One of my favorite things about going to new places is meeting new people

I’ve met some dope people and made some great friends. Even got a few hoes in different area (and country) codes 😏

In all of my travels, I had never used a dating app to see what else those cities have to offer (#nahmean) until I went to Mexico City!

So there I was, sitting in my AirBnB apartment in Polanco and I downloaded Bumble.

For context: I am not a serial dater. I actually think I come off awkward on apps and think I make the best impression in person as opposed to texting or talking on the phone.

Prior to Mexico City, the last time I used a dating app was in April 2020… I wasn’t really comfortable at that point into the pandemic to go on dates, so deleted it.

Since that time, I've done some traveling and found comfort in my personal masking and sanitizing efforts✨ I downloaded the app under the guise that I would link up with someone ONLY if I felt comfortable and they gave off buenas vibras.

I was in Mexico for a good time, not a long time, so I had zero expectations. And frankly, nothing to lose.

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Match Ref. #1:

On the first day, I matched with about a dozen people. That’s more than I match with at home within 24 hours!

I immediately noticed a lot of guys who worked in finance, which makes sense: CDMX is a large Financial District. The overwhelming majority of the guys were from Mexico, but I did notice quite a few French guys and men from Spain.

_
See, I’m used to swiping in DFW; where the majority of dating profiles include one (or more) of the following: 

1. A fish, prominently held by “potential” match

   • [this may be prevalent because the majority of my swiping is in Fort Worth…but this is definitely a thing]

2. A picture from a wedding they were ONCE in

   • So… you don’t dress up any other time??

3. A reference to being a “dog dad”

   • As a person who doesn’t have pets, this is weird. Very weird.

4. A bad angle selfie

   • Sir. Hold the camera up high! Get that good lighting —like you gave ‘Nemo’ (see 1.), and show us the bad bitch you really are!
     (…or have potential to be LOLjkjk)

5. Sunglasses in all their pictures

   • You. Ain’t. Slick. 😎

[click here for visual representation, found on TikTok]

I rarely found any of those on the profiles in Mexico City.

It was refreshing!

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Match Ref. #2:

This guy was one of the first that caught my eye… he had a bit of a hipster vibe in his photos. Also, really dope action shot of him surfing AND offered to make guacamole for a match in his bio 😆

Sounded like a winner to me!

He had short brown hair, full beard and round frame glasses. And reminded me of Daniel Radcliffe 😍…

—so we’ll call him Hispanic Harry Potter because… my description.

**also, I will use nicknames to protect the innocent suitors

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Match Ref. #3:

Another guy who caught my eye was tall, dark and handsome. Didn’t think I’d find a Black man in Mexico City, but stranger things have happened.

After messaging back and forth in the app for a few days, I got both their digits and we began to message on WhatApp. So tall, dark and handsome. We’ll call him… “Great Value Davido”

It’s actually very fitting because he’s Nigerian 😜

We first met on NYE. After all the celebrating with my sister, we met outside my AirBnB building**

**REMINDER: everything was closed, so our options were quite limited on where we could meet, especially so late and on a holiday

We took a stroll around the neighborhood and chatted for a while. He was at a NYE celebration at a friends house not too far from where I was and dressed very nicely and smelled like a woodsy cologne.

I wanted to learn more about living in Mexico City and about how he ended up in Mexico from Lagos.

He asked questions about living in the states. He has never visited, but wondered what it was like.

Great Value Davido was funny. I loved his sense of humor!

I jokingly asked him if he was Yahoo Boy (an email scammer), and he told me he was a “Gmail Gentleman” instead. 😅 He was a total goof!

He had a very lighthearted spirit to him and I was into it. I noticed immediately that he’s a bit flashy which is typically a turn-off, but I figured for a first encounter, maybe he was trying to impress me. He talked a lot about partying in Polanco a lot but how he wanted to give that lifestyle up. He was divorced, has a son, lived in a home outside the city, owned a security company in Lagos and also did real estate in CDMX.

He made it a point to tell me that he loves to spoil his woman with gifts and trips. Like, how did he know my love languages?

We ended the walk with a kiss and continued to message / video chat on WhatsApp.

He requested a second link up that weekend and I agreed. 

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About 5 days later,

I met up with Hispanic Harry Potter. We met at a park across from La Casa de Las Brujas / The Witch House.
(The front of the house actually does look like a witch)

I remember stepping out of my Uber, and I saw him standing there with a big smile on his face, and a Sapphire-colored sweater. His hands were in his pockets and his body language was very unassuming. We put our masks on when we were within arms' length distance, greeted each other with a nonchalant hug, and began strolling around the park.

The day that we met was January 7 — I remember because it was the day after the insurrection. And that is exactly what he wanted to talk about. We dove right in.

We started at the insurrection, but our conversation flowed into politics, race, ethnicity, nationality and culture.

He was very intelligent and really easy to talk to.

I was intrigued to learn that he was originally from northern Mexico, but moved to Europe at age 21 to go to school. He lived in both Germany and The Netherlands and taught himself German and Dutch.

When he moved back to Mexico, he opted to move to Mexico City. He not only lives in CDMX, he works as an engineer.

I was blown away.

HHP and I chatted for about two hours, then opted to grab some tacos. We walked to a taqueria, and he put me on to some really good al pastor tacos.

After stuffing our faces, we sat on a city bench and talked about basketball for about an hour. He was obviously a man after my heart 🤗

Conversation got cut short due to the drop in temperature, so he ordered us a ride and dropped me off at my AirBnb.

He was very polite, and asked if we could hang out again the next week. . .

…the next week couldn’t get here fast enough! 

[ to be continued ]