Cuernavaca
Well, while my sister is living it up, I am taking buses, eating tacos, and enjoying cold showers. I arrived in Cuernavaca on Tuesday and the place is nice. Cuernavaca is about 90 minutes from Mexico City and is a very popular choice for second homes. The weather is supposedly really nice, although all i have seen is rain. It is also unbelievable cheap to take Spanish lessons. At the hostel I am in, a German girl scored a deal for 4 weeks of Spanish instruction with a room included for $850.
Rewinding a little bit back, the road trip last weekend was pretty awesome. Mexico is the definition of a second world country. For example, yes there are paved highways, BUT you have to pay a shit ton in tolls and there are unmarked speed bumps (topes) everywhere. Driving through the Mexican country side you see a lot of poverty, but they aren't hungry, they are just poor. They live in small cinder block houses with the steel reinforcement sticking out the top just in case someone wants to add another level somewhere down the line. In all the towns we went to I was the token gringo. You can really tell when small children who don't know any better just stare at you with a ¨who the fuck are you¨ look. I even had one kid of about 8 years old come up to me and ask, ¨Are you from the United States¨
¨Yes
¨Well, how come migration arrests all the Mexicans?¨
¨Uhhh.....¨
Luckily, Paulina stepped in an explained it in terms of Guatemalans coming to Mexico, which the kid partially understood. But DAMN! What a question. I unfortunately don't have the answer to America's immigration policy.
Food is super cheap in these towns. I got a full plate of rice, beans, pork, and salsa verde along with a pitcher of juice for $30 pesos ($2.50). We drove all the way to Puerto de Veracruz, which is the capital city of, you guessed it, Veracruz. When we were walking around the malecòn (boardwalk), we came up to one of the street performing Mexican clowns. I knew from past experiences in Puerto Vallarta that this clown was going to see the gringo/guero and have an uncontrollable to urge to call me out. I was right. ¨HOLA, Huero. HOOOOOLLLLLAAAAAA!¨
¨HOLA¨ I replied with the same drawn out ridiculousness.
¨De donde EREEEEEESSSSS?¨
¨Soy de Mexico. OBBBVVVIIIOOOO.¨ translation: Where are you from? / I'm from Mexico, OBBBVVIOUSSSSLLLY.
The clown was not expecting any Spanish retort let alone a sarcastic one and he was completely dumbfounded. I got a nice laugh out of the crowd and as I walked away he finally said ¨Ok, don't rob anything.¨
Anyway, I'm in Cuernavaca and the hostel I am staying in is a mansion of sorts. The kind that wraps around itself with a pool in the middle. Plus, no one is staying here so it has somewhat become my personal study palace for me to revise my Fulbright essays and do some Spanish. I met a doctor here who is a specialist in disaster relief efforts. The kind of dude that saw shit go down in Haiti. He was very pissed off at the Haiti relief efforts as people threw money and resources at the problem without understanding it. For example, the US donated a warehouse worth of winter coats. Turns out winter coats are not very helpful for a tropical carribean island. Tyco foods donated raw chicken. As soon as the chicken arrived it began to rot and give people salmonella because there are no refrigerated warehouses in Haiti.
Anyway, here are some random thoughts I had on the bus to Cuernavaca:
Who hangs outside of a Home Depot in Mexico?
Is it safe to eat in a Chinese restaurant in Mexico?
I saw an all you can eat buffet for $25 pesos ($2.25). Any takers?
¨I don't know what WWIII will be fought with, but WWIV will be fought with rocks and sticks¨ -Albert Einstein
It appears as though Latin America's solution to the drug war is legalization. America doesn't think so.
Geicos are an invasive species from Asia.
I still haven't taken a taxi.
Cold showers = naked hokie pokie.
Hasta luego,
Don Sloane
Rewinding a little bit back, the road trip last weekend was pretty awesome. Mexico is the definition of a second world country. For example, yes there are paved highways, BUT you have to pay a shit ton in tolls and there are unmarked speed bumps (topes) everywhere. Driving through the Mexican country side you see a lot of poverty, but they aren't hungry, they are just poor. They live in small cinder block houses with the steel reinforcement sticking out the top just in case someone wants to add another level somewhere down the line. In all the towns we went to I was the token gringo. You can really tell when small children who don't know any better just stare at you with a ¨who the fuck are you¨ look. I even had one kid of about 8 years old come up to me and ask, ¨Are you from the United States¨
¨Yes
¨Well, how come migration arrests all the Mexicans?¨
¨Uhhh.....¨
Luckily, Paulina stepped in an explained it in terms of Guatemalans coming to Mexico, which the kid partially understood. But DAMN! What a question. I unfortunately don't have the answer to America's immigration policy.
Food is super cheap in these towns. I got a full plate of rice, beans, pork, and salsa verde along with a pitcher of juice for $30 pesos ($2.50). We drove all the way to Puerto de Veracruz, which is the capital city of, you guessed it, Veracruz. When we were walking around the malecòn (boardwalk), we came up to one of the street performing Mexican clowns. I knew from past experiences in Puerto Vallarta that this clown was going to see the gringo/guero and have an uncontrollable to urge to call me out. I was right. ¨HOLA, Huero. HOOOOOLLLLLAAAAAA!¨
¨HOLA¨ I replied with the same drawn out ridiculousness.
¨De donde EREEEEEESSSSS?¨
¨Soy de Mexico. OBBBVVVIIIOOOO.¨ translation: Where are you from? / I'm from Mexico, OBBBVVIOUSSSSLLLY.
The clown was not expecting any Spanish retort let alone a sarcastic one and he was completely dumbfounded. I got a nice laugh out of the crowd and as I walked away he finally said ¨Ok, don't rob anything.¨
Anyway, I'm in Cuernavaca and the hostel I am staying in is a mansion of sorts. The kind that wraps around itself with a pool in the middle. Plus, no one is staying here so it has somewhat become my personal study palace for me to revise my Fulbright essays and do some Spanish. I met a doctor here who is a specialist in disaster relief efforts. The kind of dude that saw shit go down in Haiti. He was very pissed off at the Haiti relief efforts as people threw money and resources at the problem without understanding it. For example, the US donated a warehouse worth of winter coats. Turns out winter coats are not very helpful for a tropical carribean island. Tyco foods donated raw chicken. As soon as the chicken arrived it began to rot and give people salmonella because there are no refrigerated warehouses in Haiti.
Anyway, here are some random thoughts I had on the bus to Cuernavaca:
Who hangs outside of a Home Depot in Mexico?
Is it safe to eat in a Chinese restaurant in Mexico?
I saw an all you can eat buffet for $25 pesos ($2.25). Any takers?
¨I don't know what WWIII will be fought with, but WWIV will be fought with rocks and sticks¨ -Albert Einstein
It appears as though Latin America's solution to the drug war is legalization. America doesn't think so.
Geicos are an invasive species from Asia.
I still haven't taken a taxi.
Cold showers = naked hokie pokie.
Hasta luego,
Don Sloane
Comments
And yes I would take an all you can eat for $2.25... actually....