I've decided for today to try a new approach to blogging.... An honest list of my favorites, and not-so-favorites, about life in Mexico City....

Favorites:

1. endulging in an abundance of fresh fruit, particularly mangos...You have not tried mango until you have tried one in Mexico!
2. walking through the Friday morning tiangui in my neighborhood, Roma. It's a type of market, only it begins at 8am and the streets are spilling with people and commotion while I walk to work.
3. Working with students in the afternoon and helping them plan their lives, although I seem to be more confused every day about what I want to do with mine.
4. Speaking spanish, english, and espanglish. Or better yet, any combination of the three.
5. exploring Mexico City and its enormity. my roommates are not only great people, but tourguides.
6. people watching in any given plaza, restaurant, park, or street corner on a Saturday afternoon
7. my co-workers' warmth and kindness- from Mexico and the U.S. alike.
8. eating lunch on the top floor of our scholarship building with my coworkers- cramming as many of us as possible into one small table (culturally it would be unacceptable to make someone sit outside the circle) and enjoying the aire libre and a panoramic view of all of D.F. and its enormity
9. walking to and from work while most of the cars sit parked and the drivers, stressed.
10. drinking fresh jugo de naranja y melón for breakfast
11. learning what the word "spicy" really means.... and on that note, putting salsa on any and everything
12. discovering the innumerable uses for a tortilla
13. learning to accept being foreign. The spin class at my gym is more of a dance class meets aerobics meets cumbia/night club meets bicycle...high level of coordination necessary, disastrous and highly entertaining for a gringa.
14. discovering the deliciousness of a "gringa" taco. and yes I realize the name is slightly ironic.
15. meeting up with friends from Seattle, D.C., and Buenos Aires. Mexico City is quite a hub and someone always seems to be passing through.
16. communicating with students from all over the world- nicaragua, puerto rico, colombia, peru, brazil, uruguay, etc... I love the work my office does and I'm starting to feel more positive about the current state of the world.
17. reminiscing about seattle with the Northwest cohort in my office- forever loving where I'm from, yet enjoying every moment where I am.
18. not having any need for the word "boredom" in my daily vocabulary.

Not-so-favorites:

1. sleeping with the noise on my street... church bells at all hours, every day, Monday-Sunday. And the school next store that has band practice at 7am Mondays and Wednesdays. And the hospitals down the street that use our street as a thoroughfare for ambulances....
2. disitnguishing between a cloudy day or a smoggy day. The other day I couldn't see the mountains from my window and assumed that it was smog. I was happy when it started to rain and I realized they were clouds, not smog, after all. Who knew in Spanish that you could say "hace aire."
3. TRAFFIC
4. learning about government bureacracy that ends in taking all of the ".org" emails off the Obama embassy invite list
5. acronyms for test names. iBT ITP CBT PBT PIM SLEP.... ahhhh.
6. thinking about how expensive higher education is in the U.S.... and then converting it to pesos....
7. I have no idea where time goes here. I wake up on Monday and the next thing I know, it's Friday. Time flies when you're having fun?