Sunday 4 th December 2022…World cup and a celebration!!

 A good day for England at the World Cup!!!!

This afternoon I picked up Vane my lovely University student who I tutor every week in English….it is her birthday on Tuesday and I wanted my friends Paula and Jerry to meet her so I took her out to their Rv park and I had a surprise birthday cake made for her…

You may wonder why keys on her cake, well she loves to collect key chains from everywhere she goes and where ever I go I always bring her back a key chain, Paula and Jerry knew this and they brought her a key chain from Nova Scotia!!!

We had a lovely visit and I am very proud of her she is finishing her third year at University and her degree will be in mechanical engineering!!!

Saw these lovely animals on my walk this afternoon…..

Stay safe and healthy!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Saturday 3 rd December 2022….home James!!!

 The trip back from Mexico City was a little more adventurous than the one going!

Teri and Mike had the front row double seat upstairs and I was right across the aisle in a single seat…what a way to travel great views and very comfortable and spacious seats

There is a couple of cable car routes going to homes in the hills in the city… ingenious

We think they announced an accident and a delay…..there certainly was a delay of over 90 minutes but as we were allowed through no sign of any accident but there was road construction

I did manage to catch Teri and Mike napping and of course a little later they got their revenge…..I do not think anyone has taken a side view photo of me no wonder I love elephants so much I have such big ears!!

So we arrived safely back in SMA two hours late but it was no problem..always nice to go away and always nice to return home to my lovely casita..!!

Thanks Teri and Mike for babysitting and showing me around!!!

I have a friend, a mother of two young girls, trying to make some money for the holidays for her girls and sick husband.

If you intend to buy Noche Buena or Poinsettias please consider contacting Mary, she does not speak English, at 415 103 7528 she lives on San Juan de Dios # 18 in the colonia La Parroquia, which I know is a way out of town but I am happy to take your order and pick up and deliver the plants to you.

She has a really nice selection of color and sizes at good prices….red and white at 120 and 65 peso

If you have questions or want to place an order please feel free to email me thanks and stay safe and healthy!!

Les Pearson 

mexicokid77@yahoo.com

Stay safe and healthy!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Friday 2 December 2022…a mini getaway!!

 Well it has been an amazing and happy two days….

Yesterday morning my good friends Teri and Mike and my tennis buddy Gregg left SMA at 8.30 am on the bus heading out to Mexico City!!

The main reason of the trip was to watch the tennis match…..

The bus was first class and smooth and Mike guided us through three stops of the Mexico City subway 

and then a short walk to out lovely hotel!!

We walked about twenty minutes to the fantastic bull ring where the tennis was taking place…it was a sight to behold!!!

Almost 40 thousand spectators…..the evening started with an entertaining mixed doubles and then the main event Nadal V Rudd…..obviously the tennis was not as intense as a real competition but the players and crowd were having so much fun and how awesome to be part of a 40000 strong Mexican wave going around the iconic bull ring!!

Rafael Nadal entered the court to a huge round of applause from a jam-packed crowd at the brightly-lit Plaza de Toros Mexico for the final match of his South American exhibition tour with Casper Ruud. The ATP World Nos. 2 and 3 ended a successful tour of South America on Thursday, where they thrilled spectators across six different venues.

Spectators inside the Plaza de Toros in Mexico City lined up to capture photos and videos of the moment Nadal entered the venue, loudly cheering for him. The Spaniard beat Ruud 7-6, 6-4 in the last match of the tour.

The Spanish great spoke about the huge reception he received in Mexico, calling it a "spectacular" feeling. He went on to express his admiration for Mexico and the Mexicans, stating that he has always had memorable experiences during his past visits to Mexico. The 36-year-old Spaniard won the ATP Acapulco Open in Mexico earlier this year, the last of his winning streak of three consecutive titles at the start of the season.

"The reception of the people I feel is spectacular," Nadal said in a press conference after Thursday's match.

Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud started their Latin American tour in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they were also joined by former WTA stars Gabriela Sabatini and Gisela Dulko for a mixed doubles match. The touring duo then played in Santiago, Chile, before moving to Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The next two venues on the schedule were Quito, Ecuador, and Bogota, Colombia, earlier this week, before the finale in Mexico City on Thursday.

The Spaniard and the Norwegian faced each other five times throughout the tour, with the 22-time Grand Slam champion winning four of those matches. Ruud's only win came in Quito, as he pipped his idol 6-4, 6-4. The two players will now enjoy some time off from tennis before kicking off their respective 2023 seasons in Australia in January.

We walked home and arrived back at the hotel around 12.30 am tired but happy.

Today we did a short walking tour with Gregg before he left to come back to SMA and Teri and Mike took me on a walking tour of some of the sights in the city…

Everyone seemed happy and the crowds were not intense and I got a good sense of the city…..

We got back to the hotel around 4pm and relaxed in the rooftop hot tub, heaven!!!

Went next door for a great pizza and now resting in my lovely room and we leave Tomorrow  morning on the bus back home….a fabulous three days thanks so much for putting up with me Teri, Mike and Gregg!!

Stay safe and healthy!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Wednesday 30 th November 2022…..agony of defeat!!

 Mexico defeated Saudi Arabia 2-1 but agonisingly went out of the World Cup on goal difference on a night of incredible drama in Doha.

With Argentina beating Poland 2-0 in Group C at Stadium 974 and Mexico leading by the same scoreline at Lusail Stadium in the 94th minute, Gerardo Martino's side needed one more goal to prevent them from going out according to Fifa's fair play rule.

But Salem Al Dawsari's injury-time consolation goal for Saudi Arabia sent the distraught Mexicans home anyway, leaving the Polish players to celebrate across the city.

After a stop-start first half with little rhythm to it, the match burst into life two minutes after the break as Henry Martin reacted quickest to finish Cesar Montes' flick on.

Mexico fans had barely calmed their celebrations before Luis Chavez curled a glorious 30-yard free-kick into the top corner to send their supporters into pandemonium.

They thought they had another but Hirving Lozano's low strike was chalked off for offside and Martin should have had a second but volleyed over from 12 yards out.

It was all Mexico as they pushed for further goals. Chavez nearly struck another stunning free-kick but Mohammed Al Owais palmed it out, then Orbelín Pineda curled narrowly wide.

Mexico thought they had sealed progression when Uriel Antuna stroked in late on, but that too was flagged for offside and they went out in the most excruciating manner.

Agony for Mexico

The first half was one to forget, the drama in the second will live long in the memory.

It was absolute chaos before the game, with thousands of Saudi fans making the trip across the border for a game in which victory would have secured a place in the knockout stage.

But they never really managed to put Mexico under pressure and ultimately both sides went out of the competition.

At one stage, Mexico were set to be knocked out because they had collected more yellow cards (seven) than Poland (five), with the two teams level on points and goal difference.

While Al Dawsari's late goal changed little, Mexico fans were still left dejected at full-time, with some staying long after the final whistle with their head in their hands.

Martin's opener from close range and Chavez's peach of a free-kick gave them hope, but two disallowed goals crushed any optimism of advancing out of the group.

The result ends a sequence of progression to the round of 16, having done so at the previous eight World Cups, a run stretching back to 1978.

For Saudi Arabia, the tournament ends in disappointment by finishing bottom of the group despite an opening game victory over Argentina that will go down as one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history.

Mohamed Kanno had his chances, shanking wide from the angle and curling a free-kick narrowly over, while Ali Al Hassan almost headed in on the stroke of half-time.

The stadium was filled mostly with raucous Saudi supporters and they went home with one final cheer as Al Dawsari coolly converted late on.

Stay safe and healthy!!

Yashi Kochi!!