An open letter to people who have touched my life in Mexico

Dear *insert your name*,

We have spent the past 5 months frolicking under the sun in Mexico.
There are dull moments but most are for sure happy ones.
The only sad ones are when we all had to say see you later, cliche, no goodbye-s right?
So in lieu of people talking about the American Idol results, I am writing you this letter.
What for?
I just wanted to thank you for being a part of my life.
I am so glad I knew you. I may not say it in person but believe me, I do.
I posted this on this blog for the whole world to know how much you entering my life, means to me.
We have had a conversation or two that made me realize and think about something deep in this world,
made me realize how beautiful of a person you are.
Sometimes we would not talk but your presence is enough for me to like you, to be proud that you call me a friend.
I hope that I have touched your life as well.
I hope I have made you laugh at some point.
As in the future, we might not be able to talk that often, but I hope you would always remember me.
Parting is hard. I hate it when something that you are accustomed to suddenly disappears pushing you through a new level of adjustments.
I'll get through this.
As people around me says, do not be sad it is over, be glad it happened.
Again, I just wanted to thank you for being a part of my life.
Stay in contact.
And remember, if ever your in the Philippines or in Canada, you just found yourself a house.
Mexico 2012 will always be loved.

Much Love,
Justin Monton

Prisa! Prisa!

"On the run" is an understatement if you were to describe my past few days.

Jeebuz I think I only have been sleeping for 5 hours every day.

From what? Exams, parties, projects, frolicking my last few days in Mexico.

Beware of a cliche...

I figured I do not want to spend my last few days in Mexico sleeping.

I am sort of in a euphoria where reality is definitely better than dreams.

Anyway, I only have one more month left in Latin America.

And as I have always said, Mexico has its ups and downs, but on a simple note..

It is simply LOVE.

For the past 2 weeks, I have been everywhere.

And since I just came back from another trip and I am very tired.

I am just going to give you a run down of where I have been and a little of what we did.

Well I told you I cooked for friends for my birthday right?

It was a success!

First time cooking the famous Chicken and Pork Adobo and

it did tasted like Adobo! LOL

April 14 (Thanks Maria Ruiz for the photo)

And then the Wednesday after that.

Me, Emelie and Joe went to Tequila.

You have not found Mexico when you havent took a shot of Tequila in Tequila!

Bummer though, I felt so tired already that day, the Asian curse was in full effect.

After the Tequila tour that we made, we sat on a pub where I slept! LOL

Emelie lost her wallet and I bought a Tequila barrel that I do know how I am going to bring it to Canada. 

April 18 (Thanks Emelie Glaser for the photo and for the tour guide who took it.)

The next day I stayed up til the morning.

For some reason, one of my professors really liked having a relaxed gathering at the end of the semester.

It did happen and as awkward as it seems, the Prof actually was the one who brought beer. LOL

After that dinner, we went to an international pain party. Really, really cool. 

Which gives me an idea of incorporating this party to Winnipeg.

April 19 (Thanks Angela Vaquiero for the picture)

Friday comes and I am still partying. 

This time, it was for a farewell party arranged by the school.

Nothing really eventful happening.

I dont really want to talk about farewell parties.

I hate goodbyes.

I sort of erased that term in my life.

April 20 (Thanks Caroline for the picture)

(And no need to thank me for this very flattering facial expression Joe. LOL)

The next morning.

I went to the beach with a bunch of friends.

I have been hearing Sayulita, Nayarit since I came here.

It was very beautiful!

And if you are reading this, you probably know that I dont like camping.

Hence, I learned to love it this time since the campsite is just 5 mins walk from the comforts of a bathroom.

YES! A Bathroom. 

Laying by the beach is always great. I am so tanned and I love it!

There was a dinner arranged by the school but we figured staying at the beach is way better.

And we were right! No dinner happened. Just a ceremonial thing to give our diplomas from here.

April 21-April 23 (Thank you Regan Longfield for the photo)

After April 23.

Stress comes. I had 3 presentations this week but I delivered all of them with grace and a more than decent job. Final projects and presentations are finally done! I am now dreading final exams which should not be very stressful. let us see how this goes though.

I told you I just came back from a trip right?

I went to Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes for La Feria de San Marcos.

A huuuuuge festival in Aguascalientes.

And I am not lying when I say huge!!!!

There are so much people!

Very very cool though.

Cultural.

Me and Ida went to a bullfight.

Im not going to go any further as to not disappoint animal lovers.

But here's a picture.

April 28-April 30 (Thanks Emelie for lending us your camera)

Yes. The matador kills the bull.

And people shout "Ole!" when the matador tries to aggravate the bull.

I thought it was cool.

Made me think of being a vegetarian for a second though. LOL

Me and my friends went to Aguascalientes with our eyes closed.

But hey, we met the coolest Mexicans ever.

Offering their house to us for the whole duration! (Thanks again Marcos and friends)

After all of this. 

I am now just going to publish this post.

The countdown to 31 days begins tommorrow. :(

I have 4 more exams to write. 

Much Love

My 21 year old self.

I love cakes!

Gracias a mi familia aqui en Mexico! :)

In a Filipino's life, the age 21 signifies another portal to some sort of a mythological world.

As for now, I still do not see the importance of this number and why it should be grandly celebrated.

I turned 21 yesterday, 2 hours ago.

I would like to spend my first hours being of such age thanking all the people that made me my life a breeze.

As far as now I...

moved to another country.

jumped off a cliff.

LIVED in 3 countries.

speak 2.5 languages.

worked while studying.

stayed up 2 days straight.

was hurt.

myself, also caused pain. 

laughed continuously.

smiled generously.

cried in a humble way.

have been proud quietly.

This is definitely not a complete list of the things that I have done but just

to make it sound more dramatic. (LOL! Come one now! It's my birthday post!)

21 years have passed and there are still so much more things to do. 

So much more things to see.

You probably have heard of that phrase a couple of times,

but I would not get tired of repeating.

I am no perfect person.

But I believe that as far as now,

I gave all the love that I could to people around me.

Pardon if it's not enough but believe me, I try my best.

21 years have passed and I hope I have touched lives,

as much as my life has been inspired by those people around me.

Concluding to the specifics:

I would like to thank my 2 Swedish sisters, Ida and Emelie for a day well spent.

Thanks for always being there for me here in Mexico and I for sure love you both!

To my Mexican host family. 

Thanks for taking care of me while I am away from my family back home.

To my friends who kept me going and never failed to be there. 

To those less than 70 people who greeted me online and in person.

You guys do not know how much this means to me.

This number may not be compared to the people who writes on some other person's wall

on their birthday but I hid my birthday on facebook for a reason.

Greetings just means so much more when you know all the people who wished you a happy birthday.

I must say, I am very touched by the number of people who remembered. 

And of course to my family in Canada.

Mom, Dad, Jasper and Jonas. My bloodline. 

Thank you for everything.

I know I am not the most expressive in person but I hope

you guys still remember that I dedicate everything that I do for you.

Thanks for all the support that you have given me this past 21 years.

I am sorry if I missed your call tonight. But I will be seeing you in 1.5 months.

Always remember that I love each and everyone of you. 

Much Love.

Vive el Momento!

Life could not be better in Mexico.
I have never felt the student blood since when I can remember.
I mean back in my base country, Im not forced to work or anything but
I believe I do need to. I need my independence in that part,
but Mexico has again made me feel like a student.
Not worrying about anything but school and how to make that A an A+.

Anyways, I wanted to talk about how I spent my weekend.
We had no classes on Monday, March 19 so the school planned another trip.
This time to Huasteca Potosina. It's close to the gulf and that is pretty much
all I know about where that place is located.
We did so much things that weekend.
A lot of it unsafe but heck,
I think I am being that paranoid Canadian I am talking about with my last post.

Anyways, we just visited a total of 2 waterfalls and this
pothole thing that is sooooo beautiful... here's a picture.

No biggie at all. 

I just jumped a mountain cliff straight to the water.

It was awesome. 

I would like to think it has made me more brave in some way. LOL

Oh the things that Mexico teaches me.

But you know, It is starting to sink in that this trip is close to an end.

The best way to deal with it is not to talk about it.

Tommorow is the opening for Hunger Games.

I cannot express how excited I am!

I will be watching it on Sunday though.

And in a week, it's the Holy week!

We get a week of break.  

Right now, I emailed a bunch of organizations but no one has

responded yet. Worse comes to worse, I am going to Mazatlan.

A quiet beach area. Away from springbreakers, away from commercialism.

Maybe I could build my hut now?

So much things to be excited for.

But then, time passes by sooooo fast. :(

Much love.

Nuestro motor eres tu!

You can accuse me of patronizing Mexico if another post will be talking about how I love this country so much.

Well you can do that because I am for sure slowly being nationalized, not by the Mexican government but by the Mexican people.

This post would have an ugly part. If you're from Canada and your paranoia would not calm down, I suggest you stop reading from this point.

The first picture up is the remnant of how busy PrimeraPlus was. Why?

A drug group's leader was caught in Mexico and his followers were on the street burning buses.

No, that was not very drastic but it is the truth. 

Buses were being delayed in traffic since some roads were blocked.

It has calmed down now and I wanted to believe it is under control.

So let us leave it at that.

And hey, if I die, at least I am in Mexico, under the sun, close to the beach, just where I want my ashes to be spread. 

Every international student in Guadalajara was freaked out.

But we would not let this fact ruin our trip.

Rebels do not scare me as I am a rebel myself(I just do not go out and burn buses).

Instead, me and my friends still ended up going to Guanajuato.

Four hours drive from Guadalajara.

One of the best things I love about Mexico is the cheap travel.
Aside from the bus fare being cheap, I did not need to spend 32 hours sitting just to go to another province.
Guanajuato is beautiful.
A lot of friends definitely recommended to visit this city.
As I have heard from my host mom, it is where the film "El Estudiante" was video taped.
I felt like I was in a different world.
We did not visit any museums but that was alright.
Walking around Guanajuato felt very light and self-fulfilling.
I felt I learned so much just walking around its streets.
There were houses, restaurants, commercial buildings, and vendors in the street.
Quite normal it may seem but there is something very different.
I am not sure what it is but I know there is something different.

I have not told you but it was my first time staying at a hostel as well.

For those of you who have not heard of a hostel yet(like me, just right before I came to this trip),

hostels are places where they give you a bed, sometimes something extra like breakfasts and internet use,

and you can sleep there, take a shower and leave your things while you go out and explore the city.

Since I said just bed, you probably will be staying with 8 other people in the same room as well.

It is fairly cheap to stay at hostels rather than stay in hotels. 

Very very practical. 

Group picture!

Travelling by five is such a great number.

Not to small and not too big.

Very easy to move around.

Look, all I am saying is,

Mexico is a beautiful city.

Sure there are bus-burning freaks but I have heard they have made the passengers go down the bus

first before burning it. 

At the end of the day, Mexico is a country you should visit not only to play by the beach,

but also learn the culture itself.

Stop being such a tourist. 

Much love.

Memorizing Stop Light Patterns and Crossing Streets

 

Two months have passed and I am still alive and kicking.

I am so much darker though. 

I am so happy that the sun has appeared again but the hotness makes me so tired.

Can I just repeat myself? The sun makes me so tired, the walking and the bus ride to school every Tuesday and Friday morning makes me wanna skip class as well. But I am just whining.

I know that everyone back in my base country is freezing their asses off while I flicker under the sun.

Do not be jealous. Just keep in mind that if I could contain the sun rays in a jar, I would definitely send some your way. 

Mi Espanol es mas mejor que cuando yo llegue por primera vez aqui en Mexico. 

Pero generalmente, yo hablo con mis amigos que hablan Ingles. 

Necesitamos mas practica para cuando vamos a regresar en nuestros paises,

podemos hablar en Espanol con Latinos. Phew! Thanks google translate! Kidding, I did that myself. I just to widen my vocabulary so I am watching more Spanish movies and listening to more Spanish songs.

I have been blabbering about the topic that I do not really want to talk about. 

I wanted to tell you about the pedestrian situation in Mexico.

One phrase that I always remember when crossing the streets of Mexico is 

"Remember, these cars are also afraid of me."

It is very risky to cross the streets. Stop lights does not have signals for pedestrians

so when crossing the street, we have to pay attention who is passing when.

Because of this, I even memorized the pattern of the stop lights in one of the streets I cross the most.

It sounds nerdy but it is very entertaining. 

I would also like to point out how similar the bus-ing situation here as that in the Philippines.

Although here in Mexico, the ticket does not depend on the distance you are travelling, 

I often need to stand as well. It is so hard especially when you have classes at 8:30am in the morning,

Standing on a fierce moving bus is the last thing you would want to do.

Streets are also bumpy, there are so much humps and do not dare sit at the back part for you would

probably have bruises by the time you get off.

There are also street vendors trying to sell some creative something, or cleaning your windows when the light is red. When I say creative something, I mean it. Where can you find a street vendor selling fold-able tables, lighting Jesus figurine and other Mexican food with CHILI? Of course only in Mexico. 

Sometimes there would also be fire jugglers that will throw fire around when the light turns red.

Other times, there would be a group or a duet just getting on the bus, play the guitar and sing.

The culture is quite amusing, very very sensational, I sometimes feel guilty that I talk about these peoples' lives for my amusement. Especially for the children, that probably stopped going to school or never went to school just to do these jobs. I cannot help but to think about them. 

Anyways, as I always say to people who asks how am I doing here in Mexico. One reply, Mexico is just love. It has its ups and downs but I am for sure making the most out of it. I enjoy Mexico and I for sure would go back.

Much Love.

Dos Partes de Mexico en Una Semana

De Efe y Tlaquepaque

(Gracias Emelie Glaser por la foto de Tlaquepaque)

A week ago I was in Mexico City or as popularly called "De Efe(DF)."

It is where the Mexican president's office stands.

Just like where the Malacanang Palace in the Philippines is.

It was a long weekend here in Mexico, we had no classes Feb 6,

The trip was from Feb 3 to Feb 6 and was arranged by the International Students

Center from ITESM.

The trip was composed of visiting churches, Palacio Federal,

a lot of museums containing information about the Mexican Indegenous People like

the Mayans, Teothiuacans, Aztecs and etc. 

We also visited 2 pyramid sites and the house of Frida Kahlo, a female Mexican renegade,

like Gabriela Silang. 

It was a fun trip, if Guadalajara is more of Cavite in the Philippines,

Mexico city is more of Toronto in Canada, with older buildings and more classic

architecture, of course, Spanish speaking people. 

And from this trip, I realized how there are so much I can do here in Mexico.

I am actually thinking of moving here.

Well I have to master my Spanish speaking first. 

And that is a wayyyy long wayyyy to go.

After Mexico City, the same week I visited Tlaquepaque,

which is a much closer destination from Guadalajara.

I could not describe how overwhelmed I was seeing how

beautiful this small town is.

It is 30 mins bus ride from the center of Guadalajara and it is very accessible.

There is so much stores and a lot of people but I felt very Mexican once

I stepped into its roads and parks.

It is beautiful. I even bought some of my souvenirs for friends back in

Winnipeg there. Just some, I'm not done with my shopping list yet.

But if ever anyone of you is visiting GDL, Tlaquepaque is a must.

Well that is if you like traditional Mexican Tiangges and artisans.

Or there are restaurants and coffee shops as well if you would just like to sit

down with a friend and talk. Tlaquepaque is a perfect place to bond with family

and friends just to walk around and feel Mexican.

With the trip to Tlaquepaque, I have never felt so divulged into the Mexican culture.

I just went with a friend and we found our way there with the help of Lonely Planet

and I felt like such a student/tourist.

I learned so much just from the trip itself and I felt so accomplished.

There are so much trips planned for International Students here in Mexico.

I just have to pick the ones I am really interested in. 

So far so good. I am really getting the most out of this trip.

Everything is cheaper than that of Canada, even these planned trips by the International Center.

I could never imagine myself doing all of these in Canada,

financial wise and destination wise.

Apart from everything in Canada is expensive,

there's nothing really that I can visit in my base country.

Makes me miss my home country more.

Although this trip is going way tooooo fast.

I miss my friends and family from Winnipeg.

See you in 3.5mos. 

Much Love

Mi Casa es Muy Bonita!

(Click Photo To Enlarge)

I hope you realize how much effort I put in to make this photo happen! LOL

Anyways, another day and February is on the go. 

I have spent Three weeks in Guadalajara only to find myself partying on a weekend,

and stressing about school work. 

The first wave of exams just hit me and I have 3 more to go up until Tuesday next week.

The only concession I get is I get to live the student kind of life.

On a budget, don't have to work, just focused in school, while learning a totally different culture and language.

That's where I am happy, and I kind of plan to keep it until after 4 more months. 

Anyway, this post really is about where I spend most of my time here in Guadalajara, our house!

Let me give you an exclusive tour, mind you, it's not something close to MTV cribs but this house is close to me just like any other houses I lived in. 

Picture Numero 1.

Let's start with the bedroom.

This is where I wake up. That's my roomie's bed though. LOL

So I am so screwed if he founds out about this blog and saw his bed on it.

Mine is the one with the green towel on.

Picture Numero 2.

Like everybody else, I just need to have a bathroom picture. HAH!

Yes. I gave in. 

Picture Numero 3.

The dreaded stairs. Looks killer.

And yes, these steps is my workout, and my enemy, through the nights when I am drunk. :|

Picture Numero 4.

Right when you get down the killer stairs, you'll see the living room.

There's no television in the downstairs living room.

It was too late when I realized I might want to include the upstairs living room since that,

is where the TV is and the house phone where I usually talk with my parents back home.

Picture Numero 5.

Going straight on the left is the dining room.

Where I most likely had the longest yet shortest conversations with my host family and roommate.

We try to practice each other Spanish and English and for both of us, it takes a while to come up of perfect sentences in English and in Spanish. Could you say nosebleed? LOL

Picture Numero 6.

I cooked my first spring roll in this kitchen.

My host mom looooves spring roll, and when I started talking about it,

She sort of pushed me into helping her cook it.

It turned out pretty good actually. They call spring rolls "Rollo Primavera."

Picture Numero 7.

The laundry devils.

I have done my laundry here once.

Again a first in my life. 

Picture Numero 8.

Front door.

Can you believe that they do NOT lock the doors in here.

I would come home at 4am in the morning finding out the doors are open!

And when it's locked, there's this hole where I can slip my hand and unlock the door.

No need for a key! Makes me think, am I really in Mexico?

One of the things that really makes me smile, how honest people are in here.

Picture Numero 9.

House- Frontal View.

The red car is not my host family's.

They are actually renting that parking spot to a neighbour with 5 cars.

Businessmen? YES!

Picture Numero 10.

Subdivision-Entrance.

Where my 30 minute walk begins. 

After a long day in school, from the bus stop to this entrance,

you just could not imagine how happy my face would look like.

Picture Numero 11.

My street- Naciones Unidas- in Ingles, United Nations.

Coincidence? 

Much Love

Temples deep inside a city

Last Wednesday, I went to the central area of Guadalajara called Zona Centra.

I went there to get my Mexican Student Visa fixed.

All students needed to register the student visa they got back home.

I do not mind, it is just another 50$ off my pocket actually.

But what ticked me off is the disorganized setting of their requirements.

A lot of my peers needed to go back and forth just to get this thing over.

Lucky for me I only needed to go there once.

Take a peek out of my schedule.

Last Friday, I went home at 5am knowing there is a class at 8:30am.

I slept for one hour then got ready to go to school for this morning class.

When I got to school, my class was cancelled. 

I wish the professor would just post something online or shoot us an email saying he would not be

around so I did not have to run to school with my eyes half closed.

Why am I saying this? 

When I went to Zona Centra, I think I saw at least 3 churches.

The picture above was one of them.

What amuses me is the business of this area and right in the middle of it,

we can find tranquility.

People nowadays seems to always be disorganized, on the go.

We never find peace anymore. 

Now this goes for everyone, I think we should all find peace and settle for happines.

Much Love

The Beginning

Bienvenido a Guadalajara!

Im currently at the city of Guadalajara in Mexico.
Why Mexico?
I say why not?
I sometimes think of how paranoid people are when it comes to countries lesser than a 1st world when talking about terms of living. Is it worth it for them to think like that?
All I know is, I wont let those discouragements stop me. You should not let them stop you too.
Anyways, Im not going to talk about how beautiful this city is. I dont need to repeat myself.
Nor it's going to convince you to get outside as well!

This is only the beginning...

Much Love.