El aguacero torrencial

So for my entire time in Puebla, everyone has been talking about this torrential rain that occurs nearly everyday this time of year. This rain, which had been completely absent, came this afternoon in a magnificent tour de force. My (American) neighbor and I had planned to meet at my house, walk the 10 minutes to the Zocalo, and see a performance by the Ballet Folklorico. I could see that it was raining in the courtyard, but it seemed a gentle sprinkle. Upon stepping onto the street, I discovered that what is a gentle sprinkle in the protection of a courtyard can be more like a hurricane on the open street. We made it about 50 feet before we decided that, despite our raincoats and umbrellas, we would rather be home and dry than soaking wet and cold at a dance performance (which is really saying something since we saw the Ballet Folklorico in Mexico City, and it was honestly one of the best performances I've ever seen). We turned tail and headed back to our respective houses. Upon stepping back into the kitchen, my host brother Enrique took one look at me, began laughing, and assured me that he knew this would happen, but that he wanted me to find out for myself. In summary, after less than a full minute outside, even with a huge umbrella, I was soaked to the skin. No lie, and it's still raining.

So about the courtyard: every building in the city has a courtyard, some very modest and others very impressive. The aesthetic result of this is that the streets are narrow, lined by drab walls on both sides, and nearly devoid of any decoration, because all of the vegetation, ornamentation, and life is encapsulated in the courtyards. It's like stepping into a different world, from one which can only be described as stark, to one which is composed of fountains and talavera and tropical plants and color and birds. For this reason, never believe that what you see is necessarily what there is.

Speaking of delicious fillings, today in the neighboring city of Cholula, I discovered tlatloyos. These are like fat masa pockets filled with beans and cheese, and topped with salsa and more cheese. They're soft and super-delicioso! Also, for breakfast my host mom made me a dish called "migas" which means "crumbs." It seemed to consist of scrambled eggs with pieces of ham and tortilla, and probably cheese. She informed me that it's a dish from Chihuahua, in northern Mexico, and was always considered a poor-man's dish. It has, however, apparently become very gourmet. It is indisputably delicious.

Also worth mentioning is that today is the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, so there has been massive partying going on all day in this almost entirely Catholic region. As I write, there are firecrackers going off and church bells tolling. Apparently these firecrackers (I call them that, but they're really more like a small bomb that shoots into the sky like a firework, but gives off no light) are a tradition of the indigenous peoples in Mexico that has become a very important part of religious celebrations. Good for them, but all day we've been ducking to avoid what invariably seems like very nearby gunfire. Additionally, we visited a church in Cholula, and it was decorated super-fancy for the festival. Observe: the picture on the floor is made of sand and there was a life-size Mary corpse on a pyre sort of thing of fruits and vegetables and flowers.




As a final note, I'm getting into the whole telenovela scene, and am currently watching "Sortilegio" which I like because it's dramatic enough that I like to make fun of it, but also believable enough that I want to find out what happens to the characters.

Hasta luego!