Mexican Morning Madness

This morning, of all mornings, I WISH I had my camera with me. I should know by now that anything and everything can happen in Mexico City at any given time. So my fault folks...


With the absence of functioning red, yellow, and green lights since early yesterday evening - the Mexican driver has been possessed. Rutas driving on sidewalks, cars on the opposite side of the road, and of course, relentless honking.


What is normally a 5 minute drive to work would have been an hour no doubt, so we decided to walk the 6 block stretch. On my way back, I saw the obvious reason as to why nothing is resolved:


Two police officers in the midst of the honking chaos, eating their morning tacos. God forbid they have to actually work and direct traffic!!!


SIGH...

how my NG is helping my TL

LOL :) Totally random title, I know. Let me explain.

The thought of moving to a new country is daunting, especially if you don't speak the language. Case in point: CHINA. I really don't know how I managed 4 years of the same 4 phrases over and over again - wo ting bu dong (I don't understand), wo bu yao (I don't want), wo mei you qian (I have no money), and wo yao qu (I want to go...). But hey, I survived right? Unfortunately my Mandarin didn't.

So now I find myself in some what of a similar (but not as grave) situation. You might be wondering, "why? you speak Spanish already don't you?" Well yes, not 100% perfect, but I'll give myself a 94%, which is definitely enough to survive. But the Spanish I knew before coming here is Spanish Spanish...from Spain. Huh?

The same way biscuits in England are cookies in America; Spanish vocabulary also changes drastically across the Atlantic. Although I've expanded my word base over the years, I'm still learning. Here are some of my favorites thus far:

chale - no way
chamaco - child
chambear - to work
chaparrito - shorty
chela - beer
compadre / comadre - brother/pal/friend; but usually used to address the godparents of your kids.
desmadre - kinda used to describe a disastrous situation, but I think it's more on the not so polite side (I wouldn't use it when describing an event to your grandma, for example).
guacala - gross / ew.
guey - man/dude
orale - right on; cool.
padre - awesome
sale - that's cool / ok.
tener hueva - feel lazy (again, not the most polite of sayings).

I decided against including the nastier slang (although I definitely have one or two (or three) favorites in that category too!), but you can check out a full list here.

Along with new words of course comes new pronunciations, the most challenging of which (for me) has been the dreaded TL. Most of these are proper names from Nahuatl, the Aztec language still spoken today in Mexico.

Popocatepetl

Tlacuache

Iztaccihuatl

Tlaxcala

Tlatelolco

Tlaquepaque

Tlatenango

Huatlatluaca

I seriously have laughing fits in my attempts to pronounce these words properly, but I've been getting better and better. The other day my gordo was giving me lessons, and quite impressed after he said, "see, your ng has helped your tl".

The NG he is referring to is that very specific sound in Tagalog that only native speakers seem to grasp properly.

ng - of
nga - pressing confirmation, truly, really. Oo nga - Yes, indeed.
hangin - air
ngayon - now
ngipin - tooth
langit - heaven
kulangot - booger

Did you try pronouncing the above? I found this mini-guide that attempts to help:

The Letter NG

This is a single letter in the Filipino alphabet and its sound is not at all foreign to the English speaker. It can be found in words such as “sing” and “hang” etc. The difficulty for non-Filipinos is that the ng sound is often at the beginning of a word or a syllable. Here is a trick to learn this sound. It works as long as you don’t pronounce the word “sing” with a hard g.

Repeat the words “sing along” several times together in a continuous flow:

Sing-along, sing-along, sing-along, etc…

Now remove the last syllable “long” and repeat several times:

Singa, singa, singa, etc…

Now remove the first two letters “si” and repeat several times while making sure that the sound of the letter Y does not creep into your pronunciation.

Nga, nga, nga, etc… 

Now you’ve got it!

Did it work for you?

Maybe with more practice my gordo's tl will eventually help his ng.

Sinaloa

The latest in the series of las Estrellas del Bicentenario...Sinaloa.



Enjoy!

*If you need to figure out where Sinaloa is, check here.

I Made Muffins!!!

This is totally not a {food / cooking / baking} blog simply 'cause:

1. I never have a camera around while in the kitchen.

2. I usually don't follow recipes, so when the time comes to explain what goes where, I rarely remember. 

3. And really, I rather leave the food blogging to experts like my amiga at aromasysabores. 

BUT ~ today I was inspired by some overripe bananas sitting on my dining room table and thus commenced my baking adventure at high altitude. 

Gordo just had one and totally approved!!! 

Since this experience went well, I'm back on par after my brownie disaster (you are really better off not knowing about that one). At this rate, maybe I'll be inspired soon again.

Wistful Acapulco

Only about 3.5 hours (without traffic!) from Mexico City, Acapulco has long been a favorite destination for many chilangos wanting to escape the stress of city living.


We just spent the last couple of days there basking in the sun and refueling with clamatos con cerveza. Gordo, me, and my in-laws went to celebrate my suegro's birthday, Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year...etc, etc...a lot of excuses to take a few days off, but I don't think anyone needs a pretext or justification for being at the beach. Just 'cause you want to is sufficient.

This was only my second visit to Acapulco, so don't judge (or maybe wholly trust) my judgment please.


First off, I feel like I'm in Manila. Ironically, this was same thing my gordo said when he arrived in Manila - 'I feel like I'm in Acapulco'. There is something about it - the sun, the humidity, the palm trees, the people - it all feels very similar to me. We have also been reading/skimming a book entitled Manila Men in the New World, which shines some light on the migration between Mexico and the Philippines. I don't know how much of the book is actually cold hard fact or wishful thinking, but nonetheless entertaining.


Second, there is an aura of nostalgia that surrounds Acapulco. Made famous as the glorious getaway of Hollywood stars in the 1950's and 60's, this vacation spot was the epitome luxury and exclusivity. But as the years passed, it tried to desperately cling on to the glamour and charm that once defined it, while being thrown into the era of modern consumerism. What was once, I imagine, a quaint fishing town is now a semi-city with monsters like Wal-Mart and Costco lining the coast, and every cliff with a view covered in houses and hotels. And the fact that it is relatively accessible to get to means throngs of people line the beaches on any given holiday.

In recent years, Acapulco has been trying to recover the charm that will turn in back into an international luxury destination, according to the Official Acapulco Travel Site. Multi-million dollar hotels, residences, and restaurants are popping up everywhere and renovations are constantly on going. I question though whether more jaw-dropping amenities will give back Acapulco what it may have lost. It seems to me that a lot of tourists flock to this cove of the Pacific coast in search of that glamour of a privileged life - ending up at such icons like Las Brisas and Baby O - to get a taste of what life was really like back in the day as a star.

The New York Times Travel section has some good tips on where to stay and what to do in Acapulco.

images on the left from www.capama.gob.mx/Capama/historia.php












This trip's photos may not truly show the real Acapulco, but it's because we pretty much kept to ourselves by this pool. We only wandered out one night for dinner at (you guessed it!) Las Brisas. Even we can't escape the idea of a glamorous evening.

But obviously if you Google "Acapulco", there are a million images of infinity pool views overlooking the magnificent Pacific, romantic dinner settings, and chaise longues you just want to live on forever. This is Acapulco, or at least what it wants you to believe it is. Just remember, it can be expensive to be a star.

Under the (weather) Rain, literally.

As usual, Mexican Mother Nature has pulled a fast one on us with Cold Front Number 28. It's been rainy, windy, and freezing cold the last couple of days. So of course, we both have come down with sore throats and coughs. I managed to feel decent enough this morning to make oatmeal with fresh strawberries. Warm and filling for those icky days.

What is your comfort food on days like these?