First week working in DF

After one week living and working in Mexico City I can confirm what I was expecting: I love the capital. So diverse. Interesting. Delish. And surprisingly one of the greenest cities I know. Probably only bet by Munich... Or could even be a tie.

Sometimes I feel like in the jungle. And thanks to the abundant fruit vendors this feeling is only reinforced. Leaving work and having some freshly cut pineapple - love it.

There are so many interesting housing-styles...

Reminding me of Germany (ok, ignore the wild power lines...)

A bit like Berlin: Every Saturday the city turns into a single huge flea market...

... and even trees can be eyecatchers:

In front of a store for knitwear

The food is also awesome, although I have to confess that I maintain pretty much an Asian diet. Finally the real stuff, not like back in Cholula!

Korean lesson for Japanese in a restaurant in Mexico - strange

There are sooo many Korean restaurants. Fancy ones like this...

... and more traditional ones.

 What they all have in common: Great food!

Best Banchan (side dishes) in Mapo Galbi

Awesome Bibimbap in NaDeFo

Abundant food in ... erm... dunno the name.

You even have countless vegetarian and vegan options. Never saw a vegan taco store before. Here you go:

And today I was even lucky enough to assist Korean cooking - so good!

You need looong arms for this dish (and a mobile phone in case you have seen this many times before, like my friend H. at the left)

Even as a vegetarian I have to confess that the idea of combining Mochi (rice flower sticks) with meat is cool. Didn't try, thouh.

Of course I'm not only indulging in all the delicacies here, but also hard(ly) working ;-) Apart from learning a lot about microfinance, it is intriguing to observe Mexican working culture. Time perception is definitely different, also in the professional world. You can notice it in every shop: The bakery opens at 8 am, but then there's only yesterday's bread available. Baking starts when the shop opens. In Germany, the baker starts in the middle of the night, so at 6 am we have freshly baked breakfast. But in Mexico, working time apparently equals opening hours. And moreover, opening hours are flexible. Now, in the rainy season, you will hardly see any ambulant vendor when it rains. This actually surprised me, because I would have expected that these guys at the bottom of the pyramid cannot afford one day off...

In the office everybody's greeting each other with the common hug and kiss on one cheek. Luckily, my department is a small one, otherwise you'd probably need hours just to say "hello". And another custom seems to be totally common: Like in my university, everybody's shouting "salud" as soon as somebody is sneezing. Each and every time. So funny.

Some aspects even remind me of my time working in Japan. It's not necessarily about efficiency, but mainly about time spent in the office. If your boss is still there, you will be somewhat "busy", too. And of course extra hours are neither compensated, nor can you collect them to take some more days off.

And yes, hierarchy is definitely pronounced. Although everybody treats me with respect, I noticed some surprise on behalf of my colleagues. In Germany, hierarchies are somewhat flat and as an intern you are more often than not perceived as a valuable workforce. But when I was keen enough to ask for another chair (mine didn't have wheels, so I really felt "stuck"), my own telephone and a laptop (I don't want to carry my own one every day through Mexico City), people seemed a lil' bit surprised to say the least. Apparently, trainees here do what their boss says and keep their mouth shut otherwise. But hey, I got: A chair with wheels, an own telephone, and an own laptop. Not sure if I have some "the foreigner doesn't know the unwritten rules of hierarchy" bonus, but honestly: How should I work properly if the equipment sucks?! Now, there's no excuse anymore for mediocre results, but that wouldn't be my standards, anyway.

I have my own project, which is about designing and implementing a new finance product. Really interesting and driving! The task also includes some field research. So yesterday I travelled to the very borders of Mexico City, when it suddenly began to rain like crazy. I was waiting for a bus to return to the office... and suddenly, just some 50 metres away from me, a lightning struck a power pole. It was soooo scary. It looked like the lightning striking the Faraday cage in the Deutsches Museum in Munich. And all the car alarms around started to blare. I was still totally shaken, when another lightning strike happend in another power pole, again some 50 metres away... The pole crashing.... Waaaah. Me, standing in 5cm high water and above the power lines... I was definitely not waiting there not even one second longer. The Mexicans around me surprisingly didn't show any intention to move, but just discussed how "heavy" the thunderstorm was. Erm, ok... bye!

Well, I survived, but thunderstorms here are definitely another thing. Crazy!