Mexico in May

May in Mexico was really quite the amazing month. As I sit here and look back on it I want to start by just saying thank you. Thank you to all the people who spent it with me. Let's make our last month here magnificent. And thank you to my all friends in the states that gchat/fbchat with me. I can't wait to see you.

I want to make this post more picture oriented but before I make it more about the fun things I'll quickly mention that I did get mugged at the end of April and that I am thankfully not as jumpy as I have been the past few weeks. That jerk mugged me and fellow Fulbrighter, Claudia, on the way to a work dinner at 8:30 about .5 blocks from my apartment. He stole my iphone, camera, keys, credit/debit cards, school ID, Mexican ID among other things. I stopped running outside for a few weeks  after that but I went for a run Sunday morning and even though I stared down every human/dog/plant that got too close, I think I'm going to head back out there permanently for my runs.  Quick and hilarious song to celebrate that: 

Can't nobody hold me down, oh no, I got to keep on mooooovin' 

Anywho, here we go: 

We (me and the lovely Sarah Hartzog) ran our first 5k in late April (the morning after the mugging to be exact). It was a blast because it was a Dia del Niño race so families came out with their kids and we get to cross if off the 2012 resolutions list. The training continues for our Reto Vikingo (Warrior Dash) in June.

This good ole group here headed to Puerto Vallarta for an amazing weekend to celebrate Victor's 24th birthday. Got some good beach time, pool partying and dancing in :) 

This month has also just happened to be spectacular on the foodie development front. Here is a ceviche sampler that we had at the beach in PV 

The week after Puerto Vallarta I had the workshop for FMCN in Valle de Bravo at this SPECTACULAR Spa/Resort type place called Rodavento complete with lake, cabins, pool and outstanding food.

While at the integration workshop a group of 18 of us decided to go into a Temazcal. It is essentially an indigenous sauna that is supposed to resemble a mother's womb and where you go release your toxins/impurities.  To do this, first there is the sweating part but then you go around one by one and talk about the things you want to leave in the past, the things you want life to bring you and those around you, the things you are thankful for etc. I actually got pretty choked up during this..

I have a new roommate! His name is Victor and is from Brazil but then moved to New York and now is at UPenn while his family lives in Miami. Laura, Victor, Me. Argentina-Brazil-Nashville. Such an international group ;) 

The Fulbright group at Kris's Bon Voyage. This is the house where I first lived when I got to DF and I'm more than thankful we had the chance to live there and weren't roaming the streets homeless. 

Joe and I headed to Cuernavaca to have lunch with a chef he met on his flight to Germany last month! Words cannot explain how delicious this meal was and how beautiful Cuernavaca (the land of eternal Spring) is. 

I knooow. I'm super artsy. I took this only because Joe pointed out how long it had been since we'd frolicked in real grass. This was post our romping around the yard like kids. 

Joe chatting with Ms. Anita. She has had a very interesting life becoming an outstanding chef and opening restaurants in Switzerland after having been married to a top executive at MGM Studios in the 70's. She's met the Beatles and tons of other famous people so she had several great stories. 

As I said, May was an incredible food month with the Puerto Vallarta trip and the trip to Ms. Anita's house. But it was also great in terms of meals in DF both in and out of work. 

I am particularly proud of this thingy I whipped up. It's a pita pizza with hummus, broccoli, tomato, avocado, mushrooms and feta cheese :)

Sunday afternoon brunch with the boys on the rooftop 

My happiness depends heavily on food intake..its a problem

Later, we went to a World Culture Fair where we ate nutella brownies, Indian wraps, cherry pie, plantains and pupusas:

Alright FINE. I didn't take this picture but I wanted to adequately portray the delightful things I ate at this fair. This was a cherry strudel pie from the Germany booth. 

The El Salvador booth's menu

Making our Pupusas 

I ended up working that USA booth at the World Fair the weekend afterwards and passed out American flags. The Mexicans LOVED them. I've never passed out a more popular item in my life. It was kinda exciting yet terrifying. Like if they were passing out Canadian flags anywhere in the states, would you take one

                                             

I post this because I went to a Pura Salsa concert where I got to see this guy and Oscar D'Leon live. I was quite the happy camper. Afterwards, I went to my first Mexican gay club with a couple of the FBs and it was a BLAST. This weekend coming up is the Pride Parade here in DF so more updates on my adventures to come!

Some other cool things I got to do this month include: 

• Celebrating Cinco de Mayo gringo style in Mexico. We went to Chili's and were aghast at the lack of food/drink specials. 
• Going to a circus show to watch a fellow co-worker do her Spanish web act. 
• My first protest! There were 10,000 Mexican youth demanding transparency from all media outlets during this years presidential election. It was covered in the Wall Street Journal.
• A rooftop BBQ to celebrate Labor Day in Mexico
• Taking a test 

And to end off the month May, a midterm in Macro...mmmm

Soundtrack of my life these days: 

                                               

This song just makes me happy and this month was just that. So happy.