So most days when you’re a foreigner in another country, when everyone recognizes you as a güero and has to act all patient with your not-native Spanish, pues, it can get you kind of down and make you feel very out of place. But today I was in place, which put me in the blogging mood, so let me make up for the lost weeks.
1. My madrina visited a couple weeks ago, and my host family agreed to host her too, and they were very gracious about it. I had to travel up to Mexico City to pick her up, so I was gone all day, and when we get back to Cuautla at 8 or 9 that night, my family had mole all ready for us, and flowers and a note of Bienvenida waiting for Tina in her room, and it was all demasiado. How to say gracias when it’s not enough, not suficiente?
I’m pretty sure Tina enjoyed her stay, though she encountered some of the same problems I did during my first weeks: stomach issues because the food is so (but so!, to use the Spanish grammatical construction) different; scared of the distinctly Mexican environment; sympathy for the stray dogs, etc. But I’m glad she came and shared the fuera-del-comfort-zone experience with me.
2. Her visit also happened to coincide with Día de los Muertos, which, hasta este punto, has been my favorite Mexican holiday. In school, we made our very own ofrenda: candy skulls, flowers, notes to our muertos (deceased), remembrance and love and pan de muertos (¡qué sabroso!) and arroz con leche and pumpkin shards.
We all made a trip together to the panteón: flower petals covering the grave mounds, thousands of candles, family members all gathered round, music (banda), alcohol, and fireworks. Memorial Day done the Mexican (read: better) way.
3. Me tocó ser en México for the new Harry Potter movie, so my host hermanos and a cousin and I all went to the theater (the one right next to our globalizing friend/force, WalMart) to see it. So exciting, and, like I wrote on Facebook, I got to see Harry Potter 7 on November 7 at 10:45, 24+ hours before my UnitedStates friends; just goes to show that "underdevelopment" is in the eye of the beholder...
I have no idea how I was lucky enough to see it earlier than the country I come from, but I liked it. Also, on the way to the theater, my host brother Octavio told me a Harry Potter joke, which I thought was absolutely hilariosu (but probably only because it means that I understand enough Spanish to understand the humor): Si Harry Potter fuera mexicano, Ron sería Tequila; translates to: If Harry Potter were Mexican, Ron would be Tequila. (To understand the joke, important to know that “ron” in Spanish is rum. ¿Ves? Jeje.)
And in the theater concessions, I found a patch of peach rings; I think I bought 100 pesos worth, I was so excited for the familiar flavor.
4. We have these things called conferences, part of the academic experience of the program, every Friday night. Two Fridays ago, I learned about the intersection of cultural imperialism and global warming: countries like the United States, one of the world’s biggest polluters/warmers, can afford to pay to adapt to a warmer world; African countries, statistically not world warmers, will be affected the most by global warming and won’t have the money to adapt.
5. What I learned in last Friday’s conference: No debes trabajar para el pueblo, sino con el pueblo. Es decir: you’ve gotta work with the people, not for them.
6. Today in la biblioteca, I had just finished helping some alumnos with their English pronunciation (I still feel guilty about it), and a man medio-loco walked in. We could tell by his dress that he was probably homeless, sin casa, pues, without a lot; he deposited his guitar, trumpet, sticks, backpack, and notebooks at the reception with Don Juel, then passed by me and, thinking he could communicate with me in inglés, began to speak to me in a mixture of English and Spanish. What he said in English, repeatedly, was: Big brother, excuse me, excuse me, very good!, very good!, big brother; only he said it with gestures of reason, as if to say: Hey, it’s so good to see you again, shame to hear about all the bad weather in Veracruz, what do you think of Ximeña’s new canción?
He went into the computer lab, and the mujeres of the bliblioteca immediately went for the policía; apparently this same guy had come in yesterday, fallen asleep in the computer lab, started snoring, then walked out with Mari’s glasses and someone’s soda. That’s to say, he was malas noticias, though there was probably some link between his homelessness and his mental condition, and we were sad to kick him out.
As the polícia escorted him, he stopped and talked some more with me, told me that if I could get him a visa, we could travel por Italia. He shook my hand and walked out with dignity in one hand, trumpet in the other.
As soon as he was out of view, la encargada grabbed me and took me to the bathroom, gave me laundry detergent due to the lack of soap, and made me wash my hands.
Pobrecito, poor guy: I feel guilty about him too.
7. Speaking of library bathrooms: the presidente municipal (the mayor) was supposed to come last week, then last Tuesday, to inaugurate the library’s new bathrooms; missed both dates, so the bathrooms remain closed. Inauguration TBD.
8. + 13 is 21, and that’s how many days me quedan aquí en México. I can’t believe I’ll be leaving so soon, will have to say goodbye to my host family, and that I’ll have to return to living at cold temperatures. I’ve gotten so used to Cuautla’s 80 degree November weather...
