I helped Jess out with some of her project as a madrina for a quinceañera recently and i can honestly say I did not enjoy the time I spent on this project. It was just very, very repetitive. And I just kept thinking how glad I was that I've never had to truck through a job like that and that I never want to. Lucky for me, Isaac honestly probably did more work on them than I did. I found out one of his many jobs before was similar to that (constructing invitations for quinceañeras, etc... they're quite intricate here), but he didn't seem near as annoyed talking about his experience than I felt just working on it for a few hours. He said you just work fast, fast, fast so you can get it done and move on to the next project to break up the monotony.
I feel like many people I live with will just take whatever job they can get. As the topic of jobs has come up more often lately at the kitchen table at the parish, I feel like I'm learning more and more. Some snips:
~Jess says she wants to work full-time and everyone at the table looks at her shocked. I don't understand until they explain full-time here is 12 hour shifts. 6-6 or 9-9. She explains that's not what she meant and it's different in the States (and personally I think in other areas of Mexico City as well).
~We start talking about the hunt and I look at Lucy, who had a couple different jobs while I've been here, but the majority of the time has been searching, and she has tears in her eyes. It's this second that I realize how much she wants a job where her employer and other employees will treat her like she deserves to be treated. She also struggles because she is a mother and many places don't want women who have children. I think because they want them there everyday and they think when their kids are sick they will stay home.
I also gained a better understanding of what it's like to drive a bus here. The buses, that aren't government run, are owned by several bosses. They own the buses, but rent them out to the bus drivers who pay them every time they use them for their shift. The bus drivers are also responsible for gas. Bus rides here cost 3 or 4 pesos...yes that's about 30 or 40 cents. I started thinking about how little they probably make and made the connection that this is probably one of the main reasons they just drive crazy awhile ago, but I just started realizing how hard they really work. I keep thinking I should pay a little more and just tell them to keep the change. But since Isaac drove a bus for awhile we get free rides a lot from his friends... not exactly the direction I wanted to go... from wanting to pay more to paying nothing at all. He usually pays them back... I guess... by working the front. They get off in busy areas and yell for passengers going to the destination, etc. Then the other night we were with one of our friends and he went to go pick-up his brother-in-law from where they park the bus for the night. I assumed we would drive up, he would jump in and off we would go, considering he just finished his hot day behind the wheel. But I was wrong, the day was not over. Now he had to clean the bus. This includes mopping the floor, washing all the windows-inside and out-and the outside of the bus as well. Once we got there and realized we were cleaning, Isaac looked at me and said, "I hated this part... everyday..." Then later when he jumped in to help he looked at me and said, "This is to remember my old days driving the bus."
Then there's Geovanni's job. He choreographs dances for quinceañeras. He loves his job, but I know he has his challenges as well. I mean I wouldn't like to work with 15-year old girls who are getting ready for the biggest party of their lives all about them. I recently went to one of his first meetings with a family and really thought about how difficult some of the girls must be. I mean they're 15. They've a lot of stuff going on in their heads. Geovanni usually starts teaching the group 8 weeks before the quinceañera. This girl said she wanted to start earlier so Geovanni said he would start a week earlier for her (Geovanni just tries to keep the customer happy, which I don't feel like I see a lot of here... in my experience i would say customer service is lacking). Then she said no she wanted it earlier than that and Geovanni explained why and said no and she started crying. Oh man. I realize she wants everything perfect, but I mean I don't know. With a different group I went to their first practice where Geovanni had to explain to them the importance of being on time. It makes me appreciate working with 14 4-year olds rather than one 15-year old girl.
I took a trip recently to an area that has several different markets all with different items, but the theme they had in common is you buy in bulk. One was buying candy for a madrina role she has (for a 3-year old party... i forget what they call it). And the others were looking at kitchen stuff for waiter jobs as well as matching waiter shirts "so they look professional." On the way home I talked with Geovanni about how overwhelming it was, but how much I like it. He said, "Really, you weren't bored." Absolutely not. He said we didn't even go into the one with huge bags of chicarones (a snack food that's really popular here) or the one with cold cuts of meat and cheese. He told me how many people who have torta (like a sandwich) stands will come to that market everyday to purchase what they need at their stands. Then they go to work all day. I said it's seems pretty far and he explained it's part of their routine.
So as I search for work at the end of the day I know I'll find something. I just hope it's not repetitive like those pin things for the quinceañera... and here I am being picky when so many people will take anything.
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