Forget a wall, I hopped an ocean
Boy, can I just tell y'all how happy I am to not be in the United States right now? I've never been a fan of politics. I don't like them, I hate talking about them, I don't want to know your views, and I definitely would rather see a picture of your baby (or dog, even better) on Facebook (PS SO CUTE KEEP POSTING).
The six months that I've been gone have been so refreshing. Besides the social media things that I see, there are no news stations telling me things. (Well, maybe in other languages, but besides Spanish, I don't really understand them.) No headlines spewing banter at me from the magazines at the grocery store. And I don't have to constantly hear jokes about it (though, I love jokes, obviously.)
What I do hear? Uber drivers asking my opinions on political affairs (ugh), playful signs like the one I posted last week (which I'll post below again), and a particular lady who was selling chocolate that bashed us (while talking to her in Spanish) for speaking English because "estamos en Mexico".
That said, it goes both ways? I don't know. All I know is that most of the people here are AMAZING. They're interested in chatting and appreciate the broken Spanish that I do throw their way. They're friendly and will still talk to me even after I stutter out "Los Estados Unidos" after they ask me "De donde era?"
The point of this paragraph? I'm not really sure. I guess it's just word vomit. Since this whole thing is unedited I'm just spitting things out. (And I'm finally caught up on this blog HOOOLLLY SHHH). But with all the stuff going on back home, I've never been happier to be here. Not only that, this city has SO much to offer. Though I've been to many places in this country, most were beautiful beaches and tourist destinations. That said, I'm stoked to be here in CDMX (This abbrev is a local thing and I'm really local now so here's me using it) five weeks.
ANYWAYSSSS...sorry for the rant. Let's get back to business/pleasure. This week I:
- woke up at 7 am pretty much every day. Worked out! And WORKED at normal hours (which is v strange since we just fast forwarded 7 hours). Our coworking space, Publico, is AWESOME. I'm not normally one to frequent the coworking spaces, but I really really like this one. It's got a great terrace and lots of sunshine and it's all yellow like an emoji. We had our welcome party the first night, complete with tacos and cerveza. (Again, no photos of this because my phone was ded. But I took these from the internet and one happened to be from another remote who just started Remote Year in January. Thanks, Kelly! Credit on the photo, below. )
The rooftop!
Inside Publico. Photo cred: https://blog.teamsnap.com/teamsnap-culture/the-mobile-teamsnapper-part-1-mexico-city
- had breakfast at this tiny hole in the wall place where I chatted up the waiter and learned that he really liked Texans. IT WAS SO GOOD, and GUYS, it was only 63 pesos for two people to get breakfast and coffee and all the hot sauces your heart could desire. (AKA $3)
Cafe con leche y huarache con un huevo frito. AY DIOS MIO.
- went on a run to the Diego Rivera Museum (about 3 miles) and nearly died due to the altitude and the pollution in the air. It ain't no joke, folks. As Adam Levine would say, "Is there anyone out there 'cause it's getting harda and harda to BREATHE". However, the museum and run was awesome and afterwards Jenna and I drank micheladas the size of our heads.
- found a cool pop up shop place with an even cooler rooftop patio and bed and breakfast. We definitely trespassed but I got these sweet pics, so...worth it.
- went to a talk with an anthropologist who told us how all the Aztecs were murderers and then gave us free lunch.
- attended a taco challenge. It's exactly what it sounds like. We had 30 minutes to eat as many tacos as we could while also waiting in line for them. If you doubted me, I ate 14 tacos and got second place in the girl's bracket and then didn't eat for two whole days. Betsy beat me with 15 (but it's ok because it was her birthday) and Sami won the overall competition with a whopping 24 tacos. What an animal.
Our group overall ate 316 tacos. Obesity, here we come.
Gianni announcing the winners.
Maybe our Ikigai is tacos.
- Went to a Siclo (cycling) class with Pau, our city manager. It's basically Mexico's version of SoulCycle and it was the second time I almost died this week due to #MexiTude (Mexico's altitude). But I've worked out a ton here so far and it makes me feel so normal.
- Saw Carlos Vives in concert with Sami, JP, and some local girls. We drank a lot of tequila and weirdly sway-danced. Also we lost JP. And then we got gorditas on the street. Here's a blurry picture from Sami's video and the famous Bicicleta song that you may know him from.
- celebrated Devin's birthday with dinner followed by a wild club outing. Bottle service? Check. 35 Remotes? Check. Sweaty dancing? Check. Check. I have a lot of videos but this is somehow the only photo I got. Get it, Raven.
- Somehow woke up with no hangover (tequila is in my blood I suppose) and went to Trajineras - a magical place that's 50 minute uber ride ($13 LOLZ I love you Mexico) where you can get on a boat, BYOB and food, and get mariachis to hop on your boat and sing to you. You can also buy food and drinks off other boats. It's amazing and we all had so much fun. (Oh yeah, and we passed the Island of the Dolls - a creepy little island where a bunch of creepy dolls hang from trees. Eesh.)
- got home just in time to head to the Coliseo for the LUCHADORES MATCH. You guys, never thought I'd get to experience Nacho Libre in real life. But it happened and I've never laughed harder. There were men. There were women. There were LITTLE PEOPLE (well, person). And there were friends wearing masks (and me wearing one that I borrowed.) Amazing.
- tried to go to dinner after but it was an epic fail. It took two hours to get our food and everyone was so annoyed that no one ended up going out - it was off to bed.
- woke up the next morning feeling fresh AF, and decided to join a group for a long bike riding day. A main street in CDMX, Reforma, shuts down every Sunday for cyclists, rollerbladers, runners, and any other way you can think of getting around. We rode about 13 miles and topped it off with an awesome brunch at El 123.
Biker babes.
El 123 and the table we sat at!
- finished off a busy week with SUPERBOWL! A bunch of us met at a bar and watched as the Pats pulled off possibly the greatest comeback in football history. Here's a photo of Brian (a Pats fan) leaning on Erica in his dire time of need (most of the game).
And that's a wrap for my first week in Mexico! I worked hard, played hard (but was mostly in bed by 10 PM lez be honest) and did a TON. I'm actually in this city every weekend except for one (as of now) and I can't wait to make the most of it. As I stated before: GUAC 4 PREZ 2020.
Coming up: woah, I don't even know everything that's coming up yet because I'M CAUGHT UP ON THIS BLOG FOR THE FIRST TIME IN LIKE 20 WEEKS.
*does happy dance* *eats paleta*
Professional writer, designer, and do-it-aller. Remote Year citizen/alum. Currently living in San Francisco and probably trying to avoid the terrifying amounts of pigeons.
