Our First Day...settling in

Our first day. A grocery list that you wouldn’t believe is first priority. We need everything from salt to zip-lock bags. And, some food, too. As we’re filling our cart, we remind ourselves that we have to carry it all home. The basics fill our cart, and the bags I’ve brought with me, and we take our Basics home.

Maria provides us with dishes, utensils and very basic pots. Of course the knives are dreadful, and the pots aren’t the best. But, most of her tenants don’t cook. The cutting board is a piece of plywood, NAILED to a couple of pieces of 2x4. There is no hot water in the kitchen sink, and the faucet is so short it barely clears the sink edge. But, we have a nice little patio with our own clothes washing sink and a clothesline. And, the shower in the bathroom is large. With hot water.

It’s lunch time, and all I can think of is a tlayuda! It’s like a Mexican pizza…a very large corn tortilla, with a thin layer of asciento (lard), beans, cheese, tomato slices and avocado. We choose the one with tasajo, thinly sliced and grilled beef. Tlayudas are classic street food here. The food vendors fill the streets at night, but at lunch we find our tlayuda at the 20 de November Mercado. Yummm! After lunch, we cruise through the Juarez Mercado, across the street, where we buy 25 juice oranges for less than $2US. Then, we make ANOTHER trip to Chedraui for the rest of our list. We’ve put some miles on the feet today. Let’s see: 10 blocks one way, two trips to Chedraui equals 40 blocks. Add 5 more blocks, one way to the Mercado, we’ve walked 50 blocks today. Oh, I wish I hadn’t done that math.

Back at home, I soak the veggies in Clorox water….a drop in a gallon will kill the bacteria. There are a couple of large plastic dish pans in my kitchen, perfect for the job. Then, I get the caldo de Puerco (pork stew) started for dinner. Oh, on the way home from the second trip to Chedraui, I found a hand-made tortilla seller. Perfect!

So, that’s the lay of the land. Tomorrow, I hope to get signed in at the library. That’s about 12 blocks from here, and the bus will take us right past it for 5 pesos. We haven’t actually had a visit with Maria yet, so I don’t have an internet connection. And, she doesn’t have her money, either. By the time this gets posted, there will be more to report. So happy to be here!