| Samantha 的个人资料Postcards from Mexico照片日志列表 |  工具  帮助 |
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10月31日 HalloweenHappy Birthday Xempa! Halloween marks a year since I bought my little bunny. Well, more like a monstrous gatonejo now, but she´s still the cutest thing in the world.
Last night I couldn´t decide how I should dress for the holiday, so at six o´clock I quickly flipped through an art history book and found my inspiration. I ran over to the grocery store and picked up different coloured foam sheets. With a quick inventory check at home I found a large white piece of cloth and a safety pin. Presto, I had the materials for my costume! Within an hour, I had prepared my outfit. When I walked into work today, people recognized Queen Nefertiti immediately.
The fun and sickening thing about Halloween here is the candy. Sometimes you can get quiet a surprise when you bite into what you think is strawberry taffy, to find that it has been laced with chili. In fact, a large percentage of candy and fruit here includes chili power. I´ve grown pretty fond of it though, especially these spicy lollypops shaped like turkeys. It will be another year until the acidic hole in my tongue dissapears...
Leila and Alex´s WeddingWell, the day finally came, Leila and Alex got married!
As I mentioned before, I was really curious about this wedding, as I had recieved a super mod invitation and Leila´s hints that it would be ¨different¨.
I went with Antonio, which was great because we´re good friends with each other and with the bride and groom.
The service was traditional and Catholic, the dress was classic and white, and Alex had a nice suit. The reception was on the 42nd floor of the World Trade Centre, the tallest building in Latin America, so being there alone was pretty classy. When we got to the reception room, however, it was like going into a hip lounge, with couches and low tables, or tall stools and high tables. I couldn´t decide if I liked it or not. I guess I didn´t mind it myself, but I wondered about forty year old family members on bar stools. Nobody seemed to mind though, especially since most people were dancing.
The music started out as ambient/funk/world lounge, which again was a little different, but changed into Mexican favourites like salsa, cumbia, reggaeton... Mexican wedding props were thrown into the crowd as well, such as balloons, straw hats, and glow sticks.
I got to see a lot of Leila´s family again, and they were so sweet, with lots of hugs and introductions to other members of the family. My friend´s told Alex´s parents that I had come all the way from Canada to attend, and refused to let me correct the exageration ;)
The wedding also let myself and ¨the group¨ connect for the first time since Antonio´s birthday. Two of them, Saulo and Janet, are going to get married in March and have already invited me to be a guest. We all laugh and dance a lot together, probably too much. At six thirty in the morning, when the wedding was finishing, most of them were ready to go out for breakfast, but Tonio and I decided to call it a night. After all, I have another marthon wedding to attend next weekend. Cheers!
10月22日 Just Call me LupitaAs I was making my coffee two weeks ago, my co-workers called me over to the front of the office, where they were laughing and gossiping.
"Sami", they said, "you need a more Mexican name. We're going to give you one. What do you think about Guadalupe? We'll call you Lupita for short."
Guadalupe is the most common name in the country, in honour of the Virgin of Guadalupe who appeared to an aboriginal man in 1531.
Before I could nod in agreement to my new name, my friends took my security card and covered my old name with a floursecent piece of paper that read, "Lupita". They looked very pleased with themselves until they noticed that my last name remains as Anglo as ever. They decided that the next, slightly more onerous task is to find me a husband so that I can have a Mexicanized last name to match my first. I pointed out that I could just legally apply to change my last name myself, but they were more interested in man hunting on my behalf.
Word spread that I was to be called Lupita from now on, and people have actually started calling me that more than Sam. It's cute, except when I'm walking down the halls and someone shouts "LUPITA!", and I turn around... discovering that they're calling for someone else. 10月19日 Livin´ La Vida NormalSometimes I go about my daily activities and something strikes me, something that I want to write about immediately. This has been happening less and less lately, for two reasons. Number one, I´ve been working like crazy and living a pretty regular life. I go the gym, go to work, go home, and go out. Same sort of places and mostly the same people. It´s comfortable and fun, but nothing to write home about. The other thing is now that I´ve been living here over a year, there is less and less that I find strange or novel. All good signs of progress, but not necessarily for my ¨postcards¨.
I saw a man running on his donkey through the suburbs the other day. I didn´t even know that donkeys could run, so I suppose that constitutes something writeable.
The thing that I think about a lot is the fact that my family is coming to visit in December, which means they´ll be here in less than two months. I´ve made a lot of mental plans but should probably commit to getting some more activities together on paper. It´s been a year since I´ve seen them, so you can imagine the anticipation to be reunited! This means I won´t be back in Canada until April... if that means you want to visit me and give me something to write about, I won´t stop you :) 10月11日 A Modern BrideI have been invited to two weddings recently, one on October 28th and one the weekend after that.
The first wedding will be with my good friends Leila and Alex. I´m thrilled to see such wonderful people start their future together.
From the descriptions Leila has given me, it won´t exactly be a traditional ¨Mexican¨ wedding... and the invitation she sent me gives me a clue. It´s very modern, and it was sent by email! She wasn´t being impolite or impersonal by sending me an e-invite, it´s just the logistics of our schedules, the size of this city, and the terrible postal system. I´ll attach a copy below.
The second wedding will be in the city of Cuernavaca, a great vacation spot for Chilangos (people from Mexico City). It´s the wedding of friend and co-worker Mike. He is having a tropical sort of theme in a garden, at night, with plans to end at 7am! Very different from the formal way that weddings are usually done here.
So, two beautiful events to look forward to. Two wedding gifts to buy on a Mexican salary. Four beautiful people getting married. 10月10日 Real ThanksHere's something I never pictured before moving here- working too hard to be able to celebrate a holiday. In this case, Caity and I were doing so much work on Sunday that we had to skip Thanksgiving. Well, more like postpone it until next Sunday, but it was still a little sad. I remember something like this happening last year as well, the last minute dinner due to the hustle of our lives.
So, this coming Sunday I'm going to run the Terry Fox with 4000 other people at the Canadian Embassy downtown Mexico City. I did the Terry Fox run forever ago, it commemorates the life of Terry and raises money for cancer research. Considering that my mom kicked cancer's butt last year, I feel I'll really have something to feast and give thanks for that night. 10月2日 Dating 101 or 911?It took a long time and varied experiences before I felt ready to write about one of the most culturally confusing endeavors that one can take in Mexico- dating. While oversimplifying for sure, my girl friends and I have decided that there are some definite categories of men here. In General: If I guy wants to get to know you in Mexico, he will often come right up to talk to you. The conversation starts neutrally and might get more flirtatious. After a couple of Coronas, you will hear every form of humiliating flattery imaginable. You are the most gorgeous woman in the world. He could swim in the beauty of your ocean eyes. You have a quality that no other woman could match. He is going to take you to the best restaurants, the finest beaches, out for great wine, and of course you will never pay. He will run around the car to make sure that you don’t open the door. He will suavely light your cigarette and make sure that your glass is never empty. Decide quickly what he’s like and if you would like to give him your number, because he could end up being… The Player: One of the most abundant species of man in Mexico. If a man isn’t already married with a watchful wife and small children, he’ll be at parties and the disco. He’ll walk up to you holding the hand of a girl, then ask you for your number when she goes to the washroom. If he’s cleverer, you won’t learn about the other woman for a month or so. Sometimes he’s not actually a player, and you’re just found… The Disappearing Man: You meet the man of your dreams. He’s very good looking, charming, educated, and makes the world revolve around you. You feel like the princess he tells you that you are and you can’t believe the spark that you feel during your dates. Then he disappears. No more calls, call backs, messenger or invitations. You had given him a lot of space and his friends loved you. He may resurface many months later and make the world revolve around you again, until another few weeks. It’s hard to say who is preferable- the disappearing man or… Marriage Man: The night you meet him, he introduces you to others as his girlfriend. He immediately wants to introduce you to his family, and he talks about your future marriage and children. Yes, your marriage, after the initial hours of your first date. And he’s serious. He looks deep into your eyes and tells you he loves you. You laugh nervously and ask him to please stop talking about love for five months, and marriage for five years. He is genuinely hurt that you respond this way, because the two of your are meant to be together. This may be the time that you become the disappearing woman. The Green-Eyed Monster: He seems pretty cool. You both have a good time together. It’s casual and he hasn’t played you, disappeared on you, or proposed marriage. Then he gets rip roaring drunk and the macho man comes out. He sees you talking to another guy, a guy you would never consider romantically and are only talking to because you’re bored, and he becomes a boor. He’s rude and then refuses to talk to you for a month. Keep your dignity and refuse to talk back. Indirect Man: You have no idea what is going on in the relationship unless your mutual friends relay your feelings back and forth to each other. This form of communication permeates all types of relationships in Mexico. Foreigners may find it bizarre. It can work if you have the patience that you did with the same game in grade six. Do you like me? Check yes, no, or maybe. The Normal Guy: An elusive creature, he is usually snagged immediately by a normal girl, and you can admire their sweet and normal relationship from a distance. He will be married and unavailable before you can even say hola and then the cycle repeats again… Bermuda Triangle of JewlerySomething strange has been happening in the misty mountains of Atizapan- my jewelry has been disappearing over the year. My favourite necklaces seemingly evaporate, and earrings wait longingly for their partner to come back.
My jewelry collection isn't expensive, but it's unique. I have pieces from around the world and they hold more personal value than anything. I honestly don't know what has been happening because I can't think of another time that my favourite ornaments have disappeared. I have a feeling that my own fatigue is responsible for this mystery, although it's more fun to blame a magnetic vortex in my neighbourhood. I'm grateful that the expensive jewelry that I do have is still in site and in order. For some reason diamonds don't have the same appeal as an Amazonian mask with real piranha teeth. Go figure.
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