Gusto Merida mucho. Este es ciudad muy bonito. La Comida da region tiene sabores muchos bienes. La arquitectura es muy interesante – moderno y antiguedad. La musica da personas como una fiesta y eles tienen muchos fiestas.

I like Merida very, very much. This is a very beautiful city. The food of the region has many good flavors. The architecture is very interesting – modern and antique. (I've never seen such a tasteful blend of old and new.) The music of the people is like a party and they have many parties.

Cuando llege (when I arrived), we went to the city center - el centro. Todos Domingos (every Sunday), they close les calles (the streets) around Plaza Grand, the square in the center of town. There is dancing in the streets. Meridians deck their traditional embroidered dresses (vestigos) and fiesta para horas (party for hours). It is colorful and beautiful. My very, very, very Chinese colleague, Xaiochen Wang, leaned over to me and said, “These people are poorer than China, but they are happier.” I smiled. That was the first halfway negative thing I’d ever heard him say about his country. The Meridians endurance through el calor y el humedad (the heat and the humidity) impressed me.

The beach is just 36 kilometers north. My colleagues took off Friday and traveled to see the famous Aztec ruins. As I had an additional project for work, homework for my online class and two applications for school, the timing didn’t quite work for me to join them. Instead I stayed in Merida, completed my work and estude espanol. I hope visit both the ruins and Playa de Carmen soon – maybe this coming weekend. Hopefully, when my Spanish is further along.

In the mean time, here are a handful of photos from

Mi casa



Mi trabajo

El Calle



And the Monument to the revolution



Disfrutar! (I think that means “enjoy”).

My neighborhood (called "colonia") is Montes De Ame. I think it must be were new money in Merida is moving. Some homes are shacks. Others are quite grand...side by side. About a mile towards the west is Gran Plaza (not to be confused with Plaza Grand). Gran Plaza is the equivalent of a mall, containing an upscale Sears, Zara, Cinnabon and plenty of nice clothing stores. I had made the mistake of not packing my black heels. Finding "zapatos com talónes became rather an adventure. Being taller than most Mexicans, I have larger feet. In the first store I asked for "nueve y meia". The salesmen looked at my feet, kindly went in back, only to return shaking his head. What a disappointment. Next I stopped at a less upscale store. The sizes were posted. 23, 24 (which looked like a size 7). No wonder he couldn't find my size. They have an entirely different sizing system and, given my limited Spanish, he didn't bother explaining. I started trying on all types of shoes (some hideous), just to figure out my size. The attendant came over to help me...accept I didn't understand her espanol and she didn't understand my ingles. She got the store manager, who did habra ingles. Thankfully, he understood. I walked out with some painfully high, high heals... In Mexico, I am a size 26.

Another thing I love - the bread and the juice. The typical Yucatanian breakfast is fresh squeezed juice (juga) and sweet breads. The bakery in the grocery is just delightful. I take a tray and walk through a slew of goodies, selecting several to compra (only several because I know I will have to carry them 1 mile, to mi casa). In the US sweats are far too sweet. Here it is not so. You can taste the flavor of the bread. It really is delightful.

In Merida, Mayan and Spanish culture mixes. That shows in the food, the architecture. Its quite interesting. That said, there is a break in the rain. I need to go grab a taxi before it starts up again. (Our first rain came today. I was two blocks from the farmacia. In those two blocks I got absolutely drenched. (I've been waiting in Starbucks...yes. They have Starbucks.)