Tag: homesickness

Those pesky acequias.

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I believe I have blogged before about the water irrigation ditches found on the side of nearly every Mendocino street (other than Arístedes and Colón, I’ve noticed – but there are ton more, I’m sure.). They are about 3-4 feet deep , or so. They carry running water around the city to water the plants that they planted here way back when, because we’re smack in the middle of a desert.

They built the acequias to injure people.

Not really. But, I know a lot of people who have fallen in one, drunk or sober. I’m now a lucky member of this not-so-exclusive club.

Mendoza

I don’t know how it happened, but I ate sh*t yesterday on my way home from my massage. Maybe it was the fact that I was so relaxed after a stressful day. Maybe it was the spiderweb I was mesmerized by, so much so that I took an ill-placed step and ended up waist-deep in my concrete ditch. Luckily for me, there was no water in this one on this day.  However, concrete ledges, when one scrapes one’s both legs on them, hurt like a b*tch.

Adding insult to injury, no Mendocino passerby offered to help me or ask if I was okay. I dusted off my now-dust-covered jeans and wiped my bloody, scraped palms together. Embarrassed, and used to falling in such a manner, I grinned. But I died a little bit inside.

I called my mother soon thereafter to recount the story, and her reaction? “That nevah woulda happened in New YAWK. People think we’re all rude, but I’ll tell ya – New Yawkas woulda stopped and helped ya.”

Maybe.

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What I miss from home: Part 1

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the things I really miss from home. This is partially due to having to miss one of my best friends from law school’s wedding last Saturday.  We’ll call this post the “bitching and moaning that I’m not in the U.S.” post. I do like it here, but everyone gets homesick, don’t they?

Here’s a list. While not exhaustive, it’s a good start. I’m breaking it into categories because, well, food is important and is probably most of it. Deal with it.

Food:
Mexican food – last time I had it in Mendoza, I got food poisoning.
Queso (you know, Velveeta + Rotel), although we did have it once already here. It’s still rare.
VARIETY (i.e. anything other than steak, pizza, salad, and tartas). 
Indian food
Seedless grapes
Spicy things
American-style bacon
Thai food (although I haven’t tried Wasana yet)

Culture:
Being able to order food for delivery without having a panic attack and psyching myself out of it
Not waiting in line for over 30 minutes at the supermarket 10-items-or-less lane
Actually using the little conveyor belt at the checkout, rather than moving it all manually and having the cashier give you a dirty look
Not having to walk everywhere or take a cab
Eating before 10pm and being considered normal
SPEAKING ENGLISH – I’m making a serious effort to speak only Spanish all the time with strangers, and it is seriously tiring. It is really helping my Spanish, though!
Men with good haircuts
Ethnic diversity
Laws that say you need to pick up after your dog
Giving someone a $20 bill and not being constantly asked if I have any smaller bills.
Other:
My friends and family from home
My boyfriend (sorry babe – you’re just as important as friends and family but I wanted to give you a shout-out!)
My car
Turning on the hot water and having it be hot right away, rather than 5 minutes later
Not being bitten by mosquitoes nearly daily
Not almost slipping on the sidewalk because it’s made of tile and not concrete or brick/stone
I know I’ll think of more later. But before that, I should probably post about what I love about Argentina, no?