Mercado de las comidas

Today, feeling too much like an American tourist, I broke from the WFP group for lunch and entered the mercado de las comidas. This is an indoor market option for food. Indoor markets are a crazy mix of smells, sounds and activities. Raw meat hangs in smelly, but neat rows waiting to be sold nearby. Baskets full of fried and spiced grasshoppers and other bugs have an intresting and unappealing smell. Lines ogçf vegatables, bread and fruit also line the market along with hand embroidered clothes and other arts and crafts. The people selling these goods call out to you as you pass. Look amiga they say, want to try, want to buy?

Many little resturants comprise the comidas section...but it sort of appears as a weirdly divided cafeteria. (I haven´t been brave enough to take pictures here as I think it would upset the mostly indigenous vendors.) Today I ordered tamale oxaxaña which is a tamale with chicken and cheese and delicious mole sauce (think spicy chocolate salsa). I also had a coca cola. I hardly drink soda in the states but I justify this purchase for two reasons. 1. Coke hecho en Mexico does not have high fructose corn syrup. 2. It settles the stomach.

On a side note, I am finding myself having to justify many of my actions here. For example I reason with myself about who I buy from (I choose to purchase things from women as opposed to men)... I wish I didn´t feel I had to justify my actions though.

While eating my delicious meal, two Oaxacan tourists (they are from Mexico City) sat across from me and we had a conversation that I could sort of understand.

This experience made my day, which I will only partially attribute to the sugar and caffiene from the soda.

Muchos besos a todas...