Mexico and Texas!

Hi all,

So, while I know this is my London blog, this time I will be blogging about my first trip back to the US, with a quick stop in Mexico. Actually, the timing of my trip home was to attend this wedding.

Mexico (The Wedding)

When I moved to London from Chicago last year, it was not that hard. I mean, come on, I am achieving a long term goal of mine of living in a foreign country. Another reason was the fact that I was not truly leaving all my friends (because I knew I was going to see them at this wedding). Over the past ten years (since 1999) I have been lucky enough to meet one of the best groups of people, friend I met while attending Marquette University. It is amazing; they say that you meet some of your best friends while in college… Well, I have to agree, with the exception of my few high school friends (Emily, Courtney, Monica, Larry) most of my close friends are from college. And to top that, we have all been great friends for sometime now, from Kate, Christina, Eric, Jeff, Chris and many others from O’Donnell, to Tim, Scott, George, Erick and the Sara(h)’s during Junior year. The group even kept growing to include many others like Meghan, Kristin, Suzie, and Arin many more years later… (Don’t think I forgot about you Meredyth from Freshman Year at Dan’s Party!). The best thing about our group is that we are an interconnected group of friends, where one person is truly friends with many of the others in the group. This makes it easy to (1) see what others are up to, (2) randomly see your friends while out and about with other friends, and (3) get to see everyone when someone in the group get’s married. Well, that is the situation here, and I was excited to be a part of it.

Our good friends George and Meghan decided to wed in Manzanillo, Mexico. While I was excited to go to Mexico, I was not excited about the mode of transportation I selected. I first had to fly into Guadalajara, taxi to the bus station, take a bus to the Manzanillo bus station, then a car to resort. The good thing is Meghan (the wedding planner) had great taste and selected a great affordable venue inside Manzanillo that happened to be all inclusive (and I don’t mean just meals). It was pretty nice to be laying on a beach for a week having servers constantly coming up to you asking if you would like another Michalada (Beer, Lime Juice and Tabasco) or Miami Vice (½ Piña Colada and ½ Strawberry Daiquiri) – two of our groups favourites during the week. Another exciting part of the trip was the fact that the future bride and groom sent out a WEEK ITINERARY to the group of attendees. Weekly activities included ziplining from the tops of trees, deep sea fishing, snorking, and beach visits. Yes, it was truly a week in paradise, only with 15 of your closest friends. It was not only a wonderful experience to see two of my good friends tie the knot, but it provided me with the opportunity to hang out with ‘my group’ one more time. Now that I live in London, I realize I might see two to three of them at a time, but times like this wedding, times when we are all together again are going to be a rarity for me now. I need to enjoy it while I can…

Home (Houston, TX)

Wow, reverse culture shock is something that is pretty interesting. Actually, it is pretty cool when you live outside the US so long that when you return, you notice so many things that you simply took for granted before. For example, while living in London I typically don’t see the British flag displayed on a normal basis; however, while in Houston, I noticed that we proudly displayed our red, white and blue everywhere. It did fill me with a sense of pride to be from a country where we are so proud of our roots. That being said, it is also invigorating to be in a country that actually has roots, deep cultural and historical roots that is. But, as I mentioned, this blog is not about England, but rather about Texas, so let’s get back to that. First, I was extremely excited to see my parents. Especially since I flew in on Friday night and had to fly out the following morning to go to Mexico. I had not seen my parents in 8 months and I only had one night with them before the wedding trip. Luckily, I had a whole 8 days with them after the wedding, which seemed to fly by too fast. Every time I go home I not only notice how much I have grown, but I truly notice how much my sisters have as well. This trip I saw my little sister and was amazed at how much of a young woman she sounded and acted like (at 25 now). It is kinda crazy, because I bet my older sis might think the same about me. Well, this year I saw a big change in her too, she seemed truly happy. Maybe I did not notice it before, but it does seem like things are going great for her now. It was also great to see my parents again. One of my trips highlights was when I gave my mom her present from London (well one of them anyway). She had asked for a very nice French perfume. If my mom has a weakness, they are ‘Authentic Crystals’ and ‘Exotic Perfumes’ (with a mild scent). As such, I had set out the month before with my friend Olivia to go to Harrods to find my mom the perfect scent. It turns out I succeeded, because the smile on my mom’s face when she first smelled the scent was priceless… It was also great because the brand I bought her was from one of the oldest fragrance makers in France, and it was specific to Harrods, meaning you could not but it online or anywhere in the States. I think that truly added to the appeal, having something that is limited and can really only be brought back from London. My dad, on the other had, is a very complex, yet simple guy. When I asked what he wanted from London, he responded (and I quote) “You can get me a London baseball cap for me to wear during the summer months here.” Well that I did sir, I got him a great London, UK hat from one of the tourist shops around. I actually had to go to four stores to find his, because I wanted it to be special and not just one of the standard gifts.

I can also see that I am getting older as well. I did yard work on my families house for the first time (I was never a work in the yard kind of guy, except when it was to volunteer with Strake Jesuit or Marqutte). However, when my mom asked me to de-weed the front yard, plant four rose bushes, five shrubs and mulch the yard, I actually jumped at the opportunity… Why, maybe because I grew up a spoiled brat and I feel I owe it to my parents who have always been there to provide for me. I feel like I owe it to them for all the yeas I refused to vacuum the gameroom, or walk the dog, or take out the trash, or well, do any chrores! So now, yes, I am more than happy to assist my parents with these tasks when I come home. I actually look forward to it, kind of like when the parents visited and cleaned your kitchen and bought you food while in college. Although fun, I am happy that central Londoners do not have yards while a Houston household without a yard is a rare commodity!

Overall, I enjoyed my trip home so much more than other’s because I was able to just be. I was able to be me with my friends. I was able to be me with my family. I was able to see my mom, dad, and sister’s smile and laugh. I was able to take my Godson out for a fun night at Dave and Buster’s, stressing the importance of getting a good education. I was able to be me, the me I know. I feel the new me in London is different… I have to be… I don’t have the same friends, or my family a quick plane ride away. Moving to a foreign country definitely makes you stronger. It helps you to adjust to varying circumstances rapidly, while always keeping that smile on your face. And if you have met me, you know I always have a smile on my face…

Talk with you all soon. My next entry will be about my upcoming trip to Amsterdam and France!

Until next time!

PS. As usual, if you read this, please post a comment!!!!