I've decided that every weekend I'm going to try to take a day trip because there is actually a lot to see and do around Mexico City.  Today I ventured to Tepoztlan, a true Mexican colonial town with cobblestone streets about an hour outside of the city, surrounded by beautiful scenery and mountains.  I enjoyed a tour of an old convent, a few churches and their Sunday market, filled with fresh produce, tacos, crafts and ONLY Mexican tourists.  I only saw 2 other gringos while I was there!  I then headed to the nearby Tepozteco "pyramid" which turned out to be a steep one mile climb on rocks through what seemed like a jungle.  The result of my 1 hour hike up was a beautiful view of the mountains and valley!  

Tacos al Pastor

Just a mere two blocks from my place of residence is the world's greatest taco joint, El Tizoncito.  They claim to have invented Tacos al Pastor at this unassuming taqueria which I highly doubt, but they really have the most amazing tacos...EVER.  The pork marinates for several days and is cooked over charcoal as you can see from my picture.  This picture was taken a little after noon today, right after the Tizoncito opened so we're talking about some fresh carne here.  According to my friend Pedro who works at the Tizoncito, this will make 1500 tacos!  The tacquero quickly slices off a few slivers of pork into a tortilla, adds a thin slice of pineapple and tops it off with onions and cilantro.  It's becoming quite the problem for me to be so close to this place as I am tempted every time I walk by (which happens to be multiple times a day).  I've definitely become a regular with the night waiters and know most of them by name.  Best time to eat tacos in Mexico?  After a night out of course, around 3 or 4 am!

Las Entrevistas - Part 2

Today was another day of press interviews but in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.  So the deal with these interviews is that I bring our press consultant and our automotive industry expert and we typically meet with each journalist for an hour or so over some type of food, discussing cars and my trade show.  Well, since it is a show expense, I of course pick up all the tabs which means these guys eat whatever they want.  Now I understand that men like to eat meat but these guys seriously will eat meat for every meal (breakfast included) and order the most expensive thing on the menu and live it up.  So at lunch we're talking appetizers, NY strips and rib eyes, cerveza, tequila and of course dessert.  I think I am tired of traveling with 50+ year old Mexican men and being their sugar mamma, as nice as they are. :)

So here's a strange thing I have noticed here.  All medicine is sold over the counter so you can pick it up in your typical pharmacy or even grocery store.  I had to pick up some medicine tonight so I just happened to ask the lady at the grocery store exactly how much I should take.  It's a good thing I asked before I left the store, because I now realize that all medicine sold here has exactly the same instructions on the box, translated something like this: "Dosage: As your doctor recommends."  Hmmm, well that's not exactly helpful if I buy this in the grocery store, now is it?  You would think they would at least list the maximum amount you could take in a 24-hour period to prevent an overdose...ohhhh Mexico, you never cease to amaze me.

Buenes noches!

Las Entrevistas

Today was a loooong day.  Seriously my head wants to explode after a day of travel to and from Guadalajara and 5 Mexican journalists holding tape recorders up to my face asking me questions in Spanish.  It's funny because news and press and media are the real thing here.  You can hold a press conference in Mexico about absolutely nothing and you will have at least 40 journalists and a handful of radio stations and tv programs show up.  It's not that there's nothing to talk about - there is PLENTY to report here but for some reason, these journalists take every story VERY seriously.  So, I spent my day discussing my wonderful automotive aftermarket trade show, the economic crisis, the swine flu and customization of vehicles.  I think my favorite question of the day was..."How has the personalization of vehicles changed in Mexico over the past few years?"...ummmm....huh?  Definitely passed that one off to our automotive industry expert.  Overall, the day was successful and I managed to get through it speaking in Spanish!  I'll have to follow up this post with some links to online media coverage we receive from our interviews...they will most likely involve pictures of me with a very confused look on my face!

Como puede ser que no tienes cambio?

Each morning I will be taking  a "safe" taxi cab to my office from my residence in La Condesa.  It really pays to stay here because I would much rather travel to and from the office than have to travel to and from my house to find cool things to do after work and on weekends.  So this morning I called my typical cab company for a pickup.  And this morning they actually showed up on time which is a miracle in itself.  I clearly should not have been so overjoyed by the timeliness of my cab, because my cabbie did not carry more than 40 pesos in change - which right now equates to approximately 3 dollars.  Needless to say, when I gave him my 200 pesos to pay for the morning taxi ride, he was not pleased.  We proceeded on a scavenger hunt for cambio...from the convenient store to the tamale street vendors with no luck at all.  Next thing you know my cabbie is standing in the middle of rush hour traffic waving my 200 pesos in the air.  I've got to give it to him - someone stopped after about 5 minutes and hooked him up with the change.  So lesson learned...cabs don't carry change and should not be paid with anything greater than 50 peso bills.

Speaking of cabs, I have one arriving (I hope) to pick me up at 5:30am for a 7am flight to Guadalajara for a day of press interviews...wish me luck, I'm going to need it!

The Arrival

Well, I made it! I somehow managed to talk my way through customs (yes, in Espanol) with two laptops. Considering you are only allowed to bring one laptop into Mexico per person, I must say I am impressed with myself. I played the innocent scared blonde girl card and explained to a very nice Mexican lady that I HAD to bring two, because I couldn't possibly risk the danger of riding to and from work everyday in a taxi cab, laptop in tow. Luckily, she bought it.

I've already stocked up on groceries and had a nice snack of fresh jicama seasoned with spices and lime juice. Delicious! Probably off to the Tizoncito tonight for tacos al pastor and a michelada.

The weather is beautiful here today - high 70's - and everyone is outside enjoying cafes, ice cream shops and parks. I'm loving La Condesa already...and wishing my sidekick Silvia was with me!

Preparing for the DF

So everyone has a different response to my 1 - 1 1/2 month stay in Mexico.  I get the "Oh, that's great, how exciting!", to the "Wow, have you seen the movie Taken?" and even the "Aren't you going to catch the swine flu?".  I also have plenty of friends that probably think I'm a little crazy but simultaneously wish they could be doing the same thing.  So wherever you do fall in the array of responses, I will document my experiences here over the next month or so and share with you some of the real Mexico, from a gringa's perspective of course.

I said goodbye to my good friend Taylor tonight who is heading off for TWO YEARS to Bolivia.  It's funny because we are going through some of the same feelings right now, but our timeframes are so completely different.  I think his trip is motivating me to be bold on mine, enjoy all the culture and opportunities thrown at me and suck it up and speak in Spanish even though I KNOW I sound stupid.  Right now my biggest fears are loneliness (which has never been a problem of mine before) and finding balance in a different culture with different expectations and a much different way of life.  My excitement however to immerse myself in a new culture, even for a month, far exceeds any fears.

So the next two days I will prepare myself for Mexico City...good thing I don't need to bring a suitcase of Pepto Bismol, they sell it in the corner store.