It’s a new era. The podcast has a focus now — expat life in Mexico City — and there’s a new contest to go with it. I talk about CDMX’s no-driving-test license system, why Beetle taxis used to rule the city, the many ways Spanish says “I love you” (and the one way English does), and a tortilla situation I probably should’ve kept to myself. Ponte el cinturón, mis amigos.

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Onefjef is produced, edited & hosted by Jef Taylor.

This

is episode 47 of onefjef.

47 shows up in strange, almost conspiratorial ways in pop culture,

most famously in Star Trek where it became a kind of hidden signature,

quietly appearing in dialogue, props and background details

until fans started hunting for it.

There's also a subtle human echo.

While most people have 46 chromosomes, 47 appears in certain genetic variations.

A small shift that changes everything.

Hola, mis amigos.

Qué tal?

I hope you're all thriving as always.

I have not learned the word for thriving in Spanish yet, but when

I do, you'll be the first to know.

I was just listening through all the recordings I made for this episode of, you

know, me rambling about whatever over the past couple weeks, and it's all over the

map, which, while it is a good reflection of my mental state over the past couple

weeks, it's not entertaining content.

You're probably saying to yourself, Jef, have you heard some of

the episodes you've released?

And to that I say, yes, I have.

Which is exactly why you should be thanking me for not including most

of my recordings for this episode.

Because I do, in fact, have a quality control department here.

It's just run by me and my head.

And my head said that most of the stuff I recorded for this was no bueno.

So I decided to start fresh.

Tired, but fresh.

Tired because I have not been sleeping well this week, because

it has been unseasonably hot.

Today it was 32 degrees.

And you know what?

I'm not going to tell you what that is in Fahrenheit.

Double the Celsius temperature and add 30.

It feels better if you work for it.

Anyway, yeah, hot.

But a dry hot.

Which makes it far more bearable, to be honest.

And it does cool down quite a bit at night, but it's still

rather warm in my bedroom.

I have an extra bedroom here, and I might actually switch to it,

because it's much more cave like, and I think it might be cooler.

They also don't do daylight savings time here, so the sun comes up.

Brutally early, and it's always the sun.

Rarely any clouds.

Which is very nice to wake up to, but it's impossible not to wake up to it

when it fills your bedroom with light at 630 in the morning, in spite of the

semi blackout shade that only seems to cast the room in a strange green glow.

I probably just need to go to bed earlier.

This is a CDMX Dispatch episode, if you haven't picked up on that yet.

Number five, numero cinco, and I have a moderately interesting announcement,

and that is that this will now be a podcast about the expat experience

in Mexico City, from all the angles, but I'll mostly be talking to expats.

I posted in an expat Facebook group a week or two ago to find people to interview.

And the responses poured in.

They're still coming in.

People want to talk about their lives.

And I'm here for it.

Because expats are an interesting bunch.

Believe you me.

So don't turn that dial.

I'll also be changing the title of this podcast to Gringo licious.

That was a joke.

Or was it a joke?

I don't know.

Maybe that's a good title.

When I lived in London in my twenties, I remember noticing that

everybody always ended, often ended questions with the word, yeah,

like you're going to the store.

Yeah.

You want a receipt?

Yeah.

It's a common thing.

At least it felt like it was to me.

Maybe it was just like an anomaly that everybody I was around was

doing it, but it seemed very common.

But in Mexico, in Mexico, it's often no.

Like, it's cool, no?

But you mean, it's cool, yeah.

It's nice here, no?

And I wonder why that is.

No versus yes, country.

I wonder if it's like an oppressor.

Like, the UK very much, like, was an oppressor and a colonizer and

a, you know, did many bad things.

And Mexico was the oppressed to a great extent.

You know, taken over by the Aztecs and so forth.

So I wonder if that.

That is why there's, it's a no here and a yes there.

The United States, I don't hear any of that.

There's not really a added on affirmative or negative to

questions or anything really.

Occasionally maybe, but not very often.

But, but yeah, it's interesting, right?

It's interesting, no?

See what I did there?

I learned a few days ago that you don't need to do a driving test to get

your driver's license in Mexico City.

There's a written test and some sort of sworn statement that you'll follow all

the driving rules, but no actual evidence that you're able to drive an automobile.

So, you know, different strokes for different folks, but this seems Unwise.

Although, surprisingly, I haven't seen a single car accident since I've been here.

Although I have seen, on more than one occasion, someone cutting in front of two

or three lanes of traffic to turn left.

So, there's also a ton of speed bumps and one way streets here,

which I think makes driving a bit less complicated, but still, right?

I mean, in the U. S., there is a driving test, and people still drive like asshats.

I don't know.

I feel like I should look up some statistics on traffic accidents in Mexico

City, because it's not every Mexican state that doesn't have a driver's test.

I think Mexico City might be one of the only states that doesn't

require a driving test, which again, seems counterintuitive considering

Mexico City is extremely populous.

But again, what do I know?

Maybe there's something else going on that I am not aware of.

Speaking of driving and cars, I guess, I think I mentioned in another episode.

About how many vintage Volkswagen Beetles I've seen here.

Also like the micro buses, too.

Like the ones you'd see at dead shows.

They're all over the place.

And now, I know why.

Up until, I think, 2012, the official taxis in Mexico

City were Volkswagen Beetles.

They called them Vochos, which I imagine were very charming.

But these are two door cars.

So drivers would actually remove the front passenger seat to make it easier

for people to get in and out of them, which meant that there was nothing

preventing the passenger from flying out the front window if the driver, like,

suddenly slammed on the brakes or, you know, God forbid, ran into something.

Apparently, they also became a target for crime because it was really easy to trap

the passengers in the car because you can't get out unless the person, yeah.

So, they phased them out, and made a law that all taxis have to have four doors.

Which seems like a sound decision.

That said, I do wish I could have seen this city when it was full

of Volkswagen Beetle taxis instead of generic Ubers everywhere.

And I imagine there's a driving test for taxi drivers here, right?

I mean, there has to be for taxi drivers.

Although I didn't have to take one when I was driving an Uber

in the States, so maybe not.

I'm actually considering changing the name of this podcast to

something a little less opaque.

Something that actually tells you what you're going to be listening

to, if you know what I mean.

And now that I finally have an actual general subject matter for this podcast,

perhaps it's time to come up with a title that reflects that subject matter.

Which reminds me, I am sorry to announce that the podcast description

contest that was started two or three weeks ago has been cancelled.

I got hundreds of entries, and I appreciate each and every one of them,

but now the podcast is changing, so the entries are all kind of moot.

The good news is, there's a brand new contest called Come Up With

The New Name For This Podcast.

Pretty self explanatory, really.

You can email your entries to onefjefpod at gmail.

com, or leave a voicemail at 1 669 241 5882.

That's 1 669 241 5882, 1 669 241 5882.

I just gotta settle on a song for the phone number, and I feel like every

time I do a different song, but not even songs, there's not really a anyway.

Call that number, leave a voicemail message with your name ideas, and

I'll probably play them on the air.

I will play them on the air, who am I kidding?

The winner, as determined by me, will get to come on the air and

announce the new name of the podcast.

And if you don't want to come on the air, that's fine, but

realize that that's the prize.

And I'll probably just have someone come on the podcast and pretend

to be you, announcing the name.

So you might as well just come on, is what I'm saying.

It's a good prize.

You won it.

So start entering.

Don't dally.

Entries from my Patreon subscribers will get more consideration than

those from the proletariat, which is why you should go to patreon.

com slash onefjef and sign up before you enter.

Even if you're not going to enter, you should still sign up.

Why?

Well, because this is an independent podcast made entirely by me, and

while I do enjoy it, it takes a lot of time and energy to put together.

And I give it to you for free.

Ad free.

Although if anyone's interested in advertising on this podcast, please

email me at onefjefpod at gmail.

com.

Anyway, patreon.

com slash onefjef.

For just five dollars a month, or about a hundred pesos a month, you can get

access to a bunch of extra content, subscriber only episodes, as well as

early access to some other episodes.

It'll make you feel special.

And most of all, you'll be showing your support and love for this

podcast and helping me pay for the two microphone stands I just had to

buy here because there wasn't any room in my luggage for my old ones.

Patreon.

com slash onefjef and please sign up through the website and not the app

because Apple takes a surprisingly large cut if you subscribe through the app.

And if you're still on the fence, I can put you in touch with one of my

current Patreon subscribers, and they will tell you what a magical, life

changing experience it has been for them.

You might cry, actually, but after you finish crying, you'll sign up.

Patreon.

com slash onefjef.

And to my current subscribers, thank you always and again for your

continued support of the podcast.

You are loved and appreciated.

Bien.

Accidentally ordered a kilogram of tortillas last week.

It's a long story as to how it happened and I don't really want to get into it

because it makes me look really dumb.

But what I learned from that experience, or mistake, or what have you, Is that

tortillas need to be refrigerated and also that I don't need a kilogram of them.

The end,

the word experiment in Spanish means both to experiment and to experience,

and I find that kind of perfect.

Also, the word RA means to wait and also to hope, which also oddly perfect.

I am getting better at Spanish.

Slowly, but surely.

Mostly slowly.

At one of my classes last week, I had a bing moment, and I was

suddenly, like, translating fairly complicated sentences, which, I can't

tell you how amazing that feels.

I mean, if you know, you know.

But it was like, oh, look, I'm learning things.

Later that day, however, I was getting a grocery delivery from Uber Eats.

And I said like, you know, buenos noches to delivery guy.

And I guess it sounded legit because he started saying a lot of things

back to me and I was clueless.

And when the driver realized I was clueless, he looked disappointed.

I think he was trying to joke around with me, to be honest, but I failed.

And I decided after that, that one day I'll be able to joke

back with delivery drivers.

And on that day, I will feel like I have won.

No physical prize, more of a mental and emotional prize.

Living in a country where I don't speak the language has given me a

profound appreciation for the fact that I grew up in a country where the

language is the lingua franca, or is it lingua franca, whatever, of the world.

Means it's like the common language of the world.

I used a fancy phrase.

And also a profound appreciation for how difficult it must be for people who

don't speak English to go to places.

Someone told me recently that to learn Spanish, or any language for that matter,

you need to kind of turn off the logic part of your brain and just like speak it.

Don't overthink it.

Don't translate it in your head, just speak it.

Because languages aren't just about using different words, they're about

different ways of expressing ideas.

And that's kind of the beauty of it, really.

Te quiero, for example, means I love you in Spanish.

But it literally means I want you.

Or more literally, you I want.

So a direct translation wouldn't work, right?

Te quiero.

It's a beautiful way of saying I love you.

It comes from, I looked this up, the Latin word for love.

Queyerere.

I probably pronounced that wrong, but I don't think there's any Latin

speakers listening to this podcast that are going to correct me,

so I'm just going to go with it.

Queyerere.

Queyerere.

Which means to seek or to look for.

And not only is the phrase te quiero beautiful, but the idea that to

love someone is to seek them or want them, that's also beautiful.

You can also say te amo, of course, which means I love you or You, I love,

but it's a more direct form of love, usually just for romantic partners.

There's actually a ton of ways to express affection and love in Spanish.

My favorite is gordito, which literally means little fatty, which would not

go over well in the United States.

But in Spanish, it's a term of endearment.

And I love that.

And in English, we basically just have I love you, which To me, it reflects a

profound cultural difference in attitudes about expressing affection, which might be

part of the reason I like it here so much.

There's also much more, like, casual politeness here.

Whenever I walk into a store or restaurant, I'm always greeted

with, like, buenos dias or buenos tardes, and you're expected to

say it back, to give warmth back.

And it's considered kind of rude if you don't, which, again, is

not the case in the United States.

I mean, they say, how can I help you, I guess, in a lot of places, but There's

not often like, oh, good morning.

Anyway, I've said it once and I'll say it again.

The vibes are better in Mexico.

They're better.

But I digress.

This morning I went to this yoga class that I've gone to several

times in Condesa, and the class is good, but then you get out and you

are walking through Condesa on a Sunday morning, and it is Beautiful.

There's people everywhere.

There's dogs everywhere.

There's life everywhere.

Mostly in Parque Mexico, which is an amazing park that has meditation areas.

I mean, what are, maybe I haven't been to Portland for a while, but,

I don't often see meditation areas in parks in the United States.

It brings me joy just to like, I'll even have my ear, ear pods in my ear, whatever.

And I'm listening to music, but I'm just wandering through all the people at cafes

and the trees and the beautiful weather.

It's magic, but I will say you should never move here.

It's terribly dangerous and everything's very expensive and it's horrible.

So don't move here.

We were at this restaurant tonight and there was a table of three,

uh, probably in their twenties.

From the States, from Phoenix or something.

And the conversation I often have with people here who have either moved here

or just visiting is like, I had no idea.

I had no idea because the media you get from the United States about

Mexico is almost always violence, scary, bad immigrants, whatever it is.

And great, keep doing it because the less people, the better.

But as my.

Wonderful podcast audience.

I feel obliged to tell you that this is a surprisingly

wonderful place that I live in.

If you've never been here, if you're your impressions of what Mexico and

Mexico city are like, it is probably a hundred percent or at least 75 percent

wrong, but don't tell anybody else because we don't need this to get out.

I mean, it is already getting out, but, and I suppose the podcast might

add to that, but whatever, who cares?

Mexico tourism company.

I'm happy to be an advertiser.

Anyway, I'm not sure what else to say.

I feel like I have enough content for an episode here.

So hopefully you agree with me and to my Patreon subscribers, I

apologize for not giving this to you early, but it's the beginning of

a new era for the onefjef podcast.

And I felt like, you know, this kind of thing requires everybody

to get it at the same time.

But this will be a one time thing, probably.

I'm not promising anything anymore, as I've said.

So this will likely be a one time thing.

My intent, I'll say that, is for this to be a one time thing.

But again, it could happen again.

In two years, who knows?

I can't believe I've been doing this podcast for almost a year now.

Can you believe that?

47 episodes I've made of this 10, 11 months.

I mean, plus bonus episodes, so at least 50.

I'm impressed with myself.

And that's okay.

I'm going to feel that impressed with myself and run with it

because that is absolutely allowed.

Go me and go you for sticking with me through this journey.

For sure.

If you're a listener who is like committed listener day one or

whatever, listen to all the episodes.

And I know there's a few of you out there.

I really appreciate you.

And I. You help me continue to want to do this.

So I appreciate all of the, I do get a text occasionally from

friends who say it's great.

Yeah, I love it.

So that makes me really happy because it's hard to have the energy to continue this.

It takes time and energy, but I have a rejuvenated source of energy now, which

is the expat thing because I continue to get messages on Facebook and I Saying,

Oh, I'd love to be on your podcast.

podcast.

And I'm going to meet these people.

One guy invited me to his house and you'll get to hear their stories.

You'll get to see how they ended up here.

And believe you me, there's some good ones coming up.

There's some interesting stories of how people ended up here trying

to get a woman on who an Irish woman who I met, who was a flight

attendant for the Saudi Royal family.

So buckle up, my friends buckle up.

If I could say buckle up in Spanish, or even try Arriba?

Buckle arriba?

Is that?

I would do it, but I don't know how to say the word buckle.

Bucle?

Bucle?

Buclo?

I don't know.

If you know how to say buckle in Spanish, email me at onefjefpod at gmail.

com.

You will get a prize.

It has gotten expensive here.

Part of my reason for moving here was because it's just

You know, less expensive.

I'm not going to lie about that.

And I think a part of the reason a lot of people move here is because

it's less expensive, but that influx of people from expensive countries

is really raising prices here.

I was looking at apartments in Condesa and they're like, I don't know,

between 1500 and like 3, 000 a month.

I'm paying about 1100 here in this place.

And I think that's a good deal.

I was told it's a good deal by a Mexican.

That's Who was on the podcast, Bernardo.

And that made me feel good because that's great.

I'm getting a good deal.

But like, you know, at some point I'd like to move if I continue

to stay here and live here.

I would like to find a cheap place as well, but maybe this is just a

great, maybe this is a great bet.

It's a good location.

I would like to be in Condesa.

I'll be honest.

I don't love the fact that it feels somewhat Brooklyn y with all the

English speakers there, but it's just such a beautiful neighborhood.

You can't really.

You can't really blame all of them for going there.

But it does make me think like, you know, a popular neighborhood in Columbus

where I first moved was the Short North.

And I was paying 1, 500 a month for my apartment there, which seemed

like a huge steal at the time.

It was an elevator building.

This is in 2018.

But if a bunch of people from a country that was richer than the United

States moved there and decided Short North was the most beautiful, awesome

neighborhood in Columbus Then, and my rent started going up because of them.

I'd be pissed too.

So I get it.

And I don't know what the solution is, aside from just to say, don't come.

But we're becoming a global world now.

And this is just going to keep happening more and more.

Is it exploitation of another country?

I don't know.

It's an interesting question.

It's a complicated question.

Because while the rents and the prices of things are going up, there's a lot of

people who have businesses in these areas that are doing very well because of this.

So, I don't know.

And there's also the factor of like, they're not building enough apartments,

like low income housing here in Mexico City, which also does cause

the prices of properties to raise.

But there's no denying that all of the gringos coming in and being willing

to spend a decent amount of money on an apartment in Condesa is going to

raise the prices across the board.

So.

Who knows?

Not me.

I'm only a month and a half into this thing, so lord knows what could happen.

Anyway, yeah, things are going well.

There's good days and there's bad days.

It's a bit of a roller coaster, this expat life in Mexico City.

And that's okay, as long as you know that that's the way it's going to be

and learn to Just enjoy the ride, right?

And I am enjoying the ride.

And slowly but surely, this life is getting less surreal and more real.

And I wish it would just stay surreal.

I want to hang on to that surreal nature of the whole thing.

Because as soon as things start getting real, then time starts to speed up again.

Nobody wants that.

Nobody wants that.

The saying I use quite a bit on this podcast, you can't see the

label when you're inside the jar.

I've been thinking about that a lot over the last month and a half,

seven weeks that I've been here.

Because to me, that saying is about perspective.

And I find this important, very important, actually, to maintain

a sense of perspective here.

Because I'm doing a hard thing, but I'm also doing an amazing thing.

And sometimes it's easy to forget about the amazing part

and focus on the hard part.

So you need to like get your jar up in front of a mirror of some sort so you

can read that label and remind yourself that even the hard part is amazing.

You should follow this podcast on Instagram at onefjefpod.

You should follow this podcast on Facebook at onefjefpod.

You should follow this podcast on substack, at onefjef, I believe.

And thank you, as always, for listening.

I appreciate you and your ears.

And I'm going to leave you this week with a quote from Kurt Vonnegut,

who is, uh, one of my heroes.

I often say, so it goes, without even realizing that

it's from Slaughterhouse Five.

But it is.

So it goes.

Be soft.

Do not let the world make you hard.

Do not let pain make you hate.

Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness.

Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still

believe it to be a beautiful place.

I'll see you next week.

Very good, Jeffrey.