hurricane update

Work is closed tomorrow. What am I going to do with myself?

uncertainties

A lot of us are planning on traveling this weekend (our last!) to Zacatecas, a colonial mining town about seven hours away by bus. Word on the street, however, is that some hurricane (Dolly) is going to flood MTY ... now all our travel/work/play plans are uncertain.

hmm, this weather is no fun. I also need to be more tan.

the most scandalous thing I did this weekend

was ask for nachos without cheese this afternoon at Chipinque (a national wildlife reserve up in the mountains). It caused quite a stir, let me tell you.

Other things I did this weekend (I'm feeling lazy today so it's just going to be a list): attend yet another house party, clubbing in Barrio Antiguo, went to some low-budget but very fun museums at el Parque Ninos Heroes, saw Batman (objectively a good movie but not my type of movie at all; for me it was redeemed by Heath Ledger's stellar performance + Christian Bale's hotness), aaand went to H-E-B and got some plain hummus. La vida loca.

I have less than two weeks left in Mexico. I've had fun but I'm definitely close to being ready to go back to life in CT and, eventually, school. I miss my bed, parents, cats, friends, car, a diverse selection of hummus, etc ... :)

Mexican hipsters

A small, under-studied segment of the world's population that I am getting to know quite well.

magical realism

While reading his book, I've started to think that Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses it as an excuse to write down the most ridiculous stories he comes up with while high and pass them off as literature. I still enjoy it, though.

Today I spent some time in the nicest McDonald's I've ever visited. It had free wifi, a massive playground, and a separate Starbucks-like cafe. A girl was walking around offering free samples of mocha frappe. Nicely done, Mexico.

trust me, i'm a doctor

I spent today shadowing the PhD student I work with (he's also an MD) as he worked at a free clinic near Monterrey. I was pretty much useless as I sat on the side listening to him converse with patients. The people who came in all seemed to have similar ailments: diabetes, high blood pressure, abdominal pain, fatigue, and/or arthritis. Despite the repetition, it was still a cool experience. I even got to take some blood pressures (I'm pretty sure I botched the first few! oops!).

Tonight I made chicken breasts, red peppers, and green beans for dinner. I'm surprising myself - I never thought I had it in me to cook real food.

Now I'm watching my bff Mariano Rivera pitch in the All-Star game .. if only he had been pitching last inning, the game wouldn't be tied. Papelbon is a poor excuse for a closer. Obviously I want the AL to win always, but I especially want them to win this year because 1. it's the last time ever in the original Yankee Stadium and 2. like Hank Steinbrenner, I hold the NL responsible for Chien-Ming Wang's injury. Grr.

Also, RIP Bobby Murcer. I grew up listening to him announce baseball games and hearing about his death really affected me. Life is short :(

beer & bioparque

Since I never did find my camera (=it's gone forever) I'll have to survive the rest of my time in Mexico by taking pictures on a disposable camera and posting photos I've stolen from other people's facebook albums. :(

This weekend went by too fast. Friday night Jude Law and posse took us to a house party (Chuy's gradation party, to be exact, though I never did meet Chuy) in San Pedro. This was tons of fun - hung out and met a lot of cool people from Monterrey. It reminded me a little bit of house parties at home.

Saturday we got up early to go to EL BIOPARQUE, which is a little bit like a zoo, except with more emphasis on petting/feeding the animals rather than learning about them. In short, it was totally meant for people under the age of eight, which means we had a great time.

A snapshot from our super exotic safari, courtesy of Vanessa:


deer!

Too much sun/not enough sleep motivated me to stay in that night. Sunday was pretty quiet too -- I went to Sagrada Corazon again with Lauren, went food shopping at H-E-B, had a hottttt skype date, and did my laundry.

Today it was back to work,


(courtesy of Kate)

I did manage to get in a lunch with two of my American lab mates *and* an hour out by the pool, though, so I can't really complain. Love Mexico!

conversing on conversation

Today I had this conversation (in Spanish) over coffee with the student I'm working with:

me: I really want to be fluent in Spanish but I'm starting to think that it's almost impossible for me.
him: mmmmmm someday, maybe. You're fluent when you start to dream in the other language.
me: But I've dreamt in Spanish many times before.
him: You're fluent, then.
me: I'm obviously not.
him: Yeah.
me: Well, I can't really speak clearly in English, either, so maybe that's my problem.
him: Yeah, probably.

Encouraging!!!

He also told me that if I were a kid in Mexico they'd have to send me to speech therapy because I find it physically impossible to roll my r's.

My conversational Spanish lags so far behind my comprehension, it's ridiculous. I get this feeling that it's never really going to get better. oh well ...

fiestaaaaaaaa

Last night I went with Vanessa to her coworker's 20th birthday gathering at his house in Monterrey. We got roped into singing a lot of karaoke ... I guess the bright side is that I now know the words to a lot of popular songs.

The guys who drove us home were appalled that I have yet to try a taco in Mexico, so I guess I'll have to get on that sometime soon.

Also, I still haven't found my duck (or camera).

buenas noticias, malas noticias

good:

* H-E-B totally had hummus (and just about everything else I could ask for). Granted there was only one kind - a $4.50 container of olive and artichoke flavored dip - but it's really good and I'm happy.
Thanks to our shopping trip, I had hummus and flatbread as part of my lunch, and a delicious dinner of cod fillet seasoned with lime and pimiento, with a boiled pasta and vegetable mix on the side.

* I got to watch the Yankees dominate the Sox on ESPN yesterday. Sweet to finally get to watch them again, and I also got to pick up on some baseball terminology in Spanish. Like fielders are called jardineros. Gardeners. Funny.


bad:

* Something bad happened to my camera when we were out celebrating the 4th of July. ie I am no longer in possession of it. But I'm not yet giving up faith -- I don't understand how it could have gotten permanently lost unless someone stole it after the club closed. :( :( :( I am still asking around and until I hear from everyone who could possibly have seen it, I'll still have hope.

* The Starbucks on campus is closed from now until 7/28. There are a bunch of high schoolers in our dorm building who are here for CTY, for who knows how long.

* I can't find my duck anymore. I saw the mom today but she only had four duck babies with her - three brown and one yellow. so sad - maybe he has gone on vacation with his dad? I hope to get to the bottom of this soon.

highlight of the day

I spent at least five minutes chasing five baby ducks around a fountain in the middle of campus. OMG it was all I could do not to steal one. Their mom got soo mad at me. I'm a predator.

panoramic

This is the view from the main window on my floor at the Tec.

It's legit raining for the first time since I arrived ... kind of gloomy.

Last night we met and went out with someone who looks exactly like Jude Law but 10 years younger and 10x hotter.

Aaand ... it's the 4th of July! Happy America day! I miss home a little bit. Still not sure what I'll be doing tonight.

approximately zero

^ the number of places I can go to see Wall-E in Mexico, or the amount of work I did today? (to elaborate on the former, I just found out it starts showing here tomorrow, so I can't really complain)

Anyway, it's Thursday which means this is my last chance to write about last weekend before I'm burdened with the task of writing about another one.

Last Friday night Kelsey, Lauren and I all wanted to go out so we headed to Barrio Antiguo and went to Club 22, the first club we saw that looked fun and not trashy. We definitely enjoyed ourselves socializing with some upstanding young Mexican gentlemen and partaking in a complementary bottle of champagne of unknown origin.

Unfortunately, Friday night's fun did not prepare me very well for our Saturday morning excursion to Cola de Caballo, a waterfall up in the mountains surrounding Monterrey. It was, in fact, a challenge to remain conscious; luckly, I struggled through and survived. The waterfall itself was rather unimpressive but some kids in our group decided to go bungee jumping off the cliffs, so I hung out and watched them be adventurous. When we returned, I slept for 12 consecutive hours. No es mentira.

Unsurprisingly, I woke up SUPER refreshed at 7:30 Sunday morning. Vanessa, Lauren and I went to "children's Mass" at La Catedral Metropolitana in the center of the city.



That was cute - every time there was music, a couple kids would get up in front of the microphone to sing and dance. Also, the homily was approximately 2 minutes long.



Afterward, we brunched at Romesco, an Italian place in Barrio Antiguo. Pasta con pesto and white wine --- amazing.

Later, we met up with more of our group to explore the Museum of Mexican History, which is free on Sundays.



It was modern, fun to walk around, and I maybe learned some things about Mexico. Recommended. (especially for free!)

& that was my weekend -- The day ended with our excursion to Wal*Mart, about which I've already said too much.

Time to go searching for hot water in this building and get ready to go out again ... ~!

in contrast

things I like about food in Mexico:
-every McDonald's comes with a separate Postres stand to the side, where they sell conos sencillos (vanilla ice cream cones) for $0.60 ish.
-avocado on hamburgers
-Nutridia cereal and snack bars are AMAZING - Lauren and I go through a box of each every week
-sorpresaaaaaa (obviously)

ha ha I sound like an obese kid. non-food-related updates coming soon.

hummus in Mexico -- truth or legend??

Let me start by saying: now that I have to do it myself and can't leave it up to Mommy's expert judgment, grocery shopping has become incredibly interesting to me. On our weekly shopping trips, I get excited looking for things that might be good / easy to eat during the upcoming week. This is fun to a point, but the poor quality of our shopping options is becoming annoying. Let's just say that my experiences in Mexican grocery stores have made me nostalgic for Stop & Shop (yes, it's that bad). If I may generalize, Mexican food is not that healthy for you and what the grocery stores here lack for in staples (French bread, sugar snap peas, brownie mix), they do not make up for in their own unique produce (even though I can buy 3 limes for $0.10, which I kind of love). To my spoiled (but not too snobby) palette, it's pretty unacceptable.

Specifically, I am craving hummus. BADLY. My friends laugh at me and say I am never ever going to find hummus in Mexico, but I personally don't find the notion to be that ridiculous. Monterrey is the most affluent city in the country and at the Tec we are near the border of San Pedro, which I'm told is like the New Canaan, CT of Mexico. My logic follows: this country MUST contain at least a handful of grocery stores that sell hummus, and if it's sold anywhere, it's got to be here.

Unfortunately, my hopes have not panned out thus far. The first few weeks we shopped at the closest grocery store to us, Soriana. Let me put it on the public record: Soriana is a JOKE of a grocery store. They must restock like, once every two weeks or something because half the time we go there there is nothing to buy. One day the entire pasta aisle was 80% empty. What self-respecting grocery store does not have PASTA in stock?! For whatever reason, this angers me to no end. Suffice it to say, there's no chance in hell you'd find hummus at Soriana.

Some of our friends had been to the Super Wal-Mart down the street and said it had a considerably better selection. Armed with this info, my roommate and I gave it a try this past weekend. They were right -- it was well stocked and everything looked relatively clean and fresh. Optimistic, I headed toward the produce/deli section and decided to give my hummus quest a go. I approached one of the women giving out free samples and asked her if she knew where I could go to satisfy my craving. "Yes! Over there!" she exclaimed in Spanish, lighting a candle of hope inside me. When I looked "over there", however, there was no hummus in sight.

Reluctant to extinguish the flame, I decided to try the next sample lady. This one only gave me a look of confusion when I referred to "hummus" in my terrible accent. I gave this totally awkward explanation of hummus in Spanish: "It's like, a thick sauce ... with Garbanzo beans ... and oil ... you eat with pita". Shockingly, she understood what I meant and replied, "Not here. H-E-B will have it." I guess the first woman just wanted to shut up the bratty American girl.

After further investigation, I learned that H-E-B is the best grocery store in the area, but that no one in our group has had the good sense to go there yet. It is even closer than el Super Wal-Mart and holds great promise for the future. I am anxious for this weekend, when I will make my first voyage there and determine once and for all if there is hummus within a $4.00 taxi radius of the Tec. Stay tuned for the conclusion of this HIGHLY SUSPENSEFUL SAGA . . .

And for your entertainment, a picture of the sweet view outside of el Super Wal-Mart:

el fin de semana

Another relaxing weekend in sunny Monterrey.

Saturday Lauren and I woke up and grabbed coffee and snacks at Starbucks before laying out by the pool for an hour. My skin is getting darker, can you believe?! Note that I don't say "tan", hah, but I'm definitely getting color.

We craved shopping so the two of us decided to navigate the city bus system (there are 200 some routes!) to get to las Galerias Monterrey, one of two big shopping malls in the city. The shopping wasn't outstanding (nothing was on sale! donde estan las rebajas?! and a pair of Sevens costs $300 in Mexico -- for sale at Sears, of all places! Weird country.) but it was fun to walk around.

At night some of us went out to eat at el Rey del Cabrito, where they serve goat, Monterrey's famous delicacy. As it turns out my roommate is a vegetarian and I was not in the mood for baby goat (have I ever in my life been in that mood?) so we ate before and just went out to be social. The place was interesting, at least ... goat corpses hanging in the window and whatnot. Neat ...

After food we were ready for a nighttime adventure through Barrio Antiguo, the old part of town where most of the bars and clubs are located. We found a cute little bar with a rooftop terrace where we stopped for a couple of drinks, then headed out to La Puerta, a sketchy dance club with $0.50 tequila shots. After a few of those, we went to Ananna, a club with a live band where we got in free by virtue of being cute American girls. :) overall, a fun night out.

Sunday Lauren, Kelsey and I went to church at San Juan Bosco, the "university parish" close to campus. All I remember is that it was cold and I couldn't make out anything the priest was saying through the microphone. Also, I get a more conservative and paternalistic vibe from church in Mexico in comparison to New England -- it might be time to shop for a new place. I think next week we'll try the cathedral in the center of the city.

Later in the afternoon Vanessa took us on a tour of her museum, el Museo del Vidrio (glass). Glass is really cool if you think about it. Check out the adorable glass men on display:



That was pretty much the highlight of the day; afterwards I went to Soriana, the very mediocre grocery store close by the Tec. (I hear Walmart has a greater selection of groceries here, how sad/strange). On the way back I shot this picture:



it's some truck on a well-traveled road that seems to have stayed in the same spot for decades. We're not in the slums, either. Nice job, city of Monterrey, for taking notice. Regardless, it looks pretty cool ...

well now it's a new week and there's lots of biotechnology research to be done ... must rest up so I'll be on my A game tomorrow!! ha ha. xo

so

Suite blog clearly isn't happening so I'm going to start writing here again to document my summer in Mexico. I've been in Monterrey since the beginning of the month and will be here through July, living on the Tec de Monterrey campus and working in a lab on a project that relates to tissue engineering. No one wants to hear about science-y stuff, though, so I'm just going to talk about life outside of work -- which mostly involves reading, sleeping, eating, drinking, and exploring the city.

Last weekend I went to Mexico City (pictures and stories later). Weekend has arrived again but tonight we are all tired so some of us went to see Raices, a traditional dance show, and now that I'm back I'm curled up in my bed about to read The Brothers K and pass out. I want to finish it along with Cien Anos de Soledad before I leave.

Now for some pictures:

my place of employment

there are deer on campus, no big deal


La Catedral Metropolitana. I think I might go here this weekend.

Bad things about Mexico:
-the grocery stores nearby do not sell many of life's essentials (sugar snap peas, hummus, non-Jif peanut butter, brownie mix, 1% milk, decent-looking chicken breasts, decent-looking fish, the list goes on and on...)
-I don't have a phone (my fault, though)
-I don't get the YES network and they don't play Miley Cyrus on the radio

Good things about Mexico:
-sun --> tan
-cheap and abundant Kinder chocolates ... LA SORPRESA
-tequila and limes and quesadillas. mmmm.
-everyone's always late, just like me! yayy

okay, hasta luego! nos vemos! besos, abrasos, xox

word on the street

is that Indiana Jones is a terrible movie, and also that I'm in it. (apparently) I'm in Indy's classroom on the far right in a bright red sweater ... if you're interested in keeping an eye open for my stunning big screen debut.

I'm going to the movies tonight to see for myself.

"If you are on the coast and the moon is directly overhead, you should experience a high tide. If the moon is directly overhead on the opposite side of the planet, you should also experience a high tide." -howstuffworks.com

GOOD TO KNOW.

(i slept through sixth grade science. payback didn't arrive until yesterday.)

hello hello

It's that time of year! New summer = new blog. I hope it won't be as painfully boring as last year's, since I'm finally getting out of New Haven for a couple of months.

Summer itinerary is as follows:
the rest of May: bumming around at home and in New Haven, shopping, working at the law library, celebrating my 21st birthday!
June & July: biotechnology research in Monterrey, Mexico
August: trip to Ottawa with Julie to visit Lauren, working on my own research in New Haven, more general laziness

So if you know me you'll know how ridiculously elated I am to not be in school right now. My only true plans for the rest of May involve reading and shopping. current summer reading list includes:

Better and Complications - Atul Gawande
Love of the Last Tycoon - F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Emperor's Children - Claire Messud
The Power and the Glory and The Human Factor - Graham Greene
finally finish The Brothers Karamazov (this may be a stretch)

suggestions please?