First off, I’m like one of the least Mexican people ever. I have flashbacks from my Grandma making fun of how I say my last name. “It’s GON-zales, not GUN-zales” she would laugh in front of her friends. My parents are both Mexican-American and both are bilingual. I, and my siblings however, are the most Californian kids ever. So if I ever get married, I’ll be Amy Elizabeth Smith but I’ll always look Mexicana. And when you travel to Spanish speaking countries, it’s always expected you just know the language. I mostly do, but since I haven’t traveled since that wedding in Canada (October 2019 – shout out to Cate so she reads my blog and because I don’t know any other bride who would invite some girl she met in a hostel in Budapest for one night. But she’s super cool that way. She’s a chuper amiga in a different way.)
And that’s when I started hatching my plan…. “Mom, you want to go to Mexico for a month? I’ll pay for it.” I figured my Spanish is rusty, my mom is my ride or die and I have a built-in translator. The funny, funny part is she’s making me speak Spanish to everyone and they clearly want to speak English because here in CABO, it’s a bilingual town. We rented a condo from a family member (she’s 2 years old and I think she’s my Mexican/Family Spirit Animal – Yoshi is still my true spirit animal). And here we are. I’m working (I even brought a printer/copier/scanner down with me and it was flagged crossing the border because who carries a damn printer?!). I successfully took a call from my boss with the sound of crashing waves thundering but it’s not a lie to say “I’m working from the beach.” No one said it has to be a beach in the USA.
So back to why the travel blog has resumed during a global pandemic. For one, if you know me (or my Mom since I know her fan base follows me too!), you know I don’t do a lot of risky things. But Amy, you travel the world alone, how is that not risky? Well yes, dear reader, it is risky. But like everything “serious” in my life, I took 2 years to convince myself to go on the World Adventure and just about as much time to get my only tattoo. So maybe I’m not so adventurous but more cautious. I have been working remote since AUGUST of 2020. Somehow a global pandemic has created a unique “work from home” situation for everyone and not just those of us smart enough to negotiate at least one day from home when accepting a new job. I have been vaccinated (both shots) and knew that work would be calling me back to the office soon.
Today was our first full day. I ran on the beach. Worked (of course I did) and then we walked along a crazy freeway because neither of us is qualified at all to drive in Mexico. Tomorrow, it’s Friday and then who knows what we’ll do for the weekend. It’s Easter WEEK in Mexico. They are more religious than I am but we made reservations for Easter Sunday to have a nice meal.
As for a chuper amigo, I think it means a drinking buddy. It might be strange to refer to your mom as a drinking buddy but when in Cabo…. there are little to no rules. No bad days. Adios regular Amigos!
There She Goes... 