Viva México!

As you can see from my writing this post, I have returned home from two separate trips: Mexico City and Charleston. Next week I am headed for Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C., with a trip to Kentucky not too far after that. 'Tis the season of travel!

(This actually reminds me of an occasion, many years ago, when I knew this kid who was the smartest guy I've ever met. I think he actually missed two questions on the entire SAT. Anyway, he was mentioning something about his recent travels, and my mom said, "You must have wheels on your shoes!" His face clouded over for a moment, and then he looked down at his shoes with a puzzled look for about ten seconds. Poor guy just didn't have sense of the common kind. But I digress.)

So...Mexico City is quite the place. I'd never been to Mexico at all, and I admit that I was very curious as to what I'd find there. In no particular order, let me present to you the things that I learned:

- First, I have asked everyone the question, "What do you think the weather in Mexico City would be like this time of year?" Every single person (including myself) surmised that it would be very hot...and every single person was wrong. Mexico City is actually up in the mountains, and even in the middle of summer it rarely gets above 75 degrees. Who knew?

- Second, don't ever drive in Mexico City. Why? Because their drivers are far more skilled than ours--not the other way around. Either you or I would get mowed down in a heartbeat. The Mexico traffic system is quite admittedly unlike anything I've ever seen, but the best way to describe it is a system much less inhibited by structure. Lanes are always optional. Everyone cuts in and out of everyone else (politely), and somehow all of the other drivers know how to communicate this. It's really like taking the American system, , shrugging your shoulders, then removing most of the rules and telling everyone, "You'll need to work it out."

- Three, never travel with a Senior Vice President that has been forced to stay in a lower class hotel. It's like putting up Oprah in a Red Roof Inn.

- Four, it is unfortunate the political turmoil that Mexico is going through right now. If you're wondering, it's really the equivalent of the 2000 Bush-Gore election...if Gore had protested, fought, and urged all of his supporters to fight alongside him. Half of the Mexico population feels that their guy was robbed of the election and a select few of these are camping out in major downtown streets to protest. The worst part of this is that they are denying travelling Senior VP's their right to stay at nearby first-class hotels (see #3).

- Five, Mexico City is not a tall city. Most buildings are 2-4 stories, and yet they still contain over 25 million people. Doing the math, this means that the city is roughly 13.2 billion square miles (and looks like it).

- Six, there are different classifications of taxis in Mexico City: those that might rob you and those that won't. I'm not kidding. A fair amount of time was spent during our stay trying to contact our hotel for a "safe" taxi. I'm not sure which is more disturbing: that this is a reality, or the way that everyone knows this and just accepts it as fact. The taxi companies could at least make their drivers repeatedly write "I will not rob anyone today" on a chalkboard before starting their shifts.

- Seven, Starbucks is taking over the world. There is no question about it.

- Eight, from what I can tell, the food in Mexico is excellent, both local and not. I had to have gained a pound or two during the trip, as well as the title of "Most Likely to Get His Money's Worth From Expensed Meals".

That's pretty much it! The business side of the trip was great, and as an added bonus I can now come back and share all of my cultural enlightment with you. And free of charge, no less!

It also looks like I'll be going back to Mexico before the end of the year, at which point I'll purchase the obligatory sombrero. I would advise you to wait until you see the pictures before deciding if you still want to be associated with me or not.

Best of luck.