Sunburn in December

Hello faithful readers. Just a quick update to let you all know that we are not dead, but enjoying all that Mexico City has to offer: beautiful museums, efficient subways, punjent odours of urine. It is really crowded here, but if you keep your wits about you, you are not in any real danger.

We have much to share, but in the interest of providing fully detailed accounts of our adventures (and pictures), we will recount everything in entries in the new year (internet here costs an arm and a leg).

And yes, we are both sunburned right now. How's the weather at home?

The Office Party

I am going to present to you the happenings of the school Christmas party. It was on Friday; the kids had early dismissal to make time for this staff-only event, which, by the way, is called a 'posada.'

Because it was actually pretty cold that day, the party was held in the gym. It was still freezing in the gym, so they put three patio heaters in there to heat the place. It wasn't nearly enough, and everyone was still wearing their coats. My friends and I managed to push through the crowd to sit at a table beside one of the heaters, which resulted in my face being hot and the rest of me frigid.

The celebration started with people speaking rapid Spanish (is there any other kind?) into a sound system that made every noise coming out of it sound distorted. Then there were the plays. Four groups of people volunteered to present little plays about the devil getting in the way of the shepherds on their way to Bethlehem. Apparently these plays are very common. So the first group had two people dressed up as Mary and Joseph in fully-made costumes. They began their play by walking around the gym with a donkey. A real donkey. They made their way to the stage, and then things got loud, distorted, Spanish-y, and confusing. I have no idea what the play was actually about. The next three plays were equally beyond my grasp. What stands out, besides the Pokemon-inspired music, was a play that had angels and devils fighting it out with boxing gloves. The whole thing was insane, and it would have been a great basis for an acid trip. I haven't mentioned yet that there were caterers BBQ-ing food. Indoors. So I was getting pretty high on the CO2 also, I think (and everything smelled smokey).

It was finally time for the food. We lined up, walked past the heating trays, and helped ourselves to some pretty good grub. There was a mole (which is really just saucy meat), a bunch of other meats, and tortilla shells to put everything into. Apparently it was very traditional Mexican food, and it was good. I've also noticed that they're not big on vegetables down here... . Dessert was cotton candy (I don't know how traditional that is...).

After food, we played loteria, which is bingo. The prizes were pretty awesome: a bunch of big-screen TVs, some tiny laptop things, a few small appliances (toaster, etc). We didn't win squat. It was interesting that most of the winners were the maintenance and cleaning staff...

And that was it. Posadas are a pretty big deal here, and seem to be pretty expected for any business to have. We had a second, much smaller, posada for the Upper Elementary (grades 4-6) division yesterday. Similar food, and then just sitting around talking to people I don't normally talk to. The kids in my class are going to have a posada too, but there isn't a settled date yet, so I don't know if I'll be going or not.

Crossing Over Part 2

...We arrived at the international border around high noon. Bumper to bumper, the stream of cars crawled serpentine over a bridge which covers a completely dry Rio Grande. In fact the only thing of grand scale was the amount of vendors hawking their wares to pitying black Friday consumers. Ironically there were several signs sternly forbidding any kind of commercial activity at all. Yet here, as in other parts of Mexico, we saw the underside of a population that thrives in spite of its own governmental structures. Garishly adorned Virgin Mary's hung upon the same concession poles as popcorn and cans of Pepsi--everything and nothing was sacred, which reminded me a lot of Israel.

As our little vessel chugged along the bridge, Caroline and I enjoyed our first few minutes of American radio. In fact, we found a nice classic rock channel, and it was our mainstay for the rest of the trip. The infamous American border patrol offered us no trouble; perhaps because I spoke English with more familiarity than he. Soon after we found ourselves cruising along the bustling metropolis of McAllen. There were all the familiar McDonald's, Best Buys, and Targets, and some local oddities as well. We bee-lined it to the mall where we found a moderately chaotic swarm of humanity. There were actually police towers in the parking lot (not sure if that brought a feeling of comfort, apprehension or hilarity).

(I'm taking over this post now, because He is in San Antonio, TX for a UN trip...)

The mall was typical and very busy. And the adage is true: everything (read: everyONE) is bigger in Texas). We didn't find much to buy at the mall, but we weren't really taking the trip to buy anything, just to get away for the day. We also went to a Best Buy, and bought a new camera. We've had trouble with ours; it sometimes will not close, and then water spilled on it and that was that. We got a nifty Nikon for $120USD, not too bad a guess...

We had a gluttonous supper at Romano's Macaroni Grill. It was sooo relaxing to be able to speak English, and have your meaning understood instantly. That's not to say we didn't hear Spanish; there seemed to be an equal mix happening. At Barnes and Noble (we each bought a book; his was a critical analysis on T.S. Eliot's poetry, mine chronicled the suicides of famous people), the cashier gave us our change spoke to us in Spanish. So much for getting away from the language...

Our drive home was fairly uneventful. Coming back into Mexico at the border, we weren't even stopped. There wasn't even a line-up (granted, it was about 10pm, but still). They did not check ID's, passports, anything. But they had Mexican military lounging about, and a truck-mounted 50-caliber gun. The border town of Reynosa is pretty seedy, but there are plenty of signs guiding us outta there. On the highway back, we stopped a few times to stretch because we were so tired, and both of us were nodding off.

Overall, this was a worthy excursion. It's not something we'll do frequently (like some of our Mexican co-workers seem to do), but for a mini-vacation, it was well worth the trip.

Crossing Over - Part 1

Good Morning all,

So by blogosphere standards I must be considered clinically dead; nevertheless, I live on - a more or less bedraggled version of myself. No complaints about my zoo keeping job though, today I explain our big adventure to McAllen. Last weekend, we decided enough was enough, and it was high time we escaped Vanity Fair for a couple days and head for the good 'ol USA. Trepidation was high as this weekend contained the infamous "black Friday," but with our course set we plunged recklessly onward toward the quaint little car rental place in downtown Monterrey. Interesting way of doing business at this joint, you have to call their posted cell number in order to alert the proprietor to show up at their office, which she did -- eventually. After we received our luxurious white dodge (memories of the intrepid mom?), it was smooth sailing out of town.

This was my first time driving in Mexico, but honestly despite all my misgivings from the pedestrian point of view, behind the wheel there is an eery logic to their mass of traffic circles and ramps. That, or the euphoria of not getting lost in the first ten minutes, is still clouding my judgment. Of course, as the car was given to us with about a quarter tank, we had to fill 'er up and soon. Most gas stations are full service; however, most attendants thankfully understand the English expression 'fill 'er up'. So, after some quick snacks we were on the road again.

Now came decision time:
Two roads diverged in a desolate landscape,
One bore tolls of many pesos, the other did not,
The one with the tolls was smooth and clean
The one that was free looked aged and mean,
Therefore, we paid our way (the road most traveled by SUV)
And that, as Frost would say, made all the difference.

The road to McAllen was fairly uneventful, but soon we were heading through border towns and into the border itself...