New Talents and Networking

I went to a concert of a new musical proposal, I think they have a promising future. Could I help this group? Should my musical taste is good enough for the upcoming generations?

MariaJulia has a little on the market, but a lot of different exposure. You can notice the experience among them. As I told you before, at the end each people could classify it on like or dislike. For me it was a like.

During the concert

The invitation came through facebook, and then I contact my cousin just to make sure that the event wasn't canceled. This group has a marketing strategy, a musical proposal and an official launch. Now we can see how its musical carreer develops, maybe we are at the beginning of a career like Maná, Caifanes or Fobia.

At that grave I shall not cry again

The appointment was at a small concert hall at Mexico City, with oppening group and everything. This is a good strategy, because you can immediately compare. To my taste MariaJulia was a lot better than Standups. I think that more sooner than later we will be listening to their songs vía Youtube, Spotify, itunes or Radio.

I share with you the musical proposal and the theme "En esa tumba no vuelvo a llorar" (At that grave I shall not cry again), I prefer you judge by your particular musical taste:

So my recommendations on launching networking:

1.- Invite your family and friends to your own developments, this type of event is really interesting to share with people you know and you can have longer relations.
2.- Make a formal launching proposal, you will always have critics, but your friends and family will support you.
3.- Enjoy what you are doing, seize the moment and make the people around you have a good time too.

Mexicanizing!!!!

What do you do if a friend came to live to Mexico? And if this acquaintance, also is friend of your group of friends?

As we realized, Omar is being offered a job in Mexico, so he is traveling each other week in working trips. Since I came to this city, I have met with him at least 5 times, and I have here just one and a half month, so I believe that it's a lot.

Omar is Peruvian, and actually lives at Miami, he is a former student, and when he came to Mexico, he stays at a hotel in Santa Fe and call us and he sort of organize us to go to lunch, dinner, movies or any other leisure activity.

At one of his visits, we talked about how rich in culture and traditions is Mexico, and we convinced him to try all the different aspects we can share with him. Happily he became interested and let me tell you that he is adapting.

Arena Mexico Wrestling

First step in his mexicanization was to take him to the "Lucha Libre" (wrestling). This type of entertainment is worth living with friends. You can see a bunch of wrestlers, with masks, cute pants, trying to take out of the ring to their opponents. Usually this fight is made in teams "Rudos and Tecnicos" (Hardcore and Wisecore), so you can relate with your suitable type. The language, food, and the place had a special mysticism that its better to live than to describe.

Pulquería

After his first introduction to the Mexican culture, the group think on teaching different aspects related with the food and drinking. So we organised the next hangout to a "Pulquería" (a place where Pulque is consumed). We had to do it, since this beverage is produced in Mexico since Aztec time and nowadays is being trendy among youngsters.

Flauta con chile habanero

Once he made it into Pulque, the next step on the agenda was meal. The group thing on taking Omar to get some Mexican delights. So the next step was to introduce him to the "Pozole, Flautas, Quesadillas, among others". Omar tried everything with Mexican sauce, and do pretty well with "Chile". He is doing his best to understand our culture.

Tortas ahogadas

Then Lily suggested that Omar had to try "Guadalajara" style food, so we take him to the "Tortas Ahogadas" (Sunk sauce sandwich). He also adapted pretty well, I think he had a really good stomach. He is still missing "Regio" style food, that is coming on his next trip.

My suggestion when you are visiting-transferring to a different country:

a) Ask about the popular culture at the country, for sure you will have a great surprise mixing around with this cultural elements.
b) Ask for the typical drinks at the country, if you think about it, there must be a reason that made them popular, taste, quality, intensity. Try to figure out the historical events related to them, for sure you will have a future conversation theme.
c) Try every different type of food your stomach fits, it could be sweet, salty or hot. The best thing on learning different eating habits is that you will quickly adapt to your supermarket food consumption and find your new ingredients and at least you will know a little bit more about them.

Miniencounters

I went to my hometown the past week and I found 3 pleasant surprises. Destiny? I still think that Monterrey is a handkerchief.

Let me tell you that I returned to Monterrey about a week ago, it isn't too far away but I missed it and a lot. I organized myself to arrive early and visit my grandmother, she is 95 years old, and I couldn't miss the opportunity to see her. The airport is far away from her house, so I decided to take a taxi and contact the same route my company gets.

This company should have about 70 different operators, and when I used to travel, there was a driver that pick me up. His name is Amador Reyna and I have about 8 months without contacting him. Casually when I get out of the terminal, the driver that was waiting for me was Amador, he recognized me and shyly went to greet me. At the beginning he thought that I wouldn't recognize him, but I remember a lot of different things, specially people, so I immediately recognize him back and we catch up on the streets, new constructions, overpasses, among other.

The second meeting I had, was planned with one month on advance, some of my oldest friends, because we became a group about 30 years ago, concur at Monterrey the same date. This is quite a challenge because we came from different locations: Shanghai, San Sebastian, Charlotte, Playa del Carmen, Mexico City and of course Monterrey. My sister Gabriela organised the party and as expected, when we get together the encounter became wonderful. This long friendship take us to live so many different situations. We promised to keep in touch and always supporting each other.

While returning as I passed my way through the airport security, I bumped to Rafael. He is one of my alumni, and I was really happy to get a fast chat with him. He told me that recently had accepted a job offer and he was on his way to move out to a different country. He had to learn about housing rentals, friends, visas. We shared some memories on his admission to the MBA and he told me how this experience became a springboard on his professional development. I was really proud of his personal projects and that he is willing to have a lot more experiences.

It was a short trip, but as you may see, really productive on my networking contacts. I leave you with some thoughts to live this mini encounters:

a) If you recognize someone, do not be afraid to share it, maybe at the beginning he won't remember, but it doesn't matter, at least it would be an "icebreaker" and you can have a meaningful conversation.
b) If you have a regular contact with your pals, do as my sister Gabriela, use everything on your side to convince your friends and make it happen. Your friends will always want to have spaces to remember.
c) If you find a friend on his way to a new city, offer your long distance help, keep in touch, and when you visit the place, you may be able to have a good chat.

Routes and Networking

Can you help me find an address?

Now that I live in a new city, I have to ask for help with different friends to find my route that lead me to my location. At the beginning was really difficult, now I think I'm becoming an expert using different technologies.

Polanquito's Meeting

First you have to get the address and usually the people that sends it to you, can share the location on a map. This technology gadget is really useful. And if your friend wants she can share some tips on how to get there (if she knows the city).

When you get indications it becomes simple, but considering my particular case, when I get information it sounded as if asking for directions on the Nayging Rode Zone and want to get to the Pearl Market Zone... it sounded as if speaking in Chinese.

Handcrafted Map

Then I get the goodwill from some other colleagues, people that in a very friendly manner created handcrafted maps, specially if you're going to get to a really near place. Here I show the itinerary I received to pick up Omar and Claudia at a near hotel. I was really ashamed when I realized that it was around the corner, literally.

Google Maps Technology

Once I have done my motion and formats, I discover the Google Maps option. So I write down the address at which I want to go, and then print the step by step directions with the street name and everything else. As always this becomes really useful when the street names are the same, but in this city they change the names and then it ends that Miguel Aleman Way its called Rio San Joaquín and as you travel on the boulevard the street name changes.

So I conclude that I need more technology, my car has an integrated GPS, and the mobile phone has the Waze app. Everything runs smooth when both mechanisms go by the same route, but then it happens that one send me to the left, and the other to the right. So I have to use my Scout learning and I look at the sky and try to locate myself by the sun, the stars or some other landmark... and what happen is that is so many smog that you can't see anything.

At last I stop and ask for directions to a near cop or taxi driver, that one time told me:

"Nooooo señito... you are really lost, that address is all the way to the other side... if you like I can lead you and when we arrive to your destination you pay me..." :S

I want to share with you a song that when I'm in trouble I hear and it makes me think that at some moment I'm going to get to my destiny:

So now that I found myself at this new city and happen to pass through all this new experiences, I share with you some recommendations to use the networking when routing:

a) To learn new routes, you have to travel over, its no other way. So throw yourself and if your believe are lost, somehow you will find your way back.
b) Don't be afraid to experiment, at the end maybe you find exotic and interesting new places that you haven't think of visiting, and now you know about them.
c) If you are aware that are lost. Take your time, take a coffee, relax, enjoy, someone will get you at some point.

Visiting networking

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore, Dream, Discover. –Mark Twain

The weekend is around the corner and we are ready to mingle around, What should we do if we are hosting a party or if we are invited? What if I'm not in the mood? Is it commitment or just a friendly gather up?

Soccer meeting

As you may seen in this blog, I'm an easy person to come along to parties or events (sometimes I follow them) but not everyone has the same temper to make relations. So if you are a homey person and mostly ashamed to introduce yourself at some events, I will give you some tips that may help you to consider assisting to this events and to make them part of your life.

The first type of reunions to consider are the family ones. At least in latin american cultures, is considered a comittmet, because the family is a really important part of our lives and even if there is some distance or time in the middle, at the end the family always is side by side on the most important dates and events. So if a cousin invites you to his birthday party, my suggestion is that you make some time in your agenda and go. If you see that you are not adapting to the situation, because it's your family, you can always make a graceful flight and come back to slice the cake.

Evening meeting

Other kind of reunions are the ones related to your job, you may be invited to a lunch or a cocktail -- and I am not speaking about the working meetings where there is a box lunch involved -- I am relating to those meetings that require a little networking and are additional to any other working meeting with your boss or colegues. Sieze this events to increase your friend and contact network. This doesn't mean that you are going to make your new best friends forever, but you can have some good professional contacts at a lot of this events, and maybe at a near future you can have some business with them.

Finnaly there are the friend's parties, sometimes made by oneself or by a group of your closer firends -- this are made to catch up and keep in contact-- usualy by having a theme in common, a social life or simply because is your friend and you like him or her. This type of meetings are really fun, because there usually is a lot of trust and relation time involved. My suggestion is that you try always to meet your friends to make your network bigger and better.

So even if there is family, work or friendship, always make an effort and try to catch the most different events you can, so you will increase your network.

Krystal and Adriana

Adriana & Krystal

Kindergarden, basic, junior high, high school, languages, undergraduate, graduate, now what's next? You  have made all that you "should" and... now? It was something that has been hunting me for the past 9 months. I was looking for something that fulfill my interests, that make me happy, but I didn't know what I needed, ergo I don't know how to ask for it.

(Krystal Castro's Story)

I had a friend that was my confident about my food story, she send me a whatsapp and in a hurry se told me that I had to turn on the radio and listen to Adriana Esteva. My friend, as everyone who listen to her, dive into concentration, peace and full attention, because it's so moving what she says and the way her words fit into your own story, the astonishment is that you aren't able to blink. My friend was so influenced that she ask me to go with her and meet Adriana in person. She has a couple of workshops, so my friend again become my confident in our search of diets, pills, creams, belts and scales.

I start my research about Adriana. So I Googled her and found her internet website. I realized she had a book, obviously I went to the bookstore and buy it.

I start reading "Cuando la comida calla mis sentimientos" (When the food silences my feelings) a tuesday on July. It was a stormy evening, but nothing stopped the momento, I had to read the book. Twelve hours took me the reading and I couldn't stop reflecting myself on that pages, I had never read a book in that fast way and with that comitment. Adriana has this way to place all my feelings at different times of my life, she could put into words some emotions I couldn't describe and that I had never relate to my nutrition. After this amazing finding, I searched on the social networks, I started following her in Facebook, I had this curiosity to know what else she had to share.

The next day, she posted that she was going to have another radio program, so I tunned her and the magic started. She has this enchantment way when she talks and her words bring me a lot of light, at the end of her program she pronounced a act: "Whatever I decide is what I need and its going to bring me light". I really believe on her words and continously I repeated it without knowing what it was going to trigger. 

5 minutes later, Adriana posted on Facebook: "I need an assistant, please inbox". I write to her and started sharing about my wounds, this is not a way to ask for a job. Her answer was simple, clear, direct: Can you meet with me at the coffee shop in Altavista? I didn't know where it was, Mexico city is huge, but I was determined to find that place.

Post en Facebook

Thursday was the day we meet face to face. I arrived sharply at our appointment, but my internal egos started the boicot: "For sure you are going to meet your serial assasin". "As soon as she look at you and see you that fat, she is not going to hire you, like your other jobs" "My family won't agree about this job". It was a cosmic, wonderful, enlightning encouter, my demons just went down. The mintue I started to share my personal and professional life we realized that in this mission we had a lot of things to share, so Adriana choose me to help her on this process.

Our adventure officialy started on friday, the same week I went to the workshop "Comiendome mis emociones" (Eating my feelings). I like that everyone could had this experience, it fulfilled my soul with so many emotions, and above everything I stopped looking for answers outside me, today I have a lot of planns and activities, I'm renewed to share this healing sinergy for every one with eating disorders. I hope that a lot of people had the opportunity to meet Adriana and start this wonderful process.

(Recommendations by Ana María Zermeño):

a) Any oportunity to relate with other people allows you to open doors in different aspects, don't let your emotions control your networking skills.
b) Let your personallity flow, your experiences and your knowledge will introduce you as a warmth human being with a lot of clearness on its interactions.
c) Cheer you up and search for jobs in different sites, at any moment you could find interesting opportunities.

United Nations Networking

King's Pub

I had a closer encounter of the third kind with people from different nations, so I had to seize the cultural diversity that emerge here and try to maintain contact with them.

I'm recently living in Mexico city, and my long time social network are supporting my arrival to this place by making it warm enough. I think it has to be with my friends personalities and their willing to maintain closer relationships besides the distances.

The past week, my Peruvian-Miami alumni Omar visited the city. He contacted some of his friends to tell them about his job visit and explain that he was with some peers from other countries. The girls that are really well organized decided to have the meeting on Thursday, before everyone get back to their homes.

Peru, Guadalajara, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Monterrey and Mexico city

And because Lily from Guadalajara and Me from Monterrey were here, we had representation from different national cultures. This "reunion" make us meet at an English Pub with live music. As I have told before, when the people didn't know each other very well, the music became important, because it allows sharing different themes or learn something new.

At the Pub we had the privilege to meet Ermias from Ethiopia and Angel from Dominican Republic. That's how the group call the reunion the United Nations Assembly.

Tapatio Toast

We share a lot of information about our countries and share different toasting ways, that was one of the learning outcomes from the group. We had a "Padre" evening as in México will be called, "Chevere" Central and South America Style or "Arif" the Ethiopian way.

Other important aspect to tell is about the music as group integrator, even some of the songs were not well known from everyone, the mayority of them were hummed from the most of us. By the end of the evening, we had our personal contacts and planned to continue with the friendship via email.

So here I share some recommendations to make networking with personalities from different countries:

a) Consider that music and toasting are grouping elements, as always with modesty and following the integration rules.
b) Have oppeness to meet people, religions and manners, what constitutes disrispect for someone maybe in a different culture consitutes just a social way.
c) Get advantage and obtain your new friends contact data, maybe you can contact them when at their countries, your new friends will be an important documentation data.