Changes

I love Mexico. Mexico brings me joy and happiness like no other place on earth. However, la vida Mexicana, is hard - no doubt about it. There has been a long silence on my blog and today I am going to explain why. L and I have left Mexico.

As much as we love it there, it is just not realistic for our future.. The cost of living is high - and even with my university degree, we couldn't find jobs that could realistically work to live our everyday life there and save money for our envitable move back to Canada.

I have learned so much from my fellow blogger friends.. how some people yearn to live in their country with their spouse, but are unable to for whatever unfair immigration law of their country. I am lucky enough to have mine here with me, legally.. and for that, I am truly grateful.

Although it is not an easy decision (the transistion back has been anything but easy) I know deep down inside we made the right one. We are about three weeks away for applying for permanent residence for L (So exicting!!!) And slowly I am learning to love and see the beauty once again in my own country.

Since coming back, I have:

• Gotten sick :(
• Gotten a new job, yipee!
• Experienced culture shock (never fun)
• Learned how to finally stand up for myself.

 I am going to change the blog, if you all are still interested in reading my blog, after all! L and I have tons of exciting changes/plans coming up .. To all my new friends on here, I cannot thank you enough for all the support/kind words - This was not an easy decision for Len and I to return, though I am starting to see now it is for the best., :) I wanted to especially thank my great friend Shelly, most of the time I do not know what I would do without you! No words can describe how thankful I am for our friendship.. You are a fantastic, beautiful person and am so grateful for our friendship :)

Until next time,

xo

Milena

Being taught English.

Judging by the title, you may think this blog is going to be about me teaching someone English, and boy, are you wrong! It's actually the exact opposite, its about Len teaching me! Over the past few days or so I stopped and thought about just how good Lenin's English has been getting recently. When I first met him, he was pretty fluent. He didn't know the name of a few little things, but for the most part was pretty good. Now, after having a relationship with me (the supposed native speaker) and being in Canada for six months he has become pretty fluent, and get this, he is even correcting and helping me now! Here are some examples:

The other day I was in the kitchen and Lenin wanted me to get him a glass so he could get some water. Simple enough, no? Not really thinking about it, I pass him a mug. He looks at me, both surprised and confused.

"This is not a glass, its a mug."

Me, confused. "What do you mean, this is a..a.. well I guess yeah, your right, it is a mug."

"Milenita, learn english." Len says with a big smile on his face.

I couldn't believe it! My boyfriend just gave me an English lesson! I was impressed, and proud to say the least that he feels so confident in his skills.

And it doesn't stop there, not only is he correcting me, but hes also using English expressions in his day-to-day speech. This morning, we were having breakfast and discussing something and he said to me, and then he said "Man, that guy must be eating his words right now."

Anyone who has learned or is learning a different language knows how challenging even the most simplest of sentences could be, so I am beyond excited for Len that he can now use phrases, and words in a more conceptual way, instead of only being able to use/understand the concrete meaning of a word. 

Proud of you Len!

Turbulence

We have been in Cancun for over a week now and I have been thinking about what to write in my blog. Coming back to Cancun has brought back a whirlwind of emotions. As we were leaving Toronto, we started thinking about all the things we would miss from there. I was surprised by how much we both would miss Canada, but we were excited to embark on our new journey. For those of you that don't know, I have a serious plane phobia, usually I fly on big jet planes that experience little to no turbulence so I am always okay, but not this time. Our plane was really tiny, and on top on that there were only 50 people on it.. and to make matters worse, our fabulous (rolls eyes) travel agent got us seats at the back of the plane.. talk about a recipe for disaster! The pilot let everyone know that this was going to be a very smooth trip, but in reality we the seat belt sign was on the hold time and the turbulence was so bad that at times I actually thought the wing was going to come off, but there was also times with no turbulence and you could just enjoy the view.

The plane, though scary was really symbolic of my journey so far in Mexico. At times it has been rough, and a seat belt was defiantly needed, but other times have been calm and peaceful. When Len returned back to Cancun, he got a serious dose of culture shock. He couldn't believe/remember things the way they were, the culture shock wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either. It was however, an eye opener for us both.

The first few days we stayed at the Royal Caribbean with my family, and on the last night Len's family and mine went for dinner. I was happy to say it went really well :) Everyone really liked each other and it was a big step in mine and Lenin's relationship. We then spent a few days at Len's house before we moved into our apartment.

I guess what I am trying to say in this post is that being back in Cancun has brought out a ray of emotions in me, some good, some bad, and right now I am somewhere in between. Mexico is country I adore, with spectacular food, wonderful people, and a great culture.. but there are also thing's that hit me hard this time, and I often wonder why it did not notice it like I did before, such as the poverty in many areas, the horrible road system, etc. Maybe I was so excited to see Len that this place seemed wonderful to me.

Although I am still a little emotional, many people have been emailing me so I thought I would give you all an update. Give me a few more days and I will be okay again, and write about some of the fantastic things we did last week!

Thanks for listening everyone.

Milena

Book Review and Book List for 2012!

Since work has slowed down and most of my things are packed and ready for Cancun, I have run into a lot of free time. I decided while I am waiting to leave to Cancun (9 more days!), I would read one of my new books. I noticed that a few other of my blogger friends are book worms, so I thought I would share my latest read with you all, and then tell you some of the books I am looking forwarded to reading to this year, and finally some books I recommend! Clearly, I am a little bored, hehe.


*Just so you know before you continue reading.. *Now for the past three and a half years, most of my reading has been about really serious, in depth reviews of psychological disorders, and the brain (Parts and how we function) So when I read, I like to read something light and spunky! Something that brings a smile to my face and doesn't make my brain hurt after 90 pages of it. So This blog is mostly about chick-lit, sorry if this isn't your favourite genre, but I love it for Mexico.. So here goes nothing!

Last Night, I finished the book Remember Me by Sophia Kinsella 

This is the Canadian Edition, I think the American and British is different

Anywho, I enjoyed this book in general. It is a story about a girls who suffers from amnesia and can't remember anything about the last three years of her life! It is a very light and funny read, I would suggest it if you are into chick lit, or just wanting something light and fluffy. Sophia Kinsella is a great writer and she really captures the mood in this book. I think a good author leaves you wanting more, and every time I read one of her books, I want another! I am happy I took the time to read this book,it was a little predicatable, but what chick-lit isn't?! I am happy to recommend this book to anyone!

Last time I was in Cancun, I ran into a problem with boredom. Yes, most of my time was filled with the gym, outings, family events,movies.. but I was still bored, I needed that 'me' time. I made the mistake of only bringing one book, and really regretted it. This time around, I was determined to learn from my mistakes, I researched and found a bunch of books that I would be interested in while in Mexico.

Here's a few books that I will be reading this year: 

Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me: A Guide to Living with Impeccable Grace and Style, By: Lucia Van Der Post

The Shopaholic Collection, By: Sophia Kinsella

The Undomestic Goddess, By: Sophia Kinsella

Lucky, By: Alice Sebold 

In Her Shoes, Jennifer Weiner
 
So Far these are all the books I will be bringing to Mexico with me! It is defiantly not enough, if anyone has any suggestions please feel free to leave a comment :)


To end this blog, I have decided to leave you with a list of all my time favourite chick-lit books!

Something Borrowed

Something Blue

Baby Proof

Love The One You're With

Heart of the Matter

All by my favourite author, Emily Giffin! 


And Finally,


Twenties Girl, By Sophia Kinsella

Hope you enjoyed!!! 


xoxo


Milena

P.S If you love to read, but don't want it to break your bank account, try the second hand store! I buy all my books there, unless it's a new book that I am dying to read and you can usually get new books for very cheap. I went a few days ago and got two books retail value $40.00 for 3 dollars! Awesome.

Building a Home Gym!

One of our biggest projects once we get back to Cancun is to make a home gym for ourselves to avoid paying the crazy monthly membership fee's for a decent gym! Lenin and I are fitness nerds. We rarely eat out, we exercise 5 days a week, and our very health conscious! We do not drink, or smoke. In fact, neither of us have ever even smoked a cigarette! A decent gym in Cancun range from 500 to 1,000 pesos a month (roughly 50-100 CAN Dollars) to join a gym. We also won't be living close to the regular gym we went to in Cancun so it was motivated us more to start our own. For the past week, me and Len have been on the hunt for light equipment that is travel-friendly,economical, and practical for us.

One thing I love about Cancun is how exercise friendly it is. Taking a jog outside is very doable all year round which is something I love. There is also outdoor gyms, which are completely gratis! The Hotel Zone is also another excellent area that offers paths to roller blade or bike, or of course if you are up for it, a nice run on the beach! This is a major plus for a fitness geek like me! In Toronto, unless you are very brave and can endure being outside for a long time in temperatures that makes your whole body numb, working out for free is almost impossible all year round. We have already begun to work out at home and so far are loving it, I have a feeling being in Cancun will make it even better!

Len is also constructing his own set of monkey bars himself once we get there, I will post pics of our own little Gym as soon as it's ready!!

See you soon!!!!!! :)