Moved from Kakuko, Keita, & Tetsu's place to Maru's condo after work yesterday. Wow, what a view. And a housing complex like no other I've seen. Outside & in, like a sterile Fight Club fantasy (pre-Brad Pitt's transformation).

But, even with all the luxury, it's still Mexico. I guess I turned the hot water tap too much for my morning shower and after 30 seconds, was shivering in a frigid stream of agua. Plus people here don't use la calefacción (heating) in their homes. I think it's gonna be a chilly winter.

[Photo of Tetsu, Kakuko & Keita's puppy]

It sometimes takes a tragedy hitting close to home to make you appreciate things.

Today's tragedy occured far from home, in any sense of the world, but struck hard nonetheless. A fellow IISD intern, stationed in Ghana, was robbed on Saturday by two armed men. After they stole his "money, camera, shoes, backpack, walkman, clothes, etc.", they locked him in the washroom. It was his 30th birthday.

I am feeling so fortunate that my experience abroad has so far been nearly hassle-free. I am also feeling very badly for my colleague and wishing there were something more I could do than simply wish there were something more I could do.

Making the world a better place is sometimes a difficult endeavour to sustain; it is easy to allow events like this shake your optimism, faith, or motivation. I suppose we're supposed to take lessons from such occurences. Like that you should always be careful or something.

I think the truth is that the world is sometimes just a really shitty place, for some people, in some places, at certain times. And always will be. And there's not much we can really do to change that...

But I do think that the little things count. Making a difference does not necessitate fixing everything, all at once. Right?

Saturday, I had my first micro-bus ride with the girls and their friends. It was a bumpy, leaky, squishy ride blaring such favourites as "Like a Prayer" and "Whip It" that I couldn't help but sing (or think) along to. It was my first true glimpse at what I would subjectively label "the real Mexico": street scenes like I've never seen before and that would take too long to try to describe [see above "So, how is Mexico?" 2003-10-06 for the view from the Farca Luna's window of the squatter's village across the road]. From the micro-bus, we hopped the Metro to the city centre, where we visited the Zocalo (town square) and the Cathedral (briefly - i got in trouble for taking a picture, after we'd asked if i could, because i didn't see the no flash signs) and outside the Palacio de Bellas Artes. At the Zocalo, I watched the conchero dancers, who dress in ornate costumes of feathers and shells and perform a ritualistic dance to the rhythm of a sole drum, beating resoundingly in the background. I took lots of pictures [one of which is posted to the right].

Also at the Zocalo was a gathering hosted by Catholics for Choice ("Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir"). This surprised me because: 1) I didn't know that abortion wasn't legal in Mexico (I guess I'd never really thought about it); and 2) because it would never have occurred to me that a major pro-choice rally would be spearheaded by a Catholic-based group whose slogan (“María de Guadalupe esta presente en nuestras vidas, en nuestras cuerpos y en nuestro derecho a decidir” which roughly translates to “María of Guadalupe is present in our lives, in our bodies and in our right to choose”) is unapologetically religious in a traditional/non-new-age sort of way.

Saturday evening I hung out a bit with Sara and her friends in another apartment in their complex, but wasn't really feeling like drinking tons of Corona (done "properly" with limon and salt and this chile-salt mixture) and listening to loud music with a bunch of teenagers (no offence), so I returned to the Farca Luna's place to look into heading to a dinner I'd been invited to across town. Unfortunately, after about an hour of alternately talking logistics with the Farca Lunas and Alexis, the Columbian co-worker hosting the dinner, we collectively decided that it would be unfeasible for me to leave, as sitio cabs are very expensive at night and street cabs very unsafe. Needless to say, I ended up staying the night, actively missing the mobility I have in Canadian cities like Toronto, where the public transit runs all night and is still pretty secure.

Sunday, we left the city! Isaac (the brother, 26) drove his father's car, with Sara, Tere, Isaac's girlfriend, and me as passengers. A bunch of other people came in different vehicles. On the way to our destination, we stopped to buy water and went to the washroom in a wood/tin-roof shack behind this little store for 2 pesos apiece. The toilet needed to be flushed manually by pouring in water from a barrel outside the "stall." It was a little like something out of a movie, right beside a turkey pen and a horse stall, with a beautiful scenic back-drop. My camera had run out of batteries the night before, and damn was I upset I'd wasted them on movies/pictures of the Zocalo, which i can visit anytime. Ah, so many missed photo ops...

We went to this amazing green mountainous area called Marcesa (?) and hung out and listened to music and ate yummy quesadillas made with blue corn tortillas (well, I did; they ate meat they'd brought to bar-b-que). I even rented a horse for half an hour for 50 pesos (5 American dollars) and got a quick gallop up the hillside. It started raining while I was riding and got really cold, but we still hung out for another hour or so, all of us shivering while playing riddle/whodunit guessing games (i.e., "Jack and Jill are found dead in a pool of water, surrounded by broken glass. How did they die?"). Overall, it was really fun, despite the language barrier.

General observation: people here seem to lack what i would refer to as survival instinct/health-consciousness, at least relative to what we (possibly stuffy, overly obsessive) North Americans take as normal. It's amazing. Everyone smokes (inside homes, around kids, etc.!); how many people they stuff in/on vehicles is astounding; people regularly drink and drive and supposedly sober drivers could fool me.

Another thing: the Mexican equivalent of Wonder Bread is called Bimbo! In my opinion, there's something about the (supposedly) accidental association of the word "bimbo" and white bread that's just funny.

The Farca Lunas are a Mexican family I met at a party in Toronto through members of the Spanish Conversation Club. When they invited me to dinner at Abuela Sara's apartment on Friday, I happily accepted, but felt a twinge of guilt for making plans to do something so secular on Erev Rosh Hashanah. However, things have a funny way of working out! When I entered the Polanco apartment and met Tios Moises y Abraham, who were wearing kipahs, I was happily surprised. It turns out that Jose, the father of the family, was born Jewish. And although he married a Catholic and doesn't practice Judaism, coincidentally, the meal I'd been invited to was, indeed, a New Year's celebration!

How's that for fate, eh? I mean, what are the chances that, in a predominantly Catholic society, I happen to find myself invited to exactly the sort of Rosh Hashanah I would have requested, with other equally non-religious Jews? The delicious Yom Tov meal included pomegranates, sugar-baked apples and honey, two veggie quiche-type dishes, and an amazing plate of fresh avocado, tomato, and cheese just for me (the only vegetarian). There were some twists to familiar rituals, like passing a glass of grape juice (presumably symbolising wine) around the table twice, first to all the men, then to the women, each taking a sip in turn. Luckily, I was obviously not the only one lost at times. In fact I think I probably read Hebrew better than the majority of attendees!

After la cena, I left with the younger generation. This was my first personal experience with the, um, more relaxed attitudes towards motor vehicle safety in Mexico. All 7 of us (Jose, Mercedes, Sara, Isaac, Teresa, her novio Mauricio, and me) piled into their little 5-seater car, and off we headed to their home in _________, which took over an hour to get to. They live in the south east end of the city, right beside a little shanty town/illegal squat sort of deal in a not-so-good neighbourhood. Quite the change from ritzy Condesa, where I'd been staying until this point.

They made me feel totally at home in the three bedroom apartment in which the five of them (six including Abud, their older brother who's at school in Toronto but coming back for the holidays) live. Apparently, they inhabit their cosy space more harmoniously than most Canadian families I know, who generally who have many times the space and fewer people. I slept on the bottom bunk in the room the girls share (their door plastered with images of Bob Marley, Che Guevara, and Frida Kahlo), while Tere (20) and Sara (18) slept on top. If it's fair to judge by this one, Mexican families are heart-warmingly close. (Even the comfort with expressing affection physically outside the family context is amazing, with kissing and touching as normal parts of greetings and being, even in the office.) It felt really good to be invited into this atmosphere of love and unadulterated positive vibes and good intentions. I slept well, despite the movements of the over-burdened bed.

Estoy aqui! And for no sleep since yesterday, an international flight, and a first day at the office (where I luckily didn't have to do any "real" work), I think I'm functioning pretty well.

On the plane, I got about 4 hours of unexpected Spanish conversation practice from Christian, a Mexican man of 25 from Veracruz, who is far more loquacious than I (a rarity indeed) and doesn't speak much English. Given he'd been in Toronto for 6 months, this was a bit surprising, and acted as a warning for me not to spend time with too many Anglos in Mexico. As tired as I was, it was probably good to get into the swing of hablar espanol. One of his first questions was if I was "casada" (married) and I had to do a double take to make sure he didn't say "cansada" (tired). When I said no, he immediately asked for my e-mail address and invited me to come visit him ;)

Luis (from the UNEP/PNUMA office) was already waiting for me around 12:20pm (Mexico City time) when I got through immigration (where I luckily had no problems) & baggage. A portero (?) took my bags to his car on a trolley and we drove me directly to the office. I got shown around the office (or would shown off be more accurate?) to about 50 people, most of whose names I can't remember.

First impressions:

Like everyone told me, the city is huge (I haven't even touched on its size in the hour or so it took to get back to the office). The most noticeable thing, aside from the brightly coloured cars and buildings, are the billboards that line the highway-like streets. The "espectulares" are immense, taking over the visual landscape with familiar brands like McDonalds, Nutri-Grain, and Coke.

This is not the city in which to be a bike commuter. The drivers are sort of insane, and I can't imagine trying to do it on pedal power.

Spanish hasn't been that hard. I'm not perfect, but can definitely manage to communicate, which is the point of language, right? I'm hoping to take some classes, or at least hang out with people who don't speak English. As a matter of fact, it looks like I'll have a chance to keep my French up! Many of the people I've encountered so far either speak it or are trying to learn...

Overall, everyone seems really friendly, and I'm not so scared anymore... I'm definitely in the "honeymoon phase" we talked about in training, and although it will undoubtedly end, at least I'm having one! Pre-departure, I was totally concerned I would be thrown into this crazy scene that would be completely horrible/overwhelming, but so far, so good. Then again, the real work hasn't started yet - I meet with Kaveh on Friday for an intense introduction to the UN, my department, their expectations of me and mine of them. For now, it's all about trying to find a place to live. It's finally been decided that I am staying with Kakuko tonight in Condesa, but I think the sooner I find a more permanent place, the better. Then I can start to get settled and not worry about lugging my bags from one place to the next!

Well, off to Kakuko's! Hasta pronto!

Finally, a visa!

To be honest, I'm not really sure exactly what or whom I'm writing these "updates" for: personal journal, correspondence (mass e-mail substitute), general interest, foreshadowing for those who may find themselves in a similar situations, forum for rant/dialogue/communication? Probably a little from all of the above. All I know is that it’s been strongly advised that I keep a record of my journey, and the takingITglobal site came highly recommended by Terri Willard at IISD. But I won’t get too far ahead of myself. First, some background info & relevant links...

It seems like forever ago that I started the process of applying for permission to enter Mexico. I suppose it's only been a couple weeks. Still, for what was supposed to be a two-business-day process, it's been long enough. For some reason, the Mexican Consulate in Toronto decided they needed special permission from Mexican Immigration (in Mexico!) to release my visa, which meant I had to wait for my documents to travel across the continent, be reviewed, and be returned before they could be stamped and signed all the way back here in Canada. So, today’s acquisition of a little green booklet emblazoned with “ESTADOS UNIDOS MEXICANOS: SECRETARIA DE GOBERNACION” has been the highlight of my day. Next stop, Mexico City.

I will soon be embarking on a 6-month internship at the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), stationed at their Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Mexico City [or, in Spanish, according to the "actividad authorizada" on my "DOCUMENTO MIGRATORIO DEL NO IMMIGRANTE FM3": REALIZAR PRACTICAS PROFESIONALES EN LA OFICINA REGIONAL PARA AMERICA Y EL CARIBE DEL PROGRAMA DE NACIONES UNIDAS PARA EL MEDIO AMBIENTE EN MEXICO, D.F.]. Note: If you are especially sensitive to long agency names (and the acronyms used to describe them), please skip the rest of this section. For those more detail-oriented folks, I’ll be working on the Global Environmental Outlook (GEO) for Youth project in the Department of Early Warning and Assessment (DEWA). My Young Canadian Leaders for a Sustainable Future (YCLSF) position is being administrated by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) via the Canadian government’s (Human Resources Development Canada - HRDC) Youth Employment Strategy (YES) Youth International Internship Program (YIIP), soon to be called the Young Professionals International Program (YPIP). Phew. Did you catch all that?! If you’re hungering for more, follow the links below.

For more information on my position, see my job description at:
http://www.iisd.org/interns/current_positions.asp?id=55

For more information on me, check out my intern bio:
http://www.iisd.org/interns/viewcurrent.asp?bno=561

You can also link to other current IISD interns here:
http://www.iisd.org/interns/current_list.asp

For those who find my new career direction unexpected, I know that my academic background in Social Psychology and Women’s Studies hardly seems a logical lead-up to my delving into the “sustainable development” industry (for definitions of SD, see http://sdgateway.net/introsd/definitions.htm). However, after doing over a year of corporate communications and project management work in the Strategy & Business Development department of a Vancouver-based wealth management company, followed by a stint doing workshop facilitation with Toronto high school students through a local NGO, I can’t think of a better next step. After all, this position combines my passions for travel, the environment, social change, youth, and communications, while providing me a chance to get international work experience at a highly respected, world-renowned organization… What more could I possibly ask for?!? Needless to say, I’m really excited for this opportunity to work with UNEP!

In late August, I attended the one-week intensive training course at IISD in Winnipeg. Here, I was privileged to meet 12 other IISD interns being sent to placements in countries as diverse as Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Guyana, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, India, Romania, Malaysia, and England. Topics covered spanned from networking and communications to leadership style evaluation to country-specific cultural training. The wonderful food and “extra-curricular” programming (including an afternoon trip to Lake Winnipeg and great times in the guest house) were added bonuses. The training sessions, influenced greatly by the energy and input of participants and organizers alike, proved informative and inspiring. I left Manitoba feeling more prepared, and especially more supported, for the move to Mexico City.

On the downside, because of the visa delays, I had to switch my flight from Thursday, September 11, 2003 (the week before my contract was set to start) to Wednesday, September 24 (the week afterwards). Talk about a bummer: I missed what could have been a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience the Mexican Independence Day fiestas, which took place last weekend! This date change also means that, rather than having almost a week to adjust to life in Mexico (language, geography, culture, etc.) before reporting for duty, by the time I land, I will already be behind schedule at work. But no pressure ;) Oh well, at least I’m gaining a pre-departure understanding of the true meaning of "manana, manana," which to date has been but an empty expression…

At the moment, there are all sorts of things circulating in my head. Everyone I speak to seems to have some different piece of advice or wisdom to impart about Mexico City. So far, I’m expecting a huge, crowded city with unbelievably high pollution and crime rates, balanced out by very low rental housing vacancy rates. I’m expecting to have to watch my back, my belongings, my food & drink. I’m expecting to struggle with the Spanish-speaking environment until I’m immersed long enough to attain some level of fluency, which, despite my attending Spanish Conversation Club meetings, I’m afraid I haven’t mastered yet. But I’m trying not to worry too much about the negative things I can’t control – my grandmother does that enough for both of us ;) I’m also expecting friendly people, beautiful architecture, and an enriching work environment. I’m expecting amazing weekend trips outside the Districto Federal (D.F., what locals call Mexico City). I’m expecting to learn and grow and absorb more, or at least differently, than I’ve ever done before.

Anyways, I should probably get packing. In theory, I should have been all ready to go weeks ago, but I always seem to find a way to stretch things out to the last possible minute. Now that I’ve gotten most of the important stuff out of the way (visa, passport, currency exchange, etc.), it’s time for those incidentals – like tracking down some maple syrup to bring to the lucky person from the office who takes in a stranded, homeless Canadian for her first few days in a foreign country. Okay, I want to enjoy these last days in Toronto! Must stop procrastinating and actually go do stuff!

Hmmm… By the time I write next, I will probably be in Mexico (pronounced Mehico!). Crazy! (or should I say Loco?!)