Sure, everybody knows that in Mexico people eat tacos, chiles, and flan (true story) but did you know that alphabet soup is also a common food here? Neither did I. I guess I should mention, however, that the Mexican version involves chayote, a type of squash that works its way into a wide variety of dishes.



(While I put no faith in the truth of the following statements, I still find what Wikipedia had to say about the chayote fun/interesting:

" * In Australia, where it is called choko, a persistent rumour has existed that McDonald's Apple Pies were made of chokos, not apples. This eventually led McDonald's to emphasise the fact that real apples are used in their pies. This legend was based on an earlier belief that tinned pears were often disguised chokos. A possible explanation for the rumour is that there are a number of recipes extant in Australia, that advise chokos can be used in part replacement of canned apples to make the fruit go farther, in making apple pies. This likely arose because of shortages of canned fruit in the years following World War Two, coupled with the fact apples do not grow in many tropical and sub-tropical parts of Australia and were therefore diffcult to obtain.

* Due to its purported cell-regenerative properties, it is believed as a contemporary legend that this fruit caused the mummification of people from the Colombian town of San Bernardo who extensively consumed it. The very well preserved skin and flesh can be seen in the mummies today."


So that was a little random, but anyway...


On Monday I will be going on a 7-day field trip with my biology class to Zapotitlan, a semi-desert in the state of Puebla. True to the typical style of Mexican academics (and anything else, really) we have been given hardly any information so I can't really say what to expect. All I know is that the trip is worth something like 50% of my grade for the course. I will take lots of pictures and hopefully not get bitten by a snake. Luckily, however, I will be with my good friend Dofus who has plenty of experience with the biology department field trips. (His other interests include playing futbol, taking me on food-related tours of the city, and not showing up to class on time.)


Dofus the perpetually tardy.