My First Impressions on Japan

We arrived in Tokyo's Narita Airport in Japan yesterday and, to be honest, we were a bit scared as we were told a few things about Japanese people, many of them, not very good. However, we were pleasantly surprised from the minute we set foot on land. For starters, the airport seemed too quiet for such a big/important airport...or maybe it is because we come from Mexico City where everything is big and crowded at all times; anyway, the whole airport crew was really nice and polite the whole time -we'd been told migration was a bit like in the US, but not even close, they act just like any normal customs/migration agents. The fact that they had to manually searched through our bags opposite to pass them though a luggage scanner was a tad surprising though, I mean, after all, it is Japan and -being a bit exaggerated- you'd expect pretty much anything to be done by a robot lol (ok, not). But well, even after such long examination, the customs officer was really nice and all he asked basically was how long and why were we in Japan, then wished us a good trip.

After a bit more than 3 hours later, we arrived in our hotel but couldn't check-in until 3pm, so we just dropped our bags and headed off to town. The first place we visited was Shinjuku, where we went to the Metropolitan Government Building as there is an -free- Observing Deck on the 45th floor. The view was cool but it would have been so much better if it hasn't been that polluted.

Then, we went to Shinjuku's Central Park, where they have a nice shrine/museum thing and where people -apparently- go there for a mid-daypic-nic/nap trying to scape the humidity of the city.

After hanging in the Shinjuku area for a while, we headed straight to Shibuya -the busiest and one of the most touristic districts in Tokyo. We hung around there just getting to know the area a bit; there are a lot of stores, cafes, restaurants and fun stuff to go around. All the Japanese galore you could ask for is here, like this cute store with giant teddy bears!

 

Perhaps it was because it was day time or I don't know but for some odd reason, we did not recognize the famous Shibuya Crossing...we thought it was just another crossing as it really didn't seem as impressive as we've all seen it on TV/movies/etc. Until we did a little research and found out it was indeed THE crossing. Oh well, we're going back there tomorrow night to make sure we see and experience everything there is to see and experience.

After going around for a while, we were a bit exhausted after our 15+ hour flight all the way from Mexico City, so we decided to come back to the hotel (in Otsuka), take a shower and refresh a bit. The hotel is very nice I have to say, small like everything in Japan, but very nice, clean and the staff is very nice too. Once revived, I mean, refreshed, we went out to dinner and found this small Ramen place in a corner where the smell drawn us immediately, it was all-Japanese though so we hesitated about going in as we don't really speak Japanese (believe it or not lol) but we are really into trying as most local stuff as possible so we took a chance, took a quick glimpse at the Japanese phrase book on our phone, walked in, sat down at the stalls next to a guy and order 2 Ramens. Somehow, they understood us and served us too smoking hot huge bowls of Ramen. It was actually very good though a bit big for us and it was only 1200¥ (about US$12) for the both of them! The usual drink is plain water and you get that for free so it's all good. We were glad that our very first Japanese dinner couldn't have gotten anymore Japanese than that!

All in all, we are very pleased with Japan so far. Japanese people are far much nicer than their reputation lead us to believe. When we wanted to get to our hotel, a nice man drew a map for us and gave us the exact directions so we wouldn't get lost; when visited the Metropolitan Government Building an old man volunteering there gave us a guide around and told us about nice places to go in Tokyo and was very, very kind to us; when we wanted to a find a particular store, a guy went out of his way -literally- to take us there and didn't leave until we had an employee showing us what we were looking for; when we were looking to connect to wifi, a guy tried helping us and even offered to lend us his local credentials as wifi for tourist is not that common really. So, at least from our first day, it's safe to say Japanese people are very nice and quite tourist-friendly (unless you're a USAian I guess). But as far as we concern, we love Japan and the Japanese!

10 Things I Hate About Mexico City

I talk particularly about Mexico City because this is where I live, although from what I'm about to mention, a few of them may also apply to the rest of the country.


This is in no particular order:
 

1. Pretension: While a little pretension never hurt anyone, there are tons of people who have made a living out of it in this town, right Jorge Pedro? I am absolutely sick of him and all of his wannabe-minions. What ever happened to doing something because it's fun or just because you feel like it and not because it's the hipster thing to do?

2. Mexican politicians: They're all pigs and shameless, I know it's like that in every other country -pretty much-, but the ones here affect me directly, therefore, they're the ones I despise. Lately, more than ever, they all want to achieve power only to start stealing as much as they can without stopping even for one second to think about ANYTHING, not the consequences (general and for themselves), not the people they affect, nothing. So, they can steal MX$80 million and walk through life like nothing bad happened and while the country's poor are poorer than ever.

3. Injustice for the majority: Again, a global problem maybe, but we're talking Mx now. I know nobody said life was fair and trust me, I know that pretty well but injustice in Mexico goes beyond the normal, legally and humanly speaking.

4. Crazy Crowds: As you may know, Mx City is one of the biggest and most populated cities in the world and it has been for quite a while now, however, for the past few years the whole situation has gotten CRAZY! There are no longer rush hours like it used to, now every freaking hour of the day seems to be rush hour and I won't even talk about "Viernes de Quincena" (Payday Fridays) or rainy days, then the city turns into this unbearable chaos that makes you wanna move to Tibet and never come back! Everything is not full but super packed: movie theaters, restaurants, museums, bars, theater, transport, super markets; no matter what you wanna do, you have to be ready to break through seas of people with your elbows if necessary.

5. Economical inequity: Over time, the economical gap between the rich and the poor has grown bigger and bigger. Thanks to a crappy law system, corruption and greedy people, the rich get rich easier and faster than they did before and the same goes for the poor, now, I know there are a lot of people who's in that situation because they brought it on themselves (for both cases), but for the majority of people, it is all because of lack of opportunities to have a decent job and therefore economical growth and -on the opposite side-, too many easy opportunities to steal and make money off of places/people/situations where they shouldn't.

6. Traffic: I know it comes with a big city, but it has become a  very serious matter; not to mention when there are protests, parades, marathons...you name it, Mx City has plenty of excuses to go around to make its traffic heavier than usual any time!

7. Crappy Neighbors: Always playing loud and lousy music, oh, and singing on top of it all (with a REALLY crappy voice and hurts your ears pretty bad!) I bet I'm not the only who suffers with these kind plagues though.

8. Stupid People on the Street: More than stupid, I mean people with no (or little) education. Those who cut in line, push you without apologizing, steal a taxi from you even if you were waiting before, bike in the opposite direction they're supposed to (and hunk at you on top of that), sit right next to you on the bus even if the rest of the seats are empty, doesn't answer when you politely greet them, and well, I could go on and on here, but suffice to say, anything people with no education do.

9. Taxi Drivers: While taxi services are generally cheap (compared to anywhere else in the world and even some parts outside Mx City) and quite convenient (especially if you live in the center), taxi drivers are a total pest -most of them anyway. First of all, whenever you DON'T need one, they almost run you over to get you to board them, when you DO need them coz it's raining or too hot or whatever, even of they're not occupied they don't stop, for some odd reason. Then, when you actually manage to get into one, they either have the meter fixed to their convenience (obviously) or they round up the fee, never down...coz, yes, you -customer- can lose 2 pesos and life will go on, but God forbid the taxi driver loses them...their world would end! There are a few exceptions who do their job impeccably, yes, but most of them are rats. 

10. Climate of Insecurity: The fact that you cannot go out for a walk 100% freely because you're too afraid a man (or more) will come out of nowhere and mug you is absolutely terrifying, especially if you know they can not only rob you but hurt you or even kill you. Now that is something I don't enjoy, you can leave you house in the morning and never be certain if you'll come back. Kidnaps, robberies, assaults, rapes, killings and whatnot are serious situations to be aware of and you can never be too precocious, but then again, what kind of life is that when you are?


Well, these are a few of the worst things of Mexico City, things I can no longer live with or to be more precise, I simply don't want to. Hopefully, many of these things will change over time, when we are no longer a democratic country only in paper but in reality and when we're ready to educate our children so they become lawful citizens with enough education to, both, behave in the society we live in and work for what they want for themselves. Once we achieve these two (education and democracy), I'm sure many things can and will change for the better for Mexico.

13 Months Later

It's been 13 months since her departure and I miss her more and more everyday. This is so she won't forget...

Fiebre de Foodtrucks en México

Si ustedes son de los que aman comer y probar cosas nuevas y tal, seguramente estaran enterados de la -relativamente- reciente fiebre por los Foodtrucks (camiones de comida); estos han tenido un boom espectacular en el último par de años, sobre todo, en Estados Unidos.

Pocos saben que los Foodtrucks surgieron después de la Guerra Civil de EU a raíz de la necesidad que tenían de alimentar a ganaderos que arreaban ganados por grandes distancias hacia distintas partes del país. Después, se popularizaron en ciudades como Nueva York, donde había necesidad de alimentar a trabajadores nocturnos; posteriormente, surgieron como tipo cafeteria y fueron autorizados por el ejército de EU para ubicarse en bases militares. Y así, poco a poco fueron evolucionando hasta convertirse en el fenómeno que son hoy en día.

Es perfectamente entendible el por qué los Foodtrucks funcionan tan bien en EU, pues sus principales cualidades son, según Tyler Florence -connotado Chef y host de The Great Food Truck Race-: "Simplicidad. Comida fantástica a un precio que todo mundo le gusta. Y no tienes que hacer reservaciones". 

En fin, eso es en EU. Ahora, en México...¡los Foodtrucks son otra historia! Acá la fiebre por ellos apenas está comenzando a sentirse y en DF existen (hasta donde yo sé) 5 Foodtrucks "populares": Don Kebab, Ñham Ñham, Barra Vieja, Primario y Frijolero. 

De estos, considero a Don Kebab punto y a parte, pues son quienes llevan ya algún tiempo en el mercado (acaban de cumplir 2 años) y han sabido colocarse muy bien dentro del gusto del público defeño con sus deliciosos Kebabs, Falafels, Shawarmas y demás. Ahora bien, si ustedes han tenido la oportunidad de probar kebabs en otros lugares del mundo, sabrán que, aunque estos no son 100% fieles a aquellos, lo hacen lo suficientemente bien como para que vuelvas al Foodtruck más de una vez; pues además dan un buen servicio y tienen precios bastante amigables. En pocas palabras, cumplen con los -digamos- requisitos de un Foodtruck. Si los han probado, sabrán bien de lo que hablo y si no, ¿qué esperan? En twitter anuncian sus ubicaciones, pueden seguirlos acá: @kebabft.

Acá les dejo el Menú ¿ya están babeando?

Y continuamos con los Foodtrucks que participaron en la Foodtruck Fair el fin de semana pasado como parte del Corredor Cultural Roma-Condesa.

Comenzamos con el Ñham Ñham Foodtruck, la verdad es que escuché sobre ellos semanas atrás y por lo que había leído, tenía muchas ganas de probarlos, peeeero, resulta que sólo se estacionan por Mariano Escobedo; es decir, no es como un Foodtruck real que va de un lado a otro cada día para que más gente tenga acceso a ellos y la verdad es que ir del Centro hasta allá por una torta vietnamita no me atraía mucho. Por eso aproveché la Fooftruck Fair, para tenerlos a todos en un sólo lugar.

Pues bien, como dije, yo tenía antojo de un Banh-Mi (primo de la torta), así que pedí uno de Pollo a las 5 especias. Y 25 minutos después (conté el tiempo, reloj en mano), me entregaron esto:

Tamaño decente, aspecto promedio

Una tira de pollo y verduras mal sazonadas

La verdad, no estaba muy contenta desde la presentación, pero aún así decidí darles el beneficio de la duda pues tal vez con el sabor se podrían reivindicar...desafortunadamente, no fue así. El pollo, literal, sólo sabía a pollo con "algún tipo de chile", no podía distinguirse ni una sola de las 5 especias con las que se suponía estaba preparado y las verduras tampoco estaban bien sazonadas; era como si yo misma me hubiera preparado una torta de pollo con salsa valentina y verduras al azar. Si me lo preguntan, 25 minutos para preparar algo tan desaforunado como esto es demasiado tiempo. Lo peor, es que ese terriblemente preparado Banh-Mi costó $70.00 -sí, aunque no lo crean, pagué $70.00 por eso (sí, ya escucho sus "epic fail"), cuando por una torta bien preparada en cualquier puesto de la ciudad no pagaría más de $35 y, por lo menos, tendría buen sabor.

Mi hermana, Gisela, (quien sí sabe de cocina, no como yo) decidió probar una Pho (sopa) de res. Se supone que era un "delicioso caldo con especias vietnamitas, pasta vermicelli de arroz, echalot crujiente y hierbas frescas". Ahora bien, la expresión de mi hermana al probarla fue "Sabe a caldo de albahaca" y, a lo mejor, no estaría mal (la albahaca es deliciosa) sino hubiera tenido la preconcepción de la sopa gracias a la descripción en el menú. Comentó además que, era evidente, que el caldo servido no era el mismo en el que se había cocido la carne servida, puesto que no contenía ni un dejo del sabor que la carne hubiera proporcionado al caldo de haberse cocinado juntos. Tal vez aplicaron aquel dicho de "échale más agua a los frijoles", pero aquí no debían y el error fue muy evidente; además de todo, la sopa no tenía sabor alguno y, por más salsa que le puso, no logró mejorarla. El costo de la Pho era de $50.00, aceptable...hasta que la probó, claro.

Pho de Res

La verdad, este foodtruck fue una gran decepción; no sé cuál sea la formación de los que lo manejan, pero -claramente- cocinar, no es lo suyo. El proyecto está bien, pero me parece que antes de lanzar algo así, deberían cerciorarse de contar con un buen producto, sobre todo si van a manejar precios como los que manejan. Tienen mucho trabajo que hacer con respecto a la relación calidad-precio; y considero importante también que mejoren su servicio. Si lo van a probar, adelante, háganlo bajo su propio riesgo. Acá les dejo el menú para que se den una idea de lo que trata este foodtruck:

Menú del Ñham Ñham Foodtruck

Ahora seguimos con el Foodtruck de Barra Vieja que ofrece Pescados y Mariscos. Este es otro foodtruck que se me antojaba muchísimo pues soy MUY fan de los mariscos. Tampoco había ido pues sólo se estacionan en el sur de la ciudad.

Por supuesto, el tiempo de entrega aquí también fue largo a pesar de que contaban con más personal. Las tostadas de Ceviche y de atún toreado estaban bien, no muy generosas y por $40.00, uno esperaría por lo menos una tostada de tamaño normal -nunca entendí el por qué del tamaño mini. 

Sin temor a equivocarme, les aseguro que hay mercados en México con mariscos de mucho mejor calidad y mejor precio. De los puntos más fuertes de los foodtrucks son (o deberían ser), la relación calidad-precio y la rapidez. Mucha gente en EU come en este tipo de lugares porque es más rápido y barato que un restaurante y, además, muchos ofrecen tan buena calidad como en lugares establecidos -aquí no ví nada de eso, honestamente. Acá les dejo el menú:

El foodtruck de Primario es el concepto más hipster de todos, aunque la verdad, aplaudo su creatividad al darle un giro diferente a la comida mexicana de la calle como: Tlacoyos de pulpo, tlayudas de lengua y gorditas de cangrejo.

Acá los precios están un poco más "decentes" considerando que cosas como el pulpo y el centollo no son muy baratos que digamos, y las porciones son, sino muy generosas, por lo menos bien servidas. Aunque el sabor no es, en realidad, nada extraordinario; para probar están bien, pero sin problema pueden seguir comiendo las típicas gorditas de chicharrón/queso/etc. de la calle por $12.00-$15.00 en vez de $60.00. De nuevo, no se logra el cometido de dar excelente sabor y calidad con un buen precio.

Acá les dejo su menú para ver si se les antoja:

El último foodtruck es Frijolero; honestamente, su lista de pedidos era tan, pero tan larga (más de 15) que no quise esperar una hora para comer burritos. Les voy a dar el beneficio de la duda y pensar que sus burritos son -por lo menos- decentes y tienen variedades como pollo con mole, chicharron en salsa verde y cosas muy Mexicanas. Lo malo es que, igual que los demás, están siempre en un mismo punto en la colonia Condesa y no son itinerantes como deberían. ¿Cuál es el punto de poder comer de un camión si no lo van a mover por toda la ciudad? Para eso ya existen los restaurantes, gracias.

 

 

Hago mucho hincapié en la relación calidad-valor-precio porque en México y, sobre todo en DF, la oferta de comida callejera es bastante (BASTANTE) amplia, variada y -en su mayoría- con precios al alcance de todos, sí de todos. Y todos hemos comido en la calle, es más, me atrevo a decir que la mayoría de los defeños amamos la comida de la calle (pudientes o no, el taco es el taco). Entonces, al existir toda esta oferta de riquísima e increíble comida callejera en la ciudad, uno piensa ¿qué me va a ofrecer un foodtruck que no pueda encontrar en otro lado? (Salvo primario, todo lo demás lo podemos encontrar facilmente donde sea) Además de precios MUY inflados, la respuesta sería NADA. Ni calidad, ni eficiencia, ni buen servicio, ni precios accesibles. Ya ni mencionar la rapidez; una de las razones principales por la cual mucha gente en DF come en la calle es porque es muy rápido y la mayoría de la gente tiene -a lo mucho- una hora para comer, así que yo creo que nadie quiere gastar la mitad de su tiempo de comida esperando a que le sirvan sus alimentos.

En fin, todo lo anterior es -obviamente- mi punto de vista sobre el por qué los foodtrucks en México no han tenido (y no creo que tengan si no mejoran) el éxito que han tenido en EU. Por ahora, son tan sólo una moda hipster que, en cuanto venga algo más hipster, será olvidada.

 

My Mother's Day

Though I know it is a happy day for most of you, today is a really hard day for me as it is the first Mother's Day that Mom's not with me. I remember this day last year I thought I wasn't gonna be lucky enough to still have Mom with me, but I did and it made me really happy and I seized that day as I don't think I ever had. Today, I look back at those moments and tears run down my eyes, some of happiness and some of sadness because I know I will never have moments like those again but, at the same time, I'm happy I got to live them.

When we're young, we use to take our parents for granted, not realizing there will come a day when we no longer have them with us; it is normal, but that doesn't mean you can't do things differently. ("Les parents ne sont pas éternels" is a quote from a movie I love and well, it is true) I was very lucky to have a really tight relationship with my Mom and even though -for the most part- I did what I could to make the best out of my time with her, there are times where I still feel like I could have done better and not because I didn't do enough but because, when you lose a parent (or in this case, your Mother) you will always feel like the time you had was not enough, what you did was not enough, you will always feel like you could have done/had more; however, you will learn to treasure the moments you shared like nothing else and you will also learn how to live in peace with what you did, knowing that it was the best you could at the time.

And, regarding my day, well...most of my friends (the very few I got left) don't ask me how I am or how I feel after all I went through, or about Mom...they all actually try to avoid mentioning her at all. I figured it's because they think talking about her is gonna make me sad and I'll burst into tears right in front of them and well, it is understandable, nobody likes seeing someone cry, especially if they're your friends; it's usually awkward and you don't know how to act on it. One of my close friends actually confirmed this theory for me, she told me that -indeed- she had never wanted to mention the topic of my Mom (or how I really was) because she thought asking me would make me think of her and make me sad; well, newsflash people: I think of my Mom 24/7, not that I'm obsessed ONLY thinking of her all the time but she is in my thoughts throughout my day and though, not always as deeply, as I also need to move on with my life, she's always on my mind and heart; so, talking about her or mentioning her would most likely always, ALWAYS bring a smile to my face -remembering her and talking about her is one of the things that make me the happiest these days.

Whenever I think of Mumsy, I do get mixed feelings as on one side, it makes me really happy to remember her because that is my way to keep her close to me, and on the other side, it also makes me very sad because it's a constant reminder of her absence, of the fact that I will never get to live such moments ever again, but all in all, thinking of her is a good thing for me. Now, I don't want you to think I want you to ask me how I am or whatever, I just want you to not be afraid of asking when you do wanna know.

Today, all I can do is think of her and all the moments that we shared, good and bad, I get to miss her and, since holding her is not an option, I get to share stories about her to feel as if she's alive, even if it's just for a little while.

Bottom line is, love and cherish your mothers, spoil them and do your best to understand them, share your life with them and not just today, but everyday; after all, it is (if not the most) one of the most important relationships in your life.

  *I wanna send a special shout-out to my friends David + Paola who have been an amazing support to me + my sister and have been genuinely empathetic as they've gone through a similar situation -we Mom-Orphans stick together! Love you very much, guys, thank you for being there!

After a great Sunday Brunch with Mumsy