November 30, 2012

Random thoughts on Mexican Cooking

Over the years, I've learned a lot about cooking Mexican style. I have learned to make soups, salsas, guisados (stews) and many tomato based dishes. All of these include using a blender. Its probably the most important kitchen appliance that I use on a daily basis. I am always blending tomatoes, cooked or uncooked. The blender is also used for smoothies, juices, and making aguas de frutas too. When I lived in the States, the only thing I used a blender for was making milkshakes. I love that most food is made from scratch here. 

Before it used to seem like a pain...but now I realize, its so much healthier to cook the Mexican way. Its also gotten much easier over the years. I can whip up some meatballs in guisado de jitomate in fifteen or twenty minutes. You want noodle soup? That takes about the same amount of time. And since I have one little boy who won't eat his vegetables, I can sneak them in using the blender! And he never notices.

Another important kitchen tool I use on a daily basis is a sieve or strainer with a handle. You need this to keep the tomato seeds and pieces out of what you're making. Or when you add chicken stock (we can't buy it here, we have to make it) to a soup, you have to strain out the pieces. Or if you want little boys to drink fresh juice, you strain the fruit pieces out. Mostly I use mine for making soups, which I make pretty often. I learned the hard way that you need one made of metal and not plastic! Once I poured hot chicken stock into my plastic strainer and all of a sudden, I realized the strainer had melted and was now part of my soup!

I have my mother-in-law and sister-in-law to thank for the knowledge I have of how to cook. I think the only thing I could really make when I got married was barbecued chicken. Now I have a lot more knowledge under my belt. I am so thankful for all the things they've taught me.

November 29, 2012

Little inconveniences in Mexico become big ones.

I don't usually complain about Mexico...I do gripe from time to time but I wouldn't say my blog is a continuous complaint about living here. Ok, maybe the last few posts are but I promise to post something positive....NEXT time.

 Today, though, I need to just vent a little bit. Let's just use running out of gas (for heating water in my home and cooking) as an example here. When you run out of gas....you are out. You have to call the gas people, get them to send a truck and wait all day, or as long as they decide to take depending on their route, etc. If you so much as leave for ten minutes to pick up kids from school or something, you are out of luck and have to call again. Inconvenient is an understatement. This means, no showers, hot breakfasts or anything else until they refill the tank. In the US you just pay your bill and the gas is always there! I miss that. And I know having a dryer is an extreme luxury here. I have one that was given to me as a gift by my uncle and mom when Alex was born. Well, imagine, washing school clothes the night before because you are behind on laundry and everything else due to a situation beyond your control that keeps you from keeping up on housework....and then no gas? And two crying boys telling you that if they don't have the right school uniform, they miss out on the one recess they have a day. Yeah....that's what happened. I hung the uniforms out all night but they were still super damp this morning.

I feel like I'm ten steps behind on getting ahead on household chores. I feel so overwhelmed right now and then running out of gas or just having to do something outside my normal routine, throws everything off. And housework takes so much more time here. It's so dusty and dirty and I have to mop and dust so many more times a week than I would elsewhere.

Also, I know what a huge blessing it is to have a few people to sit at night with my mother-in-law. We pay them and everything but it is still such a big deal to have these two ladies come and alternate staying with her every night. It would be exhausting for us to have to do that at this point. Anyway, these sweet ladies DON'T show up at the time I ask them to. Like I said, we pay them...it's a job. I have asked them to please come at 8:30 p.m. at the latest and they come at 9, sometimes even as late as 9:30. This totally screws up the bedtime routine, which is SUPER important and if you're a mom you will know this. Anyway, they don't respect the time of arrival, even though I PAY them and ask them to please arrive earlier. So, I have to sit with my mil while I know my boys are here by themselves, not getting to sleep. But when I don't go straight to her house in the morning when it's time for them to leave, I can see they are upset! In the U.S. most of the time, when you are told to show up to work at a certain time, you GO at that time. End of story or you get fired.

That's it, I'm glad I could get that off my chest. Hopefully the gas didn't come while I was gone and will arrive soon.

November 26, 2012

Mexican teachers love to give homework!

While I realize this might just be an exageration on my part,(the title of this post, that is) the past few months (since school started) my third grader has had at times up to two and even three hours of homework in one day. He is also expected to read half an hour in English and in Spanish daily. I honestly can't find the time. We've had to skip extracurricular classes that he enjoys just to finish by dinnertime. I feel like it is getting out of hand and many of the other parents have also complained. I have read a few articles (I dont' know how reliable the sources were) that say that homework in elementary school does nothing to help children that are already on the right track, and in fact could even have negative consequences for these children since it takes away important playtime in the after school hours. It seems true for my boy because he takes forever to finish and then has no time to play outside. I guess I could better understand if he were in middle or high school, but not third grade. Its just too much!

Museo de la Revolución

Yesterday I visited the Casa de los Hermanos Serdan with the family.  Alex has to visit two museums a month for a project at school and since Nov 20th was the celebration of the Mexican Revolution, the teacher assigned this museum.  These hermanos Serdan helped start the revolution, a movement with Francisco I. Madero to get Porfirio Diaz out of the office of president, which he had held in an oppressive rule for around thirty years.  After having lived here for SO long, I can't believe I'd never set foot in this amazing museum.  It was inspiring to hear the story of how these two brothers, their mother and sister and one of the brother's wives fought off the police when it was discovered they were involved in the movement to oust Diaz.  Both brothers lost their lives that day but it marked the beginning of a revolution that ended the regime of Porfirio Diaz.  To this day there are huge bullet holes in the front of the house.  The tour guide explained that the house had been covered inside and out by the bullet marks but for a time it was used for housing and the tenants patched up the holes.  Now only holes on the outside remain and a mirror that also has huge holes.

What strikes me as so very sad, is that after the revolution, not too much truly changed.  Instead of "el Porfiriato", the Revolutionary Party become the ruling party and had seventy years without competition in which Mexico continued under oppression, now by them.  And now after twelve years under a different party, we go back to lo mismo.  Some people call the reign of the PRI (revolutionary party) el PRIato.    Under the PRI corruption abounded, the poor remained poor, the rich became richer.  Now I'm not saying Fox, or Calderon were much better, I'm really not.  I'm just saying it saddens me to go back to this party instead of moving forward.  But as the tour guide explained yesterday... "There are no more men like the Serdans left."  Men who rise up and face their oppresors and are not easily sold out.  Obviously I can't vouch for the Serdans or anyone who took part in the revolution. How can I know much except what history books say?  I can't.  All I know is what I see today, and it's an amazing country treading water with it's boots on.  The oppression of the poor and less fortunate is obvious.  Corruption touches everyday life from the corrupt officials making money off public works, to the taxi driver paying a bribe to the cops.  I have been touched by this corruption too, more than a few times.  

Sometimes when I go to the zocalo or to the museum yesterday, I really just have to stop and look around at this incredible city where I live.  The buildings and architecture and colors are amazing.  This city is so picturesque, but its the systematic corruption that continues to taint the view for me.



November 16, 2012

momento superficial!

The commercials for our local cable provider have been so cute lately.  Patrick Dempsey's accent is adorable.  Every time I see him say "Yo quiero todo contigo", it makes me smile.

Yo Quiero Todo Contigo

That's my superficial moment....para el dia de hoy :)

November 11, 2012

My husband's sister is leaving tomorrow.  She has been helping us so much with her mom and I am so thankful for all she's done.  It has helped tremendously but she can't stay forever.  Her life is somewhere else.  Ours is here so we stay.  We are going to miss her (and her husband) soooo much. It isn't only that she helped with caring for her mom.  She has been a huge moral support and sounding board for us during this time.  I really don't think we could've made the transistion from hospital to home without her.  Both my husband and I are very sad to see them leave.  

My mother-in-law is on such a roller coaster physically these days.  You never know what kind of day she'll have...if she'll be in pain and depressed, or talkative and optimistic.  Lately it's been bad days.  She doesn't sleep enough and that makes her feel a lot worse.   

I never had any idea at all about what having a stroke could be like for someone, or what it takes to care for that person.  I never knew how common it is and how often this happens.  It is such a hard situation for the patient and I know many people never recover at all.  

I know my blog is supposed to be about life in Mexico.  But right now, this is my life in Mexico.  



October 22, 2012

Peace

It's been a few weeks.  We are learning to take things day by day and trust God to give us strength to face each new day.  My suegra is improving.  She still cannot move much without help but she is doing better as far as her outlook on life is concerned.  She eats now and we are looking into having the surgery to remove the tube in her stomach.  She no longer needs it since she can eat and drink on her own.  We are also looking into getting a specialized wheelchair for her so we can take her outside a little bit to sit in the sun, or to get inside the shower.  She needs one that can lay flat and also that gives support to her head.

Our lives have completely changed but it no longer feels so disheartening.  We are learning to ask for help, and allow others to come in and  help when possible.  Even so, it is a lot of work to care for someone who needs constant, around the clock care.  I don't know what the future holds but I have learned that worrying about it just takes away my peace of mind.  I choose to trust God and go day by day.  Honestly, I know we could not do this without the constant strength and peace he gives us.  My husband and I are making a great team but there have been a lot of adjustments.  I can say that I am so thankful to know that God holds us in his hands and gives us the help we need.  I also feel closer to my husband through all this and I feel our marriage getting stronger.  I don't thank God for what happened, that would be crazy.  I thank him that in all this,we are learning to trust more and worry less.

September 25, 2012

Life is...

I haven't been around lately, too much is going on to even think about writing sometimes.   My sweet Santi turned six on August 25th and that same night my mother in law had a brain-stem stroke.  At the time we didn't know what was happening, she seemed like she was struggling to breathe so my husband carried her to the car and got her to the hospital as quickly as possible.  We live five minutes away thankfully.  After doing all the necessary tests the doctors informed us she'd had a stroke.  We didn't really know what to expect and in the hospital weren't getting too many answers.  One minute it seemed like she would not make it very long and the next they were telling us they were sending her back home.  It has been an extremely stressful time for us as a family.  My mil is back home now and has been for two weeks.  She is bedridden and can only move the right side of her body and she tries to talk.  Sometimes we understand her, sometimes we don't. She has a tube that comes out of her stomach for getting nourishment and liquids.  She has been ill for the past five years with many different thing but this has been by far the hardest for everyone.  She needs constant care, around the clock someone must be with her.  My sister-in-law is here from far away to help for now.  I don't know how we'll do it when she leaves.  I think we'll have to hire someone to help during the nights.

Sometimes she begs to die.  Other times she is candid and even tries to smile and participate in the conversation.  During this time, numerous people have come to us to share their stories.  "My grandma was like that for years and years."  "My mother was bedridden and fed through a tube in her stomach for ten years."  "My dad had a stroke and never learned to talk again."   Seriously, those are not things I wanted to hear about.  I love her, I really do, but to think of her like this for years and years is not encouraging at all.  I mean, I know its hard for her, but it is also hard for everyone involved.  I try to think of things in a non-selfish way but I always come back to questioning how we are going to do this.  How are we going to make it through this? The doctors sent her home with no indications of physical therapy or rehabilitation.  They have said its a miracle she is alive and that's it.  I don't think they expect improvement.

For now, all I can do and have been doing is to pray.  I pray for help, mercy, wisdom, strength.  I pray for my husband.  His blood pressure has gone up from all the family drama (between siblings) this has caused.  I pray and take care of him and my boys.  What else can I do?  Reading about the odds of improvement or life expectancy just depress me.  Thinking about the future doesn't help.  Especially now that we've been talking again about relocating.  That is out of the question for now.  My husband has always been the one who has been with his mom.  We are the ones who live next door.  We are the ones who provide what she needs.  We will be here with her as long as she's here.


April 22, 2012

Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!

I'm still trying to figure out this picture thing to show you pictures of my house before and after. 

So, in the meantime I will write about Don Goyo.  That's the affectionate (and much more easily pronounced) nickname that people have given our friendly neighborhood volcano, Popocatepetl.  He has been very active lately, spewing out ashes that have been falling at times like snowflakes.  Everything has gotten covered.  In the morning I have to turn on the windsheild wipers to clean off the ashes so I can see to take the boys to school.  This is the first time I've ever seen so many ashes (or is it much ash??) covering things.  In the past they have blown toward Mexico City or even as far away as Oaxaca, but not this time.  It has been a couple of ash filled weeks.  The sky has been gray and we have stayed inside as much as possible.  Thankfully today has been a bit clearer.  I hope Don Goyo is happy again and will go back to sleep.  

And I hope I can post pictures soon :(  I thought of putting a picture of Don Goyo, but oh yeah, I can't.

April 17, 2012

Help

Ok, I was finally trying to post the before pictures from my house and a few after pictures and I can't figure out how to post pictures!  Is there some trick I don't know about?  I know it's been a while since I've blogged but sheesh.  I upload the pictures but then can't get them on the post.  Everything just gets stuck.

I really want to be better about posting, I'm trying!  Any advice?