Viva Mexico!

Did you know that Cinco de Mayo is not really that important here. Yes, it is part of the history of Mexico in that the Mexicans defeated the french in a battle in Puebla. It is really only celebrated there and no where else in Mexico. I guess Americans just wanted another excuse to drink . . . but really it is a celebration for the Mexican heritage/population that is now in the US!

Mexico's independence day is actually the 15th of September!! They celebrate from the night of the 15th through the 16th! And this year is really special because it is the bicentennial of Mexico. It has been fun being here for it because people go all out here like they do in the US. When September came around everyone brought out there flags and hung red, white, and green streamers and such. Plus on ever corner you can see a stand selling flags and stuff which is shown below. There are fireworks and all the churches ring there bells. Everyone from town gets together in the center of town and just celebrates and enjoys each other. At the schools they dress up in clothes of the time period of the day of independence and other types of traditional Mexican clothes.

Unlike the US where we celebrate on the day when they signed the declaration of independence, Mexicans celebrate the day a priest demanded independence from Spain. In the night of the 15th Miguel Hidalgo, a priest, sent his brother with other armed men to release the pro-independence inmates from jail. They ended up freeing 80 men. The next morning Hidalgo order the church bells to be rung and the people to congregate at the church. There he gave a famous independence speech to revolt against Spain called the "grito" which is now recited every independence day. This initiated the Mexican-Spanish war. The declaration of independence was not signed until September 27, 1821 . . . 10 years after the start of the war.

Of course, I was not around for most of the celebration because I was coming back from a well. I had spent 4 days at this well with not much sleep and a lot of problems! I pretty much slept only 2 hours in 36 which is probable a first for me! Again I was really stinky and ready to get back to sleep and take a shower so I missed out on the craziness that was outside my room. Below is the picture of the rig I worked at. We were doing a fishing job trying to get 100 meters of cable out of the well . . . unforunately we were not able to do so, oh well!

Just a tidbit of Mexican history for everyone!

El Tajin

So I unexpectedly got some days off and I was going to use them when I come home in October but after talking with my manager decided to take them now. This is due to the news that I will not be going back to Reynosa . . . its a blessing but still sad at the same time! Since there is not any work in Mexico really, I have been placed on the transfer list. This means that I could be going to either Cuidad de Carmen, Mexico, which is the largest Coiled Tubing base in the world, or another country. And when I mean another country, I literally mean another country anywhere in the world!! My life is soooo crazy! I could be going back to the US or staying in Latin America or going somewhere crazy in Africa or Asia . . . who knows! Plus, I do not know when this is taking place! I guess I am staying here in Poza Rica until I find out but it is driving me a little crazy . . . but I guess this is what I signed up for!

Since, I am possible going to be leaving here soon for my days off I decided to go to the ancient ruins, El Tajin. Another engineer here has been in Poza Rica for 2 years and still has not gone, so I thought I better do it when I have a chance. Well it ended up that that same engineer, Viridiana, had days off too so we went together which was fun. The site was amazing . . . it has around 40 different buildings and it was really interesting. I kept telling myself how on earth they built these things back then when all the had were stones as tools!! Anyways my favorite building/temple is the "la piramide de los 365 niches" (the first picture below). It had 365 niches that symbolizes the 365 days of the year. It was also really nice just being outside and walking around . . . yes it was really hot but the air was fresh.

A couple of times I thought I was in an Indiana Jones movie with the jungle and ruins, like the picture above. Anyways, here are some other pictures I took and when I find out what is going on with my transfer I will tell everyone right away!!

Breakout Session!

So things have been crazy here . . . lots of work with a little bit of fun! I have been to about 30 jobs and 4o days in the field since I arrived in Poza Rica. It has been a lot of hard work but also really fun. I have learned soooo much and I have to say my Spanish is getting much better though I still have trouble speaking! Also I was able to travel during my days off.

My roommate and best friend from Reynosa, Karina, was going to get married the weekend after my birthday but things changed due to lack of documents but I still got to go see her in her hometown, Puebla. I took a bus in the middle of the night which took about 6 hours . . . surprisingly I am getting a lot better at sleeping in cars, buses and unusually places. It can be one of the things I can say I have learned from this job!! When I got there I went to breakfast with her whole family . . . aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. for her mom's birthday! Her fiancee, Qarnain was also there (he is another engineer/friend from Canada that works in Reynosa). It was soooo nice seeing her and doing normal things . . . just hanging out with a friend! We went out to eat and then decided to go ice skating! It was the first time I did that since I was about 10! I was horrible especially when you compare me to Qarnain who is from Canada and Karina who practiced figure skating for awhile! It was still a lot of fun. After that we went bowling which I was a lot better at! Karina and I both thought that day was so nice . . . a time with friends, laughing, and just enjoying life and the time with each other.

After the lst day of craziness, the next two were pretty chill . . . watched movies, hung out with her family, and walked around the beautiful city. The city is surrounded by mountains and had an amazing climate. Unlike Poza Rica, when it rains it cools off instead of being sticky. It was a perfect vacation from work! I will upload more pictures but the ones below will give you a taste of what Puebla is all about!

Karina and I at lunch eating some really good food. This picture was the first picture together we realized which is horrible since we lived together and all!!

Karina, Qarnain, and I goofing off at the ice rink . . . man was I bad!! Just look at my beautiful form!

Me spending the day with Karina and her dad and brother in the center of Puebla at the famous cathedral.

I loved looking at all the building . . . they had a lot of Spanish influence and a lot were covered in tiles that Puebla is known for, pictured above.

The last day we spent in a town outside of Puebla that had a beautiful cathedral on top of the hill which is actually ancient ruins that you can see some of in the picture.

After the much needed break, I started going to a lot of jobs and started getting even more responsibilities. When I went to the well most of the time I was in charge of the reports and all the paperwork and sometimes even talking to the client which was scary!! With that my manager here said it was time for my breakout job which means that I would be operating the unit and doing all the meetings and stuff (acting as supervisor). We planned for one job but we had some issues so it ended not being my job which was a little disappointing. Little did I know a few days later I would be going to do 8 wells in 7 days!!

Well . . . during those wells, I operated the unit the whole time for a milling job. Come to find out that the supervisor and the other engineer there were watching me and ended up making that my breakout job! When I got back to the base my manager said that I had broken out, meaning that I was being promoted from a trainee to an actual engineer!! It is really exciting but scary at the same time because that brings more responsibilities. The day after my breakout I got to design two jobs and perform those operations which was awesome. I will get to have a lot more practice very soon because there is another 8 well job that we will start in the next week. I am finally getting comfortable here, however, with my breakout means I will be heading back to Reynosa soon. Below are just a couple of pictures from those 8 wells!

Christian and Eric writing the number of the well on a sign so the water guys would not get lost.

Jesus and I showing off our hard work after we finished mixing a batch of gel. You had to put this powder in diesel and then mix it to from a gel. It was crazy, the powder would stick to you everywhere and then when you sweat it would form a gel. I rubbed my neck and it was not normally!! After these I was the smelliest and dirtiest I had ever been in my whole life . . . I guess that's what happens when you do not shower for 6 days and wearing the same clothes after working in the mud and sun!!

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.