a few notes that may or may not add up to a post...

1. I realize that it is probably the same in the U.S. but Halloween is in full force here. There are electric pumpkins for sale everywhere and pumpkin candy baskets also for sale everywhere. The only thing that is weird about this is that Halloween isn’t a holiday in Mexico. (ok, some might say it’s not a holiday in the States, but there is a tradition there somewhere, whether it is linked to the devil isn’t the point right now…). The holiday here is the Day of the Dead, which takes place on October 31, November 1, and 2. I will certainly have a post with photos about the festivities – I have heard they are a must see especially in Yucatán because the people here celebrate the Day of the Dead the way the Mayans do here. More on that in a few weeks. My point is that the lovely “You must buy something for this (non)holiday” has infiltrated here as well. I mean, you’re just not Mexican if you don’t have an electric pumpkin in your yard, yikes!

2. In keeping with the Day of the Dead, there is a type of bread you eat around the Day of the Dead. It is a yummy sweet bread and it is in every panadería here. We bought our first one two days ago. Be looking for a post very similar to the Patria Donut post, we will have photos of the bread soon. It is important to enjoy it now because I am told after the Day of the Dead there will be no more bread like this until next year.


3. This might be funny to SOME of you: So it is sort of a funny thing (not to me of course) to people around here that Paul cooks and I don’t. It clearly makes me less of a woman (and I’m crying, can you tell?) and gives Paul super-awesome points. Anyway, said super-awesome husband locked me, poor, helpless wife, out of the apartment one day. Luckily the Ramirez’s were around. They had just finished lunch and I told them what happened and Señora had an extra key. Phew. So I chatted with them for a while and Señora all the sudden turns to me and says, Paul’s not home? I say, no. She says, he won’t be back for awhile? I say, not for awhile (mind you it is lunchtime). And she says, do you want me to make you some lunch!? So I had to (in Spanish, of course) explain that I CAN ACTUALLY COOK, but Paul enjoys it and is better at it than me so he cooks – not because I am physically unable to light the flame and heat up a quesadilla or two. Geez!

4. I guess it is only fair to mention that said super-awesome husband rescued his helpless wife yesterday. I had gone to my Spanish class and then headed across the street to print out some stuff for my next class. Well, the printing cost more than I thought it would – but I paid for it and left. I was walking to the bus stop and remembered I had bought dinner the night before (the BEST pizza al pastor, BTW) and had 2 pesos to my name (4 50 centavo pieces no less). I didn’t have enough money to get home! Ooops! So I had to call Paul to come get me and pay for my bus ride home! Ok, before you get all sappy about how nice Paul is, he got cash the night before this mishap and didn’t give me any of the money so while it was “super-awesome” he came and got me, it was a bit his fault I got stuck at school completely broke in the first place, just for the record…

5. Well, I have to get back at some thesis work because my/our day ends at 4pm today. Why, you ask? Are you going on a trip? Maybe another booze fest? No, no sillies, Playoffs! (If not interested in Baseball skip to number 6 now.) Paul has a lot of complicated reasons for wanting certain teams to win (something about pitching yaya and getting killed by the Mets, yaya) I have a much easier system: Go Tigers b/c they seem like the underdog to me and let’s face it, they have cool colors. Sorry, but the Oakland caps are super ugly and that bright yellow bill makes the pine tar painfully obvious. I’m just saying… Also for the record, I really wanted to pull for the Dodgers but Paul reminded me that both my Dad and Fer are really far away and I am living in a one room apartment with a Mets fan. Enough said… Sorry! OK, so go Tigers until they play the Mets, then Go Mets! Woohoo.

6. P.S. Very jealous there is no UNC alumni club here for UNC BBall games, and yes, I checked… might need someone to Tivo them…

7. P.P.S. Quickly running out of my tea (without which I may not survive). Let me know if anyone can find it: Yamamotoyama Gen Mai Cha / Brown Rice Tea in tea bags.

ok, Thesis stuff… more soon!