Because sometimes the only person that can make you laugh and smile is yourself…

I want to dedicate this post to all the friends I made in college that I STILL stay in contact with today. That includes many of you who read this blog (shout out to my #1 and #2 fans…Ajua!). It’s been over three years since I graduated and as is expected, I begin to interact less and less with those people I used to talk to on a daily basis during those special years in college. Despite not knowing how many of you reading this post will still be in my circle  of friends (virtual or not) in the future, I can’t help but smile knowing that there will come a time when we will cross paths again where [...] Continue Reading…

So I just got back from a trip to Oaxaca and I must say that I am always amazed and impressed by the abundance and myriad of cultures that exist in Mexico. Instead of diving into some complex cultural phenomenon in this blog post, I’m gonna keep it simple and focus on what surprised me the most about the places I visited in Oaxaca.
Firstly, it is a known fact that Oaxacans are shorter than the larger Mexican (mestizo) population. In fact, I have never met a Oaxacan that was taller than me. That is not to say that there aren’t any, I just haven’t met one that is. I met several Oaxacan individuals in the US who were almost [...] Continue Reading…

I thought it was just random but I was wrong. Every once in a while I get an itch on my back and scratch away. Sometimes, on the same spot where the itch came from, I find what I thought to be a loose and fallen hair from my head. I slowly brushed it a couple of times with my fingers and all I did was change the direction it was pointing. Upon closer look, I realized it was actually connected to my back! Very uncharacteristic of a true Latino lover. No biggie right? But then I get an itch on the other side of my back and stumble onto another lonely hair begging to be yanked. What the [...] Continue Reading…

Nostalgia. A double-edged sword. My Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as:
“a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition”

I’m nostalgic of the time when I wasn’t nostalgic. A part of us always wants to go back to those “good times” we once had. But that’s the thing, why wasn’t I nostalgic when I was a kid? Because I always had something to look forward to. As a kid I hadn’t experienced or lived enough to want to go back in time and yearn for those great moments where my mom would wipe my smooth tooshie after taking care of baby business in my diaper. Or even that moment my dad made me [...] Continue Reading…

Too many youngsters skip school too often. I don’t get it. They’re cheating themselves out of a quality education and they’re OK with that reality. I guess some people really have to lose something in order to realize what a great opportunity they let go by…
I, on the other hand, loved going to school. That’s where I could find all the action! Unless a student is mentally challenged or born with a disability, I honestly don’t understand how they can struggle in middle school. It really isn’t that big of a leap from elementary school. I’m not saying I was brilliant, but my academic success was probably attributed more from teachers’ low-expectations of their students rather than my big [...] Continue Reading…

Want to raise your self-esteem? Move to a country where English is not the native language and work with English-speaking foreigners. They will love you and thank you. I’ve worked with many Americans and Canadians here in Mexico and they always get impressed with how well I speak “their” language. I can’t blame them for not knowing that I lived in the US for most of my life and that English is basically my native language.

The extent to which you can raise your self-esteem is tricky though. You don’t want to live in a very touristy place where tourists expect you to speak their language (Cancun). At the same time, you don’t want to live in such a remote [...] Continue Reading…

I’ve always wanted to take a detailed and comprehensive Mexican history class. It is so rich and complex. There are also a gazillion characters that really make it a true life telenovela. I have a solid general understanding of the conquest, colonization, independence and revolutions of Latin America and the Caribbean (thanks Latin American Studies major!), but it is not enough. My professors would always remind me that history is/was written by the victor, but go to a country that has a dark and grim past and ask the people about their history. As biased as their accounts may be, it allows you to have further insight and perspective on the subject. There is only so much you can [...] Continue Reading…

I have lived without health insurance for most of my life so I’ve become accustomed to walking “it” off. “It” can be a biotch sometimes when “it” doesn’t go away or when “it” really needs medical attention. Fortunately, I had health insurance the few times I needed stitches and that pleasurable root-canal (never again Mrs. Dentist!).

When it comes to the common cold or flu, I think the whole idea of “mind over matter” works to a certain extent. Too many people get accustomed to seeking medical advice when in reality they just want the drugs. Didn’t they pay attention during D.A.R.E. classes in elementary school? Just because medical drugs are legal doesn’t mean you should put them in your [...] Continue Reading…

You have to admire Ron Artest. One minute he’s getting into brawls with NBA players and fans, and the next he’s orchestrating a very inspirational movement to create awareness of mental-health issues and the importance of psychologists and therapists in schools. All this at the cost of his 2010 NBA championship ring. That’s right, Ron Artest will be selling his championship ring to help fund-raise money to place more psychologists in schools.

I was one of those people who openly made fun of him the day he thanked his psychologist on live television the moment the Lakers won the NBA title. Who does that? Ron does. He spoke wonders about the benefits of having a psychologist. I have [...] Continue Reading…

I’ve never met a kid that did not posses imagination. You can see it when they’re playing with toys, cow pies, empty boxes and anything else we adults throw into the trash. They really do remind us that one person’s trash is another kid’s never-ending fun and entertainment. I especially enjoy when kids go on with their random and playful behavior as though no one were watching. Well, I watch (in the non-creepy kind of way). Even introverted and antisocial kids hold much creativity and imagination behind those sealed lips. The moment you get them talking you begin to realize that picking their brain can be quite entertaining and inspirational.

The cool thing about imagination is that we can personalize [...] Continue Reading…