Mexican Madness; 2006 in Aguascalientes - Living in the High Desert

When I follow my training, I draw up a pro’s & con’s list.
The list of pro’s is way longer than the con’s list. Most importantly for me..warm – hot weather, generally low humidity, awesomely clear days with perfect blue skies..in the winter not much changes except that you need Russian coats, scarves, hats, & poly-props to keep you warm at work after 6pm, & a sexy man or toasty dog or cuddly cat to keep you warm in bed at night. For me, I wore my now tatty track pants & an ugly T-shirt, had a goose-down sleeping bag that everyone scorned me for buying, & a laptop e-book. Lappy’s are nice & warm on your tummy in bed!
Now wouldn’t you think this would be heaven for me?

Despite having only 3 points, the cons are, for me, majors. This climate messes with my asthma..not as dramatically as the Siberian spring with its poplar fuzz, but enough to distress me. My nose streams constantly without any apparent cause, & is a horrid embarrassment. Stink Man! I thought I’d left THAT nose behind in Surgut! My nose bleeds EVERY morning..I’ve never suffered from blood noses before, and I do NOT need this new character-building experience at my age. I reckon the air here may disagree with my sinuses. Being a born & bred sub-tropical girl, I guess I need more moisture.

I’m a bit shocked by this discovery, having complained bitterly whilst staggering about in high humidity in both Auckland & Port Douglas. Now I’ve experienced both, I’d definitely rather have the humidity.

A book I’ve read here, “The Hummingbird’s Daughter”, is set in Mexico, and written by a Mexican author..Luis Alberto Urrea. It’s a fabulous semi-fiction (based on a couple of the author’s ancestors), and has lots of really humorous moments, as well as human tragedies. It’s peppered with Spanish, and has helped me somewhat with my own grasp of the language. ANYWAY, I’m going to give you a little excerpt, where a large group of people are migrating from a humid region to the desert.
“…they found themselves sneezing and blowing their noses, blood in the cloths. They had never felt air as dry as this, and the women’s hair and the cat’s fur crackled with small lightning as if they were all enchanted. Segundo sidled up to Tomás and said “Boss, the men, they have rocks in their noses.”…”
It’s true! It was such a relief to read this segment..I’ve now stopped fretting about my own blood-soaked tissues every morning.
As for hair crackling like “small lightning”, mine doesn’t..but it’s marginally less frizzy than Samuel L. Jackson’s. Now, I LOVE that actor..he rates in my Top 10..but I don’t want to look like him!
Have I told you I’ve worked out the real difference between ‘Extra Virgin Olive Oil’ and ‘Olive Oil’? Day cream vs.Night cream! Damn, my skin gets dry in high desert country! I look like an oil slick for the 1st 30-minutes after application, then it’s all been absorbed. In the 1st 30-minutes of ‘day cream’ I have seriously blurred eyesight..gravitational effects on oil. Better a 30-minute oil slick and blindness than a ‘walnut’! Who cares at night?! Hahaha..I’m such a delectable babe! One look at me at bed-time and all my ‘amours’ would run a mile! Days too rushed to baste my body were awful. Within a couple of hours the skin on my back, belly, arms, and legs was alternately itching or feeling like it was splitting open. An excellent incentive to get out of bed on time!

My trial student, Joel Granados, excited us both when he described his skin problems during his 1st lesson on Friday..he told me about the exhorbitantly priced posh-brand cream he uses..I enlightened him about the properties of olive oil & it’s comparatively cheap price. Hooked; he’s paid me for a months lessons in advance, & is bringing 2 mates to join his Saturday lessons! YAY! I have 150 peso’s (US$15.00) a week to live on for the next month! Unfortunately, a bottle of olive oil is worth 3-weeks of this, & my current bottle is now empty.
Bring on the 2 new boys & their peso’s!

Crispy as a packet of fresh corn chips,
Pru XXXX