food.

Ok, I think I've been pretty clear that travel is one of my biggest motivations and passions.

Would you like to know another?
Usually this one is a little more surprising for people, as it's not immediately evident by my appearance. In fact, many people are surprised when I tell them.

Sounds like I'm prefacing you for some dark, dirty secret, hey?

Actually, it's food.

I love food.

Do I love to cook? Not particularly.
It's a means to an end. I love to eat, which, as I'm unable to afford restaurants every night, requires me to cook. (For more info on what I cook, just follow my Pinterest board – I'm not creative *read 'skilled'* enough to write my own recipes)

What does this love of food, combined with a passion to travel, mean?
WELL. It means lots.

It means often my stomach guides me; I may completely forgo incredible sights in favour of a fantastic local meal and brew.

It means that nothing excites me the same way as hearing the adjectives "authentic" or "home cooked" in regards to a meal.

It means that if we eat out together, you best be willing to give me a bite. Better yet, we should share.

It means I end up with food poisoning. Often. Due to different bacterial immunities that locals develop to local bacteria, often travelers will develop the dreaded "TD". Since the thought of local tacos, pad Thai, schnitzel, and egg rolls tantalizes me even on a full stomach, I've developed a slew of different food borne illnesses. This may mean, as a completely hypothetical example, I've spent the last week doing my Duolingo Spanish lessons in the smallest room in the apartment. Hypothetically. (Apps and e-readers have changed my life in this regard).

My love of food certainly affects the way I grocery shop, too.

While living here, in Monterrey, it has meant that grocery shopping can be come an adventure. Adventure is probably not the word you'd use when talking about grocery shopping. And, while most of my Winnipeg grocery shopping is done in the very diverse downtown district – this can mean an entertaining shop, it doesn't compare to food shopping here.

My usual shop starts on Tuesday at Wal-Mart. This is pretty standard and very comparable to Canadian Wal-Marts except that there are typically 10-30 employees standing and walking around trying to persuade you to buy their chorizo, microwaveable rice, cheese, or tomatoes. I think a lot of my Spanish practice comes with these conversations.
On Wednesday the real adventure begins. It's produce day! We go to the market to buy fresher and cheaper produce. The market is awesome. But, the market is crazy.

The market has a cacophony of sounds like you wouldn't believe. And with little, blond, fair-skinned me, some of it is even in English. Here we buy 1 kg of bananas for 7 pesos (less than 0.60 CAD).  We pick out fresh mangoes, tomatoes, onions, and even cheese. We pick out as much as we can carry. After our shop we might return home with a heap like this:

With enough produce to last the week, we are 90 pesos poorer (about 8 CAD). Now do you see why a foodie like me gets excited?

We often buy fresh bolillo (pronounced bow-lee-yo, and basically a small french bread loaf)  as well, as it can be cheaper than buying a loaf. We can do this at Wal-Mart's bakery, but often do it at the bakery around the corner (which also has the most amazing donuts – please try a donut from a Mexican bakery if you get the chance. It's worth it, and I don't even like donuts in Canada).
If we are feeling particularly lazy we can buy it from el panadero. El panadero is a gentleman that navigates through residential Mexican streets selling anything you can get at a bakery. Initially, I hated el panadero because while he navigates the city the following song is blasted so that you know he's coming, like an ice cream truck in Canada:

Once he woke me up from a particularly needed nap, and it has taken me quite some time to forgive him. However, I now often get the jingle stuck in my head and am somewhat fond of him.

Sometimes our grocery shopping even brings us to the very famous OXXO convenience store. Unlike Canadian convenience stores, where you're charged for the convenience, OXXO often has prices that are cheaper than Wal-Mart! This week's OXXO list includes beans and detergent.

Anyway, this is a little bit of what it's like to love food and live in Mexico.
Perhaps one day we can talk about all the Mexican food I love. We'll get there.

Take care of one another and spread some love,
Carleigh