Olivia Jeanette

As many of you know, Mexico holds a special place in my heart. It is my absolute favorite place to visit without question. This is true for many reasons but it started the day I was born. My mom was born and raised in Mexico just across the border in Laredo. She, of course, loves her country and passed that love and enthusiasm on to us. My Mom’s family is huge! I have a lot of cousins on her side of the family. We had get-togethers all the time when we were young. Most of my cousins only spoke Spanish so I had to learn to speak Spanish well enough to at least understand them. I did and we all had so much fun. I grew up eating traditional Mexican food like tamales, cactus, Mexican rice, etc. My mom taught me all the tricks in the kitchen. I just wish I had more time to cook at home.

Growing-Up

Whenever you think about your favorite places, there is always a connection to that culture. You feel comfortable with the people and admire their way of life. When I was young, we traveled down to Mexico every couple of years to visit my extended family. We went to Monterrey, Nueva Laredo, and San Luis Potosí. I always remember the joy everyone got from being around family. The food, the love, it all just oozes from their culture. One summer during high school, I spent a few weeks with my cousins in Monterrey. It was a stark contrast to the midwest but it was amazing. We went all around the city, walked down to the corner to get fresh tortillas, and helped cook all day. I was very fortunate to have been able to experience a different country at such a young age. Now I get to share everything with Matt & Sebastian!

Wedding

It only took Matt one visit to Mexico and he was hooked. He said he wanted to get married one day in Mexico and sure enough about five years later, we got married in Playa Del Carmen. It was everything we wanted and we made sure we were able to spend it with our extended families. Many traveled from the US and Mexico to celebrate with us. It re-affirmed our love for the country and we have been back every year since.

Passing It Down

Sebastian has now been to Mexico twice and once he gets a little older, we will start traveling around the country with him more outside of Quintana Roo. We really want Sebastian to learn Spanish early on so it becomes much easier to maintain the language as he gets older. Neither Matt nor I speak it fluently so we are taking audible courses on our phones together. It’s a great way for us to spend more time together and learn something important with each other. I speak much more Spanish than Matt, but I absolutely love his accent. It sounds a little more Italian than Mexican but he will get it! It’s a lot of fun. Whenever we are in a Spanish speaking country, we always say to ourselves that we need to tighten up our Spanish skills so we can explore more without any language hiccups. We are well on our way now. The thing I am looking forward to the most, though, is watching Sebastian speak to my Mom in Spanish. It is going to be so cute and she will absolutely love it!

We will have another Mexican adventure to share later this year after our trip to Mexico City! Till then, let us know your favorite story from Mexico and where you recommend we visit next.

Thanks for reading!

Olivia, xo

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