Can Anyone Explain This To Me?

I decided to do a little walking through the center of town today. Besides seeing the usual dirty old men, the infirm, a couple of filthy clowns and mothers with babies all looking for a few pesos, today I witnessed something I can not explain.  A man had a small blanket spread on the ground.  The blanket was adorned with skulls.  He had tarot cards laid out on the blanket along with some scary looking photos.  There was also some sort of figure with a skull head next to the blanket.  He handed everyone surrounding him something and then held up a glass of water and glass of Coke.  Please, can anyone explain the significance of this to me?  Was he telling people their future, and, if so, why the skulls and other stuff?  I am so ignorant.

Election campaign at the school... the Mexican way

How does one campaign for student council offices at a school in Mexico?  Easy!  Have a party complete with clowns, lucha libre and a mechanical bull.  My first thought as a good American was this could never happen in an American school.  I could just smell the lawsuits and American lawyers standing in line waiting for a chance to sue somebody.  The lack of liability is one of the things I find charming in Mexico... unless something bad happens to me, of course!  Anyway, it was great watching my 5th graders being thrown from the mechanical bull like rag dolls.  And that ain't no bull!

Oh, Where Art Thou Manhole Covers?

From the beginning of my Mexico experience I was not surprised that manhole covers would 'pop up' missing. I was thinking that just a few pesos in scrap metal probably can buy a Mexican family of 13 muchos tacos for dinner.

I have been wanting to write about the missing manhole covers for several weeks. I noticed a pattern. As soon as it rained, the manhole cover near my apartment would go missing and a tire would be stuffed into the hole. After a couple days the manhole cover would reappear until the next rain storm. I didn't really understand this phenomenom until I read my new friend Lindy's blog. She wrote that the manhole covers are removed to allow the water to drain during and after a rain. Even after a little rain here in Reynosa, the streets are flooded. I thought they were being sold for scrap metal, but now it all makes sense. It also makes sense that tires are stuffed into the gaping hole for safety reasons. Uh, oh, I've only been in Mexico for a little over a month and things are starting to make sense to me!

Matt and his babies

This photo is just too adorable. I snapped it today while Matt was leading the kinder class.

La Cucaracha, La Cucaracha, la la la la la la laaaa...

Now I understand why the La Cucaracha song is the national anthem for Mexico. Those freakin' things are everywhere just after dusk and they are the size of alley cats. Probably have fangs too. I can deal with them as long as they stay outside. But the second one takes a misstep inside the apartment, it is going to be muerto. I keep a can of Raid with the fresh pine scent handy for just such an occasion. So one morning I go to take a shower and there is the biggest, nastiest cockroach waving its antennas at me like it was giving me the finger. With my industrial size can of Raid I give it a generous shot. Still flipping me off, it scurries to the back of the shower prompting me to empty half the can on my shower invader. My can of Raid is a liar! The label says "Kills on Contact". I guess this really means "Kills on Contact with the Bottom of my Shoe." But at least my bathroom smells like fresh pine.

Illegal and Paperless Dog and Cat in Mexico

I illegally transported Daisy and Sam with me to Mexico. According to the law, animals brought into Mexico not only need current vaccines, but they also need a certificate of health. I did bring papers for Daisy but her rabies vaccine expired in August. She is now in Mexico illegally until my friend Efren gives her the vaccine. I forgot Sam's papers that are stuffed inside a desk in the back of a storage facility so he entered Mexico without any documentation. His vaccines also expired in August so I went on the hunt for a veterinarian in Reynosa. A neighbor gave me directions to his veterinarian so I went on the hunt. After wandering the curvy, nameless streets of Reynosa, I found a veterinarian close to Morelos Blvd. I went inside and spoke to the receptionist. She sent me into see Dr. Rubalcabal and as I tried to explain to him in Spanish what I needed for Sam, he answered me in perfect English. He gave Sammy a quick exam, a shot in the butt and told me to watch for kidney failure since he is now going on 18 years of age. The bill at the end? About $10 US dollars.

Creepy Man and The Man Who Wanted To Marry Me

A couple weeks ago, I went to the market to buy my weekly supplies of fruits and vegetables. I noticed a man following me. I went into the market and bought my supplies. As I walked to the area of taxis, the man followed me again. This time he spoke to me. He spoke very little English and seemed happy when I spoke to him in Spanish. He told me he was a truck driver and he goes to McAllen daily and his wife and children live in Monterrey. I enjoy being able to practice Spanish so it was a pleasant conversation until he asked me, "Como haces el amor?" It means, "How do you make the love?" My reaction was to say "What?" so, of course, he repeated it. I informed him that one does not ask a woman such a question and he apologized. The first taxi comes around and it is full. Darn! Then this jerk has the nerve to say to me, all in Spanish, he would like to be alone with me for 20 or 30 minutes so he can kiss my legs. That did it. "Vete!", I told him which means GO AWAY! "Vete con los de cien pesos!" which roughly mean go to the ones that charge 100 pesos for such services. Then I got into the taxi. Creep!

Everyday I pass by another high school as I walk to work. There are a couple different security guards outside and I always speak to them for a few seconds. On my way home, I spoke to one of the guards one afternoon. He asked me if he could ask me for a favor. I gave him my usual response to this question, "Depends on the favor." He asked me if I could help him get his papers for a visa to the United States. I asked him how I could possibly help him. He wanted to know if I would marry him. Oh, my God! Never mind the fact that he is already married with a 6 year old and and 3 month old baby! I politely told him that it would never work because the US government would do a background check and find out he is already married and his visa would be denied and the application money would be lost.