March 8, 2009

1:45 AM – The day started very early. We took off from Columba early this morning so that we could make our flights out of Atlanta. Turns out Saturday would be the last time that would get any sleep until Sunday night.

First a little side story. The reason that we too off from Atlanta so early is that Ohlen had to catch an earlier flight than the rest of us. Ohlen was also scheduled to arrive in Guadalajara much earlier than the rest of us. As I was sitting in the Mexico City Airport, however, I was greeted with several emails from Ohlen about how the engine on his plane failed and they had to land in Jackson, MS. After several delays Ohlen did finally make it to Guadalajara around 9:00PM

I can only describe flying into Mexico City to flying over Lake Michigan. People always say that it is a sea of buildings and that you cannot literally see the other side, just like people always said that you cannot see across Lake Michigan, even though it is a lake. Flying into Mexico City I could really not see the end of all the buildings. It was really an amazing sight to see.

If Mexico City is a vast sea of buildings than the customs office in the Mexico City airport can likewise be described as a sea of people. Ugh, my tiredness soon started to kick in after waiting in line for two hours at the customs office just to get into the country. I think we arrived during siesta because there were like 200-300 people and only 3 employees checking passports and issuing VISA’s.

Navigating the Mexico City airport was an adventure and after the experience I felt good that I had retained some very limited Spanish. I ended up having to take a train all the around the other side of the airport to my terminal. I had originally planned on not eating any American food, but after 28 hours of no sleep and no food, I succumbed to the power of Subway, and I quickly inhaled an Italian B.M.T. and a Pepsi. Oh man was it good. Another thing that I noticed as I was sitting there chatting with Michelle and eating Subway was that there is a lot of front end work happening with the women of Mexico!

Once I arrived in GDL, I was escorted to the campus in an H3. (Not to Shabby) The ride was a bit awkward, because the person that picked me up didn’t know any English, so it was very silent, but it was nice because I was tired and hungry. Guadalajara is about what I expected. There are some very nice parts, and some very traditional parts. But the people are great and so is the food.

Dinner that night with 14 people only two of whom had ever eaten Mexican food was an experience. Todd and I had to “interpret” the menu and teach everyone about Mexican food. I ordered some enchiladas, and a Fanta. All 14 of us ate for $70, that is what I call a great deal. The restaurant looked exactly like what you would find in the states as well, just a whole lot better tasting.

11:30PM – Ahh finally sleep. I don’t think I have slept that well in a very long time. I spread out and just sleep straight through for 9 hours.