Left vs. Right: I'm talking about the brain!

I know it's been a while since my last post. It's just amazing how days turn into weeks, weeks into months, and...well, you get my point: I've been busy!

I quite enjoy listening to NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. A few months ago, I downloaded a show titled "After s Stroke, a Scientist Studies Herself" which left a huge impression on me. I confess that I was so riveted by this story that I listened to the interview several times and then told all my friends and students about it.

The (real-life) story goes something like this: Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist woke up one day to realize that she was having a stroke. The stroke, however, only happened on one side of her brain. I won't give away the story in case you want to get the scoop from the source but, I can tell you that the affected side of her brain would go on and off. During the off periods, the functions of the other side of the brain would intensify. It's just fascinating to see the extraordinary insights that Dr. Bolte Taylor experiences.

It took her about eight years to recover and she's using her experience as both a brain scientist and a stroke victim to shed light, a whole lot of it, into the subject.

While I have not read her book "My Stroke of Insight", I continued to search on the Internet to learn more about this story. Luckily, I came across a video from a TED.org presentation by Dr. Bolte Taylor. I highly recommend watching it! You can see it here. The video is about 20 minutes long.

This story has great scientific and spiritual appeal.

On a related note, back in July, there was also an interesting interview with neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga titled "Mapping The Mysteries Of The Brain's Two Halves." This one gives an easy-to-understand explanation of the relationship of both sides of the brain.

A Year in Mexico

They say, and I can vouch for this one, that as you get older time passes by increasingly fast. Anymore, a year is really nothing. In my opinion, time is the most devalued currency of modern times. I'm trying to reclaim its value in my life.

This past year, more than a transition, has really been about contrasts as I started from scratch in a new country. Frankly, it’s been a lot easier than I thought though I wouldn't try to credit anyone in particular (myself included) for the ease of the experience.

Sure, I came here with a plan and by god, the plan is unfolding and it’s even better than I had envisioned; that’s not to say that I didn’t have many doubts. Some as recent as this week.

My experience of life in Mexico reminds me of my own journey as a yoga practitioner. Not being particularly flexible with my body has actually translated into an invaluable lesson. That lesson is patience. Plain and simple.

Everyone back home knows me as a calm New Yorker. I suspect that here I’m a bit abrasive and loud. Though I’m a lot calmer than back home, there are days when the ugly New Yorker bursts the hell out! I think you have to be Mexican, by blood, to put up with the nonsensical inefficiencies of this country.

To celebrate my first anniversary here, and acknowledging that no place is really ‘perfect’, I’d like to share my experiences of the journey so far.

I want to keep this entry short so, I won’t go into the reasons why this country seems to be so badly stuck in the old ways. Suffice it to say, that everyday I get to practice my patience. I’ve gotten pretty good at it but when you know there’s a better way to do things, you can’t hush down the voices inside. On a good day, when I watch people’s (lack of) reaction to the inefficiencies, I want to praise them for their patience; on a bad day, I want to slap them awake from their feeble resignation.

What is particularly fascinating is that among all the crap, you are always met by impeccably dressed, polite, good humored, soft-spoken Mexicans who simply seem to move too darn slow. That’s it. They seem to have a different sense of time than the average American. I admit that the charm is disarming to the point that I often feel guilty for being such a tight-ass.

Some of the cultural highlights that have particularly struck me are:

- Family comes first, career comes second. There’s no wavering there.

- I’ve yet to see anyone be rude to anyone else in public. People just don’t lose their cool here. Well, except for me…just a little bit, sometimes.

- Personal hygiene ranks high in priority with everyone I’ve come across. There’s no bad odor of any sort coming out the people I’ve come in contact with.

- Mexican children are gorgeous!

- The most beautiful dark, dark eyes are right here in Mexico. They seem to be enhanced by thick, almost curly eyelashes. I find myself mesmerized.

- Driving is scary here. People are nuts! But I haven’t really seen anyone flip the bird or hardly ever blow their horns to express road rage.

- People from GDL are aloof and reserved but when they show affection, it oozes with heartfelt sincerity.

- In one year, I’ve seen like 5 dark skinned (black) people.

- I didn’t know what contamination really was until I moved here. I’m actually allergic to it.

- I haven’t seen a drop of rain since last September.

With all that said, some of the personal experiences that I’m deeply grateful for include:

- I’ve learned to build in and enjoy guilt-free leisure time every day of the week.

- I love shopping at the farmer’s markets for the freshest, most beautiful produce. Beyond that, I love bantering and haggling with the sellers.

- Yup, I’ve learned to haggle. You’re expected to do it.

- Cooking (and having the time to do it) has become a source of joy and creativity that I hope to never let go of.

- Real Mexican food is wonderful! It can be healthy, actually, and it’s always fresh.

- Home is a sacred space for Chava and I. Particularly, every weekend is a chance for renewal, celebration, and mutual growth.

- My students and clients revere my knowledge and my position, treating me with the utmost respect, which makes me look forward to spending time with them.

- I have time to listen to my favorite podcasts -- most of them from the US, helping me keep a pulsebeat on life in America.

- I enjoy meeting country folk who are outspoken, friendly, funny, and infinitely wise.

- I like it when random strangers easily greet you on the streets. I think I've become friendlier as a result.

- People are always late to social events. Live with it!

I view these experiences as a unique opportunity to integrate who I really am and to increase my sensitivities about everything that unites us human beings regardless of cultural background. I’m happy. Perhaps the plan wasn’t a real plan after all. Perhaps it was a trick for me to safely venture out of my comfort zone and collect life-affirming memories along the way.

I think I’ll stop here. I'm trying to be good about posting more frequently.

Portfolio Career

OK, OK! I know I haven’t been very good about keeping up with this blog. You’re probably wondering what I’m up to these days. Busy. Happily busy.

So, I thought I would do a quick post just to fill everyone in on the recent events of my life in GDL.

Right now, I’m very focused on work. I had a bit of a slowdown after I stopped working for the institute at the end of November in order to go solo. Since then I worked on legalizing my business (boy, that one requires its own entry!) and drumming up business. After many phone calls and endless conversations, things finally started to pick up in late March. I’ve learned so many (sometimes painful) lessons from that experience.

So, what exactly do I do? My career can be best described as a “portfolio career”; that is, I do several, mostly unrelated things; all of which I love.

My main source of income comes from my English teaching gigs. Both of them are business-oriented courses taught on the premises. I use textbooks but re-interpret a lot of the exercises and make them a lot more exciting from a creative standpoint. I love that part of the work though it’s time consuming but awesomely rewarding.

I also have a private client, a lawyer, who is in the process of applying for an MBA program in the US and needs help refining her English skills. We have so much fun working toward that goal!

My other major source of income comes from my yoga classes. I teach at the Pilates studio and at a mansion in a shi-shi neighborhood to a set of nine well-to-do ladies. Also, one of the companies where I teach English hired me to give classes there. How cool is that?

As a backup, I can also take the occasional translation work and do some technical writing through project bidding on elance.com. So, that’s what a portfolio career is all about.

My workload is pretty darn good. I teach a total of 12 hours of English per week and about 12 hours of Yoga. The drawback is that I always have to work around my clients' business hours (early in the AM, at lunchtime – 2PM here, and after 5:30PM). My work schedule runs Monday thru Thursday. Fridays are practically my day off though I run around a lot and leave weekends for total play and relaxation.

My worst days are Mondays and Wednesdays. I leave the house at 7AM, come in and out a few times and my last Yoga class ends at 9:15PM. I have decent gaps of time during the day which allow me to go to the gym, do costume changes, cook a healthy dinner, plan my lessons, and not to mention wind down a bit several times a day. Yes, I always have time to go to Starbucks! At the end of the day, I'm hardly even tired.

For exercise, I go to the gym Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for about 1.5 hours to lift weights and to practice boxing with an awesome teacher who is still a competitive boxer. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I go to the Pilates studio (where they have reformer machines) and also practice Yoga at home.

Since I am my own boss, I’ve instituted a pretty liberal vacation policy. My clients are pretty chill about that. The plan is to give myself a one week vacation every four to eight weeks, depending on the time of the year. Things are looking up in that respect. Next vacation destination? CUBA…before Fidel kicks the bucket.

There’s a lot of demand for both English and Yoga here though networking is essential. I could take on more clients but for now, I’m more interested in a healthy and balanced life. However, if a real interesting project comes along, I’m all over it. Some potentially exciting Yoga opportunities might be working with one of the world famous soccer teams (Chivas!) or with some tri-athletes. For English, I'm being considered for starting a new program with GDL's emergency response system (like 911) and I also have some leads at a couple universities. I feel blessed to have so many options.

Stay tuned for more entries…I have a lot of exciting stuff to talk about! Next up, I plan to write about my first year anniversary here. Yes, there’ve been some cultural challenges but I’m still here. 8-)

Roasted Tomato Soup a la Mexicana

This delicious recipe was inspired by a NYTimes podcast of “The Minimalist” Mark Bittman. The main difference is that I use fresh tomatoes and spiced it up with green chiles to give it a Mexican flare.


This recipe yields 4 appetizer size servings. There are three main processes to this recipe:

1 – Steam-cook the tomatoes (15-20 minutes)

Ingredients:
- 10-12 very ripe plum tomatoes, skinned*
- 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cup of celery, chopped
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning mix or fresh mix of oregano, rosemary, and basil
- 1 tsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil

Preparation:

1. You’ll need a medium-sized pot with a tight-fitting lid.
2. Mix all the ingredients the pot, keeping the tomatoes whole.
3. Cover and steam at medium heat until the tomatoes begin to fall apart (about 10-15 minutes).

2 – Roast the tomatoes (15-20 minutes)

1. Scoop out just the tomatoes from the pot, draining them as much as possible, and set aside.
2. Drain the remaining stuff from the pot into a bowl making sure to squeeze the juice out of all the ingredients, and set aside the broth.
3. Place the tomatoes in a cookie sheet or oven tray.
4. Drizzle the tomatoes lightly with some olive oil and oregano.
5. Put in the oven at 450 and bake until the tomatoes begin to brown at the tops.
6. Remove tomatoes from the tray and scrape off any brown crispiness on the tray using some of the tomato broth that was set aside.

3 – Make the soup (8-12 minutes)

Ingredients:
- Remaining tomato broth that was previously set aside
- 4 cups of chicken broth (preferably home-made)
- 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
- ½ red onion
- 1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
- ¼ fresh parsley or cilantro, coarsely chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Sautee the garlic and onion in the olive oil until the onion is translucent.
2. Add the carrots and sautee for another two minutes.
3. Add the tomato and chicken broths.
4. Add the roasted tomatoes.
5. Add salt and pepper, if desired.
6. Let it boil for about 5 minutes.
7. Add the fresh parsley or cilantro and let boil for another 2 minutes.
8. Remove from heat.
9. Serve in a medium sized bowl and drizzle some fresh cheese (Cotija or Parmesan) and eat with a nice crusty bread!

* for skinning the tomatoes, I boil some water in a pot, and drop each tomato for 20-30 seconds. Take the tomato out, rinse with cold water and proceed to peel with fingers or with a pearing knife.

Feliz Cumpleaños!

Holy cow, I’m 37 Years Old!

I’m not sure how it was that I woke up this past 10th of March only to realize that I was turning 37. I definitely feel and look closer to 40 than to 30. Ouch!

Actually, I’m incredibly happy and grateful for each birthday that I’m blessed with. I feel really great!

Many of my friends up north are probably wondering what it must’ve been like to celebrate my birthday in the middle of total sunshine and perfect temperatures…just kidding! The truth is that this was my first birthday since I can remember, away from home and my family…not counting the time I was in London and was serenaded at lunchtime by Bill Nighy. There’s a story for you, but I digress!

Anyway, back to my most recent birthday in Guadalajara. Well, it was strange. Not just because I’m in a foreign country and I’ve had most of my new friends for just a few months but, also because my grandpa died in the D.R. I was unable to attend his funeral and I definitely had my sad, teary moments knowing that the old man was being buried on the very day that I’d be blowing another birthday candle. After work, around 3PM, I went to a local park to enjoy a bit of nature and to reflect on my grandpa’s legacy. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful setting to do just that.

I was most disappointed by the fact that I couldn’t see my mom. She had planned to come down and spend two weeks with me to celebrate my birthday season but alas God had other plans and instead she went to the D.R. to be by her dad’s side as he took his last breath.

So, how did I celebrate? You may be wondering…I friggin’ milked it! It was awesome. I tend to celebrate for about two weeks and indeed, I did – no one stood in my way. Between several cakes, many libations, and quite a few dinners and lunches, I felt really loved in this land. I enjoyed how my friends and students (English and Yoga) were not shy in demonstrating their affection toward me. One of the funnest experiences was a night of dancing "Banda" at a very typical (and huge) restaurant. You can see me getting down with my friend Chely.

In all honesty, sometimes I get down on Mexicans for being a little too distant, perhaps “indifferent”, in the day-to-day but when it’s time to express heartfelt emotions, they have no problem doing it and they do it well…I swear I can feel the warmth in their hearts.

I am completely humbled by the experience and perhaps I’m learning a bit more about “true” sincerity. No one had to be nice to me because it was my birthday instead they simply insisted on making me feel great not just because of the occasion but because they might’ve thought how hard it must be to spend your birthday far from home.

Moments like these make Mexico a bit more of “home” to me; especially as I get ready to celebrate my first anniversary of living here in April. Hmmm, sounds like another opportunity to celebrate a la Mexicana! Andale! Arriba! Arriba!

Cooking Pasta Part III - Hands-on Tagliatelle

This is the final post on my Pasta Making adventures. It's funny how the sequence of events was actually backwards but I guess sometimes it's cool to see the end before the beginning so, here it goes...

Tiziana had mentioned that her “baby” was a tuna lasagna. Yup, she’s so proud of making this one up! I was dying to try it out as it sounded so unusual. I asked her to bring me one of those the next time we met for yoga which would be on a Thursday. She had asked me to give her a call the day before to remind her.

OK, so it’s Wednesday and I had a midday interview with a new prospect for my English communication business. It so happened that my interview was not too far from Lasagna e Via so, I gave Tiz a call suggesting that I could actually swing by and pick up the lasagna. I made it there, dressed to impress while Pat, Tiz, and Lola (one of their employees) were busy making dough for the pasta. My eyes lit up.

Unlike last time, it was around noon and the place was hopping with customers picking up their phoned-in orders. In case I forgot to mention, Lasagna e Via is a take-out only business.

So, dangling an apron with one hand and pouring me a glass of white wine with the other, Tiziana asked if I wanted to get my hands dirty and learn to make pasta. I quickly responded “for sure!”
So, this time, as if going backwards, I was to learn how to mix the ingredients to make the dough. The process involved mixing flour and egg in a food processor. Since all eggs are not made equal, I was to use my judgment in determining if the dough was moist enough before kneading. So we kept some water in a cup nearby.

Pat instructed me to mix 300gm of flour (using a cup measure) with 3 whole eggs. I was to mix it up in the processor and then decide if additional moisture was needed. After that, I was to spread the mix on the counter and proceed to knead it out until it had a tight but soft-to-the-touch consistency. Once the ball of dough is good, we quickly store it in a plastic bag to conserve moisture. At this point, the dough can be frozen for later use. I had no idea it was this simple!


I went through several rounds of this process. I found it extremely relaxing. The kneading was a very nice stretching exercise for my writs. Pat and Lola would occasionally stop by my station to supervise, naturally, trying to abide by their quality standards and to give tried and true tips for preparing "beautiful" dough.

Once I made like 10 balls of dough, I could learn how to make tagliatelle, the short, flat spaghetti. But first, I needed to learn even more basics! Pat asked me if I’d like to make the dough from scratch without using the food processor. “Bring it on!” I thought. So, now she taught me how to make a volcano with the flour on top of the counter and then add the eggs in the middle. Then mix and knead by hand. To ensure I had the right level of moisture, I was to either add water or add a little flour. Fun stuff, indeed! I felt like a little kid with play-dough.


With all the dough ready, it was time to make pasta! Pat *strongly* suggested not using the pasta machine at all and instead roll it out using just the pin. I was up to the challenge!

Pat taught me how to do it mostly to show me the appropriate thickness for tagliatelle. By now, I was remembering an incredible dish I once had in Venice of tagliatelle with fresh crab meet, garlic and olive oil. Ahh, the possibilities when you make your own pasta!

Working and talking, I finally told them the story of the Dominican Lasagna in New York. They just chuckled as they went about their tasks.

I made several sheets of pasta, getting them ready for cutting them into the tagliatelle. We used a special pasta cutting knife (see photo) and Pat taught me, several times (I was slow on this one), how to first roll up the pasta sheet like a tube and then use the knife to cut the roll into segments of the desired width for my pasta. Pat explained to me how in old Italy, the job of being the pasta cutter was very, very important. I can see that. “What do you mean there’s no fresh pasta today?” A brief panic rushed over me.

Each segment of the rolled, already cut pasta is gently unbundled with the fingers. The end result looks like a small bird’s nest. Once unbundled, we placed each nest in a tray lined with a cloth napkin and then we covered them with another cloth napkin. Unlike ravioli, the tagliatelle needs to dry out a bit before cooking, so these guys were going to sit in the tray for a while.

As payment for my work, Pat sent me home with a *small* care package including:

• some of the pasta I just made
• bolognese sauce to-go
• frozen dough for making empanadas at home
• an assortment of fresh-out-of-the-oven empanadas (eggplant, homemade sausage, and kale with cheese)
• and of course, the tuna lasagna that I originally came for.

On the way out, Pat revealed that that the “crack” in the empanada dough are tiny bits of homemade sausage and fresh oregano.

On the ride back home the car smelled of something wonderful. I’m weak. I couldn’t wait to get home, literally…I reached for the empanadas and snarfed two of the down. I drove home happily and ready for a nap after all my hard work.

In the evening, I boiled my tagliatelle for 4 minutes and mixed it with the bolognese sauce. It was heavenly. The next evening, I tried the tuna lasagna and it was wonderful! It had a Mexican twist as the sauce had chilli peppers.

And, yes, the new prospect hired me!

Cooking Pasta Part II - Adventures in Ravioli Making

It was one of the loveliest evenings since I can remember. The specialness of this one laid in its spontaneity.

But first, a little background:

Tiziana was one of the first, and certainly most eager students who came to my yoga classes here in GDL. After class, one day, we started talking about our mutual love for food. She seemed more excited and excitable than your average GDL resident. She casually blurted out that she had been born in Bologna, Italy and came to Mexico as a young child. For work, she runs a lasagna shop with her sister Patricia.

“Lasagna, you said?” I asked and without waiting for an answer I bragged about my lasagna. We both got so excited to have this other thing in common. We agreed to exchange lasagnas. It was understood that hers was artesanal and mine was rustic.

At the start of the next yoga class, lasagnas were exchanged with relentless giddiness. I went home ate mine and loved it! Tiz explained that the pasta was made from scratch at her shop. I lamented how much I missed good Italian food since moving to GDL. Whining, I confessed my desire to learn to how to make ravioli.

“Easy!” She exclaimed. “How about you come over to the shop and my sister and I will make it happen.” I nodded with excitement. Then she added “Oh, we like to drink red wine while cooking. Is that OK with you?” By now I was ready to hug this woman and declare her my new best friend.

And so, the night came. It was a Thursday night. I like to go out on Thursday nights because of its unpretentious way of almost being the weekend. The air was festive already. The shop was small and beautifully appointed -- efficient, with clean lines, gorgeous white roses in a couple of places, and the smell of deliciousness was unquestionably the most important guest this evening.

Tiz and Patricia were hosting and two of their friends joined: Tere, a happy, energetic woman, who brought the white roses and was ready to crack some jokes, and Lorena a warm woman of wise words, thoughtful questions, and a good record as a world traveler. So, on to the business at hand: Ravioli making! I mean, look at my face in the pictures. Do I not look just so excited? Sometimes, it amazes me how little it takes to get me to this state. I like this sort of high.

Patricia was full of charm and ready to “teach” me. She handed me an official "Lasagna e Via" apron. She really meant business. Her patience and methodology told me: she’s done this a lot of times so I was eager to be learned. Oh, and don’t mess with her!

The dough had been made and ready to be rolled out. Pat kindly offered to teach me how to mix the dough but in the interest of time, we continued with what we had. First, we mixed the very simple filling:

1 tbsp of parsley
2 cups of Requesón (the Mexican version of Ricotta)
1 egg yolk
Salt and pepper to taste

Next, she introduced me to the process of prepping the dough before using the pasta machine so, she instructed me to massage it out a bit and then use the rolling pin to make the starting, albeit thick, sheet of pasta. fter that, the pasta making machine came out and I was taught to put the dough through, starting at the highest setting, cranking the handle, and continuing the process, lowering the setting until the pasta was thin enough for ravioli. We were to make two long sheets of pasta. As soon as you’re done with the first sheet, you cover it so that it doesn’t lose moisture.

For the last sheet, Tiz taught me how to stick a parsley leaf and put it through the machine and see how the leaf becomes big and thin; it looked like a cool tattoo.

Now, we’re ready to put the ravioli together. By now, wine’s been guzzled down. With everyone abuzz, the room was getting warm thanks to the laughter, my hard, happy work, and for the big pot of boiling water for the pasta to cook.

I laid out one of sheets in front of me, cut it in half, and then trimmed around the edges to make them into rectangles of the same size. One half-sheet stays on the counter and we spoon the cheese filling in little gobs leaving enough space to comfortably sew the ravioli together. This is a good time to decide on the size of each ravioli. Will it be ravioli, raviolini, or raviolocho? The one with the parsley tattoo will have to be a raviolocho.

With the bottom half-sheet all set with the filling, we evenly set the second half-sheet on top and iron out any pockects of air with our fingers. Then we use the special pasta cutter to cut while sewing the edges off leaving the familiar ridges all around.

We set the ravioli on a tray lined with a cloth napkin and then covered them with another cloth napkin. We try to minimize exposure to the air. With the water boiling, and ravioli ready, we throw them in to cook for no more than 3 minutes. By now, Tiziana was busy making the sauce:

2 cups of butter
2 tbsp chopped sage

With the ravioli out, Tiz tossed them in the butter sauce. She had already made a caeser’s salad. We sat down to eat, another bottle of wine was as necessary as the next gasp of air after so much laughter. We accompanied the pasta and salad with sausage bread as well as sausage empanadas all previously made on-site and by hand. Can you feel the love?

With food in tummy, head abuzz, and an air of teamwork satisfaction, we all agree to do this again. Like a dinner club.

Since this is an Italian feast, there has got to be a simple dessert and a memorable after dinner drink. Tiz had made poached pears with raspberry sauce. Patricia surprised us with home-made mandarin limoncello – she called it mandaretto. I called it “OH MY GOD!” That’s all I can say for now.

Check out the slide show (click on the photo to see the title, hover toward to the top to get the previous and next buttons):



I went home with care packages, a bunch of white roses, a big smile on my face, the anticipation of learning more about making pasta and perhaps meeting the ladies for a mid-day Campari sometime soon.

On the ride home, I marveled at finding Italy in Mexico -- I would’ve never imagined it. I love peculiar coincidences like these; it fed my spirit and my tummy. What else can I ask for on this fine day?

A few weeks have gone by and when I see Tiziana, a little bit of the world reveals itself to me through her mediterranean spark . Pat will forever be my pasta making teacher. She already holds a prominent place along with all my other spiritual teachers.