party weekend

I had a party oriented weekend last weekend. The facultad threw some sort of valentines day party, the Mexican name of (día de amor y amistad) also inclues friendship, which is nice. It was nice, because I met a lot of Mexicans. Only at Grinnell parties have I seen as much free booze everywhere, and if there's one thing I cannot resist it is someone very friendly shoving a bottle or cup in my face. In a world like that, it's surprisingly easy to make friends.

As I said, I met a lot of kids, most of which are in my Functionalism and Structuralism class. After the official facultad party ended we all hopped on a bus to the centro and tried to go to the facultad de arqitectura party only to learn that they're tight-asses and wouldn't let anyone in (???). This was a stark contrast to the communal atmosphere which I had just left. No matter, the festivities continued in a few different local watering-holes.

The following evening, I visited a club again. It was a friend's birthday. This time, I unfortunately had less fun. A few things I learned about these pay to get in and then drink as much as you can for free clubs contributed to my ambiguous mood. First, the alcohol they serve is lower quality, possibly akin to rubbing alcohol. The sad thing is that non-ethanol alcohol (vs. ethanol, which we use both for drinking and biofuel)is more toxic to the human body and less intoxicating. We got a table, and a free bottle of vodka, which claimed to be Smirnoff but smelled more like rubbing alcohol. Seconly, some clubs put ether in the ice they give to Americans, or just simply drug them so that local scam artists will be able to get them to go home with them and rob them. Fortunately, this didn't happen to me, but the suspicious liquor was enough to make me keep my distance, and not drink to elevation, as many of my peers did.

terrifying food products of Mexico #1

During my time in Mexico, I've been exposed to many new foods. This is pretty exciting for a foodie such as myself, and one of the things I was most excited about before coming here. The Yucatán itself offers a palatte distinct from most of México, and certainly distinct from Mexican food that's common in the US.

While the culinary aspect of my journey continues to be a source of great pleasure, there are times when certain food products terrify me. So far, I would say these things are always seperate from "traditional" Yucatecan foods, which are pretty much some sort of assembly of whole foods. What's terrifying are things with less-than-noble origins. In honor of these food products, I've decided to start a series on "terrifying food products of Mexico." This is the first entry in that series.

It's Guten! Guten is some sort of processed meat product which makes me think of potted-meat-food-product (aka Spam) in a plastic baggie. Not only does Guten come with two kinds of meat (beef and chicken) it also has a boatload of gluten thrown in to make it stick together and a vertiable cocktail of preservatives, salt, and probably MSG. Guten also comes cooked, so you don't have to bother with that pesky little requirement for eating meat. "Just add your special touch," it says. What it doesn't say - "we'll be sure to neutralize it with this flavorless cardboard, unless you add so much salt that you can't taste anything else anyways."

paradiso

Well, that's not actually how you say "paradise" in Spanish, but I wanted to make sure non-Spanish speakers got the point. Well, I had a pretty good weekend. As I mentioned before, I went to Isla Mujeres, a tiny little island in the Caribbean, and the easternmost point of Mexico. Yes, I actually took this picture there.

A few friends took off from Mérida at midnight Thursday and got to the Isla around 5 AM Friday. We found a hotel room, took a nap, and then hit the beach. Unfortunately, it was kind of chilly, so I went and rented a moped. Megan and I promptly cruised to the southernmost point of the island and back. Riding around on one of those mopeds is a lot of fun. It makes me think about my transportation in the future. I'm concerned that I actually will have to procure some sort of motorized transport to deal with life in the bay area. Should it be one of those, or maybe a motorcycle? Time will tell.

Then at night we went out to a cool bar in a hostel with lots of other young travelers. I forgot that I'm actually a student - a luxury I rarely experienced at Grinnell. There was a great band playing in that Spanish style reminiscent of the Gipsy Kings. I really need to learn to play guitar like this.

The following day there was more moped crusing to go to the TortuGranja (turtle farm). For a few pesos we went to see some sea turtles that this government conservation project helps grow up so they're not eaten or poached as babies. I love those animals. Then, more lounging on the beach, drank a few beers, doing nothing but earning a minor sunburn.

Upon return, all I could think about is how long it seemed like I was gone from Mérida - at least a week. In reality, about 3 days. It is so nice to not have class on Friday. My life is pretty full of these experiences in which I totally forget about other parts of my life that aren't requiring my current attention. When I get back to "real life" it seems foreign and surreal. On the way back, Mallory and I were waiting for the bus to get back to our neighborhood. All I could think about is my disorientation in Mérida, things to do, busses to catch, stuff to carry, hunger to deal with. Suddenly, stuff that is a part of my life becomes a chore to deal with rather than just what I'm doing. I think I can do better than this mindset if I focus on it.

Anyways, the island was fairly touristy - it is right next to Cancun. But it was nice because it was not gawdy either. Everything appeared to be a small business rather than a chain, although the t-shirts were certainly mass-produced. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable being a tourist, but other times I just bask the hedonistic glory. Contradictions such as this will probably never resolve themselves. I just think how tourism is really a development trap which leads to over-abundance of crappy jobs for locals. But, the Mexicans we met in a bar all said they really like the tourists that visit their island.

Now I'm back in Mérida, and have to get back to "real life," if such a thing exists. For now, I'll just be looking off of my island.

viaje - Isla Mujeres

Tonight I'm going to Isla Mujeres and staying until Sunday. I'm excited about that.

Also, today, out of the blue, I got a big green salad for part of my lunch. Yum! My friend Michael coined the term "kale withdrawals" to describe the lack of vegetable consumption in Mexico relative to his life in the US. I could not agree more. Sure, we had lettuce, but it was pretty hearty and green, even though not kale or other heartier leaf. Horray!

hoofin'

I'm moving to Uptown Minneapolis this Saturday morning. I have not yet purchased my bus pass.

clubbing, oh my god!

I finally went out to a club here. I danced furiously until about 3 AM. This place is crazy, and wasn't nearly as expensive and "not-actually-mind-kind-of-place,-sorry" as I thought it would be. Here's what happened: Some friends met me on a corner after my dinner and we went in a taxi to the club. The cab had a video screen and when we told the driver where to take us, he got excited and put in a DVD which played Yeah! and cranked up the system. Then we got there, and went straight to the front of the line. Within 5 minutes we were in, and I had to pay about 150 pesos. Women, on the other hand, about 60. This seemed like a whole hell of a lot, but then when we get upstairs I learn that it includes open bar service. And I mean, OPEN bar. Like, they will give you a fucking bottle of vodka and a bottle of cola, and/or mineral water if you ask. It was really busy, but one could acquire speedy service by just putting 5 pesos in a cup while the bartenders were looking. Not too bad.

Anyways, it was like a big and crowded party. Like, in an actual club setting. Weird, for me. They must have about a zillion dollar air conditioning system, because even though the place was packed it stayed pretty cool. I danced with friends, and then headed home when we started breaking a sweat, and watched about half an episode of Law and Order.

I would probably even go back. I didn't think I would enjoy myself as much as I did.