The King of the Baby Goat

Lately, I've been missing being able to go out for food and drinks with friends. To rectify this, a few of us went out for supper on Friday night (and do remember that supper hour is about 9pm). The restaurant that we went to is called El Rey del Cabrito, which translates to 'The King of the Baby Goat.' Their specialty is...baby goat. Click here for the menu; the good stuff is on the 'Botanas' and the 'Ordenes de Carbrito' links. And yes, baby goat head is available on the Botanas menu. In case you're wondering, the whole baby goat will only set you back about $120USD.

The inside of this place is very kitschy. There are faded, back-lit pictures of the owner--complete with 70's mustache--adorning the wood-paneled walls. A giant strobe-lit Christmas tree. And taxidermied lions (which were posed fighting each other), deer, and other assorted animals. It was so bad that it was great.

I ordered the baby goat leg. It comes sizzling on a bed of onions, and that's it, no sides other than the requisite guacamole and tortillas on the table (this place is not for vegetarians). The meat was very tender and juicy, and similar to any smoked meat. I couldn't finish it all, because earlier I had made a Creamy White Cheese Dip, and ended up eating it all. The leftovers are currently in the fridge, waiting to be deployed later this week.

Baby goat is considered a bit of a delicacy here, and I had been wanting to go to a goat restaurant for a while now. When we were leaving, I saw into the cooking area. There were about 6 whole goat, stretched out and propped over-top of hot coals. The chef/butcher/cook took a cleaver to another on a chopping block. I found out that these goats are all less than 30 days old, and it seems like the industry is similar to that of veal-production. All I can say is that I would not hesitate to have it again.

Estanzuela Park

On Sunday, we went for a hike with our Austrian friend and her mates. It was awesome. This park isn't too far out of the city (about a 10 minute drive from her place, which is about 20 minutes from ours) and only cost about 50 cents to get in. It starts off as a paved trial, which gradually steepens until we were huffing up about a 60 degree incline. This bricked walkway ends at a sort-of lookout point, and from there a dirt trial continues further up. We went, climbing over roots and clamboring around tree trunks. The trial was very winding and meandering, edging close and then far from the river nearby.

I found the changing foliage interesting, especially as some areas resembled the Shilo training area (with far less scrub -- this is an arid climate). For the first time since we've been here, we were breathing clean air. On some cliff edges, we could see Monterrey in the distance; there was a discernible smudge of smog floating over the metropolis. The views were amazing, with soaring, tree-covered mountains in nearly every direction.

We climbed on. At one point, in a clearing, we came across a small shrine to the Virgin Mary on a tree. I asked our companions why there would be a shrine in the middle of a mountain forest (we had been hiking for about 1 1/2 hours by then). They had no real answer, just that whose-ever shrine it was must just like that place.

Later, there were large out-cropping of rock. Andrew scampered into a cave, and climbed up out of a hole in its roof. I was going to climb up as well, but he started to come down. I thought I was out of the way; a large, softball-sized rock fell and cracked me on my wrist. To put it lightly, it hurt. Luckily, no broken bones, and only slight bruising.

The end of our journey was a waterfall. The water was so clear, I wanted to jump in. We were some-ways up, and were the trail ended, the water was also coming out of a hole in the rocks. It was awe-inspiring.

We headed back; the round trip took about 5 hours. I didn't feel tired at all, just rejuvenated. And hungry. To feed, we all went to a Chinese buffet (which, bizarrely, served a selection of pizza and pasta as well) and made gluttons of ourselves. Highly enjoyable, and an excellent way to spend a Sunday. Andrew and I are definitely looking forward to going for a long-day trip there some time. Hands down, it was the most enjoyable thing we've done so far...

Big Trouble in Little Mexico

I'll let you all in on something. If, hypothetically speaking, you were to lose your temper and mouth off to two of your colleagues, and then they were to tell your boss about it, here would be your punishments:

1. participating in a sit-down mediation with the two colleagues (them against me -- somehow the boss thought this wouldn't be a problem when I pointed that out);
2. writing a 'letter of commitment' for the boss (no real elaboration on what exactly that means); and
   
3. writing a research paper on the themes of frustration and interrelationships (are there any outerrelationships?)

This incident has been the cause of much tension and annoyance for me, as I feel that I have eaten more than my share of the proverbial humble pie, and also that the whole incident has been blown way out of proportion. Seriously. They told on me.

In other news, we didn't go away for this long weekend (research papers take time to research, especially when the computers you are using to research have web filters, and block most research sites). Instead, we managed to squeeze in a viewing of the moving dramatic film 2012. The epic trials and tribulations of John Cusack versus nature cannot be applauded enough, and were rather understated. This is definitely a fore-runner for the upcoming Academy Awards. (In all seriousness, it is a pretty good disaster movie, as far as these things go. If you need to turn off your brain for 152 minutes, check it out.)

Blah

I feel like we've definitely hit the proverbial wall down here. We're busy with classes/the hoops they want us to jump, we haven't done anything or gone out anywhere of note, and nothing is really new. Positive points: the temperature was 27 today, this coming weekend is a long weekend (and we're likely going to San Antonio, Texas with our Austrian mate), and our Christmas plans are complete. Rest assured, we are looking forward to it.

It's hard to explain why I'm in the doldrums. I had assumed that being in Mexico would be non-stop tacos, touring, and relaxation. The reality is, is that it's boring and frustrating. Monterrey is not an attractive city (the travel book I had bought doesn't even include it), nightlife consists of bars full of 18-year-olds (or that's how they look), and we aren't really happy with the school (this is actually a pretty big factor). Simple tasks, like calling Mexico City, are impossible, and dealing with taxi drivers is just tiring. I miss the 'Peg.

Halloween

For Halloween (and seemingly any occasion), there was a class party. Not in school, but at a student's house -- I mean mansion -- last Thursday evening. I was invited, and another teacher advised me that it would be a good thing if I went.

Not wanting to arrive empty-handed (especially because I had no intentions of wearing a costume), I decided to make some cookies. Not just any cookies though. I ended up making the best cookie recipe I have ever tasted in my life. These are dangerous. Because they are a sandwich cookie, and I wanted there to be plenty to go around, I doubled the recipe. Because of this, and the fact that my oven refuses to work properly, it took me 4 hours to make 160 individual cookies. But it was worth every second...

At the party, the mothers sat around a table while the children ran around screaming. The gossip at the table alternated between Spanish and English (solely for my benefit). Happily, there wasn't much asking about how their child is doing. Overall, a good impression was made.

On Friday, the school allowed the students to wear "Head Costumes." This entailed a mask, wig, or hat. And that is the extent that the children were allowed to dress up (would any of you be surprised if I said I was the only grade 5 teacher not to wear a head costume?). Behold the awesome glory of the head costume:



The kids were buzzing all day, but I made them hold out until last period before they could receive any candy gratification. During the 10-ish minutes that I let them cut loose, I took it upon myself to teach them the Chicken Dance, with great results:



For actual Halloween: we ended up buying some candy, none of which looks particularly edible:



For the evening, we ended up watching the most quintessential of all 80's films: The Karate Kid. It's been about 15 years since I'd seen it, and just to refresh you all, there are 4 montages (one of which is the all-mighty Training Montage), horrible clothing, a killer soundtrack, and a strong message of 'don't mess with Mr. Miyagi.' It was fantastic. No kids came. Now we have a giant bowl of disgusting 'candy' that we'll likely dole out throughout the year. Is it wrong to give skull-shaped suckers out at Easter?