This place is another home away from home for all University of California alumni who are…read morepermanently or temporarily stationed in Mexico. No matter where you are in the world, I recommend checking in with your local alumni association and finding the nearest presence in the country you are in. I highly recommend getting plugged into cultural events here. President of Univ. of California, Janet Napolitano spoke at a recent cultural event to alumni present from UC Berkeley, Davis, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Diego. Many Mexican officials from academia and government were present to hear her speech. In addition to showing political skills from being a former governor and Homeland Security Secretary, she also showed great diplomatic skill in her choice of unique cultural gifts. It was great connecting with students who had some of the same professors. Some of her staff talked to me in Mandarin and Spanish. I thought the food was comparable to what one would find a diplomatic event hosted in DC. One of the more senior looking guests in attendance experienced a medical emergency. The only incremental expensive contingency I think could have helped would be a first aid kit with a defibrillator. It is not unforeseen for senior government officials at meetings to experience health complications. Many embassies, cabinet-level or ministry-level offices have such kits. In this case, the patient was comforted by pillows and was treated by paramedic staff who arrived with a stretcher and latest health monitoring equipment. Overall, I thought it was a world class event and hope to help with events in the future.