Welcome to Driving in Mexico

Ok, today the road was WAY beyond reason.

Typically, it takes me about 30 minutes to drive from Santa Fe to the HSBC Data Center in Toluca. It is really beautiful, as the road gently curves thru the mountains. The road is relatively new, and the traffic (at least for the first half of the journey) is typically light because the road is a toll road (cuota in Spanish). However, as you crest the mountains, and reach the small village of La Marquesa, the cuota merges with the libre (or free road).

It is typically at that point that we pick up some more traffic, but usually the road is still navigable at a decent speed. The only annoyance is when drivers "park" in the fast lane.

Today was a WHOLE different experience.

As I hit La Marquesa the traffic started to thicken, and by the time I round the first corner after the town the traffic was crawling. All three lanes of traffic were inching ahead at 20 km per hour -- literally!

Immediately, I thought that there must be a terrible accident ahead. The next 30 km were extremely painful, but I toughed it out hoping that whomever had been in the accident would be ok.

As I neared the base of the mountain, I could see ahead, and what I saw started to make me very angry. I could see that I was actually near the front of what was a rolling road block. There were about 50 ancient tour buses ahead of me. And while this didn't initially cause any suspicion, then I could see that in front of them was a few pickup trucks filled with people waving flags and with huge loud speakers.

And in front of the flag waving trucks were about 15 Mexico State Police cars. It was now clear, what I was unwillingly participating in was a rolling protest of some kind. This protest was fully supported and facilitated by the police. GRRR!

What Happened to the Summer?

This has been a VERY exciting summer for our family. The biggest news has to be the wonderful wedding of Christopher and Sommer. Tonya and I are so excited to welcome Sommer into our family, and feel very lucky that she is a part of our family and our future.

The story for Tonya and I hit a high note at Easter time when we invited Sommer to join us in Cancun. Of course we knew at the time that Christopher had his quiet plan, and we were so happy to have a chance to be a small part in that plan.

Chris had been home for about 6-7 weeks, and was like a lost puppy here in Mexico, as he'd grown very close to Sommer over the past semester. Chris tried to teach me, Tonya and Abby some Spanish. He did a great job with Tonya and Abby, but teaching a rock like me is a tough job. That doesn't say anything about his abilities, which I thought were outstanding; unfortunately, it says more about the non-porous nature of my brain. Chris had created some very impressive PowerPoint-based lessons. He spent many hours both preparing and then patiently teaching us. Unfortunately, a small portion of his training has stuck with me.

But I digress ... Chris asked Sommer to marry him on the Eastern shores of Isla Muheres, just off the coast of Cancun on Easter morning as the sun came up. What a kid!!! We are so proud of him. And the really great thing is that Sommer said yes!!!

Tonya, Abby and I enjoyed being there with Chris & Sommer. The beaches were beautiful, the water was warm, and the memories were the best.

As always happen, the vacation was too short. At the end, the kids (Chris & Sommer) headed back to BYU in Rexburg, and Tonya, Abby & I headed back to Mexico City.

Then before we knew it, June was on us, and Abby was graduating from middle school (8th grade) at the American School here in Mexico City. The year was curiously different from the past 4+ years in Hong Kong. As we look back, it is clear now that the kids in Hong Kong were too busy studying to get into trouble. By contrast, the school here seems much more like the US schools that we left behind, where kids focus on image, on teasing, and unfortunately, increasingly on topics that are not good.

Abby dealt this past school year with all kinds of harassment; and when she brought it to the attention of the school officials, she was told that she needed to have thicker skin, that this is just the way it is. We do not accept that boys should make terrible comments about girls, etc. As a result of the "cultural conflict" we have agreed to move Abby from the American School to a British school called Green Gates. The concentration of international students at Green Gates is much higher; whereas the American School is made up of over 80% wealthy Mexican students who refer to the Gringo kids as "Embassy Trash", a reference to the fact that many students from the US that attend the school are there because one or both parents works at the US Embassy here in Mexico City.

At Green Gates, they tell us that there is a large population of Asian kids, most of which are Korean. Abby is excited about the diversity, and the likelihood that kids at Green Gates are more focused on academics that wardrobe. Tomorrow is the first day of school for Abby ... she is starting what we call 9th grade, and what the British refer to as "Form 4". It should be another exciting adventure ... with lots of things to learn!

Again, I digress ... Chris and Sommer were married on July 25th in the Salt Lake Temple. They decided to have their Reception the night before (I'd never heard of that, but it seems that it may be an Idaho thing). The Reception was at Sommer's parent's home just outside of Boise, Idaho. It was a beautifully memorable event. I must say that I was a little tired, as I'd woke up the morning of the Reception in Chicago, where I was attending a conference for work. I boarded the plan, and flew from Chicago to Salt Lake; where I met up with Jenise, Abby, Bre and Steve (niece and nephew), and our plan was to make the five hour drive to Boise for the Reception.

Shortly after getting under way, we got a call from the Peschke's our great friends from California. The message was that Shelby Peschke (Farnsworth), our sweetheart from the Peschke clan had landed in Salt Lake, and had missed the shuttle to Boise. The question was ... would we drive her with us to Boise to join her family at the Reception. The answer was immediate ... OF COURSE! Unfortunately, that meant we had six people stuffed with all the luggage into the five passenger car. I was fine and Jenise (who sat in the front seat was also fine, but unfortunately for the four kids in the back seat it was a smash.

Oh, I forgot to mention that as I returned to the airport to pick up Shelby that I was stopped for speeding! Yep, it is hard to believe, but the speed limit at the Salt Lake airport goes from interstate speeds to 25 in the blink of an eye. As a result, the police are stationed there to improve the city revenues with regularity.

We made it to Boise, but a bit late. There were lots of pictures and a few tears (especially from Tonya, but then what should we expect?). Then a quick night sleep, and we were off the Salt Lake early the next morning. Check out this great pic of my girls ...

Side note ... if you have ever thought you wanted to travel the road between Salt Lake and Boise for its shear beauty and diversity of landscape, I recommend that you stick your head in a bucket of ice cold water. And if that does not cure you, then I recommend that you put at least 24 hours between the round trip as it clearly didn't change from Friday night to Saturday morning ... I can attest to that!!!

We got back to Salt Lake, checked into the hotel, and then took all of the flowers (that had been hauled down from Boise) to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (the site of the Wedding Banquet) after the wedding. It was definitely a rush up to that point.

However, once we entered the temple, things calmed considerably. The rush was gone, as we anticipated the happy time. And then, one after another, we saw our dear friends -- true friends who'd come to share this moment with us. We met up with Walt & Dawn Peschke. It was great to see them again. We promised each other many years ago that we would at least meet up as our children are married; and so far at least one of us has made it to every wedding. We'd been expecting to see them, and it was a real treat to be able to spend time just talking with them about old times and future times together.

As expected as the visit with Walt and Dawn, we had no expectation that we'd get to see Ric & Julie Jensen ... and yet, there they were! We saw them first in the waiting room of the temple. It was so nice to see Ric again. Wow, the number of years that have gone by since we last saw them. Ric & Julie are a very important part of who we are ... you see, shortly after we were married, we moved into apartment 6 at 663 North University Avenue in Provo, Utah. And right next door lived "Ricard" and "Jewels"! We so loved spending time with them. In the evenings we'd get together and play Yahtzee or Chess, or just get together and talk. Some times when I'd be over at Ricard's late in the evening, Tonya would knock on the cinder block wall of the kitchen, to say that it was time to come home. Wow, I'd forgotten all about that until Ric reminded me. And when Cameo was born, Ric nicknamed her "Spitty" because she had a habit of sharing her food with all of us ... in a less than delicate way! The memories just came rushing back when we saw these two beautiful people.

We talked about getting together in Mexico with Ric and Julie, and can't wait for it to happen.

We also saw Tonya's college roomie, Linda and her husband Richard Davies. We enjoyed the time we had with them also. What good memories.

The temple sealing in the tremendous. We had a large room filled with friends and family from all over the country -- and world! Our friend Sandy Lai from Hong Kong was there to "represent"!

Christopher and Sommer were beaming ... so happy! And it was impossible for the rest of us not to be touched by their love. What a wonderful memory! Both Chris and Sommer were very gracious and loving towards everyone who came, giving each person a hug as our time came to an end there.

We then went to the waiting room, and ... waited for the couple. The pictures were fabulous, and many ... too many to post here. But many many pics to enjoy over the years.

Then on to the Banquet. It was so fun to hear from each of the kids as they shared memories of Chris and Sommer. We also heard from special guests like Chris' mission president and many of both of their friends. Each sharing beautiful memories of both "kids", and forming a common testimony of the goodness and greatness of both.

After the banquet was over, we sent the kids off in a horse drawn carriage to circle the temple, and then off to their hotel. The next day they were off to Hawaii for a week in the sun.

Now their back, and the rest of us are too. The summer is over, and we are all gearing up for the months ahead.

Christmas Memories

Wow, it is April already, and Christmas seems like it was SO long ago, but then just today I was looking at some of the pictures, and felt like I had to share them.

We were able to fly from Mexico to spend Christmas in Cedar City with Cameo and her family, Jenise and Christopher. And Chris' new friend, Sommer even came down after Christmas to visit.

It was a time filled with lots of fun memories, including some of these ...

For years now we have had a Secret Santa and this year Cameo got Chris and by chance, Chris also got Cameo. They were teasing each other for months about what they were going to get each other, and in the end the both gave a gag gift. Chris promised to give Cameo an old Halloween candy bar, and he did.

And then here is Chris getting his gift from Cameo ... a bit of retaliation with a Slinky!!! We all had a good laugh, and in the end, they both gave each other nicer gifts too.

Everybody had a great time ... as you can see, Cooper was unphased by all of the laughter, this year he has gotten the message that Christmas and presents are both serious business, and that he needs to stay focused on ripping the paper off the packages.

When Jenise came down to Mexico City a few months back, she saw this handmade star made out of metal. She fell in love with it, but didn't know how she could get it back to the US in one piece. Hearing this, Abby instantly knew what she wanted to get for her sister for Christmas. This next picture is Jenise unwrapping the star, and both sisters sharing the joy of the heartfelt gift, and the gift truly wanted.

Quick Trip to London

I went to London last week for a quick business trip. The weather was very temperate and the sites were memorable. Since the meetings were over Chinese New Year, we went out for Dim Som one evening. It brought back some wonderful memories of Hong Kong.

The next night we went out for a traditional English meal at a pub that was several hundred years old. After dinner, we walked to Downing Street, but I found that I couldn't get close to Number 10, as there were a number of guards that didn't appear to have a sense of humor ... and they were all in front of a gate preventing gawkers like me from getting close to the Prime Minister's home.

Oh well ...

Then on Thursday night, after finishing the meetings for the day, and catching up on email, at about 11pm, I went down to the front desk of the hotel to ask for directions to the closest grocery. Why, you might ask, did I want a grocery at 11pm ... the answer was not that I had the munchies. Nope, rather, I had promised Tonya that I would bring home some "Walkers Shortbread" cookies for her. Easy enough ... or at least ... so I thought.

The guy at the front desk told me that I should walk out of the hotel, turn right and walk about five minutes and I would run into an all night grocery. So ... after about 20 minutes of walking, I concluded that there was no grocery near by ... all I had seen was the War Museum and neighborhood after neighborhood of homes and apartments.

I walked into a Tube Station (the underground railway), and asked one of the attendants. After laughing at the idea that I was out at 11:30pm to get Walker Shortbread, he suggested that I hop onto the bus, and go for several stops to a grocery. Not convinced by that approach, I opted for a cab in the direction of the grocery.

After explaining again that I was on a mission to find Walker Shortbread, and hearing the cabby laugh at my plight, he took me in the direction of the specific grocery that the guy at the Tube had suggested. Along the way, we stopped at two smaller groceries, he stopped and I hopped out to check them out ... unfortunately, neither store had the Walkers! However, going home empty handed was worse than going home with the wrong shortbread, so, in each case, I bought a box of the "other brands". Then, we finally got to the larger store, and I ran in ... again, I struck out, as they didn't have Walkers either! I bought a third box, of other brands, and when I got back to the cab, I asked what was wrong. The cabby said that Walkers are the kind that the tourists buy, and that I would probably have to get them at the airport. GRRRR!

Well, I asked him to take me back to the hotel with my boxes of other brand shortbread. And when I gave the cabby the 35 pounds (about US$70) for the ride, he smiled and took off, obviously thinking that another stinking American had no clue.

In the end, I did get the Walkers at the airport, and yes, Tonya is enjoying them.

Freezing in Mexico City

We have encountered another surprising cultural difference here in Mexico. Ours is a new apartment, but it has no central heating or cooling. When we questioned that -- in June -- the answer was ... "Don't worry, it does not get cold enough here in Mexico City to need central heating!"

And guess who was gullible enough to believe that ... yep, us! Well, the night time temperatures are now in the 40's and 50's and the expectation is that they will get down into 20's and 30's before the end of Winter.

And it is not just that we got suckered in this apartment, many ... if not most ... homes do not have central heating here. What we have learned is that most people use electric or gas space heaters. So we too have a couple of electric space heaters, and we are wearing more layers now.

I guess if we can get used to this, the move back North to the frozen tundra may result in lower heating bills in the Winter. However, I think if we learn to lower the thermostat to 50 degrees, we will likely have no friends who want to come and visit in the Winter.

Here is a photo taken from our apartment ...looking towards downtown Mexico City. You can see layer of "stuff" that lumes over the city in general. The soup is thickest during weekdays. On a clear day, we can see all the way over to the mountains on the other side of the city.

The NFL is like the Joffrey Ballet

If you think that American football is a contact sport, then you have NEVER driven in Mexico City! It is definitely not for the faint or the weary. We have been in Mexico for three months now, and have already had four accidents -- two of which happened while Tonya was alone in the car, and sitting still in traffic!

This pic is from the most recent accident. Tonya was sitting in the right lane in solid traffic when a bus driver got tired of waiting. So, he decided to pull along the right side and make his own lane. The thing he didn´t judge correctly was that the car that the Toyota dealer gave us to drive (a brand spankin´new Toyota Camry XLE) was equipped with side mirrors on both sides.

So there she was, sitting there idling when the bus flew beside her at about 30 miles an hour and clipped the mirror off the passenger side of the car. Tonya said that she watched the mirror bounce down the road!

Now, if you know Tonya -- like I do -- you´ll know that there is something inside her that won´t let this kind of injustice go unanswered. So ... she pulled off to the right, and sped off after the bus. She caught up to the bus, and found that the driver´s window was open, so she rolled down her passenger side window, and started honking her horn to get the driver´s attention. What she was going to do if he responded is still not clear, but as you might expect, the driver chose not to respond. He had to know she was there ... horn blaring and yelling out the window to catch his attention.

What he did was wait for a break in the traffic so that he could take off. Then in tears Tonya drove to the Toyota dealer to try to figure out what to do next. Unfortunately, I was in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the time. I would have LOVED to have been there to watch her go into the dealership. As it turned out her Spanish got a bit worse while she was so upset. They found someone who could speak English, and after assessing the damage, and concluding that it was relatively minor, the guy and another colleague tried to do everything to get Tonya to stop crying. They told her not to worry about the damage, and suggested that she take the car and go home.

When she called me to explain the problem, I said that she needed to think about driving in Mexico in a different light. It was then clear to me that driving in Mexico is a contact sport, and it was then that I told Tonya that when you compare driving in Mexico to the NFL, that the NFL is more like the Joffery Ballet than a contact sport.

It is amazing to me on a daily basis how people survive driving here. It is clear that drivers here do not have to complete the kind of driver´s training courses that we have in the US, and certainly not the kind of driver´s training courses they have in places like Japan. Tonya was told by the guys at the dealership that bus drivers are the "worst", as they are low paid, poorly educated people who have little feeling of responsibility. They are involved in many accidents, and rarely, if ever, stop to take "credit" for an accident.

Getting Started

I have thought about getting started on my online journal for a LONG time, but have been distracted each time.

So, with the encouragement of my favorite Blog Nazi, here I am ... getting started at last. First, thanks to Cameo for her relentless nagging, it is just the inspiration required here.

I intend to use this as a cheap form of therapy, and so if no one else gets value from this, but me, then it will still have been worth it. On the other hand, if it is at times amusing or inspirational, then swell.