Food and other less important things...

For the last 3 weeks I’ve been living off approx. $30 a week (350 pesos). I had set myself a strict budget without even realising it until the other day when I calculated how much 350 was in aussie dollars and surprised myself with how little I was spending. I decided to increase my budget so that I could actually splurge a little and enjoy, most importantly, all the delicious food around. So now I’m on approx. $60 a week (have to pay for accommodation now which I didn’t have to before). I’m cooking a lot at home rather than eating out which is why I’m able to live so cheaply. I buy as much as possible at the market and then go to the grocery store for any extras.

Palenque doesn’t have the widest variety of food to choose from when you’re cooking at home – the market caters for strictly Mexican diets and the grocery stores are small and full of foods with lots of sugar and processed to the max. No wholemeal breads here, no cous cous (my favourite grain!) and no basil to add for taste. But there’s definitely an abundance of chillies, tortillas and tropical fruits which I have never heard of or seen before. Agua stalls are at every corner of town which provide an abundance of fresh fruit drinks from Jamaican flower to coconut to tamarin and corn. With Palenque’s heat they are definitely a necessity! Paleterias (ice block shops) are also everywhere (which I have developed an addiction for) and so is corn, served with mayonnaise, salt and of course, chilli.

They say that your appetite diminishes when you live in a hot place. I believe this is a misconception – at least for me! It seems that all I think about at the moment is food, which is why I’m writing about it! I have now moved in with 3 girls from Mexico city who are also big eaters and enjoy food just as much as I do (damn, less for me!) They arrived here last Monday and we all moved into a house together that same day. They are here till the end of the year to do their internship with the same organisation I’m volunteering for. This has meant that I have finally relinquished my living room living and sleeping on the floor situation (and inferno…) for a house with a lot more space and breeze entering through its large windows, cooling the house down. There are two bedrooms that we share between four.

I have realised that peoples attitude to sharing space is different here than it is in oz. People are much more communal livers here and share space quite openly with no qualms about sharing all space, all the time. The girls I live with have become like a family. Everything is done together – eating, going out, working… It has taken me a few days to get use to this as I am programmed to live more independently, doing my own thing in and out of the house. The other night I went out for a coffee with a couple of people from my dance class and just before heading home I checked my phone and saw that I had four missed calls and a message from the girls asking where I was and that they were worried about me. I was really touched by their caringness after only knowing me for 3 days. This generally summarises how people are in Mexico. People look out for you even when they don’t know you well. They help you if they can and will share what they have with you if you are in need. Hospitality is taken seriously here. If you are a guest, you will be put first in front of everyone else and everything will be done to make sure that you have nothing lacking, even if it means another person needs to sacrifice e.g. their food or bed for you. Guests are accommodated quite happily even if there is very little space left; there will be a way to reshuffle everyone so that all fit. This happened to us (3 girls and me) when we went to visit a community outside of Palenque on Friday. After meeting the local women’s group and organising some workshops with them, we were invited to have lunch with some of them at their house. They made us a feast for lunch, took us down to the local river for a swim (in all of our clothes as is the tradition here) and invited us to stay for the night. The hammocks were bought out and we were all found places to sleep. We also got taught how to make sweet tamales (if you don’t know what a tamale is, refer to previous post!). We used 70 corn cobs and only ended up with 20 tamales (trust me, it’s not all that much). I was surprised with how much work went into making them, definitely will value them more now!

On a complete different note, I have started guitar lessons. I am meant to go everyday for an hour after work, five days a week. The teacher though, is a little more relaxed about which days he works and which days he doesn’t…! I’m being taught Mariachi style guitar which will allow me to stand outside of my loved ones window at midnight playing him love ballads, as they do here! The idea is that I’ll be able to take what I’ve learnt and apply it to other styles of music…Hopefully! Like I mentioned above, I’ve also started dance classes (my only form of exercise in this intense heat) I’m doing Columbian salsa and hip hop. I didn’t realise that Columbian salsa existed. It’s a mixture of the jive and swing with some funk added and of course, Latin sensuality. I love it! It’s danced very fast and you finish the class completely drenched from head to toe, feeling like for once, you’re not just a sweaty blob but one who has actually done some exercise. Hip hop on the other hand is surprisingly less to my liking (I find it harder to do some of the moves) although we did learn a dance routine to a Michael Jackson song the other day which I’m definitely going to replicate on the dance floor sometime! Speaking of Michael, since his death there has been a massive revival of his music here in Mexico. He’s played everywhere including on the tourist party bus that laps around Palenque at night. All accusations have definitely been forgotten here and he’s now reached the status of untouchable god.