Demasiado: too much

Demasiado...I've been repeating this word all day long. It has been an amazing, full first day.

I have been welcomed into the family. Nora spent the drive from the airport to the office explaining Mexico City to me and naming all the barrios/districts of the city: I need to look at a map immediately so I don't waste all the time she spent. We also talked about our families. Her and her husband both have children from previous marriages. I met Lorena her youngest daughter who has a beautiful modern corner office; Lorena is so very charmingly annimated--I love listening to her tell stories. Then there is Jade who has a two children. When we first came into the office Luis was talking to his son in China. Luis' office is full of treasures. Half of the walls are covered by book shelves with the most beautiful book collection: gorgous old faded books and an endless supply of large coffee table arte history books. I spent the majority of my day either on his sofa or in his chair behind the huge mahagony desk. I was entranced as I watched the daily business play out in Luis' office. Nora pulled out her laptop and sat in one of the arm chairs facing her husband's desk for the day; at one point she was sharing her husband's chair as she edited a project on his computer; the rest of the time she would be standing somewhere around the office. At one point Luis was editing a paper for Nora: I assisted him with the spelling of commission: "it has 2 m's and 2 s's." Family and conversation: to go back to the conversation with Luis' son in China shows how the office is all day long. Luis was sitting in his chair and talking via the computer. Nora would slip into the conversation including sending "abrazos y besitos: hugs and kisses". Alejandro, Luis' brother would wander in and out all day long. Even business discussions with clientes were held over speaker phone with everyone in the room listening. At one point Alejandro, Luis, Nora, and Alejandro's son Oktavio, and I were all listening to Luis explain the process of entering the international market to a man sold women's shoes. People are constantly talking over each other: during that particular business call Alejandro and Luis conferred straight over the top of the man's explaination. I was witness to absolutely all business that took place; there was no closed door. The family at the office all came down to the dining room for dinner at around 4pm. It was wonderful wonderful family conversation. I guess I didn't realize until just now that except for one or two Nextel conversations...the meal conversations were virtually work free: past vacations, future vacations, and jesting Oktavio about eating 4 eggs earlier in the afternoon at the time we American's would have ate lunch (it was difficult to dissern what exactly was humorous in the jesting, but with eggs and balls being the same word in spanish...) Dinner was cooked and served by Elli at a dinner table which was beautiful painted from Michoacan. We started out with soup that was made from the flowers of the calabaza(squash) and followed by a plate of beautiful mole enchiladas with a tiny scoop of white rice and a tiny scoop of beans. Then she cleared our things and brought dessert out to those who wanted it. Nora, Luis, and Oktavio had their after dinner cigarettes and Luis left for his coffee: black black real coffee. This summer looks to be a long way from the instant-coffee Mexico of last year.

S