06 April 2006

Casa humedo

I finally returned to my tiny house after 5 days of dogsitting in suburbia. Mr Stapler and I live about 30 miles apart - just far enough to be an annoyingly long drive - but it might as well be a different world.

Where he lives, there is a Whole Foods Market that sells $30 a pound cheese at the deli counter. Where I live, La Central Market has a jar of orejillas (pig ear strips) on the deli counter.

I went into La Central tonight to get some milk. When you walk in the door, the smell of Mexico hits you. If you have been to Mexico, you know what I mean. It is part good, like ripe oranges and cinnamon and chocolate, and part vile, like meat that is a little too old, and part just WOW! like that super strong Ariel laundry soap that grabs your nose and twists it sideways.

I was only gabacha in there (the English word for gabacha is gringo LOL). It was about 8:30 and the place was packed with people who were getting ready for dinner. Everyone was buying some pan dulces (sweet breads) and there were tons of kids screaming around and it was a total zoo. I felt right at home for some crazy reason.

I love Mexico and Mexicans and Mexican culture (mostly - the corruption and the cockfighting I can do without). If you want to read about how I studied Spanish in Oaxaca, Southern Mexico, I still have a blog up about it. It is in chronological order, so it takes about 10 posts to get out of the airport, off the plane, and into Oaxaca proper, so if you want to read it, keep scrolling and skipping. I tend to whine a lot, but you already knew that.

My house was still intact despite what felt like being gone forever. Well, it was almost intact. A nice big leak has sprung in the bathroom ceiling and there were drips of rusty water all over. Nothing a bucket and my landlord can't fix...eventually.

4 comments:

noncommon said...

welcome home! i have never been to mexico. but i underdstand your appreciation of the culture. i lived in san antonio for 5 years. and it was a great learning experience for me. a white little mid-western girl being the minority! the culture is alive!! no doubt about that. and as i agree with you, that there are some things that are just plain wrong - cockfighting, sexism, etc., there is a great comfort i get from being in that element. there is a simplicity that seems to throw me back to what's important - having fun, laughing, good food, family, good art. when you spend your day running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, it's a good thing to have. even if it's just a memory now!

MrsFortune said...

Home wet home ... so does the dog have a name yet?

Don't you mean you stopped off to buy some leche ... hehe, one of the few spanish words I know.

spotted elephant said...

Ah, I would agree with you right up to the screaming kids, and then I would have lost all appreciation.

But it's good to get home, isn't it? Even to a leak, because hey, it's your leak. ;)

Bamboo Lemur Boys Are Mean To Their Girls said...

Yeah, did Mr. Stapler and you figure on a name for cute dog?
A groovy neighborhood is always better than $30 a pound cheese.

Back to top