Sunday, June 13, 2004
Of Jealousy and Food
I did it! Blog post # 2!
Friday night I saw some of my old students from my first term here. They moved to another city about a year ago, so I didn't see them during the first few days after I got back, when I saw a large number of my other old students at the airport, the school, and the graduation / awards ceremony. So this one former student of mine, when I had him last, he was in the eighth grade. He was already several inches taller than me, with model-type looks, smart as a whip, &c. So I saw him the other night, and I'm not sure if he had actually gotten much taller, but wearing this shirt that looked like an England soccer jersey, and his hair half-way covering his face, I could have sworn that he came right out of the pages of GQ magazine. So I was thinking, it's one thing to secretly harbor some "jealousy" or "envy" when I think about my hero, Bebo Norman, who is a big famous Christian folk-style singer / songwriter. But what does it say about me when I'm secretly jealous of a fifteen-year-old kid? Hmm... just wondering.
Before that I had eaten supper at the business manager's house. I ate two big delicious hamburgers, along with chips and what not, and a piece of very rich chocolatey pie. I also took another burger and a large piece of cake home with me, so I ate well yesterday also. That was great, because I haven't been eating a whole lot since I've been here. If I'm at the house, I'll usually eat a little sandwich and chips. And if I'm away from the house, then I'm generally not the one to determine what we eat. Except for today. Today I ate at Italianni's. It is an Italian restaurant, if the name didn't give it away. They have the best chicken fettuccine ever. The pasta and sauce are good enough, but the chicken is thinly sliced and tender and so good, and it comes with shredded carrots and diced tomatoes. (And broccoli, too, but I just pick it out). And the bread they bring, along with this olive oil with herbs and basalmic vinager mixture for dipping.... mmmmm. So anyway, I went to church this morning at the English-speaking church, and I met this Journeyman girl who lives and works in Toluca, along with two girls who are with her for about a month or so. So after the service I was like, "You have plans for lunch? Want to go eat something?" I'm usually not bold about making plans, especially with people I don't e'en know (I had just met them less than two hours ago), but when it comes to eating, my stomach will generally defeat my shyness in a one-to-one match. At first they said that they were going to attend the Spanish service and eat at the potluck-style dinner afterwards, but then the pastor's wife suggested that we go eat, and then I could take them to "La Ciudadela" market to buy cheap souvenir-type junk. Shopping... not my favorite thing at all. But what else do I have to do? And if there's a good reason to eat some good food, then count me in. I'll sacrifice a few hours standing around while girls pick through hundreds of pieces of pewter that all look like ashtrays to me; or thumb through cheap water-color paintings on cheap homemade paper; or pick out their wedding china from among the shops in this hot, dirty, smelly, crowded market. I'll e'en fight the traffic and risk getting lost (sometimes), if I know there's a good meal in it for me. So that's what I did today. We left the church to go eat, and I suggested Italianni's, e'en though I ate there last Saturday. And they said they were fine with that, e'en though they'd already eaten there twice in the last two weeks. First, I veered into the wrong lane and ended up getting on Viaducto instead of on the Periférico (which may not mean much to you). Then we had some problem with ordering our food: our waiter had no idea that the dish we were ordering e'en existed. After he brought something with just chicken covered in vegetables and some sauce, we had to show him the menu, and then he had to go back and ask someone in the back what we were ordering. But he finally got it right. After eating we went downtown to the market. Well, today the final game of the summer soccer season playoffs was being played, here in the city, and there were roads closed everywhere for people to gather and watch and celebrate. So I had to find an alternate route to the market. After shopping for hours and buying only a bottle of water to drink (one of the girls did buy quite a bit), we left to go back to the church. Once again, we had the same problem with roads being closed. But by this time, the game was already over, and people were waving flags from their cars and honking at each other and all in celebration. I made a wrong turn on the way back to the church, but it worked out because we drove by the Ferrari dealership, and there was an Enzo inside. Aaaahhhhh..... Ferrari....... Enzo.......... So I took them back and came back home. Now I'm exhausted and ready for bed. And that's the end of that story. You have my apologies for the abrupt ending. So until the next time....
Friday night I saw some of my old students from my first term here. They moved to another city about a year ago, so I didn't see them during the first few days after I got back, when I saw a large number of my other old students at the airport, the school, and the graduation / awards ceremony. So this one former student of mine, when I had him last, he was in the eighth grade. He was already several inches taller than me, with model-type looks, smart as a whip, &c. So I saw him the other night, and I'm not sure if he had actually gotten much taller, but wearing this shirt that looked like an England soccer jersey, and his hair half-way covering his face, I could have sworn that he came right out of the pages of GQ magazine. So I was thinking, it's one thing to secretly harbor some "jealousy" or "envy" when I think about my hero, Bebo Norman, who is a big famous Christian folk-style singer / songwriter. But what does it say about me when I'm secretly jealous of a fifteen-year-old kid? Hmm... just wondering.
Before that I had eaten supper at the business manager's house. I ate two big delicious hamburgers, along with chips and what not, and a piece of very rich chocolatey pie. I also took another burger and a large piece of cake home with me, so I ate well yesterday also. That was great, because I haven't been eating a whole lot since I've been here. If I'm at the house, I'll usually eat a little sandwich and chips. And if I'm away from the house, then I'm generally not the one to determine what we eat. Except for today. Today I ate at Italianni's. It is an Italian restaurant, if the name didn't give it away. They have the best chicken fettuccine ever. The pasta and sauce are good enough, but the chicken is thinly sliced and tender and so good, and it comes with shredded carrots and diced tomatoes. (And broccoli, too, but I just pick it out). And the bread they bring, along with this olive oil with herbs and basalmic vinager mixture for dipping.... mmmmm. So anyway, I went to church this morning at the English-speaking church, and I met this Journeyman girl who lives and works in Toluca, along with two girls who are with her for about a month or so. So after the service I was like, "You have plans for lunch? Want to go eat something?" I'm usually not bold about making plans, especially with people I don't e'en know (I had just met them less than two hours ago), but when it comes to eating, my stomach will generally defeat my shyness in a one-to-one match. At first they said that they were going to attend the Spanish service and eat at the potluck-style dinner afterwards, but then the pastor's wife suggested that we go eat, and then I could take them to "La Ciudadela" market to buy cheap souvenir-type junk. Shopping... not my favorite thing at all. But what else do I have to do? And if there's a good reason to eat some good food, then count me in. I'll sacrifice a few hours standing around while girls pick through hundreds of pieces of pewter that all look like ashtrays to me; or thumb through cheap water-color paintings on cheap homemade paper; or pick out their wedding china from among the shops in this hot, dirty, smelly, crowded market. I'll e'en fight the traffic and risk getting lost (sometimes), if I know there's a good meal in it for me. So that's what I did today. We left the church to go eat, and I suggested Italianni's, e'en though I ate there last Saturday. And they said they were fine with that, e'en though they'd already eaten there twice in the last two weeks. First, I veered into the wrong lane and ended up getting on Viaducto instead of on the Periférico (which may not mean much to you). Then we had some problem with ordering our food: our waiter had no idea that the dish we were ordering e'en existed. After he brought something with just chicken covered in vegetables and some sauce, we had to show him the menu, and then he had to go back and ask someone in the back what we were ordering. But he finally got it right. After eating we went downtown to the market. Well, today the final game of the summer soccer season playoffs was being played, here in the city, and there were roads closed everywhere for people to gather and watch and celebrate. So I had to find an alternate route to the market. After shopping for hours and buying only a bottle of water to drink (one of the girls did buy quite a bit), we left to go back to the church. Once again, we had the same problem with roads being closed. But by this time, the game was already over, and people were waving flags from their cars and honking at each other and all in celebration. I made a wrong turn on the way back to the church, but it worked out because we drove by the Ferrari dealership, and there was an Enzo inside. Aaaahhhhh..... Ferrari....... Enzo.......... So I took them back and came back home. Now I'm exhausted and ready for bed. And that's the end of that story. You have my apologies for the abrupt ending. So until the next time....
