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As I was coming home from work on Friday night, part of the street was blocked off and there were lots of people gathering for what looked like a parade.  

We had plans to meet up with some other teachers to play pool (or in our case, to watch pool being played), but traffic was a mess because of the parade, so we thought we would go check things out, wait until traffic cleared and then head out to meet our friends. 

We weren’t sure what the parade was for, but it was beautiful to watch.  All the women were dressed up in their traditional trajes and the men were in their guayaberas.   The women had bowls with flags in them and some were filled with candy that they threw to the children (and us).  The bowls are made of a gourd that is cut in half and then painted inside and out.  It is extremely lightweight and adds the most beautiful finishing touch to the traditional dress.

They were different groups of people in the parade and all the groups of women were dressed in the same coloured trajes.  After checking out some of the banners,  and seeing our Rotary Club President, Acuna (who works for PEMEX) we figured out that the parade was for the employees of PEMEX, the national gas company. 

Curiosity got the better of us and we wanted to know where the parade was ending up, so we followed everyone down the street.  It ended at the square in the Centrex of town and it turned out to be a huge vela sponsored by the PEMEX union. 

As we were walking around checking things out, we ran into an employee of the Oaxacan furniture store near our apartment.  He recognized Don from when he was in there shopping with his parents.  He offered to show us around the vela and explain the different types of trajes; what area they were from and what certain garments meant. 

While we were watching the people file in, we met up with Acuna, who invited us to join him at his section of the vela.  We decided that we would go over for a short while, say hello to his wife, Paty,  and then let them enjoy their evening. 

Mexican hospitality got in the way of our plans when Acuna started offering food and drinks to us.  We were effectively adopted by the electrician section of the PEMEX union and spent the evening with them.  They even dressed up Don in the straw hats and green handkerchiefs that the men were supposed to wear.  This is a picture of Acuna (right), Paty (middle) and the captain of the vela for the PEMEX electricians (left). 

We ate lots, drank lots and danced lots and we made new friends while we were there.  It was really interesting because people couldn’t quite figure out what we were doing there.  They knew we weren’t lost (mostly because of Don’s hat and handkerchief), but they also knew that we didn’t work for PEMEX.  All in all it turned out to be a great night, albeit not what we had originally planned and we never quite made it to play pool…. 

This week past, I went to renew my FM3 visa which allows me to work in Mexico.  We also arranged to have an ‘ economic dependent’ visa for Don at the same time.  We needed a letter from the university stating that my contract was extended and then a couple of letters for Don stating that I was supporting him in Mexico.  It was then a trip over to the bank to pay the fees.  We returned to immigration and were told it would be ready early next week.  The most painful part was waiting in line at the bank to pay the fees.  The folks in the Migracion Office in Salina Cruz are very friendly and helpful and it was a very smooth process.

During my Christmas holidays, I decided I would get a Mexican drivers license.  The reason is that I need this license to drive back to Canada in August.  My Ontario drivers license expires next month and they will only renew it for 6 months putting it August 14th when it expires.  The Mexican police generally don’t look at the expiry date, so the risk of getting into trouble here is pretty low.  However it is my drive back through the USA and into Canada that has me more concerned. 

The process of getting the license was quite easy.  I needed a copy of my driver’s license, passport, FM3 and a utility bill (for proof of address).  After this, they fill out a form with your details, they snap a photo and print up the license on the spot.  I paid my $50 for the year and everything was good.  No written test, no road test. The great opportunity that I missed out on, was when the transito official asked me what I could drive back in Canada.  I just said a car.  Thinking back, I should have said motorcycle, school bus and dump truck! 

As an interesting side note, I am still in the process of waiting for my temporary renewal of my Ontario driver’s license.  I called this week and they hadn’t even processed my request yet.  Perhaps we should send some of the MTO folks down here for a few weeks, they might pick up a few hints….

Last week, I ended up with a flat tire near the university.  I was able to drive it into the parking compound so that I had a safe place to change the tire.  When I parked, I had to sign back into work and then arrange to have the tire changed and repaired before it got dark.  Being a 21st century woman, I was more than prepared to change the tire myself, however my boss was kind enough to find a labourer at the university who changed it for me.  With the emergency spare safely on Paco, I headed out to find a tire repair place. 

One of the great things about Mexico is that tire repair shops (vulcanizadoras) are everywhere.  An important cultural note here in the Isthmus is that, unlike in Canada, a tire sales shop will not fix your tire.  You must go to the repair person.  Fortunately there were 2 vulcanizadoras within 3km of the university and I was able to get the tire fixed and put back on Paco in less than 35 minutes for a mere $30 pesos (about $3 Canadian).  $3 at a tire repair shop in Canada gets you the coke and chocolate bar while you wait the 1.5 hours to get the tire repaired. 

I can honestly say, it was the most pleasant flat tire experience I have ever had.

Don and I tried the Italian restaurant in Salina Cruz (yes, that is a THE Italian restaurant as there is only ONE).  It turns out that it is more of a pizza place with a few other options.  The good news is that they offer some of your traditional pizzas but also some local flavours as well.  The one that caught our eye was Pizza al Pastor.  For those tacos al pastor lovers out there, you will appreciate this.  It is tacos al pastor meat, pineapple, cilantro and manchego cheese.  It is a little piece of heaven on a pizza crust.  It was so good, it was worthy of posting in my blog.  For those of you that have not had tacos al pastor, what are you waiting for??  If you are in London, go to El Ranchito on Wellington Rd (west side of the street) between Grey Street and the Thames River and get yourself some tacos!  They are of course not as great at the ones from the place just down the road from us, but they are pretty darn good. 

Here is just an interesting map of the countries I have visited.  As you will see, Brazil is the big one I am missing from the Americas.  I really want to go, but haven’t made it there–yet.  Don tells me that we will get there someday.  In the meantime, I think I have done really well in the Americas, however Asia and Africa have been sadly neglected.  Europe also has some big holes, but there is still time!  I have visited 15 countries or 6% of the countries out there.  Not too shabby, but that means that there is still 94% of the countries left for me to see….

Ok, so I haven’t really been posting much to my blog lately, but I have a good excuse.  I was on holidays for 3 weeks.  Since I have been back at work, I have been really busy wrapping up the end of the semester, writing exams and reports and things like that.  However, the semester ends on Tuesday,so I will have more time.  Here is a brief summary of where I was and what I was doing over my vacation:

Don and I were in Merida for the week before Christmas.  We drove there and back and had two run ins with the Ciudad del Carmen Police.  Both times they tried to squeeze money out of us on false traffic violations and both times we were able to argue well enough to get out of them.  It was the first time in 12,000km and 5 months in Mexico that we had any problems with the police and both times we were stopped, it was on the same bridge and almost the exact same location.  The first time we likely would have accepted the traffic violation (I crossed over the yellow line on a bridge, but that was to avoid hitting the fisherman on the bridge), but the other vehicle that was stopped in front of us was a van from Ohio.  At this point we knew exactly what was going on and was not going to be an easy person to deal with.  The officer asked for my license, which I refused to hand over to him and only let him see it when I pressed it up against the window.  It was probably the most argumentative I have ever been with a law enforcement official.  After some serious discussions, they realized that this was going to be more work that it was worth and they let us go.  On the way back through Ciudad del Carmen, we got stopped at the same bridge, but this time it was just after I paid our toll.  I looked in my rear view mirror and saw one of the police guarding the bridge speak into his walkie talkie and then right after we paid the toll, the police came out of their guard station and pulled us over. They told us that we were speeding in a zone before the bridge. This was impossible because we had pulled off at a gas station right before this zone and then there was traffice backed up when we pulled back on.  At this point, I started to get REALLY angry.  Don decided it was best that he go into the office and speak to them.  After some discussion, they again, decided that we were more work that this was worth and let us go. 

After Christmas we went to Huatulco to meet up with the Bork clan.  We spent a week with everyone and had a really nice time cascading, going on a boat tour, snorkelling and visiting.  After the week, everyone went home but Don’s mom and dad (Gail and Jack) and his sister (Jaci).  Jaci went off to Cuernavaca where she visited with her old host families from her exchange in 2000 and Jack and Gail came to Salina Cruz with us.  We went to Oaxaca city (which has calmed down immensely), back to Salina Cruz and then they went back to Huatulco.  It was really nice to spend time with familiar faces. 

Now I am back at work.  I have 1 month off between semesters where I have some projects to work on and time to make adjustments to my syllabus.

While we were staying in Huatulco, I had the opportunity to try huitlacoche (wee-tlah-KOH-chay).  It is a delicacy in Mexico and is often called the Mexican Corn Truffle, however it is equally known outside Mexico by the less sexy name:  ”corn smut”.  Huitlacoche is an Aztec word which literally translates to “ravens excrement” and from the colour and consistency, they were pretty darn close! 

Huitlacoche is a fungus that grows naturally on the ears of corn.  The fungus is harvested and used in cooking.  Ironically, in the US and Canada, farmers feel that this corn smut is a disease and should be eradicated.  In Mexico, it is cultivated and usually sells for a higher price than the corn itself!

Huitlacoche has a salty, earthy, tangy sort of flavour and is actually quite delicious!  I had it my omelette in the mornings, but it is also used  in quesadillas, tamales, soups and even ice cream!  Personally, I think I will stick to the savoury dishes….