Week #21 Nopalitos

Our church is a long standing, non-denominational funder of humanitarian aid projects and emergency response efforts here in Mexico as well as in other areas of the world, globally investing over a billion US dollars a year donated for this purpose by members of the church. With respect to project administration, many of the positions are filled by volunteers like us (in our team there are two FT paid employees and four FT missionaries). 

For the past few weeks we have been busy getting ready for our first-annual humanitarian aid report with implementing agencies to communicate this year's aid priorities to them and call for project proposals here in Mexico. The event is novel in many ways and we are fortunate to be able to contribute. It will take place on Thursday January 25 at Mexico City's Temple Square. As I mentioned in previous posts, this is the kind of work I dreamed about being a part of over thirty years ago. It's even more rewarding being a full-time volunteer and being able to apply the gambit of my experience and expertise solely out of love without having to also make a living at it. 

When I finished by masters program in Ottawa I worked on a series of three contracts with the Canadian International Development Agency for about a year. I learned a lot about development work but financially, it was insecure. I had to continuously re-invent and sell myself to a manager to get my next contract. We had four small boys and one income. I jumped at the opportunity to take a full-time job with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. My last two contracts with CIDA were with a Director who very much liked the work I did and kept telling me that he was trying to get me a full-time position. Most people in the division were on contract and told me they had been given the same promise years ago but that nothing had ever come of it. I gave him ample notice when I received the FT job offer at Agriculture Canada and told him I would only stay if I had a full time job offer from him in hand by a certain date. When the date came, I gave him my handover notes for all of my files - he cursed at me (he cursed at all of his employees) and vowed that I would never work in the federal government again. I happily worked at Agriculture Canada for the next 15 years. 

The senior missionaries finishing their assignments in the Mexico, Mexico City East Mission where we were originally called to serve before begin reassigned are not being replaced, as rapidly increasing demand outstrips the supply of people like us. I joined the church in mid-1988. We have congregations almost everywhere in the world but we still have a very small footprint compared to other Christian faiths. We very much relate to the reference in the Bible, “You are the salt of the earth..." and take the call to action that follows to heart. Sister Schlachter and I have offered to help out the other mission on a part-time basis on weekends and at least one evening a week if it can be arranged. If you are a member of our church and are financially prepared to pay your own way, now would be a very good time to offer to serve somewhere in the world. As Elder Rasband has said, how great will be your joy. 

On the day-to-day stuff, yesterday I got my haircut in the Pueblito de Tecamachalco near where we live.  This is the second time I have gone to this gal. She said she is originally from Guadalajara and came here when she married her spouse. Her father-in-law cleans up the hair between customers, her two children regularly come in and out of the shop as she tends to their needs. There were two brothers that got their hair cut before me. They were even more handsome when she got done with them. I remember the days when I had a lot more hair.  The family picture below is from about 1974-75

Halfway into my haircut she took a call from their mother who was looking for them as she expected them home by now.  She did an excellent job on my skin fade. Her barber certifications are posted on the wall as are her prices (with a generous time $7) - my kind of place. She even has a web presence. I will be posting recommendations on-line to hopefully help her attract more clients. The fellow waiting in the chair after me looked a lot like the guy I that I bought a sandwich for the last time I got my hair cut, after he hugged me, introduced himself and told me how hungry he was. He said hello but then he was self-absorbed in his phone.

On a green theme, I have noticed bright green sausages on some of the taco grills we walk by on our way to grocery shopping. We bought some at Chedraui on Saturday and fried them up today for dinner.  Looking on-line the green colour is said to come from a host of herbs added to the mix.  They were quite good and very pretty on a plate with the salads and stuffed peppers (chiles rellenos) I made.  They had a pleasant aftertaste that I can only describe as, "ozone", the smell of a close lighting strike.  I have been quizing taxi and Uber drivers about their favourite foods. Our taxi drive said refried bean filled chilles with cheese was his favourite so I made that too. They were pretty good.  The picture is Sister Schlachter's plate - she wanted to try both the cheese and bean-filled chiles and the tuna and cheese-filled chiles so we cut them in half.  We bought some "hamburger" patties as well - they were very salty and amazingly they did not shrink when I fried them and they maintained a pinky colour even when my meat thermometer said I had gone a good 20 degrees over cooked.  The next morning was as if we had had beets for dinner...not a repeat purchase.  

While I was in the grocery store, I chatted up the fellow cutting the spines off the nopales.  He said he grows them and spends the day cutting the spines off to ensure the bin that he tosses them into after is always full so customers have fresh cut nopales to choose from. Anything that doesn't sell he takes home.  He asked me about job opportunities in Canada as he has friends that are seasonal workers there and that go back year after year. As I recall there are about 60,000 Mexicans in the program. Most of them work in Quebec and BC helping to grow and harvest fruit and vegetables.  

When I asked how he likes to eat nopales, he said raw in a salad. Sliced thin and cooked, they are very much like green beens as far as texture but with a tangy taste.  They are also very slimy but a bit of salt tames that down.  I am going to give the raw salad a try later this week.