Going Back to New York

Local burger joint Irondequoit, NY

One muggy August afternoon in 2001, I packed a suitcase, told my parents I’d be back in two weeks from visiting Mexico and never returned. On June 5^th 2014, I returned to Rochester, NY for the first time in more than a decade. I spent some days in my hometown, catching up with old friends and family and then Ithaca, NY, and New York City.

It's not a zoo, but the best
supermarket in the world

Rochester, NY

Seneca Park Zoo

A great outing for early morning, the Seneca Park Zoo is full of interactive installations that are meant to inform and educate. There is an otter presentation that puts emphasis on conservation and cleaning up the environment.

The George Eastman House

Hangin' with George

Preserving the history of one of Rochester’s most famed millionaires, The George Eastman House is a walk through a time when moguls were only millionaires (because now they are billionaires) and went on safaris to Africa (wait, that is still a thing...). I have always liked the Eastman house and gardens; I always wonder what it must have been like to live with so much material wealth after his mother struggled to support him and his siblings, even if Eastman's mom was unimpressed by her son's fortune. 

The Old Toad Pub

A traditional English pub in downtown Rochester, I watched the opening World Cup game at The Old Toad. The bartender spoke with a British accent; she was either really good at faking it or they take the authentic part really serious and outsource to the UK.

Ithaca, NY

Taughannock Falls

Taughannock Falls NY

The clever slogan “Ithaca is Gorges” is no exaggeration. Ithaca is in the heart of the Finger Lakes region of New York State. The natural beauty is worth the trip. If you are in Ithaca, make a point of visiting, at least, one of the falls, you won’t regret it.

The Moosewood

Ithaca is a small town, housing two major universities, it is full of shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, and activities. Our stay was short, but The Moosewood Restaurant was the perfect place to reunite with my madrina, Marina, her son and my mother. My mom raised us with Moosewood recipes. She’d introduce us to exotic foods from her worn copy of Mollie Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook. Over green enchiladas (I had to get something spicy!), locally

The Moosewood

brewed Chocolate beer (Marina and I split), salads and creamed potato soup, my mother explained she bought Mollie Katzen’s book in Rochester at a book signing when I was a small child. Ironically enough, she did not get the book signed, but we still use that recipe book to this day.

Angry Mom Records

On my shopping list was to track down a record. “A record?” my dear chosen aunt/madrina asked me. “Yes, a record.” In the basement of Autumn Leaf Used Books, I found exactly what I was looking for: Angry Mom Records. I got the vinyl, I got stickers, I got happy.

Just a Taste

Our reunion continued with Marina’s daughter, my dear friend Leslie. She works in Ithaca and knew where to take us for dinner. At Just a Taste we had freshly made tapas as we waited. I was surprised how quickly we filled up on tapas; it looked like a little bit of food but combined with the local ‘flight’ of wine (a sample of locally produced wines), we were laughing and reminiscing with full bellies in no time.

Brooklyn aka NYC

Museum of Natural History

Home to my fantastically fierce and creative cousin, SabinaIbarrola, Brooklyn did not disappoint. We had lunch (lamb with chicken) in Central Park and visited the American Museum of Natural History. I had a restful nap in the planetarium induced by the dulcet tones of Neil DeGrasse-Tyson’snarration of how the universe is expanding. And on Saturday night, I got to know some of the performers from internationally renowned Heels on Wheels.

The trip was short (10 days) but well worth it. Rochester hasn't changed that much: the weather still sucks, and the people are warm and kind. Although I must admit, the best part of my trip was hearing my children say “¡bienvenida a casa mami! Welcome home. 

Read This Post And You'll Never Say "¿Que?" Again

Make sure you read this entire post for the chance to enter to win three months of free language instruction.

Over the years I have lived in Mexico, expat friends have enlisted my help due to trouble communicating in Spanish. As a language teacher and learner, I know how challenging learning a new language can be. The need to speak Spanish is a reality. Thousands of US retirees and non-Spanish speakers from around the world continue to move to Mexico every year; about a million US citizens call Mexico home. They all have different reasons for moving, but one thing is certain; speaking the language of the country where you live should take top priority.

Online Learning with Lexikeet

There are a lot of options for language learning, but online learning is the most flexible and attractive for several reasons; you can study anytime, anywhere, it lets you work at your own pace. Third, it is affordable.  I've found that like most expats, being in a classroom learning a language can often conflict with experiencing life;  if you don't interact with non-English speakers, you aren't taking advantage of your situation. And if you haven't made the move yet, online language learning allows you to learn in a structured manner, while preparing for your visit, extended stay or relocation.

Lexikeet is an extremely useful tool for learning a new language.  You can select how much time you want to study online, from as little as 15 minutes a day to over an hour.  Plus there are interactive exercises and games. Lexikeet offers Spanish, Japanese and Chinese (as well as English as a Second Language) and allows the students to decide how they want to learn.  The website has a clean, user-friendly format where you can select your learning style. Students will find a selection of different learning objectives, styles, and goals to choose from making Lexikeet a flexible alternative, going from personal to business, leisure travel, academic and power learner.  The user decides on the study time and Lexi, the parakeet avatar, is there to assist. Whichever your learning objectives, Lexikeet makes it easy for you to reach them and so you can, communicate more effectively.

Learn Spanish basics and more with Lexikeet

For the next month, in collaboration with Lexikeet, lifeinmymexico.blogspot.com will be giving away three premium memberships. To enter your name in the giveaway, you must:

• Subscribe to this blog by entering your email in the subscribe box in the above right-hand corner
• Follow Lexikeet (and me) on Twitter, make sure to use the hashtag #lifeinmymexico 
• Like Lexikeet on Facebook.

Once you've done these three things, send me an email dushka.rinasz@gmail.com with your name, Twitter handlebar, and Facebook name. So what are you waiting for? Sign up for your chance to win one of the three 3-month premium account (a $45.00 USD value) today and NEVER say ¿que? again!

Cristina Potters is Mexico Cooks!

For the first time in 2010 Morelia en Boca started showcasing Mexico’s gastronomic culture in Michoacán’s colonial capital.  Once a year traditional cooking methods, along with new trends in the culinary world are brought together in what has become one of the most significant gastronomic events in the country. Cristina Potters is among those to have been present since the beginning. Her close relationship with several of the event organizers gives Potters, whose website Mexico Cooks is praised by Lonely Planet, Travel Age West, and Mexico Premiere, an intimate view of this year’s event.  She confesses she couldn’t miss this year because “of the homage being paid to my good friend (restaurateur of Mexico City’s El Bajio) Carmen “Titita” Ramirez. I am also looking forward to learning about new products from Michoacán, seeing friends and exploring more about cuisines of Mexico and Michoacán from chefs and other producers.” After more than thirty years living in and traveling through Mexico, you’d think that Potters would have found her full, but the gray-haired, blue-eyed foodie is passionate about talking and partaking in gastronomic culture.

Photo Source: Taste of Tequila

Cristina’s first encounter with Mexican cooking was in the convent where she was living when she first arrived in Mexico. Volunteering in the overcrowded Tijuana jail, handing out food to the inmates, it was Mexico in the 80s. “I was studying a postgraduate degree in psychology and theology in the Northwest of the United States, volunteering with a group of people who were working with mentally ill addicts who were homeless. The Bishop of Tijuana got in touch with us. One of the other volunteers, a nun, had a close relationship with Mother Theresa and the Bishop had the hopes that Mother Theresa’s order could help with a very similar situation in Tijuana.” 

As it turned out, Cristina and some of the other volunteers ended up in Tijuana later that year.  That was Cristina’s very first contact with Mexico and Spanish. “I felt like a fish that had been caught and then thrown back into the water. It was bizarre. I loved it!” Her love for Mexico was marked by a disciplined dedication to learning the language. “I would wake up an hour earlier than everyone else and study Spanish. I had an old grammar book that I would use and a Spanish dictionary that I would read. I would memorize five new words a day and make a point of using them in conversation.” Her devotion to learning came turned out to be one of her best investments. She remained in Mexico and even became a Mexican citizen about a decade ago.

Food has been the common thread throughout Cristina’s life in her adopted land. “The first person I came close to in Tijuana was a man who had been in jail for four months.” The inmate, Sergio, was a coyote. “I was handing out food to the prisoners when this hand came out and grabbed my arm. ´Sister, do you speak English? Can you help me?´” After helping Sergio get back in touch with his family in California, Cristina received a Christmas card for years. “It was moving to be able to make an impact on a person’s life like that.” Two and half years later, Cristina’s culinary journey through Mexico continued with a trip to the heart of the country.  Traveling from Tijuana to Michoacán with a nun friend, Cristina found herself 10,000 feet above sea level in a very humble home in rural Tancitaro, Michoacán.  Her month long trip sparked in her a fervor for Michoacán and its food.  “We would eat fresh milk that we’d buy straight from the farmer who’d measure out the milk directly into the pot.  We’d have a piece of pan dulce for breakfast, maybe a piece of fruit. The tortillas were made by hand every day.”

Back in the convent in Tijuana, Cristina learned all she could about cooking Mexican food.  “I didn’t know anything about Mexican food. I knew about cooking, but I didn’t know the first things about how to make a green sauce.”

Cristina affirms that her two main passions in life are food and politics and though she insists the former is “neutral” while the latter is left leaning, her thoughts on GMOs seem to go the same way as her politics. “GMOs mess up the regional cuisines.  Those Monsanto crops, the corn, can cross-pollenate with the native criollo corn. The problem is that the GMO corn is infertile. The seeds are saved from one year to the next, and if the seeds are not fertile, the criollo corn will die off.  Plus, you can’t make a Oaxacan dish with corn from Michoacán. These corns are specific to their region. Those three color tortillas are not gonna happen if the criollo corn disappears!” Her passion for food and politics merge, and Cristina Potters´s love for Mexico is as clear as mezcal joven. Her love for learning translates easily into a love for education and sharing knowledge.  She asks me if I know how to pick out Chinese chile de arbol.  “Chinese chile de arbol?” I am incredulous.  She nods and explains. “If there is no stem, or seeds and it is flat, you can be sure those chiles are Chinese.  They pick off the stems, so there is no excess weight and the same with the seeds. They are flat because they are packed tight.  These chiles are flavorless and bland.” And what about jamaica flowers, she asks me. “The jamaica flower is also being imported from other countries like The Sudan.  The jamaica flower that is dark purple is usually Mexican but ask your marchante if it is nacional.”  Buy local and national food. Now those are political ideals I can get behind and, happily put in my mouth.

Cristina Potters lives in Mexico City with her wife, cellist Judith McKnight. She writes regularly for her blog, Mexico Cooks!