Mexico!

When I decided to move to Mexico, I applied a similar technique as I had  at the end of 1991, when I left for South Africa : I just packed a few suitcases, and I was on my way… I just was too impatient to just get on the road, well, rather a plane in this case! On top of that, I did not feel like writing motivation letters for months with a low answer rate, telling me I did not have enough experience… it unfortunately is quite common in our industry (and others too I guess…)… Since then, I have made a point of always answering prospective candidates, at least to thank them for writing! It takes about 10 seconds, which surely can fit in any busy schedule…)

Habla ingles ?
Rolando, another one of my good friends from Lausanne, and distinguished member of The Shamrocks, was very kind and helped me settle in his beautiful country. So for a couple of weeks I had my first immersion in Mexican culture and language, in the beautiful and quiet city of Cuernavaca, the city of eternal spring…

I did not speak more than a few words of Spanish, and was without the shadow of a job lead when I embarked on the bus to Cancun. But I was determined to get a job in one of the many hotels of this new American- inspired Mexican-tourism-hub…

For the next two months I would be bussing up and down the “Zona Hotelera”, with my cvs and a little piece of paper on which my friend Rolando had written the following : “por favor, me puede  comunicar con el Gerente de Recursos Humanos ?” (could you please put me in touch with the Human Resources Manager?)…, my number 2 punchline,  in case “Habla ingles?” (do you speak English?) failed…

After knocking on many doors in the Zona Hotelera, with my finances declining and my tourist visa coming to an end, I decided to test my luck in Merida…
Unlike the hotel zone of Cancun, where you can find every hotel chain you can imagine, Merida’s touristic offer was quite simple, mostly concentrated on Avenida Colon :

Hyatt Regency on one side, Fiesta Americana on the other… with a rundown Holiday Inn somewhere in the middle.

Door knocking this time took me less than a morning : Fiesta Americana basically told me I should come back in a month or two, as they had nothing that could fit my meager experience at the moment :). Hyatt’s Food & Beverage Manager was in a meeting, so I left a message with a phone number, honestly not hoping for much…

I went back to my little hostal in Merida’s center, wondering what to do next, and feeling that my plan to just show up in Mexico, get a job and learn Spanish, had perhaps been too ambitious…

As I was going down the stairs to check out and catch my 6pm bus back to Cancun, the receptionist told me I had a message!!!!

Yes, you guessed right!!!, the F&B Manager of the Hyatt!!!  he was waiting for my call… so a few minutes later, I was back in my room, ironing a new shirt (it’s extremely warm in Merida, and the clothes you wear in the morning don’t make it through the day!!), a few more minutes and I was zooming down Calle 60, walking as fast as I could, anxious for my interview at the Hyatt to begin…

 Hasta la próxima semana!