22 Jan 2010 - 26 Jan 2010

Friday, 22 January 2010

I was suppose to meet Sofie up at the school. I texted her. She didn't answer. I rolled back over and went to sleep.

I wasn't feeling too well. I stayed in bed until 1 in the afternoon. Then I rolled out of bed, took a shower, and went back to my bed to use the internet.

There was nothing in particular that seemed wrong with me, nothing that could be diagnosed or looked at or medicated... I just felt tired and weird.

heading out to clubs and 4:30 in the afternoon...

I met up with some of my ex-students at 4pm. Aline, Graciella, Naya and I got into a tax at 4:30pm and headed towards Metepec... to go to a club?!

“But it's only 4:30...” I voiced some concern.

In my experience no one is in a club at 4:30 in the afternoon and I would question those who are in a bar. They laughed and assured me that there would be people.

WOW.

5pm and the place is packed! WHAT?!

We walked up to the club and the music was booming. There were people standing around outside smoking cigarettes. We were let into the club and it was PACKED. 4:45pm. It was dark and loud. People were dancing and drinking and talking and making out all over the place. I was feeling tired and realized that this was going to be a long, crazy night so I ordered an energy drink.

Look grandma, I'm a good girl!

We perched at a table on the side of the room. We danced. We laughed. We talked to people. I kept feeling so tired. I finished my Red Bull and started on water.

At one point I got accosted by a couple of Mexican guys who passed me around. I'm not much of a clubber though, so I took several breaks outside in the air trying to get my mind in order.

My invisible sandwich... It's so delicious!!

After we left the club we grabbed some dinner. For some reason everyone else got their food (hamburgers) pretty fast but my SANDWICH took 8 years. I started to feel worse and worse and decided it was time to go home.

I rambled half deliriously to the taxi driver the whole way home.

I went home, got into bed, took my temperature. 37.7. Of course. That meant nothing to me. I was shaking and hot and tired and aching and felt like absolute crap but according to that pharmacist I was okay as long as I was under 38! (I found out the next day that I had a temperature of approximately 99.8. I usually run 98.6 on the nose! So I DID have a fever!)

Saturday, January 23, 2010

I woke up feeling fine! I decided to finally go to the movie theatre in Metepec (now that I had been to Metepec it didn't seem so scary to go back on my own.) I spent the whole day in the mall in Metepec and saw two movies. Not much really happened. I say Avatar and Sherlock Holmes, both in English with subtitles.

The mall was REALLY nice: large, clean, well lit, with designer stores and lots of restaurants. There was even a TEXAS BBQ place on the lower level that I will definitely go visit whenever I am craving home. I hope it's good.

I decided to do the movies 'up right' so I got one of those movie meal deals where you get a giant popcorn, a hot dog, and a coke. They had all kinds of sauces to choose from for your popcorn besides just butter... I got some lime sauce. These people are SO CRAZY about lime!

So that was the whole of my day. I got up late, went to the mall, watched a movie, ate some gross movie food, walked around the mall for a couple hours waiting for the next movie, watched another movie, went home, went to bed.

The end.

Sunday, January 24, 2009

Another day where not much happened.

I wanted to eat some delicious tortilla soup from the cafe next door, El Buen, but it was closed. As I walked around my neighborhood it seemed like, well, EVERYTHING was closed. I made my way to La Reyna (a nice little quesadilla hut) and they were opened. I had soup on the brain so I looked at their soup selection...

RICA Pancita or Pozole. Well, I don't know what either one means but I do know that RICA means DELICIOUS. I ask the guy at the counter about it. He is VERY excited about RICA PANCITA. He smiles happily, rubbing his belly and saying things in Spanish to me about how delicious it is. This makes ME excited!

I take a seat. They bring me my RICA PANCITA and...

Floating around in a red broth are what can only be pieces of intestines.

UGG!!!!

Not only do I NOT get my delicious El Buen tortilla soup but I ACCIDENTLY ORDERED INTESTINES AGAIN.

RICA PANCITA

AKA

INTESTINE SOUP

I try to hide my disappointment and uneasiness.

When in Rome, right? I move the spongy bizarre looking pieces of digestive track around in my bowl. This is TRADITIONAL Mexican cuisine. I am an adventurous eater. I am not a silly American who won't step outside of her box.

I eat a piece. It tastes... weird. Just weird. And the texture is.. weird. And its not what I wanted AT ALL and I keep thinking about what intestines are used for.

I barely touch the soup.

A waiter asks me if I need anything else. I order a quesadilla. A good old american cheese and beef quesadilla. I inhale it.

The waiter asks me if everything was alright and I smile weakly and nod, feeling embarrassed about the reject bowl sitting on my table. I can't even drink the broth to make it look like I at least ate part of it but wasn't hungry.

I ask for the check.

The waiter apparently felt sorry for the silly gringa and decided not to charge me for the soup. I started to imagine the waiter and the guy I ordered from back in the kitchen laughing heartily to themselves about the gringa with her bowl of bowel.

On the way home I stopped by my favorite ice cream stand and got a mandarina ice cream. I sat up on my roof and ate it, video chatting with Lakshmi.

It was a beautiful day. =D

Monday 25 January 2010

Weird as it sounds I have no recollection of what I did on Monday. I'm writing this on Thursday. I usually take notes at night so that I will be able to write a blog later. I have no notes, nothing on my calendar, no pictures in my camera and nothing to prompt my memory. I guess nothing happened!

Tuesday 26 January 2010

This was a frustrating day. I decided to get things going on my student visa. I met Sofie up at the school. We were supposed to go to intercambia (exchange student office) and to migracion (immigration). When I found her she was with her best friend and it became apparent pretty soon that doing silly important gringa things was not high on the agenda.

We went down to Starbucks to get some coffee (which was fine by me because I was so tired!). I needed to ask Kristan a question about my paperwork so I called her on the way. We talked a bit and she said that we should probably meet up. I asked her when was good for her. She told me that she was working on some stuff at the Starbucks. I looked up. I was at the Starbucks. Small world?

I went inside and found her. We talked about things and decided what I would need and where I should go. She told me that I should get started IMMEDIATELY because she was certain that migracion closed early, like 2pm. It was already getting past noon.

I found my friends and told them that I needed to hurry and why. They laughed and said I wouldn't make it today and so why try? Relax... have some coffee.... do it tomorrow!

Well I didn't really know where anything was. I sat down and drank my coffee.

Kristan left the Starbucks to find me, not on my way to getting things done, but singing Mana songs while the girls laughed. She plucked me up and got me going.

First we walked down to migracion. We got there at 1:30pm... they closed at 1. We ran some errands then header to intercambio. We got there at 3. They closed at 2 and reopened at 4.

Intercambio is in...

THE IVORY TOWER OF ACADEMIA!!

(Torre Academica)

It's literally a tower on top of a mountain. Someday I will climb to the top.

Tired and frustrated, I went back home. I could have waited but I just wasn't feeling it anymore. I gave up the day as lost.

Later in the evening I got hungry so I decided to walk down to downtown and get some tacos from a taco stand. I wandered the streets, alone, looking at the beauty of this city and forgiving it for irritating me.

I sat in a tiny restaurant waiting for my tacos to be ready for me to take home, spacing out. I heard my name... I looked up and there was Kristan and her roommate, Diana. I was literally in some sort of dazed-trance from having been wandering around the city in 'receptive' mode. We exchanged some words and I was happy to see them but I probably seemed like I was on another planet because my brain just wouldn't kick on. Sometimes I can work myself into such a daze the world could stop spinning and I would probably barely notice.

My tacos were ready. I got them and headed back home. On the way I walked up behind a lady in a red coat who JUMPED when I got close. She whirled around and looked at me apprehensively.

I smiled and told her that I wasn't a 'bandito'... just a silly 'gringa' walking home. She looked relieved and laughed. We walked together and found out that we live on the same street. Her name is Lupita and she works in the big fancy palacio on the square.

We chatted about pleasant things and she decided to adopt me. She has a son but no daughter. =D She invited me to her home. As I got to her door the thought that she might murder me or something flickered in my mind for a moment but I decided that sometimes that's just the risk you have to take! I got to meet her son, Raffe, and play with her Cocker Spaniel puppy. It was SO nice to play with a puppy for a while and have something be so excited and loving. It made me miss my dog, Lola, so so badly.

My Lola. How I miss her. =(

I'm still waiting!

Thursday 21 Jan 2010

Deja vu. I spent this morning exactly the same way I had spent the previous morning... waiting for Mexicans. Today was suppose to be the Boca Plata movie day. The girls were going to take me to see Avatar.

I rushed out and got some things done... picked up my laundry, grabbed a quick lunch at La Reyna, dropped off Sofie's guitar to be restrung, went by the bakery and went back home.

Then I waited... and waited... and waited.

I am starting to think this is some sort of Karma for how often I have been late to things with my friends back home. I am always the late girl.

I texted then 30 mins after they were suppose to be there and was told they were on the way. So I waited. I wrote some blogs. I chatted with friends. I amused myself.

2 hours later they told me they couldn't make it.

Now these are 15 year old Mexican girls so I'm not mad or anything. I was a bit worried for a while that they had gotten lost or hurt but who knows... maybe they got grounded. HA.

By the time I found out they couldn't make it most of the day was gone. I shrugged it off and dropped by the guitar store to pick up the guitar. It was strung and sounded beautiful. My fingertips trembled happily. =D

Hugo makes guitars!

see. he makes instruments out of, like, trees

I chatted with the guitar guy, Hugo, while he exercised the strings a bit. He was really nice. I tried to bribe his daughter to sing a song for me by offering her a peso. She wasn't having it. I did he her to say her ABCs and colors with me though. =D

Hugo's tools

I decided to launch phase one of plan BLUE EYED BUSKER. Phase one is... quietly practice playing the guitar outside. I took my guitar and walked down to downtown “Zocalo” and started scoping out nice places to practice. I didn't want anywhere too quiet or obscure but I didn't want anywhere too obvious or out there, either. I just wanted to get used to playing while outside... plus I needed to practice and it was a nice night... and I had spent all day holed up in my room.

I walked around in search of a great spot. Then I passed La Vaquita Negra (the black cow). Steely Dan references aside, I had heard that this was a great place with an awesome sandwich from several different people around town. I decided now was as good as anytime to try it out.

La Vaquita Negra.

La Vaquita Negra

I ordered the sandwich that had been recommended to me by my sources: The Toluquena. Toluca is known across Mexico for Chorizo (mexican sausage). The Toluquena had chorizo and cheese. Sounded good to me.

I got my sandwich. I took a bite. It was alright. Nothing to write home about (haha... and yet I am... huh) just seemed like a sandwich to me. I am not sure why it was SO recommended to my by separate people with no connection. Maybe I just don't appreciate a good sausage.

I walked around and finally came up to the fountains at Los Portales... MARIACHI ROW! There weren't many Mariachis out this night. Did I dare practice my guitar right here in the mariachis' turf? What if I got knifed?!

As I was pacing back and forth trying to find the best spot to do this a cute little teenage guy, Ricardo, handed me a flier for Pizza Mecha and said something Mexican to me. I smiled and fumbled some Spanish back to him. We went back and forth, in my awkward Spanish, and he said he thought I should be fine, that the Mariachis wouldn't try to kill me.

I wandered over to a dark spot against a wall and whipped my guitar out. I tuned for a bit and then Ricardo came back by and sat next to me.

Practicing guitar down Mariachi row... gotta watch my back... don't want the mariachis to knife me...

“So what kind of music do you play?” He asked me in flawless English.

My mouth dropped open.

“YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?!”

He laughed and nodded. Ricardo goes to English school on Saturday all day. We talked about American music and how much we both love classic rock and other random things. He hovered around passing out pizza menus while I practiced a couple songs.
We had a cup of coffee and a cup of tea and then I headed back home. It was late.

I ended up web cam chatting with my friend Juan Carlos, a Mexican I met in Texas (during my BA at A&M Commerce) who is getting his PhD in Canada. We talked about home sickness and adapting to a new culture. It was nice to talk to someone else who is in a very similar situation.

In the middle of the chat my internet died.

OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!


TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!!

Mango Madness

Wednesday 20 January 2010

Aww Wednesday. The only day of the week that starts with a W.

I had plans to meet up with my student, Sofie, at 10 to hang out. I waited and waited and she didn't come or call. 10...10:15... 10:30... now I know that Mexicans are notorious for being late so I just let it go and played around online. 10:45.... 11... now I was also supposed to go by the University and meet with my new professor to drop off some stuff before noon. I started to worry.

Then my friend Janice noticed that Sofie was on facebook!!!

Sophie had texted me the day before to confirm our hang out and, apparently, when I tried to text her back it didnt quite work. She thought I blew her off and I thought she was blowing me off. OOPS.

We decided to meet up at the school so I would make my appointment with my professor.

I rushed up to the school, all my important documents in tow.

I had never met Pauline, my professor, and she wasn't in her office. I felt weird lurking in her office so I waited out in the lounge area and asked the receptionist to let me know when she walked in. Everytime a Mexican lady would walk by I would straighten up and try to look smart and studious. None of them were Pauline! I kept waiting. I went over smart sounding phrases in Spanish in my head. I tried to look graduate student ish. I played snake on my phone.

Then an incredibly friendly Irish voice said, “Aw, you must be Elizabeth!” I looked up and there she was... red hair, white skin... IRISH... Pauline wasn't Mexican! She's IRISH!

We had a great meeting. She seems very nice. She uses the word 'brilliant' a lot... which is so endearingly UK-ish.

I learned that this semester I won't have any Mexican teachers at all. One of my teachers is American (Kristan, the one from UNT), one is Irish (Pauline), and the other, the mystery one who I haven't met yet, is apparently from some island in the Indian Ocean. Her first language is French but she'll be teaching me in Spanish.

After meeting with my professor I met up with Sofie. You would think we were long lost sisters! She ran to me and gave me the biggest hug! I felt so happy! Sofie helped me run some little errands and we chatted all the time. We ate at this Waffle place... although neither one of us got Waffles. I had a delicious cheesy panini with blue cheese on it. YUM. It was called the Azul. I probably ordered it just because I liked the name. Azul is such a lovely word. The cafe had really relaxing music and it was kinda hot in there and I got full so then I was so sleepy.... -.-

We dropped by my place to sit and chat and I think we both almost fell asleep.

I knew I had to do something fast or this would turn into a siesta!

I asked Sofie if she knew anything about Mangoes. Those Mangoes I had gotten with Kristan had been sitting on top of my fridge since I got them... staring at me... accusing me. I didn't know the first thing about eating or cutting up mangoes. Sofie, being Mexican, of course had to be an expert at such things.

She showed me her preferred method of Mangoing, he way her mama had taught her. Of course this impressed me. If Sofie was Mexican her mom had to be even MORE Mexican and so even more of a Mango expert! (I later found out that Mangoes are originally from India so I probably should have asked Lakshmi how to properly mango. HA. I bet she eats lots of Mangoes!)

The moment of truth was upon me. I stared at the pinkish-orangish mango, spoon in hand. It looked juicy and squishy and foreign.

I took my spoon and got a tiny piece out. I looked at it, affecting a 'look how cool I am eating mango' expression. Then I put the spoon in my mouth.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!

Nothing prepared me for this moment!! THE MANGO WAS SO DELICIOUS!!! It was sweet and subtle and a little sticky and the texture just melted in my mouth. WOW.

Mmm. Mmmaaannngggoooo

I inhaled the rest of the Mango. Sofie was still stuffed from lunch so I ate the whole mango myself. By the end of it I was covered in Mango, like a wild Tiger covered in Mowgli blood! If I hadn't been so stuffed from the lunch I probably would have eaten the other mango right then.

Somewhere in the midst of my mango frenzy Sofie found out that I need a guitar and told me that she had one sitting at home with no one to love it.

When I came down from my Mango high we were walking towards her house so that I could borrow her guitar. (She lives on the other side of the school like 20 mins.) The weather was gorgeous so the walk was pleasant.

She has such a nice house in a nice neighborhood... and... a huge flatscreen with satellite tv!

We spent the next couple hours watching trashy tv (celebrity gossip shows, 10 years younger, etc). While we were watching it Sofie brought out what I refer to as the DEVIL MACHINE.

A hand held electric plucking device. It looks like an electric razor except instead of a blade it had little plucking things on it. OH-MY-OUCH.

It hurt SO bad! Much, much, much worse than the laser hair removal. I hadn't shaved me legs since I had been in Mexico so I was pretty hairy. I put the DEVIL MACHINE on my leg and SQUEALED with pain! It was awful! And yet.... the hair was gone.... hmmm.

I did it again! OUCH! No hair. I then spent the next hour on and off torturing myself until I was completely hairless below the knee on my right leg. My leg was covered in his hideous red patchy rash... but... no hair. I can't explain why I, a rational intelligent person, sat there and tortured myself for an hour. It's really stunning. Sofie laughed sadistically at me the whole time.

When I made it home, guitar in hand, I went straight to the kitchen and ate the second mango.

Then Tisbe came home! (Tisbe is my really cool absentee Mexican housemate.) She had John, a Swiss guy, with her this time that she had known from back in England. John and I chatted for a while about this and that. Then I heard a weird train whistle go off. What in the world?

“What's that?” I asked aloud.
“Probably a food vendor.” John replied.

I rushed to the window. There was a guy below me with a cart... and the cart had a fire burning on it. This was the first time I had seen a fire cart. I opened the window and yelled down to the man

“Que tienes?” (What do you have?)
“Platanos y Camotes!” (Bananas and some mystery food) he replied.

“PLATANOS!!!!” I shrieked happily. I love cooked platanos! “John! We have to get some!” He nodded agreeably and I literally raced down the stairs and out the door.

Delicious grilled bananas waited for me. Then I asked what the other thing was.

“Camotes...” he answered and showed me what he had.

NNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FRRRRRRREEEEEEAAAAAKKKKIIINNGGG WWAAAAYYY!!!!!

CAMOTES ARE SWEET POTATOES!!!

I went into some sort of food ecstasy spasm. I love sweet potatoes so much. I got an order of each, with some condensed milk on them, and stuffed my happy little gringa face.

People keep asking me if I like Mexico. What do I think of it? Do I enjoy it here?

How can you not love a place with magical mango on every street corner and where grilled bananas and sweet potatoes come to YOU?!?

More Pictures...

Here's a link to lots more pictures I have been taking!

PICTURES!

Enjoy!

Chilanga Shopping Trip

Tuesday 19 Jan 2010
(Pictures will come whenever they are emailed to me. I forgot my camera this day)

Day 4 without a shower. Sure, I had my indian bath but this was the fourth day in a row that my shower was not working. I washed up with a washcloth and tried to convince myself that the natural oils are good for my hair. Got ready and waited for my Chilangos (Mexico City natives) to come pick me up for our shopping day! (My Chilangos are actually my friends who live in Atlocamulco, Charro, Leti, and Hugo!)

Then these guys showed up and told me that they were here to fix the water problem. I was too thrilled.

Then my Chilangos showed up and we were off to the mall. We drove out of Toluca to Lerma, a town that was described to me by Kristan as have 'one of the most polluted rivers in the world'. It also happens to have an awesome outlet mall.

The outlet mall was VERY American, except for one thing... it had a petting zoo inside it!!! I thought that was AWESOME. It was called 'City Farm'. You pay 30 pesos ($2.5) to get in and you can buy carrots and baby bottles to feed the animals. The Chilangos weren't too impressed. It had a 'smell'.

I definitely smelled the smell but my inner 6 year old REALLY wanted to go feed animals. Alas. I lost.

Here in Toluca I have noticed that it is 'cool' to wear leather boots with skinny jeans (preferably 2 sized too small) tucked into them. I came to Mexico with two pairs of baggy jeans and one pair of fur boots. I decided to give in to fashion and get myself a new pair of boots and a new pair of skinny jeans.

We went to a store called 'SEXY JEANS'. I told the lady that I usually wear a size 10 or 12 and showed her which styles I liked. (In stores here you pick the style you like and they bring you our size from storage.) Note that these are stretch pants, SKINNY jeans cut to be small.

She brought be a size 8.

REALLY NOW? I'm flattered she thinks I should wear a size 8 (maybe she was judging me based on how lose the jeans I was wearing were) but there is no way I am going to wear a size 8. SURE I can get them ON... but then I have muffin top and camel toe! I'm no longer one of those girls who is hung up on what number my size is. I just try to wear whatever looks good... whether it's a 6 or a 16 I don't care.

I asked her again for a 12 and got a size 10.

I get that the fashion here is to wear pants that are 2 sizes too small... and I appreciate that lady's attempt to keep me up with the lastest trend... but WHEN I SAY 12 GIVE ME A 12 PLEASE!

I finally got 2 pairs of size 12s. (The cut is a bit tight for what I am used to but at least I don't look like a sausage. Size 8... omg. Puhlease.)

Next item on the agenda were BOOTS. We started looking but then took a lunch break.

We wandered around from shop to shop looking at all the boots in the mall only to end up going back to the first shop and buying the first pair that I liked. =D They are black with some straps and zippers on them. I am calling them my rock boots.

After the mall I ran to the school with Kristan to meet with Kirk and figure out my teaching schedule. I'll be teaching a workshop on Articulation on Mondays at noon. The drama club is still unfixed because I have to find out when the interested students are available.

Finally I went home with chicken, purple onion, black beans, and rice on the brain.

Apparently I was jinxed this night!

First I was out of purple onion. I shrugged it off since it isn't completely necessary. I put the rice in and got the water boiling... then I couldn't find the lid. I searched high and low... but no lid that would fit! I tried a lid that was too small and just fit it down into the pot. The steam flipped it over! I had to start over. I got a new pot, new rice, and tried again. This time I didn't turn the heat down low enough for the simmer and the water started to bubble and boil over, pushing the lid off. I regained control of the lid and turned the heat down more. Through all this I overcooked the chicken. My 10 minutes on the rice was up so I went to take it off the stove... and... the burner had turned itself off. So the rice didn't cook.

I sat down and started banging my head against the table... and I almost gave into despair when, suddenly, I heard one of the sweetest words in the Spanish Language come wafting delicately through the air....

TAMALE, TAMALE, TAMALE...

THE TAMALE MAN!!! I jumped up with glee and ran out the door. There he was, my prince charming, the tamale man. I bought two red tamales and ate them with my black beans, the only thing I cooked that actually turned out. It was delicious.

Oh joy! Oh rapture! The day was saved by TAMALE MAN!!!

A Januarymas Miracle! (18 Jan 2010)

Monday 18 JAN 2010

A miracle happened today. I woke up, turned on my laptop and... had internet signal!!! IN MY ROOM! It's like a Christmas Miracle in mid January! (No wonder so many people still had their Christmas lights up!)

I got online, with baited breathe, just waiting for something to go wrong and the internet to shut itself off as mysteriously as it had turned itself on. As of today (21 Jan 10) it is STILL on and going strong!!

I video chatted with some of the friends. That was so fun. It's almost like being there when I can see them and their expressions and just sit on the video chat talking about nothing and not worrying about using phone card minutes and racking up long distance bills.

Then I got to skype with my dad and brother. That was REALLY nice.

Today was my first time to visit my new school. My teacher, Kristan, took me up there to show me around. There is a whole graduate section with graduate only classrooms (two of them. heh) and a graduate student computer lab. That made me feel fancy. I am glad I won't have to debase myself and mingle with the peasant undergraduates! (Kidding. ;) haha. I love my students!)

After we had seem the important parts of the school, Kristan took me to buy a cell phone. I got the cheapest one and it is tiny and adorable. I named it Chiquita (little one).

The Frutique

We then went by the AMAZING fruit stand (nick named the fru-tique). I got some carrots, apples, mandarins, and Queso Oaxaca (it's kinda like mozzarella or string cheese). Kristan asked me if I wanted some mangoes. I never really cared much for Mangoes but the way she said it it seemed like anyone who is anyone would want a mango. I try not to give into peer pressure (especially when it involves produce) but for some reason I wanted to join Kristan on the mango train. You have to understand that Kristan is basically one of the coolest people I have ever met. She just exudes this indescribable COOL aura and I am pretty sure that I would even consider walking on hot coals if Kristan suggested it.

The Frutique

To make a long story short, I got two mangoes.

why am i so gross?

Next on the agenda was laser hair removal. Most of you probably don't know this but I am one HAIRY lady. I guess its because I have a lot of testosterone (I haven't been tested but that's my personal theory). I have a lot of thick, coarse hair that grows in socially unacceptable places (like on my neck, chin, and lip). I have a pretty healthy self esteem (I'm awesome and I know it) but the hair growing all over me it the one thing I really can't stand about myself. Back in the states laser hair removal is really freaking expensive ($500+ up to $1000s). Here in Mexico a lot of things are cheaper.

Corn Parfait

On the way to the laser hair removal clinic that Kristan had found we passed this guy selling this strange corn... parfait... thing. Layers of fresh corn, mayo, weird white cheese, paprika and, of courses, fresh squeezed lime juice. I like to try new things so I got an order. The guy seemed pretty impressed by me and gave me an extra glob of mayo on top. Thanks corn parfait man!

The corn parfait was... mm.. how do I explain... interesting. Yes. Interesting. I'll leave it at that.

Kristan and I made it to the laser hair removal clinic. It's located inside the Plaza Toluca (the mall the Bocas Platas and I hung out at.) For my neck, chin, and lip... the total was LESS THAN $200!! The same thing would be $1000 back home. SOLD!

Mad scientist!!

Prepping me for laser hair removal

A small lady in a lab coat took me into a room with a hospital bed and a diabolical looking machine. She put me up on the table and hovered over me with what appeared to be a Walmart price scanner. She put tanning glasses on me and shot me over and over again. It didn't hurt but it felt like a little bit of a sting in some places... like if someone was poking me it a little needle. The whole thing was over in 15 minutes and I was heading back home.

On the way home I passed by the little bakery on my street. I needed some bread to go with the turkey I had just bought so I stopped in. The man and I chatted in Spanish. He asked me where I am from and I told him, Dallas Texas.

DING DING DING!

His face lit up.

“I love Dallas Cowboys!!” the proudly told me. I smiled indulgently.

“Me, too!” I semi-lied. That sparked a whole futbol americano conversation that I was definitely not ready for. I passionately defended the Cowboys and told him that I thought we should cut Tony Romo some slack. Then I think I told him that I favor the Saints in the Superbowl because I really like the city of New Orleans. I might have told him that I love to eat peach pie for all I know for sure.

the end.

Chiquita y Yo

Las Bocas Latas (The Silver Mouths)

17 Jan 2010

Well, I've only been in Mexico for 10 days and I've already joined a gang: Las Bocas Latas (The Silver Mouths). How did such a thing happen?

Today was an awesomely great day: a lazy sunday. I woke up when I felt like it. Piddled around. Chatted on the phone. Climbed up on the room and laid in the sun. (Calm down! Its not as dangerous as you think. There is a stair case leading onto the roof and it's meant to be walked on. I laid out there for a good 15 minutes and could have easily drifted to sleep in the sun if not for my fear of rolling off the roof during a crazy dream.)

I ate a turkey wrap and decided to head downtown for some interneting and cultural observations. I figured people must get out and about on Sunday afternoons. The weather is perfect. 65-70f and sunny. I bought myself an ice cream cone (one scoop lime, one scoop mandarin) and walked down the my street into downtown. Lots of shops were closed but and my street was much more quiet than usual. I saw some people walking their children and pets but not many of my usual vendors.

Outside the cathedral

When I hit the business district that changed. LOTS of families scurrying around enjoying their Sunday afternoon. I went to the old Cathedral on the square and peeked in hoping to see some Catholic goodness. I think I came right at the end of one service and the beginning of another people people were filing and and out at an incredible pace and nothing was happening at the alter.

Corn pancakes

There were street vendors on every corner selling food: sweets, fresh made corn pancakes, popcorn, ice cream and tortas. There were little trinkets, toys, and balloons also being sold all over the place. I noticed an abundance of couples holding hands, kissing, and giving each other the looks of love. Lots of the women had little trinkets, flowers, or stuffed animals. I bought an order of the corn pancakes. I couldn't resist. They looked so ETHNIC! They were pretty good, but a bit dry for what I was expecting.

A CLOWN!

Apparently clowns are very popular around here...

I walked through the open air traditional candy market to the main plaza. Performers claimed different little seating areas and put on shows. There was a clown troupe that was particularly popular and had the kiddoes rolling with laughter. In the part I watched the main clown promised a balloon to the first kid to bring him their mother's shoe. When a kid brought the shoe the clown then pretended the shoe was a cell phone and scolded the person on the other end of not brushing his teeth.

Mariachi Row

Next I wandered over down Mariachi row (another plaza with fountains where Mariachi's hang out). I sat beside a pretty fountain and opened up my laptop... would there be internetting today?

My fountain

SUCCESS!! I connected, facebooked, recorded a vlog, and chatted on gmail. I relaxed and watched little kids playing in fountain. I was there for at least an hour and a half. I had just told Amber that I was surprised at how little attention I attracted, being the only non-hispanic I had seen all day, when suddenly a girl's voice asked me which country I was from, in Spanish. I looked up and two teenage girls with silver paint smeared on their faces staring curiously at me.

BOCAS LATAS

I told them I was from Texas, USA and explained that I am doing a year long study abroad here in Toluca. We chatted for a few minutes and exchanged biographical information. Then I asked them what was up with the silver paint. They had given the silver miner (I suspect this is the same man who was the silver cowboy when I went down there with Katie) and had gotten more than they had bargined for.

true love?

Then they asked me if I loved Robert Pattinson. I laughed.

They seemed a bit surprised to find out that I am 25 years old and were really shocked when I guess they were 15 on my first try.

Not far from us there was another clown show going on. I told them that I was planning on buying a guitar and doing my own show here in the plaza: The Blue Eyed Busker. They really liked that idea. I told them that I had to save my money because a guitar was like 1600 pesos ($130USD). They excitedly told me that they could take me somewhere where I could buy an acostic guitar for only 300 pesos ($25USD). Next thing I knew I was riding through the plaza on Angie's bicycle while she chased behind and Greta lead the way.

On the way we passed the Silver Miner and, guess who had to give him a peso... yep, me. Who knew I would give in to peer pressure from 15 year olds?! The three of us looked so ridiculous with the silver paint on our faces and I dubbed us the "Bocas Latas" (silver mouths).

We trasped across the city to the guitar shop, sometimes riding, sometimes walking. We chatted about random things and they asked me to teach them English. It was fun giving little impromptu lessons to my new friends. We stopped by a pet shop on the way and I taught them the names of different animals. They were really good at PUPPY. The guitar shop was closed, of course, but now I know where it is. I am definitely going to go check it out soon.

We were all hungry and they girls decided we should eat Chinese food. I'm not a huge fan of Chinese food BUT I decided to be go along girl. I was pleasantly surprised!

Chinese food in Mexico

The food was good, fresh, and cheap. (Plus I ate some steamed broccoli. I need to get more veggies in my diet!) I got to speak Chinese with the guy in the kitchen and, of course, that made me happy.

After Chinese food, the Bocas Latas rocked the local mall. We walked around, looked at random stuff in stores, and basically had as much fun as a group of 15 year old girls (including one in a 25 year old body) can hope to have. We took goofy pictures, played in the Arcade, and made plans to go to the movies on Thursday.

I WIN!

I had such a great time.

By the time we left the mall it had started to get dark and they had to go home I asked them to point me in the right direction to get to my street. Greta was very concerned about me walking alone in the dark but they lived in the opposite direction as me and so couldn't walk me. I told them I would be fine but Greta wouldn't hear it. She hailed a cab, told the driver to take me home, and gave him money for the cab fare. I thanked her and insisted on paying for my own cab. Why is it that even 15 year olds treat me like I'm a little kid? LOL.

They are really fun girls and I am so glad I made some friends. I hope I can be some sort of good example for them. I am an educated, independent (hahaha, kinda) woman who has traveled the world and doesn't engage in any sort of illegal activity. BESIDES... we had such a blast and have already made plans to hang out again Monday AND Thursday!! Is it weird that I fit in with teenagers so well?

I guess now I'll have to read Twilight. =P J/K.

After I got home I decided it was TIME for my SHOWER. I hadn't had a shower in two days. Friday night when Katie and I came home the water was turned off. We made jokes about having to dig and outhouse in the backyard (it's all cement) but, fortunately, when we woke up Saturday morning the water was back (hooray!) so we just shrugged and attributed it to being in Mexico. Things happen.

I went to take a shower Saturday afternoon and when I turned the hot water knob nothing came out. Not even cold water. I ran to the sink and turned the water on... and it came on just fine... hot and cold. I left the hot water knob in the shower on hoping maybe it just needed a kick start but still no hot water. I had nothing particular to do that day so I figured, okay, one day without a shower isn't going to kill me. I was not about to take a cold shower in this cold house! So I told myself that I'll take a shower before bed. Night time came... still nothing. I hop up Sunday morning... guess what... still nothing. I resolved myself to email Kristan about this (I have no one else to contact) and hope for the best.

When I got home tonight I was feeling super grimey. I had been running around with Angie and Greta all day. I decided a cold shower was better than no shower at all.

I went into the bathroom. Stripped. Turned the cold water on. Grit my teeth. Stepped into the back of the shower. Touched the water with my hand. Uh-uh. Nope. Not gonna happen.

I sighed miserably. Then I saw the sink. The sink that was directly next to the back of the shower...almost touching it. The sink from which pours hot water. On the sink was an almost empty water bottle....

This morning, when I was complaining about the cold water, Lakshmi told me that in India they don't always have a shower or bathtub... that sometimes they just get water from a facet and fill up buckets of water, then pour them on themselves.

I turned off the cold shower. I grabbed the bottle of water on the sink and emptied the rest of the water that was in it. Then I took an 'Indian Shower'. I filled the water bottle up with hot water from the sink and poured it on myself, over and over and over again. I washed my hair and soaped by my body. The hot water felt SO good.

After that I felt ready to take on anything... even RICE.

Rice and I have a strained relationship. I love to eat it but am completely incapable of cooking it correctly. I've tried many methods and many kinds of rice... it always ends up burnt or hard, or burnt and hard. I don't know what is up with me and rice. It's one of the most basic kinds of food prepared worldwide for centuries! People with nothing but rocks and sticks have successfully prepared rice since fire was first tamed. WHY CAN'T A GIRL WITH A MASTERS DEGREE COOK RICE CORRECTLY?!

Tonight I wanted black beans and rice with chicken. I called Amber and got her 'fool proof' rice cooking method. The last time I tried it I messed it up by checking on the rice every 5 minutes (therefore lifting the lid every 5 minutes). This time I WOULD be triumphant. I wouldn't touch that lid. I wouldn't even THINK about touching that lid!

The rice turned out kinda hard. Edible, but hard. This time I think I went wrong by assuming that I could actually cook rice. Next time I'll just wander through the streets and offer the first plump woman I see 10 pesos to cook my rice for me. (Never trust a skinny chef.)

The rest of the meal turned out delicious! I am loving my chicken and purple onions sauteed with nothing but fresh lime juice and salt. It's basically the best thing I have ever cooked. (Probably because it's the only thing I have ever cooked that I couldn't screw up by adding a crazy mix of random seasons that I find in my cabinet that I think sound good together. Don't you laugh at me Janice Diane!!)

IN CONCLUSION: Great food, new friends, fun times. Another day in Mexico.

The end.