El Gran Taquito

El Gran Taquito has the most delicious alambre hawaiiano in all of Puebla and is conveniently located right around the corner from my house. I haven't been there in over a week so I decide it's a great place for tonight's supper.

Rebeca remembers me and greets me by name. She sets up a table for me; it's 9:00 pm, and they are just opening.

I order my comida and begin correcting my montón de examenes, when I feel someone looking over my shoulder. I glance up and see a woman peering down at my papers. The young boy next to her says to me "Mi mamá es bien chismosa!" - My mom is very nosy!

"Ay, ¡está aprendiendo inglés!"- She is learning English! says the woman.

I laugh and reply in Spanish "De veras, I am teaching English here,"

"Es gringa," the boy says to his mom, "Can't you tell by her accent?"

And this is how I meet Rebeca's family. Her mother is from Michoacan and has light skin, which is maybe why I didn't seem as obviously "gringa" to her as I do others. Her father is one of the cooks; he is very dark-complected and lived in Lake Geneva for a while; he knows of Milwaukee, Kenosha, and Madison but has never heard of Darlington. The older brothers are the fabulous cooks making my alambre - and one, I am told, can play an amazing electric guitar.

The family leaves me alone after they bring me my food, but I see Rebeca's younger brothers whispering and laughing while sneaking peeks at me. I wave them over and tell them to join me. Marcos is about 10 years old and he introduces little brother as Enano, a nickname meaning "Dwarf". I think Marcos is teasing his little brother so I say - "Hola, Enano; Mi nombre es Gigante." He laughs and I ask, "de veras, what is your name?" He replies with a big smile, "Call me Enano - I like it!"

They ask me a million questions.

"Do you have kids?"
"No. Can I adopt you?"
"Yes," they shout.

"How old are you?"
"Old. Next question."

"Are you Catholic? Do you go to church?"
"Yes, but I don't practice."
So, they invite me to their church.

"Are there zoos where you live? How many?"
"Yes. Um, two, I think."

"What is your favorite animal?"
Cat - this is followed by a cat vs. dog argument.

"What is your favorite food?"
Alambre Hawaiiano, por supuesto - but they want to know more about McDonald's, KFC, and Pizza Hut.

"Do you know English songs?"
"Of course," I say. I start singing Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber - but they stop me because they don't really like the Biebs.

"Do you know Slash?"
"Huh?" I'm not sure I understood the question. Enano leaves for a second and brings back a Blackberry. He pulls up a YouTube video to show me. A shirtless guitarist with long frizzy hair and a top hat is playing a heavy metal version of the theme from The Godfather.
"Oh! from Guns and Roses??" By this time, I seriously want to take this kid home with me.

"Do you have queso in Wisconsin?"
"Yes, we are the Dairy State," I say, "We have tons of vacas (cows)!"
"They don't freeze to death!?"
I realized I have never really thought about what cows do in the winter. "They live in a barn with heat," I say, hoping that's correct. God, I'm a terrible Wisconsin ambassador.

"Eres racista?"
This question shocks me. "No," I say in disbelief, "Do you know racists?"

They tell me there are a lot of racists in Mexico - those with darker skin tend to be discriminated against here. Rebeca, who has joined the conversation now, says not only is it skin color, but also whether or not you have money. Then she says quietly, "People from the US son racistas; that's what I hear anyway." I tell her, yes, there are racists, but there are a lot of nice people too.

"Are your students in the US racists?" Wow. Tough question.

"Algunos, sí," I say slowly, "But it is my job to teach them we are all equal; that's why I'm here."