an attempt at a homemade meal

I love tacos. I love them a lot. But spending about 100Pesos on tacos every day gets old. So, using the one pot that we have, I created a gourmet meal...check it out:


Keep in mind that we don't currently have salt, pepper, regular pasta sauce (yummm...plain tomato sauce), or even a pan! I've had worse food in my life.

SCHWEEET!

It looks like my Spanish language search may be winding down: I've been contacted by the professor from the undergrad campus, and she's willing to work with me twice a week on campus! WOOT!!! I was out and about a bit today, sans-Rob or any other Spanish speaker, and I sense that I'm already growing in my speech and listening...yay! : ]

I took a bunch of pics yesterday with my D70 (my other love), and couldn't figure out what was up with the settings. None of the pics came out right, and my colors were all wonky. Alas, I'm posting the shots anyway, although they're not great:

a new view from our rooftop terrace

Rob, pretending to be a willing participant in my photoshoots

a tiny green cab...it's not even a SMART car, but is the same size as one!

a rad Bug we found whilst wandering

(why are some of my best shots created when I hold the camera at hip-height, and therefore have no idea what is actually within the frame??)

Now that I've fixed the settings on my camera, I hope to post some BETTER pics soon!

fingers crossed

We may have made a HUGE amount of progress within the Spanish instruction search:

As we've been checking out all of the various eateries near our apartments, we've come across some cool people. Generally, folks in Monterrey have been extremely warm and hospitable...to the point that they'll try to speak in English to accommodate us. We met one such individual, Ruben, at Lolo's Tortas a few nights ago. He figured out that we weren't from around here, and started to speak (very good) English to us. Rob took the opportunity to ask if he knew of any spanish courses around us...at all other ventures so far, the answer would have been no.

With Ruben, we were pleasantly surprised when he mentioned that he knows a woman who teaches at the undergrad University (I can't take a course there without enrolling, and we won't be here for the length of the semester), and would be happy to check with her to see if she'd be interested in outside work. He suggested we come back in a day or so to see what developed.

We went back tonight, and were in the place less than fifteen seconds before he provided me with his business card with contact info for the professor on the back! I was STOKED, to say the least. He mentioned that she'd asked what level we were at, which shows that he legitimately connected with her!

In the twelve minutes since this exchange, I've emailed the professor, and Rob and I are already brainstorming what sort of "thank you" gift we can get for Ruben...

My fingers, toes, and eyeballs are crossed right now.

Estoy una gringa en Mexico

Today is my first official day on my own. Monday, I went to classes and checked out the MBA campus with Rob and crew, and Rob skipped class yesterday in favor of resting (he's been ridiculously sick...let's add this to the growing list of reasons that I don't plan to visit China, shall we?!).

I started off by heading to this adorable-looking coffee shop around the corner, and found that it's primarily a bubble-tea shop. The guy who worked there was rad and realized that my Spanish isn't the greatest. He helped me practice, and made an interesting concoction as my beverage: cold coffee and some caramel-y liquid heated up in the microwave, then tossed in a blender with God-knows-what, and poured over a bunch of those little tapioca bubble things. Odd, yes. Surprisingly good, yup. After a few minutes of conversing (and my asking if there were any Spanish language schools nearby - more on that later), I left feeling pretty good - and not entirely incapable of holding an elementary level conversation in Spanish.

my cafe, complete with a giant straw, for sucking up the little tapioca balls, I'm told...

I headed to the undergrad campus (a.k.a. ITESM - Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey...or something) to soak up some sun, be outside the apartment, and immerse myself in some language. The campus looks just like San Diego State's campus, so I'm immediately at ease there. The place has random wildlife roaming free: deer chewing up the lawns and peacocks that scream like cats.

damn, I need to work on my photo skills...although in my defense, it was full-on noontime sun

after screaming it's head off, the peacock totally chased a couple of cats away from their food, and started eating from the dish!

The style here is definitely LA-esque. I've seen jeans tucked into boots, those random lightweight scarves, funky sunglasses, Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirts, Coach & Fendi bags, you name it...
(sidenote/rant: Missing, however, are emo-bangs. Specifically mine. I'm HATING these things right now...they're too freaking short and I look like a fourth grader. Grow, damn you, grow!)
Although I feel like I totally stand out, after taking a minute to really look around, I'm definitely not the only gringa here, even outside of the T-bird population...


Rob will be in class for another few hours, during which I plan to head to the local pharmacia & 7-11 in hopes of finding some delicious (non-taco) goodness to whip up for dinner. We have eaten out every night since we arrived, and it's getting old. We found a stellar hamburger/torta place, an expensive Italian restaurant, and have eaten more tacos than necessary. With WalMart a short, perfectly safe, 30P cab ride from here, I'll play it safe and not venture there alone (you're welcome, Mom!).

Spanish school: Okay, so in Antigua, Guatemala, there are Spanish schools on every cobblestone block. Seriously. I figured that, since Monterrey is growing exponentially in tourism popularity, there would be at least one here. I've asked the school that Rob's attending, the administration at our apartment complex, and just about every shopkeeper in a 3-block radius, to no avail. UGH! We're currently emailing people back home who have done business/Rotary work here in hopes that they can steer us in any direction. I'd KILL to be conversant, and will feel lame if I leave here without some mad Spanish skills.

I'll leave you with one final pic: Rob on the steps of our apartments...the window over his left shoulder is mine!

UPDATED: We made it to Monterrey! Here’s the run-down…

SATURDAY
After packing and packing and packing, Rob and I finally hit the hay around midnight. When the alarm went off at 4:30a, I was less than thrilled. Yes, I was excited about our trip, but I was exhausted…
I’d been out of the shower for about 10 minutes before the power went out. Black. Pitch black. Seriously?!?!?!

With sopping wet hair, I felt my way over to one of the several flashlights I’d stashed around Casa Saratoga. I headed outside to one of the two circuit breakers, and was greeted by the sound of our neighbor’s generator. Great…it’s not just us without power. Keep in mind, I’d lived there for 7 months at this point, and had lost power once for about 12 seconds. Of COURSE, on my last morning in the house, we’ll lose power. Of course…

As I’m sure you’ve deduced, losing power is not great for my high-maintenance hair…and therefore, there will be no photos posted of our journey from San Jose to Monterrey. After managing to finish last-second packing, say goodbye to Kal : [ and get out the door…we started making our way down the hill, only to hit a wall of fog. Fog so thick that it took 25 minutes to inch our way down the hill. Ugh, I hoped this wasn’t an indication of things go come…

We got to the airport and through security without incident. On the flight to Dallas, the fact that Rob hadn’t slept more than 4 hours a night for the last week finally caught up with him, and hit him hard. He was sick as a dog, and resorted to laying on the floor of the Dallas airport (ick), trying to get some rest. Awesome.

We got into Monterrey as the sun set, and headed through customs. We got a taxi fairly quickly and easily (using the taxi-stand inside the airport to avoid getting ripped off) and headed out to our apartment, by address alone. Naturally, I’d tried to find it on Google Maps, but couldn’t track it down…great. Luckily, our cabbie knew the area, and my nervousness further subsided as we got our keys and found our pad.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by our accommodations. Each apartment has one ‘great room’ with a kitchenette, a couch and a table. Off of the great room are four bedrooms, each with a mini-fridge, modern desk/side table, TV and its own bano. The floors are tile (which makes it a bit chilly). Mexico’s a little weird, and we each had to rent our own little room (complete with little twin bed), but I imagine it’ll be nice to have the extra space for our stuff.

common area

Rob's room

view from Rob's room

Nicole's room

view from Nicole's room

Essentially, every spring for the past 5 years, Thunderbirds have taken over the entire “Tec” complex. We’re a block off of Taco Row, and wasted no time checking out our food options. We tried Dona Toto’s Gorditas, which basically served little flour tortilla pita-like pockets with meat inside. So far, so good…


SUNDAY
Since Rob was sick and needed rest, we spent most of the day sleeping. Really. Rob didn’t make it out of bed before 3:30pm. For breakfast/lunch, we headed to Taco Felix, our second shop so far. We tried Trompos & Gringos – some type of pork leg, I think - before we headed back to the apartments.

With forty other students here, it’s not uncommon to run into someone we know wandering back from the taco stands or the Pharmacia. Stuff is SO cheap here, even in the Pharmacias, where they obviously mark up costs. $11USD bought us 2 boxes of cereal, 2 Gatorades, a half gallon of milk, plastic (red solo) cups (likely to be used for flipping), and two bags of candy. We know of several Wal-Mart’s near by (no, I‘m not kidding), so that run should be fun!

Monterrey is the most affluent city in all of Latin America, set up in the mountains. It has it's rough areas, but is definitely safer than somewhere like Mexico City! According to Google Maps, we’re 150 miles southwest of the Texas border and 125 miles west of the Gulf of Mexico. So far, the weather’s been pretty mild. I’ve gotten away with jeans and flip-flops and not been freezing. It definitely gets chilly at night, and is a little hazy when we wake up. Our place is near the undergrad campus of Egade, and we can see downtown from the rooftop terrace:







MONDAY
Rob’s first day of school! In case I needed to get to campus (and because I’m curious about exactly what he’ll be doing all day…), I attended school with the group. A 15-minute cab ride (in possibly the smallest green cab I’ve ever seen…) showed us Wal-Mart, Costco (no joke!), and some less affluent areas of Monterrey. As the only girlfriend here (another person brought her sister…who will likely be my sidekick). I’ve been deemed the mascot/cheerleader/official note-taker. I hope to find a Spanish language school near our apartment so I can be fluent by the time I leave. I’d KILL to be fluent…and I really have no excuse to not be, once I live in Mexico for 6 weeks!

Next adventure for the day…Wal-Mart! After spending close to an hour in the store, we ended up with all this, including a 24-pack of beer, for a mere 673 Pesos (roughly $50):

planning…it’s what I do…

At a prompting from my (fellow over-planning) stepfather, I think I’ll give you just a taste of the various lists, spreadsheets and notes I’ve kept over the past few months, in preparation for the impending trip:

Excel…
I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I have at least 12 worksheets within my ‘2009 Abroad’ spreadsheet. What the hell do I have twelve sheets of, you ask?! From my packing list (act surprised…) to budget to a list of ‘don’t forgets’, I have carefully documented just about every penny I’ve spent pre-trip, so that I can easily have Excel calculate just how much of my budget is left. I’ve created an emergency contact sheet for my and Rob’s parents, complete with Summer’s info, just in case. I have weather comparisons (including the temps of Saratoga, for judgment purposes), I have check boxes, I have color-coding, the only thing I don’t seem to have is a diagram of exactly how I’ll lay out my things in the ONE suitcase I’ll get to take. I’m kind of a geek.

One of my various excused for (over-)using Excel is that I can easily play with the worksheets in my cubicle without actually appearing to be slacking off at work. To people walking by, it’s fairly obvious that I’m doing something in Excel, but folks just assume that its work related. It’s not.

Post-It’s…
I may single-handedly be keeping 3M afloat, since I’ve gone through pads and pads of Post-Its. I think of something, and compulsively write it down. Then I think of something else, so I add that. With all of the teeny tiny things I’ve thought of (or, as Rob might call it, created) for myself to do, I end up with like 12 sheets going at once. So then…I type stuff into one of my various Excel worksheets. It all comes full circle, my friends…

The binder…
Summer’s favorite part: not only do I keep crap electronically, I also have a full-on BINDER dedicated to this trip. Colorful labeled tabs, sheet protectors, even one of those 3-ring pencil pouches right out of 6th grade. I happily schlep the binder with my laptop to coffee shops, to work, and drag it into the house every night. It holds flight info, budget notes, lists of things to consider (ex: contacts in various countries; get Kal to the vet; take one laptop or two on the trip?) It even has two different maps of Europe, since I couldn’t tell you where the hell Austria or Budapest are...

The moral of the story is: I over-plan. However, in my own defense, I’d like to point out my attention to detail, and that DO people benefit from how anal I can be...just don’t ask me to plan anything for a LOOOOONG time after this.

nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-HEY!

After Friday’s obvious avoidance to packing, I hit the ground running Saturday morning. I spent 7 ½ hours consolidating stuff, packing up boxes, labeling things, and making a lovely little pile for Rob to sort through when he gets home this week.

Saturday night, however, was a different story. There would be no boxing up, sorting or even thinking about Casa Saratoga. You see, for Christmas this year, Kellie and I had bought tickets to the Sharks/Red Wings game for our Dad. No family on earth bonds over hating things quite like mine, and the Red Wings (and Jeff Gordon) are prime targets. I knew that our seats were good, but I didn’t expect to be quite so close to the glass. Literally, six people sat between me and the ice. Six.

The game was AWESOME. In fact, awesome doesn’t begin to cover it. Scoring went back and forth and back and forth and there were no fewer than eight fights per period. We sat in the corner on the end that the Sharks attacked for two periods…so rad. Three minutes into the first period, Clowe/Cheechoo/Pavelski (ugh, I can’t remember - lil help here, Kel?!) checked a guy up on the boards, and broke the freaking glass. Oh, it was heavenly…

The best part: the Sharks won it 6-5, with 5 minutes to go in the third…officially breaking my track record of attending Sharks games only to watch them lose. Leaving the arena was quite an adventure, folks were whoopin’ and hollerin’; I’m completely convinced that San Jose will burn to the ground when the Sharks win the Cup.

After screaming and cheering for 4 straight hours, I had NO voice yesterday. My Mom and Brian came down to help with packing, and we busted through a LOT. I’m feeling closer to actually being ready to go, and almost plan utter uselessness at work this week...