Jeff and I met in the lobby of the Guadalajara Holiday Inn Select this morning before our trip to the customer’s site. It’s the rainy season here so the streets are flooded from torrential rains in the morning, but the weather seems to clear out as the day progresses. come the evening, the sun shines brightly and the temperature remains steady at a comfortable 80. As expected, this morning greeted us with violent rain.

I went up to the front desk.

“Buenos dias, Necesitamos un taxi” I said hesitantly

The woman behind the desk, immediately responded in a flurry of Spanish of which I caught “lluvia” and “cinco minutos”

“bueno bueno. gracias.” I said as I followed her pointed finger towards the side of the building. I assumed she meant that there would be a taxi here in about 5 minutes.

As I walked outside, it no longer mattered. Jeff had hailed a cab. And the driver was wearing a sombrero.

It wasn’t just the sombrero that was awesome. His seat covers had pictures of bottles of tequila, a small set of rosary beads hung from his mirror, and the radio hummed quiet Spanish trios. It was the quintessential Mexican taxi cab. The man followed our directions well (”uhhhh… la proxima derecha? comprende?”) and we reached our destination.

Most of the day was uneventful. Some critical equipment was stuck in customs… so we spent the day waiting. Lunch time, however, was fantastic. We had authentic comida mexicana: beans, rice, and meat served with fresh tortillas. It was perfect!

We got back to the hotel reasonably early… grabbed a bite to eat and wandered the streets of Guadalajara. This city is pretty great. It’s reasonably clean, very colorful, and friendly. Last time Jeff was here, he and some co-workers went to an Aerosmith concert. I’m going to check the schedules for tomorrow. If we do get out of work early hopefully we’ll be able to have some fun.

I had a great conversation with one of the locals here. He had spent some time in Chicago and California and we spoke of the United States.

“The United States is a good place to earn money,” he said, “but living there takes something from you. Here in Mexico, I am free. If I want to go hunting in the hills, I can go hunting in the hills. I don’t need a license or special permits. I can do what I please and go where I please.”

It was an interesting perspective. The U.S. is all about the idea of freedom, but this gentleman’s first complaint was that the U.S. kept him down. He felt that there were too many rules to follow and the rules restricted freedom enough that he had no real desire to go back.

“I don’t think I can leave my family like this though,” he added, “I have four kids. Three daughters:16, 14, and 3. and one son, 6. I’d like to go north and earn some money to help them, but at the same time I need to be here. My youngest daughter is [sweet]. She runs up to me when I get home from work and shouts ‘pappi pappi!’ and kisses my cheek. I don’t think I could my family right now even to earn more money to help them.”

The conversation then switched to Visas.

“I want to get a Visa for Vacation to the States but it’s very hard. When I was in the United States before, I was there illegally. On the forms they ask where you’ve lived for the last 10 years. I was in the U.S. in 2000. I can’t lie. So I’ll tell them I was in the U.S. They may turn me down. I hope they let my daughters in. Some of my brothers and sisters are in the United States and I’d like my daughters to be able to see what it’s like there.”

I greatly enjoy chatting with foreigners about the U.S. It’s interesting to learn what the country looks like from the outside in.

Despite the fact that I don’t really enjoy Daft Punk, I must admit this video is impressive.

Thanks Jes!