MEXICO

Kellen's Mexico experience this time was not so hot. Too much time spent in the office, not enough time to see anything. The only pictures were of his hotel/garden area.

I doubt he will say much about his trip, so I thought I would just reiterate what he went through while I'm "blogging." Of course it is better in his own words, so again, I just copy and paste.

TUESDAY:
We arrived without any major problems, except that the plane was extremely cramped and uncomfortable.

I am in the office now, and very tired.

My phone doesn't work. I am not sure when I will be able to call you. I will have to see if they will let me call long distance on an office phone. Maybe tomorrow.

I read 150 pages on the way here.

I miss you two already. . . give Shady kisses for me.
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You shouldn't tell me all those cute stories. It just makes me miss you more.

Okay fine, you can tell me.

I'm glad neither of you got hurt when you fell.

That is strange that Shade is afraid of the swings. He used to let me throw him in the air, but now it scares him. I think he must have fallen off the bed one too many times, and now he is afraid of heights. Or maybe he just gets sea-sick like his daddy.

WEDNESDAY:
Shade is such a cutie. I miss you guys.

He is getting a lot better at communicating. I love that is is so into books and the alphabet. We need to foster his love of learning.

The flight down here was pretty miserable. I was in the center seat between two kind-of-large men. The plane seemed more cramped than other planes I have been on. There was no way to stretch me legs, and you know how I have a bum knee. Anyway, the flight was five hours of misery. I ate half of my licorice on the plane because I was starving. I kept my mind off the uncomfortableness by immersing myself in ROOTS. I read 150 pages during the flight.

Sorry I haven't called. I don't think I can. Anyway, I have been extremely busy since I got here. We drove from Mexico City to Toluca and ate lunch in the hotel. I had an Aztec Salad (crunchy tortilla strips with a light tomatoe soup poured on top, and a plate of avocado, cheese and dried peppers to add in). Even though we didn't get into the office until about 3pm, we were still in the ofice for about 6 hours. We finally left about 9pm (11pm Detroit) and went to TJI Fridays. I ate a tuna steak with potatoes and veggies while my boss, his boss's boss, and an engineer talked about alcohol. Then, they decided to go to a bar and get some tequila. I just went back to the hotel, watched The Simpsons in spanish, and went to bed.

We ate a buffet in the hotel for breakfast. Lots of fruit, orange juice, bacon, sausage, and an omlet.

We had to be back in the office at 8am this morning for more meetings. I have meetings all day, so I'm not going to be able to start my "regular" work responsabilities until about 6pm.

The hotel is fantastic. We pay $92/day for a five star hotel. My bath tub faucet is a coppler swan. So is the sink faucet. I have two showers, one in the bath tub and another separate. Both are huge copper shower heads. The bed looks bigger than a typical king-size. There is a 50-inch flat screen tv. I was also pleased to find that there is an iron and ironing board in the room which came in handy this morning. I have not had a chance to even see the pool or gym, and I doubt that I will get a chance. The yard is a very colorful garden. Very beautiful. I was awakened this moring by birds singing outside my window. If you are interested, you can see pictures of the hotel online. It is Quinta Del Rey in Toluca.

The weather is very nice. Highs of 75-78 F, but the lows drop to about 35! That is because of the elevation. We are two miles up! That is twice as high as Denver! We are also at the base of a large volcano that is still snow-capped.

There is a lot of poverty here, but also a lot of wealth. Very rich gated communities with private golf courses are just a couple of blocks from slums.

I love you!
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I'm glad I have been able to come here. It's nice to meet the people I work with face-to-face. I am meeting with each of them one-on-one and going over our process (how do they do their job, what do I need from them, what do I do with the information, etc). We will be better able to help each other out if we understand each other's role/responsabilities. We have already made some improvements since I've been here.

Having said that, I'm not really enjoying being here. It's kind of torture being in another country and not having any down time to enjoy the culture and sights. I felt the same way in Germany. I was there six days and didn't see anything but the inside of office buildings. I am spending four days here, and so far I have seen an office building, a hotel, and a TGI Fridays. It would be nice if at least my hours were similar to back home. Then I would have a few hours in the evening to go see the city and visit the mercado.

Give Shady kisses for me.

Hey Shade, give Mommy kisses for me.
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I'm glad you and Shady are having so much fun together. You are a really good mommy. It's going to be hard for you to go back to school next week, eh?

I ate two tortas and some mango juice from a street vendor for lunch. Jun was afraid it would make us sick, but I pointed out that they were deep-frying the beef, so any micro-organisms would have died.

I just saw you sent another email, so I'm going to read it now.
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Teach you to take a nap!

I woke up at 4am and couldn't go back to sleep. Missin' my babies too much. I haven't slept much the last two nights, so I am really dragging.

You're not suposed to get even with one year old! That is not a battle you are going to win.

Ady just gave me a tortillera. It cost about $4.50. She wouldn't let me pay her for it.

Tell Shade thanks for the kisses.

I just went on a tour of one of the manufacturing lines. I am going to see another one tomorrow. Very impressive! German engineering at its best.

THURSDAY:
Last night was horrible. We left the office about 8pm, and Jun and I planned to just eat dinner in the hotel and go to sleep. I was excited to finally get a decent night sleep. But then. . .

The car we called to pick us up never came. We eventually caught a ride with another employee and got to the hotel around 9pm. The guy that gave us a ride suggested we eat at a restaurant just up the street, so we decided we would, and we invited a couple other Bosch employees. They invited two other guys who suggested we go to a different restaurant father away. It turned out to be a smokey bar. The food was decent, but over-priced. Then they started drinking. And drinking. And drinking.

I stayed long enough to see Mexico beat North Korea (commies!) in soccer, and then I finally talked Jun into leaving with me around 11:30. Jun didn't drink much, but the other guys were getting wasted--and lewd. I had a Coke and a Sprite. Luckily, nobody really pushed me to have a drink. Of course they decided to split the tab evenly, so my $15 meal was $50! (Don't worry, Bosch is paying for it. I just don't want to have to explain to anyone why I charged Bosch for a $50 meal).

Jun and I took a cab back to the hotel, and we got back around 12. I woke up at 4am again. I can't seem to sleep later than that. I had to be back at the office at 8am again. The guys we left at the bar stayed until 4am! They look like zombies today.

Tonight, I am going to eat near the hotel and go right to sleep. If I get invited anywhere, I'm just going to say no. I don't care about offending them anymore--I need to sleep!

This is going to be a long day.

On a happier note, I have not gotten sick even though I have been eating street food and brushing my teeth with tap water. I have been eating two yogurts a day, and I think that helps.

Another happy note, Ady invited me and Jun to go to a market today during lunch. She said it is a little more expensive than the regular weekend market, but it has artesanias from all over the country. We are going to shop there and eat at a taco stand. Pray for my stomach! Hopefully I will be able to find a couple of good souvenirs.

That's really good that Shady likes veggies. I hope he misses me.

I sure miss you guys. Mexico is a lot more fun with you than with drunks.
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I just got back from another line tour. I had a very productive meeting before that. Now I am going to lunch and to buy some artesanias.

Shade is so smart and sweet! I can't believe how fast he is learning.

Talk to you later.
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I keep waking up at 4am because we are two hours behind Michigan, so it is actual 6am according to my internal clock. Plus, it is hard to sleep without you next to me. Oh, and the stupid birds won't shut up.

Tell Shady that I keep walking around in circles saying "Shady, Shady, Shady". People at work think I'm wierd.

I have spoken a lot of Spanish this week. It has helped me a lot. It has started to feel very natural to me again.

During lunch I bought a little colorful statue called "El Arbol de la Vida" --the Tree of Life. I also got one of those wooden mixer things that we bought in Cuernavaca but I gave to Genasee. Oh, and a very colorful container for our home-made tortillas. It was all hand-made. I spent about $35. I wanted to spend more, but I had some self-control.

Love you!!!!!!!!

FRIDAY:
You're such a sweetie-pie.

I am in Mexico City right now. I just got out of a meeting. We will be leaving in a couple of hours for the airport. We have a layover in Atlanta, and we will land in Detroit around midnight. I figure it will take us an hour to get our bags and get home, so I will get there around 1am.

Jun is giving me a ride home. You don't need to wait up for me, although I will probably wake you up when I come in :)

I can't believe I just did the smiley face thing. How embarrasing.

I haven't slept much the last four nights, so you may need to get up with Shady in the morning. Then again, I may just want to get up and play with him no matter how tired I am. We'll see.

Scott (my boss's, boss's, boss) took me out to dinner last night. I had sea bass with shrimp, octopus, and squid. Sounded good, cost a lot, tasted bad. However, I also got a cucumber lemonade. It was a little strange at first, but I was hooked by the time I finished it. I also had some blackberry apple juice. Pretty tasty.

I can't wait to see you! Give Shady kisses for me!

-Kellen