Things I Like About Monterrey

The nice lady who helped me load my groceries into the van when I was holding my sleeping Rachel, and then took my cart back for me. She spoke Spanish to me the whole time, and all I could say was “Muchisimas gracias!” What a nice lady.

The mountains that surround the city. I can figure out where I am when I look at Saddle Mountain and Chipinque Mountain. They are very beautiful, especially on a clear day with blue sky behind them. Last weekend we took a drive up Chipinque mountain. At the end of the road there is a hotel, playground, snack bar, and two awesome tall cement slides. Everyone brings cardboard to sit on and slide down. It was fun and it had great views of the valley.

The younger Hermana who taught our Relief Society lesson on Sunday. She used visual aids and spoke very clearly, so I could actually get the idea of the lesson. She also handed me a Spanish hymnal last week so I could sing along. I need to learn her name.

Listening to Andy speak Spanish with everyone. I don’t know why I like it. Maybe just because I admire that he can speak so well. I’m always the one just nodding my head with a goofy smile. Soon, I’m sure I’ll be able to express myself clearly…I’m learning a little every day.

The colorful playgrounds for the kids. Every park has all of those old metal playthings that are pretty-much illegal in the states because they are unsafe. Unsafe, but really fun. The kids love the spinning merry-go-rounds. At the parks we’ve been to, the equipment is well-maintained and painted nice. They’ve been fun.

Full-service gas pumps. All gas stations are Pemex here. There is no other brand. And all of the pumps are full service. I haven’t gotten gas by myself yet, but it seems really nice to not have to get out of the car. You only have to tip the guy like 5 pesos, 50 cents. I think he’ll wash windows too.

Retornos. Retornos are like built in U-turns, but you don’t have to wait for the stop light. I am often passing where I am supposed to go, so it’s nice to know there will be a retorno coming up soon on whatever road I’m on.

People here dress up a bit more than in the US. Men’s shirts are usually tucked in. Women usually wear heels and often wear dresses or skirts. This isn’t dependant on how nice or expensive their clothes are either, though there are many affluent Mexicans here.