The Mija Chronicles

Mexican food and culture, on both sides of the border

New York luxuries

by

I’ve forgotten how easy it is to live in the United States. In the past 11 days, I have:

— Thrown the toilet paper in the camode, not the trash can
— Received emailed instead of paper receipts
— Ordered takeout Indian and Thai takeout online with my credit card
— Turned on the hot water and received actual (scalding) hot water in two seconds, instead of waiting and letting the tap run for two, three or four minutes.
— Purchased a cell phone plan in 30 minutes, from the man who greeted us when we entered the store (instead of a surly employee at a window)
— Ridden in climate-controlled subway cars with passengers who follow rules, such as not blaring music, not eating, and not smoking
— Experienced the glory of buying multiple things in one store, including paring knives, coffee filters and earphones.

On the second day we were in town, Crayton and I pretty much got our new lives together. We bought new winter coats, went grocery shopping, got flu shots, bought new gloves, investigated two cell phone plans and purchased one. At the end of the day, we realized all of this would’ve taken at least two days — at least — in Mexico City.

So far my only mishaps have been not walking fast enough (New York pedestrians are like chilangos behind the wheel of a car), and taking the wrong subway train, or walking west when I should’ve been walking east.

And not to jinx it, but… I think we may have found an apartment. In Queens. Signing the lease tomorrow. I did a Google maps search for “restaurants” (another New York luxury) near our new place, and was shocked at all the excellent Thai and Chinese options that popped up. We’re going to have a fabulous time.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Yes! I moved back to the States in October (after living in Mexico–*rural* Mexico–for five years).

    When my friends get worked up over minor traffic jams or a long line at the grocery store…well. Suffice it to say, I remain very calm.

    • Marie: Yes, that stuff still doesn’t bother me. But I think in six months it might be another story. I’m going to try to keep my Mexico zen-patience as long as I can.

  2. So glad you’re enjoying the transition! And VERY good call on the flu shots.

    Not sure about subway rule-keepers. Maybe New Yorkers and chilangos just break different rules. Anyway yeah I still think the subway is great, although DF’s pictograms for every stop were kind of cute.

    Anyway welcome!

    • Thank you! After I wrote that about the subways, I’ve had at least two boombox-blaring experiences, so that part definitely isn’t true. On the Metro in DF, though, you can count on someone with a boombox-backpack during almost every ride, at nearly every stop.

      We should go grab some tacos sometime!

  6. Very jealous. That is my short list of things I cannot do in Sao Paulo, Brazil. And Thai food – we have exactly one good Thai food restaurant in the entire city and two good Chinese – good meaning what you will find in Chinatown. You will love the eating options of NYC. But… will you find good Mexican food?

    • That is the question! I did find a very good gordita de chicharrĂłn yesterday in Spanish Harlem — it had the first excellent salsa I’ve tasted in 23 days, and I wanted to melt into my seat. Instead I ate the whole little cupful. (Salsa on every bite of my gordita isn’t bad, right?)

      One thing SamPa has that NYC doesn’t is great pao de queijo… right? Brigadeiros? Amazonian fish? And jabuticaba. Loved those when I visited a few years ago.

  8. Too late to be of any use to you, Lesley, but there’s actually a website back here in DF, Sin Delantal, that lets you order food for home delivery from a good selection of restaurants, including Indian and Thai. (The other day I ordered from Taj Mahal in Condesa — yum!) All online with fairly complete menus for each place. It’s pretty slick.

    Funny, I’ve never encountered anyone smoking on the metro, but yeah, those guys with the boom boxes selling pirated CDs are the worst. More than once I’ve fantasized about rallying the other passengers to shove the guy out at the next stop.

    • Hi Jack: I’d seen Sin Delantal before I left, but I admit I dismissed it without even trying. (My attitude was, “How could that possibly work here?”) I had tried to order online from a few restaurants’ websites, but the food took more than an hour to arrive. Not worth it. But on my next visit to DF I’ll give it a shot. Thanks for the tip!

  9. When I go back to the states, it always feels like another planet…AC on the BUS?! TAXIS TAKE CREDIT CARDS. WUT?!!?!? The e-mail receipt (from Macy’s, but of course!) seemed super neat, and you sure are right about the shopping…I miss Target something FIERCE!!! I’m going to Phoenix next month and plan to go wander the aisles of Target for at least 6 hours. I have a a huge mall in front of the hotel I’ll be staying at, gotta play there for at least one complete day!