Oaxacan Life: Part 9 -- Molestias Varias!
Yes, indeed, there is "trouble in paradise".
There are, like anywhere, molestias varias here in Oaxaca. (In English, "varied annoyances"!) In my experience, they are inherent in Mexico... and some such annoyances often seem hellbent on driving me completely crazy! Tolerance is key, and something I work on daily...
The following is a list of my top ten molestias, from greatest to least:
1) You guessed the worst of it: barking dogs. Ubiquitous in Mexico, I am afraid; nowhere is exempt. Even in the relatively upscale and affluent El Centro, where I reside, it is a daily--and constant-- occurrence.
You know me: I love dogs.
But NOT those that bark incessantly and LOUDLY. It takes a powerful force of will to NOT go completely mad when such noise is so chronic!
Unfortunately, there are a great many people in the world who have no business whatsoever being dog owners. They neglect their animals, don't feed them properly (frequently overfed), don't train or discipline them and leave them tied up in backyards (as one of my next door neighbors does...even at the time of this writing, it is outside and barking loudly, clearly in distress, as am I!) Strangely enough, it seems that no one actually complains and there is certainly NO city ordinance against such an annoyance as this. Well, I complain, to be sure... not that it does any good.... no one is listening!
What's more, every time someone walks down the street with their canine companion in tow, there is a raucous chorus of barking behind all of the gated casas along my street. Ditto this scenario, every time either the "singing" gas truck or the equally musical agua truck rolls on by. (Why musical? Because they both blare repetitive jingles from loud speakers as they rumble on down the streets!) And this happens yet again, every time the various vendors pass by on foot, hawking their wares. You get the picture: this cacaphony of barking occurs with great frequency, throughout the day and evening!
In short, it would be a fine time and place to be totally deaf!!!!
 |
| The actual Shepard culprit, standing with the little boy who lives in the house of the owner. Unfortunately, my Spanish isn't good enough to understand his responses to my queries about where the heck is the @#$%^&* owner, and why is he/she leaving this poor, distressed animal tied up in the completely enclosed backyard?!?!?! (I am peering down into this neighboring yard from my terrace. I wish I could converse with the boy, who is quite adorable... I at least got him to pet--and pacify--the dog while I was standing there watching!) |
2) Firecrackers! Almost--but not quite-- as bad as the barking dogs. Mexicans love to celebrate; even in the pandemia, there seems to be an endless stream of holidays and other reasons to celebrate something or other... and this ALWAYS apparently requires the need to set off fire crackers. At all hours of the day and night, no less, irregardless--once again--of the obvious nuisance to neighbors. Most especially showing blatant disregard of people--like myself!--trying to get a decent night's sleep. They are incredibly loud and startling, as you might imagine. At least they are not quite as frequent as the barking dogs!
 |
| Apparently, the Mexicans are fond of making their own, homemade varieties, and--not surprisingly--accidents are not uncommon. I read a great article about fireworks/firecrackers and Mexican culture, to be found at: Mexican fireworks |
3) The Dusky Chirping Frog! You heard me correctly: NOT croaking, chirping... which, believe me, is far, faar worse!!! Being nocturnal creatures, their high-pitched, monotonous, squeaky vocals can truly drive one mad in the evenings here. There are at least two living in a tree somewhere nearby, and they talk to each other with regularity (meaning, every half minute or so!). It is a piercing sound, truly annoying and unpleasant. Thank God for my earplugs!!!!
 |
| I actually LOVE frogs, same as I love DOGS... but... both are better seen and not heard, that is for sure!!!! (This fella IS cute, I must admit... but boy, does he/she have a pair of pipes on him!) |
4) Visual and ecological unpleasantness:
a) Rampant graffiti...unbelievably, in this gorgeous, wonderfully preserved old relic of a town, thoughtless, scummy, low-life humans have ravaged these lovely buildings, leaving their ugliness everywhere. I asked my sweet, native Oaxacan friend Carolina what--if anything--was being done to stop this travesty? She merely smiled and shrugged, indicating that it was just one unfortunate aspect of life they had come to accept. As an American, I CANNOT accept it, but what choice do I have? I guess the authorities must believe that there isn't anything to be done, or they don't have sufficient manpower to stop it OR clean it up. It is truly--deeply--heartbreaking to me.
 |
| Besides graffiti, there are various notices plastered everywhere, also ruining the beauty of many of these old, historic buildings in El Centro. |
 |
| This mess appears under one of the arches of the old aqueduct, across from where I live. These stone arches date back at least two hundred years. It never fails to amaze me, the low consciousness of some of these so-called "humans" on our planet... |
 |
| Horrific, no?!?! |
 |
| Yes, sadly and not surprisingly, Starbuck's has insinuated itself into Oaxaca as well... such a shame! This bag was dumped on the street near my apartment. |
 |
| At least some people are TRYING to put their trash into a proper receptacle! I see bags of garbage simply dumped on street corners. Who--do these slobs think--will come by and clean up their mess?! I imagine they DON'T actually think about it, and couldn't care less. |
 |
| These charming receptacles for plastic are placed in public squares throughout El Centro. While I am happy to see people recycling these bottles rather than simply throwing them in the garbage, the AMOUNT of plastic being used is still utterly appalling. (Especially since, as we know too well, much of it will wind up in our oceans....) |
c) Dog poop! Yet another example of the irresponsibility of so many dog owners in Oaxaca. Of course, some of it is the fault of the street dogs as well... but I have seen dog walkers allow their animals to squat and do their business and then walk on, as if leaving this unsightly mess for others to step in is completely acceptable! Disgusting and unbelievable.
 |
| Is cleaning up their animal's poop too much to ask?!?! Apparently so....and not surprisingly, someone had stepped in this awful excrement... |
5) Street hazards: potholes and broken sidewalks-- one must be careful on a bicycle AND on foot! I cannot tell you how many times I have tripped--and sometimes fallen--because of not seeing a rise, or depression, in the sidewalks here. Fortunately, I have thus far managed to circumvent all the worst of the myriad potholes in the streets, and remained upright on my bicycle! A hearty mountain bike is a must... and mine, a used and funky variety, does the trick.
6) Odious smells/bad plumbing: Yes, unfortunately, also a very common feature of Oaxaca, and Mexico in general. My lovely--relatively upscale--apartment being no exception!
 |
| Drains in bathrooms and showers always must have plastic covers on them to help keep the rising odors in check. In my bathroom, unfortunately, such measures don't seem to do much at all--my bathroom always smells faintly like a sewer. Sometimes--especially at night--this smell wafts into my bedroom, and I have to override it by burning incense. Truly unpleasant, as you can imagine! |
 |
| Not that easy to see, but the water coming out of the kitchen faucet into the sink is slightly more than a trickle--the tap is open all the way! What I understand about Mexican plumbing is that the pipes are too thin, but landlords and ladies won't replace them with bigger pipes because of the expense. Also, the tap water is laden with minerals, which contribute to clogging up the works fairly quickly...hence, a trickle of water. Oh, and I must also mention, no hot water in the kitchen... only in the bathroom. So if I want hot water for dishes, I must heat it in a pot on the stove! A nuisance, to be sure. |
7) Montezuma's revenge! (The idea of this only being a malady of travelers--and NOT of actual expat residents--is a myth!!!)
As far as I can tell, one NEVER truly "adapts" to the myriad, strange beasties present in Mexico's food and beverage and whatever else. It is NOT OK to become complacent, believing one's system has adjusted to foreign bacteria and is thus now immune to the dreaded M.R.. I learned--the hard way--that one can not be TOO careful. Worse, even when one IS being extremely careful...WHAM! Another bout hits you, and you have absolutely NO idea what you ate, where it came from... where did you go wrong, what did you ingest?!!? No, my friends, it is a given that this affliction will pay periodic visits to your unsuspecting self from time to time, and there doesn't seem to be a darn thing to be done about it!
8) Hot Hot Hot! (No AC, no ceiling fans...) Yes, the temps are climbing. The mornings are blessedly cool, but afternoons and eves are well into the 90's at least, and fairly torturous. Apparently, global warming has made things worse in Oaxaca in recent years, which is why the vast majority of dwellings in this city have neither AC nor even ceiling fans. Everyone basically resorts to planting themselves in front of portable fans, like this one, and taking repeated showers throughout the day. MOST unpleasant, to be sure! It DOES cool off in the eve, but only outside. IF it weren't for the bright lights and noises, I would sleep on the terrace above, where a cool breeze blows nightly. Sadly, however, I know for certain I would be awake all night. Thus it is that I must remain in my baking apartment, with the fan blowing on me all afternoon, evening and throughout the night. It finally cools off sometime in the wee hours of morning.
9) Agua, por favor! OF COURSE everyone knows that you don't drink the tap water in Mexico... ever! Even the Mexicans avoid it, so what does that tell ya?! Most everyone gets the bottled water, as you see here. A few different trucks come down the streets on varying days and at varying times, and THAT is what is SO maddening: catching them when they come! There is simply no predictability to it. I have to listen for the "Agua" jingle flowing out of the water truck, OR for the man who simply sticks his head out of the vehicle's window and yells "agua"! Mind you, I am in a back apartment, away from the street. While this situation is an advantage in terms of blocking much of the street noise, it is a serious DISadvantage when it comes to being able to hear that "camion" when it comes on by! I keep windows open, ears cocked, anxious as all get-out... and then, when I DO finally hear that blessed call, I have to race down my stairs, remembering to take my keys (otherwise no way to get out the front gate!), and go chase after the truck, while waving my empty 5 gallon bottle madly in the air. This is why, as you can see here, I stock up! I try to keep 2-3 bottles on hand at all times. What is more critical than "agua", after all?!?!
(Oh, and by the way, having to pump water out of the bottle is a real pain, too. They now make electric pumps, but they are quite pricey!)
10) Camion para basura (trash truck)-- and the crazy collection routines! And yes, the trucks actually DO look like this...not the pretty green, aesthetically-pleasing varieties you see nowadays in the U.S. These Mexican trucks are gross. And they come around at ungodly early hours of the morning, 3 days of the week. Normally, between 6:30 and 7 a.m.... And, as with the water trucks, one has to listen...carefully! Only instead of a jingle, the trash collectors alert the sleepy residents of their presence by the clanging of a cow bell! This bell is furiously rung by one of the garbage guys who tromps up and down the street. Of course this noisy bell surely wakes up everyone in general, whether they need to make a trip to the truck or not!
Upon hearing the bell, I rush outside with my garbage in hand. Then, I have to stand in line, waiting my turn to hand my bag of "basura" to a collector. I keep a separate container of recyclables, which gets dumped into a plastic container next to the truck. The smell is terrible, of course, and I feel badly for these trash workers....what could be worse?? The one advantage of this terribly early, weekly routine of mine is the opportunity to greet my bleary-eyed neighbors with a cheery "buenos dias"!
 |
| Of course, they do collect SOME garbage at a reasonable hour, so it appears...just not on MY street, of course! Horrifying to see that this truck is SO full of basura that some of the bags must be carried on top! Also, I perpetually wonder, "Where does it all GO?!?!" |
And so you see, dear reader, the "paradise" you think I live in is not at all that it is cracked up to be. There are up sides and down sides to everywhere and everything, are there not?! However, all things considered, the good outweighs the bad, and that is why it is worth putting up with all of the above to be here. Regardless of its challenges, Oaxaca as yet remains the best place I can imagine being at this juncture of my life.
Comments
Post a Comment