2 months already!

We're about to start our 3rd month in Mexico City, which is kind of crazy.  Most days we feel like we've been here FOREVER.  I guess all the adjusting and settling in makes time seem to move slower.  Sometimes, though, I have to remind myself that we've only been here for 2 months.  In the scheme of things, that's not very long - especially when you consider that we're trying to form a whole new life for ourselves out of (basically) nothing!  As we're learning, that's not something that happens quickly or easily.


Last I wrote, we were both set up to start teaching English.  Long story short, I ended up not taking the job.  It didn't feel right, and I don't think I would have been able to give English-teaching the energy and enthusiasm it deserves.  Luke, however, is now in his third week of teaching and seems to be enjoying it.  We both have the impression that he's probably the best teacher his students have ever had, which is a nice feeling.  His students, of course, love him :-)


So, my days continue to be filled with job searching.  I'm spending lots of time in front of this computer.  Searching, emailing, sending resumes... it's all been relatively unsuccessful.  I'm still waiting to hear from the Eton School (mentioned in the last post) about a position for the Fall - that's definitely my most exciting prospect.  It looks like I'll have a very part-time, low-paying job this summer, translating tourist guides for a Mexican travel agency.  It won't be enough, but it's a start.  It'll help me feel somewhat useful :-)


Daily life has been rolling along, without too much excitement.  A couple of weeks ago, we had a huge rain/hail storm, the likes of which neither Luke nor I had ever seen.  (And we're both from the Midwest - we've seen hail!)  Pea-sized hail fell nonstop for a good hour, combined with heavy rain.  Afterward, it looked  like it had snowed, which was a baffling thing to think about.  It also got quite cold!  Well, not "cold" by most American standards, but definitely cold for Mexico.  We went out walking after the storm was over and passed a woman decked out in a full-length puffy coat, hood lined in fur.  It was maybe 50 degrees.  Maybe. Anyway, here's a short video of the storm, as experienced from our apartment window.  (The sudden shake at the end is me getting freaked out by an unexpectedly loud crack of thunder.)

We met an American couple who live very close to us - they're Ph.D. students at the University of Arizona and are here doing research.  We've really enjoyed hanging out with them - our first friends!  They had us over (along with a couple of other friends) for Easter dinner on Sunday, which was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  We also celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary this past weekend!  On Saturday evening, we got dressed up and treated ourselves to a nice dinner at a French restaurant in Polanco, one of the nicest (wealthiest) neighborhoods in Mexico City.  It was quite wonderful :-)


And that's that!  More later...

Things are looking up

Alright, I'll just cut the suspense.  We're employed!!  Now, here's the story...


On Thursday, both Luke and I interviews/meetings scheduled - Luke with someone wanting to hire him for an English-teaching job, me at a private school looking to hire a new music teacher.  In Luke's case, we already knew that a job offer was almost guaranteed.  The man he met with was scrambling to find English teachers who could start immediately.  Sure enough he was offered the job, asked to start on Monday, and given the materials for the classes he'll be teaching.


As for my meeting, it was at the Eton School - a prestigious British school with 3 campuses in 2 different neighborhoods of Mexico City.  I had called them the day before to speak with their music teacher, hoping to get some help spreading the word about the new piano teacher in town.  Instead, I was told that they are "always interested in hiring new teachers", and would I like to come fill out a job application?  I figured I would go there, fill out a short application, drop off my resume and never hear from them again.  I was very mistaken.  I got to the school and was shown into a small meeting room, where I met with 2 school principals and filled out an extensive job application.  It was truly a job interview.  Well, phase one of a job interview, anyway.  They want me to come back and observe a couple of classes, and then do some teaching myself so they can observe me.  It was all very unexpected and kind of surreal.  The big downfall, though, is that if they end up hiring me I wouldn't start until August.  So, to get to the point... I will also be teaching English (same job as Luke's), at least until August.


And that's the story.  We're relieved to finally have jobs and some form of income, however small.  I'm a little unsure about my English-teaching abilities - I'll probably be relearning some grammar rules I was supposed to have learned in elementary school!  At the same time, I'm excited about this change.  It will be interesting to see how employment affects our perspectives on life in Mexico.

What the world looks like from down here...

Pictures!  I finally pulled out the camera and snapped a few this afternoon.  And now, I present them to you:

The view of our building from the outside.  Ours is the little white door to the right of the garage, and our apartment is on the 3rd floor (window open, no balcony).

Dining room

Living room

Looking into the kitchen.

And... the kitchen!  (Remember those little mini-fridges we used to have in our dorm rooms?  Yeah, we're reliving those days.)

And a view of the whole place.  Don't blink, you might miss it.

Door to the bedroom (where Luke is taking a nap, so no pictures in there today), and the bathroom to the right, featuring...

... a bidet!  Neither Luke nor I had ever seen one of these things before, and originally thought it was some sort of urinal.  One day, Luke was fiddling with the knobs and discovered, "Hey!  It's got a fountain!"

And that, friends, is our apartment.  It's small - pretty sure I've said that before.  But it does the job.  I also snapped a couple other neighborhood pictures - nothing special, just a little taste...

Kinda hard to get a feel for it, but these are 2 pictures of the Parque Espana just a couple of blocks from our place.  It's Mexico City's version of "green space".  A jungle of trees, various green plants, mulch and concrete.

An "Eco-Bici" station outside the Parque.  We've got one of these right across from our apartment, too.  It's a widely-used bike-share system in a few neighborhoods of the city - mainly the north-south strip of the city that runs through Condesa and Roma.  We've each got a membership (about $30 for a year) - Luke has used it, but I haven't tried it yet.  Apparently, the mayor of Mexico City takes a ride on one of these once a month, to help promote the use of environmentally-friendly modes of transportation.

So that's that!  There'll be more pictures soon - I promise.  In the meantime, start getting excited about the next post (coming later tonight or tomorrow because I'm tired of staring at this computer screen).  Our situation has finally changed... for the better!  I know, you're excited to read all about it, but you're going to have to wait just a little while longer...