MetaChat - Okay, so I'm gonna learn Spanish

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05 July 2007

Okay, so I'm gonna learn Spanish and move my ass to Mexico.→[More:]

Even in late season (it gets shit-hot in the afternoon) Cancun is paradise. I learned a few things:

1. I get seasick (luckily, I recruited a second photographer so we still got 1,400 photos over three days out on the water, two without me).

2. In a place as sunny as Cancun, you can get sun anywhere, even in the shadowy depths of a veranda (with a cool sea breeze fluttering the pages of your book as you sip fresh watermelon-lime juice and listen to the murmer of the Caribbean).

3. Waggle your index finger at the shot girl before she slaps you, pours a sticky blue drink down your throat, and demands American dollars (she'll make bad change).

4. Never tell your gardener how much you make (and don't go national with chicken feed).

Since I couldn't go out on the boat (though just before I got seasick my first day, I caught a sizeable dorado [aka mahi-mahi]), I helped my friend pitch her charter to hotel concierges up and down the 18-mile long zona hotelera, bobbed up and down in the clear blue 80+°F water, rested in cabanas with fruity cocktails (coconut rum + orange, pineapple, and cranberry juices + Midori melon liqueur = yum), bought the world's nicest leather jacket at a deep discount (plus two pairs of killer jeans), ate like a king, smelled great (first-class toiletries and moisturizers at the hotel), said "muchas gracias" a lot, wrote, read, and played like a five-year old in the surf.

I feel great. I wanna go back. But I'll settle for just feeling great, for now.

post by: Hugh Janus at: 10:16 | 20 comments

I get seasick.

I've read that garlic pills do really well to combat this, with no side effects besides, perhaps, bad breath. Mythbusters also found that to be more-or-less true.

posted by muddgirl 05 July | 10:20

(Also, Cancun sounds absolutely wonderful.)

posted by muddgirl 05 July | 10:22

The great thing about having a huge ass: the ability to straddle borders. Butt parties in Cancun while Head works in NYC.

posted by danostuporstar 05 July | 10:23

I dunno, muddgirl; I got seasick after two dramamine tablets. Being on the boat when it was going fast wasn't a problem (nor was riding the ferry and the water taxi around), but when we slowed down to fish, the pitch of the waves, the heat, and the various smells (the open bait box), plus the excitement of the catch, conspired to send me belowdecks for a few heart-to-hearts with old Ralph and four hours of lying around nauseated and helpless. I never want to be seasick again.

Anyone know the best way to get some promotional materials translated from English into Spanish and Russian? I've got Japanese covered, but I'm charged with subcontracting the rest and I have little experience with this kind of venture.

posted by Hugh Janus 05 July | 10:27

The hotel where we stayed.

A great Italian restaurant on Isla Mujeres; the day I was seasick, we hit the dock here (land never felt better underfoot) and had an immense and delicious lunch on the most beautiful of patios.

The best restaurant (obnoxious website) in Cancun, Puerto Madero an Argentine steakhouse, in which I ate, among other things (a delicious grilled kingfish with capers and a melt-in-your-mouth tuna steak), the tastiest beef steak I've ever eaten; one of our dining companions told one of the five funniest stories I've ever heard. The boat is moored in the marina next door.

Oh, they have great coffee everywhere, too, and the milk/cream is tastier than in New York.

posted by Hugh Janus 05 July | 10:49

I missed a comma and possibly a verb but I'm too tan to care.

posted by Hugh Janus 05 July | 10:50

Going below deck probably made the sea sickness worse. Sometimes, if you stay on deck and get out a good burp you'll find your sea legs. That's what I found when fishing in NZ but as they say on teh internets YMMV.

posted by Lola_G 05 July | 11:02

Man, Mexico is pretty awesome, eh?
≡ Click to see image ≡

posted by Hellbient 05 July | 11:12

They had AC in the cabin, which helped me recuperate, and anyway, I stayed on deck as long as possible before running down there to empty my guts into the loo. I wasn't down there until I'd crossed the vomit Rubicon. I wish so badly that I wasn't prone to seasickness, 'cos I loved the fishing and I wanted to be there taking pictures when they caught the six-foot long sailfish a couple hours into my illness.

I'll have some pictures for hellbient in a few days; we're sorting through, making passes on them to see which ones will be used in the brochures and the website.

On the third day, my friend the photographer met the boat on the beach at Isla Mujeres. They wanted to find a family to get on the boat for a sun-fun photo shoot. He recruited a family from Ohio: two sisters and their four assorted children along with their parents, and took pictures of them diving off the boat, sunbathing, enjoying cocktails, catching fish, eating Cheetos. Then they were treated to dinner at the Italian place and got a free half-day fishing charter the next day and caught nineteen fish. They'll get a stack of photos of their vacation surprise and be featured in the charter's promotional materials. Nice, huh?

Here's a review of the boat.

posted by Hugh Janus 05 July | 11:31

Wow, that's some gorgeous hotel. Sorry 'bout the seasickness (did you puke in the mermaid's tail? : ). We'll keep the pitchin' and a rollin' down to a minimum on ze porch.

posted by Pips 05 July | 11:40

I try to puke over the side when I'm seasick - brings in all the fishies.

posted by casarkos 05 July | 11:49

wow, Mexico sounds great for the watermelon-lime juice alone... not sure my English skin could cope with that much sun though.

As for translation... either look in your local phone book for translation agencies, phone one up and they'll take care of it all for you (for a price - also, as you're in NYC, I'll advise you to avoid Transperfect like the plague - they're huge, and are *really* bad at paying their suppliers on time) or go to Proz and use the freelance directory search for people who handle the relevant languages (directory) - be sure to narrow down the criteria, as there are some idiots out there, but also some real pros. Their profiles usually help you to tell the difference.

posted by altolinguistic 05 July | 11:51

Ginger pills, not garlic pills. If you are really prone to motion sickness, nothing really works I don't think. One of my few magic powers is that I do not get sea sick under any circumstances. Sounds like you had the best time every Hugh, I love fishing so much I suspect I might be part pelican.

posted by Divine_Wino 05 July | 12:10

I love fishing, too, so it broke my heart to be relegated to shore duty. A heartbreak that was much assuaged by cocktails, massages, and the occasional dip in the aforementioned Caribbean.

Man, I was pasted to the floor of the cabin, dragging myself around like a WWI sapper. The only thing that kept me alive was the little star hovering at the back of my neck, pulsing in Morse code: "You're still in Cancun, you're still in Cancun."

Also, watching the flying fish skim along the top of the water was cool.

posted by Hugh Janus 05 July | 13:04

No, for real; I'm really considering moving to Mexico.

Maybe I just don't like work today.

posted by Hugh Janus 05 July | 14:11

I'm moving to Mexico or Costa Rica. I just need to figure out how to make a US salary while down there. Once I figure that out, adios motherfuckers!

I went to Cuernavaca to learn Spanish. It is about 100km south of Mexico City, in the mountains so it is cool -- not hot -- never cold -- all year [they call it the city of eternal spring]. A $9 ride to the Mexico City airport can put you on any beach for less than 1000 pesos and an hour. And Mexicana and AeroMexico have newer planes and friendlier staff than USian airlines [AND YOU CAN BRING LIQUIDS]. Paradise!

I had some awesome watermelon juice when I was in Costa Rica two weeks ago. It is hot on the beaches, but in the mountains it is cool.

posted by birdherder 05 July | 14:55

My sister-in-law lived in CR for a year and loved it. I just want to learn Spanish and go somewhere I can stop worrying about shit. I had no idea how uptight I was until I shucked it all aside (along with my topcoat and underwear) and just dug the heat.

I'm really concerned that I might seriously try to move there. Who wants a career in banking when you can make pennies in paradise? With every hour I spend here at work, the answer gets closer to, "Not me!"

posted by Hugh Janus 05 July | 15:03

I was pasted to the floor of the cabin
Never go below deck and DO NOT LAY DOWN!! It makes it worse. Trust me. I'm seasick free, like the Wino.

Glad you had a good time otherwise, though. I'm jealous.

posted by jrossi4r 05 July | 19:24

I want to move to Mexico too! Altho' the south is more my style. Oaxaca is sublime. I'd like to be a bead seller in Oaxaca or a farmer in Chiapas. Can I, please?

posted by carmina 05 July | 20:22

I'm really concerned that I might seriously try to move there. Who wants a career in banking when you can make pennies in paradise?

Well, I guess fishing guide is outta the question. ; )

If you became a teacher, you could live there 'bout three months out of the year, if ya like.

posted by Pips 05 July | 20:51

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