15 años tenga Martina...

Dear all,

Yesterday started the official countdown for my last month in Mexico - I decided to drown my sadness with a bottle of red wine in the colonial city of Zacatecas. However, the good news is that I will spend only 3 (in words:threeeeee) days at university - then I will be leaving for Cancun and Chiapas.

Here finally comes an update on my last 1.5 months, which I mostly spent travelling...

Cuba: This country really is wow wow wow unbelievable. Any person in favour of communist ideas should really visit this country to get an impression of its economic and social situation - this travel has really convinced me that the communist approach doesn't work! To give you an idea, in Cuba human rights such as freedom of opinion, expression and information don't exist - the internet is censored, and people only have access to national TV, radio and newspapers. As Cuba faces a trade embargo from the U.S., production is mostly national, and the variety of products in the so-called "shopping centres" reminds of Europe during the 2nd World War. However, Habana and Valladero (known as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world) are really precious and worth visiting. However, after this experience it is definitely not a country where I will go back soon...






























Honduras: Went to visit my dear and beloved Ürmsn in Honduras to join her in her courageous microfinancing fight - however, I was of very little use :-). The absolute highlight of this holiday was the trip to the beautiful island group "Cayos Cochinos", where we stayed for 2 days with Garifunas (indigenous people), without water and electricity. These caribbean islands are a virgin paradise far from civilization with very little tourists; bathing in christal-clear water and snorcheling in the second largest coral reef of the world, as well as living on the island within the Carifuna community was just an incredible experience!!! Inspired by the hairstyle of the Carifunas, Irmi and me decided to give ourselves a rasta-treat. Fazit: we ended up looking like 2 gigantic rats, and got a sunburn on our heads :-).























Aguascalientes is currently partying 24/7, as the Feria San Marcos, biggest entertainment fair of Mexico, started two weeks ago - an fiesta mexican style with an incredible amount of free concerts, new bars, clubs and restaurants, bullfights, etc. Tourists come from all over Mexico and the world to this fair (last weekend: 2 million visitors!!), and we students spend at least 4-5 days a week there - either enjoying the bright side of life in the "calle de las chellas" (street of the beers, where EVERY house is a beer bar, selling beer with or without lemon, salt, salsa and tomato juice in LITERS for 1.5 Euros), or visiting the daily concerts (free :-)) or the stylish clubs and restaurants (veeery expensive :-( )
My most impressive experience during the fair was a "corrida de torros" (bullfight). Before going I was terribly afraid that it might be a bloody massacre, but now I can say that bullfighting really is an art. As a friend of mine is an expert on the rules of bullfighting, I received a great explanation of the significance of the different parts, the criteria of evaluation of torro and torrero, etc. The fact that they killed 7 bulls in less than 3 hours might seem shocking, however the corrida is not cruel at all! In fact it was a great and very fascinating experience, and I would definitely go again!!









Apart from the party in Aguascalientes I had the chance to visit Guanajuato (beautiful European style city), Acapulco (quite nice beaches, and the clubs: AMAZING), and Zacatecas. I furthermore climbed the mountain Picacho close to Aguascalientes (note: mountain for mexicans = hill for Austrians) to practice at least some sports after all the tacos :-).

So far so good - I miss you all and send you sun, tacos and micheladas,


Love from Mexico, Lala

Mexico - Everything and more.

Hola chavos y chavas,

Half-asleep in the class-room during the most boring class of my life it is once again time for a Mexico update :-). The last 1.5 months has been filled with travel and party (for a change!), and very very very little studying - in fact, "group work" is the synonym for "merendero" visit (Note: a merendero is a restaurant where the guests only pay for the drinks; incredible amounts of food are served for free. And the more you drink, the more food they bring :-)).

The more I get to know about Mexico, the more the huge differences between rich and poor become aparent. After spending one day in Monterrey, the most industrialized city in Latin America (including Starbucks, jejeje), one could consider Mexico a 1st world country with skyscrapers, European bars and giant shopping malls and business centers. However, the further one goes south, the more poverty and the less industrialization one will find. My plan is to travel to the most southern state of Mexico at the border to Guatemala, Chiapas, in May - a trip that will include pueblitos without electricity and virgin beaches...

Thanks to all my mexican friends who made it their objective to show "la austriaca" as much as possible of their country, I had the chance to see a lot of new places since my last update- here some impressions:

- San Francisco: One of the most beautiful cities of the US offering everything - culture, nature, beaches, shopping, prisons (Alcatras :-)) and stunning views:

- Desert, desert, desert and some lakes in between: There are several beautiful places to see very close to Aguascalientes... However, sunblocker is recommendable for Europeans :-).

- Manzanillo: The biggest port in Mexico and a logistical keypoint for international sea trade - enough reason for my university to organise a trip there! 22 students in one house (including pool), 5 minutes from the beach - just a great weekend!

- Monterrey: As the industrial capital of Latin America, it is a different world from the Mexico I had known up to then. The view of the city enclosed by mountains is beautiful, and they sell Starbucks coffee there - jipjiphurra :-)!

Finally, I have made my first negative encounter with Mexican food - a unique experience as I have never felt so miserable before in my life... Luckily enough, I already re-gained my confidence in tacos, quesadillas, chaskas, enchilladas, burritos, chicharron, guacamole, frijoles, mole, camarones, salsa, chile and other essentials of life :-).

My travels in the next 2 weeks will take me to Cuba and Honduras (Ürmsn mein Schatz ich komme!!!). Also, I will spend June until September working for a contemporary dance company in Singapore - so a lot more news to come soon!

A lot of sun and kisses to all, take care,

your Martinica

Mexico lindo y querido...

Hola amorcitos,

After celebrating yesterday my first full month in Mexico with a cocktail on a beach in the middle of the largest bay in the world, I finally managed to sit down for another update :-). Time flies here in Aguascalientes, and while studying at the best university of Latin America (very little) and partying (too much) I learn more and more about culture, people and places in this fascinating country.
The importance of cross-cultural communication and different ways of living and working among countries becomes clear to me now that I get to know a whole new world with foreign values and unknown concepts. For example, here an extract on the concept of time and punctuality:
1. ahorita (translated to english as now (immediately)): in mexico something that will take place in 30minutes - 1.5 hours.
2. ahora (now): used for events happening in 2-4 hours.
3. al rato (in a little while): this can be almost everything, from 4 hours until one week later, or maybe never :-)

Outstanding as well is the everyday-communication between mexicans - people seem to be experts in endless small-talk, and can spend hours "platicando" with whoever comes along. There is nothing so urgent to finish such a conversation before its natural ending (i.e. one of the participants dies of hunger/thirst/needs a bathroom), and the phrase "I am busy, lets speak later" is almost never used. But there is more to these chats (which might appear completely meaningless and empty to a foreign person), as they are used to show care, appreciation and friendship. In a nutshell: Mexico is a very slow country, and that's the beauty of it. Stopping to run and enjoying the moment "al maximo" without worrying about what might happen in the future is what this culture is all about...

Apart from the culture, there is an incredible number of beautiful places to visit (even though the distances are huuuuge). Up to now, I managed to go to:
- San Juan: This town is famous for "The Virgin of San Juan". From mid-january until mid-february people walk from everywhere in Mexico (some walk for months!) to ask or thank the virgin for a miracle at the cathedral in San Juan. The scenario is overwhelming: thousands of people on the road, some crawling in pain, some sleeping on the sidewalk... All of them driven by a religious belief much stronger than what I have seen in Europe. Here some impressions:

- Puerto Vallarta & Rincon de Guayabitos: Mexico is world-famous for its beaches, and this fame is indeed justified. I am still overwhelmed by the beauty (and the fiesta!) of these places, and am already dreaming about going back :-)

More travels to come soon: my travelling plans for the next two months include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Manzanillo, San Francisco and, last but not least, Cuba...

The district of Aguascalientes also carries the nickname "The land of the good people" - which is indeed the case. I have met a lot of very precious people here who are taking very good care of me and do their best to show me their "Mexico lindo y querido". What should I say... they are doing a great job!

Fuertes abrazos, besotes y piojitos para todos,

Lots of love & take care,

Martinica

Viva Mexico Cabrones!!!

Queridos amigos y amores,

6 days in Mexico have passed - it is time to report my first experiences from the country world famous for its alcohol, food and cheap workforce.

I will study at the Tec de Monterrey, Aguascalientes until the end of May. The university is small but very nice and highly tecnologically advanced (especially considering Mexican standards ;-)), and most courses are held in pure Spanish or "Spanglish"). Especially when it comes to complex topics such as International Finance, my Spanish skills are challenged!

Aguascalientes is for Mexican standards a very small town (about 1 million inhabitants), with a lovely centre that guarantees the typical Mexican experience (pictures to come). I live in a tiny house located in the north of the city, which I share a Mexican student called Julia, a medium sized rat called Pete, a cucaracha family and a mosquito delegation, all, as you would say in spanish, "muy buena onda".

Apart from my new familiy, Mexican people in general are lovely. No matter whether you meet them at university, at parties or on the street, you will always encounter happy and smiling faces and a warm welcome. Unlike many other countries, it seems to be a natural feeling of happiness, which is nurtured frequently by tacos, beer and tequila. This happiness is frequently accompagnied by a certain "no matter what-I couldn't care less" feeling and a completely relaxed mindset, where words such as "urgent", "quickly" and "efficient" are basically non-existent. Conversations can become quite complex as the English level of the majority is very low - Spanish is spoken all the time - in the worst case (as in mine) with hand and feet :-).

In short: Mexico is a great place to be! More news to come soon - now it's taco time....:-)

Lots of love to all of you and I hope you are having a great time wherever you are!

Besos Besos Besos,

Martinica (new mexicanized nickname - jejeje)

Die Welt ist gross und du bist klein :-)

My beloved Friends, Fans and Foolish Investors,

A long long time has passed since I shared my last experiences with you, and here in the land where it rains leggins, beer and sandwiches the dark age of winter and Christmas decoration has begun. So where have I been during the last two months?

1. At the Windsor Festival: Congrats to my official Performing Arts debut! 12 days, 80 events, thousands of delighted faces. And me being part of the event management and taking care of MY own venue hosting 10 events (the largest one with around 540 visitors) and participating in many other events, taking care of the artists and enjoying concerts of outstanding quality. Apart from that, the setting of Windsor Castle is just stunning:









I have also discovered my dream job: Giving flowers to soloists and conductors at the end of concerts (the timing is a lot more difficult than one might think!) However, the downside of so many events in such a short time is that one doesn’t always have the time to familiarise oneself with the concert programme and the “big names” (soloists and conductor) of the concert one is working at, and situations like the one below might happen…

Orchestra arrival before an event in the Waterloo Chamber, Windsor Castle, with the London Philharmonia, one of the most famous orchestras in the UK, just like the conductor of the evening, Alex Briger.

Alex Briger: Hey, I am Alex Briger.
Martina: Hey, I am Martina, one of the event organisers of Windsor Festival.
Alex Briger: Where are the rooms for the conductor and the soloist?
Martina: Oh yes, we will show the conductor and the soloist to their rooms as soon as they arrive.
Alex Briger: I am Alex Briger.
Martina: Nice to meet you.
Alex Briger: I am the conductor of this concert.
Silence and incredible embarrassment.


Fortunately, these incidents do not happen very often. Anyway, I had a great time!

2. To the Lake District, Eastbourne, Stonehenge, Cornwall, Exeter, Manchester, Liverpool, and, last but not least, a couple of very fancy places in London. Some impressions of these beautiful places:

Now I am looking forward to two more months in this crazy city – with a short stop in Dubai from 27th to 30th of October, jippppiiiiee!

Final Call to everybody: What about a MIG Reunion in NY for New Year’s? Vera and me will be there...

I miss you all an awful lot and hope that you are enjoying life the way I do here!

Gruß und Kuss,

Lala, kleines Püppchen, freches Püppchen.