Summer Sunday

Well, if you consider what we consider to be summer temps in Sweden, than the headline above might actually be true. Somewhere around 22 degrees and sun today, finally pay-off for living in a close-to-the-equator-country! I managed to get in bed late last night as well so the day started slow. But we managed to shape things up and go out into the glorious weather. Magda was on the hunt for a mirror for her room, so me, her and Diego went to the flea-market held next to the (dried out)river. Basically one football-field covered with tent and full of things (crap, debris, shit, spare parts, whatever you want to call it). It was fun but a little scary; me and magda were the only non-mexicans there and we felt like two cats who accidently jumped the fence into a dog-pound. It was however fun and we managed to find a nice mirror for darling Mags. After that we went to a restaurant named Pacifico for late lunch/early dinner. Awesome place with view towards San Pedro and the mountains, great service and tasty fish. A mi me gusta! We took our time and enjoyed the evening; almost three hours later we went home. Just finished watching Brüno with Diego (funny but what a shitty movie) and now its time for bed, there is work to be done tomorrow!

/ J

First week back

So now I´ve been back in Monterrey for nearly a week. And what a week! My internship has proven to become something really interesting and educational - no making coffee or back-office stuff; we are talking project involvement and responsibilities de luxe. I am so glad to be challenged like this and I am even starting to enjoy getting up in the mornings. Almost :).

So the new living situation is, to say the least, very pleasant. Diego and Pedro could not be nicer and more fun to be around. I´ts only been one week but the four of us (Magda, me, D&P) have already become very relaxed with each other. It is fun. Even beter are the perks of living here; as I might already have mentioned we have mandarins and grapes growing in the back yard. But the best thing is the maid who comes four times a week and does...well nearly everything. I leave my room in the morning and come home to a room cleaned, bed made, clothes put away, shirts ironed, and laundry done and nicely folded. Now that is comfort!

I have also managed to make time for party. Last night me, Magda and Diego had dinner with two of Diegos friends, then me and Magda went out to celebrate a friends birthday. It was fun, so fun indeed that I did not come home until 7:15 am. So thank you Omar for a good good night!

Today have been a splendid day; almost 20 degrees and clear skies. I went out for a small walk late afternoon ( a little tired after yesterday) and checked out my new neighbourhood. I found the weirdest houses, apparently a place where they sell statues. Below you see one example. The 'normal house is where I live. The yellow one is my new dream house though!

Well now I have to get ready - dinner tonight at a Argentinian restaurant and then... well who knows, the options are unlimited :)

Zaijian! J

CEMEX revisited

So the second day at CEMEX is over and done with. I really think that this internship is going to be a lot of fun, very challenging and ample opportunity to learn. I am working in CEMEX Global Organizational HR department, specifically with engagement and culture. Might sound a bit abstract (not far from the truth) but it is actually both interesting and quite specific. CEMEX just finished a global survey regarding how employees feel about the company from different parameters. What we do is together with Communications and Public Affairs departments analyze the results and then find what actions we can implement to strengthen/heighten/instigate employees level of engagement in the company. These action-plans will be both global and local - giving room for my other field of interest; cross cultural management. I have had very little OHR management prior to this internship, and being able to combine that with the cross-cultural aspect of how engagement levels vary from country to country, is very exciting. So exciting ndeed that I chose 'Human Behaviour in International Organizations' as my final elective this trimester. I see great potential for synergies between my elective, thesis and internship. All the better that my guidance professor loves these subjects.

This day at the office has however been quite slow. My supervisor is in a two day training seminar, so I am left to read and go through material by my self. Not much wrong with that except that most of it is only available through the intranet and I have no computer or internet connection. A slight bump in the road. But I got busy digging into the massive amount of data collected. It was surprisingly interesting.

Tonight I went out with Diego and our other roomie Pedro´s brother Juan for dinner. San Pedro offers not only a safer neighbourhood but also an ample selection of restaurants. We chose Japanese and had Teppanyaki with Tempura icecream for dessert. Tired and full I now plan to get my 8 hours of sleep. So boring but necessary!

J

A new year, a new dawn, a new life...almost.

So, finally back in Monterrey and finally back on the blog! So sorry for not writing during christmas but time really flie when yu are home and having fun. Basically this christmas was all about the cold weather (between minus 6-17) and the snow. Winter wonderland took on a new meaning for sure. All in all my visit back home offered some smaller bumps in the road, but nothing family and friends couldn´t take care of. So thanks to all of you for making my stay in Sthlm as good as it can get!

Now, travelling back to MTY was fun...not. New rules thanks to stupid plane bombers made security at Amsterdam a bitch. All passengers had to be screened again (my third time) before being allowed to board. That ment that our flight was 1 1/2 hours delayed. Then our pilot informed us that we were too heavy and had to make a stop-over in Bangor Maine (WTF??) in order to refuel. So now I´ve been to Maine. It sucks.

All of this almost made me miss my connection to MTY, but luckily I just made it. I was alos hoping for nice temperatures but nooo, Monterrey i experiencing the coldest temperatures in years; around 3-5 degrees. Freaking cold when you live in non-isolated concrete houses with only ac-heating. But, despite this I am not complaining, mostly because I´ve finally moved away from our department building from hell and to a nice house in the safe, prosperous and more affluent city of San Pedro. It is a city of its own, but part of Monterrey. Much nicer. I am also especially pleased that my new house has a mandarin and grapefruit tree in the back yard - just go out in the morning and get your fruit. The house is rented by this very nice guy Diego who shares it with a friend, Pedro. They have two spare rooms of which I have one and Magda has the other. It couldn´t be better! My house is also situated about fifteen minutes walk (if you want to risk your life crossing two highways) from my new offices at CEMEX HQ. Yes people, I got the internship and after my first day (today) I am really excited about this! I will probably have to work my ass off but damn it´s got real potential to be great fun! I will tell you more about it tomorrow, now my jetlag is kicking in and I need to go to bed :)

Nos Vemos! J

T -6:00 hours

It is almost one am here and my taxi will pick me up at five sharp to go to the airport. I am very much looking forward to going home - not so much looking forward to the 21 hours of travelling I have ahead of me. Monterrey --> Atlanta [5 hours waiting] Atlanta --> Paris [9 hour flight and 2 hours waiting] Paris -->Arlanda. Well well, as long as we don´t make a dip in the atlantic I will not complain.

The last three days have been crazy. Me and Magda resigned the contract at our apartment because of... well a shitty place with too many malfunctions to be honest, so I do not really have a place to stay when I come back. But since my internship is in San Pedro ( the neighbouring town) we will live there. We have seen a couple of apartments - really nice, but have yet to decide. Another small adventure for me. But I am not too concerned; it usually works out in this country.

Ok, three hours nap and then up and about. Next report will probably be from Sthlm; a special treat for my non-swedish followers :)

Au revoir Monterrey!

Los Cabos with all its splendor

So now it has been done; Los Cabos san Lucas have been experienced. It really was a great weekend for us; blue pacific ocean, sun, hot tub at night and all the americans your little heart could desire in San Lucas. One interesting event (out of a few) was how mexican time really affects you. As I am sure you know by now, I have complained slightly about how mexicans handle time; i.e. by a very polychronic approach. Well in Los Cabos it was our turn. We spent the entire weekend without noticing the time difference of -1 hour. We totally forgot to set our clocks, and hence spent the entire weekend literally on a different time than the locals. And nothing alerted us of the difference, simply because time is fluid in Mexico. We learned about our mistake however when we were going to the movies and tried force our way into the cinema one hour earlier than it was supposed to start. Slightly embarrassing. But besides that incident it was a great weekend. And now I can add bathing in the pacific to my list.

Our hotel and me & Magda at lunch

The beach in San Lucas

Coming home to Monterrey however was not as fun. Our apartment has many flaws, one being the lack of heating. The air conditioner is supposed to also function as a heater, but that is not the case. So it is about 12 degrees inside; much colder than outside temperatures. We do not like that at all, but then again I am leaving in two days so who cares. Two days mostly filled with packing, sorting and waiting. But tw pieces of interesting news I have to share:

1. I ran 5k in 18:28 today, new personal best!

2. I got 98 and 100/100 as grades in my Venture Capital and Cross Cultural Management classes respectively. Woohaaa!

Now I will get dressed for bed; socks, long-sleeved t-shirt and pyjama-pants. Silly but necessary not to freeze to death.

Saludos!

All over and done... Now Los Cabos!

So the inactivity present on my blog is in no way a reflection of my general way of life. The last weeks(s) have been crazy - not only because of school. All exams are now over and done; school is officially out!

So just to give a fast recap; the Juan Gabriel concert was really good; the man sings with a voice smooth as sawdust mixed with whiskey, and his face has been nipped and tucked more times than Cher but he is an entertainer for sure! What a healthy dose of mexican culture that was!

I also managed to get food poisoning last weekend and was totally decked for 24 hours. I blame old lasagna, others blame the neat Vodka I was drinking. Let´s just call it a tie shall we?

Two written exams and four projects has also been written the last week or so. Somewhere in the vicinity of 50-60 pages in total for our professors to feast upon. I have to say it has been a little demanding from time to time (like the Service project which me, Magda and Saana finished at 8:45 in the morning..) as well as trying to cram everything I learned in Service Management class into ONE conceptual model of own design on the final exam. But all in all I think I performed very well. I am after all a good student.

So after exams comes relaxation. In about two hours I am off to the airport for some leisure-time in Los Cabos. Los Cabos is on the pacific coast just where the Sea of Cortez meats the pacific. You will find me either by the pool, or in the bar. I deserve it!

And finally, our campus has put up a lot of really pretty x-mas decorations as I will show you. The only weird one is the one where it apears one angel is assassinating the other. Exactly what were they thinking...?

Hasta pronto!