Weekend with Liz

What's up fellow followers? I hope everyone is doing well wherever they are. Thanks for all the comments so far -- we've enjoyed the feedback! We've had a great weekend here with Liz. Here's the rundown:

Friday night- went to 'El Centro Historico' and hung out with our friend Ulises downtown and visited a few different bars before picking up Liz at the airport. Spanish word of the day - tarro=mug, which is what we had a few of before 'el aeropuerto.' Upon her arrival, Olivia and Liz stayed up drinking Liz's gift of Flor de Cana Rum and chatting like girls do until 6 a.m.!

Saturday was a game of Ultimate Frisbee at the school for me - or networking for potential tutoring jobs - (I'm always working here). When I got home we went to Xochimilco for a nice afternoon on the lake in the south of the city with lakeboats 'embarcaderos', food, drink and friends.

Sunday we went to the church of Espinosa and then met our friend Ulises again at UNAM, which stands for Universidad Nacional Autonomia de Mexico, which boasts attendance of more than a quarter milliion students! We took in an afternoon symphony (our fathers would be proud) on campus and had a nice lunch afterwards in Coyoacan, an area with an outdoor market and cafes. I bought a hat and Olivia a bracelet. We're looking more and more Mexican everyday. Ulises has been a great tour guide and friend in the city.

Today Liz and I toured a local panaderia and mercado, and she ended up making a very nice fish dinner w/ rice, asparagus, peppers and squash. I think Olivia may have even eaten an onion without knowing it....Whoops!

Time to hit the hay, let us know how you're doing as you have time!!! Ciao por ahora

Love,

Josh and Olivia

Hola buenos dias como estas

Hard to imagine it's already been 2 1/2 weeks in the city! We've been to pry 10+ good restaurants around our place, it seems like there's food around every corner, and some of it seems cheaper than if you would make it yourself at home. Even after a few weeks I still feel like I'm seeing new things around our 6 block radius, this place is huge!

We're looking forward to our first visitor this Friday, Liz Parker (Dinnen). She'll be arriving Friday night so we'll be picking her up at the airport and going from there, should be good times all around.

Now, you're pry all wondering what the heck it is I've been doing to keep myself busy. Since Olivia has been taking care of the working, I want to set the record straight and say I've been doing my part, including washing windows, scrubbing floors, dusting, cleaning toilets, making dinner, tasting various beers, grocery shopping, updating 2 fantasy baseball teams, running various errands, walking around and getting to know the neighborhood to be the best tour guide possible for visitors, watching pirated $1 movies, playing hack a shaq basketball and of course, looking for employment. Ok, maybe not all of those things listed, but definitely some of them.

In addition, I would like the world to know that I did my first load of mexican laundry start to finish last night, so it's not just all fun and games over here obviously. It has been a rough transition going from being the primary bread winner to domestic man, I'm already feeling the self imposed american pressure to start earning! But I knew coming down here it would take some time, and somebody has to live this life, so I'm glad I can shoulder this burden for a while :0)

What else can I entertain the masses with? A few things I've noticed that is different here in Mexico:

Food - service is typically slow, you may wait 5 minutes before being served or noticed. They have salt but not pepper at most tables, and no ketchup/mustard but instead a salsa verde/salsa roja and limes. All the limes u can shake a stick at over here. You can buy a big sandwich (torta) for 20-30 pesos (1.60-2.50) on the street and they use beans and guacamole like we would mayonaise. I've been shopping at a fresh market about 7 blocks away and at a few different grocery stores (sumesa and bodega something). They do have a Walmart and a Sam's club but we haven't been to either. When you're eating at a restaurant it's typical to have people coming around selling stuff, have a guy set up an amp and play the guitar or have a random dog walk through the establishment. One lady we said no to buying gum to, but she asked about my box of leftovers and was eating it as she walked away. So there's a few things to get used to.

Transportation - I've been walking everywhere, and despite what they say about the crazy driving, I have yet to see an accident. I would liken it to downtown Chicago traffic, they're just as bad. Subway (metro) is cheap and takes you to the airport, the school, downtown, the stadium (estadio azteca) and just about everywhere you would want to go in the city, although u usually walk a few blocks to and from each station. We talked about taking the 'Turibus' which is one of those double decker buses just to see the city and get to know it a little better.

Friday night there were a few teachers from the school that hosted a party at their place, and Saturday night we went out with another couple from the school for some Argentinian steak and salsa dancing. Both nights ended around 2 or 3 in the morning and with hitting a late night taco stand.

Olivia started school with kids on Monday, and it sounds like it's been going well for her in the classroom. They seem to be well behaved and respectful for the most part, although I keep telling her it's only been 2 days. She was a little nervous Sunday night but I think she's already adjusting well...she went from a total of about 25 last year to over 110 this year, so she's got a few more names to memorize. And she took on another class so she got herself a raise! I'm so proud...why do I need a job again?

I'm still happily unemployed, and am looking into some tutoring possibilities with the school. I've checked with the U.S. Embassy but I believe they require a work visa, which I don't have. A few other possiblities are teaching english, Iron Mountain (a vendor I worked with at Wells Fargo Financial) and checking out the chamber of commerce. The trick will be to have a schedule that is flexible with Olivia's while we're down here, so we'll see.

I'm off to go run a few errands and get back to scrubbing the floors. Keep on keeping on!

Gooooaaaal!

After nearly giving up our search on Craigslist and message boards, we somehow scored a pair of last-minute tickets to the USA v. Mexico World Cup qualifier game here in Mexico City today. The sold out crowd, el partido y Estadio Azteca more than lived up to its hype around here.

We tangled through massive crowds on the metro (subway) and surrounding area to get inside the stadium, which holds 110,000+ and was originally built for the 1968 Olympics. It was a gigantic sea of El Tri green! Josh cheered for the U.S., and while I was admittedly frustrated by their uncontrolled play, I was actually rooting for Mexico because I want to see them move up in the World Cup standings. So, Josh's allegiance left us sitting among the 200 or so U.S. fans at the game. The U.S. scored the first goal of the game early on and that's when our section was first on the receiving end of flying beer cups, garbage and heckling. We had a clue this might happen when we noticed the human walls of police and shields before we took our seats. We were definitely lucky that it was a low-scoring game and that we can pull off blending in with the natives here! Some of the U.S. section was even blocked off by barbed wire! Although it was a close game, it wasn't a surprise that Mexico won since they have never lost to the U.S. at Estadio Azteca. The Mexicans' love for the game and passionate fan antics were infectious and a blast to be a part of. Insane. I'm definitely looking forward to our next game!

Bonus photo: we took a trip to El Museo de Arte Moderno over the weekend where we saw this Frida Kahlo original that many of you likely recognize.

Hope all is well with each of you and, again, thanks for keeping up with us. We're always happy to hear from you! Enjoy our first video post!

- Olivia

Streetball

Hey folks, me again. I'm sure I won't be doing the majority of posting on this thing, and hopefully when we get settled in it will be more like weekly or monthly updates instead of every 2 days...but seeing as I'm currently unemployed I've got some time on my hands...

So there's this guy in charge of student activities at the school that told me about some pickup b-ball games at a nearby park close to our place. He did warn me that it was a little different than the states, but I decided to check it out last night and had to walk around for 1/2 hour before I could even find it. This city is flippin' huge.

Anyways, I was excited to play, but when I got to the park and saw these janky hoops w/ no nets, and a few mothers and kids playing, I was a little skeptical. But I waited around and eventually a few guys showed up looking to play, so we started up some 3-3.

I should say that I was feeling pretty good before the games got started because I was pry the tallest guy on the court. However, I quickly lost any good feelings when the game got started, because Mexican streetball is a flippin' slugfest where noone calls a foul! You had guys falling down, catching elbows, pushing, etc. They later explained to me that because I was the biggest, they had to push and shove me to make it more even. What!?!?

On top of that, they play that if you rebound a ball, you can go straight back up with it instead of taking it back past the 3 point line. So here I am getting pummeled everytime I get a rebound. It got to a point where I'd start shooting outside just for a break in the melee under the hoop. These guys wouldn't call a foul on themselves, it was the whole 'machismo' thing in how hard they could hit or get hit. And, none of these guys can dribble a basketball or shoot with one hand. It's like they just throw it at the hoop and then the carnival under the basket starts! Everytime I would try to set a pick they would pass me the ball!?! I'd say one of the hardest things to do is keeping your temper throughout the course of the game.

Needless to say, I walked home much slower than I walked there, and am currently looking through the phone book for places that sell cheap massages.

On another note, I'm exploring a few potential work options but may have to get my visa status changed from dependent to work, otherwise Tutoring would be a doable option. I'm looking for more information from the school, the U.S. Embassy and a few other ideas.

That's it from me for now,

Hasta Luego

Telephones

Wow, Olivia is doing a great job of getting out all the details of our first week. We have been enjoying ourselves as we scratch the surface on the city, and it's even better now that we have our anti mosquito plug ins to keep them away at night!
I'd say we're adjusting well so far, and we've got our new cel phones all charged up and ready to go. If anyone wants to text or call, you're more than welcome, but you may want to check first with your provider to makes sure it's not costing you an arm and a leg. I was told any text messages recieved would be free, and I'm anxious to test that theory:

Josh cel phone - (55)-3661-9341
Olivia cel phone -(55)-2674-6092

It's important to note if you're calling from the U.S. you'll need to dial or text
011-52-and then the entire phone number.

Adios por ahora!

A week already?!?!

Wow -- what a week! I don't even know where to begin.

First, we're doing really well and we've enjoyed every moment of our time here. It's difficult to believe it's already been almost a week! We're settled into our apartment and have gathered all of our necessities. The walls are bare, but minus that, it's quite charming. We're on a sweet street that's busy and has a wonderful boulevard that we've been taking evening walks on. Even on the same few blocks, we discover something new each time we pass.

Neighborhood French/Spanish/Mexican Food and Wine Shop, Our Apartment

School also started with orientations on Tuesday and it’s been great to meet new teachers, many who have lived all over the world.

We have the metro (subway) system pretty well figured out and it’s a steal at $.15 a ride. It’s also been fun to take the “peseros” to and from the school to the metro station. The peseros are funky old Volkswagon bus/vans that are painted green and cram in as many people as possible. Not bad for a $.25 ride!

A few highlights from the week:

We celebrated our first night in our apartment with tapas and a bottle of Mexican wine here at home. It’s quite lovely to open our towering windows that overlook a courtyard and listen to the sounds of the city (yesterday we could hear a group practicing the Halleluiah Chorus at a nearby cultural center and arts university).

There’s an unbelievable Mercado about 10 blocks away that’s filled with plump fruits and vegetables, every kind of butcher station imaginable and tons of wares. It’s a wonderful place to shop and visit with locals, who have been so patient and helpful.

Josh bargaining the price of a T-Bone

We met up with a friend from the states and her husband who lives here on Wednesday night to check out the Zocalo and Centro Historico. The buildings, including the National Palace and Metroplitan Cathedral, are beautiful and the entire area is spills with rich history. We made a night of strolling the streets (where we stumbled upon a video production set) and taking in fantastic piano/drum music and tapas on the rooftop of the El Centro Cultural de Espana – a wonderful way to visit with an old friend and meet a new friend!

El Zocalo

A few other tidbits worth mentioning: devouring tacos al pastor from the taqueria across the street ($.50 a taco, what?!), a rooftop party at the home of the director of the school, huge fresh fruit cocktails topped with chile powder and limon, a Mezcal tasting and even the little things, like setting up a bank account, cell phones and figuring out Skype. Who knew you needed three references to set up bank service and even a Blockbuster store account?!?

Josh's thoughts on the Mezcal tasting, Olivia and Sally's reaction to the Mezcal, Josh enjoying un puro (cigar) on our window ledge

Today we’re heading to Parque Chapultepec (DF’s version of Central Park) and then to a cantinal/club crawl in neighborhood next to ours. A special shout out to all of our friends at my 10-year high school reunion (can it really be?) and the Sweetcorn Festival in Adel. Wish we could be there!

Chao,

Olivia

Safe, Sound and a Little Stuffy

After a relaxing train ride through the Midwest and a stay on the Magnificent Mile (btw, ate at the same sushi spot we fell in love with the day after we married and even had the same server!) we left for Mexico City early this morning. Everything went off without a hitch and school staff picked us up at the airport this afternoon. We checked into our hotel, snagged a power nap, dined at a superb taqueria where we noshed on tacos and Micheladas and then stopped to tour our new digs. We'll move into our charming, French-architecture inspired, historic (and small, says Josh!) apartment tomorrow. The weather was perfectly warm and clear enough to have a magnificent view of the nearby mountain tops. Although the mostly-permanent haze seemed to be quite mild today, it's an adjustment to breath at 7,000 + feet above sea level.

Our welcome has been warm and we're excited to do some exploring and settling in tomorrow.

As soon as I can figure out how to post entire photo albums, I'll put up some great snapshots from our going away festivities.




While we're stoked about being here, it was difficult to bid farewell (temporarily, of course!) to our family and friends at home. Thanks so much to each of you for checking in on us through our blog!

- Olivia