cultural transpositions

The andean flute music is gone. Maybe there were complaints.

Today, without any money, I roamed the other side of the Reforma to see the balance of the other pavillions. Japan and China were booming. Tons of stuff for sale. Japan was selling everything from chopsticks to inflatable katanas to Zojirushi rice cookers. Korea was doing a brisk business too, although the tee shirts the staffers were wearing said "I [heart] Korea" instead of "Y[o] [corazón] Coréa". There were other odd transpositions too. I caught the Chinese booth selling genmaicha (Japanese tea) the US booth was selling French fries.

Actually, I was really curious about what the US booth would sell. Mexico and the US are slowly eroding the differences between the two as far as goods, economics, lifestyles, and appearances are concerned. The question- what food is most representatively American? Here's thier menu.

• New Orleans Jambalaya
• French fries
• 100% beef hot dog
• Iced tea with lemon
• desert: blueberry pie with "crema battida" which I belive is whipped cream.

Anyway, Reforma is lined with American culinary pavillions: Wendy's, Starbucks, Yogurtland, Starbucks, Capital Grille, Starbucks, Olive Garden, Starbucks, McDonalds, Burger King, Starbucks, Carl's Junior Burger, and Starbucks.

The rest of the pavillion which was apparently sponsored by a local english language acadamey, had books on passing the TOEFL, the Guiness Book of World Records, notable Hispanics in the US, and a cardboard cutout of Barack Obama. Like the Belgian pavillion, there was also a selection of beer on sale, although unlike the Belgian pavillion, the beer was the typical industrial swill. I can't believe they spent the money to import Miller Lite. I suppose the average Mexicans and Americans do love thier weak lagers.

The secretive nation of North Korea also had a pavillion and I got to peek inside. It was all painted artwork of typical themes and a bald mannequin wearing a tradtional chesong. I was curious who was running the damned thing, and as far as I could tell, it was a grinning guy who looked like a typical young Mexican twentysomething.

The Russian pavillion was hopping too, although I hope that if any Chilangos decide to visit the Old Country, that they travel in an organized tour. Russia is still about as xenophobic as Saudi Arabia and similarly tourist-friendly.

Scoring a little pot

Dude, there we were in Puerto Vallerta, in the heart of Sinaloa, Mexico. Saori and I were down a side street off of the main tourist stretch when we found a dealer. We'd been scouting around for a little pot since we both decided that was the souvenir we wanted from Mexico while on the cruise, and what we'd seen before was nice, but not quite the highest quality of pot we were looking for. Anyway, this place had some great stuff. The owner was a very interesting bespectacled gentleman named Antonio, who looked vaguely European but spoke with an hint of a British accent. It turns out he had studied in England, probably from a wealthy Mexican family, and had finally settled in Puerto Vallerta to sell high quality goods.

There was such a great selection, Saori and I stayed for about an hour trying to make up our minds what we wanted. In the end, we picked up a little high grade pot that was half-off, and since we paid in cash we got a further discount. Antonio rolled our pot up in newspaper and bubble wrap. Brining it back on the ship was no problem, they didn't even want us to unwrap it. I guess contraband booze is a bigger issue than a little pot to them. Anyway, we brought it back the US, no problems at the border, and now its sitting out in our living room for anyone to enjoy.


Here's a photo; I suppose it's more of a small pitcher than a pot, but I didn't want people to be confused.

Highlights Uno

I did actually have a really great time on this vacation. Here are the highlights:

• Getting good mojitos at the bar and taking them back to our cabin, which had a balcony. The balcony was the best thing about the ship. Narrow, sure, but large enough for two chairs and a small table, and that was fantastic, for watching the docking and the waves, listening to the surf and wind, and enjoying the cool ocean breezes.
• Room parties with family. We had a series of rooms side by side, so even with some opened bottles of wine and energetic conversation, we didn't disturb anyone. 
• Lunch at La Bodeguita del Medio restaurant in Puerto Vallerta. We had done some silver shopping (since our group was mostly ladies) and we were hot and thirsty and tired. We passed a restaurant with a good live band in playing in front of an open window, two guitarists and a drummer playing Cuban music. However, we were looking for someplace to get out of the heat and the 'authenticity' of the place suggested that they didn't have AC. I was going to give it a pass but the waitress invited me to check out the upper floor. Upstairs, the patio was open on two sides, with a great view of the beach and the air moving nicely though, so I called everyone up. Mom had cautioned everyone about drinking water and ice in Mexico, so of course the first thing we all did was to immediately order a round of mojitos. Then we ordered some food. Best damn Cuban food I've ever had. Roast pork leg, fried plantains, moros y christos (black beans and rice), fried beef, it was incredible. The band came upstairs and started playing wonderful Cuban music for us, and the waiter danced with grandma and aunt Brenda, and I even took Saori out for a quick salsa spin.
• I gambled for the first time on this ship. I took out $20 in chips from the blackjack tables and proceeded to lose it over the space of about twenty minutes with Saori and Tay. It was surprisingly fun. I was actually up $15 at one point. I can understand the attraction and thrill that gambling has, although given the speed at which my money slipped away, I don't think I will seek that thrill often.
• In Mazatlan, I really enjoyed walking around the renovated old town, with the pastel stucco walls and shady, leafy cobblestone streets. 
• Also a lot of fun in Mazatlan was running around in the little souped up golf cart taxis. Lots of fun. Zipping across the town in basically a golf cart at speeds around 40 miles an hour. The first ride, there were five of us, so we had to load up around the corner, out of the view of the nearby police, and Saori had to sit on my lap. That was one packed golf-cart.
• Drinking Mexican beers at a cheap beachside resort bar in the "Zona Dorado" (Gold Zone, so called because the tourists flock there) of Mazatlan, eating tortilla chips wth fresh salsa, guacamole, and shrimp cerviche. Tay was kind of stuck there while David, Saori and I talked about architecture, art, and drawing, but at least he had a long island to keep him entertained.