Jicama Salad

Dave's sister introduced us to Jicama a while ago, but we really never ate it until coming to Mexico. They love it here! Mainly, Mexicans eat the jicama in small peeled strips that look kind of like white carrot sticks. I had seen the sticks for sale in the grocery store, but had no idea how ugly the natural jicama is!


Normally, Mexicans sprinkle the jicama sticks with lime juice and chili pepper and eat it raw. I still haven't figured out if it's a fruit or a vegetable, but it's good! But we recently found a recipe for Jicama salad, which sounded like a delicious side dish (I was supposed to bring a vegetable salad to a holiday potluck and was out of good ideas that would travel well). http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/jicama_salad/

It was absolutely delicious! Check out the link for the full recipe.

Informal Economy

This is from "The News" the English-language newspaper in Mexico City. For the full article, see http://www.thenews.com.mx/home/tnhome.asp?cve_home=2074

More than 1.05 million people in the capital city make their living by selling goods and services from their house, door-to-door, on the streets, outside formal businesses and even from their cars, according to Benito Mirón Lince.

A recent report from the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico showed that nine out of 10 Mexicans buy pirated goods, causing more than 964.69 billion pesos of losses to the economy.

Last month, the Center for Economic Studies on the Private Sector (CEESP) released a report highlighting that the informal market employs about 28 percent of the country.

The report criticized policies and laws passed in Mexico, saying they unwittingly fuel the informal economy. Higher taxes create an obstacle for many people and businesses, making illegal sales a lucrative and cheap alternative, the CEESP said, and an easier way to avoid paying taxes.

The CEESP estimated that the informal market represents 12.4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product.

In Mexico, it is illegal to create pirated goods or to sell them, but it is NOT illegal to buy them. Which means that most people are willing to buy anything they can get for cheap. And many Mexicans feel a duty to support their family, friends, or neighbors who work in the informal economy (in the U.S. we call it "working under the table" so that they can feed their kids. Less than 40% of Mexicans pay income taxes; most try to work "unreported" so that they can avoid the very very high taxes. This becomes a circular issue - when less people pay income and sales taxes, the government charges higher taxes on those who do, and bc the gov't charges such high taxes, no one wants to pay them, and bc so few Mexicans pay taxes, they can't provide the kinds of services - like unemployment or health care or education or fixing roads or arresting drug dealers - that they would like to do.

Who Am I?

The American stereotype is that we all identify ourselves by our profession, rather than by any inherent qualities or our family relationships (introducing ourselves as "I'm a teacher" rather than "I'm friendly" or "I'm a daughter"). I don't know how much of this is true and how much of it is societal convention. As adults we spend a lot of time comparing our jobs, but that's likely bc we spend so much time doing those jobs. In countries like Mexico, where so many are regularly unemployed or underemployed, it sounds more polite to emphasize something more achievable, such as marital or parental status.

Either way, it still bothers me that I'm making only $7,000/ year and that I'm working illegally. Without a work visa, the money I'm making is not reported to either country, and no one is paying my income taxes. *sigh* When I go through immigration, i have to lie and say that I'm a "desperate housewife" who just visits my husband and spends my days drinking margaritas. How anyone thinks I managed to learn this much Spanish by staying home is still a mystery I haven't understood.

This weekend I began investigating job opportunities for when we return to the US in a few months, and I realized just how much of my self-worth has been wrapped up in my profession. I am proud to be a teacher, but I'm not proud to be so embarassingly underpaid, nor to lie to officials about my income. I was also mentally preparing myself to be unemployed when we return - in this economy, no jobs are guaranteed. The mere thought of having my own paycheck, a regular schedule, and a legal contribution to the workforce was hugely satisfying.

Didn't realize this until, in the few minutes of half-wakefullness before I get out of bed I started thinking about all the things I wanted to do when we got back to the states - go to the chiropractor, buy some new clothes, switch to all organic food shopping - and realized that there is now a chance I may have a paycheck and actually be able to do those things?

So, who am I? Not sure. Today, I'm still "Ms. Kelly" and for today, that's good enough.

Taking Life for Granted

The following was an editorial I read on CNN by a reporter who had just watched the movie, "The Blind Side" and really liked it. For the full article, click http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/12/04/navarrette.blindside.inspiration/index.html


Simply put, there's a lot that any one of us can do to improve the life of our fellow man. And the fact that we do it is its own reward.

"He had a much greater impact on our lives than we did on his life," Leigh Anne said in a recent interview. "You have this child, and you bring him in, and you realize how fortunate you are, how you're blessed to have family, you're blessed to have your health. So much in life you take for granted."

There's the message: So much in life you take for granted. We've forgotten how lucky we are, because we're busy cursing fate. We've stopped being grateful for what we have, because we somehow find it more satisfying to complain about what we don't. Until we meet someone who has much less than we do.

So much in life you take for granted.

As Americans, we've become victims of our own success. We've strayed so far from the example of our immigrant parents and grandparents that we bear no resemblance to that model.

Weighed down by own bloated sense of entitlement and self-importance, we've lost our appetite for competition and we prefer to talk instead about what we think we "deserve." At the first sign of adversity, we play the victim, give up, or fall apart. With all the blessings that come with living in the world's most remarkable country, still we complain. We retreat. We whine.

Family Planning

"Miss, what are you talking about?" Ji-Ho asks Ms. Flor, the school secretary, at lunch. She is sitting with me and 2 other teachers. 3 of us are married; none of us have kids.
"babies" she calmly replies.
"NOT OURS!!!" I practically scream at the unsuspecting student before he can ask another question.
The other teachers look at me strangely.
I alone seem to see what would otherwise have happened next - over the weekend the news that the 3 married childless teachers were talking about babies would become a huge story about how we're all pregnant with quintuplets and we're all due at the same time and so none of us are coming back to teach next year.

We were talking about our nieces and nephews. And our sisters' and sisters-in-law's pregnancies, deliveries, and babies.

Also, about when was the right time to have babies, as none of us have yet felt that the right time has yet happened for us.

This brought up a nice comparison of Mexican vs. American family values:

In mexico, most women have their babies between the ages of 20-25, whether they're married or not. If they are married, and stay married to the same guy, they'll finish having babies then. If they are poor, they will likely live with a series of men during their 20s and 30s, often getting pregnant by each of them.
So, the Mexican ladies shared, as soon as they're about 16, their family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, church acquaintances, etc. start asking when they will have a boyfriend (as if the timing was completely arbitrary and merely required picking one out of a catalog), once they have a boyfriend, or if they're over 21, they will routinely be asked when they will have a husband (again, as if the timing was predictable) and as soon as they're married, they'll be asked whether they are pregnant and if not when they are planning to start having babies.
Being my age - 28 - and being married for as long as I have been - 5 years - makes me a prime candidate for the pregnancy question.
"When are you having a baby?" This question has relatively little to do with whether or not someone thinks I look pregnant. Mexico does not have a Spanish version of "when are you due?" Just, "when are you giving birth?" The subtle difference means that the question can be asked whether I'm currently pregnant-looking or not. It's actually a compliment here.

The Mexican women were confused, and then shocked, to hear that it is very VERY rude in the U.S. to ask a woman if she's pregnant. Claire, a fellow teacher and a North American, tried to explain that asking a non-pregnant woman if she was pregnant made her feel fat. The Mexican women didn't understand why asking a married woman if she was pregnant could feel intrusive.

They also think that asking someone how much money they make is water-cooler small talk, so clearly the U.S. & Mexico have some different opinions on what is "private" information.

Out of our comfort zone

One of my new friends in Mexico, a fellow teacher/missionary, also writes a blog about her experiences, bc she has so many friends and supporters in the states. After a week at a youth conference in Mexico (all in Spanish!!!) she wrote about how hard it is to not be able to talk:
http://www.rachelsadventure.com/1/post/2009/11/i-just-wanted-to-hide.html

And I feel the same way. Not being able to talk is really humbling. I'm loud by nature (i'm sure you've noticed) and so there is NO WHERE in the U.S. where I can go that I would feel uncomfortable speaking up. (ok, maybe a truck stop or an AA meeting, but you know what I mean). When I'm not completely frustrated, I can see one of the reasons God brought me here: to teach me empathy. I never really understood what it's like to feel uncomfortable expressing myself. I never really understood what it's like to be stared at, to be pointed at, to be talked about as if I can't hear or understand those comments. Average-looking midwestern girls, especially confident ones, just don't ever have an opportunity to feel uncomfortable. Two years of uncomfortable gives me a different outlook.

Also, I am now super offended/angered/annoyed by bilingual mexicans (normally service employees) who take one look at me and assume I'd prefer for them to speak to me in English. I would prefer to speak in Spanish, actually, so that I can practice. I'm less annoyed by the hispanics who have a spanish conversation right next to me with a false sense of privacy. I do that in English in Mexico, even though I know some people may understand me. But I"m proud of my ability to secretly eavesdrop. :)

In 2008, Mexican immi- grants living in the United States paid $53 billion in taxes, directly and indi- rectly, which is double the amount of remittances - about $26 billion- they sent home during the same period.
For the entire article, see http://www.thenews.com.mx/home/tnhome.asp?cve_home=2074

Many many "Americans" (U.S. people) do not like Mexicans coming into the U.S. illegally and some don't even like legal immigration. I thought this quote explained something we have learned about the Mexican people - those who choose to immigrate to North America do so with a great deal of respect for our country (or countries, in the case of immigrants through the U.S. to Canada). Most Mexicans would like to stay in Mexico, but sometimes they would like the opportunities of the U.S. even more. and they're willing, like European and Asian immigrants before them, to work hard and follow the rules and pay their taxes.

I hope that we can honor their contributions beyond the financial ones.