Blog a la Pibil

May Day

2006-05-03T00:42:00.000-05:00

H&S closed down on May 1 and most of us attorneys took to the streets of downtown LA as legal observers. The police were nowhere to be seen, a stark contrast from the student march in downtown LA two weeks ago, when the streets were filled with cops in riot gear. The most traumatic part of the day was when I accidentally looked down in the port-o-potty. Don't. Look. Down. Otherwise, the streets were filled with very pleasant people chanting "Si se puede" and pushing strollers.

2006-05-03T00:41:00.000-05:00

South Central Farmers, keeping it real. Yes, that is a giant tomato.

2006-05-03T00:40:00.000-05:00

Hoy, marchamos! Manana, luchamos!

2006-05-03T00:39:00.000-05:00

"I am observing your hat." "I am observing YOUR hat."

2006-05-03T00:37:00.000-05:00

My favorite marcher. And there were a lot to choose from.

2006-05-03T00:36:00.000-05:00

Scary clowns at May Day marcha.

bambam!

2005-12-28T19:00:00.000-06:00

bambam!
Originally uploaded by Lotuscake.

I have decided that it's OK to blog even though I'm not traveling in Mexico anymore. I thought that I would kick off the US version of "a la pibil" with an exciting photo taken at the birthday/paintball extravaganza of my friend Peter (photo, right). I am totally taking him out in this photo. The paintball place we went to was in Simi Valley, and was overrun with 10-year olds toting automatic weapons, as opposed to our crappy old semiautomatics. In the group game of capture the flag, the 10-year olds referred to us as "rentals." I ended the day with two welts and a head full of blue paint.

2005-08-10T10:41:00.000-05:00

Lupita takes photo of me and Pepe and friends at Bariachi.

2005-08-10T10:38:00.000-05:00

Last photo in Guadalajara. We will miss the pigskins. (foreground)

Back in the USA

2005-07-31T22:43:00.000-05:00

Unbelievable. After two months abroad, I am now in Chicago visiting family and a new baby and my extremely pregnant sister, and Lupita is back in Los Angeles for a wedding and the start of work. Some may say a week apart for a co-dependent couple after 2 solid months is a good idea. But I can already tell you this. Your life is different when you're taking time off to travel in a foreign country, and immeasurably better for it. My only regret is that we didn't have more time abroad together.

Most of the friends I have would say worklife in the United States, Mexico and Europe is all consuming. And one week or two weeks of vacation is not enough time for you to not just rest, but also to begin to remember all the talents and attributes that make you a whole person. Or to eat enough tacos de lengua. So many of the other expatriates that we met on the road were taking long periods of time off, from two months to a year, to escape lives that had become overly focused on making money for themselves and their companies, or advancing their careers. The lessons are obvious, I hope, from our blog.

As last blog act, as soon as I get back to LA, I'm going to post a final phot of Jose (Pepe), who made everything possible for our first month in Guadalajara, and who knows something about taking a risk on a foreign country (in his case, Germany).

Neither rain, mud, nor motion sickness.....

2005-07-23T19:48:00.000-05:00

My sister Rachel and our friend Ben have joined us here in San Cristobal de las Casas for the last week of our trip. Yesterday, we went on a mountain bike ride in the hills surrounding San Cristobal. The guide book promised gentle hills. It lied. As we climbed higher and higher into the mountains, I finally surrendered and had to walk my bike. I blamed the altitude and lack of caffeine, but I suspect that my lavish Mexican lifestyle (and unchecked queso consumption) may have something to do with it. Our guide was unforgiving and he kept telling me to quit the cigarettes. It was well vale la pena. We rode on a path through tiny pueblitos and vast farmland. We stopped at a small pink church in the middle of a wide expanse of green, and climbed the tiny towers and peeked through a hole in the door to see a candle flickering inside. There was one part of the trail that was really hard and slippery, and after I watched both Josue and Benito tumble off their bikes, I decided to try it. As one might have predicted, I, too, took a dive, much more dramatically so than my predecessors, and emerged covered in mud. Que divertido! Our guide took us to a spot that has a giant natural arch with a small waterfall flowing through it. Even though I was dirty as hell, and smelled a little worse for wear, it was a happy moment for all. Los Penguinos is the name of the bike place.

Today, we went to some ruins at Tonina. The drive there and back was treacherous, as we wound through beautiful hills covered with pine trees and, in the morning, clouds. The climate changed dramatically from cool mountain highland to steamy jungle lowland. Tonina is a seven tier fortress built into the side of a steep hill. We hauled ourselves up to the top and took stupid amounts of pictures. It's now raining and chilly back here in San Cristobal, and we're going to warm ourselves up with fondue and wine at a hotel restaurant.

Into the Misty Mountains

2005-07-17T20:29:00.000-05:00

Last night, we said goodbye to Oaxaca and took an overnight bus to San Cristobal de las Casas, an unbelievably beautiful small city in the southernmost state of Chiapas. The 12 hour ride through the mountains was treacherous, but well worth the pain when we woke to a pink sunrise peeking through clouds hanging over the mountains.

In what could be considered very good or very bad timing, we left Oaxaca right before Guelaguetza, the biggest fiesta of the year in Oaxaca. The festivities were kicking into high gear yesterday - just before we left, we watched a parade of all the different pueblos near Oaxaca City. Each delegation had its own distinctive colorful costumes and marching bands, and I may have taken over 200 pictures. Most impressive were the women in traditional costumes balancing heavy baskets of fruit and flowers on their heads, all the while doing intricate dances. Right before we headed for the bus station, we hit the mezcal fair in the El Llano park. For the uninitiated, mezcal is a very strong alcoholic drink made from the maguey plant, and is the lesser-known cousin of tequila. To me, both tequila and mezcal are entirely undrinkable, but, for reasons that still have not been explained, Josue couldn't resist buying a bottle. For the weak (i.e., me), the shot of mezcal may be accompanied by a slice of lime and either grasshopper salt or gusano (worm) salt.

Truth be told, we were glad to escape Oaxaca, which is much busier, dirtier, and overall less enjoyable than we had been led to believe it would be. Arriving in San Cristobal was literally a breath of fresh air. This morning after showering off the bus grime, we took a taxi to San Juan Chamula, a small pueblo outside of San Cristobal. Many of the people who live in this part of Mexico speak a native language in addition to, or instead of, speaking Spanish. This only adds to the feeling that we have entered another world here.

The most interesting part of our excursion to San Juan Chamula was our trip to the church in the center of town, right next to a sprawling market. Photography is not permitted in or near the church, and, for the first time, we had to pay to see a church. As we learned from our trusty Lonely Planet guide (thank you Sylvia!!), in a seemingly blasphemous move, the worshipers at this church revere John the Baptist more than Christ. Nothing in Lonely Planet prepared us for the spectacle inside the church. The floor is covered with hundreds, if not thousands, of glittering candles, stuck to the floor by their own wax, or encases in multicolored glass vessels. In the aisles between the candles are mounds of pine needles, which the worshipers use as pillows on which to sit and chant. The scent of candles and pine needles mingles with incense, which is burned at various stations around the church. Both Josue and I got the feeling that this was definitely Catholicism-plus. It was, by far, the most amazing thing I have seen in Mexico yet.

After San Juan Chamula, while Josue scoped out language schools, I went to the local market and bought giant yellow squash blossoms, onions, quesillo (string cheese), garlic, poblano chiles and fresh tortillas (about 6 for 1 peso, which is less than a penny). We then christened our new kitchen by making delicious squash blossom quesadillas. Bienvenidos a San Cristobal, indeed.

We are very much looking forward to the arrival of our compadre Ben Adair, who will shortly be shlepping from Los Angles to Chiapas.

Fun in Oaxaca

2005-07-12T18:26:00.000-05:00

It has started to dawn on me that we only have 2.5 weeks left in Mexico. This is a very depressing thought, which I will not belabor. Oaxaca is a small city in the south of Mexico, and Oaxaca is also the name of the state, one of the poorest in Mexico (behind Chiapas, which we are visiting next). The real reason to come to Oaxaca, it seems to me, is to take day trips to the surrounding little pueblos and tourist sites. Oaxaca is surrounded by towering mountains, and the valley just outside of the city is lush and verdant. We visited two ruins this past weekend - Monte Alban and Mitla, the former being one of the most impressive ruins that exists in the world. It is truly awe-inspiring to walk through an ancient city and witness what people were able to do years before handy inventions like plastic and elevators. Monte Alban is a fairly well-preserved (and restored) ruins, complete with an observatory the inhabitants used to predict cycles for agricultural purposes as well as temples where various things were sacrificed. The most interesting aspect of Monte Alban is the presence of a ball field, where a ball game of sorts was played. Archeologists don't know the purpose of the ball game, el juego de pelota, but the ball game was played by many different ancient cultures, not just in Oaxaca.

I am excited for the incipient arrival of my sister Rachel and her boyfriend Alex, who is equally as tall as Josue! I am also excited because Rachel has promised to bring me a book in English (they are hard to come by in the south) and a big bottle of Advil (to which I confess a small addiction, and which is equally hard to come by in the south). The biggest fiesta in Oaxaca, Guelaguetza, is about to begin, and the city is packed with tourists. Unfortunately, the zocolo still is under construction, so Oaxaca is not as pretty as it could be. (According to my conversation partner, the residents of Oaxaca are pretty angry at the government for spending money on the zocolo when things like education are going ignored).

Happy Bday Tres / Bday number 30

2005-07-07T20:05:00.000-05:00

We are now celebrating the third bday this week (lupita, the nation, etc), turning 30 in oaxaca is a good thing to do i have decided. this afternoon we went to a huge market outside of oaxaca with the school and i had bizarre flavored icecream (cactus fruit and "burnt milk" flavor, I cannot recommend the burnt milk but the cactus fruit, called "tuna", rocks) and then Lupita gave me a Chivas soccer ball which means that I am the happiest boy on earth. also ate some cake during our descanso between classes. celebrated with candles and everybody there, not hard to do when the school is approx 20 people. one of the teachers tried to smash my face into the cake as I was taking a bite, very exciting and a very common birthday antic in latin america. fortunately the teacher, appropriately nicknamed "ita" (her full name is huge and long and indigenously difficult to pronounce) is only about 5 ft tall and so mostly it was a birthday smack on the back of head. Ah almost forgot also ate more grasshoppers at the mercado, these were not mushed and instead doused with lemon and lightly pan fried. much more exciting. very sad not to show pictures, per usual. tonight we are going out somewhere fun, Lupita has promised another suprise. I am hoping for something spicy. My chile addiction has grown dramatically in Mexico.

Also - happy Birthday to my cuate NICOLAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! who right now is cooking lamb for himself, baby eric and rest of family. wish I was there or you were here. Lots of Love. the Bruther in Oaxaca.

Cantando en la lluvia

2005-07-06T19:24:00.000-05:00

We have installed ourselves in an apartment in Oaxaca south of the zocolo. We started Spanish classes again this past Monday at a great school called Espanol Interactivo. My class has four students, and I am now able to talk about things I am doing, have done, did, was doing, had done, am doing right now, and am going to do in the future. One does not realize how many different verb tenses there are until one studies a foreign language in earnest.

The school offers cooking classes and dance classes, and Josue and I have taken advantage of both. We are going to try out our new salsa skills this evening at a salsa joint called "La Candela." Two days ago, we made a mole coloradito and quesadillas with Oaxacan cheese and calabazas (squash blossoms). We learned how to make tortillas from scratch, which will enable me to use my wooden tortilla press back home which, until now, has lain dormant.

Oaxaca has been a little more difficult to get used to than Guadalajara. It has rained every day since we got here, which hampers sight seeing and generally going outside of the apartment (the rain is a great boon to my Spanish, as it requires me to make myself useful indoors). What's more, the zocolo is under construction and completely inaccessible. This is a bit of a bummer. Hopefully, the rain will pass, and give us an opportunity to explore the city a bit more.

Oh, and I can't forget to tell you about my birthday. The first highlight was eating chapulines (grasshoppers), one of the culinary prizes of Oaxaca. They were tasty, mashed up in a paste with butter and something that tasted like curry powder. I wouldn't have known I was eating grasshoppers but for the little legs that were sticking out of the paste. Yum. The second highlight was, in the middle of dinner, the fantastic if not entirely dangerous fireworks display that happened to take place right outside of the restaurant. At the end of the show, a ring of fireworks atop a tower of fireworks suddenly shot high into the air like a rocket (for reasons I cannot explain, the ring read SANGRE DE CRISTO, or Blood of Christ). It landed, still on fire, about ten feet away from my head. All in all, a very happy birthday. Josue's birthday is tomorrow and I hope we will be able to find more peligroso events to tell you about.

Lucha Libre

2005-07-03T19:36:00.000-05:00

(happy birthday Lupita!!!!!) Also have to blog about Friday night's Lucha Libre at Arena Mexico, a classic old stadium in Mexico City. Lucha is mexican pro wrestling with acrobatics and lots of wrestlers in masks - which means there were tons of families with dads and little kids running around with masks. Very cute. There were male and female wrestlers beating the tar out of each other. Lucha libre is equal opportunity. (happy birthday Lupita!!!) We went in a group of gringos, which was okay even though we didn't know most of the background stories of the fighters. We just screamed when everyone else did. There's more swearing at Lucha events than any other sports event in Mexico. Also, the women wrestlers were by far the most fun. (happy birthday Lupita!!!) The current champ Lady Apache put a righteous smackdown on Dark Angel. I will now always regret not buying a Lady Apache Tshirt after the fight. Other favorite male wrestlers of the night were Maximo (dressed up like Caesar), Dr. Wagner (evil, masked, and hilarious to listen to a crowd of non English speakers screaming Dr. Wagner) , and Destino (most spectacular jumps) . Also happy birthday Lupita!!!!

¡Feliz Cumpleanos a Mi!

2005-07-03T19:22:00.000-05:00

Today, as I celebrated my 29th year on this planet, we took a bus from Puebla to Oaxaca. We were only in Puebla overnight, but it was enough to understand why Puebla is one of the culinary centers of Mexico. After eating albondigas and mole verde for a practice birthday dinner (the real one is tonight), we walked through the zocolo, which was lit up with green lights and crowded with families and balloon vendors. A churreria on the corner caught our eye - an old man with thick glasses cut churros with scissors and rolled them in sugar and cinnamon. We were stuffed from dinner, so we bought only two. This churro tasted like a piece of cloud had floated down from the sky and been deep fried. The outside was crunchy and sweet; the inside was creamy and doughy. It was with not a little regret that we left Puebla this morning before the churreria opened for business.

We arrived in Oaxaca about two hours ago, and we have already managed to walk through two markets and sample hot chocolate, one of the many food items for which Oaxaca is famous. Oh, and Josue was also plied with several samples of mezcal, a strong drink resembling tequila. Oaxaca is a small city high up in the mountains. The bus ride took us up windy mountain roads, which were slick from a continuous drizzle. The sun burst through the clouds about five minutes ago - a fitting prelude to my real birthday dinner. We start Spanish classes again tomorrow. Hopefully, I will test into the intermediate level - I studied verb conjugations in the train station this morning as part of my desperate attempt to scramble out of beginner Spanish. I'll keep you posted.

Welcome to the Zoo

2005-07-01T13:18:00.000-05:00

Mexico City is totally nutso. We got here two days ago, and have used all of our strength to stay safe, sane and, less successfully, clean. We are staying in Hostal Moneda, a hostel right off the zocolo (main square). The zocolo is crammed with people selling things, Aztec dancers, political speechmakers and food. Yesterday, we went to Coyocan, the neighborhood where Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lived, as well as Leon Trosky. The ¨Blue House,¨in which Kahlo and Rivera lived together, is a neat museum containing some Kahlo paintings and a lot of their household possessions, like bowls, big wooden utensils, all artfully arranged. We also went to Trotsky's house, where he was assassinated. The house looks like a fortress, and the museum was disappointing because it didn't say anything about who Trosky was as a person or what his accomplishments or beliefs were. This morning, we went to the Presidential Palace, which is covered on the inside with Diego Rivera's murals, much of which pays homage to Karl Marx and various communist themes. Can you imagine communist murals inside the White House? The murals are stunning and beautiful and we could have looked at them for hours. But we didn't. We went to the Templo Mayor, the Aztec ruins in the middle of Mexico City, right next to the zocolo. Lots of rocks. Really old rocks. We are now headed to the Anthropologocal Museum. Tonight, we are going to the Lucha Libre, whic is Mexico's equivalent of WWF. Awesome.

San Miguel de Allende

2005-06-29T11:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we took the bus from Guanajuato to San Miguel de Allende, a small colonial city that is infested with Americans, both young and old. San Miguel is like a big dessert tray - everywhere you look, there's a beautiful pink fluffy building. San Miguel is tiny, yet it has five or six giant churches, each one a homage to San Miguel's numerous patron saints. Last night, we took advantage of the ¨dos por uno¨special at Char Rock, a bar overlooking the main plaza, from which you can see two of the aforementioned churches. With John Lennon and Tom Petty blaring in the background, we sipped Sol, an inferior, but cheap, Mexican beer, while the sun slipped behind La Parroquia, the biggest, pinkest, fluffiest church in town.

While San Miguel is pleasant, it's just embarrassing to see so many Americans all in one place. So, in a couple hours, we're moving on to Mexico City, the Distrito Federal of Mexico (or "D.F." pronounced "day-eff-ay¨). Enough dessert - time for the guiso (stew).

Las Momias

2005-06-27T15:36:00.000-05:00

Must also mention the dried people you get to gawk at in Guanajuato. The ground here dries up people into mummies, which combined with required eternal payments to the cemetery means that the dead people museum has lots of talent to work with. Among the highlights were the smallest mummy in the world, dried pregnant women, and lots of other people who didn’t realize their value in the afterlife. Very creepy, but really fun. I am very sad to not be posting a photo of myself and Lupita gabbing with the stiffs. Next we are off to see El Pipila, the dude who put a rock on his back before running into the below mentioned grainery. (too bad there’s no dried out Pipila!!) There is a great view of the city from his towering statue, as well as a bar! Lupita and I will be doing this cultural activity then settling into the evening with some Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Note to future Guanajuato visitors – museums closed on Mondays…

Blogging On the Road

2005-06-27T15:15:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we took the bus from Guadalajara to Guanajuato. A word about buses in Mexico: they are fabulous. The seats are plush, they recline, and they have foot rests. Even giant men like Josue are relatively comfortable in a Mexican bus. As you get on the bus, an attendant hands you a little sandwich and drink. The bathrooms on the bus aren´t disgusting.

Enough about the bus. Guanajuato is a cute, European-ish city, complete with beautiful, if crumbling, architectural triumphs, and windy, narrow cobblestone streets. The city is very hilly, and reminds me of Silverlake, our neighborhood in Los Angeles. The buildings are painted bright blues, pinks and yellows, and the views from the hilltops are stunning. Today, we visited La Alhondiga, a grainery that was successfully invaded by the Mexicans in one of the first battles for independence against the Spanish. Unfortunately, the Spanish re-took the grainery shortly thereafter, and hung the heads of four leading Mexican revolutionaries from each corner of the building. Josue wanted to see La Alhondiga primarily to gawk at the hooks where the heads were hung.

2005-06-26T01:28:00.000-05:00

We ate these too. They are snails. Mmm. Snails.

Gay Pride Sendoff

2005-06-26T01:26:00.000-05:00

The gay pride parade organizers had a tiff in Guadalajara and the messy divorce between liquor and bar sponsors resulted in two weekends with parades. We caught the second one. Fun, but the crowd was reduced, subdued and no one clapped and hollered except Lupita and me. There’s been 7 years of pride parades inGDL, but being gay is still an open secret.

The day ended with fondue at a Swiss restaurant. J&L are suckers for cheese and wine.

2005-06-26T01:25:00.001-05:00

Words fail.

2005-06-26T01:25:00.000-05:00

An international brand.

2005-06-26T01:24:00.000-05:00

Josue will bring pirate gear for next parade.

2005-06-26T01:23:00.000-05:00

This angel eats lots of tacos too.

2005-06-25T12:52:00.000-05:00

Today is our last day in Guadalajara. Tomorrow, we begin our journey to Oaxaca, in the south of Mexico, where we will stay for two weeks. We are getting to Oaxaca via Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico City and Puebla, in that order. After Oaxaca, we will travel to San Cristobal de las Casas, a colonial city in the southern state of Chiapas, right next to Guatemala. I don't know whether we'll be able to post pictures, but, assuming we can scrounge up a computer, the blogging will continue.

Of the cities we are hitting in the next week, I'm currently most excited about Puebla, which is the birthplace of mole ("mo-lay"). According to the Lonely Planet's "World Food: Mexico," mole is a "chile-based sauce . . . made using a variety of chiles, herbs, spices and chocolate." Mole is typically served in the form of a thick turkey or chicken stew. Moles vary widely from one another - some are green, some are red, some are brown - and recipes vary from city to city, and from family to family. Some mole recipes involve 20 ingredients, others involved 100 (e.g. cloves, cinnamon, pepper, cilantro, sesame seeds, chocolate, etc.).

In addition to mole, Puebla is also famous for chiles en nogada, in which green chiles poblana are stuffed with a stew of beef and fruits and "topped with nogada, a white almond-chestnut cream sauce and adorned with red semillas de granada (pomegranate seeds)."

We will, of course, keep you updated on everything we eat. Oh, and if we happen to go to some museums, we'll tell you about those as well.

Adios Guadalajara!

2005-06-25T12:25:00.000-05:00

Before we leave Guadalajara, Josue manages to get in six final tongue tacos at Tacos Don Luis.

2005-06-25T12:24:00.000-05:00

One of many taco stands on Chapultepec doing a mean business on Friday night. This one serves a chorizo taco that makes me want to weep.

Look, Ma!

2005-06-24T10:56:00.000-05:00

This blog entry is dedicated to my mother, who no doubt is wondering whether I am eating anything green. This may be obvious, but Mexican food is not healthy. It's heavy on meat and grease, and light on vegetables. This is why Mexican food is perfect for gluttons like us. It is also why we joined a gym immediately after our first outrageous meal of tongue tacos. Pictured here is a bowl of brocolli and two bowls of pasta - proof that we do, at least sometimes, take a break from the high life. -LT

Salsa!!!!

2005-06-24T02:33:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow Lupita and I have our final exam, which is why this 2:30am blog will be cathartic. While we are happy to admit to studying, we also should acknowledge salsaing at a downtown club called La Mutualista with Ralph near a woman with a really big shaved head. I would also like to reaffirm the staying power of Tequila and Squirt.

Also, Lupita is a great salsa dancer.

Birria redux

2005-06-22T18:57:00.000-05:00

Nueve Esquinas ("Nine Corners") is a neighborhood in the center of Guadalajara dedicated - apparently excusively - to birria. For those of you who have tuned in recently, birria is a soupy stew, typically made with goat, which Tapatios (i.e., Guadalajarans) take very, very seriously. Nueve Esqinas is crammed with birrierias, all of which are full come lunchtime. By dinnertime, the neighborhood, which resembles the set of a wild west movie, is more or less deserted, giving it the feel of a ghost town.

2005-06-22T18:48:00.000-05:00

As you can see, I've finally learned how to use the "sepia" function on my digital camera. Notice the stained glass window featuring the head of a goat. When I looked at this window, I I felt as if the goat was challenging me to a duel of some kind. Naturally, I accepted.

2005-06-22T18:45:00.000-05:00

Our birrieria of choice in Nueve Esquinas.

2005-06-22T18:44:00.000-05:00

Isn't this the handsomest bowl of birria you've ever seen? Also pictured (from left to right): salsa roja, pickled carrots and garlic, horchata (rice drink) and Josue's greedy little hands clutching tortillas for dunking in birria.

2005-06-22T18:41:00.000-05:00

Just as the waiter served our birria, a double rainbow appeared in the sky. No kidding, the end of the rainbow landed right in my bowl.

2005-06-22T18:38:00.000-05:00

El Centro is beautiful at night, especially if one is wandering about on a stomach full of birria.

2005-06-22T18:37:00.000-05:00

After dinner, we headed to La Rinconada for tequila. Here's Kris and Gabby, 18 and in love, trying hard to suppress their gag reflexes while sipping Herradura Reposado. Isn't it fun to have recurring characters? What will they do next?

2005-06-22T18:36:00.000-05:00

Finally sated with birria, habanero and tequila, Josue - in somewhat of a delirium - attempts to navigate his way home from El Centro. Will he make it? Stay tuned......

2005-06-21T23:18:00.000-05:00

Lupita does some performance art, sans camera.

Habanero

2005-06-21T23:04:00.000-05:00

So tonight we went back for more birria but to a new location - Nueve Esquinas, just south of the big Cathedral in the historic centro. The birria there is way better than Mercado Libertad. No bones in the goat stew. We accidentally tried a habanero chile in a pickled onion dish on the side. Our waiter, whose night we made as we were gasping for air, recommended that we wait to eat the habanero until borracho. Lupita and I only had a couple small slices, but I think the habanero is beyond the range of enjoyable chiles.

After birria we tried some tequilas at La Rinconada near Plaza Tapatia. For some reason the downtown seems most Mexican at night, when the traffic is manageable and there are couples and families on the benches or getting ice cream. Mas tranquilo, etc. Very pretty, as well.

2005-06-21T23:03:00.001-05:00

This happens too.

2005-06-21T23:03:00.000-05:00

This is what happens to your face after eating a habanero chile.

2005-06-20T22:30:00.000-05:00

Tonight we made a trip to a hole in the wall for pozole, a soup that is the specialty of Jalisco state (of which Guadalajara is the capital). Pozole is typically white and has kernels of hominy, chicken, chickpeas, shredded cabbage and radish. As you can see from the picture, our pozole was red, most likely due to the addition of red chiles. Another somewhat surprising addition to our pozole was pig knuckles. Lots of 'em. The next time the chef asks me, "Con carne?," I'll be sure to ask what kind.

Tuetano = heaven

2005-06-19T19:58:00.000-05:00

Last night, Josh's friend Miguel, a native Guadalajaran, took us to El Frances, known thoughout the land for its delicious tuetano, or bone marrow. Jewish cuisine and Mexican cuisine intersect in their love of both tongue and bone marrow - when I was little, my mom cooked bone marrow and we ate it spread it on bread. Here, I ate it spread on warm tortillas, and it was as delicious as I remembered it from my childhood. -LT

2005-06-19T19:56:00.000-05:00

A Flinstones moment. Lupita with empty tuetano bones.

2005-06-19T19:55:00.000-05:00

"Are you going to eat all that tuetano?" "Why, yes I am."

2005-06-19T19:54:00.000-05:00

Tuetano with carne asada.

Shopping in Tonala and Tlaquepaque

2005-06-19T19:38:00.001-05:00

Today, we went to Tonala and Tlaquepaque, two suburbs of Guadalajara famous for their great shopping. We started at Tonala, by far the cheaper (and less affluent) of the two. Every Sunday, the stores put their goods out on the street and there's a giant street sale. Everything can be found in Tonala - jewelry, ceramics, earthenware, huaraches (sandals), glassware, fake flowers, baskets, cloth. We wanted to visit the factories which dominate Tonala, but most were closed because it was Sunday. After Tonala, we went to Tlaquepaque, to Calz. Indepencia, a pedestrian walkway with dozens of upscale artesian shops. We looked but didn't touch.

2005-06-19T19:38:00.000-05:00

Empanada vendor in Tlaquepaque. Amazingly, we resisted.

2005-06-19T19:35:00.000-05:00

People in Tlaquepaque are really into giant pretty doors. Here's an example.

2005-06-19T19:34:00.000-05:00

Lots of shops with expensive Christ-related tchochkes. We didn't buy any although we were tempted by a rendition of the Last Supper hewn entirely out of leather and some Pope John Paul paraphernalia.

2005-06-19T19:30:00.000-05:00

After Tonala, we hit Tlaquepaque, an upscale Guadalajaran suburb where the rich people shop (i.e., not us). Pictured here is a scultpure made out of a TV. We wanted it. Other things we wanted included: a metal sculpture of a giant fish on skis, and giant wicker animals that you can store stuff in.

2005-06-19T19:23:00.000-05:00

Literally everything is for sale in Tonala, including little chickies of every color - here, Lupita converses with some yellow, purple and pink chickies while creepy giant Tweetie Birds loom in the background.

2005-06-19T19:21:00.000-05:00

Shopping in Tonala made us hungry, so we stopped at a stand for burritos and enchiladas. Pictured here is the friendly chef, tending to a row of tortas borrachas ("drunken sandwiches"), which she kept squirting with a mysterious white substance - probably lard. Also pictured in the metal basin is salsa made with nopales (cactus). Yum.

2005-06-18T01:28:00.000-05:00

Cafe Lulia on a Friday night is a scene of Guadalajara hipsters and the usual suspects playing chess until the wee hours. Here, we sample micheladas - a curious, if not untasty, mixture of beer, Worcestershire sauce (aka "salsa ingles"), salt, lemon juice, and sumpin' spicy. It's like a bloodless Bloody Mary. Thereafter ensued an intense debate whether Bohemia (pictured, left) is a better beer than Negro Modelo (not pictured). All agreed that field tests are the only way to settle the debate. Results forthcoming.

With Every Wish There Comes A Curse

2005-06-18T01:03:00.000-05:00

Back when I was in nivel uno (level one), I sometimes wished the the enfermeras would go back to Texas because they didn't know what a sustantivo (noun) was. Well, my wish has come true - the nurses went home, and I am now the only student in nivel tres. This has its advantages - I get five hours of private tutoring per day for the price of a regular class. But it also has its disadvantages - I always have to do my tarea (homework) and I always have to be on time. And awake. This week, I learned the past tense, the imperfect, the imperative, direct object pronouns, and more irregular verb conjugations than you can possibly imagine. Whether any of this will actually stick inside my poor little brain is yet to be seen.

Some highlights of the week: On Wednesday morning, my companera de conversacion took me to her favorite joint for carne asada and frijoles. The meal was delicious, although eating steak and beans first thing in the morning is not, apparently, an optimal arrangement for my stomach. Tonight, we went to see Batman, which was surprisingly above average, followed by tacos at Don Luis, and chess at Cafe Lulia. The tacos I had were: lengua (tongue), pastor (kind of like a gyro), and chorizo (sausage). Hopefully, my dreams tonight will not be la revancha de las vacas. -- LT

2005-06-15T23:34:00.000-05:00

Eric Santiago Atanasio Adams was born 2 days ago!!!! Josue is now TIO JOSUE!!!!! Congrats Nick and Ana!!!!!

Rain Teaser

2005-06-14T22:12:00.000-05:00

Spitting rain today. As we were drying clothes. Heavily polluted agua is not a good addition to clean white undergarments. Temperatures are dropping and we’re waiting with bated breath to take photos of the flash floods in the streets with Lupita’s fearless digital camera.

New classes so far are good. We’re excited they start at 12pm instead of 8am. We won’t miss the involuntary afternoon siestas in the hot box.

There are a ton of new students at CEPE, but somehow Lupita is in a class all by herself. Not surprisingly, she likes the attention. My class has 3 people - one of whom is a truly sheltered nerd from Georgia who just graduated from high school. Today he made this joke in Spanish: “Guys who wear clothes that are in style are gay.” More quotes to follow, with luck.

Also, we’re going to wend our way to Oaxaca a week early. If anybody knows a place to stay and/or a militant language program, please forward.

2005-06-13T22:47:00.000-05:00

Just got back from Punta de Mita, a relatively uninhabited beach that's not in the Lonely Planet guide (yet). We stayed at the lovely Casa Las Palmas (www.casalaspalmas.net) owned by Dave and Irene Forbes, who retired to Punta de Mita from Arizona several years ago. We went with two college kids, Kris and Gabby, and Miguel and Ana, of the Chivas game fame. Spent the weekend surfing, eating, drinking, reading. In that order:

(1) Josh caught his first wave on the long board, which was a proud moment for all involved.

(2) Miguel turns out to be a fantastic cook, and, particularly when wearing sleeveless t-shirts, bears a striking resemblance to Anthony Bourdain. We ate, in no particular order, shrimp in garlic, lentil soup, grilled steaks, peanuts, quesadillas (with Oaxacan cheese), refried beans, tuna, sardines (a bit sandy), sandwich bread, jamon (sliced ham), mayonnaise with lime juice, papaya with lime juice, bananas, more guacamole than you could possibly imagine, and hot sauce.

(3) Pacifico in cans! Que rico! Also, it turns out that tequila, even really bad, cheap tequila, goes really well with Fresca or Squirt, a limey-lemony soda.

(4) I am simultaneously reading a horrible trashy mystery novel (Kill the Messenger, by Tami Hoag, DO NOT buy it unless in a foreign country and your only choices are this book and any Danielle Steel book) and the very serious, disturbing, brilliantly written, The Things They Carried, a collection of Vietnam stories by Tim O'Brien (thanks to my sister, Rachel, for the recommendation). Josue finished, State of the Union: A Century of American Labor, by Nelson Lichtenstein, which he has ranted about fairly non-stop for the past several weeks. Josue has now started, Instrucciones Para Vivir en Mexico, by Jorge Ibarguengoitia.
Tomorrow, we go back to school. Also, I have a date tomorrow morning at the mall with my conversation partner, Libertad. I am excited to tell her all about my trip to the beach, all in the present tense (I swim in the ocean, I eat the shrimp, I walk on the beach - these are all things I can now say in espanol!). Better get some sleep.

2005-06-13T22:02:00.000-05:00

Remember Miguel y Ana from the Chivas game? Here they are with us at Punta de Mita, on the balcony of our apartment at Casa Las Palmas. Miguel returns to his home in Washington, D.C. this week, where he'll just be plain old Michael - we hope he comes back to Guadalajara soon.

2005-06-13T21:54:00.000-05:00

Lupita enters beach nirvana.

2005-06-13T21:52:00.000-05:00

Ours!!!! All ours!!!!!

2005-06-13T21:50:00.000-05:00

Here's Josue with a long board AND a boogie board. We're pleased to announce that Josue caught a wave for the first time this weekend. This notwithstanding, the score at the end of the weekend was Long Board: 12, Josue:1.

2005-06-13T21:45:00.000-05:00

Gabby and Kris, 18 and in love, came with us to the beach. This is Kris squeezing orange juice. He and Gabby just finished their freshman year in college. That's right, folks, college. Before we left for the beach, Kris described his housemates in the international house where he and Gabby are staying. He described one housemate who's 30 - "But, like, a really old 30, not like how you guys are 30." Isn't he adorable? After Kris squeezed out a half pitcher of OJ, Gabby cut his hair on the balcony.

¡Adios nivel uno!

2005-06-10T12:55:00.000-05:00

I just finished my examen for nivel uno (level one). I feel pretty good about the test, and am pretty sure I'll be advancing to the next level. Saying goodbye to my classmates was sad. The nurses are headed back to Texas ("Tay-has" in espanol) after hitting the beach this weekend. Two of my classmates, Dominic and Nadine, are from Australia and are traveling around the Americas for about two years. Obviously, they are excellent planners and budgeters (is that even a word?). They were in Canada for a few months skiing and whatnot before coming to Mexico. After Guadalajara, they are going to Mexico City, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Cancun, then to Belize and Cuba. I forget what comes after that..... In any case, Dom and Nadine are very inspiring. They are in their mid-to-late-twenties, and saved up money for the past five years to do this trip. They gave up their car and apartment in Perth and took off. If they can do it, anyone can, right?

Vamos a la playa!

2005-06-09T21:28:00.000-05:00

The desired beach temperature range this weekend

Heat Blog

2005-06-09T21:21:00.000-05:00

By the way, in case you’re curious why we’re going to the beach (as if a reason were necessary), and mostly for those of you who have expressed a wistfulness for some unpleasantness to befall those who dare to take 2 month vacations, it should be noted that Guadalajara is damn hot - the hottest summer here on record. Our room is about 88 degrees until 1 or 2 am with the fan going full bore (but it’s dry heat!!). The campesinos say the rains should come after the 24th. But my Spanish teacher Isabel just laughs at the sweating white people and says, wait - it’ll get hotter first. Isabel can be forgiven for being an insufferable misanthrope because she had the good fortune to spend a winter in Chicago, where … um… she would complain about the cold in December and people would laugh and say, wait - it’ll get colder. Nice, eh?
Also – since we’ll be on the beach escaping the heat on Sunday - Happy Birthday, Liz. From yer bro.

Examen!

2005-06-09T17:01:00.000-05:00

I've taken a break from blogging this week to try to kick my Spanish into high gear. I'm coming to the end of nivel 1-2, the beginner Spanish course, and my big test is tomorrow. If I pass, I advance to nivel 3-4, which is equivalent to advanced beginner. I now know a huge variety of verbs -- all in the present tense and mostly regular -- and the essential nouns: body parts, family members, food. (I walk around the house saying things like, "Put your foot on my aunt's potatoes!" or "The chicken chats with the mother of my ankle.")

I have a conversation partner, Libertad, and I've met with her three times so far. She's an English student here in Guadalajara, and we spend the first hour speaking Spanish and the second hour speaking English. She knows a little more English than I know Spanish, so our conversations are fairly painful. Thus far, I have learned only the present tense, so most of our conversations are about things that are happening RIGHT NOW. We joke that we are really living in the moment, carpe diem and all that stuff. Hopefully, I'll pass my test tomorrow and advance to nivel 3-4, so I can learn past tense and tell Libertad about some of the things that happened to me before today.

After the exam, Josh and I are going to Punta de Mita, a beach just north of Puerto Vallarta. We are going with two of Josh's classmates and their respective girlfriends. I have no doubt that you will be seeing many pictures of Punta de Mita next Tuesday, when we get back.

The Happiest Place on Earth

2005-06-05T22:45:00.000-05:00

On Sunday afternoon, we hopped on a bus and headed downtown for Mercado Libertad, a four-story market that sells everything from shoes to dried chiles to caged birds. We entered, fortuitously, on a floor that was mostly food stalls. We had our pick of many different kinds of ceviche (raw fish that's "cooked" in lime juice), the omnipresent tortas ahogades, tacos, menudo, and various cauldrons bubbling with unidentified red and brown sauces. We finally settled on birria -- a soupy goat stew that is Guadalajara's big dish (Puebla:mole as Guadalajara:birria). The birria was excellent - the meat was rich without being gamey, and the broth was spicy and well seasoned. After lunch, we perused the fruit and vegetable floor, where vendors sat in high chairs above their wares, peeling onions and gossiping.

2005-06-05T20:36:00.000-05:00

A view from the top. Fruits, vegetables, herbs, dried goods, and many other edibles for sale at the Mercado Libertad. I bought frijoles negros (black beans) and some epazote (a green leafy plant that kind of looks like sage). The beans are simmering on the stove right now.

2005-06-05T20:32:00.000-05:00

The Menuderia "Susana." After having just finished bowls of goat stew, we decided not to brave menudo. Carl Franz defines menudo as "interior odds and ends," which are put into a piece of intestine and cooked. The white stuff piled on the counter in the photo is unidentifiable innards. Poor, poor Susana. Note rubber aprons on the wall.

2005-06-05T20:22:00.000-05:00

Hundreds of caged birds for sale outside the Mercado Libertad. We did not buy one.

2005-06-05T20:19:00.000-05:00

Aguas frescas being sold outside Mercado Libertad.

2005-06-05T20:15:00.000-05:00

Josh smiles after finishing a big bowl of birria at a food stall in Mercado Libertad. Birria is a soupy stew made with goat, and is the pride and joy of Guadalajara. Mmmm! Goat!

Strolling

2005-06-05T13:10:00.001-05:00

Guadalajara is a great walking city, which is a good thing since we don't have a car. On Friday night, we walked around La Zona Rosa, a fancy-ish artsy part of town. Pictures from our stroll are below. Brightly painted awnings and detailed windows are typical features of the houses here. After having tacos, we stumbled on a cafe packed with older Mexican men playing chess. We watched the action for a while, until the men finally harassed Josh into playing a game. With only five minutes on the clock, it didn't take long for Josh's king to fall, but not without an impressive fight.

2005-06-05T13:09:00.000-05:00

Las ventanas.

2005-06-05T13:08:00.000-05:00

Pretty house.

2005-06-05T13:07:00.000-05:00

The Templo Expiatorio at the corner of Lopez Cotilla and Calz. Enrique Diaz de Leon.

2005-06-04T00:33:00.000-05:00

The rabid perro is sitting just behind my shoulder.

Tacos LOV

2005-06-04T00:30:00.000-05:00

Friday night, we wandered around for an hour trying to find the best taco stand in the universe, on Chapultepec near the Zona Rosa. Its real name is Tacos Don Luis, but for some reason I always thought it was called Tacos LOV. (I guess that's why none of the cabbies I asked knew where it was.)

LOV serves plastic covered plates of tacos de lengua. And some other stuff. But eating lengua here is literally the only thing that I made plans to do after arriving.

We decided not to take a photo of the rabid dog that sat 3 feet away drooling as we ate on the curb. - JA

2005-06-03T16:07:00.000-05:00

Miguel y Ana before their doble.

2005-06-03T16:04:00.000-05:00

Lupita enjoys una doble cerveza.

2005-06-03T16:03:00.000-05:00

Gooooooooooooool!!!!!

2005-06-03T16:01:00.001-05:00

La purra.

2005-06-03T16:01:00.000-05:00

Nuestros boletos.

2005-06-03T15:59:00.000-05:00

Ay, ay-ay-ay - Boca, no llores!

Last night, we went to the soccer game between Chivas and Boca Junior. We went with one of Josh�s classmates at CEPE, Miguel, and his girlfriend, Ana. Ana is a tapatio, meaning that she�s from Guadalajara. On the way to the game, she explained that Chivas is one of three teams from Guadalajara, and is the most beloved and well-known in Mexico because only Mexicans can be on the team. (At least, that�s what I think she said - she was speaking Spanish at the time.) As you might imagine, the nationalism inspired by the Mexican-only rule is fierce, and the crowd was ebullient, almost violent, in its support for Chivas. Boca Junior is from Argentina, and Mexicans think that the Argentineans are muy arrogantes. Also, at least until last night, Chivas had never beaten Boca Junior.

When we arrived at the stadium, the sun was just going down, and the streets around the stadium were lined with food stalls selling tacos, cerveza, popcorn, peanuts, candy, chicharrones, and tortas ahogares - a sandwich on a french roll that is drowned in a spicy red sauce. Que rico!

The stadium is huge - I hadn�t been in one that big since I saw the Grateful Dead play in D.C. in college. By the time the game started, every seat was full. There must have been more than 50,000 Chivas fans screaming, clapping, cheering and stomping, most of them dressed in red and white-striped jerseys.

The game turned out to be a roust - Chivas beat Boca Junior four to zero. Every time Chivas scored a goal, the stadium erupted into an orgy of celebration. Confetti burst out of some mysterious canisters around the stadium, the announcer screamed �Goooooooooal,� and everyone sang the song of Chivas. Sometimes, a cannon went off, or maybe it was fireworks, causing the stadium to fill with smoke.
My favorite part of the game was the relentless taunting of Boca Junior by the Chivas fans (�la porra�). Every time Boca�s goalkeeper was about to kick the ball, the entire stadium whistled; the whistle would build; then, when he kicked the ball, everyone screamed, �PUTA!� Puta translates roughly into �faggot� - while I wasn�t happy to be screaming �faggot� at anyone, I must admit that I got into the spirit, and screamed �PUTA!� a fair number of times. This was just the beginning. One song that I understood was �Ay-ay-ay-ay, Boca no llores,� or �Boca don�t cry.� Then, of course, there was the standard �BOCA! Chingan a tu madre!� which needs no translation. The Mexicans sitting around us seemed quite pleased that the gringos were cursing at a soccer game. When in Mexico�..

After we exited the stadium, we made our way through the writhing, chanting crowd to figure out how to get back home. We managed to squeeze onto a bus that was already stuffed to the gills. Everyone on the bus was still pumped from the big win, and the chanting continued as we sat in a massive traffic jam outside the stadium. When the bus started moving, everyone serenaded the bus driver with the Spanish equivalent of �For he�s a jolly good fellow,� and the bus driver, whom I was standing right next to, seemed very pleased. The competitive spirit lingered after we were well away from the stadium; anytime another bus passed us, also packed with Chivas fans, our bus would scream out the window, �Chingas at tu padre!� and the other bus would scream back some obscenity at us. I was very sad that I don�t speak Spanish because there was some serious smack-talking going on last night, and I could only understand a little of it. All in all, una muy buenas noche.

2005-06-01T21:29:00.000-05:00

Just got back from El Super Gigante. We bought some chicharrones, which Josh was shortsighted enough to let me carry. Josh is now cooking something involving shredded chicken, roasted tomatoes, garlic and avocado. I am supposed to be doing my tarea (homework) but I am, apparently, addicted to blogging. This can't be a good thing.

2005-06-01T21:13:00.000-05:00

BEFORE.

2005-06-01T21:12:00.000-05:00

�Are we almost out of garlic?� This is the question Josh just asked me. We are gearing up to make a trip to the supermercado for Mexican dinner #2. Hopefully, this time, we will not blow out our intestinal lining, as we need it for at least another seven weeks (we have now dubbed dinner #1 the Great Chipotle Debacle 2005; let us never speak of it again).

Josh and I started language classes yesterday at CEPE, the language school affiliated with the University of Guadalajara. The school is four blocks away from our apartamento, which is great because we�re lazy. School starts at 8:00 a.m., which is not great considering aforementioned laziness issue.

I am in nivel uno (level one); Josh is in nivel siete-ocho (much, much higher than nivel uno). Trying to learn Spanish for the first time at age 28 is a humbling experience. My brain, apparently, has turned into an impenetrable fortress of doom. I�m making flash cards for the first time since studying for the f-ing bar exam exactly five years ago. My class has 13 students and I�m the second oldest. This, too, is a humbling experience.

In an interesting twist, the nursing school at the University of Texas at Austin has sent many of its students to learn Spanish at CEPE this summer. The nursing cabal is heavily represented in nivel uno. Listening to beginner Spanish is painful, but it�s nothing compared to beginner Spanish spoken with an unusually strong Texan accent. Fortunately for us all, las enfermas are quite charming, in addition to being tan, lanky and impeccably made-up. The commonalities between me and them end there, however, so I�m not sure how much we�ll be socializing outside of class.

Josh and I attempted to go to a restaurant last night from the Moon Handbooks guide to Guadalajara. This �guidebook� is by one Bruce Whipperman, and, well, it really blows. I should have known better by looking at the picture of Sr. Whipperman at the beginning of the book. There sits Bruce, in his puffy jacket with a crest on the pocket, sunglasses dangling around his neck, with a big s-eating grin on his face. The restaurant Bruce sent us to did not exist. Fortunately, we ended up in a lovely part of the Minerva-Chapultepec neighborhood (where we live), and went to a steakhouse called La Materra. Before and after pictures are located above. If you look closely, you can see the piel (skin) on the Argentinean steak por dos, a tasty if disconcerting addition.

I have been informed that we are going to the supermercado now, and that I need to move away from the Internet. Hasta manana.

2005-05-31T15:37:00.000-05:00

At the panaderia. In an unusual display of restraint, we got out of here with some nopal (cactus) bread and fresh tortillas.

2005-05-31T15:33:00.000-05:00

At the super mercado, we bought fixings for our first foray into Mexican cooking. Pictured are tomatillos and garlic, which we roasted, along with some chipotle chiles, to make a fierce salsa (gracias Rick Bayless). We are still recovering from this meal.

2005-05-31T15:27:00.000-05:00

Did I mention that our apartment has a hammock?

2005-05-31T15:25:00.000-05:00

On our first morning in Guadalajara, we had brunch at Cafe La Paloma, about seven blocks from our apartment. I had el buffet, Josh opted for chilaquiles.

2005-05-31T15:14:00.000-05:00

The new digs.

2005-05-31T15:10:00.000-05:00

Our roommate Ralph and his girlfriend Mariana, celebrating our first night in Guadalajara at the cheesy yet fitting Casa Bariachi.

2005-05-31T15:05:00.000-05:00

Josh on airplane.

2005-05-31T15:03:00.000-05:00

Getting packed. This is one of five (5) guidebooks we are bringing with us.

2005-05-30T23:26:00.000-05:00

Josh and I have decided to blog our time in Guadalajara. We actually decided to do this on Saturday evening, when we got here, but couldn't think of a name until now. Our new roommate, Ralph Fischer, took us to a good local tacqueria -- Los Laureles -- where we had tacos pollo a la pibil. According to Carl Franz, a pib is the pit where the meat is interred after being coated with various things like oranges and spices (this, apparently, can be done with deer, turkey and pig as well). The pib at Los Laureles looked more like a gyro than a pit, but the result was still muy delicioso. After rejecting "El Blog" and "Pinche Blog," we finally settled on "Blog a la Pibil" -- a fitting choice as all we've done since we got here is eat. -LT

We also have to give a plug to our friend Jose Vallejo (Pepe), whose photo we won't be posting until he gets in town from Australia in late July. Thanks for your bed and the clean sheets, Pepe. And the hammock and cable modem. And for your roommate Ralph. Some or all of these things may no longer belong to you when you return. (squatters rights, etc.) - JA