Japi Verday to me

I celebrated a wonderful birthday with La Osa, Doctor Kansas City, El Cunao, La Sabia and others. The video is of Doctor Kansas City at his best



More to Come

Swine Flu--Is It Time to Pull a Suzie?

Mexico has declared a "National Alert". Israel has called it the 'Mexican Flu'. Indeed when my Mom starts investing in Sam's Club amounts of masks, Lysol, and sanitary gel, I begin to think there might be something up.

From what I have observed in the last month, the Mexican government has done an excellent job of containing what could have been a spectacular death toll. When epidemiology reports in Mexico City showed an exponential multiplication of the virus in April, the government made a courageous decision to shut down the schools and government for two weeks. The government has also launched a major campaign involving adorable fliers, sanitary gel in all public places, and supposed fever detectors in the airports. However, despite all the effort, the numbers of suspected cases have more than doubled since August.

Given I am far from a public health official but this is what I have observed. When I became sick with the swine flu, I had excellent, if overbearing, care. My American rheumatologist immediately pulled me off my drugs and I was able to afford the Tamiflu prescribed by Doctor Kansas City. However, it must be an uphill battle for lower class immuno suppressed people for several reasons

1. The city and regional buses are hotels for germs. We are packed in there so tightly you can feel the next person cough. Only students, my family and the poor ride them.

2. Upper class people have sewers and/or maids, the rest have trash cans .

3. Medicine, especially non generic, can be most or all of your paycheck.

4. Many lower income people work outdoors and live in drafty houses.


It may be a "national emergency" for Obama but for the Mexican poor and immuno suppressed, its just another day.



For more information, take a look at Mexico's Secretaria de Salud Report
http://portal.salud.gob.mx/contenidos/noticias/influenza/estadisticas.html

Parade of the Rabos Verdes

I'm still not 100% from the Porcine Virus so enjoy this pithy essay from La Hermana before she met The Rabbit



I’ve started keeping track of all of the creepy/socially inept Mexican men that have taken an interest in me over the past year. It is quite a list.
Angel

Creepy guy who is friends with some friends of my sister. Wanted to date me. Turns out he has a long term (3 years) girlfriend. I stopped talking to him, so he started calling me and then hanging up. These calls all happened after 2 am. He was at the party and came back to the house with us for the "after party". He was drunk. He spent the entire day, from 4am till 1pm, saying my name and then turning away. He also tried to make jokes that didn't work and at one point called me a bitch. He also pressed me for why I don't want to date him and then he passed out on the couch.

Doctor Kansas City's Friend

This is a new one. This man, I have no idea what his name is, only that he is a friend of the family. He got pretty drunk and wanted to dance with me. I obliged and it was alright for a while. He then started following me around. In Mexico, during parties, sometimes people come to take and sell photos. They will take your photo, print it, put it in a frame and then sell it to you. Well, this old man wanted me to take a photo with him. I did. He then bought it. Then he informed me that he was going to place it on his desk at work, for all to see. He then wanted me to sign it and dedicate it to him.

Alex

A guy in San Miguel who wanted to date me, told me he was single, and I then found out he was “dating” another American woman, long term. Every time I see him in the center, he asks me out and wonders why I have not been calling him. Also, he found my sister on Hi5, friended her, and sent me a message asking me if I was jealous.

Alberto

Guy who gave me a ride to the border. Really strange man. Mexican, married an American woman, then got divorced. He called me “Betty” and said I was a princess. He then proceeded to hit on me in the car on the way to Laredo, Texas. Did I mention he’s about 40?

Adan

Another friend of friends of my sister. Nice guy, completely unskilled socially. Called me 15 times in 1 day.

Marco

A guy that Hannah, Amina, Grace and I met at the movies. He was there alone and approached us. Said he was from Queretaro and only like to hang out with Americans. To be nice, Hannah and I invited him out with us to a bar. He arrived and started hitting on me a lot. He said I had beautiful eyes (like I haven't heard that before) and that I was a unique woman, he could tell (this is after spending maybe 10 mins with me). I recieved a phone call from my mom, went outside and he followed me and listened to the conversation (FYI: he speaks English). I pretended to stay on the phone with her while walking back into the bar, he stopped me, asked me to come back outside and then wanted to talk. He told me that he loves his mom very much and was happy that I had a good relationship with my mom. He then wanted to hold my hand and kiss.

Sebas’ Uncle

One of the kids uncles came to visit and started hitting on me (this is in front of his nephew and most of the kids). He says he is going to come back regularly so I can be his teacher. Sebas now calls me Tia.

Neighborhood Guy

Just in case you were wondering, I have been instructed not to be afraid of this guy. He doesn’t bite. He also wants to take me to the movies. He's 19 and wears sunglasses without lenses.

Yellow Shoes Guy

This guy has been bugging me since 2006. He works for and drives one of the trolley buses in town. He once offered me a ride home on the trolley. He also caught me developing photos of my semester in Mexico and promptly took a photo of me with him. One time he insisted on carrying my bread for me and then told me about how he was a licensed massage therapist in Puerto Vallarta. He can apparently work wonders for me.

So, do I have a magnet for this type of guy?

Am I sending out some sort of “I love and need creepy/socially inept Mexican men” vibe?

I hope not.

But the list keeps getting longer...

This Is How We Do It (Alternative Version)

One of the things I face daily as an immuno suppressed person is fighting off disease. I don't know how the rest of you feel about a bunch of kids baptizing a playground with their various drips but it makes me want to wear a bio hazard suit. One of my little cousins gave me a cold and so it has required me to go into militar mode. Call me a germaphobe, paranoid, Howard Hughes esque, but years of experience/hospitalizations have taught me that microbes are smarter than I am.

So here are my new Ten Commandments of Immunosuppresion Abroad

1. Thou Shalt wear masks on any/all public transportation
2. Thou Shalt stay away from all sick people and their bathrooms
3. Thou Shalt take a taxi when sick/in arthritic flare and not complain about the money
4. Thou Shalt placate a mother of a gooey child with compliments from afar instead
5. Thou Shalt carry hand sanitizer
6. Thou Shalt go to Tio Kansas City for RX
7. Thou Shalt budget for medicine more than Diet Coke
8. Thou Shalt sleep, even though thou is young and wants to do everything everyone else dos
9. Thou Shalt eat
10. Thou Shalt ask for help walking/carrying things, even when it kills thou to


Please feel free to add your own commandments

Cast of Characters Part Two

Doctor Kansas City
My internist in Mexico. Doctor KC plays an integral part in working with me to stay healthy here. Serves up medicine with a side of pun




The Celebrity
Mateo's former source of transportation and court battles. RIP

La Osa

A fabulous, gassy and blunt celista, La Osa is a great friend and one of kind.