Cómprate un Bosque y Piérdete

Después de casi once meses de estar fuera de Monterrey se me vino a la mente esa frase de la prepa de “cómprate un bosque y piérdete.”

En el camino a Monterrey me perdí entre estos maples. Ha de ser por eso que el parque se llama “Lost Maples,” que significa Maples perdidos.

Después al llegar a Monterrey y ver estas vistas que ya extrañaba pensé: “No me compro un bosque, me compro estos dos, pero con las comodidades que tienes al vivir en la ciudad.”

San Antonio, Houston o Dallas, no son lo mismo sin mis cerros:

Aspen Trees, Populus tremuloides

With so many good and bad things happening right now, I can't find the words to express myself, so I'll just show some of the good things that have happened.

I pray and hope that bad things get fixed, even for you. Yes, you, whether you happen to read this or not.

Fall mixed Bag

Unlike an assorted fall candy or chocolate bag, this one has brought a mixed bag of experiences: some of them good, others have not been so good. The only thing I can think of is that I am much better now than I was last year. Things that have not been so good have not been my fault, so that makes me feel a little better.

One of the good things is that I was given what is shown on the pictre above simply for taking a math education course. The only condition to keep them is that I must not be absent in any monthly meeting that will take place between now and April. Those of us who attend are also being paid and fed. What excites me the most is that I will be given supplies for my classroom, as I could do without the iPad (but I'm not complaining!). Cool, huh?

Looking for an Apartment in Odessa, TX

Should I move? If you live with two other people in a house, you're told that rent is going up 30% starting in October, and you value your privacy, it might be time to move.

Starting tomorrow I will start looking around. In the mean time, just look at the moon, it looks beautiful, doesn't it? 

One Year in Odessa, Texas

On July 24, 2013 I came to Odessa for the first time ever, and this is where I've stayed. One of the things you realize is that it has nothing to do with Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, or even the border cities in South Texas. Cities in the Golden Triangle are sunken in the woods, and there are areas inside the cities where there is nothing but forest, and it looks nice, while Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley have planted palm trees all around as well as planted trees in their neighborhoods. Odessa only has planted trees in the neighborhoods, but not everywhere else as we're close to a desert. We do not have those huge nice freeways and overpasses, but I've got a job.

The economy in the area is driven by oil. As fracking (a technique used to pump oil out of rocks) was made possible, we've got the lowest unemployment rate in Texas and people have been moving in here as well as neighboring Midland (a nicer city). This is not a nice city overall, but it does have a few nice places (which are growing due to the booming economy). I really miss Monterrey, Mexico, but being able to do what I believe I was meant to do and being able to live without any financial aid or support from my parents is a blessing. 

I got here with less than 2,700K. I only had 15 dollars left before my first paycheck (about 38 days later). During this first year I traveled to Monterrey and Dallas twice, once to Austin and New York, and I made a road trip to El Paso, Alamogordo, Cloudcroft, White Sands, Santa Fe, Angel Fire, and Amarillo. Besides this, I paid a car and my teaching internship. I made some new friends and met lots of new people. I say this once more, it has been a blessing and I look forward to extend it as long as possible. If I know you and you want to come here (or elsewhere in Texas with the same program), let me know.

Aquí en Juárez, esquina con Xicoténcatl

Cuando vas a Nueva York por primera vez y ya conoces Texas relativamente bien te das cuenta de que es un muy buen lugar para ir a visitar. De hecho, me queda pendiente regresar a ver en Central Park en otoño cuando los árboles estén color naranja, amarillo y rojo y en invierno, cuando tengan el pino de Navidad puesto en el Rockefeller Center.

A cada media hora se escucha la sirena de la ambulancia, de los bomberos o de la policía. Cuando pasa por lugares concurridos como Times Square, el ruidazo puede durar unos 10 minutos, es una locura. Estoy seguro es que el vivir en un suburbio de Dallas o Houston es una verdadera bendición: 

Jamás viviría en Nueva York aunque me pagaran por ello. Esta ciudad se parece mucho más al DeFe que a Texas, con la única diferencia de que hay edificios en cada manzana. Muchos de los parques chicos y lo sucio de las calles me recuerdan a la Ciudad de México y no, jamás me iría a vivir al DeFe. Incluso en Odessa, que es famosa por petróleo y dinero mas no por turismo es mucho mejor lugar para vivir que Manhattan. A la próxima que vaya a Nueva York voy a checar si Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island o The Bronx me hacen cambiar un poco de opinión. Lo único que no extrañé de Texas fue el calor, pero ¡ah cómo extraño Monterrey!

Canon Powershot SX50 HS

Odessa, Texas tiene algunos lugares bonitos.

Como diría Ángela: "Ya estoy alunizando." 

Yo digo: "Vivo en las nubes, mas no en la luna." Extraño Monterrey. 

Mientras tanto, me entretengo con este juguete nuevo. Tiene un zoom 50x, puedes tomarle fotos a la luna y sigue teniendo las funciones de "color accent" y "color swap" de las cámaras Canon Powershot. Como dirían en España: "¡Cómo mola tu cámara nueva!"

Zoom 50x

Sin zoom:

Con zoom:

Sin zoom:

Con zoom:

Sin zoom:

Con zoom:

Wow

Am I in the right place?

When everything in this life seemed to be moving in the right direction I just had to stop and ask myself: "Am I in the right place? Am I really doing what I'm supposed to?"

Sometimes you may find people that are "thought provokers", such as the one who made me think about this today. Am I still headed the right way? I certainly hope so, but when something or someone suggests that this MAY not be the case, it just makes me wonder if I'm doing the right thing or not. 

Regardless of failure, are thoughts like this normal on the way to success? 

Austin, TX

The city itself is beautiful. It now has a decent skyline, it is full of trees, has parks, walking trails, friendly people...

Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio have their own parks, and except for San Antonio, a decent skyline. I just love the way all cities within the Golden Triangle are sort of buried in the forest. You get those beautiful freeways, nice buildings, houses and businesses while still being surrounded by nature. 

As beautiful as the city is and the fact that people are friendly, I would never choose to raise my kids there. While keeping the city weird is cool, weird people ARE NOT cool. Most Austinites seem to be just fine, however, I don't think that people that ACT UP on 6th street live on that street, they most likely come from all around the city. If you do not know what I'm talking about I invite you to go there at night. As crazy as it will be on the street, you'll find a bar with live music every twenty yards. If you like live music, you'll love to visit 6th street at night. 

Will I go back? Of course!

Comida Mexicana en Odessa

Si quieres encontrar comida mexicana de a de veras en Odessa tienes que prepararla tú. Sé que tenemos la costumbre de cambiar la comida internacional a nuestro antojo (según el país donde vivas), pero es increíble ver como toda la comida disque mexicana y la mezcla de quesos disque mexicanos vienen con queso cheddar. ¿Sabe mal? No, pero no es comida mexicana. 

Da coraje cuando casi siempre se te olvida algo en las tiendas. Esta vez, se me olvidó buscar totopos enchilados (de esos que también los fríen con ajo). A pesar de eso, estos chilaquiles quedaron bastante bien.