El Globo

We began our week with two days at Corporate, going to meetings, learning about distribution models, the compendium (which basically is a project to connect all parts of our business), and our plan to be "Ganando Todos los Dias en al Mercado" (winning everyday in the market).  Meetings all day are never fun but the time seemed to pass by pretty quickly on both days.

On Wednesday we started our two day rotation at El Globo.  El Globo is a pastry shop owned by Grupo Bimbo.  It was founded in 1885 by Italians in Mexico City.  Bimbo purchased Globo 7 years ago from Grupo Carso and has been operating it ever since.  There are 281 stores with 3 different formats; islands, cafeterias, and regular store fronts.  They offer several different types of products including cakes, gelatin, cookies, sweet breads, pastries, sandwiches, and ice cream.  These products are sold under 3 different brands; Globo, which is your standard quality items, La Balance, which are your high end pastries and cakes, and El Molino, which are your less expensive items.  They are pretty cool stores, kind of Panera esque.

Each morning, fresh product is delivered to the store but they also make product at the store.  The concept is a little foreign to me so it was interesting to see the operation.  The manager took me around and showed me her daily activities.  I also spent a little time with each of the workers learning what they do.  All the people at my store were super nice.  I really enjoyed the two days I spent there.
   

 EL GLOBO!

 Looking good in my hairnet!

 El Globo familia!

 La gerente y yo!!

Friday we got to take a tour of the El Globo factory.  Now I have been on several bakery tours but this one is something different.  I was expecting it to be similar to the other factories; lots of automated lines pumping out product on a mass scale.  This was not the case at all.  All of the 980 SKUs for El Globo are hand made!!  It was super impressive to see.  There are different sections of the plant, all that have their own function.  I saw where they make the cakes, chocolate, gelatins, pastries, sandwiches, and ice cream.  A lot of the processes work like an assemble line until the product is finished.  Some items have to pass through about 30 people before it is complete.  We even produce products for Burger King, McDonald's, and Starbucks.  Bimbo really does have their hand in a little bit of everything.  I wish I could have taken some pictures but they wouldn't let us.  At one point we went to the R&D department to see what new projects there are working on.  It was all TOP SECRET.  I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you....  At the end of the tour, we got to eat one of the danishes straight off the line.  WOW was it delicious!!  It is a good thing I don't work at the bakery because it would be detrimental to my health haha.  

We had to wear this outfit when we took the plant tour.  I look like I am about to work with hazardous materials.

This week we will be at corporate again for two days and then attend a sales course for the Divisionals.  We have to move hotels, which is a pain, but the location for the course isn't too far away so we can drive there.  I'll keep you posted.... 

Adios Guadalajara, Hola Corporativo

So it's been a while since my last entry.  My apologies for the long absence.  The last couple weeks in Guadalajara were pretty much the same and kind of uneventful.  We spent about 3 weeks in total with the Supervisors, shadowing them, learning their daily activities.  Typically, they spend 5 days on the market and 1 day in the office.  Currently in the autoservicio channel, we are running a promotion for cookies.  Customers buying cookies can enter for an opportunity to win a bike or a flat screen TV.  What prize they can win is determined by how many cookie pallets the store is willing to put up.  This was a big focus for the supervisors so we spent a decent amount of time trying to sell in cookie pallets.  Since my job in the US entails selling in displays, it was interesting to see this process.  Some stores are all about the promotion and will put up 4 pallets with no problems.  In other stores the sell-in was not so easy.  They face similar challenges that we face in the US when trying to sell-in a display.  Some times the manager doesn't want the display, or they don't have enough room, or they agree to a display but then change their mind .  It was good to see the successes as well as the failures.  My daily activities entail just that; some days, every store I hit will be a win, other days, not so much.  It's the nature of the business.  From what I learned (very quickly), you have to try not to get frustrated and just continue to work with the stores so you both benefit.      

Each week, the supervisors hold a meeting with their group of vendors/merchandisers to go over results and upcoming priorities.  In these meetings they play a neat "money grab" game.  They put fake money in a jar and the vendors/merchandisers that hit their sales/return goals get chances to grab money out.  The better your results were, the more chances you get to grab.  However much fake money you grab out goes into your next paycheck.  It provides a good incentive to hit your goals.  I thought it was a cool way to do so.

I really enjoyed being in Guadalajara.  It was a nice change of pace and scenery from being in Mexico City.  Let me tell you though, it is hot as hell!!  It easily reached 100 degrees everyday and when you are getting in and out of a car all day, it is not pleasant.  All the people that we met were awesome.  Very kind and fun to be around.  That is one problem with this program.  We go from place to place and meet all these great people.  We are with them everyday for a couple weeks, build relationships, and then, BOOM, off to another place.  I have exchanged information with many of the people down here and I hope to keep in touch with as many as possible.  Oh, on a side note: the women in Guadalajara are B-E-A-UTIFUL!!  I don't know, maybe it is something in the water (no joke intended).  Many of the vendors/merchandisers were women, unlike in the US where it is pretty much a man's world.  If I could only speak Spanish just a little better...... but that is neither here nor there.

Speaking of Spanish, in the last month my Spanish has improved significantly.  I had a new teacher in Guadalajara and she was awesome.  Her name is Paola, she is 26 and is a certified teacher at UNIVA (a university in Guadalajara).  In my first class we put together a list of things I wanted (and needed) to learn.  She came up with a great curriculum for me.  We covered several important subjects and she always kept class interested.  We played games to help me learn and sometimes just chatted about life.  I really enjoyed her classes.  So much so that I requested to continue classes with her via skype while I finish out my time in Mexico City.  Classes start back up tonight.  By the end of my program here I will definitely be speaking much better Spanish.  But I still have a long way to go.  I will not stop until I am completely fluent!!!  Believe that!!  JAJAJA (that's me laughing in Spanish).

Some of my peeps from Guadalajara. 


Now we are back in Mexico City for our final rotation in Corporate.   We are going to be learning about all the behind the scenes activities that allow Bimbo to operate.  There is time scheduled to learn about Trade Marketing, Key Accounts, Analysis, and pretty much everything in between.  We have a project to do as well but have no idea what it is on yet.  To complete the program, we will be presenting to upper management as well as our bosses and VPs from the states.  I have a feeling we are going to be plenty busy for the last month and a half.  I will do my best to keep you guys updated.  Until then...... Adios mis amigos!!

One Tequila, two tequila, three tequila.....MORE!

We spent last week with the supervisors of the Autoservicio channel.  These weeks always seem a little slower because we are really just shadowing them, learning what their daily activities are.  Sometimes I am just sitting around while they complete paper work but we do spend a good amount of time on the market and I have been learning a lot.

I was with two supervisors pretty much all week; Miguel and Armando (AKA Crusty, like from the Simpsons but pronounced with a thick Mexican accent).  Miguel's wife was due any day for his 4th child so Armando was taking over for him when he left on Wednesday.  Miguel has responsibility for 27 supermarkets and about 40 or so people.  Their job entails pretty much the same thing as our ASM/TSM: Check the market for POGs, out of codes, rotation, out of stocks, opportunities, and review orders, all this on top of making sure programs are executed.  Usually, they spend 5 days on the market and 1 day in the office per week.  

 Monday and Tuesday were spent on the market checking stores, doing the supervisor thing.  The way they look at their business is a little different from the way we do in the USA.  Each week they are given a goal they must meet.  This goal is given to them by the sales analysts and is based on sales.  It is based on 100%, you obviously want to hit your goal 100% or better (duh Ramon).  Returns are used to identify opportunities.  The top for returns in this channel is 5%.  If the returns are too high, they cut back on orders, too low, they increase orders.  We look at our business compared against the same period last year; are we up or down?  The lack of competition allows them to operate in ways we definitely can't. 

 On Tuesday, we were about to go into a store and Miguel saw a street vendor selling some sort of drink called Tejino.  It is a kind of thick, brown colored drink made from fermented corn mixed with salt, lime, and then they put some Italian ice type ice cream in it.  I gave it a try and thought it was awful.  They love it though.....

Thursday was Mothers Day in Mexico (Happy Belated Mothers Day to all the moms out there) so in the afternoon they had a party for the vendadoras and promotoras that were also mothers.  It was a very nice party.  All the moms sat around the outside of the room, there was food and music, and all the men were serving the moms.  I was out in the market when it started so I showed up about 45 minutes after it started.  Right when I walked in, Jose started to egg me on about dancing.  I quickly obliged.  You really don't have to ask me twice to dance for beautiful ladies.  I hopped in the middle of the room and started to "tare up a rug".  All the moms seemed to love it.  They all had their phones out recording it.  I am probably a star all over Mexican Facebook.  Of course I wasn't going to be the only one to dance so I had the ladies chant for the rest of my comrades to do a little dance as well.  Jose was quick to jump in but Chico and Joe took a little more convincing.  They eventually did a little jig, very reluctantly.  It was a lot of fun.

For our one day off we wanted to have a little fun and experience some Mexican culture so we went and toured the Jose Cuervo Tequila Factory.  First off, I love tequila.  It is Mexico's national drink so obviously we have drank our fare share of it down here.  We took an hour bus ride to "Tequila City" where all the magic happens.  It was extremely cool to see how tequila is made from start to finish.  It starts off in the agave fields where all the plants are hand planted and harvested.  Then, they take the plants inside to be cooked and grind-up.  Next, all the juice and sugar is extracted to be fermented and distilled.  At one point along the process, the tequila is at 55% alcohol, which is over 100 proof.  They don't sell this in stores but we were able to sample some.  Right when you take the shot, it warms up your insides.  It is extremely smooth too.  Very good stuff.  Once the tequila is distilled, they put it in charred barrels.  Depending on what kind of tequila you are going for determines the length of time it stays in the barrel.  Tequila Blanca (clear) is suppose to never be in the barrel.  However, Jose Cuervo Blanca is put in a barrel for a short amount of time which is why they call theirs Tequila Silver.  Next length of time (I can't remember all the exact lengths) is called Reposado.  This is my favorite kind, Jose Cuervo Traditional to be exact.  A little bit longer in the barrel and it becomes Anejo, and finally, the longest, Extra Anejo.  I wish I could remember all the little details and history about the tour but I would have had to be taking notes, which I clearly was not.  If you ever get a chance, and like tequila, I would recommend taking a plant tour.  It definitely gave me a new perspective on the drink I enjoy *takes a shot of tequila*.           

Jose Cuervo!!  Count it!!

Cuervo is Spanish for crow.  Who knew??

Ya boy with the giant Cuervo!!

Agave fields.  Before the tour of the plant we stopped in the field to see where the agave get harvested.  It takes 5-11 years for a plant to mature enough to be harvested for tequila.  I guess it is true what they say, patients is a virtue.

One of the workers out in the fields.  These guys work 6 hours a day; planting baby agave and harvesting mature agave for tequila.  My hero's!

 He showed us the process of planting and harvesting.

They put me to work cutting the pencas off the agave.  I was a natural. 

 Female agave plants.  They use both the male and female plants to make tequila.

 Old school way to cool the agave.  Those are volcanic rocks so they hold the heat of the sun very well to cook the agave.

Old school way to grind up the agave after it's cooked.  That big rock would be pulled by a donkey or horse.  

Old school distillers.

  Old school Jose Cuervo rides.

New school way to cook the agave.  I wanted to take pictures of the entire process but they told us that there way too much alcohol in the air and it could start a fire.  Personally I think that is a BS excuse they use.  Just like in our plants, they don't allow pictures because it is "top secret".

 The heart of the Agave plant that is used to make tequila.  Each plant can produce 5-7 liters of booze.

 HEAVEN!!!

 Pepe (which is a nick name for Jose) the Cuervo.  This bird is an absolute diva.  He literally slides over on his stoop and poses for you to take a picture. 

This bird is such a G!!

 Which bottle to choose???

Corrin and I with some very large bottles of Tequila!! 

Guadalajara - Autoservicio

When I last left you, we were getting ready to go to Guadalajara and learn the Autoservicio channel.  Guadalajara is about 300 miles Northwest of D.F.  We spent Monday traveling and getting settled in our new home, the Crown Plaza, which is your typical hotel.  Guadalajara is definitely a change of scenery.  It doesn't have the quaint, old school, neighborhood feeling that D.F. had (at least where we were staying in Roma Sur).  Where we are at now has more of a city feel; tall buildings, lots of hotels, no real residential places.  Also, it is hot as sin over here!!  Everyday has been close to 100 degrees!!  It is a good thing that I have been in stores all day.        

I need to retract a previous statement: I was under the impression that since it was Labor day in Mexico last Tuesday, that we had off.  This was not the case at all.  While most people in Mexico did have off on Tuesday, the Autoservicio Channel did not, and that just so happened to be the channel we were in.  I know right, lucky us.

The Autoservicio channel is more of what I am used to.  They are your typical Supermarkets that you can find in the states.  However, the process to service the stores are completely different.  In the states, we have one vendor that delivers the product, checks it in, merchandises it, and moves onto his next store.  In Mexico, all the jobs are specialized.  (Cliff note version of the process) There is a driver (chofer), that delivers the product, the vendor, who checks the product in and does the orders, and the promotor (merchandiser), who puts the product up.  Also, instead of the vendor going to a bunch of stores, they spend the entire day in just one store or possible have one other store.

I spent my week in a Wal-Mart, which was perfectly fitting since I spend a lot of time in Wal-Mart in the US.  The Wal-Mart that I was in does the most sales in Guadalajara.  It isn't a huge store, but it has a lot of foot traffic.  Plus, when you have close to 0 competition, it makes it pretty easy to sell product.  Bimbo seriously runs this store.  The bread/cake isle is 36 feet long and we have all but two feet of it.  Not to mention almost all of the 8 foot tortilla section, space in the cookie section, breakfast section, and candy and gum section, space at the front registers, strips that hang from the shelves with product on them, 21 wire rack displays that are set up all over the store, 2 pallet drops of cookies, and a partridge in a pear tree.  All this while the store is going through a re-model.  It is pretty incredible.  Even with all that space, the return percentage is only (if you work for BBU, you might want to sit down) less that 2%!!!  When the Supervisor told me that I almost fainted.

Since this store does so much volume and has so many displays, there are two promotores in the store all day.  They were both pretty young too; Marco, 19 and Anna, 20.  These guys are good though.  Our shelves and displays are full every moment of everyday.  Of course with three people in the store all day, our service is impeccable and unmatched.  Pretty much every major DSD company has vendors or merchandisers there all day.  It is quite the change up from the US where the vendor goes to a store and tries to get it done as quickly as possible because he has 7 other stores to go to.  Also, competition (and monopoly laws) has a major impact on what we are able to do in the states as apposed to Mexico.  Either way, I was pretty impressed with the whole thing.       

A 4 pallet display of Principe cookies right near the front of the store.  We were putting up more than 20 boxes that contain 14 little boxes of cookies a day.

The street vendor place we went for lunch on Tuesday.  Those are trays full of pigs hearts, stomachs, kidneys, tongues, and god knows what else.  Pretty appetizing huh??  I ordered a taco with just regular meat in it but they chop everything up in the same bowl.  I have eaten more things that I have been skeptical of down here than I have in my previous 26 years of life before this.  YOLO I guess.....  
One last thing BTW.  If you were going to see the movie "Apartment 143", do yourself a favor and save your money.  You're welcome....

El Jefe

This week continued pretty much the way it started; going on over night routes in the convenience channel.  I must say, working over nights is no fun.  It completely threw off my time schedule for sleeping, eating, etc.  I was getting to sleep around 5 or 6 and waking up between 12 -2.  I wonder how long it takes for your body to adjust fully to working that shift??  I hope I never have to find out.

So as I mentioned last time, on Friday we were to meet Daniel Servitje, CEO of Grupo Bimbo.  Little did I know that we were going to attend his Q1 meeting that is broadcasted to all our business divisions across the entire world...... and have to get up to present ourselves...... in Spanish!!  First off, what a production this meeting is.  There is a producer type person, a PR person, and tons of other people around helping out.  They have cameras set up in two locations; one filming the podium and one filming the crowd.  There are about 140 people in the room and over 1,000 people watching from the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and China.  Plus Daniel Servitje is sitting in the very front row.  To say I was a little bit nervous to present my self is an understatement.  Good thing it was only a 30 bit to say who I was, where I am from, my time/position in Bimbo, and how long I have been in Mexico.  Before the meeting, I jotted down what I was going to say and felt a little more confident.  However, once you get up there in front of all those people and realize how many other people are watching, it gets a little nerve racking.  I think I did well though.  I felt my voice was a bit shaky and I said I had been in Mexico for almost 2 years instead of 2 months but you can't win them all.  It was kind of an honor to be able to do that.  I mean, there were people on almost every continent in the word watching and now, they technically have heard of me.  I think that is pretty cool.

The meeting basically covers Q1 results and Q2 priorities.  Needless to say, Daniel is an excellent speaker.  He has a good command of the room and knows his business very well.  In closing, he spoke about a couple things I thought were interesting.  He talked about Grupo Bimbo as a company with over 65 years of operation and that a company with that many years might be mature and stagnant.  That is not how he feels about GB at all.  He showed a picture of a young boy holding a soccer ball and said that it represents our company.  We are future looking, eager to grow, learn, and make progress.  He talked about us as builders, not bakers.  Builders make things to last.  We are building a foundation for the future and will continue to develop as a company far into the future.  I thought this was important, especially being that I am young in this company.  There is so much opportunity in Grupo Bimbo for both business and personal growth.  At the center of our values are People and I think GB truly live by those values.  After the meeting we got to chat with Daniel for a little bit.  For a guy of his status, he is super down to earth.  You wouldn't even know that he is the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company.  I can add this to the list of experiences that I feel very honored and fortunate to have had.
       

 The podium.

 Future BBU CEO?!?!  Haha just kidding!!

 Shot from the podium.  My man Lalo holding it down.

After the meeting, we went back to the hotel, got a couple hours of sleep, and went right back to work on the night routes.  This time we were with the Supervisors so it was a bit more relaxed.  We go with them to stores and they show us what they do, which is basically the same thing the supervisors did in the other channels; Supervise. 

Funny story:
So we were in one 7/11, which on a Friday night, has a bunch of cute girls coming in and out, and this tall women walked in.  We were doing our bread thing and she kept looking over at us.  When we were getting ready to leave, she walked over and started talking to us in perfect English.  Her name is Shamila Cohen and come to find out she is a famous actress and Playmate here in Mexico.  She came over because she really liked Joe.  She was basically totally focused on him and being pretty forward.  "You have beautiful eyes" she told him.  She also asked him if he was married and to hang out.  I was dieing.  I thought it was the funniest thing.  Joe gave her one of his cards and they are now Facebook friends.  The whole situation seriously made my night.

Today, we went to Estadio Azteca to watch Club America take on Cruz Azul in the Torneo Clausura.  These two teams are huge rivals here in Mexico and Azul needed a victory in order to move on to the playoffs so this game was a big deal.  Bimbo sponsors America so we asked our supervisor if he could get us some tickets.  Well, he pulled through huge and got us seats literally almost on the sidelines. 

 Estadio Azteca is the largest stadium in Latin America and the 5th largest in the world.  It holds 105,064 fans.  It has hosted two World Cups and one Olympic final.  Today, the stadium was almost full.  With no traffic, it would probably take about 30 minutes to get to the stadium.  We left an hour and a half before the game and still missed half of the first half (and 3 of the 4 goals btw).  Just getting into the stadium was a chore in itself.  You are literally standing back-to-chest with the person in front and behind you. 

 Yeah, those were our seats.  Pretty baller huh?

The Cruz Azul fans (top) sit on one side and the Club America fans (bottom) sit on the other side.  They both chant back and forth the ENTIRE game.  Just jumping up and down, waving their flags, and singing their teams songs.  It is quite a spectacle in itself. 

 During halftime some of our mascots came out.  Can you spot Ocito??

 There he is!! 

The Club America mascot is an Eagle.  During halftime it comes out and flies around.  It is one bad a** bird!!

Us after the game.  The game ended in a 2-2 tie which means Azul is not moving on.  Jose is a huge Azul fan so we were routing for them to win.  It was an awesome game though.  One of the cooler sporting events I have ever been to.

Tomorrow morning, actually this morning since it's after midnight, Jose, Joe and I are leaving for Guadalajara for a month.  We will be learning the Autoservicio channel which is the supermarkets.  I have heard Guadalajara is beautiful so I am looking forward to the change in scenery.  Plus it should be a nice change of pace.  Corrin is already over there so it will be nice to hang out with her some too.  Shout out to Corrin (if you're reading)!!  Tuesday is Labor Day in Mexico so we have the day off which is nice.  Until next time people..... 

(RIP Obie) Right Back At It

Well here I am, back in Mexico like I never left.  It was a very bitter-sweet trip back to the states.  A close friend of my family passed away last week in a motorcycle accident.  He was only 19 years old.  Just goes to show how fragile life is.  Make sure you tell the ones you love that you love them and tell them often.  Much love to anyone reading this.  RIP Obie....

I arrived back in Mexico on Sunday afternoon, staying at the same hotel; Casa de la Condesa.  This time, they gave me a room on the other side of the hotel.  Although it is a bit smaller, I like this room much better.  I have a small balcony with a hammock and a view of the plaza outside.  Also, my bed is a bit softer, the shower has good pressure and...... a door on it!!  Maybe they were reading my blog?      

This week we are working over night on the convenience routes.  We start at 8pm and don't get done until about 5am.  These routes seem a bit harder than the other routes that I have been on.  There is only one vendor for all brands, which means they work with a lot (*side note: maybe one day I will remember before spell check reminds me that a lot is two words and not one*) of different products.  Each store takes at least an hour so each night the vendor only services 5-7 stores.

My body is clearly not used to the over night hours.  I should probably be asleep right now.  I am sure that by the time my body adjust, I will be going back to working days.  But it is what it is.....

I just got an email that told me we are going to meet Daniel Servitje on Friday.  For those that don't know, Daniel is the CEO of Grupo Bimbo so this is kind of a big deal.  According to the email, we won't be meeting him in person however.  It will be via satellite.  He is a very important, busy man so I am pretty honored he is making some time for us.  I am looking forward to chatting with him.      

Reflection....

So I have been in Mexico for just over a month now and I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on some of the things I have seen/done.

It has been a great experience so far.  I am very happy and thankful for the opportunity.  We have been doing a lot of work but have been able to throw in some fun here and there.  Everyone at Grupo Bimbo has been very helpful and kind.  I have been able to learn a lot about the business as well as the culture here in Mexico.

I have written down a bunch of observations.  I will try to be as PC as possible....

Riding around with the route guys, you quickly learn all the bad Spanish words first (as I am sure it would be the same riding around with our guys).  I will spare you all the bad words but they love calling each other names.  They are always telling me to "say this to that person", or he is a "_____".  I guess it is similar in the US.  When you are good friends with someone, you tend to bust on them and call them names.  It is kind of a sign of endearment.  Also, they say "buey" after EVERYTHING!!  From what I have gathered, it is similar to saying "dude"?  With people you know, it has more of a friendly vibe but it can be used with a negative connotation.  Having an extra word thrown in there that has nothing to do with the context of the sentence has definitely made understanding some things more difficult.  Not to mention it sounds pretty stupid....

Which brings me to my next point.  Not meaning to beat a dead horse, but the language barrier can be pretty frustrating at times.  Information is power and it has been hard to get all the information I want without some grey areas.  What I wouldn't give to just be able to communicate clearly and to be able to bring more to the table.  Not to mention I have definitely been the butt end of more jokes and agreed to more stupid things than I can count.  Sometimes, I am sure I am saying yes to things that I probably shouldn't be.  They always seem to get a good laugh at it so whatever.

All I have to say is holy hair cuts and hair gel!!  I have seen some funky hair cuts down here for sure.  Spiked hair and Mohawks everywhere you look.   Not only that, every guy uses hair gel and  A LOT of it.  I am pretty sure they are keeping all the hair gel companies in business.    

Interesting tid-bit in case you care; I have definitely had to pay to use the bathroom......more than once.  At one gas station, I had to pay $5 pesos just to walk in the bathroom.  What if I only wanted to wash my hands??  At another super market, not only did I have to pay $3 pesos, but they divey out the TP before you go in (which isn't a lot).  Good thing I only had to go num...... never mind.  

Being with route guys all day and driving in a truck, I have noticed that they are great parallel parkers.  I have seen them fit a big truck in a spot I wouldn't even attempt to fit my car.  It is pretty impressive.

Two things I am very surprised I haven't seen more of; car accidents and (sadly) dead dogs.  The traffic in Mexico is crazy to say the least.  There are traffic laws but, from my perspective, they aren't enforced.  People are constantly running red lights (they will run the red light and just beep their horn like "hey, I'm coming through"), cutting other cars off, and driving where I don't think you should be driving.  It seems like "if you can fit, you can drive there".  However, I think I may have only seen one or two car accidents.  It kind of baffles me.  On bad traffic days a 20 minute trip can take over 2 hours.  This happened to us one Friday coming home from work.  Our normally 20 minute drive back to the hotel took us a good 2 hours.  It was insanely frustrating.  Traffic is one of the only things that really grinds my gears.  I will never complain about traffic in Boston again.  This ties in with the dogs.  Everywhere you look there is a stray dog or two.  With how crazy the traffic is, I am surprised they aren't hit more often.

Also tied into the traffic are vendors and performers at the stop lights.  At almost every stop light there are vendors walking by your car trying to sell you something.  I have seen everything from snacks, water and fruit, to globes, giant calculators, and tools.  I can see trying to sell someone a bag of chips or something, but lets me honest, when was the last time you were stopped at a light a thought to yourself, "you know, I could really use another globe in my house"??  The answer to that is most likely never.  But they have to be selling some of them or I am sure they wouldn't be carrying them around in the hot Mexican sun, right??  You also see a lot of street performers at lights.  As soon as the light turns red, they hop out, put on their little performance, and then walk up to your car and ask for money.  Some of them aren't too bad.  I have seen jugglers, guys doing tricks with weapons, and, my favorite, the parent/child duo.  Usually, the kid is dressed up like a clown and has something stuffed in their pants to make it look like they have a large back side.  Then, they stand on the parents shoulders, come out in the middle of traffic, and do a little dance.  It is pretty comical, not going to lie.

The cost of living in Mexico is way cheaper than it is in the States.  For example, a breakfast at a diner might run you $12-15 in the US.  Here, the same breakfast is only about $6.  However, items that are way more expensive are electronics.  For an Android smart phone in the US it will probably run you about $200-250.  Here, that same phone is close to $1,000.  For this reason, not everyone has a fancy cell phone.  It is definitely not like in the US where everyone is constantly on their phone; texting, tweeting, facebooking.  I am just as guilty as anybody else so I am not passing judgement.  Around here, people actually talk to other people.  It's crazy!!  Social media is killing our social lives.  I actually just read about this cool game people play at dinner.  It's called phone stack.  Everyone stacks their phones at the table and the first person to look at their phone has to pay the bill.  I think its a cool idea.  Go talk to a real person!!  But I digress.....

Something I learned very quickly working for Bimbo is that Mexicans LOVE their sweet, sugary snacks.  Cookies and cake definitely are the main drivers of our business.  In almost every Tienda, the first position next to the register is some sort of cake, candy or cookie.  While that is good for us, consuming so much sugar can cause major health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and poor dental health.  I did a little research and Mexico has a very high rate of child obesity and diabetes.  Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death in Mexico; about 75,000 deaths per year.  It is estimated that within 10 years, the high rate of diabetes could cripple their Healthcare System.  They are also one of the highest consumers of soft drinks in the world (this I have seen first hand).  It is becoming a serious problem in this country and other developing countries around the world. 

Before I came to Mexico, the first thing everyone said to me was "be careful", "it's dangerous down there".  I refused to buy into the hype.  As with any major city, there are parts that are going to be dangerous.  So far I have felt pretty safe for the most part.  However, there have been a few things that have made me feel slightly uneasy....

First, in our culture class, the teacher told us not to trust the Police and to avoid them at all cost.  He told us that the Police in Mexico are under trained and under paid, therefore they are easily corrupted.  Most of the time, they are just looking for a bribe and will leave you alone. I have heard this from many people down here too.  They say Mexico is a place that, with enough money, you can get away with anything.

Another thing that is a little nerve racking to see are the Police walking around the streets with fully automatic weapons and riot gear.  I mean, you see Police on the streets in the US but never with Uzis or Shotguns.  The first time I saw this I was shocked.  I went to a soccer game last Sunday and I have never seen so many Police in riot gear.  The were lined up all around the stadium.  I know soccer games can get a little crazy but this was a sight to see. 

In our culture class, we also learned that Mexico is a country of contradictions.  The one contradiction I have seen first hand is that everyone is so nice and friendly but no body trusts anybody else.  There is security for everything, even to check product into a store.  You have to get patted down when you walk in and patted down when you walk out.  I was told that as some stores, they check the color of their employees underwear and socks when they come in and when leave so they know they didn't steal anything.  Also, I don't care how fancy you make them look, there are still bars on ALL windows.  I find it kind of sad.

Since I have been here, I have heard about several muggings and was a witness to one.  Before our vendor class one day, one of the guys came in a told us he had just been mugged in the way to work.  Another time, I heard a story of a girl getting mugged on a bus full of people.  No one did anything.  She had to ask the bus driver for money to get on the next bus to get to work.  The one I was a witness to happened in traffic with the Police standing 100 yards away.  We were on our way home from work and heard two pops.  I honestly didn't think anything of it but our driver quickly told us to roll up our windows.  We looked behind us a two guys were robbing a girl in a BMW.  One of the guys let of two shots, and then jacked her for her bag.  We drove up to the corner where the Police were standing and let them know what we saw.  It was kind of scary.

I could probably write a small book on everything I have seen and my thoughts thus far but I will leave some stuff to your imagination.  Overall, being in Mexico has been great.  I knew coming into it that it was going to be a big change.  That's one of the reasons I really wanted to come.  It is interesting to see how another country operates, weather it's in business or socially.  If anyone from Mexico spent time living and working in the US, I am sure they would find a bunch of this things we do weird.  Sometimes you just need to get out of your comfort zone and experience new things.  I obviously miss home but I also still have a lot to experience in Mexico.  I am looking forward to the next 3 and a half months and what they have to offer.       


Things I Miss
 By Ramon Posada:
- Pulling on any street and being able to get a cup of fresh coffee from DD.  They don't drink much coffee down here and when they do it's the instant stuff.  Not a big fan.  I have had a couple of good cups of coffee though.
- Being able to drive myself where I want, when I want.  We have a taxi service that takes us to and from work.  In the AM they are pretty much always on time, although they don't always know how to get to our destination.  However, in the PM they are pretty bad.  We usually call at least an hour before we need to get picked up.  Most of the time they are 30+ mins late.  I have waited up to two hours for them to pick me up before!!!
- Being able to cook my own food.  There is not a full kitchen in the rooms so we have to eat out when we want to eat.  At least I don't have to do dishes......
- My bed.  They bed here is hard as a rock (I use it to iron on).  I have gotten used to it though.
- My shower.  The water pressure in my room is not very good.  Again, you get used to it.  The one thing though, there is no door on the shower??  Instead, there is a drain inside, and outside the shower.  Haven't been able to figure this one out??  Why not just put a door or curtain??
- My co-workers
- My friends
- And most importantly, MY FAMILY!!