Monday, December 31

Let It Snow

It just keeps snowing here and the temps are chilly. Rather than fighting the weather, I embrace it. Yesterday my dad, Endo, Shoshoni, and I braved the elements to get in a little backcountry skiing.
My dad and Shishoni breaking trail.
The dogs definitely enjoyed themselves despite having snow frozen faces, snow clumps in their paws, and Endo getting a small cut on his leg by the edge of a ski (a regular occurrence when backcountry skiing with the dogs).

Wednesday, December 26

White Christmas

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas . . . Oh wait, pinch me, I don't think I was dreaming. It is not often that you wake up to cold temps and beautiful snow falling on Christmas morning, but that is exactly what happened yesterday at 15344 Gold Hill Rd.
After eating a yummy breakfast and opening presents my mom, dad, and I headed out for a cross country ski. It was beautiful.
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas too!

Thursday, December 20

Home for the Holidays

My mom and I decorated the Christmas tree tonight.
Endo was spotted trying out for the role of Max, the dog in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, on Broadway. The only problem is that after 10 seconds, Endo prefers to tear the antlers to pieces rather than wear them. Needless to say, he won't be appearing in any Broadway shows in his life time.

Sunday, December 16

Not just for Spring Break

Most of us are familiar with a "yard" of beer from our spring break days as teenagers in Cancun. These guys decided to use the "yard" to celebrate the end of the year. In the picture are Edgar (a graduate student of Michel's who will defend his PhD on January 9th), Wolfgang (Michel's postdoc), and Michel.

On another note, I will be heading back to Colorado for a couple weeks tomorrow morning. I am hoping to get in a lot of good skiing and some fresh air.

Sunday, December 9

Coming Together

Things here in El DF are really coming together. My apartment is beautiful with all the new furniture I have purchased, my social network is expanding, and work is coming together slowly but surely.
This is my new dining room table. I purchased it at the Tlalpan furniture market where I also bought my bed frames. These handmade pieces are going to have find their way back to Colorado after my two years here because they are very beautiful and well made.
Here is a view of the living/dining room. The large door to the right is the main entrance. There are a few final touches that need to be done, like artwork on the walls, but all the major furniture pieces have been bought. I love having my own home and of course visitors are always welcome!

Friday, December 7

Christmas at the Rocka . . . I mean Zocalo

The mayor of Mexico City put an ice skating rink in the Zocalo for the first time ever for the holiday season. It is free to go skating but you have to arrive very early in the day to receive a time slot in which you are allowed to be on the ice. We found this out the hard way and were not able to skate. I guess this is expected in a city of 22 million.
But just walking around the Zocalo was enjoyable. The roads downtown were closed and the streets were packed with people just enjoying the season. The Zocalo is definitely in the Christmas spirit!

Thursday, December 6

As Promised

Below are 3 photos that Wolfgang took while he was at Paso de Cortes during Popo's very minor explosion. As you can tell from the photos, the explosion occurred shortly after sunrise.

Wednesday, December 5

Bruselas 82

Over the next few days I will post some pics of my apartment as the furniture arrives and the place looks a little more lived in.
Here is a picture of the outside of my apartment. The first floor has a carport, a laundry room, and the room with the window is a maid's room. I don't have a full time maid so this room is referred to as my bicis room. The second floor has an open living room/dining room, a large kitchen, and a full bath. The third floor has two bedrooms and another full bath. The roof has an amazing roof garden which will require lost of plants, outdoor furniture, a grill, etc. It will be my after Christmas vacation project.
Today my platform bed frames arrived. They are beautiful handmade beds. This is a picture of my bedroom.
This is the staircase. It is very beautiful but it is not so friendly on bare feet and Endo doesn't like it either. I think it hurts his feet as well and he can see all the way to the bottom of the stairs, which I think freaks him out. He is getting used to them though and I am remembering to always either have slippers or shoes on when attempting the stairs.

Tuesday, December 4

Birthday Celebration

On Sunday I turned the big 30 and Federico's birthday was on the 3rd. We decided to celebrate with a nice dinner at the Hacienda de Cortes in Coyoacan. Here is Anna, Federico, Tony, and Celine.

Ixta and Popo from the City

On Sunday I headed to the far north side of Mexico City. It was a rather clear day and in the background of the city you can see Paso de Cortes along with Ixta and Popo. Although this view is pretty amazing, I much prefer the view of Popo up close.

Saturday, December 1

Apartment, friends, and volcanic ash

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while BUT, I finally was able to move into my much awaited new apartment. I don't have any new pictures yet, but I will post some soon. The apartment is AMAZING and waiting for visitors.
Speaking of visitors, Luke and Nichole stayed with me in route to Oaxaca, Mexico. It was great to see some familiar faces and show them my neighborhood. Here they are in Plaza Santa Catarina.

Today I headed up to Paso de Cortes, which is about 3 hours outside of Mexico City at ~11,000ft between the two volcanoes Ixtaccihuatl (Ixta) and Popocatétl (Popo). I drove up there with Carolina to meet Ivan and Wolfgang who have been on the pass since Wednesday making measurements. The plan was to go for a nice mountain bike ride while there and get away from the pollution in Mexico City for a bit. However, Popo is active and spewed a lot of ash this morning. I don't have pictures of the ash event but will post one of Wolfgang's next week. Anyway, we rode our mountain bikes for a bit but between the fresh ash and dusty roads I couldn't handle it and we stopped riding.
Here is Carolina, Wolfgang, and Ivan eating some grub before we attempted our mountain bike ride.
Here is a picture of Popo later in the day after it spewed ash. You can still see the smoke though.