¡Hasta luego Mexico!

Plan your trip to Mexico now--it´s safe, it´s cheap, and they need the tourism!

I am feeling a bit sad about leaving Mexico, and Oaxaca in particular.  Funny how we all have certain places where we feel at home, even though they´re not home.  In order to lighten things up, I thought I´d share some of my most humiliating exchanges in Spanish, translated into English for your enjoyment. 

• Baker:  How do you like Puebla?
• Rachel:  It is, isn´t it?
• Helpful friend:  He´s asking you if you like Puebla.
• Rachel (smiling inanely):  Oh, yes.  (interminable pause)  Good!

This one was with a renowned chef in Oaxaca and came from my not paying attention to verb conjugation…or basic manners:

• Chef:  I had the chance to visit Veracruz…
• Rachel (interrupting excitedly):  No, I haven´t gone yet!
• Chef:  No, I went to Veracruz.  Me.  Anyway….

And my final (I hope) triumph was this morning, with my innkeeper:

• Innkeeper:  Wow, your Spanish has improved so much during your time in Mexico.
• Rachel (modestly):  Oh, no.  I can understand a lot but I still can´t speak well.
• Innkeeper:  Well, you can return to Mexico again.
• Rachel:  Tomorrow morning.
• Innkeeper:  No, I said you can return to Mexico to study Spanish more.
• Rachel:  Yes, that´s a good idea.

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Speaking of tacos…

It´s been the week of the taco here in Oaxaca.  First, my dueña (landlady) made me some delicious and simple quesillo tacos for lunch on Wednesday, accompanied by sauteed squash.  Thursday, my salsa teacher taught us a move he called “el taco,” which I don´t recommend on a full stomach.  Or if you weigh more than 100 pounds.  Or if you don´t want to reverse-hump your partner´s leg.  And Friday, my Spanish teacher taught us my favorite idiom so far: echarse un taco de ojo.  Word for word, it´s something like “to do a taco of the eye,” which loosely means to check out the eye candy.  ¡Que padre! (Cool!)

If you know any fun  food metaphors or idioms in Spanish, please reply and share!

I don´t get it, but I like it!

Hello world!

20 de noviembre mercado en Oaxaca

Though I have no idea how to blog, I do know how to write, and in my experience these tech-y things are often simplicity wrapped in obscure new language, so I’m just going to dive in and figure it out as I go.  I am preparing for a six week trip to Mexico, where I will (a) continue my plodding journey towards fluency in Spanish, (b) learn more about indigenous and colonial cultures’ interplay in Mexican cuisine and (c) do my best to avoid sunstroke.  Let’s just say my cast-iron stomach is probably better suited to Mexico than is my freckle-mottled skin.  Onward!