As I experience life in Mexico City, Cuernavaca, and beyond, I am observing and learning
unfamiliar and familiar ways to be sustainable from my host family, friends, coworkers, and others.
Here are a few examples...
*Wearing sweaters, coats, and warm clothes inside and not using heat. In Mexico, using heat is not an option as almost no homes are heated.
*Washing clothes by hand, and using dirty dish and laundry water to water plants. Here, there is a rainy and dry season. During the dry season, which we are in the middle of now, it is necessary to conserve water and use water more than once if possible.
*Hanging out laundry to dry. Here, most people do not have dryers...I love the feeling of the breeze and seeing the mountain views as I hang laundry out to dry.
*The power goes out fairly regularly here for a few hours at a time, so in that case, we rest and use candles for light.
*Taking shorter and less frequent showers. Brr! When its freezing cold outside, it is much easier!
*Turning on and off the water heater and gas only when in use to conserve resources.
*Cooking and eating fresh filling foods like corn, vegetables, beans, and rice (and lots of chili!). Mexicans cook beans with garlic, onion, and chili. Many people here use a blender or a mortal and pestel to grind chilis, and blend salsas and sauces. I am learning the right proportions of garlic, onion, avocado, cilantro, green tomatoes, and chili, to make a fresh and spicy green salsa.
*Mixing meat with soy to stretch meat further
*People in Mexico often leave food out on the counter or stovetop instead of refrigerating it, and they keep it fresh by boiling it every day to kill bacteria. Any time you put a serving spoon in the food, or are going to serve it, you boil it again. This is especially common with beans, which are made in large quantities.
*In the markets, vendors will often offer "La Prueba" or a taste test for a food before you buy it. While this is usually a marketing technique, it also helps people not to buy something and then waste it if they don't like it.
*Feeding leftover food to the cat, dog, chickens, or animals.
*Taking the metro or bus!
*Walking or riding a bike (in some parts of the city, there are bikes available for public use)!
*During the holidays, I spent time in rural Veracruz. Here, riding horses and donkeys is still very common, as is the practice of hitch-hiking. Almost every time we rode somewhere in the back of the family's pickup truck, we'd pick up people on the roadside, and let them off where they needed to go.
*Fixing Things! (instead of buying a new one) I've met quite a lot of savvy Mexicans who can fix many things...My dear friend, Saul, who can fix just about anything, carries his tools with him wherever he goes!
*Sharing Things! Here, I delight in how people share with each other, whether its a handful from bag of popcorn, a meal, an offer to lend a needed item, or opening one's home in an act of hospitality, people go out of their way to make sure to offer to others. It is also something I have observed parents teaching their kids: if a child has something, parents remind her/him to give offer a part to the others around. This is also reflected in the way people open their homes to others. When I was in Veracruz, the mother in the family I was with, Angela, continually told me, "Kate, estas en tu casa," meaning, "Kate you are in your house." Another way to say "mi casa es su casa."
*In Veracruz, I also went to 5 weddings and a QuinceaNera. At these parties, I noticed how everyone in the family and many friends as well chipped in to help get everything ready for the party, and economically. The support - financial and otherwise - of many family and friends, makes it possible for people to have big fun fiestas!
