Mexcio

Engagment, Work & Fail Safe Yellow Cake with Dulce de Leche

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Hello….I’mback!

I am so sorry to have been so quite the last two week – I really had planned to come back from New York and post at least two articles by now, but I have been distracted. The reasons for my distraction (and I’m sure you will agree with me they are very good ones) is that ‘C’ proposed to me while we were in New York! Can you believe it? I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am, and how happy we are. Who would have thought that the boy I met on the beach in Bali less than 3 years ago, will now be my future husband – its funny how the world works!! Although, now its time to plan the wedding, but my goodness, where in the world do we start? Peru? Singapore? Sweden? Mexico? Its no wonder that I have had a hard time focusing on my blog!

'C's first cameo appearance!

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New York here I come!

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Have I mentioned recently that I have the best boyfriend in the world? God, I hate the word ‘boyfriend’ it sounds so primary school, yet what are the alternatives? manfriend, partner, other half….they don’t sound any better!

Anyway I digress – I really do have the best boyfriend man in the world, who is taking me to New York City tomorrow. Yup, the Big Apple, the Big Smoke, the city everyone seems to have been to apart from me, and I can hardly contain my excitement!

Do you see what I mean about being the best boyfriend?

Hence over the next week it will be slightly quite here on The Travelling Chopsticks, as I am taking a short break – but I am sure you can all manage without me :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend – and to the Americans..Happy Colombus Day (on Monday!)

Azulpastel – A Quaint Cafe

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Any of you who have lived or worked in Mexico know how soul destroying a trip to the Mexican immigration can be – the inefficiency, the bureaucracy, the “don’t care attitude” is enough to break the most patient of people.

"Computer says no"

For the last two months I have been making regular trips to immigration as I have been in the process of applying for a work permit here – and I have always left broken. But not today! Today I was almost skipping out of that building I have grown to destet– waiving my new work permit! Today is a good day :)

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Polanco: A day at the park!

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I fell in love with Mexico pretty much the first time I came to visit ‘C’ almost two years ago! I don’t know if I initially fell in love with it because of the country itself, or rather because the man I was in love with lived here and it represented an unknown future– but now that I have been living here for over a year, I can say without a doubt that I love it because of the country that it is.

When I talk to my friends back in Europe and Asia, they always ask me what is it like living in Mexico? Aren’t I scared due to all the violence? How do I cope living in one of the world’s largest and most dangerous cities?

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Everything Happens for a Reason

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You know the expression ‘everything happens for a reason’? of course you do – im sure you have heard it countless times, especially when something bad happens  to you. In fact, it is so commonly used that it has this unfortunate ‘sickly Hallmark’ cliché feel to it.

I say ‘unfortunate’ because it is not only a phrase that I use very often (and I don’t consider myself a hallmark cliché!), but it is an expression that I tend to live my life by. I truly believe that everything in life does happen for a reason -both good and bad- and that the world sends you subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) messages and hints that you can either take, or ignore. Either way, the world has plans for you and sometimes they do not fit into the plans that you had made for yourself.

A perfect example of this, and a strong reminder to me, were a series of events that all culminated last week.

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A Long Weekend in Guanajuato

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It was the American Labour day weekend last weekend (5th September), and one of the many perks of ‘C’s’ job is that he gets both Mexican and American public holidays off. The later is fantastic when you want to go away for long weekends here in Mexico as it means you don’t have to jostle and fight for space with the rest of the population – believe me, this makes a huge difference in terms of the traffic and your subsequent peace of mind!

This trip was a very last minute affair, as ‘C’ only realised he had the day off towards the end of last week, and he phoned me up from work and asked if I wanted to go away for the weekend? Mmm..of course!! So we quickly did a bit of research, booked our hotel and by 8 o’clock on Saturday morning we were on the road to Guanajuato.

Despite the rain, you can see the colourful houses
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My Mexican Observations

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Well, I have now been living in Mexico City for exactly one year and thirteen days, and I thought I would share with you some of my observations on various aspect of Mexican life that I have encountered:

The People:

  • The Mexicans are some of the most polite and courteous people I have come across (except when they are driving)
  • They dress according to the official season and not to the actual weather. If it’s supposed to be Autumn, they will dress for Autumn wearing jeans, jumpers, boots, scarves and jackets, despite it being sunny and 28°C outside!
  • Chivalry is still alive – as a woman you will never have to open a door, or pull out your own chair as long as you are here. Note: this does not apply while driving.
  • Plastic surgery is perfectly acceptable – the older you are, the tighter your face
  • Spending 3-4 hours in the salon every morning is the daily routine for the women of Polanco.
  • Tipping is a way of life. Be prepared to tip everyone you encounter – which means carry lots and lots of loose change.

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Hasta Luego Mis Amigos

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‘C’ and I are off to the UK tomorrow for 10 days, and then I will continue on to Sweden for a few more weeks, while poor ‘C’ has to come back to Mexico to work ….ahhh the benefits of being a lady of leisure! :) So it will be rather quite month here on the Travelling Chopsticks as I am not entirely sure how often I will get the chance to write or the urge to write for that matter…sometimes it is just nice to enjoy the ‘now’.

So, in the meantime – enjoy this picture that ‘C’ took when I brought him to San Juan market on Monday. Of all the things I showed him…I wonder why this caught his attention?!  ;)

Apparently you can use sex appeal to sell anything here in Mexico!

Hasta luego mis amigos X

How To Be An Expat Brat

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A very good friend of mine in Hong Kong sent me this article from Thought Catalog on “How To Be An Expat Brat” and my goodness does it hit the nail on the head (in a satirical and self deprevating manner), that I just had to share it with you guys.

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2011/how-to-be-an-expat-brat/

When I was in my late teens and early twenties I really shared a lot of these feelings, and at times felt a bit lost. However I am  still an expat today, and will probably always be one as this is the life I know – but I feel far more settled now (mentally) than I have ever been before, and would never have changed my childhood for a moment!

For all you expat brats out there…enjoy :)

Exploring San Juan Market – Mexico City

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Fresh Vegetables

As most of you know – Mexico City is a HUGE city, but when you are actually living here it is very easy to get stuck in your bubble. My bubble is Polanco. I live here, the majority of my friends live here and there are a number of very good restaurants at your fingertips. This, coupled with the atrocious traffic makes it very easy to never leave this neighbourhood.

However, every so often you venture out of your bubble and you realise just how enormous this city is, and how much there still is to explore.

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