April 19, 2008 – Another First
We had another “first”, which is common when we travel in Mexico. Equally common, is the fact that these “firsts” usually have as much to do with American culture as Mexican culture. On our first trip, we saw our first Brittany Spears music video and our first Lindsay Lohan movie. What could possibly compare this time? We saw our first episode of “American Idol”. (Casa Alvarez Guest House has 60+ channels on cable T.V. Casa Lamberson in Hinesburg has none.)
American Idol: What an interesting event. The opening production had the 8 finalists belting out a paean to Jesus Christ. It was a song I recognized from churches I attended in Mississippi and it is a hit in the mega churches where the lyrics are projected on the walls, (no need to look down and cramp your output capacity). Bear in mind, I knew the lyrics, I’ve sung the song, but considering the show’s global reach, I just wish the Unitarians had something jazzy to offer.
Enough of that. What’s going on around here? Well, J.i.l.l has been having some excellent days at school and wishes she could stay here for the rest of the school year. Whoa! As a parent and school board member, I’m paying attention. We can’t quite zero in on all the factors at play, but the school here seems to be free of the burdens that plague 3rd and 4th grade girls in Hinesburg. Lots of love, lots of connections with teachers and other students, and tiny classes. I think there are 4 other kids in J.i.l.l’s class here. You do the math: Tuition is $25 a week, and there are only about 40 kids spread across grades 1 thru 6. I’m surprised the school can pay its bills. Here's a picture of J.i.l.l and Alli:
How’s M.i.l.e.s? Just fine. The residual gift shower continued for a few days after his birthday reaching the point of semi-embarrassment. We capped off the birthday “day” the other night with a visit to one of our favorite parks, Parque de las Americas. It has 4 quadrants split by an intersection. It also has some great vendors selling street food.
Considering that the previous night, M.i.l.e.s and I had eaten some tacos at a place downtown that didn’t count as a “hole in the wall” since there were no walls, just a wide spot on the sidewalk (we agreed it was best not to pay attention to how the dishes were being washed in a drywall bucket), our birthday “dinner” at Parque de las Americas should have been a breeze. Except, that sometimes fathers play clean-up, and I got all the leftovers. Those, combined with my own bad choices, resulted in a lead balloon.
Before you try it yourself, do not combine 3 tacos with jalapenos, a beef, bologna and cheese sandwich, a fried banana drizzled with sweetened condensed milk, a Fanta orange soda, and a marquesita filled with Nutella and cheese. The results will be disastrous and long lasting. (A marquesita is kind of a rolled waffle/crepe that is often delicious by itself.) However, even in the darkest moments there are bits of light. There is a tedious line in “My Friend Flicka” (since we don’t have any TV channels at home, and I am a tightwad, we have maxed out the video collection at the Hinesburg library). The father says something to a young Roddy McDowell (did he do anything between “Flicka” and “Planet of the Apes”?) like, “Son, there’s a special way that a father talks to his son.” I abused that line for years, but I’ll tell you, it aptly described the special moment yesterday while M.i.l.e.s and I walked downtown for an afternoon licuado. M.i.l.e.s: “You know, it kind of hurts to walk a few blocks when your pooper hasn’t been working right for a few days.” P.a.u.l: “Yup.” (I’ll spare you the rest of the conversation. It would fall into the OMG, TMI category.) Here's a picture from the happy evening that started it all:
On a different note, although we’re no experts on Mexico, we’ve been coming for 2 years and are witnesses to change. One thing we’re watching is the prevalence of inefficiency for the sake of job creation. The number of staff in a store is an example. We went to the electronics shop yesterday to buy a new power cord for Enrique’s desktop PC (we’ll probably be back soon for a video card). As is common, one employee handed us the merchandise and prepared a bill ($2.50) and then handed everything off to a cashier. Then the cashier rang us up. There’s a reasonable chance this will all be a thing of the past in the near future as Office Max and Wal-mart spread their reach. The “jobs program” versus efficiency is also evident in the street maintenance department (though many of us probably raise the same question in the States at times). There is something to be said for giving a guy a broom and a cart and a few assigned streets to clean versus having a machine come through and do it quickly and efficiently.
Time to put this stuff on the web and get on with all that surrounds me.
We had another “first”, which is common when we travel in Mexico. Equally common, is the fact that these “firsts” usually have as much to do with American culture as Mexican culture. On our first trip, we saw our first Brittany Spears music video and our first Lindsay Lohan movie. What could possibly compare this time? We saw our first episode of “American Idol”. (Casa Alvarez Guest House has 60+ channels on cable T.V. Casa Lamberson in Hinesburg has none.)
American Idol: What an interesting event. The opening production had the 8 finalists belting out a paean to Jesus Christ. It was a song I recognized from churches I attended in Mississippi and it is a hit in the mega churches where the lyrics are projected on the walls, (no need to look down and cramp your output capacity). Bear in mind, I knew the lyrics, I’ve sung the song, but considering the show’s global reach, I just wish the Unitarians had something jazzy to offer.
Enough of that. What’s going on around here? Well, J.i.l.l has been having some excellent days at school and wishes she could stay here for the rest of the school year. Whoa! As a parent and school board member, I’m paying attention. We can’t quite zero in on all the factors at play, but the school here seems to be free of the burdens that plague 3rd and 4th grade girls in Hinesburg. Lots of love, lots of connections with teachers and other students, and tiny classes. I think there are 4 other kids in J.i.l.l’s class here. You do the math: Tuition is $25 a week, and there are only about 40 kids spread across grades 1 thru 6. I’m surprised the school can pay its bills. Here's a picture of J.i.l.l and Alli:
How’s M.i.l.e.s? Just fine. The residual gift shower continued for a few days after his birthday reaching the point of semi-embarrassment. We capped off the birthday “day” the other night with a visit to one of our favorite parks, Parque de las Americas. It has 4 quadrants split by an intersection. It also has some great vendors selling street food.
Considering that the previous night, M.i.l.e.s and I had eaten some tacos at a place downtown that didn’t count as a “hole in the wall” since there were no walls, just a wide spot on the sidewalk (we agreed it was best not to pay attention to how the dishes were being washed in a drywall bucket), our birthday “dinner” at Parque de las Americas should have been a breeze. Except, that sometimes fathers play clean-up, and I got all the leftovers. Those, combined with my own bad choices, resulted in a lead balloon.
Before you try it yourself, do not combine 3 tacos with jalapenos, a beef, bologna and cheese sandwich, a fried banana drizzled with sweetened condensed milk, a Fanta orange soda, and a marquesita filled with Nutella and cheese. The results will be disastrous and long lasting. (A marquesita is kind of a rolled waffle/crepe that is often delicious by itself.) However, even in the darkest moments there are bits of light. There is a tedious line in “My Friend Flicka” (since we don’t have any TV channels at home, and I am a tightwad, we have maxed out the video collection at the Hinesburg library). The father says something to a young Roddy McDowell (did he do anything between “Flicka” and “Planet of the Apes”?) like, “Son, there’s a special way that a father talks to his son.” I abused that line for years, but I’ll tell you, it aptly described the special moment yesterday while M.i.l.e.s and I walked downtown for an afternoon licuado. M.i.l.e.s: “You know, it kind of hurts to walk a few blocks when your pooper hasn’t been working right for a few days.” P.a.u.l: “Yup.” (I’ll spare you the rest of the conversation. It would fall into the OMG, TMI category.) Here's a picture from the happy evening that started it all:
On a different note, although we’re no experts on Mexico, we’ve been coming for 2 years and are witnesses to change. One thing we’re watching is the prevalence of inefficiency for the sake of job creation. The number of staff in a store is an example. We went to the electronics shop yesterday to buy a new power cord for Enrique’s desktop PC (we’ll probably be back soon for a video card). As is common, one employee handed us the merchandise and prepared a bill ($2.50) and then handed everything off to a cashier. Then the cashier rang us up. There’s a reasonable chance this will all be a thing of the past in the near future as Office Max and Wal-mart spread their reach. The “jobs program” versus efficiency is also evident in the street maintenance department (though many of us probably raise the same question in the States at times). There is something to be said for giving a guy a broom and a cart and a few assigned streets to clean versus having a machine come through and do it quickly and efficiently.
Time to put this stuff on the web and get on with all that surrounds me.
posted by The Lambersons at 5:26 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home