Author: Rae

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First Time in an Auriga

This morning, I accompanied my friends L&D to Office Depot to help them purchase a printer for the Isla school, where they teach English. This was a sponsored trip, so I was not uncomfortable that all transportation costs and tips were covered for me. What a treat this trip was since I barely had to carry anything and it took minutes to get across town, not an hour!

We took a pulmonía to Office Depot and were out very quickly because I had done research prior. We’d met at the Isla panga at 9:00 and left Office Depot at 9:50! We wanted to go to Soriana next door, so I asked if we could leave the purchases behind the till (not so eloquently) and the cashier understood and said not a problem.

Next, L&D headed to Soriana while I hit the bank. Now, this was one heck of an uncomfortable situation because the bank guard insisted on helping with my transaction. I wasn’t able to withdraw 7,000 from that bank (Scotia). The guard explained that I needed to do increments of 2,000 or 5,000. I can’t take 8,000 pesos out at once (daily limit), so that meant I would need to pay two withdrawal fees in both Canada and MX.

I thought of trying the bank across the street to avoid that, but the guard didn’t understand and was adamant about helping me do the two transactions. Frankly, crossing a very busy highway with no guarantee I’d have any luck at the other bank, that could have even higher fees for all I knew, wasn’t appealing, so I let him have his way, but I did not tip him! I don’t know if he was expecting it or not, but that an expensive enough withdrawal as it was. But the experience was worthwhile just to understand why I had issues at ScotiaBank in the past.

I then went to Soriana and spent almost 600 pesos! Unfortunately, they no longer carry hummus (I asked), but I did find a falafel kit with tahini sauce for 123! Wow! I did not buy it, though! My only real food splurge was some Spanish salami that I occasionally find in Canada. I also found the sweet relish! It’s not with the mustard and ketchup, but rather with the hot sauces. Heinz brand squeeze bottle for 30 pesos, very reasonable!

I loaded up on paper goods and laundry detergent, taking advantage of transportation! My only non-splurge was a 37-peso magazine at the checkout because the headline ‘A world without chocolate, the cocoa tree illness’ caught my eye.

The lady ahead of me in line noticed that I’d put the magazine on the belt and asked if I could do some translating for her as her Spanish isn’t good. She wanted me to tell the baggers to put her cold stuff in her insulated bag and distribute the rest into a lot of bags as she has had back surgery and can’t lift anything heavy. I managed it!

L&D had been just ahead of me in line, so they were waiting at the entrance. We took our carts to Office Depot to get the printer, then headed across the parking lot to flag down an auriga, a pick up truck taxi, since we had too much stuff to fit in a pulmonía. Home Depot is across the road, so there are always aurigas there to help people lug home materials. L has a good whistle and was able to catch the attention of a driver who swung around in traffic to come pick us up.

The aurigas have benches along the length of the truck bed, a canopy,  a gate because people have actually fallen out of them, and a healthy sound system! The trip to the panga took no time at all.

There, a guy was quick to grab our big stuff and bring it down to the dock for us. Funny how in Canada and the US I’d be worried about getting robbed, but this is perfectly normal here!

The water was really rough today, so we had to be very careful getting out of the panga. Someone brought our things up to an auriga on this side. I told the driver that L&D were going to their hotel, but first we had to go to my place. I gave my street name and said the white house with the orange door (I really need to learn the word for gate). He understood perfectly, took the exact route I would have taken, and even backed up to the gate before helping me unload.

The internet wasn’t back when I got home. I put together the rent money and went to see my landlady. I’d stopped first thing this morning to ask her to call TelMex and she told me that I should have internet by 1PM, which I do!

I’ve had a full couple of days, so I don’t think I’ll be working this afternoon. I’ll clean the house, go for a walk, and I’m meeting Contessa for dinner.

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¡Asqueroso!

Except for some stale tortillas, fruit, and cheese, I was completely out of food, so I ran to the City Deli a short while ago to pick up a few things to tide me over till I go to Soriana on Thursday (with possibly a trip to Miguel’s tomorrow).

The older lady was working the deli counter, so I asked for 20 pesos of bacon. I’ve tried many brands of bacon and their brand, Chimex, is by far the best but I can only find it in small quantities at Ley and Soriana, where it is more expensive per kilo than buying it from the City Deli!

No sooner had she parceled it out that I noticed MOULD on the bacon. Mould! I couldn’t believe it! She smelled the package, winced, and threw it aside, then opened up a fresh one. She said that that was strange and they were having trouble with their cheese, too.

Well, there was the window of opportunity I was looking for. I replied that the other girl who works there doesn’t wear a bag over her hand when handling the food and that I’ve come home with mouldy cheese, hence why I don’t buy it there anymore. There was probably some contamination.

The lady burst out with ¡Asqueroso!, which I now know means disgusting! She said she would talk to her boss about it and immediately went to the back, coming out with him. He chose his words carefully and said to me, “You mean the girl who is not nice to you?” and I replied in the affirmative. He said he will deal with her.

Uh-oh. I really hope I didn’t get someone fired, but at the same time, she should not be handling food! That she’s very likely causing waste in addition to being unsanitary and rude to the customers doesn’t bode well for her, though.

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Monday Ride

Mondays are usually my quiet day, so I was happy when riding day changed to it. However, I am having an INSANE Monday! I’m working on a standby project for which I need to be chained to my desk in order to start files immediately when I receive them in order to send them back as fast as humanly possible.

Thankfully, a time zone difference meant that the riding block could still be accommodated, so I got some much needed social time and exercising.

At one point, Janet commented that my English was a bit strained and that I was searching for words. I’ve been doing a lot of transcripts lately from non-English speakers and was working with Hebrew this morning, so I’m finding English to be rather muddled today! My Spanish was in fine form, though, and I chatted at length with our guide about my work and home back in Canada. The informal language lessons are a real bonus!

Unfortunately, the ride wasn’t so great. I rode Diamante again and he was just not there today. He would occasionally stumble, try to trip the other horses, buck, and just stop randomly. I cantered a few times, but he wasn’t in the mood and the rides were not smooth to the point where I was worried about falling off. I requested a different horse for next week and will get one.

It was still a pleasant couple of hours, though! The beach was gorgeous and we did a brief spell through a coconut grove. What a life!

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Breaking Large Notes

I just got back from a quick walk to the City Deli (main Isla grocery store). I wanted to get hot dogs for dinner tonight, having skipped last week, but only had a 200 peso note. You just don’t buy 28 pesos of stuff from a small vendor with a 200 peso note! I also needed more tortillas and you most certainly do not buy 5 pesos worth of tortillas with anything bigger than a 20!

I needed paper towels and yoghurt anyway, so there was a good opportunity to break my big bill. My total was 30 pesos and I got back a 20, a 50, and a 100. I asked if I could have the 50 as two 20s and two 5s (coins). The clerk had no problem with that and asked me if I was heading next door for tortillas! Guess I’m not the first person to do this. 🙂

Now, to break my damn 500 peso note. When I was out at the Mercado on Monday, I made the mistake of buying my blouse with 100 peso notes. I figured that I could get Waldo’s to take one of my 500s, but they refused it, which meant either leaving my purchases or scraping together the money with all my small change. This would mean that I would not have the means to pay for lunch since you don’t pay a 40 peso tab with a 500 in small establishments!

I knew that Dale could spot me for lunch, so I went ahead with the purchase. Thankfully, the apron vendor had heaps of change, which meant that I was able to cover the beer tab and give Dale back the lunch money.

Whew. I guess 500 peso notes are good for the budget in that they make it very hard to spend money, but what a pain! Next withdrawal, I’m going into the bank to ask to have all my 500s broken into 100s. 200s are bad, but having 500s is pretty much like having no money at all, they are so hard to spend unless you are buying very close to 500 pesos of stuff!

And by the way, quinientos, not cincocientos. 🙂

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Early Morning Chill

I always put the laundry on first thing when I get up and I was blasted by cold air when I stepped out the door around 6:15! It was only 9C/48F outside! I started the machine, then went back inside for a cardigan and a five peso coin before heading ‘downtown’ to pick up some tortillas.

Isla residents rise early, so there was already quite a bustle on the streets. It’s neat to watch children and workers not only leave Isla to come to work, but also arrive on Isla for work. I encountered one of the servers from a beach restaurant arriving from Maz, which surprised me. Isla feels so much like a suburb, not an employment destination!

Tortilla production was in full swing when I arrived. I now know how to order them like a local. The Gringos usually use their fingers to show the stack size they want, but locals arrive with exact change and specify a monetary amount. Five pesos is just right for me to have some the first day and then pop a few in the freezer for the next day or two. I’ve been buying too many eight peso stacks from the boy who goes door to door and they go stale in the freezer before I can finish them.

Bread is cheap in Mexico, but whenever I buy tortillas, bread comes off as being expensive! I’ve been having too much bread lately, not aided by the fact that the veggie guy has been selling some really nice buns. So I did the smart thing, bought a bunch of buns, got them out of my system, and now never want to see another bun for the rest of my life (or at least the winter 🙂 ).

There’s really nothing nicer in the morning than a still hot from the tortilleria tortilla with bit of grated cheese that just softens, not melts, from the residual heat. Well, unless it’s also accompanied by strong Mexican coffee! 🙂

Off to work I go. Going to be a full few days into next week, but nothing too tedious and I’ll have my evenings off.