Mamey

I am adjusting a little bit better today. The first day was a whirlwind of flamenco performance and lunch with family and friends that lasted what seemed like a million hours to me, who did not understand a word of the conversation. Organ grinders in khaki uniforms filled the air with circus melodies, shouts of victory when a Mexico goal was gained against the Estados Unidos punctuated the lazy Sunday mood, and a troupe of young college women in very elaborate troubadour costumes serenaded us with Mariposita and other tunes in a friendly contest among music students. The air was so rich with new sounds and bad pollution that I was dizzy and disoriented. It was beautiful, indeed, but total sensory overload. We followed that up with a trip to the mall [wince] which while necessary and productive to comparison shop on furniture and appliances, was not so easy on the already maxed out sensory input portion of my brain. And then we went to the Superama, omg.

The whole adventure was filled with new relationship sensations on warp speed also. After two months of getting to know Agent Triple L via the webbernets, we were now finally face to face, hand in hand, lips to lips, eyes to eyes, right on top of each other. Naturally I freaked out. Of course I didn't know I was freaking out until the next day when I wanted to run and hide in a corner like a threatened animal. I was too busy being optimistic and positive and insisting on immediately having a perfect and wonderful home less than 24 hours after leaving the sweet cradle of the only home I have ever known, glorious Midwest USA. Cheese whiz. We have discussed these things and are working out the kinks of living together and getting to know each other at the same time. Not easy pals, but so far so good and getting better.

So, Monday was awful. I felt lost and lonely. I was horrified by the discovery that everything you need for your home is twice as expensive as in the US. I was equally horrified that a major portion of the avenue by our house collapsed into a non-reinforced construction pit mere hours after we had driven over the very spot that fell in. This being a primary route on our domestic reconnaisance missions made me a tad bit angry. Apparently, in Mexico, developers save millions by skimping on oh, you know, foundation walls and safety precautions like structural integrity. Don't even think about the fact that we are "situated atop three of the large tectonic plates that constitute the earth's surface, Mexico is one of the most seismologically active regions on earth" [if you believe Wikipedia]. My apartment is on the 28th floor on a hill so I can see quite a bit of the traffic goings on below. I have been watching the jams come and go and listening to incessant angry beeps at the barricade which is conveniently situated just below my window. Word on the street is two months before everything is fixed. Two months of angry beeps.

Today, however, I finally got to try the thing that intrigued me the most on my visit here a few months ago: a Mamey. Hoo boy is it weird. The thing is about the size of a nerf football, looks like a cross between a kiwi and a cantaloupe and is very heavy. I had seen these fruits pedled by the side of the road and they were cut open showing hot orange-red insides. I wanted one. So I got one. I cut it open and found that it was more like an avocado than anything else. The meat of the fruit has the same texture and density as avocado, but it is really red, and the flavor is like an insanely sweet yam with some kind of fake berry flavor. The pit inside was super shiny like it was laquered and smelled more aromatic than the fruit itself. Well, it was too much for me. One bite made me kind of gag a little bit. The second bite I almost enjoyed, but then I decided that the Mexicans might be on to something with all the salt and limon, so I doused the bowl of gooey fruit with some to see if that would be more palatable. Hmm, not so much. I have forced down about a quarter of the thing just because I hate to waste such wonderful fruit, but I'm struggling with it. I think it might be good in a smoothy with some tart yogurt. To the blender!!!

I also drove for the first time today, just from the apartment to the sushi place, and it was quite an experience. I just might get the hang of it eventually. You just put your whole car in, you put your whole car out, you drive around like crazy and you try not to get hit...

HUGS