What I actually do here

Work. My dad visited a couple of weeks ago on business. Of course we had a great time together and reflected about life and its path. He mentioned that he greatly enjoyed the blogs but reiterated similar concerns that others had previously expressed. Do you do anything besides go out on the town?

Of course I do. I work 60-65 hours a week. He suggested that I tell y’all a little bit about what I do. So, here goes…

CMM. If you didn’t know, I work for De la Calle, Madrazo, Mancera (CMM), SC. They are a small, boutique consulting firm that specializes in international trade, lobbying, and strategic planning. There are about 20 people in the office, including support staff. The office is located in the lovely neighborhood of Polanco, two blocks north of the big hotels. This is perfect because of the amount of conferences, speeches, and meetings that take place in them that we must attend.

Daily. I have a set list of daily activities on top of my other projects. Everyday I arrive at 7am and peruse a database containing all news and media. I read everything that relates to Mexico in the Wall Street Journal, NY Times, the Times, the Economist, important U.S. domestic papers, etc. I then decide what is important or pertinent for our 30+ clients. I write a summary of these relevant articles and send it out to our clients. Next, I do a more specific newsletter for the U.S. Pork Producers. I read all of the important Mexican national newspapers and the same list of American media to find what is influencing the world meat market. I write summaries of the articles of both the English and Spanish articles in English.

My final daily activity, besides a few translations, is reading, monitoring, and reviewing the Mexican presidential race. This is fascinating. I create a weekly newsletter that includes summaries of all of the candidates’ speeches, positions, declarations, schedules, etc from the following week. You know, what they have said lately, who they have pissed off, and whose support they want.

That all occurs before 10am. After that I work on a number of client matters. These usually include research, proposal writing in Spanish and English, power point presentations, etc. I get to meet with the clients and watch as others explain our analysis and recommendations.

Some weeks are extremely busy, and others are not. I would say usually I am overworked and busy. But I very much enjoy what I do.

Future plans. I am coming back to the U.S. in May. I am working with school groups in western North Carolina for two weeks, teaching them outdoors skills and group activities. In June, I head out west to California, Oregon, and Washington to lead two trips in the wilderness. Each trip is a month long and includes a week of backpacking, two days rock climbing, three river rafting, one/two mountain biking, two/three days climbing a big peak, another river rafting, then another week in the outback. The first trip will be with 13-15 year old kids, and the second with 15-17 year olds. I intend to have my next job beginning on September 1st. If you have paid attention and crunched the numbers, that leaves about 10 days or so to relax at the end of August. If you are around the Massachusetts area, gimme a ring in August. We’ll get together.

Please send any questions or comments directly to the source. If y’all are curious about any other cultural aspects, what it’s like to live in the second most dangerous country for journalists (Iraq is first), or what really happens here during Spring Break, feel free to write.