Living in a bubble...

Short (True) Story. Two women are working in an office in Mexico City. Someone knocks on the door. Woman one goes to answer. Two men in suits (and backpacks) ask to know about our product offering. First thought that crosses the woman's mind is "do these men have guns and what could they take from the office". Woman two stays in her office completely oblivious.

Scary to think that my colleague actually thought that. Scarier that I might have to think that myself.

What a bubble.

Amecameca, Mexico

Amecameca is not Mexico's version of Mecca, but a sleepy town on the outskirts of Mexico City. Outskirts is relative though as it took us 1 hour to get OUT of Mexico City and another hour to get there (Sunday night was a smoother 1 hour drive total!). My housemate's family have a holiday home there and were kind enough to invite me to tag along to sample so real mexicana.


Amecameca lies at the feet of the Sierra Nevada, just a stone throw away from the impressive active volcano Popocatépetl (altitude of 5450m). There is a cool legend about the mountains of Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl (taken from Wikipedia below)

In Aztec mythology, Popocatépetl was a warrior who loved Iztaccíhuatl. Iztaccíhuatl's father sent Popocatepetl to war in Oaxaca, promising him his daughter as his wife if he returned (which Iztaccíhuatl's father presumed he would not). Iztaccíhuatl's father told her that her lover had fallen in battle and she died of grief. When Popocatépetl returned, and discovered the death of his lover, he committed suicide by plunging a dagger through his heart. The gods covered them with snow and changed them into mountains. Iztaccíhuatl's mountain was called "La Mujer Dormida, (the "Sleeping Woman"), because it bears a resemblance to a woman sleeping on her back. Popocatépetl became the volcano Popocatépetl, raining fire on Earth in blind rage at the loss of his beloved.

And it's true, one definitely looks like a woman lying down!

So back to the story, we arrived late Saturday afternoon, and went straight to the local market to stock up on staples, such as Corona (very important), avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, lime (for the guacamole), tortillas, meat (thin marinated beef and chorizo) and chicheron (fried pork skins...yeah i know!).

Key ingredients

Chicheron

The beef Master!

So the menu for the evening was Tacos al pobre (sweet as! ... beef + chorizo + spicy tomato sauce + chicheron all cooked on the bbq), homemade guacamole and to finish it all all we had marshamllows on the fire! ... Nicole... don't think of the calories!!!

Sounds pretty sweet to me!

The weekend was extremely pleasant and chilled! We ate (a lot), had a good few beers watching the stars and toasting marshmallows. I was taught how to play a mexican card game that is similar to Rummy (I sucked!) that is played in rounds.

The next day, we visited Amecameca, following a procession up the very steep hill that led to the church (why do they make it so hard?). Then as a reward we made out way to the local market to eat a typical mexican breakfast, of bean tortilla, stomach soup and quesadilla.

And before we knew it, it was time to leave and head back into the hussle and busle of Mexico City!

Until next time...Cheers to everyone, it was a blast!

All about .... Confusion

How do you go from planning to see an Almodovar film to actually seeing a Norwegian documentary about a transgender man in Norway?

Well, you take a spoonful of misinformation, add a twist of incomprehension and mix it all up in a bowl called Mexico City.

The adventure began when my flatmate suggested we go see "All about my mother", the film directed by Pedro Almodovar which was showing in a Museum/Cinema in the centre of town called El Museo del Chopo , an arty place owned by the University (UNAM). It all started relatively well. We boarded the metrobus and got off 20 stops later.

Mexico has a remarkably efficient bus system. The Metrobus is one line that goes from North to South of the city and the bus has its own independent lane. It is relatively quick and efficient and only costs 2.5 pesos erhem..1 pound equals 20 pesos approx!

We were 10 minutes late for the start of the film, discreetly sat down in the nearly empty cinema, only to notice that the film was actually a documentary filmed in black and white and in a language that was completely unknown to me. After a few minutes I realised that the film was in fact in Norwegian and spoke about a male transvestite and his relationship with his family (the documentary was filmed by his son). So in the end instead of seeing "All about my mother" we actually saw "All about my father" .

So much for a good ol' Almodovar film ... at least I got to practice my spanish reading skills!

Sigh.

Maya's Intervention

Maya

Life is full of surprises. Yesterday one of my flatmates surprised everyone by her quick decision-making and what I would describe as impulsiveness. In addition to the 2 Brits, 2 Mexican, the American and the French, we now have a new addition to the flat, her name is Maya , she's a 2 months pug and she's absolutely lovely. This photo doesn't even do her justice. She's playful and has only barked (or yelped!) once. I am not quite sure how the potty training is going but so far but her proud owner didn't sleep much last night!

Feels like we have a baby in the house...ooooh....aaaaah....

Oikocredit Mexico

As some of you may know the main reason I am in Mexico is to work for Oikocredit. 

Oikocredit is a dutch based NGO and is one of the largest financiers of the microfinance sector worldwide. It focuses on channelling funds from donors (usually private donors or churches) to local Microfinance Institutions in developing countries. MFIs are financial institution that provide small loans to micro-entrepreneurs who are excluded from the traditional banking sector. 

Oikocredit invests in projects that engage in  "socially responsible" activities, deal in fair trade or are run by women. The idea is that the provision of affordable capital (credit) to micro-entrepreneurs should help them to develop their business and get out of poverty.

Oikocredit has a small office in Mexico City, run by a guy called Jose who is in his late 30s and spent one year in London at LSE - so we have that in common! He has one staff working for him called Monica who is from Costa Rica but married to a Mexican. These are the two people I work with. 

I have been working for 4 days now. Right from the start we discussed how I could get involved. My aim is to contribute as best I can but also to learn and get exposed to as many issues as possible; this is my time to be a knowledge sponge! 

Jose has two projects in Mexico that he would like me to work on ; one is working with a coffee plantation in the North and the other is to work with an agricultural cooperative in the South. They are currently under-staffed so there should be plenty of opportunities for me to get involved. 

As a good way to get things started I suggested i write a relatively general document on Microfinance in Mexico with an emphasis on Oikocredit's activities in the region. I should have that done by Tuesday. 

So that's work for now. 

Crepes and Swingers

Week One

It´s been one week exactly since I landed in this mexican metropolis and I am already quite proud of myself. Amongst the smallest achievements of making it from A to B without being mugged, hassled, or without asking 10 people how to get there (actually people here have been extremely friendly), I am happy to announce that I have cooked Crepes for my flatmates. I am not sure if it was Valentine´s day that brought it on or just wanting to do something "french" and impress everyone (hehehe!). Or maybe I just wanted to celebrate and have a "welcome to me" party.

In the end we were 8 people to devoure the fruit flavoured (with maple syrup!) crepes, including my flatmates and Claire´s colleagues from the school (she´s an english teacher in an english school doh!). It was a fun evening where thanks to increasing amounts of wine, conversation quickly veered onto the topic of Valentine´s day, mexican men and how they can´t stop themselves from cheating on their partners, and swingers club. All in a night´s work.

On a different note, I thought you might like to see what my neighborhood looks like so I have posted a few pictures (taken on my way to work in the morning) and a few during the weekend, which is market day .

The front gate

Walking down to the main street to catch the bus
Across San Jacinto Sq (taken Saturday during the market)

Mexico City " Buena Onda"

Day 1

I arrived late and was glad to see Mr. Francisco "the driver" waiting with a nice cardboard with my name on it. What can I say, I know people that know people that can get me a free, safe ride in Mexico City.

Just flying over the city made me tremble, describing the city as completely massive would be an understatement, think 18 million people sprawled around different "barrios". My barrio is called Coyoacan and is located in the south of the city. Other cool facts about the area; Frida Khalo used to live here, it´s has lots of cafes and restaurants, basically it feels boheme and outside of the rush of central mexico city.

As soon as i arrived I started looking for a flatshare as I plan to be here for the next 3 months and it´s definitely time for me to get out of "hostel world". I called an english girl called Claire who had a bedroom going in San Angel another barrio nearby. Although the room had already been taken she knew of another room that may be available. As I approached our agreed meeting place, looking lost with my lonely planet open upside down, an american girl took pity on me and asked if i needed help. Grateful, I accepted. We got chatting and it so transpired that she had just accepted a room in an house with an english girl...who just happened to be Claire! Small World or what?

To make a long story short, I liked their house, I liked them and they didn´t think I was a freak. So although the room was now taken, Plan B was to occupy a space that is not quite a room but big enough for a double bed, a desk, a window and a big curtain to partition it all off. So I now have a bed in a great house, modern but still quaint, in a small gated complex with cobblestones and a cute piazza nearby. And big AND ... it is safe. Not forgetting a really cool bunch of flatmates, in a safe neighbourhood not too far from work.

All this (and more) for the bargain price of 150 UKS per month.

Not bad for Day 1.

So here are a few pictures of us newly baptised Mexicanas having a bit of fun in the most random places!

DisneyLand

The Deep Blue Sea

Eh...oui...Paris!

Valparaiso, Chile

Anyone that has read any of Isabel Allende´s books would feel giddy with anticipation at the thought of finally reaching Valparaiso, the old port city situated north of Santiago in Chile. Valparaiso is built upon dozens of steep hillsides overlooking the Pacific Ocean, boasts a labyrinth of streets and cobblestone alleyways and is a protected as a Unesco World Heritage Site. If that was not enough it also boasts one of the few open houses of the late Pablo Neruda, the poet, political activist and the first Latin American to win the Nobel Peace Prize.



Despite this picture perfect description of culture and overall appeal, grottiness and petty crime definitely plague its streets. I had been warned by two friends who had been the victim of petty theft (goodbye camera) that I should be extremely careful. LuckilyAlthough it is an intriguing and beautiful city is also has a darker side. One cannot ignore the nothing happened to me but an Aussie couple had the adventure of their life when a local woman came screaming out to them and hushed them into her house only to call the police. It later transpired that they were being followed by 3 men prowling for their next prey. Instead of being robbed they were kindly escorted in the police car to their hostel.

Apart from that it was very nice indeed :)

Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

How does someone start describing an isolated piece of paradise?

The Facts:

Easter Island is a 5 hour flight from either Santiago or Tahiti. Most of what people have on the island has been imported and is expensive, unless you need a horse (they are everywhere) or fish!

Rapa Nui is part of Polynesia and is one of the few islands that still has a strong cultural presence which is maintained through a unique language (rapa nui) , a variety of statues (moai) that represent ancient gods and petroglyphs that tell vivid stories of ancient Rapa Nui customs. The island has been pillaged by pirates, invaded by archeologists and the landing place for the US space program... and it is now a increasing popular tourist destination.

It is a mixture of old and new where both cars and horses are the main means of transportation ... where modernity while existant is still not clearly established as the norm.

But these are just the facts.

Now I could tell you how friendly the locals our, how I was welcomed to the island with a flower necklace and departed with a seashell necklace, how I was lucky to randomly end up in hostel where the owners took me under their wing, how I was able to hang out with the local "kids" (erhem in their early 20s) drink beer with them while watching the sunset, how I let my imagination go wild staring at the ancient moais, how i was able to share the holiday of two extremely cool chilean girls, how I danced the night away with the locals drinking pisco, how I ended up making two new friends from Tahiti who made me laugh to tears, how I went diving in crystal clear waters and swam with a turtle, ... or even how I felt so connected to the place that I nearly got a tattoo (mum, i didn´t) ... but it was more than that.



I was also lucky enough to be there for the begining of their yearly festival called Tapati where the people celebrate their culture through dance and music ( and amongst other things running with bananas, sculpt moais or race down a volcano on a banana trunk while wearing nothing more than a thong and some feathers ...). This led me to witness the preparation for their dance events and I can now confirm that Rapa Nui people are truly beautiful both on the inside and out...

Now for the eye candy ...





Next stop: Valparaiso, Chile

Bariloche...Mendoza...Goodbye Argentina

This blog is long overdue an update and I will rack my brains to try and figure out the right sequence of events since Ruta 40.

I arrived in Bariloche and stayed in a lovely hostel with views on the lake Nahuel Huapi. Bariloche is THE winter resort town in Argentina. It has a great location on a lake and is surrounded by foresty mountains. The town has a bit of a disneyland feel with St Bernards on the main square ( you have to pay to get a picture taken with them) and many many chocolate shops.

I had only one full day to spend there so I decided spend my time wisely and I couldn´t think of anything better than white water rafting. This was not my first time (re: Costa Rica) and I have tto admit that I much preferred the Bariloche adventure. The team was extremely friendly and safety conscious, the rapids were thrilling both in their power and the narrow paths we had to paddle through to overcome them without falling in. The water was crystal clear and drinkable (tested and tasted good!) which contrasted beautifully with the lush green forests surrounding us. We also all got to jump into the water and swim through the rapids (safely of course). In the end we were rewarded by having a huge asado (Argentinian BBQ) with heaps of red wine.

Next stop was Mendoza, the argentinian wine region. Backpackers always meet at least twice on a journey and that is exactly what happened to me at the Bariloche bus station. Clara is a franco german girl I had met previously in Chile and we got on so well that we decided to continue our journey together.

Mendoza is a pleasant city with wide tree lined avenues and a huge main square. I had decided to continue on my adrenaline seeking activities and thought it would be a good idea to go paragliding (the cheap factor was non negligeable). The idea also appealled to Clara so we decided to do it together. The feeling was quite exilirating. What we lacked in views (they were quite plain ...) we got back in the fear factor and the extremely odd sensation of flying feet up in the air!


All too soon it was time to say cheerio to Argentina, eat our last steak, drink our last glass of Malbec and head off into Expensive Chile.

Next stop: Rapa Nui (aka. Easter Island)