My guests and family, acquaintances and strangers often ask me if there is anything I miss from living in Canada, and I often draw a blank. Since living here in 2009/2010, a lot has changed, and access and availability to goods I would have missed years ago is just no longer an issue. We have pretty good cheeses now. Don't get me wrong, if I found aged Balderson cheddar cheese in the supermarket here, I would be doing an enthusiastic happy dance in the cheese and dairy section, but pretty well most things are available.
I was just in New York celebrating a friends birthday and I realized there is one thing I do miss, but lots from Oaxaca that I miss while not home.
Ripe Avocados: Yes, the availability (daily) of ripe avocados is a joy to me. I don't have to ask the kid in the produce section to please go fetch out of the garbage bin in the back the perfectly ripe black avocados he tossed out that morning.
Eggs: The yellow yolks are really, really yellow, and the eggs are so delicious. I remember being back in Canada and cracking an egg for breakfast and the dismay I felt at that pale yellow, sick looking egg yolk.
Flowers: Flowers in Canada are expensive, so they were a treat I rarely indulged in. At least once a week in Oaxaca I buy fresh flowers, dozens of roses for $2.00, Calla lilies, enough for two huge vases, for $3.00
Food that tastes like it ripened on the tree: The melons here do not taste like a shadow of themselves, their flavor is full and juicy and scrumptious. Ralph and I do not need to debate buying mangoes or peaches, because here they will actually taste like mangoes and peaches, not hard, tasteless blobs.
Markets: Fresh fruit and veg available any day of the week. I don't have to wait until my local (Toronto City Centre) farmer's market is open (from May to October) on Tuesday mornings between 8 and 12 to buy locally grown tomatoes. I have to walk through my alley, not 100 steps, to my local market. Sure, it is a bit more expensive than Abastos, or Tlacolula on Sundays, or Ocotlan on Fridays, but it is right up the street, every single day.
Crazy drivers: To be clear, the drivers here do not think they are crazy. Passing on double solid lines on a blind corner is not crazy, it is practical and keeps traffic moving. Driving in Oaxaca is not the sedate, point-and-push-the-gas experience one has back home, with frustration abounding during the 3 hour long rush hours morning and evening. Traffic is pretty well always bad here, and then you add the occasional protest and voila! excitement abounds!
Weather: I am sure I do not need to expand on this point. Sunshine. Blue skies. Rare humidity. Chilly evenings mean comfortable sleeps and sweaters if we want to have dinner on a patio.
The mountains: Not only the spectacular views they provide, but also their proximity to the city allows us, in a short drive, to go on hikes and enjoy nature.
The list goes on, but I thought this would give you a flavor of what I miss most when not at home, in Oaxaca.
This weekend in New York, I realized what I missed about living in a larger city in Canada or the U.S. Anonymity. I walked over a few blocks to go to hot yoga and I felt no different than the other 1000 people who passed me, going about their business. They were all dressed in their own style, lost in their own thoughts, on their phones, rushing or meandering, but whichever it was, I did not stand out. I was not taller. I was not specifically white. I am not usually confused for a tourist. I just went about my day to day, and for a few minutes, I really enjoyed that. Then I saw the state of the avocados in Trader Joe's, and started to miss home again.
I was just in New York celebrating a friends birthday and I realized there is one thing I do miss, but lots from Oaxaca that I miss while not home.
Ripe Avocados: Yes, the availability (daily) of ripe avocados is a joy to me. I don't have to ask the kid in the produce section to please go fetch out of the garbage bin in the back the perfectly ripe black avocados he tossed out that morning.
Eggs: The yellow yolks are really, really yellow, and the eggs are so delicious. I remember being back in Canada and cracking an egg for breakfast and the dismay I felt at that pale yellow, sick looking egg yolk.
Flowers: Flowers in Canada are expensive, so they were a treat I rarely indulged in. At least once a week in Oaxaca I buy fresh flowers, dozens of roses for $2.00, Calla lilies, enough for two huge vases, for $3.00
Food that tastes like it ripened on the tree: The melons here do not taste like a shadow of themselves, their flavor is full and juicy and scrumptious. Ralph and I do not need to debate buying mangoes or peaches, because here they will actually taste like mangoes and peaches, not hard, tasteless blobs.
Markets: Fresh fruit and veg available any day of the week. I don't have to wait until my local (Toronto City Centre) farmer's market is open (from May to October) on Tuesday mornings between 8 and 12 to buy locally grown tomatoes. I have to walk through my alley, not 100 steps, to my local market. Sure, it is a bit more expensive than Abastos, or Tlacolula on Sundays, or Ocotlan on Fridays, but it is right up the street, every single day.
Crazy drivers: To be clear, the drivers here do not think they are crazy. Passing on double solid lines on a blind corner is not crazy, it is practical and keeps traffic moving. Driving in Oaxaca is not the sedate, point-and-push-the-gas experience one has back home, with frustration abounding during the 3 hour long rush hours morning and evening. Traffic is pretty well always bad here, and then you add the occasional protest and voila! excitement abounds!
Weather: I am sure I do not need to expand on this point. Sunshine. Blue skies. Rare humidity. Chilly evenings mean comfortable sleeps and sweaters if we want to have dinner on a patio.
The mountains: Not only the spectacular views they provide, but also their proximity to the city allows us, in a short drive, to go on hikes and enjoy nature.
The list goes on, but I thought this would give you a flavor of what I miss most when not at home, in Oaxaca.
This weekend in New York, I realized what I missed about living in a larger city in Canada or the U.S. Anonymity. I walked over a few blocks to go to hot yoga and I felt no different than the other 1000 people who passed me, going about their business. They were all dressed in their own style, lost in their own thoughts, on their phones, rushing or meandering, but whichever it was, I did not stand out. I was not taller. I was not specifically white. I am not usually confused for a tourist. I just went about my day to day, and for a few minutes, I really enjoyed that. Then I saw the state of the avocados in Trader Joe's, and started to miss home again.
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