Ça c'est pour la vie:.

Una vez más comprobé que para cada cosa hay un momento y un lugar adecuado para disfrutar en esta vida. Ese sentimiento es una de las cosas por las que bien vale la pena vivir!!.

Esta vez fue mi visita a París. Ya había estado ahí hace unos 3 años, junto con mi hermano y un buen amigo y aunque la ciudad me pareció interesante, no lo fue tanto como para llamarla la mejor ciudad europea en la historia de la humanidad...qué equivocado estaba!.

El ambiente nublado, lluvioso, la música de fondo, los pequeños detalles, el tener la ciudad siempre a media luz, y el tener mucho tiempo y energías para caminar por todos lados creo que fue la mejor combinación para quedar encantado de esta ciudad. Es difícil describirlo, pero cuando algo que creías que ya conocías es capaz de deslumbrarte y dejarte sin palabras, es simplemente impresionante =)...

Quise compartir esto porque también me recuerda a una de nuestras grandes tragedias, que es el ir perdiendo poco a poco la capacidad de asombrarse y de ver las cosas con ojos nuevos. Me recuerda a la confesión que escuché de un jugador experto de go hace muchos años. Este cuate estaba jugando contra un novato y a pesar de ir dándole una paliza, no estaba contento, y nos dijo el porqué. Extrañaba esa sensación de sentirse perdido, de no saber qué jugada exacta debía hacer, envidiaba al novato porque para él, el juego apenas comenzaba, iba a ir descubriendo cada una de las movidas y trucos del juego, pero el jugador experto ya había pasado por ahí y nunca más podría volver a sentirlo, por más que trataba, no podía ver el juego con los ojos y el asombro de aquel novato.

No lo sé, aunque a veces lo olvido, es importante dejar siempre una puerta abierta para tratar de ver las cosas con ojos nuevos y dejarse asombrar, aún por las pequeñas cosas =):.

Avec toi chérie,
la vie est belle.

What was it you wanted?:.

About a month ago I bought an Amazon Kindle and my first e-book purchase was the first 4 books in the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series, excellent choice =). I needed something to read for my next vacations and since I had already watched the 'A Game of Thrones' show, I knew this was something worth looking at.

The only problem is that when I find something I like, it becomes an obsession, and this time was no different. I've just finished reading the second book and let me tell you, this is a great story, but you have to make sure you have enough the time to read it, otherwise you'll end up like me, barely sleeping at all when you have to go to school early in the morning =).

Anyway, vacations are just around the corner and now I'll have enough time to recharge batteries and prepare myself, because now I know that, winter is coming!!:.

I've done this before,
and I will do it again.

Lift me off the ground:.

Nearly two months after my arrival in Grenoble, things finally seem to be settling =). I got payed, I have a new home, and most of all, paperwork is no longer the main concern in my life!!.

But not everything is perfect, along the way I lost some good friends. First, my hard disk, and then my loyal Macbook white =(. Anyway, now more than ever I realize that it's not a good idea to have dinner in the same table where you work, specially if you mix beer, milk, and sodas...

In the early days I used to walk all around the city to go from my home to the university, just like in the old times, and though I still managed to do it, I got very tired by the end of the week, maybe the time has passed for me to do that on a daily basis.

My new home wouldn't be complete without a proper chair, and that's basically what I was looking for the last couple of days. It's important to know that many years ago, when I was starting college I was in a similar situation, I needed a good chair where I could perform magic =). And so I bought a particular model that up to this day is still in my bedroom back in Mexico city. Anyway, when I moved to Barcelona I decided to look for the exact same model, eventually I found it and it served me good for a couple of years. This time I was going to do same, but there were some logistic problems and there was no way I could bring it back home without losing my arms, which by the way almost happen when I bought the chair in Spain (but I'll leave that story for another time). Today, I found a very similar one in another store, and I can finally say that, for now, I feel like home =).

The leaves, they fall to my feet,
at home, they mean nothing to me.

Waiting for a ride in the dark:.

I'd like to share some thoughts and impressions from my first week in Grenoble. First of all, I think this will be a prolific experience and I'm really looking forward to learn and share all that I can during my stay here.

Ok, I really don't know where to start, because there are plenty on things I do like and obviously some other that I don't. So, let's begin with the positive things, among them, the mountains!!. It's a fact that everywhere you look you see a mountain, and that's great, it gives you a sense of nature-awareness that I think will be even more impressing once the snow starts coming. From what I've seen, people here really love their mountains, and do all kind of stuff like trekking, bicycling and are now getting prepared for snowboarding, skiing and that sort of things for when the snow finally comes. I'll definitely have to try some of those activities out =):.

I also like the fact that's relatively safe to be here, you can walk yourself home at night, or wander around the city early in the morning, and you don't feel particularly threatened or anything. To be honest, there's always someone running by your side in the street, so you're not really alone at anytime. Anyway, a little precaution is ok.

I don't like the way traffic lights work here!. There's always a moment when both pedestrians and cars have the red light, and you don't know what to do!. I mean, it's not like for a couple of seconds, it's a long time in which no one is allowed to continue their way. And if you just stay there, you see how other people just come and pass to the other side of the road, leaving you wondering if you're just been naive or fool for following what the traffic light says.

Like in any country I've been, having to do paperwork and deal with bureaucrats is simple the worst thing humanity has to offer!!. Ok, I'm not being totally fair here. I must admit that my level of French is not very good yet, so it's a little bit difficult to communicate in a mixture of spanish-english-french with the people around me, specially when you have to deal with these bureaucratic affairs. Some of the school personnel has actually been very helpful and understanding, so yes, paperwork is a nightmare but people can be kind when you're in need =). Having said that, I do think that for a top-level international institution, you can ask for basic english communication skills in the administration personnel...anyway, this is something you must live as part of the whole international experience, it can be difficult, maddenning but in the end it's also interesting and you actually end up learning and practicing your communication skills =)..

This post is pretty long now, I'll continue my experiences in another one. Au revoir!:.

Following the neon signs,
waiting for a roar!.

Lucky:.

A few days ago I was having dinner with some good friends, when it suddenly hit me, it's been 10 years since I finished high school!. At that time, I had to leave Texcoco to come live with my grandparents in Mexico city, so I could study at the university. It was a great change in my life, and I'll never thank enough my grandparents for their support, not only then but through all the time I've been here.

Once I finished school, they let me stayed with them during the year or so that I worked in Mexico, and when the time came for me to work abroad, they wished me luck and reminded me that I could always come back...and I did =).

Once more I'm in a similar situation, I'll be leaving home for a long time. However, there's a big difference this time, my grandparents' health is not as good as it used to be. But that's a subject for another post, today I'll enjoy my last sleep here, my second-home, and tomorrow we'll enjoy breakfast. I'll also take the opportunity to thank them again for all their valuable help, time and patience =):.

Lucky

La vie est I'art le plus authentique:.

La semaine dernière j'ai reçu de bonnes nouvelles, ma long séjour visa a enfin été approuvée et maintenant je suis en train d'aller à Grenoble, en France!. J'ai déjà acheté mon billet d'avion et un camarade m'a réservé un studio pour mon arrivée la semaine prochaine.

Ce n'est pas la première fois que je vais être loin de mon pays pour un longtemps. Il y a quelques années, je suis allée à l'étranger pour plus de deux ans pour travailler à Barcelone. C'était une bonne expérience, mais aussi plein de beaucoup d'erreurs. Cette fois será différente!!.

Maintenant je sais que c'est une mauvaise idée de vivre comme des sans-abri, sans laver bien votre vêtements, manger malbouffe toutes les week-ends et sans nettoyer votre chambre. Semble logique, mais quand vous êtes seule c'est facile d'oublier tout et de vivre comme des animaux =):.

Pleine ou vide, c'est toi qui diriges ta propre vie,
aime-la, jouie-la, danse-la,
mais fait d'elle le meilleur film qu'il soit!.

Something that we don't determine:.

Hace ya bastante tiempo conocí a un cuate en Barcelona y durante las primeras conversaciones clásicas sobre qué nos gustaba y demás salió el tema de la cerveza. Yo le dije la verdad, no me gustaba mucho su sabor y él estuvo de acuerdo conmigo, el sabor de la cerveza no era algo que fuera mucho de su agrado. Unos días después coincidimos para una fiesta de la ciudad y durante las horas que estuvimos juntos lo vi tomarse dos o tres cuagamas de la cerveza local =). Al final de la noche me hizo una confesión que hasta el día de hoy no se me ha olvidado, me dijo: sé muy bien lo que te dije hace unos días y también sé que pensarás que soy un mentiroso, pero la verdad es que no me gusta el sabor de la cerveza, lo que me encanta es su efecto!!:.

Menciono esta pequeña anécdota porque es verdad que con la cerveza, y con algunos otros placeres de esta vida, se suele tener una relación un poco complicada, al menos yo la he tenido. Al inicio su sabor no es agradable, durante mi adolescencia y parte de mi juventud su sabor me resultaba bastante desagradable. Es cierto que algunas veces disfrute de sus efectos, pero no era ni por asomo ese gran elixir que algunos, como los míticos Homero Simpson y Bender Bending Rodríguez, decían. Llegué incluso a cometer el sacrilegio de dejar una Guinness a medio acabar en la St. James's Gate Brewery, porque su sabor me resultó demasiado amargo....en retrospectiva me atrevo a decir: pero qué tontería!!.

Con el tiempo, vas descubriendo las bondades de los diferentes tipos de cerveza, que si clara u obscura, que si con mezcla de no sé qué ingredientes o que si con denominación de tal o cual región, y muchas veces todo se reduce a la esencia de la confesión de alguien que ha probado las delicias, no sólo de la cerveza sino de muchos placeres en la vida: muchas veces lo importante no es el sabor o la presentación de las cosas, sino lo que llega a provocar en tí =):.

I love you so
but why I love you, I'll never know.