New photos posted

Check out my latest Mexican photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20264995@N07/

Some bests and worsts

I´m sitting in an Internet cafe and it´s pouring outside, so I thought I would take advantage of the time and write another update. As the salt tag line says, "When it rains, it pours." It rains heavily almost every afternoon or evening here and floods the streets and sidewalks in my neighborhood. If this kind of rain occurred in Milwaukee it would be on the 6 o'clock news; here it's a daily event. The rainy season ends in October; none too soon.

In my last update I mentioned I saw people decorating the floor of a church with flowers. As I suspected, it was in preparation for a religious event. This one was to celebrate the ascencion of the Virgin. The churches all over the pueblo were creating similar carpets, or alfombras, which the parisheners walk on as they carry the statue of the Virgin out of the church for a procession in the street. I´ll upload some photos soon.

I just started teaching English to three master´s degree students, and I´m having a ball. I now officially have too much to do, and that´s just the way I like it. I have my primary job of helping with communication strategy at my center, a secondary recycling project, a project at the botanical garden, English classes, and Spanish classes, and the time is going very quickly. When I need some down time I enjoy my new garden room, which is now filled with green plants.

I compiled a Best and Worst list -- all true:

BEST

new fruit: guanabana (pronounced (gwə-nä'bə-nə) -- great as agua fresca or in sorbet or ice cream.

cookie: tortila de santa clara

band name: "Los Dandys." And they are -- dandy, that is.

Mexican entree: Mixiotes (pronounced mish-ee-OH-tees. These are little plastic or parchment bags filled with chicken or other meat in a tomato broth, seasoned with avocado leaves, onion and sometimes vegetables, and steamed for hours. There´s a store nearby that sells them already prepared.

comment: I was working at a children´s event last week, and spoke to the kids in Spanish. One boy, who speaks only Spanish, told my Mexican friend: "She was speaking English and I understood everything she said."

folklore: I visited a church in Tlacatepec last week that houses a Black Christ. Legend has it the statue was discovered on a mountain top there, and no one knew where it came from. A church was built to honor it, and the Christ remained there for some time until it was stolen, where or by whom a mystery. The next day the Christ reappeared on the mountaintop, where it is said he preferred to be. It was stolen several more times and each time reappeared on the mountaintop. By the way, it has decidedly Roman features -- straight, narrow nose and thin lips. I´ll upload photos of that as well.

WORST

menu items:
lard-fried agave cactus worms
butter-fried ant roe

form of transportation: local busses. They get me where I need to go, and for only $6 pesos (about 40 cents). But the bus drivers get paid by the number of routes they complete, so some days I feel like I´m riding on a coach out of hell.

most difficult to pronounce (not really a "worst") Chiconauhquiauhitl (goddess of nine rains)

sighting: a butchered hog being carried over a man´s shoulders into a meat shop. The pig´s head and four hooves were dangling by small pieces of skin, probably to prove to the buyer that they came from the same pig that was purchased. I involuntarily groaned and covered both my eyes with my hands. A young teenage boy who was helping stared at me like I was from another planet.

It has stopped raining and I’m heading for the Mercado. More soon.