It Is the Definitely the Rainy Season

It seems that this year's rainy season is rainier than most other summers.  Since I arrived last week most days have had rain in the afternoons or evenings.  A number of days have seen heavy thunderstorms.

On Monday we had light rain in Nápoles, the neighborhood where my apartment is located.  However, in other parts of the city the rain was apparently torrential.  This photo appeared yesterday in one of the city's newspapers...

The worst flooding was along the "Circuito Interior" near the airport.  According to the newspaper article the Secretariat of Citizen Security sent out vans to help people on their way to the airport who would otherwise miss their flights.

Yesterday I spent my morning downtown, and decided to walk the four miles back to my apartment.  Most of the way the sun was shining, but as I neared my neighborhood the sky clouded over.  I should have gone directly back to my place, but I foolishly decided to stop at a nearby café to have a "café con leche" (coffee with steamed milk).  While I was sitting there it began to rain.

The rain continued for quite some time, and I ended up ordering a second coffee.  Finally the rain was just a light sprinkle, and I made my way back to the apartment without getting too wet.

More Food!

On Saturday we had to leave the baptism party, and then drive all the way across the city in the middle of a torrential thunderstorm.  After more than an hour's drive we finally reached the home of Alejandro's Aunt Araceli.  We were invited to a small family get-together, and Araceli had made "pozole". 

"Pozole" is a traditional Mexican stew-like soup that is made with pork and hominy.  It is garnished with chopped onion and lettuce, sliced radishes and avocados.  I have to say that it is not one of my favorite Mexican dishes, but Araceli makes an exceptionally good "pozole".  And you never go away from her home hungry.  When she asks if you want a second helping, and you say "just a little more", expect to get another full bowl of "pozole". It is still source of laughter between Alejandro and me how on one of our visits to his aunt's house, she put a whole pork shank in my bowl when I requested a small second helping.

Some of the family gathered around the table

I don't know what the topic of conversation was when I snapped this photo.  They all look rather sullen here, but they are a very congenial group of people.  Alejandro and I were there until eleven at night, and, needless to say, we left with very full stomachs.

A Social Engagement

Alejandro used to belong to a group of mountain climbers.  Although he hasn't climbed any mountains in quite a few years, he has remained good friends with the others in the group.  I have met some of them on past trips at get-togethers.  On Saturday we were invited to the baptism of the son of one of the members of the group.

The baptism was held at 1:00 in the afternoon in a church at the far western edge of the metropolitan area in a municipality called Atizapán.  We left from Alejandro's house at noon, but it took us more than an hour to get there.  The service had already begun, but we arrived before the actual baptism.

The parish church is a small, modern building.  It is named after San Fernando, a 13th century king of the Spanish kingdom of Castile.

After the ceremony, it is an old Mexican custom (one of which I had not heard of before) to throw coins to the children.  They scramble to gather up the money.

After the baptism there was a reception at a nearby party center.  A nice dinner was served.  In traditional Mexican fashion, there were three courses... first came a soup, followed by a pasta dish, and then the main course.  We had chicken breast in tamarind sauce.

Each guest received a very nice memento of the occasion... a cross made of Talavera ceramic with the baby's name.

We had a very nice time, but we had to leave before the party broke up.  We had another invitation to attend that day!

Rushing the Season

The last time I looked at the calendar we were still in August.  However, last weekend Alejandro and I were at Sam's Club, and they were already selling merchandise for holidays that are months away.

It's bad enough that the gringo-style celebration of Halloween has grafted itself onto the traditional Mexican Day of the Dead holiday, but do they have to start selling these decorations (probably made in China) two and a half months ahead of time?  Can't we get through Mexican Independence Day (September 16th) before thinking about Halloween / Day of the Dead?

Even worse, they're selling Christmas decorations four months ahead of time.  Are the Sam's Clubs in the U.S. already selling Christmas stuff?

The Pancake Guy

Alejandro's nephew Ezra seems to enjoy cooking, and the thing he most enjoys making is pancakes.  One of the gifts that I brought from back home was a plastic bag of pancake mix.  It caught my eye in the supermarket because the packaging seemed to be directed toward young cooks, and because it was a product of Luxembourg, of all places.  Last Thursday night, Ezra decided to make us pancakes for supper.  Although he is very shy about speaking  to me in English, he has really learned a lot.  Without asking me a single question, he was able to follow the instructions on the package.  

 

The finished product was quite tasty.  To top the pancakes, we opened a couple other things that I had brought... a jar of wild blueberry spread and a small jug of pure Ohio maple syrup.

If this pancake looks a bit irregularly shaped, it's because it was the last pancake, and Ezra was pouring the remaining bits of batter into the pan.

Thank you, chef Ezra, for preparing supper!

A Sweet but Annoying Dog

I have already introduced you in earlier posts to Iztac, the pit bull which Alejandro's family got just before the beginning of the pandemic.

Iztac surveying the outside world from the window of the second floor terrace

I was concerned when Alejandro told me that they got a pit bull, but Iztac is extremely affectionate with me.  (By the way, the name Iztac is the Aztec word for "white".)

Iztac has grown out of some of her puppy behavior.   She is no longer as destructive as she used to be.  However, she still is at times a crazy dog.  One behavior that has become very annoying on my last couple visits is her incessant barking while we are eating.

Iztac is not allowed in the dining room which is separated from the living room by a grillwork door.  When we are seated at the table she positions herself at the pass-through or at the door and barks and barks and barks.

The strange thing is that she does not do this when I am not with the family, so I don't think that she is begging for food.  I don't know if she is jealous that I am with them, or if she wants attention from me.  Sometimes, I will go over to her, and in a very quiet voice say "Tranquila, tranquila."  At times that works, but at other times she starts barking again when I sit down.  Eventually she will calm down, or Alejandro will make her go outside on the terrace.  But it is the one very annoying behavior of this otherwise sweet doggie.

More on the Earthquake

We did not feel the early morning earthquake on Friday at all.  However, surprisingly, according to an article in the Mexico City newspaper "El Universal", there was some damage reported to the interior of Mexico City's Metropolitan Cathedral.  Pieces of material fell from the cupulas.  The largest piece (shown below) fell on one of seats by the main altar.

(image taken from the internet)

It was also noted that a crack in the ceiling, which first appeared after the 2017 quake, was larger after yesterday's quake.