A Year in Mexico

They say, and I can vouch for this one, that as you get older time passes by increasingly fast. Anymore, a year is really nothing. In my opinion, time is the most devalued currency of modern times. I'm trying to reclaim its value in my life.

This past year, more than a transition, has really been about contrasts as I started from scratch in a new country. Frankly, it’s been a lot easier than I thought though I wouldn't try to credit anyone in particular (myself included) for the ease of the experience.

Sure, I came here with a plan and by god, the plan is unfolding and it’s even better than I had envisioned; that’s not to say that I didn’t have many doubts. Some as recent as this week.

My experience of life in Mexico reminds me of my own journey as a yoga practitioner. Not being particularly flexible with my body has actually translated into an invaluable lesson. That lesson is patience. Plain and simple.

Everyone back home knows me as a calm New Yorker. I suspect that here I’m a bit abrasive and loud. Though I’m a lot calmer than back home, there are days when the ugly New Yorker bursts the hell out! I think you have to be Mexican, by blood, to put up with the nonsensical inefficiencies of this country.

To celebrate my first anniversary here, and acknowledging that no place is really ‘perfect’, I’d like to share my experiences of the journey so far.

I want to keep this entry short so, I won’t go into the reasons why this country seems to be so badly stuck in the old ways. Suffice it to say, that everyday I get to practice my patience. I’ve gotten pretty good at it but when you know there’s a better way to do things, you can’t hush down the voices inside. On a good day, when I watch people’s (lack of) reaction to the inefficiencies, I want to praise them for their patience; on a bad day, I want to slap them awake from their feeble resignation.

What is particularly fascinating is that among all the crap, you are always met by impeccably dressed, polite, good humored, soft-spoken Mexicans who simply seem to move too darn slow. That’s it. They seem to have a different sense of time than the average American. I admit that the charm is disarming to the point that I often feel guilty for being such a tight-ass.

Some of the cultural highlights that have particularly struck me are:

- Family comes first, career comes second. There’s no wavering there.

- I’ve yet to see anyone be rude to anyone else in public. People just don’t lose their cool here. Well, except for me…just a little bit, sometimes.

- Personal hygiene ranks high in priority with everyone I’ve come across. There’s no bad odor of any sort coming out the people I’ve come in contact with.

- Mexican children are gorgeous!

- The most beautiful dark, dark eyes are right here in Mexico. They seem to be enhanced by thick, almost curly eyelashes. I find myself mesmerized.

- Driving is scary here. People are nuts! But I haven’t really seen anyone flip the bird or hardly ever blow their horns to express road rage.

- People from GDL are aloof and reserved but when they show affection, it oozes with heartfelt sincerity.

- In one year, I’ve seen like 5 dark skinned (black) people.

- I didn’t know what contamination really was until I moved here. I’m actually allergic to it.

- I haven’t seen a drop of rain since last September.

With all that said, some of the personal experiences that I’m deeply grateful for include:

- I’ve learned to build in and enjoy guilt-free leisure time every day of the week.

- I love shopping at the farmer’s markets for the freshest, most beautiful produce. Beyond that, I love bantering and haggling with the sellers.

- Yup, I’ve learned to haggle. You’re expected to do it.

- Cooking (and having the time to do it) has become a source of joy and creativity that I hope to never let go of.

- Real Mexican food is wonderful! It can be healthy, actually, and it’s always fresh.

- Home is a sacred space for Chava and I. Particularly, every weekend is a chance for renewal, celebration, and mutual growth.

- My students and clients revere my knowledge and my position, treating me with the utmost respect, which makes me look forward to spending time with them.

- I have time to listen to my favorite podcasts -- most of them from the US, helping me keep a pulsebeat on life in America.

- I enjoy meeting country folk who are outspoken, friendly, funny, and infinitely wise.

- I like it when random strangers easily greet you on the streets. I think I've become friendlier as a result.

- People are always late to social events. Live with it!

I view these experiences as a unique opportunity to integrate who I really am and to increase my sensitivities about everything that unites us human beings regardless of cultural background. I’m happy. Perhaps the plan wasn’t a real plan after all. Perhaps it was a trick for me to safely venture out of my comfort zone and collect life-affirming memories along the way.

I think I’ll stop here. I'm trying to be good about posting more frequently.

Portfolio Career

OK, OK! I know I haven’t been very good about keeping up with this blog. You’re probably wondering what I’m up to these days. Busy. Happily busy.

So, I thought I would do a quick post just to fill everyone in on the recent events of my life in GDL.

Right now, I’m very focused on work. I had a bit of a slowdown after I stopped working for the institute at the end of November in order to go solo. Since then I worked on legalizing my business (boy, that one requires its own entry!) and drumming up business. After many phone calls and endless conversations, things finally started to pick up in late March. I’ve learned so many (sometimes painful) lessons from that experience.

So, what exactly do I do? My career can be best described as a “portfolio career”; that is, I do several, mostly unrelated things; all of which I love.

My main source of income comes from my English teaching gigs. Both of them are business-oriented courses taught on the premises. I use textbooks but re-interpret a lot of the exercises and make them a lot more exciting from a creative standpoint. I love that part of the work though it’s time consuming but awesomely rewarding.

I also have a private client, a lawyer, who is in the process of applying for an MBA program in the US and needs help refining her English skills. We have so much fun working toward that goal!

My other major source of income comes from my yoga classes. I teach at the Pilates studio and at a mansion in a shi-shi neighborhood to a set of nine well-to-do ladies. Also, one of the companies where I teach English hired me to give classes there. How cool is that?

As a backup, I can also take the occasional translation work and do some technical writing through project bidding on elance.com. So, that’s what a portfolio career is all about.

My workload is pretty darn good. I teach a total of 12 hours of English per week and about 12 hours of Yoga. The drawback is that I always have to work around my clients' business hours (early in the AM, at lunchtime – 2PM here, and after 5:30PM). My work schedule runs Monday thru Thursday. Fridays are practically my day off though I run around a lot and leave weekends for total play and relaxation.

My worst days are Mondays and Wednesdays. I leave the house at 7AM, come in and out a few times and my last Yoga class ends at 9:15PM. I have decent gaps of time during the day which allow me to go to the gym, do costume changes, cook a healthy dinner, plan my lessons, and not to mention wind down a bit several times a day. Yes, I always have time to go to Starbucks! At the end of the day, I'm hardly even tired.

For exercise, I go to the gym Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for about 1.5 hours to lift weights and to practice boxing with an awesome teacher who is still a competitive boxer. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I go to the Pilates studio (where they have reformer machines) and also practice Yoga at home.

Since I am my own boss, I’ve instituted a pretty liberal vacation policy. My clients are pretty chill about that. The plan is to give myself a one week vacation every four to eight weeks, depending on the time of the year. Things are looking up in that respect. Next vacation destination? CUBA…before Fidel kicks the bucket.

There’s a lot of demand for both English and Yoga here though networking is essential. I could take on more clients but for now, I’m more interested in a healthy and balanced life. However, if a real interesting project comes along, I’m all over it. Some potentially exciting Yoga opportunities might be working with one of the world famous soccer teams (Chivas!) or with some tri-athletes. For English, I'm being considered for starting a new program with GDL's emergency response system (like 911) and I also have some leads at a couple universities. I feel blessed to have so many options.

Stay tuned for more entries…I have a lot of exciting stuff to talk about! Next up, I plan to write about my first year anniversary here. Yes, there’ve been some cultural challenges but I’m still here. 8-)