Obviously I have failed at blogging in the last six months. I'm not a journal writer, so this doubles as the written account of our "immigration experience" and its really important to me to have this to look back on. So, I present my New Year's Resolution--blog often and blog well. I've never had a resolution before, but I'm hoping for the 45 year old me who needs to lose weight that I am good at keeping them.
I'll begin six months of catch up with summary:
June: Anna left Mexico.
Jose and I went to Huetamo, his hometown in Michoacan.
July: I left Mexico to start at UC Berkeley for the 6 week summer session.
Jose must have passed his time somehow, but I don't know what he did. You'll probably never know, either, because he stays away from this blog like its poison.
August: I finished school (2 A's!) and went back to Mexico for 10 days.
We celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary!
Jose did...
September: Emma in school.
Jose started working, kind of.
October: Emma in school.
Jose working, kind of.
November: I went to Mexico for a few days and brought the dogs home with me. They are living with my parents.
Jose worked, kind of.
December: I finished school (all A's!) and went back to Mexico. My family visited for Christmas.
Jose got ready for our visit.
January: Jose moved to Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico for school!
Emma is leaving January 17th for school.
There's a short run-down of the last half year that I'll expand on in the next week or so until, and I'm serious about this, I get caught up.
Emma
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Visiting Mexico
My 10 day trip back to Mexico has already ended. It was great to see Jose and the dogs, but the trip was almost over by the time I got fully rested. Most days we spent sleeping in late, going to the park, shopping in the mercado, eating, taking the dogs on walks, and reading. Some days were a little different, especially when our dog Kahlo, who just had surgery, needed something special. We spent one day tracking down a bucket big enough to use as a pool for him, and then trying to get him to swim. That just ended up being a waste of time, money, and water. Our dog is way too relaxed to swim when dunked in water--he just hung out peacefully until we gave up.
Our most eventful day was a trip to Chapultepec Park, Mexico City’s version of Golden Gate park. We have been there before a few times, mostly for the museums. This time we visited the zoo and the castle. The zoo had some interesting animals, especially the capybara, the largest rodent on earth that apparently makes a rather good pet. I’d always wanted to see one of those. It was exciting to see some animals, like the black jaguar, that we would never see in the wild, but overall the animals were too depressed and caged for us to enjoy the zoo. I don’t think I’ll be going back to a zoo until I’m doing it for children.
After the zoo, we went to the Castillo (Castle) de Chapultepec. We’d never been before, and almost didn’t go, but we decided that after walking up the hill to get to it, we needed to pay and go inside. Thank goodness we did, because it was such a cool place. Construction started in the 1700’s, and it was converted to house Maximilian and Carlota, who started the tradition of using it as the president’s quarters. Part of the Castillo is still set up the way Maximilian and Carlota had it with luxurious European decoration. Since the castillo on top of a hill, it offers great views of the city and Chapultepec park.
Leaving Mexico again was sad, but just like in the summer, it wasn’t hard. Going to college is the right thing for me to do, even though it means being away from Jose for awhile. There are few things that I have ever been so certain about, and the peace of mind that comes from that certainty gives me strength that I wouldn’t otherwise have.
-Emma
Our most eventful day was a trip to Chapultepec Park, Mexico City’s version of Golden Gate park. We have been there before a few times, mostly for the museums. This time we visited the zoo and the castle. The zoo had some interesting animals, especially the capybara, the largest rodent on earth that apparently makes a rather good pet. I’d always wanted to see one of those. It was exciting to see some animals, like the black jaguar, that we would never see in the wild, but overall the animals were too depressed and caged for us to enjoy the zoo. I don’t think I’ll be going back to a zoo until I’m doing it for children.
 |
| Castillo de Chapultepec |
Leaving Mexico again was sad, but just like in the summer, it wasn’t hard. Going to college is the right thing for me to do, even though it means being away from Jose for awhile. There are few things that I have ever been so certain about, and the peace of mind that comes from that certainty gives me strength that I wouldn’t otherwise have.
-Emma
Monday, August 23, 2010
Summer School
My first semester at UC Berkeley is over, only a short six weeks after it started. It was one of the very best experiences of my life and more amazing than I expected it to be. It was surprisingly easy to be away from Jose and the dogs, I think because I knew that what I was doing will help us. The exhaustion and stress that I felt at some points of the semester was really put into perspective when I remembered how bored I was with nothing to do in Mexico, and how much having my degree will help Jose and me. The two classes took a lot of work--including 9 textbooks, 13 essays, and loooong days of lecture. But again, it was one of the best experiences I have had. I love and appreciate education, and it is unbelievably satisfying and exciting to be back in it.
The six weeks in California were made even better by spending four days a week at my parents' house in Healdsburg. I had to do a lot of homework, but I was still able to talk to them while I took breaks, read in the garden, and eat dinner with them. We even went off to the river together one weekend with my godfather, uncle, and cousins. Healdsburg and the house finally stopped being hard to be in without Jose, so it was relaxing and nice to be there.
Life is good now. I am finally involved in something again and loving it. I miss Jose and the dogs, but I know that we are all doing well. I still haven't gotten over how happy being in school has made me, and I'm really looking forward to the start of the Fall semester.
-Emma
The six weeks in California were made even better by spending four days a week at my parents' house in Healdsburg. I had to do a lot of homework, but I was still able to talk to them while I took breaks, read in the garden, and eat dinner with them. We even went off to the river together one weekend with my godfather, uncle, and cousins. Healdsburg and the house finally stopped being hard to be in without Jose, so it was relaxing and nice to be there.
Life is good now. I am finally involved in something again and loving it. I miss Jose and the dogs, but I know that we are all doing well. I still haven't gotten over how happy being in school has made me, and I'm really looking forward to the start of the Fall semester.
-Emma
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Mexico City Police
About two months ago I had the opportunity to personally experience the great law enforcement of Mexico City. I was hanging out with our neighbor Erick during the week. After getting back home from his apartment he got a call from a police officer insisting that he needed to go to get his mom because she was intoxicated and had an accident. We were told that it wasn’t anything serious but that this problem could only be resolved with money.
Erick didn’t have any money at the time, so I ran into my bedroom and got about 1000 pesos and we headed out. While on our way we got two calls from the cops insisting that we get there immediately and that it was going to cost us a lot of money to keep her out of jail. When we got there his mom was in her car talking to an officer. She told us the cop was telling her to give him 500 pesos and he would let her leave and wouldn’t chase after her. She didn’t have any money, so as soon as the cops saw us arrive, they approached us immediately demanding money.
The cops told us it was going to take 5,000 pesos to keep her out of jail because she didn’t have care insurance. After talking to her for a few minutes, we found out that her car was insured. She was so drunk that she hadn’t told the officers she had insurance. We waited for about an hour for her insurance representative to arrive and deal with all of the paper work. I guess in Mexico you don’t just exchange insurance policies, but actually have to wait for a representative to take care of the paper work on site. Once the cops found out that the insurance representative was on her way, they took Erick and me off to the side and demanded we pay them or she would to jail because she was drunk. If the cops had followed protocol, she would have been taken to the police station and had a sobriety test. The cops didn’t want to deal with that because apparently it takes about 10-15 hours for the testing and paper work and they have to be present through the whole thing.
The original officers left, and the next one who arrived wanted 2,000 pesos to keep Erick’s mom from going to the police station. We told him we didn’t have that much money and didn’t have a way to get more. The cop’s solution was to take us, in his police car, to a 7-11 so Erick could add money to his cell phone to start calling his friends and asking them for money. After 20 minutes on the phone, the cop got impatient and took us back to Erick’s mom. The officer said that we needed to give him all the money we had or she was going to jail. We had 1,400 pesos, and even though it was obvious that he was annoyed with the amount, he took the money and left.
It was really weird to deal with crooked cops, but we got to go home and didn’t have to spend 15 hours longer with the police. 1,400 pesos was definitely worth avoiding 15 hours in a Mexican police station. It was also a great lesson to show how important it is to stay away from the police in Mexico.
-Jose
Erick didn’t have any money at the time, so I ran into my bedroom and got about 1000 pesos and we headed out. While on our way we got two calls from the cops insisting that we get there immediately and that it was going to cost us a lot of money to keep her out of jail. When we got there his mom was in her car talking to an officer. She told us the cop was telling her to give him 500 pesos and he would let her leave and wouldn’t chase after her. She didn’t have any money, so as soon as the cops saw us arrive, they approached us immediately demanding money.
The cops told us it was going to take 5,000 pesos to keep her out of jail because she didn’t have care insurance. After talking to her for a few minutes, we found out that her car was insured. She was so drunk that she hadn’t told the officers she had insurance. We waited for about an hour for her insurance representative to arrive and deal with all of the paper work. I guess in Mexico you don’t just exchange insurance policies, but actually have to wait for a representative to take care of the paper work on site. Once the cops found out that the insurance representative was on her way, they took Erick and me off to the side and demanded we pay them or she would to jail because she was drunk. If the cops had followed protocol, she would have been taken to the police station and had a sobriety test. The cops didn’t want to deal with that because apparently it takes about 10-15 hours for the testing and paper work and they have to be present through the whole thing.
The original officers left, and the next one who arrived wanted 2,000 pesos to keep Erick’s mom from going to the police station. We told him we didn’t have that much money and didn’t have a way to get more. The cop’s solution was to take us, in his police car, to a 7-11 so Erick could add money to his cell phone to start calling his friends and asking them for money. After 20 minutes on the phone, the cop got impatient and took us back to Erick’s mom. The officer said that we needed to give him all the money we had or she was going to jail. We had 1,400 pesos, and even though it was obvious that he was annoyed with the amount, he took the money and left.
It was really weird to deal with crooked cops, but we got to go home and didn’t have to spend 15 hours longer with the police. 1,400 pesos was definitely worth avoiding 15 hours in a Mexican police station. It was also a great lesson to show how important it is to stay away from the police in Mexico.
-Jose
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Photos
If you'd like to see our pictures, follow these links. No Facebook account required.
Michoacan (Jose's hometown and family): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8025459&id=1205137632&l=5a287084bc
Teotihuacan: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8023599&id=1205137632&l=3cccc29c6d
Coyoacan: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8016269&id=1205137632&l=680ddf67d8
Tulum with the family: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8011367&id=1205137632&l=daabdeadad
Mexico City with the family: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8010106&id=1205137632&l=34f60a8b6c
Thanksgiving in Mexico: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8004588&id=1205137632&l=8f69b12de5
Puebla: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039927&id=1205137632&l=b13467bad8
Jose and Emma in Tulum: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8000122&id=1205137632&l=23cefc4725
Jose and Emma in Cancun: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8000106&id=1205137632&l=db1ddb2829
Palenque (really pretty): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8000118&id=1205137632&l=c1dc621df6
Oaxaca: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8000110&id=1205137632&l=2e258ab85e
Michoacan (Jose's hometown and family): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8025459&id=1205137632&l=5a287084bc
Teotihuacan: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8023599&id=1205137632&l=3cccc29c6d
Coyoacan: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8016269&id=1205137632&l=680ddf67d8
Tulum with the family: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8011367&id=1205137632&l=daabdeadad
Mexico City with the family: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8010106&id=1205137632&l=34f60a8b6c
Thanksgiving in Mexico: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8004588&id=1205137632&l=8f69b12de5
Puebla: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039927&id=1205137632&l=b13467bad8
Jose and Emma in Tulum: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8000122&id=1205137632&l=23cefc4725
Jose and Emma in Cancun: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8000106&id=1205137632&l=db1ddb2829
Palenque (really pretty): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8000118&id=1205137632&l=c1dc621df6
Oaxaca: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8000110&id=1205137632&l=2e258ab85e
Saturday, July 3, 2010
And It Starts....Now
Those big changes that I've been wanting, dreading, fearing, and dreaming of have finally come. I'm going back to California tomorrow to start school and leaving Jose, the dogs, Coyoacan, and our Mexican life behind (but only physically). I'm nervous and excited and have no idea what to expect. I'll just have to see how it goes, work hard, and stay determined. I'll take some study breaks to keep you posted. Maybe Jose will even write a post of his own, maybe?
-Emma
-Emma
Morelia, Michoacan
On our way back from Huetamo, Jose and I spent a night in Michoacan's historic capitol, Morelia. It is known as one of the most Spanish cities in Mexico. It is a nice city, but it seems that Mexico City has spoiled us and raised our standards too high. We stayed in a hotel right in the center filled with Colonial buildings, but as we walked down the streets and tried to admire the buildings, we kept coming back to "this is like a not-as-nice version of Mexico City's center". Even my well-traveled little sister loves Mexico City's center because apparently it is exactly like walking down a street in Europe. The Colonial section of Mexico City is only a small part of the city, and in Morelia it is almost the whole city, but the quality in Mexico City surpasses the quantity in Morelia.
We didn't see much of Morelia in one night, but it was great to have a mini vacation in a new city. We ate at a nice restaurant, feasted on way to much gelato, and enjoyed the chilly weather after four days of Huetamo's heat. As always, though, it was just as nice to get home.
-Emma
We didn't see much of Morelia in one night, but it was great to have a mini vacation in a new city. We ate at a nice restaurant, feasted on way to much gelato, and enjoyed the chilly weather after four days of Huetamo's heat. As always, though, it was just as nice to get home.
-Emma
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