I remember my introduction to the theory of Chaos in the movie Jurassic Park. Mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) takes the top of Dr. Sattler’s hand (Laura Dern) and drops a tiny drop of water on it. They watch together as the water runs off. He repeats the procedure, dropping the water in the same […]
Continue ReadingHEALTH ADVISORY: Beware of the Mexican affliction widely known as “Mamítis”. Mamítis rears its ugly head in just about every Mexican family. It is insidious and slow to show its face, but once unleashed, it can wreak havoc on all those in its path. mamítis destroys relationships. It is dangerous, and should be given serious psychological attention as […]
Continue ReadingI should have known from the start that the wedding would be a success. I was too quick to doubt the power of such an event to unite people across physical, social, cultural, and linguistic barriers. And perhaps, too, I doubted the desire of my family and my in-laws to meet and communicate with each […]
Continue ReadingI had a dream. It was a grandiose dream featuring a pristine line of little tollbooths spanning a highway 25 lanes wide. Hundreds of cars were waiting patiently, equally distributed among the 25 lanes. There was traffic, but it moved steadily. As each car approached the little tollbooth, it pushed a button and the stop […]
Continue ReadingMexican cuisine is not for the weak at heart. Any food genre that is capable of making your throat, mouth, and lips burn for extended periods, invoking fits of hiccoughs, and wreaking havoc on stomachs, should not be taken lightly. Learning to eat Mexican is about adapting to change–slowly. The first change is adapting to […]
Continue ReadingI do not claim to be half as interesting as John Malkovich, but after my experiences in moving to Mexico, I may be just as bizarre. I have been through a remarkable number of changes in a period of about 10 months. Some days I think I’ve weathered the storm with grace and even start […]
Continue ReadingMexican men, like the rest of the world, get their ideas about American women from watching talk shows, soap operas, and movies. Therefore, they think we are terribly easy, unfaithful, and willing to hop into bed with any man who comes along. We all get divorced, none of us want children, and in general, we […]
Continue ReadingGas is an important element in homes here in Mexico — propane gas. We use it to cook our food, heat our water, occasionally to heat our homes and dry our clothes. Now remember that this is not natural gas, but a mixture of propane and butane gas, which is a petroleum byproduct that burns […]
Continue Reading“Don’t go near the water,” mothers caution their children, “You might drown.” Good advice, but it has another meaning in Mexico and Texas. Moms living near the Rio Grande are protecting their children from a different threat than accidentally falling in; they’re talking about being sucked in. They’re talking “La Llorona.” Many versions of the […]
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Flowers and flower arranging have played an important role in Mexico from ancient times to the present. The symbolic meaning of flowers is prominent throughout ancient Mesoamerican thought and practice. Flowers could represent anything from beauty and creation to death and destruction. Tlacaelel, a councilor to Moctezuma I (1440-1469), initiated a mystical warrior vision of […]
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