How much for the beard?

Mom update, weekend in Cuernavaca

I was in Cuernavaca. A city that is rich in cultural history and known for it's climate which is a seasonable 72 Fahrenheit year round. It also has Hernan Cortes first castle and was a vacation destination for former Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Sadly, however, I didn't get to see any historical sites. I have really been a terrible tourist since coming to Mexico because I haven't seen any cultural sites except those that are right outside of my house. Hopefully this will soon change. But this trip to Cuernavaca with co-workers and was meant to be more of a bonding experience. While I didn't see Cortes' castle or anything cool like that, I did have a relaxing time in this compound.And to show you a little of what I ate, here are some more photos.

One of my favorites: grilled steak with an avocado slice
A snack, I'm not sure what these seeds were called but they tasted like bitter earth. I had about 3 pods worth.
We stopped at a fruit stand and I bought this mini avocado with paper thin skin that is meant to be ate whole. What made it even better, the price tag about 15 cents.
The calories I received from this are innumerable.
Definitely not my favorite michalada, this is actually a beer garnished with pineapple, a watermelon paste sprinkled with chili powder salt, and lime-juice. Usually, michalada's are much better because they are simpler - only containing some lime-juice and beer poured in a sea-salt rimmed mug.
Grilled cactus topped with provolone - and pretty good.Stomach of cow soup. Had one bite. One bite too many.

Third world street children

I wanted to post something a couple weeks back about a proposed bill that is going through Mexico's congress to "ban" street children. I don't think the word "ban" is exactly right, the way I read it is Mexico wants to get more kids of the street by making it a fine if a public official sees a child (under 14) working on the street and does not take that kid to social services.

Not to get too much into the article, but the other point that is made is that kids work on the street - doing a myriad of things from washing windshields to selling almost anything - for money that supplements family income. I'm not one to judge because living can be pretty tough, especially when you live in a country so poor. But I have seen this in every country that I have visited: Afghanistan, Colombia, Ecuador, and now Mexico. To me, however, money earned from street labor is often obtained in an exploitative way. Especially from kids in some countries.

Yes, in Mexico it does seem like many of the kids are co-located with a parent who is doing something similar to make money or the parents are at least close by. But even then I get the impression that these kids are taken out of school at times to make money that isn't really necessary or could be made if the parent worked harder or made better choices.

With that, the worst forms of child street labor that I have seen were in Ecuador, Colombia, and Afghanistan. In all of these countries, it seemed more apparent that the kids weren't working to supplement a family income. I have strong inclinations that these kids were selling goods for someone who in turn paid them little money or perhaps just gave them a place to sleep (akin to what happens in Slumdog Millionaire). For instance, a kid would come up with a tray full of everything from cigarettes to gum to magazines and he/she would be making plenty of money. But, when I offered one of these kids some food they acted like they hadn't eaten in weeks. Even though there was food on their tray.

Anyways, this is a little rant. But it is just something that I think is pretty endemic to most developing countries and often times represents serious exploitation.

And it kind of goes along with the picture - which is a cool circus stunt, but at the top is some little kid balancing on the shoulders of two relatives while skirting traffic on one of the busiest streets in Mexico City.

Ezequiel history lessons, part II: The truth about which tortilla to take if you are a real Mexican.

Earlier I learned about the root of the word "gringo" from a very wise co-worker. Now, this same co-worker has explained to me the cultural dynamics of the tortilla grab. Here's a story to illustrate:

A while back, many Salvadoreans wanted to enter Mexico and become Mexican citizens. Many were denied entry and couldn't enter the country illegally through the border. Some of these Salvadoreans came up with a plan. They would forge Mexican passports and go to the embassy to claim that they were really Mexicans stuck in El Salvador and wanted to return home.

Well, Mexico's ambassador at the time wasn't fooled. And in his suspicion he conjured up a test that would prove which one of these "Mexicans" was truly Mexican, and which ones were impostors. His test involved tortillas.

This ambassador invited all of these individuals who claimed Mexican citizenship to dinner. At the dinner table, the ambassador sought to prove their true identity by offering them a tortilla from the little tortilla keeper thing. As any true Mexican would know, when offered a tortilla from this little keeper thing, it is best not to take the top tortilla, but instead pass it up for one of the warmer ones in the middle. So, as this ambassador began passing around the little tortilla keeper he noticed which individuals took from the top and which ones (very Mexican-like) went for the ones in the middle. Thus, he determined that the individuals who were claiming to be Mexican citizens were really impostors when they took the top tortilla.

The moral of the story... to know when you are eating with a real Mexican, pay attention to what tortilla he/she takes from the little tortilla keeper.

Lunch for the day MXN $38

Because I bought a camera during the weekend, I now have to save money. To do so, I will not pay more than USD $3 (or basically MXN $38 pesos) for lunch any day over the next two weeks. If this works well than I will continue the plan. But for now let's consider this a trial.

Here is what I ate today:
Sopa de Alubias (White bean soup w/sausage)Arroz Rojo con huevo soleado arriba (Red rice with fried egg sunny side up)
Enchillada de Rellenas con verdura y Gualillo (I thought there was going to be some meat and cheese in these enchilladas but instead they were filled with carrots and green peas - not too bad nonetheless. But next time I'm getting something else)
Pudin de Banano (Banana pudding)
Total cost: MXN $38 + $7 for tip = about USD $3.50 --> And the mango juice was free. And awesome.

DEA investigates futbol teams for money laundering and more

According to this article by today's El Universal, the DEA is investigating whether several drug cartels have used futbol leagues and teams to launder money, or coerce players/owners/umpires through extortion and bribery.

Quite appropriate

After I finished the FSOT today, I stepped out of the US embassy and onto Playa la Reforma to see that Mexico City was having an international culture event. I did some walking around, and there were kiosk's from probably 20 different countries. The largest kiosk award went to the Islamic Republic of Iran though, as it was about 4x bigger than any other. It actually took up about a half a city block. (Hola Khomeini =>)

All of this prompted me to buy a camera, which I did (and now I need to do some penny pinching). But, it was worth it because now I can take pictures and post them. So here's my first few.