My First Mexican Job

This weekend I worked my first Mexican Job, and it was quite an honor. I worked for FIFA for their Beach Soccer Tournament in the VIP section. It was honestly amazing, and probably the coolest job I ever had. I got to meet some really cool people, famous Mexican comedians, government officials, the hotel owner, etc. Me and Lens sister got to watch the whole tournament, and we made some great money and got a view of the beach at the same time! It was honestly amazing and reminded me why I came to Cancun in the first place. I hope I can do more jobs like this in the future, because it was awesome!

Here are some pics of my weekend:

The View from the VIP section, it was super cold!

Mexico VS. USA game!

It was really cold yesterday so I wore a towel! Lol, anyways, here are some more pics:

Yun and I with Borrego y Casasola

Len with Casasola!


I honestly had the time of my life, it was a fantastic first Mexican job, and I am really hoping to do more work like this while I am here!!!

And that was my weekend folks!

It's The Little Things..

Living in a country like Canada, you often forget how things that are considered basic in one country, are luxury in another. Len and I have been living in our apartment in Cancun in over a month now, and today we recieved something that made us both jump for joy, hot water!

Living in Mexico teaches you to appreciate the little things, to not take for granted those precious things that we Canadians often do. Health care, Access to great public schools, hot water, minimum wage, sewage systems that work, etc.

Living in Mexico has also taught me something else, finding happiness in little things. Canadian culture is always so busy, often we are stressed, and lets face it, spoiled (but in the nicest way possible!) Mexico, and my Mexican friends and family have taught me to see the beauty of the little things, how family comes first, how we are suppose to help one another (and not because we have to, but rather want to!).

Although I don't believe I could live the rest of my life in Mexico, I will always carry a piece of Mexico with me whereever I go, because it has changed me for the better, in so many ways, and for that I am forever grateful.

It's the little things, friends.

Our *Almost* Night Out

Tonight Len's sister and BF invited us to Dinner and a movie! We were so excited since it has been a week of immigration stress and we needed some time to just relax and be young! So we set off on our adventure. We decided to try a sushi place that we all heard good things about, Sushi Acki. It was fantastic! We were having a great time, enjoying our sushi and and fried banana for dessert, heres a pic:

Us at Sushi, enjoying our night out!

Just as we were on our way out, we realized it was raining again, and hard! Worried, we decided to call it a night, since the roads of Mexico are known to get a *little* dangerous when it starts raining! Needless to say, our ride home was a little more than interesting, here are some pictures:

The road!

 

 

 

 

Another shot!

This picture doesn't do justice to just how crazy the streets get when it rains here! It is something I hope changes in the near future, to help improve the great city that Cancun is!

Week One in Cancun

Last week Len and I set off on our adventure to Cancun. When we left the airport it was 6 degrees (amazing for Toronto) and when we arrived here it was about 30! Len's dad met us at the airport and away we went. We ate and had some food, and then decided it was late and called it a night.

The next day me and len decided to go over to the Royal Carribean to spend some time with my family. It was fantastic! We sat by the beach, relaxed, played in the pool, hung out with family.. 5 days of pure relaxation, which was deftinatly needed and well deserved.. here are some photos:

Len and I in the ocean :)

The view from outside our door of the lagoon!

Len and the Fam doing some water aerobics :)

Us and one of our favourite views

Our balcony view, amazing.

 One Evening, Len and I decided to go to Thai Lounge. It was fantastic! It was an outdoor venue with amazing food and scenery.. everything about it was fabulous and we hope to go back very very soon!

Us at Thai Lounge!

The next few days after my family left, we spent some time at Len's parents house as we waited for our apartment to get ready. We spent a lot of our time playing with Len's dogs!

 

 

 

My little babies <3

 Then to end off our week, we decided to go out with some family for a few micheladas, or in my case, cheladas (hold the maggy, and salsa inglesa for me, gracias :) )

Us after a few micheladas :)

And there you had it, our first week in Mexico :) It was amazing and stressful all at once, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am feeling much better now, thanks everyone for your kinds words and will be back in a few days to post about our trip to Puerto Morelos we took!

xo

Milena

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

Update!

Well, since my blog is about living in Mexico and we are still in Canada I don't have too much to update on, but just in case anyone want's to know, here is what has been going on with us!

This week, while my aunt is in Cancun, Len and I have been taken care of her house/teenagers which meant are new years eve plans were nothing too exciting. We had a movie marathon, and some wine. It was nice, but not very exciting. It was a good night, nonetheless. We have also been getting ready to leave. This means all the last minute details, buying last minute things, etc!

Once we get to Cancun, my family and Len's family will meet for the first time.. we are both very nervous! Both families have been waiting a long time to meet each other, and since my family was going to be in Cancun for the next two weeks, we arranged dinner! Hopefully it goes well, everyone wish us luck!

Next Monday, after we get to Cancun we will be taking part in a week of very touristic outings. We will be going to One of Cancun's famous Cenotes, (If anyone has any recommendations please let me know!)

One of the many Cenotes in Cancun!

We will also be spending a few days at the beautiful Royal Caribbean, one of my favourite and in my opinion most beautiful resorts in all of Cancun where we will relax and enjoy being especially close to the beach with my family before they return to Canada!

The Royal Caribbean!

Finally, next week we will also be visiting one of my favourite places in the world, Xaret! For those of your that don't know what Xaret is and interested in learning more Click here! Xaret is a beautiful tourist park which displays Cancun's diversity in wildlife and it's cultural heritage. It is unbelievable, and a must visit for anyone in visiting Cancun.

I will be giving a full review of everything I do next week, but for now, I must continue doing my errands in the -16 degrees (yikes!) weather! All I can say is, I am ready for Cancun!

Adios!

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!!!!!! :)

I finished University!

Wow, that is so weird to say. Well ladies, I did it and I couldn't be happier!! Finally all my hard work and determination has paid off!! :) My last exam went surprisingly well which was just the cherry on top! Now that I am done, I have lots of time to think about packing and finishing up all of the last minute errands before leaving.

So yesterday, my boyfriend and I had a long talk and we decided that if I could find something, it would be a great experience for me to teach English in Mexico. So while on my break from studying, I looked around on some forums and saw a site that was about teaching English in Mexico.. If anyone has some first hand experience, I would love for you to share your story with me. I would even like to see if I was able to get a teaching position at a private school, but I only have a degree, would that be enough? I guess it's time to start researching!!!