A Day in the Life of Miguelito

After much prodding and cajoling I've decided that the demand to know exactly what I've been up to was just too much - I've decided to take you through a day of my life in WaHAka. For starters, I too have to deny any rumors or accusations that I am working as a foreign agent for the U.S. government or with some other covert organization. So far the only important data I've gathered here is that the pig brain tacos are not really that bad if enough salsa is applied.

My morning starts with my wife gently waking me up to loud Spanish music from our iHome radio and turning on all of the lights in the bedroom. I usually try to play possum as long as possible to delay the hour long walk down the dusty road to my Spanish classes downtown.

I usually return to the house around 1pm after having picked up some groceries for the evening meal. I've skillfully learned to fend off any advances from the neighborhood beggars on our street (dogs, chickens, and donkeys) from a technique I learned form a close friend I met during my studies in Costa Rica. Simply bending down and faking to pick up a stone makes any would be food thief run in the opposite direction.

As I've slipped into my new role as house hubby I've had to cope without a few of the amenities I enjoyed in the States. No dryer, automatic stove, and manual refill of our propane powered oven/water heater, and drinking water. I pump my water from a giant jug, which I have to exchange at the local store about a hundred feet down our street. I must say I look quite manly walking down the street with a large 50 lbs water bottle slung over my shoulder and my increasingly thick man-beard.

Tootsie eagerly awaits my afternoon return and pesters me until I play fetch with her. I then log on to our computer and work for a few hours for my employer based back in the States. After a breif siesta I dive into my spanish homework and watch a Mexican soap opera or luche libre wrestling match on TV - to practice my spanish of course.

My day usually wraps up with an afternoon visit from my "boyfriend" as Meri calls him (can someone say jealousy?) He's a "Cambridge Man" from south London who is living in Wahaka (on sebattical) with his wife and 3 month old child. He comes over for an afternoon smoke and gossip session about his Mexican in laws. The stories vary but they usually involve insults, deception, and sometimes a threat or two on someones life. I'm hoping no collateral damage comes our way as we live in the same gated property about 10 feet away from our house.

My evenings consist of either picking Meri up from work and/or cooking dinner using the spartan kitchen tools provided by our landlord (water pump and all). After dinner Meri and I usually enjoy a relaxing evening of Seinfeld (with subtitles) and reading before going to bed around 10pm.