¡No mames!

Otra vez?? En serio??? After the traumatizing loss of my beloved pesos 2 weeks ago, I was nearing the end of my loan from the school and had about 250 pesos left to last me through last night. Knowing that I would need it for dinner with my dear friend Marlies, I stashed it in a pencil case along with some other precious belongings ($40 US, emergency credit card, etc) in my "stuff" drawer in my closet. Apparently this spot is not as conspicuous as I thought.

So around 6:00, my landlord stops by to examine my bedroom for curtain measurements. He's a nice enough guy... very hospitable, never doubted that he was an upstanding moral citizen until... he's up there unsupervised for about 10 minutes while I'm downstairs talking on skype with my sister. He comes down eventually and asserts his need for a measuring tape and goes back up. He leaves about 5 minutes later.

7:15. Marlies is coming to pick me up for sushi in 10 minutes. I go upstairs to muster the last of my precious cash. Alas!!! It's nowhere to be found. $40 and 250 pesos vanished. This obviously came as a serious blow to me after the 1st incident. I am still undecided about how to go about handling it.

Here are the facts:
1) I have not spent any US $ here
2) I am 99% sure that I'm not a crazy sleep gambler.
3) My landlord is the only person that had been in my room besides me since I put the money in the pencil case.

UGH. I just want to feel safe in my home and place of work. Lessons learned: trust no one!

Giant David in Roma

Walking around on Sunday led us to the cute D.F. neighborhood of Roma, discussed here in the NYT travel section. It was a gorgeous day. My spirits were lifted by the abundance of trees, European architecture, delicious cafes, and this tremendous remake of Michelangelo's David.

Menudo Sopa

Spent Saturday in Mexico City for a much needed night away from Pachuca. I went with a couple Mexican friends... we decided to go to a traditional Mexican restaurant to eat, drink a few beers, and watch the Mexico v Coast Rica futbol game. So the restaurant that they pick is known for their Menudo soup. And I'm thinking, oh goody, this is gonna rock, because even though I don't know what it is, they are raving about it. So we get there and they order a bunch of weird stuff that I've never heard of and we discuss the game, start on our cervezas, etc. When the food comes out I am a little weary of the soup because of the potent smell it is giving off but can't not try it after the hype, so I dig in. It's not bad at first, but eventually it is too overpowering to bear. It tasted very gamey- weird, I thought, for a soup. I examined more closely and decided that the key ingredient was some strange type of white noodle/rice. So amongst the Mexican's praise, I eat about 1/3 of my bowl of soup to be polite and not cause a cultural scene... I don't find out until yesterday, when I told an American friend of this experience, that Menudo soup's main ingredient is actually pig intestines. SICK!

Curt Crossley

The primary school director at the American School of Pachuca, Curt Crossley, passed away on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Curt was also the recruiting coordinator for the foreign staff at our school and he was one of the main reasons why I felt so confident taking this job in January. Curt had been sick for about 3 weeks prior to his this. The news of his death came as somewhat of a shock, however, considering that the staff had been continually reassured of his return. Although I did not know Curt for a very long time, I considered him a friendly and competent boss and a good leader for the school. He was aware of the problems that we faced and did his best to accommodate teachers, students, and parents. It is a tremendous loss for the school and for his friends. The heap of legal boundaries and inability to contact his family has also been stressful for the administration and staff at school. I hope that these issues will be resolved in a timely matter so that a memorial service can be held and people can pay their respects. 

Weird Mexican habit

This is one of the stranger things I have encountered while in Mexico... their insistence on wearing medical face masks if they have even an inkling of sickness. From what I've gathered, it is not to prevent the spread of disease but rather to keep the cold air from getting into the body. They believe that the cold air will infiltrate and sabotage the weakened system so seeing people wearing the masks is common. When I first got to Mexico in January, the masks were much more visible since it was the height of the cold season, of course. Que raro. Here is a picture of a man with one such mask.

Concha y Toro

Estas lista?? One of the perks of living in the Central/South America regions is easy access to this sentimental vino. The CabSav is more than mediocre compared to wines I drank in the States and OUTSTANDING compared to wines I have encountered while in Mexico. Lucky for me they sell 4 packs of this delightful treat at the neighborhood Sam's Club for a mere 230 pesos.

R.I.P. Paycheck

¡Esta cabron!

Mistake of the year... leaving envelope holding my cash "paycheck" in my office over the weekend and thinking that a locked door in a locked school would keep out heartless thieves. Booooohooooo. It's gone and there's nothing I can do about it. If it were a check, I'd get the school to cancel it and print out a new one. Not gonna happen. Since I don't have an FM3 (legal work permit) here in Mexico, I can't get a Mexican bank account, which means that I can't cash checks, which means that I am paid in cash every 2 weeks. Now my peso salary might not be much to the average American but to me it's like GOLD... especially on the brink of Spring Break when the one and only Carlota is coming to visit. Not that we wouldn't have the best of times porching it and drinking cheap booze but still. I need a little spice in my life from time to time and I had big vacay plans for the break. All I can really say is ¡Que triste! and I hope that those responsible are using my hard-earned cash to feed needy children and not for Gucci velour pantsuits.