San Francisco cont.
OK, my laundry isn't ready yet so I told their girl that I'll be back in an hour and a half. I just don't want her to close up before I return. I need my laundry I barely have anything it's been about 1.5 weeks since I had my laundry done. I love not having to do my laundry!
I can't even tell you how many hundreds of types of fruits and veggies there are. Even some of them my teacher didn't know what they were so he'd ask about them. I was bad because I know a major rule of travel is not to eat fruit without disinfecting it. I had two types of fruit yesterday. One is my teachers favorite, I forgot then name of it. It had a similar flavor to an avocado, it was light green, and had a tough skin like avacado but no pit. Then we had these tiny fruits that he wasn't sure what they were. They were sweet and sour. They were awesome. He had a sweet potatoe. That's a common breakfast here. Josefina made it for me. She said a lot of students don't like sweet potatoes. I explained how it's popular during Thanksgiving and Xmas and we make pies. Who knows I may get some weird parasite from the fruit. I guess I'm not as careful as I should be. However, damn it, I want to experience as much as I can here! I'm not going to eat the food from the street vendors though. I do have a line, but I freaking love fruit! The names were impossible to remember and I didn't really take down many notes. I brought a large index card and a pen. I was just too amazed at watching the hustle and bustle of the market. We would watch transactions too. It was just great! There were maybe 20 gringos there during our 4 hours. It's very traditional and not many people visit it unless it's with the school. The textiles are much cheaper here too. However, they jack up the price for the gringos. I'm going to ChiChi next weekend. Damn, I just remembered so that means I can't go hiking...hmmm..decisions.
We were approaching a section with animals. My teacher asked me if I would like to go. I thought it was going to be livestock, but that was definitely not the case much to my surprise. I've never seen so many dead animals before. Every internal and external part is laying out on tables or hanging from strings above from a piece of wood for sale. I saw heads of cows, the brain was cleaned out and their faces were distorted as if it was screaming in pain before it died. There were heads of cows, sheep, pigs, some with the skin stripped to reveal the muscle and tissue below. There were chickens, turkeys some dead in various piles and some alive. Some babies shoved in canisters for sale. It was wild! I kept thinking, "oh god, i'm going to get bird flu!"
There was a large bowl with this black, thick goo. My teacher said it was big intestines with blood. My teacher said they eat it and it's really good but he tries not to think that he's eating pig blood and entrails when he eats it. He just tries to enjoy the tast. I was so creeped out at the thought! Next to the bowl were a bunch of pig kidneys! I was really creeped out at the large cow legs laying across tables or hanging around. Josefina has talked of how she makes a soup with it, but only she and her hubby eat it. Yuck! The abundance dead animals was quite overwhelming and I walked through it anyway. However, I didn't look all around as I was afraid of all that I would see. I think my teacher could tell I was a bit uncomfortable, but I wanted to see every part of the market. I'm freaking crazy! I know Jenny must be nearly passed out on the floor right now.
We walked through an area with livestock containing ducks, chickens, kittens, dogs, sheep, pigs, horses, you name it and it's sold there. There was this adorable indigenous girl standing amidst the chaos of the market with a precious boxer puppy. She had a rope tied around it's neck. Louis Fernando ask her, "how much for the puppy?" I was shocked, i thought it was her pet. A women was doing a transaction and a one of her puppies for sale hopped onto her lap and she whacked it and it soared in the air for about 1 foot. It let out a loud yelp. I wish I could've taken all the puppies and kitties home with me. It was crushing me to see how the animals are treated here. They really aren't a domestic pet...I'm not sure why people want them here. It really pained me to see all the animal stuff. I'm unsure why I did it. However, I figured that I want to experience everything I possibly can here. I've tried a lot of things I wouldn't normally try in the states here. I know some of them aren't the most pleasant, but I figured why not!
It's customary for the teacher and student to drink a warm drink made with milk, rice, sugar, and if you want chocolate they will put it in there. I forgot the name of it. Josefina warned me about it because the vendors often don't clean the cups and reuse it for the next customer. Luis Fernando bought one and asked me if I wanted one. I wanted to inspect to see if they were cleaning the glasses. They were, but I was questioning how clean that water is. I just decided that I wouldn't try it. However, I saw someone else ask for the drink and request a disposable cup. Whew! I know I shouldn't get the drink because I could get sick, but I said screw it because it sounded yummy and I want it! Josefina and others have spoke about it and I thought it sounded interesting and yummy. I bought one in a styrofoam cup. It was so good, sweet, and rich! I can make for anyone when you get home. Josefina said she wants to make that drink this weekend. I hope she does as I really want to have it again. There's also a warm drink made with corn which I want to try too. We shared some bread too. It's a stable with every snack or meal it seems here. The bread is so sweet I love it and I feel like I'm always eating a dessert.
I bought two beautiful aprons. They are traditional and they indigenous women wear them as part of their daily attire. Tehy are hand made, colorful, and gorgeous. I can't wait to use them! Josefina said she makes hers by hand, I always admired them. She has an antique sewing machine. She was greasing it the other day while I played with Jermey to distract him from hanging on it. Jenny, Aunt Gail, and Liz's mouths would drop if they saw it. It's metal, very old school. It must be 40 plus years old.
I'm really obsessed with the textiles here. I can't wait to buy more when Nolan gets here and we visit the markets together. I want to buy the traditional shirt and skirt. Josefina said she can't wait to see me in it. As my skin is so fair she said I'll look so pretty. LOL! We're going to go shopping for the clothes before I leave. The skirts can be pretty expensive raning from 30 to 300 dollares. I don't need a super fancy one. I'd rather have a fancier shirt. I don't know why I want this stuff, but I do! I'll never wear it.
I think that's my experience in a nutshell...Nolan, do you want to go? We can go to Chichi and/ or Panajachel instead.
I can't even tell you how many hundreds of types of fruits and veggies there are. Even some of them my teacher didn't know what they were so he'd ask about them. I was bad because I know a major rule of travel is not to eat fruit without disinfecting it. I had two types of fruit yesterday. One is my teachers favorite, I forgot then name of it. It had a similar flavor to an avocado, it was light green, and had a tough skin like avacado but no pit. Then we had these tiny fruits that he wasn't sure what they were. They were sweet and sour. They were awesome. He had a sweet potatoe. That's a common breakfast here. Josefina made it for me. She said a lot of students don't like sweet potatoes. I explained how it's popular during Thanksgiving and Xmas and we make pies. Who knows I may get some weird parasite from the fruit. I guess I'm not as careful as I should be. However, damn it, I want to experience as much as I can here! I'm not going to eat the food from the street vendors though. I do have a line, but I freaking love fruit! The names were impossible to remember and I didn't really take down many notes. I brought a large index card and a pen. I was just too amazed at watching the hustle and bustle of the market. We would watch transactions too. It was just great! There were maybe 20 gringos there during our 4 hours. It's very traditional and not many people visit it unless it's with the school. The textiles are much cheaper here too. However, they jack up the price for the gringos. I'm going to ChiChi next weekend. Damn, I just remembered so that means I can't go hiking...hmmm..decisions.
We were approaching a section with animals. My teacher asked me if I would like to go. I thought it was going to be livestock, but that was definitely not the case much to my surprise. I've never seen so many dead animals before. Every internal and external part is laying out on tables or hanging from strings above from a piece of wood for sale. I saw heads of cows, the brain was cleaned out and their faces were distorted as if it was screaming in pain before it died. There were heads of cows, sheep, pigs, some with the skin stripped to reveal the muscle and tissue below. There were chickens, turkeys some dead in various piles and some alive. Some babies shoved in canisters for sale. It was wild! I kept thinking, "oh god, i'm going to get bird flu!"
There was a large bowl with this black, thick goo. My teacher said it was big intestines with blood. My teacher said they eat it and it's really good but he tries not to think that he's eating pig blood and entrails when he eats it. He just tries to enjoy the tast. I was so creeped out at the thought! Next to the bowl were a bunch of pig kidneys! I was really creeped out at the large cow legs laying across tables or hanging around. Josefina has talked of how she makes a soup with it, but only she and her hubby eat it. Yuck! The abundance dead animals was quite overwhelming and I walked through it anyway. However, I didn't look all around as I was afraid of all that I would see. I think my teacher could tell I was a bit uncomfortable, but I wanted to see every part of the market. I'm freaking crazy! I know Jenny must be nearly passed out on the floor right now.
We walked through an area with livestock containing ducks, chickens, kittens, dogs, sheep, pigs, horses, you name it and it's sold there. There was this adorable indigenous girl standing amidst the chaos of the market with a precious boxer puppy. She had a rope tied around it's neck. Louis Fernando ask her, "how much for the puppy?" I was shocked, i thought it was her pet. A women was doing a transaction and a one of her puppies for sale hopped onto her lap and she whacked it and it soared in the air for about 1 foot. It let out a loud yelp. I wish I could've taken all the puppies and kitties home with me. It was crushing me to see how the animals are treated here. They really aren't a domestic pet...I'm not sure why people want them here. It really pained me to see all the animal stuff. I'm unsure why I did it. However, I figured that I want to experience everything I possibly can here. I've tried a lot of things I wouldn't normally try in the states here. I know some of them aren't the most pleasant, but I figured why not!
It's customary for the teacher and student to drink a warm drink made with milk, rice, sugar, and if you want chocolate they will put it in there. I forgot the name of it. Josefina warned me about it because the vendors often don't clean the cups and reuse it for the next customer. Luis Fernando bought one and asked me if I wanted one. I wanted to inspect to see if they were cleaning the glasses. They were, but I was questioning how clean that water is. I just decided that I wouldn't try it. However, I saw someone else ask for the drink and request a disposable cup. Whew! I know I shouldn't get the drink because I could get sick, but I said screw it because it sounded yummy and I want it! Josefina and others have spoke about it and I thought it sounded interesting and yummy. I bought one in a styrofoam cup. It was so good, sweet, and rich! I can make for anyone when you get home. Josefina said she wants to make that drink this weekend. I hope she does as I really want to have it again. There's also a warm drink made with corn which I want to try too. We shared some bread too. It's a stable with every snack or meal it seems here. The bread is so sweet I love it and I feel like I'm always eating a dessert.
I bought two beautiful aprons. They are traditional and they indigenous women wear them as part of their daily attire. Tehy are hand made, colorful, and gorgeous. I can't wait to use them! Josefina said she makes hers by hand, I always admired them. She has an antique sewing machine. She was greasing it the other day while I played with Jermey to distract him from hanging on it. Jenny, Aunt Gail, and Liz's mouths would drop if they saw it. It's metal, very old school. It must be 40 plus years old.
I'm really obsessed with the textiles here. I can't wait to buy more when Nolan gets here and we visit the markets together. I want to buy the traditional shirt and skirt. Josefina said she can't wait to see me in it. As my skin is so fair she said I'll look so pretty. LOL! We're going to go shopping for the clothes before I leave. The skirts can be pretty expensive raning from 30 to 300 dollares. I don't need a super fancy one. I'd rather have a fancier shirt. I don't know why I want this stuff, but I do! I'll never wear it.
I think that's my experience in a nutshell...Nolan, do you want to go? We can go to Chichi and/ or Panajachel instead.
posted by USFBULL2002 | 12:25 PM
1 Comments:
mmm, I think what you described is Horchata? The drink. The marketplace--oh my! I can understand wanting to go, then wishing you didn't. Crazy, but necessary, I guess. Do they maybe buy the pets to control rodent infestation? I hope not for anything else...
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