Not sure the exact time the electricity came back on, but I had a sudden burst of 4:55 am joy and went to the kitchen to check on the fridge. Yes, of all things, I was worried about all that precious food going bad. Some of it I took to Lesley's, and the rest we kept in the fridge with two bags of ice we bought at Oxxo.
Despite there being no electricity, Oxxo was in full service, albeit through the little window in the door. (Now I'm seeing the good value in that tiny window cut out in the door -- not just for late-night transactions but for power outages, after-fútbol game hooligans, and the likes. Whenever you feel threatened, just close the door and open up the window. No pasa nada.) There was one guy manning the calculator and one guy fetching the goodies.
When I asked for two bags of ice, the fetcher sort of paused like I was making some ridiculous request. It wasn't that there wasn't any ice left; I could see plenty through the window. That made me wonder why no one else was heading to their nearby Oxxo to buy ice to salvage their food. What were people doing about their un-refrigerated food? Not eating it, I hoped.
While we did have to throw some food out, it was more like a much-needed spring cleaning for the fridge. There was food in there with serious freezer bite 'fro, and, honestly, taking showers by candlelight, not being able to watch TV, surf the internet, or read made for extra free time and a few extra hours of sleep. Aren't these things we're always craving for anyway?
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Honestly Alice you would be surprised at how little the people here use their fridge. Most families I know own what we would consider a collage dorm fridge. Left overs many times get left out on the table over night with a towel over it and eaten the next day. Milk for example if forgotten out is still considered good to most individuals. Also a lot of people shop so much at the little tiendas and not the grocery stores. (sometimes because they don't have a car to get to the grocery store)So a lot of the people we know around here buy for the day basically. This may have a lot to do with no one getting ice.
ReplyDeleteOh no! I can't imagine leaving food out overnight, especially things with meat. Very interesting... I like the idea of buying food fresh, but gee, getting to the store everyday would be a drag.
ReplyDeleteWe live three blocks from the main mercado here in Mazatlán and every morning you see the ladies head over there and return with their little bags of a couple of eggs, a bolillo or two, and a few vegies. A stop at the tortilleria and they are good to go.
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