Expat advice #1

A new series on tips I've learned by experience after having lived in Mexico 2 years...many of them are just common sense to Mexicans, but not always to the folly-prone foreigner...

Expat advice #1:

Respect the puddles




This is why I would get a minivan: to show those pedestrian bitches who's boss.


During rainy season (June to November), don't walk too close to the street unless you want a late-afternoon acidic rain shower. Careless drivers will unwittingly rush through puddles, splashing you down the sides and dirtying your freshly washed pantalones. Some aggressive roadsters will even go out of their way to do the favor of bathing you, even though there are three traffic-free lanes at their disposal.

I've been victim in both instances and on many occasions, but now instinctively steer toward the side of the sidewalk furthest from streets. However, I can now proceed to passive aggressively laugh that as a pedestrian, I'm not the one caught in the never-ending bumper-to-bumper parking lot, as frustrated drivers honk away and wonder who is turning their two-hour commute into a four-hour marathon. *skips happily home in a poncho and umbrella*

Monday market madness

One of the reasons I love Mexico:



What less than $15 buys you: top, left to right: cabbage, squash, papaya, pumpkin flowers, baby potatoes, beetroot, garlic, mushrooms. Bottom, left to right, 7 kilos of oranges, carrots, grapefruit. Cat not included.

The tianguis (tee-ON-geez -- open-air, temporary market) sets up a few blocks from my work Mondays and Tuesdays, and usually has lower prices than closed-air markets and supermarkets. My way of bargaining prices (bargaining is accepted at these types of markets) is to look hesitant and say, "pues...a ver..." (well...let´s see...) followed by a reluctant silence. It worked a few times yesterday, but nothing significant. I have to be more aggressive. Most fruits and veggies, however, seem to be not-in-peak-season. Right now you can get a kilo of Mandarin oranges for about 7 pesos (25 cents a pound!) but avocado and mango season -- my favorites -- aren´t until spring time.

+++++


It rained yesterday, probably the first precipation in Mexico City since October. Although we´re entering prime pool season (hot and dry), the cracked lips, dry skin, clogged nasalways and stagnant air are here to stay for a while. Rain sort of cleans the air and gives it a creamy feeling. Today is shaping out to be the same -- refreshing!