It was his Mexican coursemates birthday, so we met up in a bar in Santa Ana and hid from the sun under one of the umbrellas (sorry everyone in England I had to write this) and drank much of the night away with other South Americans.
That night was brilliant, I met this Chilean guy whose accent I just couldn't make out at all ("he's talking ENGLISH, Andy" "Oh") and hung out with some really attractive Mexican girls.
At one point, I asked the gorgeous girl I was sat next to about Mexico.
"So," I said, "Would you say it is safe to walk around in Mexico City as a westerner?"
She started to tell me that the place is a lot safer now than it used to be, then stopped herself and said
"...except for kidnappings which are still a bit of a problem."
So I say, "Have you ever been kidnapped?"
"Yes of course" she said as though I had asked her if she had ever eaten a fajita, "most people I know know someone who has been kidnapped actually"
Oh.
So I turn to the guy behind me and say,
"Scuse me guv, you're from Mexico right? Have you ever been kidnapped?"
"No not me," he says,
*phew*
"...but my sister has."
Fuckin hell it sounds like a national pastime! Not quite able to believe this, I stopped everyone and asked if any Mexicans there did NOT have a close relation who had been kidnapped.
They sort of looked around sheepishly, as though I had asked if anyone had syphilis, before getting straight back to their drinks.
The other day, I done a rare act. I actually done something sensible! Yes that's right, I turned down the job in Egypt, probably on pain of international ostracism but I thought that was better than risking 2 years of boredom and blogs like >>>this one<<<
So now I'm on the warpath again, lookin for jobs. Mexico is obviously even more tempting after that night and I am likely to turn down a job here in the UK that I interviewed for on Friday, because it was so boring I could see myself swinging from the rafters after a term. On the menu of potential places, include India, Peru, Romania, China and Honduras.
Watch this space.
