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GREETINGS from Mexico (Meh-HE-ko) land o tacos, tortillas, y trash (everywhere):
First, for those of you who weren't aware I was even IN Mexico, I'm now living in Toluca, which is about an hour outside Mexico City to the west. I'm teaching six classes at the Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Toluca: 3 classes of American Culture and Literature and 1 class of Listening and Speaking in the high school and two classes of undergraduate and masters students (yes, DANGIT, I am qualified to teach Masters students!) in Business English. [Disclaimer: This, of course, should not indicate that I know anything about Business.]
I live in a small house with a woman named Martha, who is a recent divorcee addicted to www.Udate.com who loves to paste the walls of the house with blue Post-it notes telling us to turn off the lights (Apaguen la luz) to reduce the $19 per month electric bill. Her son, AlbertOOOO, is the generic 14-year-old boy, infatuated with MTV, Korn and Limp Bizkit, his skateboard, and saying everyone's name with a screech/growl at the end: Example: Jennifer is JINNIFRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. [I don't get it either, but I'm slowly getting used to it (I think?).]
Profound OBSERVATIONS on life in MEXICO:
1. Salads -- one of the great dilemnas on my arrival in Mexico
Picture this: The first day I arrived in Mexico I went to the Commercial Mexicana (Co- mear-si-ahl Me-HE-cah-na) with Martha and bought a head of lettuce. I came home, unwrapped the lettuce out of the plastic wrap, and then stood over the sink. "HMMMMMMMMMmmmmm. Yikes. Wellllll?" The dilemna: Do I not wash the lettuce and possibly get really sick.. or do I wash the lettuce in the MEXICAN "drink it and die" TAP WATER (AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!) and commit suicide by vegetable? I debated for 10 minutes. I gave up. The lettuce sat in the frig until it rotted.
The profound solution: "FIT"-- basically, 100% iodine that you pour into the tap water with the lettuce to disinfect it. It makes the lettuce a little slimy, but it tastes the same (I think) and so far it has been apparently relatively less lethal than other options. And, just in case, since I'm in a Catholic country and all, I have adopted a few HAIL MARYs as my fav salad dressing.
2. Mi nombre
My name is not Jennifer Klein. My name is one of the following:
a. PROFESORA Jennifer Klein (I don't know how or when I became a professor, but I'm not complaining.)
b. TEACHER! This is apparently a polite/respectful way to address teachers in Mexico, but after a month of being nameless, I gave the following question as a bonus on one of my exams: "My teachers name is _______________." I think about 15% of my students answered it correctly.
c. MISS!!!!!!!!!!!! I hear this name screamed from three floors down, across the cafeteria --- MISSSSSS!!!!!!!!! It wouldn't matter if I was 80 years old, married with 10 children, my name would still be MISSSSS!!!!!
d. Jennifer Kay Klein Gray. The administration of the TEC refused to give me e-mail access until I accepted my mother's maiden name. Mexicans just have WAY WAY WAY too many names. The class roll lists are downright frightening: Jose Pablo Ignacio Cabral de la Cadena Montesinos ("Miss, just call me Bob")
3. The Mexican Bus System.
I guess I should admit that before I arrived in Mexico, I was on a "I can handle mass transit dadburnit!" ego trip. I had done it in Europe, so Mexico should be no problemo. The process: 1. Get a bus map 2. Go.
WELCOME, MISS Jennifer Klein Gray, TO THE DEVELOPING WORLD. There is no bus map. For that matter, there exists no map of Toluca. But, on a optimistic note, it is a great way to improve my speed reading to sit on a street corner, eyes bulging out of my head, trying to read the 10-15 direction cards clipped to the front window of the bus. As my luck would have it, I get to stare into the sun every morning on my way to school looking for ENEF to fly by, but then.
THE GLORY OF THE TOLUCAN BUS SYSTEM: you flick your finger up and SCREEEEEEEECH (the brake systems are not the glory of the bus system.) No matter where you are --- at a bus stop or chillin' on a random street corner - BEHOLD!!!! The pow-a of the finger. The bus takes out three blue taxis and one of those high class roadside taco stands to get to the side of the street to just pick you up. Its a great ego trip to flick your finger up and an entire bus full of people is at your command.
May the tacos be plentiful, and the tortillas be warm. Cheers, guys.
MISS, TEACHER, Jennifer Kay Klein Gray
Filiberto Navas #120, Casa #2
San Mateo Oxtotitlan
Toluca, Estado de Mexico, 50100
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