Day 1: Learning

This beautiful casa has high ceilings and pillars and big windows and all tiled floors. I set my alarm for about 8:30 this morning, and I heard Tere in her room next door too. So I got up and she followed shortly. First, we had breakfast, but we had to go to the tienda down the street for fruit. This was a little shop about 100 yards away. We bought a cantaloupe even though Tere wanted papaya, because the papayas look bad, they were over-ripe. Then this moment happened, which is seared forever in my brain.

Tere: I'd like to buy some chicken
Girl at the counter, who was like 15: Ok, what part?

She goes to the front of the store, now this whole places is like 8x8ft big, and on the sidewalk under her awning is a table with two towels spread out on it. She pulls the towels back and BAM there are chicken halves. There is also a chicken head (eyes open, yellow) and some feet and hearts/livers/kidneys/I'm not familiar with inner-chicken anatomy. The girl picks up a knife from the table and cuts the legs of the thighs.

Girl: Do you want the skin?
Tere: Not a lot.

Then she slices off the extra skin. She puts the chicken in a little bag and puts it on a scale. She uses a little calculator to add up the cantaloupe, chicken legs, and 4 tomatoes. I don't know how much it costs because I was too horrified by what I had just witnessed. At no point in this transaction, from the moment we entered to when we left, did the girl wash her hands.

I step back and consider if my privilege is upset about this, my city-dwelling American part. Maybe chicken isn't as dirty germ-y as we worry about, maybe only American chickens have salmonella? I ponder this as we walk back to the house. I guess this is learning.

Now it is time for breakfast: Cantaloupe, some little cookies that go with coffee, and milk. She doesn't drink milk, she has coffee. I'm afraid that I represented myself at some point, because I'm not a HUGE fan of milk but I also don't turn down food when I'm being a polite guest.

After breakfast, we wash the dishes. Now the real business begins. TO SWEEP! We sweep in front of her house, and the street too, along the curb. Apparently when it rains a lot the leaves clog up the gutter and it's bad new for everyone, so I take the dustpan, recogedora, and get all the leaves and sand and dust an take it back to the median where it came from. The median has a sidewalk on each side, then a row of trees and some viney stuff, where it slopes down to a sandy middle section where people go with horses. We saw these guys walking with and training a horse today.

Now, sweeping the sidewalk gets some dust in the house. She says that since her house is so big, I only need to do half per day. She was a hairdresser, but a back injury had her retire 15 years ago. The windows at the back of the house, looking into the garden, are open all day so this lets in dust. So, first I sweep, really well. Then, the cloth to dust all the furniture. Finally, the mopping. Now, at my house we have a Swifer, none of this wringing-mop-with-hands business. The ironic thing about selecting the movie Joy on the plane is that I had to mop the old-fashioned way today. I had to go re-dust a few things because she has an eagle eye for dust, but in a couple hours I had it all done. It will be faster later because I'll know where things are and how to do it. Tomorrow is the back half of the house, where the bedrooms are.

While I was finishing up, her granddaughter stopped by. She teaches geography at the school on this block. They talked and I took a nap. I stood on the sidewalk for a bit and watched the kids going home from school. There were a couple street dogs, ones trotted right past me on the sidewalk as though I were just another light post or chair. The other ran around the teenagers walking home. Some people do have pet dogs. Tere had a boxer.

About 2 we ate lunch. The dreaded chicken legs in tomato rice, and black beans. Plus a corn tortilla. The fact that Tere didn't eat the chicken with me made me very nervous. That was two hours ago and I'm still here. There were also a few cucumber slices that had been siting on the counter in a container since yesterday. I tried one and it was very bitter! I decided not to have another...until she offered, then insisted, that I take another so we can wash the container. I mentioned how bitter it was and she said "OH! I put lemon juice on it." Phew. Learning.

There are certain towels for certain things. I was using the dish drying towel for drying my hands, so she got me a different one for that. There are kitchen towels, furniture towels, and outside towels.  I also learned that I have to drink milk out of a mug, because it makes glasses smell bad. When I was in Costa Rica, they also had these certain ways to do things but I didn't care. Now, I am making it my mission to use the right cup, the right broom, the right towel. It's funny though because certain things that I think matter, she tells me not to worry about. For example, closing the door between the house and the garage isn't a big deal--no A/C. And I SHOULD wear shoes in the house. These are two habits I have to change for sure. Learning.

We're going to mass this evening I think. Then dinner (Ham, mayo, wheat bread sandwich). We don't have to was dinner dishes until after breakfast though. Tomorrow I'm going with her to go shopping in Xalapa with her sister. She said I don't have to go because it will be boring, but I said I want to learn and see everything.

Two birds flew in one door and out another this morning. I was startled and she just laughed. Learning.

More about the house and garden later.

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