First Night In Mexico

It´s amazing the cultural differences between Mexico and the US....here, there is no such thing as being rude. People talk on their cell phones and sing as loud as they want and talk about anything they want where ever they want, y les vale madres the other people that may not like it.

I watched the take-off for the first time in my life. I wanted to say goodbye to my home...I cried, trying desperately to find my mother's car on the freeway to no avail of course. The flight home was fine, aside from the chicken sandwiches that I couldn´t eat, the apples whose package claimed were expired a year ago, and the dizzying turbulance that forced me to close my eyes and breath deeply instead of watching the city from above....the same turbulance caused others to vomit, filling the cabin with that awful smell.

Our apartment is cute. It´s very small and literally has nothing -- no stove, refrigerator cable connection, washer, drier or space for any of it. We do have a bed frame that looks more like a wooden crate than a place to rest your head. No mattress as of yet and no closet. The Super told us to put our washing machine in the shower under some shelving (there is a connection there for it -- pictures will follow so that you can see what I mean) but that is certainly not happening....I hope I´m not the only one who sees a hazard in that!

All the keys are in different places on this Mexican keyboard. I keep having to look for the function keys because they aren´t easily accessible like ours. The enter key is a little further away, and the apostrophe is in the same row as the numbres, so I keep pushing } instead. I feel like a child again, learning how to create words on a foreign invention.

And the wonderful news....Toño´s friend, who goes to school at ITAM (supposedly the best school for politics and economics....they told me that all the members of the new presidential cabinent graduated from there) invited me to go with him to his school and talk to his professors.....including Denise Dresser! It's great news, I can possibly include an interview with the most read political/economic writer in all of Mexico.

So, today I start speaking Spanish. Today I start being okay with speaking incorrectly. Today I let go of all of my fears and jump into the pool before knowing how to swim.

p.s. don't forget that I am now 2 hours ahead of you all. I can't call out anymore, but I can send and receive text messages. When we get a phone in the new apartment, I will let you all know.

Last night in the US

I never thought this day would come. As much as you plan to do something grand, you never expect it to actually come true. Graduation seemed like centuries away when I entered high school, transfering to UCSC seemed like a lifetime away when I entered Ventura College and moving to a foreign country was more of a romantic fantasy than something that would ever become reality. Actually, I have to keep reminding myself that Mexico is in fact another country. I've travelled there so often and I feel so entirely comfortable there than thinking of it as a different land is almost foreign in and of itself.


So...what does it take to move to a different country....about 7 pieces of luggage, the ability to get rid of three quarters of your possessions, access to a person who is willing to store those things you can't take but can't part with and a lot of incredibly supportive friends and family members. I'm really nervous and yet I'm shivering with excitement. So many people have called me brave but right now I'm wondering if they are confusing bravery with stupidity. I guess that answer will come with time.


I want to take the opportunity to thank everyone for everything. Support in college, hugs, lunches, dinners, songs, gifts, shoulders for crying, stories for laughing, everything. I love you all. I can't wait to see you in Mexico!


Megan and Jose sing "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday" for me at Golden China Karaoke....Thanks guys!