Cockroaches, Scorpions, and Intestines

Last blog, I mentioned that the weather had finally gotten hot. Well, the warm weather seems to have brought something with it: cockroaches and scorpions! The cockroaches are everywhere: in the girls bathroom at work, in my bedroom...and the scorpion (the one I saw was actually an alacran - a smaller version of a scorpion but still poisonous) was on the stairway in my house. I got a guy to kill the alacran but was a damsel in distress when it came to the cockroach in my room - I had to coax it into a trashbag - then tie it up real tight and double-bag it - just to be sure!

Other not-so-exciting news is that a new month of classes started Monday. I really like the new groups I have. I don't know if the students are just better, or if I'm really getting the hang of teaching, but classes are really relaxed and entertaining.

My one new food adventure this week (get your gag reflex ready) was tripe. Here in Mexico, "tripa" is the small intestines of cows and is normally served in tacos. Some of my students have said that they really like it, so I figured I should at least try it. Well...I thought it tasted like nothing! That's right - no flavor - just a chewy filling. For that, I ate a few bites, but couldn't make myself finish the taco (the first time that's happened!) My record is now 3 months and 3 weeks without getting sick!

HOT

I returned safe and sound from my very nice Spring Break in the USA. While at home I: slept in, ate too much of my mom's delicious cooking, caught up on American tv, went shopping, and went to a Red Wings game. It was great - I wish I could've had a few extra days.

But life goes on here in Mexico. And since I returned the weather seems to have gone from mild to HOT! You know it's going to be warm later in the day when all you need to feel comfortable at 7am are jeans and a t-shirt! Temps reach mid 80s in the afternoon and guess what...? Houses here don't have air conditioning. For that reason I think I might invest in a fan. Just today I bought a tray to make ice cubes. Thank goodness there is air conditioning where I work (as in most nicer office buildings). The longer you live outside of the USA, the more you appreciate all the conveniences we have.

Not much else is new...although I do have a new food find! It's called tamarindo (tamarind) and is a fruit originally from the Middle East but is now also heavily cultivated in Mexico. If I had to describe it I would say it tastes sour and sweet, and has the texture of a (natural) fruit roll-up. One of the most popular ways to consume the fruit is on a sucker (pictured) - which has become my new addiction! haha The funny thing is that every once in awhile you will bite into a tamarind seed while enjoying your sucker - they are like pebbles: hard and inedible.

I've got 2 months left here! Hoping to fit a visit to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico City, and the beach into my schedule...