Feb 4 - Frustration
Four years ago, there was a fabulous shop that sold all kinds of items made of copper: pitchers, sinks, plaques, etc. We had been looking for a hammered copper water pitcher for a long, long time. Way back when on one of our 7 trips to India we bought some hammered copper goblets and serving dishes. We found exactly what we wanted here four years ago and had the water pitcher lined so we could serve other drinks like lemonade. This time we wanted to have a large stock pot made so we searched for our store to no avail. Then we went online to find it. We got an address and walked there this morning only to discover the building was being remodeled. Later we talked to someone at a realtor’s office where the kitchen store used to be only to discover both stores no longer existed. C’est la guerre. Time waits for no cook so to speak.
I think in a former post I was bemoaning the fact that the ex-pat population seems to have grown here. I failed to mention what many expats do here: they support many charities. They funded the building of a playground for children adjacent to Parque Juarez. A neighbor I met yesterday who is from Canada was on her way to pack grocery boxes for the poor. Events are held to raise money for dental and medical care for locals and the list goes on and on. I shouldn’t be so critical of ex-pats being here particularly when I have fantasies about living in such a place.
I am really struck how friendly and courteous people are here, both ex-pats and locals. Drivers almost always yield to pedestrians unlike Rep of Georgia where pedestrians are targets! Taxi drivers will readily yield to oncoming cars that are trying to turn left or trying to merge from a side street. It is very refreshing to witness such behavior particularly in a town overrun with cars and lacking the infrastructure to support the number of cars on the roads. It is also very safe here. I never worry about personal safety in San Miguel.
On the way home from our fruitless shopping excursion we stopped by a market that caters to ex-pats. We remembered it from our last visit. It is tiny and crammed full of items ex-pats need or want. One challenge of not speaking the language in any country to finding food you are familiar with. I was looking at a package that resembled quinoa and next to me was another gringo. The package was in a plain bag and the shelf had a sign on it. So we had a discussion saying ‘it sure looks like quinoa.’ She then whipped out her phone and gurgled it and she said ‘yes it is.’ I got a couple of other items and we headed for home. We popped into a tapas restaurant that Jen had recommended and had a delicious albeit expensive lunch. Green salad with Granny Smith apples and passionfruit, duck tacos and sea bass. Each dish was delicious. Everything Jen had recommend has been a hit.
Later we went to La Comer, the large grocery that sells housewares as well. We got some needed items like a cutting board, a tray to make eating on the patio easier with fewer trips from the kitchen, etc. We came home and had roasted fingerling potatoes, fresh broccoli, wonderful green beans, and salad. YUM! After cleaning up the kitchen we watched the New Hour on PBS. I didn’t sleep well last night so I retired early, around 10:00 or 10:30. My guy wasn’t far behind.
Feb 5
We slept well and got moving early since the housekeeper, Nuria, was due around 9:00. Turned out she arrived around 10:00. By then we had had our breakfast of granola, fruit, juice, and coffee, cleaned up the kitchen and were working on our emails. I have to say I'm glad I don’t have to clean house here. I haven’t cleaned house since the late ‘80s.
I left around 10:30 for the town Cenro. I needed some lighter weight blouses for this climate. Today it was 75 degrees. Portland is icy with some snow and 20 degrees according to an email this morning. Guess we got outta there just in time! Two days ago I rediscovered a shop I had seen four years ago. It was in the same place. All the clothes are natural fabrics: silk, linen, and cotton. Ninety-eight percent of the clothes are solid colors, mostly white or ecru. I look like a three-day-old corpse in those colors but they had a dark blue blouse that worked and I found a lovely pair of earrings that matched the shirt I wore there.
While I was gone, Ron took some photos around the house:
When I got home we went two blocks up the street and ate at a tiny café I had spied on the way home. They serve breakfast until 1:00 so Ron opted for a spinach and cheese omelet with bacon and refried black beans. I had a trio of small spinach and cheese quesadillas. What a terrific meal on both counts. The spinach was so fresh. Our dishes were $3 each.
I watered the upstairs terrace plants and then started on roasting some veggies. Remember that quinoa I bought yesterday? Well, quinoa is supposed to take 10-15 minutes to cook. After an hour it was crunchy and I am convinced this was not quinoa. I threw it out and had to punt to come up with a dinner alternative. Ron is now working on it. I have to say living in a foreign country and not knowing the language makes cooking a trial by fire.
Tonight’s entertainment will be the State of the Union address.
No comments:
Post a Comment