¡Viva Mexico!

Natalie at the club

Kiki,

Mexico has been a relaxing yet exhausting break from my travels. Well, I guess Mexico is still traveling, but being with family makes it different. More like living here than traveling. I go swimming every other day at the country club and now I am taking golf lessons two days a week. I spend all the rest of the time playing with Natalie or watching Barbie princess movies. She is super cute but really sassy and learns new words every day. She has fashion melt downs every day. By this I mean that if you try and put a sweater on her (ruins the look of the dress) or pants (not a dress) she cries for about 20 minutes. She picks out her dress and her shoes every morning. When you get here she is going to go crazy. There will be too many people to play with.

The other day John took JM and me to a soccer game. It was an interesting experience. You walk in past riot police to a crowded stadium of screaming fans. They never stop yelling and when someone scores they start throwing beer in the air. I had to wash my jacket because it was soaked. During half time some sad looking dancers came out and then audience members did this dangerous obstacle course. They started by walking across a balance beam ten feet in the air while guys on the ground threw balls at them. Then they got in a cart and were pushed up a giant see-saw and rolled down the other side (if they were lucky). The last one before the goal attempt was to use a trampoline to dive through a hole in a plywood wall. It looked like a lawsuit waiting to happen, but then again this is Mexico and things are different here. I am glad because it was hilarious when a man ran full speed into the plywood wall.

At the soccer match

I have not even mentioned the food. That is just too complicated a topic. Fresh tacos and the best tamale I have ever had and don't forget the hot sauces. The tamale is famous and they only serve it on the weekends at the country club. It is a chicken tamale covered with a green salsa. I know it does not sound special but believe me it is. The flavor is just too hard to describe. For most Americans please discard anything you think you know about Mexican food. It is nothing like that cheese drenched stuff you get at American Mexican restaurants. Think fresh, smokey, and spicy.

Me and the princess

Apart from all the Mexican food that I have been eating, I have also been cooking lots of Cuban food. JM and I are trying to master some of our Cuban favorites. When you get here you have to help us. As of now we have made arroz con pollo, ropa vieja, and rabo encendido. I have to say that our arroz con pollo and ropa vieja are pretty tasty. Next we need to work on black beans and rice. I made it in Ireland and it was just not right.

Swimsuit hat and soap necklace style

Last weekend we went to Coyoacan and ate dinner. After a mediocre meal at a random restaurant we walked around the square. Natalie saw a woman with balloons and started screaming globo! globo! and running toward the woman. Yes we bought her one and she proceeded to swing it around hitting everyone within a two foot radius. Then we got ice cream. I got passion fruit and JM got coconut. Unfortunately or fortunately, Natalie loved my ice cream and practically ate all of it.  This square we went to had a small town vibe with locals strolling through the square and little old ladies going to church. When you get here I think we are going to do a lot more of the touristy things, but I like not being a tourist for a while. I have yet to really feel the size of Mexico City. I guess it is like every big city where every neighborhood is like it's own little city.

Natalie in the sweater I made for her

The one thing I have noticed here that other countries did not have is the super long lunches. I went to a lunch the other day at 2 p.m. and left at 3 a.m. Yeah and this is not out of the norm either. The other times it has been more of a reasonable hour like 11pm or 12 am when we leave the restaurant. I don't know how anything gets done in Mexico when the whole day is spent at lunch. Though I am usually eating good food, a 12 hour lunch is bit too much for me.

JM

Lula
P.S. Sorry for the lack of relevant pictures. I left my camera at a friends house for a big chunk of the trip.

Aussie Land

Sofi at the Fremantle harbour

Dear Lulu,

I feel like I start every letter to you apologizing for how long it has taken me to write.  Well, again I am saying sorry for taking so long.  I have been busy settling into life here in Australia.  It has been a mix of emotions and a little hard work and a lot of patience, but I am finally snug and happy in my new house with a good job and a lot of great new friends.  Let me start from the beginning though, it has been over a month since I last wrote you and a lot has happened.

Well last you heard I was saying sorrowful farewells to my New Zealand crew and boarding a plane for Sydney.  It was a hard goodbye but seeing Sofi again at the Sydney airport cheered me up instantly.  It was so nice to see her again.  We were both traveling much heavier this time around, since we were both anticipating staying and working in a city.  However,  after our first few days in Sydney with all our extra clothes and shoes we were longing for our lighter and simpler backpacking ways.  Oh well, I am going to be bringing most of the extra clothes I brought back when I come for Christmas.  Sydney was fun.  It was a nice city with some cool little neighborhoods, but you know how I feel about cities...just another large bunching of buildings, shops, and eateries.  I did enjoy the eateries though!  Sofi and I spent most of our time there wandering around the city and cooking together and researching where we wanted to live for the next 6 months of our lives.  When we finally decided on Perth our researching then shifted to trying to find a job and a place to live.

Sofi at the Sydney Opera House

Well, to make a long story short, we couldn't really accomplish too much until we got to Perth.   We managed to couch surf for the first couple of days and find a house to rent within two days of arriving!  It is in a great location just outside of Fremantle(our favorite part of Perth) has a great outside patio and grill, a nice size kitchen (big plus!) and Sofi and I have our own rooms!  It was pretty perfect for us and our other flatmate is really nice as well.  We were moved in within our first week of arriving!  Now we just needed to find a job.  We both had pretty set ideas of what we wanted to do for work.  I was determined to stay out of retail, while Sofi was determined to get into retail.  We both were against a restaurant job, but when our other options fell through and we were both feeling a bit defeated, our flatmate got us a trail at his friend's beach front restaurant.  We both went having huge reservations about the place but after the first day we were both happy and knew we had found where we were suppose to be.  It is really laid back while still being fast paced so the days go by fast.  Plus everyone that works there is really nice. 

The Crew behind the bar at Salt

So Salt on the Beach has become our second home.  We seem to always be there.  If we aren't working then we are hanging out at the beach just in front of the restaurant or we are there teaching yoga in the mornings and if we aren't there then we are probably hanging out with people from work.  I guess you could say we like it there.  I can't believe Sofi and I are teaching yoga for the staff there.  It started out as a joke but the owner of the restaurant caught wind of the idea and got excited about it.  He made fliers and posted them on the employee boards in the restaurant.  So Sofi and I each teach a class once a week.  It is great getting the experience teaching.  I am learning a lot and gaining confidence as a teacher.  Our little classes have started growing too.  Last class I think there were around 10 people and each time new people join.  Even the owners are coming.  Crazy... who would have thought.

Fremantle Market

Walking through the streets of fremantle

Walking along the coast in Fremantle

Lots and lots of beer to taste in Margaret River!!

Apart from work we have done a little exploring around the city and love hanging around in Fremantle and going to the weekend markets.  Fremantle is the perfect blend of hippy meets surfer beach bum with a cool artsy flair.  Sofi and I fell in love with it the second we stepped off the train.  We have also gone on a mini road trip down to the wine region of Margaret River.  We had a day of tasting!  We tried everything from cheeses to olive oils to wine and beer!  It was a great day driving and tasting through amazingly beautiful countryside.  I think one of my highlights though was getting to see kangaroo on the side of the road just hanging out and eating.  One of my first authentic aussie experiences... or one of my first stereotypical and cliche aussie moments... whichever, I still thought it was really cool.

Well, that is all for now.  I have a little more than a week left before I head to Mexico to see you and Jeannette and Natalie!  Hope all is well and I can't wait to see you!

Love,
Kiki