Mérida Segunda Semana - Part Two

The next afternoon, inspired by my holiday conversation the previous day, I decided to throw a Fourth of July party for the gringos. I had spent Cinco de Mayo in Indiana without so much as a single chip with salsa or a single sip of a margarita and there was no way I wanted to let the reverse happen while in México for the 4th. Tony, my guía, and I went to Wal*Mart to look for a little grill, Weber-style or something, so we could cook hamburgers and hot dogs in traditional American fashion. Unfortunately, they didn't have what I was looking for but it did get me out of the school and out on the town.

Later, all the students went to the movies to see SuperAgente 86. Never heard of it? You may know it as "Get Smart" – which does not translate well into Spanish. The movies here are quite an experience. First off, all the theaters seem to be in shopping malls and each theater has at least 10 screens. 4 of those screens are in the VIP section. What is the VIP section, you ask… Oh, it's basically like a luxury booth at a ballpark – but better. Reclining leather seats. Touch screen seat selection when you purchase your tickets. Full service food & drink, including waiters who take your order and bring your food/beverage. And the best part? Wednesday is cheap night – a VIP ticket costs $4.50 USD. Yep, that's right. Nearly half the price of a U.S. matinee and you get all the VIP perks. THIS is the kind of stuff the really tempts me to stay forever.

We all went to the Centro and had pizza for dinner. Although Mérida has tons of American chains (Pizza Hut, Domino's, Little Ceasar's), we went to and "authentic" Mexican pizzeria. It was very hot and crowded but delicious. I was impressed. When we got home, Big Finu had a friend over who sells purses out of her car. I must admit, they were very good looking bags and I was quite tempted to buy one but resisted.

Thursday was a slightly insane day. Pati and I listened to the radio, talked about our lives and religion, and discussed my book. For those of you who I haven't gushed to, I'm mildly obsessed with the teen-fantasy-romance series "Twilight". There a re currently 3 novels of the series that have been released and during the two weeks before I left for México, I ready them through a couple times and was loath to part with them for my trip. But staying true to my purpose here, I didn't want to bring anything in English to read. So, when I first arrived in Mérida - in fact, the very first night I was here - I purchased the first book in Spanish and have been reading it. So instead of having me read the silly stories in my text book, Pati lets me read my novel and then summarize what I've read the next day in class. It's an exercise to help me remember new words I've learned and successfully access my vocabulary.

In the afternoon, I went on errands with Tony and Christián to prepare for the party the following day. We decided to host it at the school on Friday night and invite our guías and teachers but we were also curious what other Americans in Mérida might be doing so I dropped by the American consulate. When I got there, they would not let me inside. I had to talk to the guards in the booth through double-paned glass like a convict. And they didn't speak English – which I thought was kind of odd for the American consulate. I mean, if you're not going to let the Americans in and you're going to make them stand in the blazing hot sun to make inquiries to armed men inside a security booth, shouldn't those men speak the language in which most Americans converse? It's just so Mexican - but whatever.

Anyway, I asked them if there were any festivities the next day in honor of the American Independence Day. They asked to see my identification. I was very confused about that as well. First of all, I scream "gringa" so I don't know why they doubted if I was American. Plus, even if I were a local, are the consulate's festivities for the 4th an American secret that the Mexicans cannot know? I don't carry my passport around town with me and the consulate trip was spontaneous (not to mention, clearly a mistake) so I provided them with my CA driver's license. Now it was their turn to be confused – as if all ID cards aren't basically the same. Finally, after about 7 minutes of sweating on the porch of the consulate, I was informed that I did not have an invitation to the party next day. Hmmm.

So, after being rejected by my country, I hit the stores for some retail therapy. We visited Costco (twice), Home Depot, and Wal*Mart and were finally equipped with everything needed for the party the next day - including a grill and apple pie. ¡God Bless America! Then I got to have a burrito arrachero for dinner – very tasty meat.