Markets, Food, and Tequila With The Professor

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Having 4 girls share 1 bathroom and expect them to be ready and on time in the morning is like expecting to be able to visit the North Pole on Christmas Eve... impossible.

This morning after inhaling breakfast from running a little late we met the rest of the group in the lobby and proceeded with our day! We walked over to the house of the anthropologist that the professor is friends with: she gave us a tour of her lovely home and then gave us a mini lecture about the markets in mexico, how they have evolved and how they were/are used. From there we took the bus to the market and began our shopping!

The markets in Mexico (or any country in Latin America for that matter) are the highlights of my trips. There is so much life to the markets and so much to observe and learn! I would take an old market over a posh shopping mall any day. With the anthropologist as our lead, we began scouring the different market stalls for all of the fruits and vegetables we were going to need to cook supper later.

As a person who -with blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin -looks nothing like a Mexican woman, it is rather hilarious and amusing walking through the market. As a group of 20+ white-looking young adults we definitely got stared at ... a lot. It was rather uncomfortable and made me feel like withering into nothing so I could hide, eventually though one got used to it and just ignored it. What never got old, however, was in walking past the different stalls and having those that worked at that particular stall, primarily younger males, say to each other or shout out to you, certain phrases that they believe you are unable to understand. It is in this thinking that makes it extremely fun to ignore the remarks, and as they continue to say what they are saying about you, turn around and look them directly in the eye and telling them that you understood exactly what they have been saying the entire time.

Walking around the market for the greater portion of the morning I did this more than a few times, and let me tell you, it was hilarious. Mind you, in order for this to be funny, you must have a sense of humor. It is a given that those giving the remarks have a sense of humor, but it is up to you to have a good sense of humor to make this work.

We bought the rest of the ingredients and made our way back to her house to begin cooking!

Her kitchen was immaculate! If I could own a house in Mexico (one day that dream will become a reality) it would definitely have her kitchen!

Yolanda (the anthropologist) divided us into groups and assigned each group with certain tasks. I was paired up with 2 other girls and we were assigned with cutting up the vegetables. Once that was done we joined other groups to help with their tasks: Yolanda get myself and two others to cook up the meat on the mini grill; I don't think I have ever had so much fun cooking!! Once we had completed our tasks, Yolanda kicked us out of the kitchen so that she could do the finishing touches.

By finishing touches I mean actually making the meal come together haha. She had brought in a bartender to show us how to mix drinks so that kept the rest of us busy while she worked.

Before we all got too intoxicated, we ran to the market that was going on literally right outside of her house; I was able to find some really neat souvenirs!

Putting the souvenirs away, we got back to mixing drinks ... okay, I don't really mean mixing drinks, I mean drinking the drinks he was making. The girls in our group were sitting and chitchatting, and I washed up some of the cups that were overflowing in the sink. The boys, of course, were crowded around the bartender taking shots. Somehow I got coaxed into the boys group and ended up taking numerous shots with them. Thank goodness it was time for dinner because I was beginning to feel rather tipsy on such an empty stomach.

The food was to die for, and admittedly I didn't even recognize the food! It looked 10000X different when we were making it (aka doing the prep work) than when it came out on the plate. Either way, it was so gooooooood. The food kept flowing as well as the conversation. No dinner is complete without lots of laughs, and conversation! It truly felt like a family dinner. It felt like home. After having some fruit as dessert the conversation kept going, and that is when Yolanda's nephew came in and swept us away to the bar that he owned. He had opened it specially for us -the bars were closed until monday because elections were going on and alcohol was prohibited to be sold during the election time. However, since we were not Mexican citizens and were not going to be voting, he made an exception! He even hired a mariachi band!

Once we got to the bar the shots came out. Let me tell you this, shot glasses in Canada/USA are not made to the same caliber as the shot glasses that were used in this bar. These shot glasses were small cups. I should have known right then and there that it was not going to end well for anyone, myself in particular.

the shots kept coming, and the dancing began. It was soon after that I knew I had to go home. Luckily I have great friends, so I walked -with the help of my friends -back to the hotel. Once back at the hotel, to save the readers (aka my fam jam), I went to sleep...

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