eleven month milestone

When you talk to people who live in Mexico City, many either absolutely love it or absolutely hate it. The latter due mostly in part to the crazy traffic this city is victim of.

Over the holidays or puentes (long weekends), DF is actually a wonderful place to be in. No cars, No people, No pollution.

But anyway, before I lose track of what this post is about.

Gordo and I haven't really figured out which end of the spectrum we are at when it comes to our relationship with DF, although I have to say, I think we lean more towards the loving part (many reasons why, but I'll save that for another time). Although the main reason I think has to do with the fact that my in-laws live in Cuernavaca; this means we always have a weekend escape as an option.

I remember thinking like this when I used to live in China...it was great to be in Shanghai, as long as you left every 4 months or so - to take a breather and re-collect yourself. Then it was OK to go back. Same thing seems to be happening here in Mexico City...we love it up to a certain point - then we leave when we've had enough - and that allows us to come back feeling re-charged and ready to face the city once again.

I can go on and on about how fabulous Cuernavaca is, but by far the best attraction for me right now is lolo and abi's (S' grandparents) garden.

Because fabulous things like this happen {for the first time!} there:

What about you? What do you do to re-charge, re-collect, re-energize yourself?

Thinking of you {across the miles}

Cheesy hallmark card title, I know. Seriously though, SO appropriate for this post. Let me explain.

The reaction I get when people ask me where I'm from and where I've been are that of awe. Born in the Philippines, studied in Spain, lived in the U.S., worked in China, and now settled in Mexico. Granted, while it does sound like I live the life of an international jet setter, their is a dark side to all this. Over the last 10 years of my life, I have left a trail of best friends over various continents, most of whom I miss dearly everyday. I know most of you reading this post will completely understand.

While I think of my friends often, these last couple of weeks have been especially trying. One of my bestest friends in the whole world, H, is marrying N on the island of Boracay in the Philippines. As her wedding festivities are getting started, I'm sitting at my desk in Mexico City. The feeling is bittersweet. I'm here and not there due to a number of factors, the largest being my 3 month old baby boy S. While I am so thrilled at being a new mom, there is no doubt in my mind had the timing been different, I would be on Boracay island white wine in hand right next to H. 

Moments like these are heart wrenching...but I know that H knows how much I miss her, especially now.

There is so much in my head, but somehow I can't get my fingers to type it out. So I decided to talk it out instead. Here's to you H+N! You are both perfect for each other and all the best to you on your special day and forever! I love you!!!

What's been keeping me busy?

I've been ignoring my blog. Not on purpose of course, it's just unfortunately keeps descending on the totem poll of all the things I feel I constantly need to get done. My list just seems to get longer, even though I religiously tick off a task a day. Pues bueno, asi es esto when you are expecting I guess.

So what to write about? I guess it is finally time to start mentioning baby stuff; since my world has and is revolving around this particular theme at the moment.

This is the latest photo, at 31 weeks, although today I'm already at 33. About a month and a half to go! Que nervios!

If you happen upon my tweets, you'll see that Mondays for me have become the craziest day of the week. Aside from prenatal yoga, lunch with la abuela, prepping for my English class (then the actual class), we end the day with our birthing classes.

As like most well kept secrets, we found this birthing course through word of mouth. The mouths being our best friends R&R and their new baby A. I guess this is the kind of thing you have to rely on when being new to a city, I would never have found this on my own.

The course is given at CEPAPAR: Centro de Educacion para el Parto (Education Center for Birth). I still remember my first day there {I was barely showing} sitting in this room with all these super pregnant women - I thought it would be forever until I was considered one of them. Last Monday, I realized I am now one of them. There were two new couples who just signed up, and they were probably looking at the rest of us with the same thoughts that I had just 4 months ago.

So anyway, the course is about 15 weeks long - there is a new topic every Monday - from the introduction of psicoprofilaxis all the way to newborn care, and everything that comes in between; including some very graphic video clips that most men can't stomach. But I find it all absolutely intriguing. Next week we have breast feeding.

Prior to the class, there is an hour of couples yoga (my second class of the day) and my gordo's chance to squeeze his perineal muscles. We do all sorts of breathing, sitting, standing, and relaxing exercises to prepare for the big day.

If you are planning for or want a natural child birth and all that comes with it, this is the place for you. You probably need at least an intermediate level of Spanish to understand the course. Or if you are married to a Mexican, he can do all the translating.

One of the best investments during my pregnancy so far. KNOW YOUR OPTIONS, FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCTS, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Good luck!


FOR YOUR INFO:


CEPAPAR
Cuauhtémoc 111, Tizapan, San Angel
Mexico DF55 50 41 82, 55 50 42 64 
e-mail: cepapar@cepapar.org.mx


SUKHAVATI YOGA
Melchor Ocampo 130, Col. del Carmen Coyoacán

Mexico DF

56 59 41 78, 56 59 47 36

All that has happened

I should have actually posted this a couple of days ago, May 28th to be exact, but anyway, what's a few days?

We have been in Mexico for ONE year! I can't believe how much gordo and I have managed to do in such little time...settle in to new jobs, find a new home (not to mention decorate it), plan a wedding, get married, make it through Guadalupe-Reyes, side trip to NYC, and the grand finale - getting pregnant!

I'm exhausted just reading all that - but I have a feeling this year isn't going to be any less hectic.

Gordo's cousin replied to my FB status today: "Ya eres oficialmente chilanga. Felicidades!!!!! jajajaja"

At what point does one become a chilanga? I don't know if I'm ready for another identity to be added to my growing list of culture confusion.

Back at it!

These disappearing acts should not, and will not! happen too often anymore. Prometida! Even though I've been away, I've been thinking a lot about content, so this will be a long one ;) I hope you have your reading glasses on...

So last week our 25 boxes (remember those?) were shipped, for the last time, to our apartment here in Mexico City. Por fin! Obviously I couldn't wait to unpack, to see if everything made it in one piece from Shanghai. It did, thankfully. And I owe it to this:

YES! What you see above is paper, paper, and more paper! Jeez…I think most of my shipping expense constituted of this bulk…but like I said, nothing was broken, so it served its purpose.

So with all our belongings in place somewhat, we set out to make our first very mature adult purchase – our refrigerator (*blush*) OK, maybe to some people it’s no biggie, but this will be the first relatively large appliance we actually own. Armed with my Sam’s membership card, we went off on our mission. Success. And now I have a brand new ref. Yay. It’s still practically empty, but it looks great in our kitchen!

We’ve been really lucky because the Administrador of our building, Edgar, has been super helpful. Not to mention our polis (guards) Domingo and Jovito ;) We had to wait a few days while they hooked up the gas, but otherwise, we haven’t had to deal with all the different utility companies, Edgar has handled most of it. And I’m hoping that with the 3 in 1 deal of CableVision, internet, cable, and phone won’t be a hassle either.

Ok, so enough about me. For now at least ;) My gordo whisked me away over the weekend to Valle del Bravo, Estado de Mexico. OK, he had to go for work, but hey, let me be romantic, no? :P

About 2.5 hours west from Mexico City, Valle is this quaint mountain town where all the gente nice (or so I’m told…) from the city escape to over the weekends. With its cool weather, the lake, and numerous outdoorsy activities to choose from, you really do feel that you are in another world compared to D.F.

Something that continues to amaze me about Mexico is the diversity in landscapes. Having lived most of my life in the Philippines, I sort of got used to always seeing palm trees – which is not bad of course; but you can go from the north to the south of the country, and the flora doesn’t change that much. There is some variation if you make it up to Baguio (the Switzerland of the Philippines, or so they like to say…), but the coldest it gets is about 10˚C, so you can imagine just how much like the Swiss Alps it is :P Anyway, with the weather being so tropical, it doesn’t matter which part of the country you are in, it’s all quite similar…

But Mexico – its great how we can be in Cuernavaca with palm trees, and three hours later, we are in Valle del Bravo with pine trees. A completely different feeling, and fabulous because now I always have an excuse to have a wardrobe suited for 4 seasons ;) minus the snow.

On the drive up I did get nostalgic for the summer days spent in Finland, smelling the mountain air and enjoying all the green.

We did the touristy thing and had lunch by the lake:

Walked around the zocalo:

Wandered through the Sunday market with all its temptations:

En fin, great couple of days and hopefully we will make it back sometime in the winter. I’m craving a night by the fireplace and hot chocolate. Or a glass of red wine. Maybe two ;)

So back to me again :) My future suegra told me that we should always announce to the world (i.e. random people on the street), when it’s your birthday; simply because it makes you feel good to hear many felicidades. So I figure, why not? This is not the street, but it will do ;) It was my birthday a couple of days ago: Tuesday, the 21^st of July. To mark the day and the fact we moved into our new place, instead of dinner out, we decided to stay in and cook.

So we went to City Market, a great new supermarket/deli. This is the finer (ahem, more expensive) version of Comercial Mexicana, also known as MEGA or la COMER. The wholesale part of la COMER is CostCo. This is just like how Wal-Mart also has its finer version: Superama; with Sam's Club on the other end of the spectrum. That is just how it works here.

Anyway, there are only 2 City Markets in all of D.F. and we are lucky to have one of them 6 blocks from our house.

So my gordo completely spoiled me with my favorite wine and favorite cheese (at some point, I think I will dedicate a whole blog to tête de moine). Then followed by a delicious pasta and salad. Aaaahhh. The simplicity of good things in life. And a perfect end to the day.

*Make sure to click on the photos if you want to see them larger*

Stepping outside...

It's stressful looking for a place to live. And sometimes this stress can completely engulf you and lead you to make rash decisions - you just want a place NOW! so anything will do. Ok, well not anything; but the desperation to finally have a home leads to some not so well calculated decisions. I'll give you an example - I lived in one apartment with a bus stop outside my bedroom window. It never would have occurred to me that this would have been a big deal. But after the first few mornings of waking up at 4am to the sound of the bus-route recording as commuters got on, I thought to myself - how could I have not forseen this would be a problem?!


So now, I take my "neigborhood scouting" very seriously. It's great to have a super apartment in a cute building - but all we have to leave our havens once in a while, and it's highly important to like what you find when you step out the front door.


Yesterday I decided to walk around our new realm to see what is in store for us...and I was quite happy with my findings :)


Cute little park for when we have our cute little dog - eventually.



The convenience of Starbucks, a deli and wine shop, drycleaners, and bank HQ is a total plus!



Not to mention the metro stop and newspaper stand.



A lovely perk is freshly squeezed orange juice right around the corner and yummy queso Oaxaca (string cheese).



And then of course, as in every big city, but most especially in Mexico, there are those random street vendors you find everywhere selling things you never thought you needed - but maybe can't live without...:)

Me and my boxes...my boxes and me.

We are *THIS* close. All the paperwork is ready and so it's just a matter of time before we sign the contract and move into our new place! Yipee!!! I don't remember the last time I've been so excited and eager to move and decorate and settle in. I realize that a lot has to do with the fact that I've been living out of my suitcase the last year and a half, so maybe this reaction has been influenced and skewed a little :P But still...excitement is in the air.


This is the nth time I've looked for an apartment now over the last 10 years...I can't even count. Of course, every country is different, and there are pros and cons to what's available depending on where you are in the world. For example, we didn't have an oven in Shanghai - don't ask me how I survived 4 years without one! We made do.


What surprised me the most about looking for a place in Mexico City was that every broker/owner touts the fact that the building has 24 hour security. In other parts of the world - this perk would imply that you can have anything delivered at any hour! In Mexico though, it's really all about safety. So at the end, everything is controlled with alarms and electric buzzers to enter the fortress that has become your apartment.


I don't know if it was just luck or what...but we found this place by total chance. Our little contemporary Mexican living space for now. At least until we can buy a place of our own at some point...







At the beginning of our hunt for our new space, our M.O. was the internet search on sites like Metros Cubicos and Aviso Oportuno. Really though, the easiest was to walk around (or drive around, if you have a car) and start calling the numbers you see hanging outside apartment buildings. This is how we got lucky!


I am also wondering how much paperwork is involved for foreigners who rent in Mexico City. I am thinking that maybe we had an advantage based on the fact that my gordo is Mexican, and therefore we had an easier time with all the documents...which isn't saying much actually, because we still had to prepare all sorts of "proofs" (if you will):

• Copia identificacion IFE fiador - this is the person who will back you up; co-signer I think is the word I am looking for.
• Copia escritura del fiador - deed of ownership; the co-signer must own property in Mexico City.
  
• Copia ultima boleta de preadial pagada - up-to-date real estate tax payment on said property.

I figure there is some relocating company that makes it easier for foreigners to deal with all the paperwork. The 2 websites I've found that seem to be the most helpful with real estate queries are Mexconnect and Solutions Abroad. In case any of you want to move here ;)


So with all this ilusion to move into our nueva casa...I just had to go through all my boxes that arrived from Shanghai and do a bit of organizing! So the morning was spent rummaging through about 25 boxes figuring out what should stay (meaning go into storage - at least until the Mexican winter) and what should go. Of course everything is important and I couldn't decide (these are all our earthly possessions afterall!), so all 25 boxes are moving in with us. :)

This is how they eat popcorn in Mexico.

and how I eat it too. (*blush*) heehee.







YUM - popcorn with salsa valentina. just one of the few inventions of this beautiful land. The other invention I am grateful for, which I am sure I will have many chances to write about due to my obssession with it, is clamato con cerveza. Pure genius. All I have to say about that! :)


My suggestion when it comes to the popcorn - take the salsa valentina on the side, otherwise it gets too soggy! We don't like soggy popcorn.

Battle of the Bacterias

I have always thought very highly of my stomach.


Growing up in Manila, I've most likely been exposed to countless bacteria found in food. I would rather not think about what it is I ate that may have contained these creatures - but in some weird way, I would like to express my gratitude for their contribution in making my stomach highly resistant.


When traveling, I usually pack my first aid kit with the typical meds for the most common body ailments: headache, sore throat, runny nose...etc. BUT hardly ever do I bring anything for an upset stomach. And so far I've survived eating street food and drinking tap water without any adverse effects.


Lamentably, the boot camp my stomach went through all these years have proved not sufficient to combat whatever it is that found in Mexican cuisine...I can't pin point what exactly triggered it - I think it was more of an overload of everything I've stuff into my mouth over the last week.


Of course being sick would not be complete without the beloved Mexican home remedies. I started with te de manzanilla (chamomile), caldito de pollo con arroz (chicken soup with rice), atole de arroz (type of rice pudding), and this morning I was supposed to have a tamal dulce.

In other news...the search for our apartment continues. I can't wait to have our own place and to discover a new neigborhood so I can share more stories.

A different look

After my near melt-down yesterday, I awoke with a new perspective. I started thinking about all the previous visits I've made to Mexico, and I really am lucky to have been exposed to it all prior to our big move. Hence the change in the banner of this blog. I started looking through great photos of our trips (courtesy of the fine eye and super camera of my husband-to-be), and I got inspired thinking that I do have a leg up since I'm not starting from scratch.


I've been reading the material of other incredible writers/bloggers out there who mas o menos started out like I am about to do. They all seem well settled and loving la vida Mexicana. You give me hope ;) Gracias. Lots of you just packed up and moved down south, which is really an incredible feat; kudos to you! I guess it is quite similar to how we just packed up and moved across the Pacific to Shanghai 4 years ago. I should be able to do it all over again, right?!


Being as that my love is Mexican, we have an incredible support group of family and friends that will definitely help with acclamitizing; but I do look forward to meeting the other expat souls out there in the big city who are looking for their spot too.

A day of firsts...y despues?

First monday, first june, first of june, first day of "settling in". But all I did was toss and turn the night before this BIG day and waste precious hours of sleep as my mind was racing a mile a minute with all the tasks on hand.


I really did try to start the day with all the intention of organizing our lives, but as you can imagine, it isn't that easy to figure everything out before lunch. Instead of creating my game plan, I started feeling this overwhelming desperation/anxiety and nerves of what's in store for us.


There is soooo much to think about:

• finding an apartment - and where in this monster of a city???
• my hubby and his new work schedule - where do I fit in, of course?
  
• I have a wedding (mine!) to continue planning
• what am I going to do with my time? i need to get priorities in order...

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!


It seems all nice and neat with bullet points, but honestly, I don't even know where to start!


One day at a time I guess. The only consolation is that I finally have access to a threadmill, so today was also marked by my first workout; and with the altitude of Mexico City, you burn calories like a bat out of hell! :) Yehay for less oxygen. Never thought I would say that.

Contemplating Departures and Arrivals

Go figure. I arrived in China nearly 3 and a half years ago with all the intention of documenting my life here in some way. Given reason X, Y, or Z, it just never happened. Too much to do, too little time. The typical excuses and justifications we give ourselves, right?

But the good news is that it's really never too late to start! Same intentions, different city!!! My life is about to change in a BIG way. My lovely fiance, a.k.a. husband-to-be-come-November, and I have decided it is time to go "HOME". Where is home you might ask? Well, that depends on who you are asking.

I was born in the Philippines - Spanish Dad and Finnish Mom - and I lived there until the ripe old age of 18 (!) before heading off to discover the world (eh - university), staring in Madrid, Spain. From there to the good ole' US of A to finish school, work for a bit, then my last stint has been in the pearl of the orient - Shanghai. So where is HOME? I guess you could say Manila, considering it's where I've spent the most time. But I've come to the realization that home is truly where the heart is (OK, I know it's cliche, but it's appropriate!)

So my goal for the near future and rest of my life is to make Mexico my HOME. I am crossing my fingers that I will somehow manage to feel my way around and successfully create my own little cosmo in one of the largest cities of the world. The fact that my love is Mexican (and I mean, really MEXICAN!) will surely help with acclimatizing.

This blog will be all about my personal journey as I settle down, discover a new city and country, and make a new life for myself. And of course, I am hoping that it will include lots of helpful tips on living in Mexico City.

I can't wait to share all the amazing discoveries and new experiences - hopefully in an effort to enlighten and inspire those other "lost souls"/"forever expats" out there who are looking to making their little niche in this big, big world.