Tuesday night – FUA !

I have learned the secrete of FUA .. it’s the most popular word here in Mexico City..it’s kind of the Mexican equivalent of “double rainbow”.. it means.. … … well.. it means.. I don’t know what it means.. but I do know when to say it.. . it kind of means ‘go for it’.. or ‘guts’.. or ‘cahones’.. or ‘gombate’.. or soemthing like that. I do know that after they broadcast this drunk guy sayign the word.. #FUA became the top trending topic on all of mexico..

So america.. ti’s time to FUA !!!!

Another good day down here.. We left early for IBM..

I gave a tlak to a group of folks here at one of the Mexico city offices.. a nice group of folks.. .. Very differnt from the large crowd at Gudalarara.. but  that’s ‘s what makes our company so interesting.. no two places are the same..What was fun for me today is that all the talks (except mine) were in spanish.. and I was actually able to understand most of what was being said .   I’m still al long way away from being able to speak intelligently, though.. Hope that comes back by the end of the trip.

 

 

around noon Fransisco and I took fof for UNAM Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México .. one of the largest public universities in the world..

the mexico city traffic was nasty.. but it gave me time to talk to Fransisco (great guy, great host, great tour guide ) .. and see the city.

 

I wasn’t feeling all that hot.. Fransisco pointed out that we’re over 2200 meters above sea level.. . and I was feeling it.. dull headache, etc.. Diane felt it too..

 

Fransisco took me to a nice cafe on capus .. El Azul y Oro.. which had soem great regional stuff. We got stuff to share.. I got Squash flower soup..Fransisco got cilantro soup..

Then I ordered Huitlacoche enchiladas Huitlacoche is a fungas that grows on corn .. really wierd and really yummy !

 

Fransisco got encaladas made frm Jamica flowers.. also wierd and good… in fact.. the whoe day was weird and good..

From lunch we went over to the engineering building.. today was just the second day of classes for most of the students.. We had a decent sized crowd..

I was a little worried abotu giving my talk in english.. (I don’t really have a choice..:-).. but the students seemed to stay with me. (they laughed at all ther ight places.. adn answered all questions I through out.. ). I think it’s so cool that the rest of the world is bilingual or greater.. why aren’t’ we ?

 

I had a nice time talkign witht he students after my talk.. I love seeing folks coming into engineering now.. especially in growth areas like Mexico.. i kwo that they are goign to have really interesting careers. I was really impressed with this bunch.

 

Fransisco got me back to the hotel around 6.. Diane had a great quiet day at the hotel.. It’ so very nice having her with me. She took me on a tour of our floor. We went over to the gym where they were serving clorofila.. a green drink that tastes like  ag reen drink.. ewwwww.. but kind of bad in a good way..

 

We wlaked out down Reforma Buelevard and did a little people watching.. great place..   Again.. it is so nice having diane here with me.. I do so much travelign alone.. it’s wonderful to be able to share the time with her.. what a sweetie..

 

in honor of Diane.. they set up a sculpture of the huntress Diana just down the street from us.. How they knew we were coming is still a mystery to me.. though.. 🙂

 

we wondered down to the zona rosa and had a great early dinner of cheese stuffed poblano peppers.. really delicious.

 

then walked back home through the growing dark..

very happy to be here..

 

Also.. we heard form Gabe today. he seems to be enjoying Argentina..  i think he and I are goign through the same language shock… it will eb cool to swap stores when we see him

 

ok.. more tomorrow..

buenas noches everyone.. buenas noches sam

-me

 

 

Monday night – gudalajara day 2

I had an incredible, wonderful and exhausting day in Guadalajara today.. we started about 8.. Selene picked Emily and me up at the hotel and took us to the IBM site..

 

We meat with Eugenio, the site director.. such a cool guy.. the spittin image of the Dos Eguis ‘most interesting man in teh world

 


Selene is 4′ 11″ ..but today she wore heels.. she was nearly 8 feet tall..

 

Selene and eugenio intereoduced the meeting while I praid to the gods of powerpoint as I figured out what I was going to say

I said something.. I don’t remember what.. but it seemed to go ok..

the rest of the day was abotu hugging ew people and taign pictrures of them as they took pictures of me.. not a bad way to spend the day as I got to talk to each of them.. what a GREAT group of people here.. so smart and optimistic.. it is really inspiring to be around folks who are so ‘up’ about their work !

 

We also got to meet with the site managmenet team.. fun in a very differnt way.. hwre’s a picture of eugenio workig.. he wants it as proof to his boss that he was workign hard 🙂 (I can tell that he always works hard.. he’s a great supporter of the folks in the lab.. what an awesome guy !)

Here’s his private gardon.. it was such a peaceful place

here’s the site management team looking very manegerial.. a very good group of folks we had a very good and interesting converdation.. though it wasn’t the conversation that either side thought we’d be having..

 

I also had some really good roundtables.. A freind even drew my picture !!!.. how cool is that ?!?!?!?

then we piled in the car and went to the airport for the floght to mexico city.. our fligth was late.. and it then occured to me that I hadn’t made a real plan with Diane here we were supposed to meet..

 

I was thinkign abotu to do next when my love just appeared out of thin ir in one of the worlds bussiest airports.. that’s when you know you’re made for one another !  Here she is with Gorge and his family..

 

ok.. it’s very late and I need to sleep a little. more tomorrow..

buenas noches all,buenas noches sam

-me

 

 

Sunday night – Gurdalajara

Greetings from Guradalajara.. before I talk about my day.. you just gotta check out this video that Max just put up on vimeo..

He was practicing timelapse photography on his new camera while he was home last week.. the results are pretty cool..

 

Zone/Home from Maxwell Cohn on Vimeo.

 

now.. my day was pretty good.. woke up very early to make it to the airport by 5am.. i wasn’ tthe only one there.. look how crawded it was at 5am.

m yflghts went burlignton to Detroit to Monterey to Gudalajara  no it went somothly after the tsa let me board my flight.. evidently soemthing I had on me made the machine think I had notroglycerin on me.. never did figure that out.

 

Here’s central Mexico from the plane

 

 

got a samstone placed at onterey eirport.

got to gudalajara.. taxi’d to my hpotel and went out for a run.. I new it was a nice city when one of the streets had dianes name

is spent soem time running around checking things out..

 

cooll trees cut like all osrts of stuff..

interesting mix of the modern and old.. the hyper and bypo  aesthetic

many vw’s still running proud here.. I understand that there’s a factory making them  nearby

most houses have some sort of solar hot water heating..

i ran by this meat cart outside the hotel.. smelled good.. but NO THANKS !

 

the view from my hotel room..


around six my friend selene and her husband fransisco cae to meet and take me out to dionner..

it was so great getting to talk to selene and gettign to meet fransiso more

After a snack we drove to the airport and picked up our freind emily who’s down from NY..

then ewe all went out toe Sante Cayote.. a very cool Mexican .. resturaunt

 

(oops just fell asleep for 30 min therel Time to shut don for the night)


making their own salsa fresh for each table

got soem snaps of the gang..

ok.. mus sleep.. more  tomorrow

 

nite all, nite sam

-me

 

 

Saturday night – almost forgot

I almost forgot to blog today.. i can’t remember that ever happening. I’ve been so busy packing for my trip. I leave tomorrow at 6AM for mexico.. then to argentina and brazil..  I’m really looking forward to this .. and.. like always when I travel.. I’m already missing home..

I’ll keep you all posted from the road…

Safe travels or non travels to you all

nite all, nite sam

-me