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Published: July 28th 2006
(I promise you won't be getting updates this often... it's just that a lot has happened in the first week here, and I took lots of photos I wanted to post before I forget about them.)
Pues, ¿dónde empezar?
Saturday 7/22 Jorge picked me up at my hotel (after several--about 6-- attempts at getting a hold of me). He's really nice, super
lindo, and very very eager to help out an
extranjera (foreigner) who has no idea how to go about finding an apartment in this city. It was great because we drove over to campus, he took me up and down some of the streets, showed me different campus buildings... how cool is this?!: two of their campus buildings have nicknames like
licuadora and
servilleta because they look like a blender and napkin holder, respectively. I had one
cita (appointment) to see an apartment, and a list of addresses. We also called a few numbers we found on signs that advertised rentals available... An older woman showed me some apartments she had on the second floor of her building. Beautiful terrace, but TINY TINY apartments. I am not kidding you, the kitchen was smaller than most bathrooms I
have been in. The bedroom was okay, but nothing extraordinary. The rent was $5,500 pesos a month (about $500)-- that's very expensive in comparison to most of the apartments I had in mind (but I know, very cheap in comparison to apartments in some American cities).
Anyway... around noon we finally made it to my 10:30a.m. appointment. The girl that showed us the apartment was so friendly, the apartment is great. My own room--two double beds, cable TV, internet,
clima (air conditioning unit in the bedroom), shared kitchen/living/dining/bath rooms... basicamente todo! The rent is great.
Mi compañeras-- 2
chavas (girls), colombiana y mexicana, aren't here yet, but I'm sooooo excited to live with Spanish speakers. As Jorge put it, the apartment is perfecto! Everything I was looking for. I'm about a 5 or 6 minute walk from campus. Just down the street, about half a block, is a bar. Jorge noted a sign advertising a 3 for 1 special. Ha... have I found the Naw's Mexican counterpart?
We had trouble finding the street the apartment is located on, and just before we ended up finding it, we were about to head home as it was Saturday and most
Las Monjitas
can you see the nuns in the window?people weren't around... am I glad we found it!
I called shortly after getting back to the hotel and asked if I could come on Monday and pay my deposit and rent and everything... it's a go!
Sunday 7/23 Woke up and did the breakfast thing as usual. Had an early siesta, then headed downtown to the Museum of Mexican History. A lot of interesting exhibits. Almost too much to absorb. Highlights: a few things that I studied at SNC like
neoclasicismo and lots of things from Sabine's Native Peoples of S. America class. Lots of photos and exhibits and really interesting things... We had lunch at this little place called
Las Monjitas (literally, the little nuns). The nuns make the food right in the front window of the restaurant. Great food. Stopped at a few shops, bought some
cerveza for the hotel room, then found a taxi home.
A taxi from downtown back to the hotel near campus was $40 pesos (a little less than $4 American). People here basically take taxis everywhere! The cab driver this afternoon was great. He told me that last summer he drove a girl (an American from Chicago) all around
Apartment
Coming through the front door Monterrey for 3 days, for about 6 hours each day. I asked him how much he charged her, and he said about $50 (American) a day. She just kept asking him to take her to different places (Grutas de Garcia, restaurantes, etc.) Amazing. Came home, sat on the
balcón for a bit, short siesta. I could really get used to the siesta everyday. We need to introduce this concept to Americans. Pretty much everything closes down for an hour or two, and people go out to lunch, enjoy themselves, relax, have a nap... Consequentially, we've been eating dinner a lot later, about 8pm each night. I love it!
Monday 7/24 Today I moved into my apartment!!! Three girls live in the apartment downstairs from me. Their parents own the apartment I live in, and they assured me that they are always here if I want to
platicar (chat) or if I need anything... Made dinner at my place, had a relaxing night.
Tuesday 7/25 Today we visited Barrio Antiguo, or old town Monterrey. Looked for an Irish bar and found it-- it wasn't open. I thought it was great that they spelt Irish como "AYRISH." Que lindo. Wandered
around downtown Monterrey. I took some pictures of the Catedral Metropolitano de Monterrey, various statues, and the Barrio Antiguo. I look forward to eating at El Rey del Cabrito (The King of--barbecued--Baby Goat) at least once during my stay. Yum.
Wednesday 7/26 Planned on visiting Parque Fundidora, but when we got downstairs and our taxi pulled up, I asked him "¿Cuanto cuesta ir a Parque Fundidora?" (Always ask how much it'll cost before getting into the taxi), he asked me why we wanted to go there and told me "¡No hay NADA alli!" (There's NOTHING there!) Ha. He suggested Cola de Caballo. I asked him how far away it was and how much he'd charge us. It's about 25-30 minutes from our hotel, and he would take us there, wait for us, take us wherever we wanted to go and bring us back. All for $450 pesos. That's just over $40 U.S. Bueno. He drove us up to Cola de Caballo, a park in the mountains. There is a huge waterfall, picnic tables all over the place, several vendors near the falls... pues, I'll let the photos speak for themselves.
Tonight, Cecilia invited me to a bar with
her and her boyfriend. Of course I went. I got to meet her father when I went downstairs to her apartment. He was eating an apple and some yogurt (while watching the U.S. version of "Dancing with the Stars," con subtítulos), and he asked me
"¿te gusta manzana?" (do you like apples?) I said yes, and he insisted that Cecilia get me an apple and some yogurt. I have found most Mexicans I have met to be
muy muy amables (very very kind) and to have an amazing sense of hospitality. Cecilia also invited me to her house about an hour south of the city for her birthday party this weekend. Of course I told her I'll go. I'm getting a lot of benefits I'd have had I chosen to live with a Mexican family, but I also have the independence of living in an apartment. The best of both worlds.
Anyway, the bar we went to is less than half a block away. A nice relaxed bar. They have a 3x1 special-- 3 beers for the price of one. I opted for a margarita, which came in what appeared to be a 32 ounce styrofoam cup with a
straw. I told Cecilia and Claudio about fishbowls (
peceras) and my favorite: vodka & cranberries. I'm sure I'll introduce my new Mexican friends to a
pecera very soon. :-D We only stayed at the bar about an hour before returning home, but we talked about a lot of things. Cecilia studied in Canada for a year, but when she arrived she couldn't speak a word. She told me how she learned to speak English (which she now does very very well) through making lists, writing, repeating, etc. She also studied a year in France and basically repeated that same process with the French language. She and Claudio complimented me on my Spanish, but I know I can improve a LOT. It's nice to know she's here in case I ever get frustrated with learning this language.
Thursday 7/27 I did some grocery shopping today. Lots of produce, and some chicken, steak and *tuna* to experiment with. I came home and made some Tuna Salad a la Chris Graham, Mexican style. (Several weeks ago, Jenny and I were at Chris Graham's place for dinner and he made this exquisite tuna salad on an English muffin. Really pulled out all the
stops.) Um, basically to make something Mexican style, you need to add one or more of the following (the more the better):
aguacate (avocado),
tortillas,
salsa,
pimientos (peppers), or
frijoles refritos (refried beans). Today I decided to take his recipe and add a Mexican twist. (See photos.)
Alright, that's all for now, amigos. I hope all is well with you. I'll keep you posted! 😊
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kate
non-member comment
crack me up
your mexico adventures crack me up girl. very throrough and detailed and thanks for the pictures of the tuna, very unappetizing, but only cause i don't like tuna. BUT that is awesome that you found your irish bar in mexico, apparently and litteraly everyone can be a little irish, that should give glaser a little hope!