La Tienda is the center of activities for stay-at-home wives/moms, and it's where you learn what is going on in your neighborhood. There is usually one person who is attending the tienda about 90% of the time - it's an unfortunate job because they don't get out much, as most tiendas are open from around 7 or 8 am to 10 or 11pm. But, the tienda owner is usually the most informed person in the neighborhood. Most people go to the tienda at least 5 or 6 times per week - it's hard to find 24-packs of Coke or family size bags of chips here, so when you need a snack, you just go to the tienda. It's just down the street anyway!
When I first moved to Mexico and was living with Gaby and her kids, we always went to the same tienda, and we went everyday. The owner looked EXACTLY like the rather obnoxious presidential candidate at the time, so we called him Peje (PEH-hay), which was that candidate's nickname. Peje knew everyone who came into the his tienda, and what we liked to buy. (He DIDN'T know that lots of people in the neighborhood had a nickname for him though!) When I lived with Luis and Sandy, the nearest tienda was in a poorer neighborhood (Luis and Sandy's neighborhood was new, and didn't have a tienda yet). I was the one who had a nickname there - Whitey. There was an older couple that owned that store, and they would see me coming through the window. I could hardly understand the man because he didn't really have teeth, and was hard to understand, so when he would see me coming he'd yell to his wife, "Here comes Whitey!" so she would attend me!
At JP and I's first house, Chava and his wife Juanita owned the tienda. This tienda had EVERYTHING. Besides the normal chips, pop, yougurt, bread, etc., they also had a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables (this is not common at tiendas), as well as anything else you may ever think you might want. Juanita also called my the Whitey, which was strange because she and her daughter are as white as I am! Juanita would spend time talking to me about their family's trip to Disneyland, asking when my parents are coming to visit again (my mom and Juanita had a great smile and point method of communication going on), and finding out what JP and I liked to do for fun. She also always knew who moved away, who it was that stole the neighbor's car last week, and whose dog is the one pooping on the sidewalk all the time.
Now, we're living in another neighborhood, and a guy named Luis is the tienda owner. He and JP lend each other DVDs, and I always give him a bad time about his favorite soccer team. We all talk about how bad the Mexican National Soccer team is playing, our favorite music, and snacks that existed in the 80's when Luis and JP were little, but don't exist anymore.
So, we're moving again. Because neighbors tend to not be super friendly in Queretaro (they aren't rude, but everyone kind of keeps to themselves, except the tienda owners!), the tienda owners are the people I always miss when I move. BUT, we're moving back to the same house we lived in 2008-2011, so I went yesterday to tell Chava and Juanita that we would be back! So while we have to say goodbye to Luis and our soccer team bashing, we are moving to a place where we know the tienda owners and they know us. And that's important here. You belong in the neighborhood when you get to know the tienda owners!
Anyhow, just some random thoughts from me today!
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