I'm "baching it" this weekend, the family is away and I have the house to myself. After finishing up a research paper and taking alfalfa to my horses, I decided to go and see what was new in the deli at our new Costco.Usually I avoid Costco when I know it's going to be busy, but that's when I have a mission. Today I didn't have one, I was just hungry for something different.
I swung into the parking lot and managed to find a spot about four rows away from the store. The lot was jammed, as always. I perused the deli and found a tray of sushi and a chicken caesar salad, then headed for the cashier.Now here is the interesting part.the lines are long and there are LOTS of people, the whole entourage of family members.
It's not unusual to see a family of five or six all crowded around their cart, which only has two or three items in it. I couldn't help but wonder why they bother with a cart for that little, but more carts than not had no more than five items.As I waited I was amazed at how well behaved the children were. No crying, screaming, begging, running or whining. They stood quietly with their parents, grandma and siblings, the older kids looking out for the younger ones.
If they looked my way they smiled. The children have such beautiful smiles, those big eyes and open, curious faces! Their smiles are full of light, especially when you look at their eyes.Many, many people had roasted chickens to take home for the main meal. I looked around, curious to see what was being purchased. It was the usual, boxed instant oatmeal, big boxes of cereal, cartons of juice and about a thousand roasted chickens!.Another thing I couldn't help but notice is how skinny the kids are and how chubby the moms are.
There are lots of overweight women here; I've been reading about that being a big problem, this weight thing. I read that the state of Oregon has the least number of overweight people in the U.S. and that France has the least number of overweight people in the world. Well, here it's not hard to figure out why there are weight problems here.everything is fried in corn or regular vegetable oil! Not many people bake and what is really funny is, no matter how much cupboard space there is in the kitchen, the pots and pans get stored in the oven!.
I very much like returning to my road from the busy Transpeninsular where Costco is; I come back to Isabella selling her birria tacos, Juan the mechanic working on cars, Valentine reading his newspaper in his little general merchantile, people sweeping the sidewalk in front of their homes or shops. A normal Sunday where after church families go shopping or housecleaning happens, but usually Sunday is the family's visiting day and everybody goes to Mom's for dinner.I'm happy that I am American but I do envy the Mexicans a bit. There are such strong bonds here; I've never seen anything like that before, except for a few very insular families in the U.S. that don't know much beyond themselves.
Kids play in the street and they don't get hit by cars. If they do get hurt, Mama fixes them up then tells them off. These kids are good kids, but tough ones, too. And everybody watches out for the babies, not just the mom. It's pretty amazing how few injuries I see considering how many people are walking or riding bikes in the streets here (without Spandex and those silly looking water things and all the fancy gear.
here the people ride bikes for actual transportation). It's a nice neighborhood and if we weren't right on a busy 4 lane street with all of its noise I'd like it better. Still, it is my street and I like it and the people here.By the way, the sushi and salad were delicious!.
.Triana Elan is a professional freelance writer.She has one newspaper column in the local San Juan Islands, WA newspapers and maintains a blog about living in Mexico with her three horses. She has been a research writer, ebook author/editor and book/media reviewer in her thirty year long passion with writing and learning.Triana is a part time English teacher at CETYS University as well as an English riding instructor and certified horse trainer.
By: Triana Elan
