11.11.2006
... with a runny nose & an annoying cough. I'm decked out in jeans, socks & shoes, a top, woolly jersey, scarf, beret, & Russian blue coat! And still I'm cold!
I'm quickly being reminded of my early days here..hot, hot days, & freezing cold nights. So many changes of clothes in one day!
The runny nose is mostly caused by the dust in the air; the annoying cough comes from the loss of humidity as this high desert land heads into winter..an asthmatic's nightmare.
Riding in buses with locals succumbing to seasonal colds & flu doesn't help. It's only a matter of weeks before once again I start every day with a bleeding nose. Dammit! I love the heat of this country, but living in the high desert has it's share of health issues!
I was laughing with my niece, Toni, earlier tonight about how I break a sweat every morning sweeping & mopping the floors with one of those industrial sized mops..a full body workout. Everyday I sweep up enough dirt to plant an orchard. When I mop straight afterwards, there's another orchard's worth of dirt in the bottom of the bucket. If I miss a day, the hair that my flatmate Dom & I shed creates 'tumbleweeds' worthy of a ghost town. DISGUSTING! I was wearing a summery top when I was talking to Toni. About now, that's a fond & distant memory; only a few more hours until I'm reliving that lovely warmth again.
I had been thinking of throwing away my Siberian boots and selling my coats and hats; now I'm relieved I haven't, though I suspect I could make a tidy sum of money if I chose to. Tonight I'm pleased I've been emotionally attached to these excess baggage nuisances; they're back to being essentials.
But how stupid do I feel sitting inside my apartment rugged up like I'm about to step outside into a Moscow winter?!
If you look past me in the photo, you'll notice that I've succumbed to owning a TV & turning it on. Not that I watch it all that often; it's either background noise or muted flickering light. Usually I'm listening to music & downloading loads of old stuff from the internet. I've already told you this.
Look a little closer & you'll see maps taped all over the wall. My world map (in Spanish), my map of Aguascalientes, my map of Mexico, a map of Guanajuato, & my well used & beloved map of Surgut.
Most people who come into my apartment are first drawn to the world map, then they spot the map of Sugut. "Where's that? Show me where that is on your world map! Wow! Now show me where New Zealand is! New Zealand's in Europe, right?!"
Cripes, and I thought everyone thought New Zealand was part of Australia!!!
The next time someone says New Zealand's part of Europe, I'm going to make them show me what part of Europe they think New Zealand is.
Part of Europe, part of Australia, or known for where I'm really from, it's all preferable to being assumed I'm from the US.
Most people quickly work out I'm not from the US cos my accent is so odd. They like it, & mostly they understand it. Sometimes it takes a week or so for them to really get the hang of it. My 'rrrr's' are too soft, as are my 'a's'. And let's not get into the 'zee' vs. 'zed' debate!
I've mentioned to my buddy Tim from Uni when chatting on Messenger, & Toni heard tonight how noisy Mexicans are. I wrote to you about the cursed Tomales truck that comes past every night.
There're also the gas bottle trucks that come past all day every day. Some of them have loud speakers singing out "Gasoline, gasoline, la-la-la-la-la-laaa, gasoli-ine". Some of them just have drivers pulling on a cord to constantly ring an annoying bell..please excuse my coarseness, but they must be fantastic wankers! Or they're too tired by the end of the day to actually do it.
There's the guy who pushes a trolley which has hot coals burning at the bottom of it. He's selling coal-cooked banana's. He has the shrillest train whistle in the world. Shrill enough to burst my eardrums every night.
Daily there're cars that drive through spouting political 'stuff'.
And then there's the water truck boys. You can't drink tap water so every home has bottled water delivered. These boys have their own racket to make, but they've taken a shine to me, so they park below my windows & then ring my doorbell until I pop my face out the window. "Agua Bonita Senora?" Grrrrrrrrr, smile, "No, gracias!" Occasionally they spot me at the shopping mall & bail me up there.
Honestly, this country is 18-hours out of 24 of NOISE!
And I thought Planeta in Surgut was a noisy place to be!
Good grief, & now the roosters have started crowing & I realise this place is 24-hours of NOISE!
Still, in spite of the challenges & annoyances, I love it!
I have 2 new 'boyfriends'.
With the first one, we haven't got to the point of exchanging names, but he's always popped out of his workshop to greet me. Last week, he grabbed hold of me, spent 10-minutes telling me I need to learn to speak Spanish well & he'll learn English so we can actually talk & romance. At the end of it he kissed my hand and let me go. He thinks I'm "muy, muy guapa" (very, very beautiful). In return I could tell him he's muy guapo (very handome). He's got drop dead gorgeous teeth! Hahahahaha..so I have a thing about teeth! That comes from not liking my own.
The second one is a 10-year old lad I teach for three hours a week. He's a difficult child & we've had a few staring out competitions to work out who's the boss. My icey blue eyes have won every time. Now he spends most of his lessons holding my hand, & every Friday he begs me to spend the weekend with him at his family's ranch.
Generally he addresses me as "Teacher", which is the accepted form of respect (regardless of the age of the student), however when he wants me to come to the ranch he hugs & kisses me & calls me Prue.
His parents started out being very off-hand & superior, now they call me Teacher, & kiss me on arrival & departure.
It's an odd world we live in, & I'm thrilled to bits to finally be experiencing it!
So what do you all think about me giving serious consideration to nipping into Libya? I read this neat article in National Geographic, & I'm a little bit hooked on the idea.
I'll leave you with that thought.
Toodle pip!
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