anika in mexico

I got up early to be ready to go to the market. Jenny picked me up on time, and we headed into the heart of Mexico City. The market is near the Zona Rosa, and Jenny still goes once every two weeks. The prices are great, but also there’s a sentimental reason. It’s the same market that her mother went to, and also that her grandmother went to, so Jenny is doing her part to keep up the tradition. She still goes to the same stands that her family has bought their produce from for years and years.

Back in the day, the market was outdoors, like most typical Mexican markets. At some point in the history, the government built big warehouses to hold the market, and assigned specific areas to each little stand, so they could have a more permanent place to sell from. When this happened, the stands visited by the family were stationed in different buildings, and so every other Thursday, Jenny has to go to one big warehouse and then go to the next big warehouse a few blocks away in order to get everything that she needs.

We parked the van in a crowded little Estacionamiento and headed to the government supermarket that is nearby the produce markets. Jenny needed a few staple items, and she said she goes to this supermarket when she can because they have a great variety and really good prices. Variety indeed. It was huge. I’d say the building was bigger than a Costco or a Sam’s Club, but it wasn’t a wholesale place. Just a supermarket with TONS of stuff. There was an entire area filled with cleaning products–detergents, disinfectants, polishes, bleach, you name it. They had stacks and stacks of the stuff. You’d think Mexico would be a cleaner place! There was an entire aisle for sugar. One corner of the store was dedicated to cheese, milk and other dairy. There of course was the candy aisle, and the cereal aisle, and the pasta aisle, and the liquor aisle, and the toilet paper aisle, and the housewares aisle. I really think they had everything you might possibly need. Jenny only selected a few choice items, and then we headed out to the real market.

We made our way to the first actual market building, and wiggled our way around fruit and vegetable stands until we got to our specific fruit and vegetable stand. We were greeted by the sons and grandsons of the original stand owners, and Jenny started buying. She’d make a little note in a notebook about the quantities and prices for everything. When she’d bought everything, she added up the prices and payed the total amount. We bought potatoes, onions, nopales (cactus leaves), chiles and some tangerines (which were totally green on the outside, but a nice orange color on the inside, and they let me try one and it was so sweet and good).

While Jenny was working out the details of everything she wanted, I walked around the market a bit. There were lots of fruit stands, and a few meat vendors. There were also tons of little stands where one could stop and have a taco, a bowl of soup, or some cut fruit with lime and chile. These little restaurant stands are a new phenomenon. Jenny said the market used to only be fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, and spices, but in recent years the little restaurants set up because it’s more and more common for people to stay out all day working. Since they don’t go home, they need someplace to eat, so the restaurant stands do very well.

We wiggled through some other aisles when we were finished at the first stand, and arrived at the next which is the place to buy fruit. Here Jenny selected papaya, grapes, pears, a couple of mangos, a pineapple, apples, tuna (cactus fruit) and some bananas. Sergio is the guy who ran the stand and is the grandson of the original owner. The son of the original owner didn’t like working in the market at all, and kept Sergio and his siblings away from the market, thinking it an awful place to make a child hang out. Sergio’s father was never very friendly, but my family remained loyal and always bought from him. Sergio actually likes the market, and likes his job, so he’s always a friendly nice guy to buy fruit from.

Fruit purchases completed, we took our first bags of loot back to the car and headed right over to the second market. Jenny has lots to do, and she walks very fast. Faster than I’d walk naturally, plus she has a broken toe! I did my best to keep up with her, and we were at the next market which was several blocks away in just a few minutes. As we approached the building, we passed a woman selling chile salsa in little plastic cups that were sealed with some plastic wrap and a rubber band. She was also selling wriggling worms/maggots that were bright magenta. Jenny said that they are considered a delicacy, but she’s never eaten them, and never plans to. I told her that sounded like a good plan. We walked just a bit further, and I looked over to my left and exclaimed, “ah! more bugs!” but really it was just someone making hibiscus tea, and straining the blossoms, which oddly resembled the wriggling maggots of the same color. I laughed at my mistake as we turned right into the market.

I was greeted with a very different scene than the last market offered. I didn’t see any brightly colored fruit and vegetable stands, but instead my eye rested on pale dead chickens. Their necks hung limply over the edges of counters, their heads dangled lifelessly. I was fascinated. Fascinated, and a bit horrified at first. But in a way, it’s honest. Chicken comes from real live chickens. Pork was once an actual pig that probably rolled in the mud with all his pig friends. Goat meat comes from real live, furry goats with heads and hooves and big glassy eyes. If you see the pig that your pork tenderloin comes from, I think you’re more connected to it somehow. You’re not removed from the actual source of your food. It’s not pre-packaged, pre-seasoned chicken breast that resembles a coaster more than it does a bird. It’s not vacuum sealed in bright colored plastic with the words “low fat” or “lean” plastered over it, ensuring that you won’t get any chicken juice anywhere, like *shock* on your fingers.

Jenny walked around quickly and placed orders with various meat, seafood, and cheese stands. She could then walk back around and pick up her orders and they’d be ready for her. After placing orders we went to another vegetable stand where she had a lot to buy. Again, I went and walked around the market. I walked around the fruit and veggie stands first. They had a much better variety than the first market. They even had persimmons and figs! The people were very different here too. They were much more aggressive with their sales tactic. They’d call out as I passed, “Senorita, que quieres??” They’d offer samples of whatever I wanted to try. I would just smile pleasantly, say, “no, gracias,” and walk by, but they’d continue to call, “no quieres comprar algo?” and I’d just shake my head and keep walking.

I eventually walked over to the meat section to take a closer look. On the counters I saw whole pigs, whole chickens, whole turkeys, whole fish, whole rabbits, you name it. They were all piled or dangling there, quite dead. I saw a butcher skinning a goat. I didn’t linger in that section, but it was interesting to see.

I met up with Jenny, and we made our way out, and went over to a small store that sold only spices. I was delighted when I spied powdered anis in one of the jars. Jenny was doubtful, but I was sure Sigrid needed it for one of the new recipes she was trying. We bought 100g of it, and I couldn’t wait to tell her that I’d found it!

We then walked back to the car, all of the errands for that area accomplished.

Next we headed for the area known as Tacubaya which is kind of between where I live in Lomas and where I went to school for Spanish. We headed down a side street and went to buy some fresh masa for making tortillas. The machine that they use to grind/make the masa was turned off, but the guy who ran the store was very obliging and turned it on so I could see how it worked. I even got to climb the steps to see the hopper where the corn was stored and mixed slowly with water as it was ground up. The masa was quite hot when it came out, but it didn’t seem to bother the shop keeper who grabbed it with his bare hands to form big balls of it that he would bag and sell. The first batch was apparently not the right consistency, so he set it aside, adjusted the flow of water that was mixing with the corn, and when he was satisfied, he put some in a bag for us to take.

We passed a stand where they actually make tortillas with another machine that’s like a conveyor belt, but the lady wasn’t so friendly and wouldn’t turn it on for us, saying that she’d finished for the day.

We hopped back in the car and Jenny dropped me off with about half of everything she bought.

That was enough activity for the day, and I was definitely tired. I made myself a sandwich for lunch, and just rested for the rest of the afternoon. I’d seen so much!

Today was the day of parties. It’s the eve of the Mexican Independence day, so everyone gets into a festive mood.

Before party time (2pm) I spent the early afternoon finishing up a pattern, and was ready just at 2pm, but of course everyone else was late. But soon people were arriving. I met my grandmother’s brother, his wife, all his children, and their children! He’s really great too, and he looks so much like my grandmother, it’s funny. I was really blown away by how easy going and friendly everyone is. Each of the kids, Gerardo, Walter, and Ani, all invited me to meet up with them again.

Walter is trained as an industrial designer, and now has a photo studio. I showed him the stuff I’ve been working on (at Karin’s prompting), and he and his wife were both very interested in what tools I used to make the patterns. I showed them the markers I use, and they were impressed. They’ve invited me to visit to check out their studio and also see their work (his wife, Angeles, is also an artist who does a lot of photo collage).

Ani invited me to come visit her in Toluca, and Gerardo also invited me to their house at somepoint.

After the delicious lunch of Mole de Ollo (a tasty soup with lots of stuff in it), we all played some card games which was great fun. We played “Cucharas” which is a great game for a large group of people. You constantly pass one card to your right and the goal is to get 4 of a kind. If and when you do, you have to discreetly take one of the spoons (there is one less spoon than there are people). If you notice that someone has taken a spoon, you also take one, and the one left without a spoon has to sing a song. It was really hilarious. Especially because I discovered that I know the german song “O Tannenbaum!” and the Mexican song, “La Cucuracha” better than my own National Anthem. Ah well.

Overall I also enjoyed the party because I spoke only in Spanish, and was able to understand and be understood very well.

Everyone left by 8pm, but that was by no means the end of the night for me. I had to run to the Supermarket and get “botanas” which is basically appetizers/snacks for the party at Fernandos. Saskia agreed to pick me up at 9pm, so I didn’t have too much time to get ready. But I painted my eyes with bright green eyeshadow, donned my brightest red t-shirt, wore my white pants, my dingy green camo tennis shoes, and of course red lipstick. Red Green and White in honor of the Mexican Independence Day.

I arrived and Carlos was going to make me a Paloma which is basically a tequila with Squirt, but then Pancho insisted, no, I’d be better off just having a straight tequila, with a lime on the side. So that’s what I drank. And then I had another, and a little while later another. Then everyone had a shot together, and then Siggy wanted to a shot with me “al fondo” or “to the floor/bottom”–theoretically of the glass, but it almost had the more literal effect on me because after that, then I was drunk.

I had a lot of fun though. I danced a lot with Santiago, learned a little Russian from Fernando’s dad (he actually told me you could make any word Russian by adding “uski” or “iski” or “aski” to the end of it. I was speaking perfect Russian within 10 minutes), who also assembled a tostada especially for me, played with Fernando’s dog Rex, laughed a lot, took a lot of silly pictures, ate a lot of cheese and Rancherito chips, passed out on the couch for a bit, and then woke back up to chat with Pancho, Chucho and the German girls.

Chucho drove me and the Germans home and I got to bed by 4:30am.

Monday again. It took me one hour to get to school. I think I was maybe 10 minutes late to class. It took me about 40 minutes just to get out of my neighborhood–a drive that usually is about 3 minutes.

I decided not to fret about it though, so I was pretty calm when I arrived at school, even when my professor bluntly asked, me “que paso?” without much sympathy.

Class crawled by as slowly as ever. Afterwards I again went to the bank, and was again confronted with an out-of-service atm. I didn’t even bother to stand in the somewhat long line to deposit the money that I’d withdrawn at the Supermarket.

Instead I went to Starbucks before lunch.

I got home in time to see Anne again before she left for Cancun. I’d heard earlier that day that another hurricane was brewing which she was dismayed to learn.

All her camera SD cards were full, and she asked me if she could transfer them to her memory sticks using my computer. I helped her out of course.

Then I went downstairs to have a very german meal with Sigrid. Weisswurst with mashed potatoes and green beans. It was very good. For dessert we got a whole bowl FULL of raspberries. That’s my favorite way to eat raspberries–just the unadultered fruit.

Afterwards I went upstairs to work on a pattern that I’d started and was eager to finish. I didn’t entirely complete it, but I got the first color done. I then went to read to Sigrid from our book. We also had some tea and cookies, and then I continued to read a bit until we were suddenly interrupted by Sigrid’s friend Lolita who had stopped by. She’s very german and when I offered her the chair I was sitting in since it was the most comfortable, she said, “yeah, that’s my chair.” A ha. I decided to return to my room rather than hang out.

After Lolita left, I took Sigrid to the supermarket again. This time she also wanted me to put anything I wanted in the cart. The only concession I made was to get a couple of pan dulces which are really good from that store.

When we got home, I went to my room and I got to finish the pattern I’d started yesterday. Then I started on another one that I got half-finished. I wanted to complete it, but I still had my homework to do, and I noticed it was 11:30. I blew through my homework carelessly and as quickly as possible and was done in an hour, then to bed.