New beginnings

Today felt like Mexico. Finally. Maybe it was the food, familiar, fresh and spicy, but with dashes of surprise, like the prickly pear and that odd, black, football-shaped tortilla stuffed with something approximating cheese.

On the other hand, it could have been the heat. There's nothing quite like being at 2300m in the heat of the midday sun in southern Mexico. At least it was a dry heat.

But I am more inclined to believe it was because of time spent with friends who relate wholeheartedly to the overwhelming newness of living among the pueblo Méxicano.

No amount of searching through pocket dictionaries and smart phones can prepare one for the madness that is Avenida de los Insurgentes and the Autopista Pachuca - Ciudad de México. We passed a Good Friday procession that took up an entire lane of the highway...which was under repair to begin with! Craziest 15 minutes of my driving life.

But, I digress. This blog began one year ago with all the pomp and circumstance of a book signing, then, for reasons and faults entirely my own, fell flat on its face before the first paragraph full stop. So, here I am again. Here we are again. We are here. In Mexico!

2011 looks to be a year of firsts for the McClellan family. Our daughter, Reya, was born in January.

Sharon became an American citizen that same month. We moved to Mexico. As far as we know we are the first of our kin ever to set foot south of the border. Understandable for the Lin clan raised on Taiwan, but what's wrong with the McClellans? We bred a few southern California types back in the day. No shopping excursions to Tijuana in search of the perfect rattlesnake hebilla de cinturón? No.

Our son will ignite the torch and pass it on to future generations. He's been to the Pyramid of the Sun and he's searched for the buried treasure. I think he almost found it today, despite the heat.

It is Mexico. Here we are.