Chilango-eando

So now that I have settled a bit into my daily routine, I thought I would give a brief update. 

This is my street. I don't live in the poshest part of town (Condessa & Roma), but rather the up and coming middle class neighborhood of Napoles. Up and coming is a euphemism for not as nice as Condessa & Roma, but I actually prefer it. First, it feels more Mexican. Roma & Condessa are where all gringos and foreigners go. Not just Americans, but Argentinians, Spaniards, French, etc. The cafes there are very posh and the prices go along with it. Here in Napoles it feels more neighborhoody and more like a neighborhood where more average middle-class Mexicans live. 

This is our neighborhood dog. Not that pretty, but always hanging around somewhere on the block.

About a 10 minute walk from my house is Parque Hundido (Sunkin Park). It is a very nice park for strolling when you need a break from the urban jungle.

This is the building where I work. It is probably nicer than the office I worked in in San Francisco. Everything is brand new and there are 3 full time cleaning people for an office of 50 people, which feels excessive, but I guess the cost of labor permits it. Most of the time they are just chatting in the kitchen. 

The view from my office. Still not really sure why they gave me an office. The office culture is much different in Mexico. In San Francisco I was very used to an open door policy. Most people intentionally didn't have offices or doors in order to keep the atmosphere collaborative. In Mexico, hierarchy is much more of a thing. I am the only one in the office to continuously have my door open. Most of the partners and lawyers have their doors closed so you have to knock and ask for permission to enter. As a west coaster, this is extremely weird. I prefer to have flat, open organizational culture, but that is not the case. 

The Metrobus continues to be an issue when I take it. I much prefer to walk when I have the time and it is not raining. About a 30 minute walk. When the doors on the Metrobus close, they close hard. In the US when public transportation doors close, if there is anything that obstructs them, they open right back up again. I remember this being frustrating on BART as one asshole could hold up an entire train for his friend. In DF that is not a problem. When doors close, they close hard. And they will not open back up again. This guy below barely got on the Metrobus, but his umbrella did not. The doors closed so hard that he couldn't pull his umbrella out so for an entire bus stop (about 3 blocks) his umbrella was half inside the bus, and half outside the bus. 

Finally got a pressure cooker so I can cook beans! 

 This is where I play soccer. Really nice 7 v 7 field on a roof. I play Saturday mornings with people from my work. I have already cemented myself as a starting defender and I scored a breakaway goal last game in our 3-1 win. We won last Saturday 1-0.

 Strangely alcohol prices are cheaper at 7-11 than they are at the grocery store. My only theory for this is that 7-11 uses alcohol as a traffic generator for people to buy chips and other overpriced snacks, meanwhile the supermarket uses other products as traffic generators, and makes money on alcohol. The point is you can buy a liter of tequila, a bag of ice, and a mixer for $14. 

On Wednesday we had the privilege to go the ambassador's house to hear him speak on educational exchange between the United States and Mexico. Both governments currently have a goal of having 100,000 students study abroad between both of the countries by 2018. Most Americans overlook Mexico as a place to learn Spanish as they would rather study in more exotic locations like Spain, Argentina, Chile, or Costa Rica. We were very close to the ambassador while he spoke. I was surprised how strong his American accent was in Spanish given his tenure as ambassador of Argentina and 3 years in the post in Mexico City. To his credit though, he was a career diplomat who rose through the ranks of the State Department. I guess many ambassadors to high profile countries are usually the result of political nominees to people loyal to the President (read donations). 

 Here is the Ambassador taking a picture with all of the Binational Business Grantees. Pretty cool.  

Coincidentally, the day after we took this picture, Barrack Obama announced that Ambassador Tony Wayne would be stepping down and would be replaced by Maria Echaveste:

Maria Echaveste is the daughter of undocumented Mexican immigrants (I learned that you should say undocumented rather than illegal). This is a big deal for Mexico because she is a) the first female Ambassador to serve as American Ambassador in Mexico, b) because she comes from a Mexican family and deeply understands the culture and language, and c) she is highly qualified (she was Deputy Chief of Staff to Bill Clinton). From the press coverage I have seen, it seems as though Mexicans are receptive to having a Latina Ambassador.

Here's a picture of me looking official. I think this will be my new Skype profile picture.

Sadly my intestinal fortitude was broken on Friday after 3 weeks of resilience. I am bouncing back and hope to emerge even stronger.

P.S. Don't forget to tie up your soap, or that shit will run off!