Monday, June 28, 2010

Shop Cheap, Eat Good....







There are definetely pros and cons to living in Mexico and let's all admit it's not the public bathrooms, toxic water, or the godzilla cockroaches. Despite these minor inconveniences ,Mexico offers only top notch cuisine in the most unexpected locations. Whenever I go back to the States, friends always offer to take me out for tacos, possibly assuming that I am in need of a Mexican fix while I am away from home. And more often than not, except for those wee-hour-of-the-morning taco fixes, I politely decline. While I used to be a fan of Mexican food in the States, I am no more. Instead, this snooty gal prefers the real thing... whether it comes from the lux restaurants, moderate cafeterias, or evening tacos from the stand on the corner.... This country has the best of the best.... provided you don't ask exactly what is in it.
I've never been a great cook. It's not exactly one of my passions, but I do try hard to vary our meals, try new things, but also give the kids a taste of home. (and by that I mean, spaghetti, mashed potatoes not from a box, and chicken noodle soup!) I remember making my hubby dinner one night here in Mexico and he was so surprised. "This is amazing. When did you learn to cook this?" cabron. I've made this for you a bazillion times back home.! While I was a little butt-hurt, it finally made sense. It wasn't me. Or my cooking. Thank God. It was clean food.
Now hold on a second. You're prolly thinking,"Clean? No manches! With all the dirt, water, bugs etc.... How can your food be clean?" Don't get me wrong, if you're talking cleanliness, I soak all my veggies and fruit in that antibacterial solution before I even put in on the table or in the fridge. I'm talking clean. Free of steroids, free of pesticides and hormones and whatever other crap that American food has in it nowadays. Don't get your panties in a bunch. It's true. You can't tell me when you go shopping in the States, it's hard as hell to find an apple that isn't the size of a damn grapefruit!!! Well, maybe my kids are a little picky, but when I try to encourage them to eat fruit, I don't think they want to make a meal out of it! When we first moved to Mexico, we were in Mega, and passed the meat section. *gag "Babe, I'm gonna puke! What's that smell?" "Haha," he chuckled."That's the smell of meat. Real meat. Chicken. That hasn't been stripped of all of it's flavor, frozen, packaged and processed." *yippee. Little by little, I began to realize the difference between the fruit/veggies/meat here and back in the States. Tomatoes taste like actual tomatoes. The strawberries taste like strawberries. The snozzberries taste like....











You get the idea.

But, you can't just go anywhere and find it! It's getting harder and harder to find normal, natural food. Maybe in the ranchos and small towns, they're easier to find... but in a fast-growing metropolis, big box chain stores=Walmart=Superama=SamsClub=Vips=whateverelseyoucanthrowinthere, are bringing in what sells...Gi-normous apples, soccerball sized grapefruits and inflated/abnormal chicken boobs. What I love about Mexico is that you can still find the yummy, organic, small stuff... you just have to take the time and look for it. On Sundays, we go to the fruteria or the tianguis (the swap meet) for all of our produce, depending on how early we get up that morning. Following that, the carneceria is up next.

Now Yay for me since the tasteful food here is on my side. The negative to that would be the fact that I have ABSOLUTELY no idea how to order the different cuts. Lucky for me, the one of the butchers now recognizes me and somehow makes sense of my crappy spanish and hand signals. arrachera?!...and no, he will suggest something else/better. Today, in my best spanglish I went for dos piezas de pechuga de pollo en 2 cartones separados....medio kilo de carne molido, sin mucha grasa. (which he corrected  me by suggesting carne limpia) and finally, tocino muy, muy delgada so a girl can make some greasy, CRUNCHY bacon! The meat comes in daily, and everything was ground up in front of me.... came home and made some yummy chipotle burgers!

A little extra time visitng two places, we had bought blueberries, cherry tomatoes, all the meat for the week, fruits/veggies galore for about 600 pesos. Less than 50 bucks. Take that Wild Oats!

Ahhhh..... querido Mexico.

BTW... Anyone got any hints for the next carniceria trip? All I know is Chicken, Carne Molido and Tocino. Help a sista' out!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Holy Hell....

You're never gonna believe this... but yes, after almost two years of living here and avoiding it at all costs....


I finally watched a soccer game. And not just any soccer game.

The World Cup, opening game Mexico vs. SudAfrica.

But don't give me too much credit. I didn't do it on my own.
It was actually very, very difficult to avoid. Waking up this morning, the kids were allowed to take xtra snacks and drinks (apparently face paint and jerseys, as well.) because Presidente Calderon recommended that all students be able to watch the opening game at school. The kids had no choice.

But I did.

At about 10 am... I could hear the neighbors going at it. The school across the street making noise.
WTH are they fussing about?!?

Fine. I turned it on. In between CNN, of course. Mexico was the favorite. Obviously. And from the little I knew about soccer, they looked like they were doing pretty good.
Of course, until SudAfrica had a whir of the moment chance, took it... and~
GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!

Hot Damn. I think the neighborhood was under attack. Screaming, hollering. Pinche.... blah blah.....

Damn. That sucked. Time to go to work.

Here's the crazy part. Usually, there is about a half hour of traffic on the way to work. Hubby had forewarned that during soccer time, especially important games such as this, that nothing is more important.
And then.....
***crickets chirping***
 he was right.

The city was deserted. No one on the streets. The drive took 5 minutes and before you knew it, we parked and walked to the shop.... only to see and hear EVERY POSSIBLE LOCAL THAT COULD BE OPEN AND CRAMMED WITH PEOPLE, was. Everyone had the game on. The farmacia, tienda, cafeteria, rooftop bars that only open at night, were all alive, filled to the door with excited and devoted fans. You could walk down the street and still HEAR the locutor crystal clear.

It was good to hear that Mexico scored.

You could see all the vendors, lining the streets, ready to celebrate a victory.
But no, it didn't happen.
The game finished 1-1.

The kids' teachers said that Mexico still won. If they would have been on their home turf, they would have won.

Well, I wouldn't exactly say that Mexico won this game....

But I wouldn't mind checking out the next. ;)

Saturday, June 5, 2010

A walking paradox.

(not my photo,  but it does the job)


 One big f'in contradiction. Not quite sure where this is coming from.... Maybe the possible offessive Anonymous blogger comment, or feeling lonely here in Guadalajara, but I feel the need to clarify and declare who I am and what I want. I'm heavily tattooed. I'm pierced. I have lived my life outside the norm. I have chosen to raise my family outside the "American Dream". I come from a conservative, law abiding, middle class family, law student who decided to marry a ex-felon and eventually follow him to Mexico. I chose to raise my children in a third world county. I then chose to throw my children under the gun and force them to learn another language, another culture, another way of life.

 I am a horrible mother.

And with tears in my eyes, I feel the need to justify myself. Maybe this is coming from my hubby confessing a recent depression, and soon after, my daughter. Fuck. What am I supposed to do? Go home? Neither want me to do that. I feel awful. Maybe it's adolesence. Maybe he need a drink. Maybe I'm lonely.

People here are different. We don't think the same..... But wait!!! There's hope!!!  I met another gal from the States, a client of mine, who after, decided to take me out for drinks. :)  We went to a fabulous bar, and after a bottle of wine, haha.....it was like I'd known her forever. But alas, she's given up on Mexico  and heading back to the States with a broken heart at the end of the month. Too bad we hadn't met sooner. On a positive note, it reassures me that after 20 months of living here, and finding two gals that are pretty cool, there has to be more, right? Patience is a virtue.

And sometimes..... I don't have it.

I feel different from alot of people here. I know that when you move, especially to another country, it changes you and you SHOULD change with your surroundings... but in reality, I feel that my only "friends" are on blogger/facebook. (Facebook is such a curse!!!) Women, that in some strange circumstance, are supportive and can relate to our current situation...or in general, expats, finding a new life in a foreign country. (And  I'm gonna get even more pitiful here....) but even so, at the same time, I feel like an outsider.
 There is ONE difference between you and I. (besides my horrible grammar.) You put your art on the wall and I put my art on my skin. That's it. I feel that people assume that because I decided to paint my body, that it automatically catagoriezes me in a pool with lowlifes, crack addicts and narcos. Yes, I "belong" to a subculture,( which you can see HERE) which can be totally rad, but sorry.... according to the "subculture" "subculture", I don't belong.... I'm not radically pierced, tattooed,  living on the extreme blah blah blah. I like dinner parties, hanging out, smoking my hookah, massive amounts of wine, family time, travelling, camping, art, getting my hair "did", scrapbooking, etc..... Need I go on?  

I should put an ad in the newspaper....
  
And while you're at it, throw it some kids, ages 6-12.... and we'll make it a date.
Appreciate it,

About Me

My photo
I've been living in Mexico now for about a two years with my hubby and 2 kids. Not exactly by choice, but we're here nonetheless. Luckily, I live with quite a few of the accomodations that i was used to in the states. In spite of those convienences, we also have a water tank with asbestos, outdated electricity, massive amounts of dust, caterpillars that burn your skin, and thousands of windshield washers on every street corner. My kiddos and I are learning to speak spanish and adjust to life away from our family and friends in the States.

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