Street food with a side of culture shock

Today I ventured to school on my own for the first time, using the public transportation system. Good thing I left an hour and a half early. I’ll leave it at that.

I also had a decent idea for blogging. In order to organize this mess of a blog a bit, I’ve decided to give most of the posts a format which will follow like this.

1. What I listened to (WILT)
2. What I ate (WIA)
3. This is Mexico moment (T.I.M.)

This way, my loyal followers will just about be inside my head, since such a large portion of my energy is spent on listening to music and eating. And, oh yes, the culture shock. Here goes my first post in the new format.

What I listened to
My good friend Salvatore sent me a song this morning that I listened to while I got ready for work. It is called “French Disko” by Stereolab. While psyching myself up for the impending adventure that would be the system of rutas (buses) I’d need to take to work, this upbeat and danceable song gave me just enough gusto to endure the (incorrect and excruciatingly long) journey. It also put me in the mood for more dance-y chick pop, so I listened to Philly’s own Santigold for the first part of the ride. Halfway through, when I realized I was on the wrong ruta I switched to a mix of the Kinks, still happy but a little less upbeat.



I interviewed another handful of students today, which really is for me the highlight of being at La UTEZ. I can’t wait to get to know the kids better.

For the ride home from school to Cuernavaca (another misstep), I listened to Pearl Jam’s Ten album. Chill and nostalgic, grungy and rough around the edges, but soft inside and hopeful for the future.

I sit here now in my apartment listening to the album San Patricio, a collaboration of the Irish band The Chieftains with various Mexican artists. The album commemorates the group of Irish immigrants who deserted the U.S. Army to fight on the side of the Mexicans in the Mexican-American War of 1846. My uncle Rick gave this to me this past summer, and it is wonderfully Mexican and Irish at the same time. It melts together the two musical traditions like the sweetness of lime with the spice of chile.



Speaking of which…

What I ate
After work, back in Cuernavaca, I tried Esquite for the first time. Holy guacamole this stuff is delicious!

Esquite is essentially corn kernels, fresh from the cob, boiled in water, then mixed in a cup with mayo, fresh lime juice, chile, chile powder, salt and shredded queso. My tongue is currently singed because I could not wait for the esquite to cool off before scarfing it down like a true gringo. Can’t wait to get this again. Cost: 12 pesos ($1) and a burnt tongue. Grade: A+

For dinner, fellow gringa Laura and I commenced our mission to find the best tacos in town. And guess what.



The tacos tonight had NOTHIN on the tacos from San Lucas in Camden, NJ. I ordered 2 tacos al pastor, which is supposed to be pork cooked with pineapple. Well, to start, these tacos had no pineapples, and the flavor was quite bland. I forget the name of the other taco, but the meat was pure fat. The tacos weren’t terrible, but like I said, my standards for Mexican food are quite high after being accustomed to San Lucas. (Hint, anyone who lives in Philly or Jersey had better check out San Lucas as soon as possible. Your life will change for the better.) The good part about these tacos: 4 pesos each (about 30 cents). Grade: D+



While walking around after tacos, I bought a juice at a fresh juice stand in the middle of one of the plazas. Papaya and banana. Yummmm. Just the sweetness and nutrition I needed to top off the day on a bright note. Cost: 18 pesos ($1.50). Grade: A

T.I.M. moment of the day
While sitting in the English language office area, in close proximity to a classroom where an English class was taking place, I overheard a professor demonstrating a sentence using the theme of the day’s lesson: calories. “You lose calories when you have sex.” T.I.M.