Eggs.

When my older brother got married, he moved to Matamoros, Mexico because that's where he and his wife grew up. The first house they rented was a two story one and it was a little scary. There wasn't really anything downstairs. In fact it was cold, grey, and full of junk. The upstairs was warmer, literally, but still pretty small. Next door there was a little store that sold basic grocery items and had a couple of arcade games. There was a house behind the little shack which had a big yard full of naked kids running around and loose chickens.

I'm not sure why I spent winter break at their house that year, but it was a blast. I was getting to know my new sister-in-law and I was excited about the baby on the way. I remember one time my sister-in-law was getting ready to prepare breakfast. I was making some kind of Tang or something when she noticed we were out of eggs. Since there was a store next door, she asked me to run down and buy a couple of them and handed me some money. I walked downstairs and then strolled on the sidewalk to the store. As I approached, a customer came out with his purchase and I heard a voice from inside the shack thanking him and telling him to have a good day. It was a man's voice.

So, I must pause here and explain a little bit of the culture of Mexico. In Northern Mexico, anyway, a slang, vulgar word for testicles can be the Spanish word for eggs-huevos. I felt like the word I've heard before-blanquillos- was a Valley word, so I never really used that one for fear of being discovered and labeled a "gringa." When I heard the man's voice inside, I realized that I would have to ask him for some eggs. I wished that this was one of those stores where you just grab what you need, pay, and leave, but this was kind of like a drive thru…except more like a walk thru. It was then that I stood outside the store and rehearsed my speech for what seemed an eternity. I went over the question in English and then translated it in Spanish and everything sounded horrible! Images of what his facial expression would be like after I asked if he had…eggs…clouded my mind. What would he do next? Would he show me that indeed, he had eggs? I was only about eleven years old, but having spent many of summers in Matamoros, I knew very well what the slang meant and immediately associated "huevos" as being a bad word. I was convinced that if I asked for "blanquillos" they wouldn't know what I was talking about and I would have no other option but to say the "h" word.

After realizing that my sister-in-law was waiting for me to start breakfast, I decided to just go for it. I was so nervous and tried to rehears the question in Spanish the rest of the way into the store. My heart raced as I tried to look around for stuff nonchalantly before dropping the bomb. It was then that I saw the gold. On the counter were little clear bags full of eggs. I'm guessing they were the eggs from their loose chickens, but I didn't care. Proudly, I pointed at the eggs and asked for three of them…without having to say anything more! The shirtless mad grabbed my delicate prize and placed them in another clear bag before handing them to me. I was so eager to get out of there that I almost dropped all the money I had just so I was able to dart out. Instead, I waited for him to tell me the total before casually counting the coins and giving them to him.

I continued on my way as if I hadn't just suffered major culture trauma. My sister-in-law didn't even ask how it went because apparently all this only took about five minutes. I forcefully ate the eggs because I've never really been a fan, and I resented the fact that I had to go through all that for food I didn't even like.