Standing in Senate Square for the December 6th celebrations of Finnish Independence is my dream vacation, but I’ve written so much about it that I would like to change (flight) gears. I need to go to Portland, Oregon to get some work done on my book with Evan, but this is (I think) supposed to be about fun. I’m on a 91-day streak on Duolingo for Spanish, so I think I’d like to spend some time in Mexico brushing up. I used to be more conversational than I am now, and immersion is key. You begin to think in Spanish the longer it’s your only option to communicate. If I am in the US, I tend to nope out to English rather fast.
The best part would be if, by some miracle, Pati Jinich was there at the same time and I could wander the food landscape with her (as well as having someone to translate when my Spanish invariably gets me into trouble). We don’t really know each other- we’ve met once at the Mexican embassy when she gave a cooking demonstration in 2016. Her kissing me was a playful jab at my dad, because I told her the story of how my stepmother has always joked that Pati is my dad’s girlfriend. When he gave me the tickets to the cooking demonstration, I said, “careful, dad, I’m going to steal your girlfriend from you.”
I told her this story before the talk started, and I thought she’d forgotten. At the very end, she asked for a picture and planted a kiss on my head when the photographer said, “queso.” You can tell I did not expect it and the delight on my face is apparent. So, of course traveling through Mexico with Pati is not reality, just a dream that it would be cool.
We are already dreaming that I have won two plane tickets, so why wouldn’t I up the ante that Pati would agree to come on this wild goose chase for the best food in Mexico?
I would also like to buy more clothes in Mexico if Habana Banana still exists. It’s a clothing line I found in Ensenada years ago that has bright colors and adorable mascots. However, I have tried to find those clothes online and have reached a dead end, so I do not know if the shop is still open. It would be a kick to return to Ensenada just to go shopping.
It would also be a kick just to sit out at a cafe, drinking bottled Cokes and watching people. That’s the best part of traveling, in my opinion. I don’t like to go on massive sightseeing tours, I like to integrate myself into the local society just to see how other people live. I wish I could still do tequila and mescal tastings, but with my medication I would end up in pain. The headaches just aren’t worth it and everyone knows that Mexican Coke is superior to US Coke in every way, anyway.
I haven’t gotten to see as much of Mexico as I’d like. When I was nine my parents took me on a cruise that explored the Cancun area, and I’ve been to the aforementioned Ensenada. But I’d really like to go down into Oaxaca and explore the marvelous seafood dishes that don’t make it all the way to Texas unless the restaurant advertises Oaxacan food.
It would also be fun to make videos while I was there, walking and talking both in Spanish and English about what I see. I have never been to Mexico City, and my sister assures me it’s one of her favorite cities in the world. I think we would have a blast together, and she would be much easier to ask to come on vacation than Pati Jinich. đŸ˜›
91 days on Duolingo does not make me an expert, but I am getting more comfortable fitting back into the rhythm of Spanish after 30 years away. I took two years in high school and have been to Mexico several times while I was in class, reinforcing everything I’d learned to an enormous degree. But that was back when I was doing mission trips, so it wasn’t exactly “fun.” It was more about teaching or handing out food to locals. It’s unbelievable to me that when I was 16 I preached a Sunday sermon in Spanish and now I have trouble remembering the basics on a good day.
Speaking of which, I hear my Spanish lessons calling. If I don’t do them early in the morning, I get notifications all day that I am letting my friends down. Duolingo is singularly the most annoying app on my phone, so I try to get it out of the way as early as possible.
Maybe Pati Jinich will call while I’m studying. It’s as likely as me winning two tickets to anywhere.
Stories That Are All True 