South Texas blues.......... (Austin, Weslaco, Falfurrias: school, live in, clubs)

[NOTAM]

i did develop one big addiction down here-that mexican fruit seasoning, a spicy tangy chili/lime powder, brand name Tajin, and another one Techas (?) that i sprinkle on apple slices, pineapple, fruit salad, pickles. OMG is it good. i was introduced to it by coworkers.
i also like those mexican candies-pulparindo, tamarindo, and mango...those hard candies that are sweet and salty and tangy at the same time. so good!

[teatime]

Bellestar, Hendrick Health System was recently honored as one of the 12 best workplaces in the WORLD! Geez, what an honor! So I guess it's a good place to work, LOL. I've had good care there and at Abilene Regional.

There is a certain Brownsville hospital that is very lucky I didn't sue it, grrrr. One weekend, I was super sick with horrible abdominal pain, fever, nausea, etc. so I went to the ER. They kept insisting it was my gall bladder or appendicitis and I told them repeatedly that I'd had both of those organs removed. Well, they didn't believe me and decided to check by doing an abdominal CT scan. The macho-jerk in charge of "my care" returned, said I just had PMS and told me to go home and take Tylenol. I told him this was NOT PMS and he said "of course it is; it's just a female problem." I left, suffered at home, and called my gynecologist frantically Monday morning. They got me right in.

Turned out, I had a ruptured ovarian cyst and a bad infection from the rupture. I was scheduled for emergency surgery. The thing that made my doctor livid was that it showed up on the CT scan but they didn't even look at the results! They just told me I was a stupid woman with PMS and let me go. Even though the surgery corrected the immediate problem, I was left with scarred fallopian tubes and doubtful chances of conceiving another child. I heard my doctor on the phone yelling at someone at the hospital.

I did file a complaint with the hospital, hoping they would learn their lesson. But I have no great hope they were able to overcome the patronizing attitudes that were shown to me and interfered with my getting proper medical care. From that time on, I would only go to the hospital in Harlingen. But a few years later, my gynecologist partnered with other doctors and they built their own surgical hospital because they were so outraged at how their female patients were treated at the other hospitals. When I later needed a hysterectomy, I had it done there and the difference in care was amazing!

[jabbit]

Originally Posted by bellestaroftexas

i did develop one big addiction down here-that mexican fruit seasoning, a spicy tangy chili/lime powder, brand name Tajin, and another one Techas (?) that i sprinkle on apple slices, pineapple, fruit salad, pickles. OMG is it good. i was introduced to it by coworkers.
i also like those mexican candies-pulparindo, tamarindo, and mango...those hard candies that are sweet and salty and tangy at the same time. so good!

for sure. everyone freaks out on me up here in north texas b/c im putting tajin in with my fruit and fruit drinks.

[crbcrbrgv]

I've read your previous posts. I do not want to give away where you live but I remember you do not live in the Valley. Where you live is very different from the Valley. It is more of a small town that you could find anywhere in America. As for those who are complaining about how Anglos are treated in the Valley, one needs to look at history. My wife is from Weslaco and is very dark. She is not even 30 yet she experienced prejudice not only from Anglos but also lighter skinned Hispanics. Anglos have been extremely prejudiced towards the Mexican population down here and as an Anglo myself one gets the feeling it's almost a "what goes around comes around" kind of situation. It's not that Mexican men think Anglo women are ******* as much as they saw their grandmothers get spit on by Anglo men and women. How would that make you feel?
I speak Spanish and am treated very differently by Hispanics than the average Anglo. Most Anglos want NOTHING to do with the culture of the Valley and are constantly trying to set up their own clubs and own lifestyles.
As for the corruption this is the result of years of neglect by Austin. Now that Austin cares (hey, the Valley makes money now) people are getting arrested from school boards left and right among other institutions.
To complain about how everybody speaks Spanish in South Texas and the Valley is just plain silly. The Valley is 7 miles north of Mexico. Everybody knows illegal immigration is a huge problem in this country. Now that we have checkpoints in Saritas and Falfurrias, where do you suppose many illegals choose to stay? Right here in the Valley. It also cracks me up when people say "Hey, they don't even bother to learn English". Historically many immigrants don't. They rely on their children to learn English while they communicate in their native language whether it be German, Polish, Gaelic or whatever. This happened in New York and other major cities and it is happening in the Valley.
Are you an Anglo that wants to get along in the Valley? Be friendly. Learn a little Spanish. Don't insult people. And keep in mind there are a lot of Hispanics here that are very sensitive about prejudice.

[Premont]

I went to college with a lot of people from The Valley, including a dorm roommate. Most were really friendly, but maybe the college atmosphere is different. I wonder what's going to happen when they build a border fence down there.

[NOTAM]

crb...i didnt say RGV, i said SOUTH TEXAS. so if it is THIS bad where i am, i can only imagine how much worse it must be for an Anglo in the RGV. by the way, i am friendly (i have to be because of my job, no choice there!), and i dont insult people. i had no preconceived notions of the area or culture-i had NO idea-i was a blank slate when i came, so absolutely no racism etc. i was immediately treated as an outsider, and looked at with suspicion, and still after a year, though coworkers are friendly fun sociable at work, i have not been invited into their social circle outside of work. i am not a mean person. i am a social butterfly. i smile alot when in public. i am not sending out any negative vibes. i did not ask for this. so you say you want me to clarify the difference, think about it-if i aint even way down almost right on the border, can you imagine how bad it might be for those who might consider moving down to those border towns or RGV towns/cities? someone at work told me, anytime you go anywhere south of San Antonio, you are starting to enter another part of Texas, another culture, that is VERY different from the rest of Texas.

[RSTX]

Belle, you'll love Ft. Hood! Time to move on.

[NOTAM]

i am sure i will, but i have meetings there and also in Amarillo and Colorado City during last week of August, so i will have to decide between the three!!
stay tuned!

Originally Posted by RSTX

Belle, you'll love Ft. Hood! Time to move on.

[crbcrbrgv]

I've read many of your posts and I guess I'm surprised you wound up in a place that you are so miserable. You didn't do your research or you relied on the words on some "trustworthy" people that wound up not being too trustworthy after all. Or perhaps you couldn't turn down the money. I know how much someone makes in your profession and it certainly goes a long way both where you live and here in the Rio Grande Valley. If you couldn't turn down the money, I can't blame you in the least. There are positives here but then again I didn't grow up in northern Texas like you did. I grew up in Chicago, which is a completely different world. You seem like a really nice lady actually. I'm sorry if I seem too harsh on points, but somebody has to be the counterpoint.

[NOTAM]

whoa-i did do some research, but nothing that i could come up with would have ever lead me to see how it really is down here-if i had just done ONE thing-visited the Walmart, and walked around for about an hour, that would have IMMEDIATELY clued me in. And yes, the big money DID cloud things for me. Trust me, if i KNEW what it was really like here, i would have not even moved here for the big money. NO AMOUNT OF MONEY is worth this misery. I get the free flight down to meet and greet. My coworkers seemed very nice-and they are! They just werent an indication of what the rest of the population is-very indigent, very uneducated, and well i wont even go into it here....believe me, i did not ask for this misery. i believe that life is too short, and i am passionate about life and living it fully. if there were some red flags on my very short trip down here before i moved, perhaps i didnt see them because i was too excited about the amount of money. now i know....there is no such thing as free money-you earn it one way or another. they offered it cuz that is the only way they can get folks to move down here, thats all.
and crb....i am not even opposed to living somewhere, where it is half hispanic or even more than 50 percent, but when it is more like 90 percent, how do you think it makes me feel, being a single female who would like to date? and yes, i do want a caucasian cowboy...nothing against hispanics, believe me, but they aint my type, plus most are shorter than me (i am very tall!)....and its not just me! there are a few other anglo females who i work with who quickly told me when i got here "it's a single woman's wasteland here-even if you like hispanic men, most here are unemployed", and some of them have been here for a while-for instance, there is a VERY beautiful BLONDE woman in her late 30s who has been here 7 years and NO dating life!

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

I've read many of your posts and I guess I'm surprised you wound up in a place that you are so miserable. You didn't do your research or you relied on the words on some "trustworthy" people that wound up not being too trustworthy after all. Or perhaps you couldn't turn down the money. I know how much someone makes in your profession and it certainly goes a long way both where you live and here in the Rio Grande Valley. If you couldn't turn down the money, I can't blame you in the least. There are positives here but then again I didn't grow up in northern Texas like you did. I grew up in Chicago, which is a completely different world. You seem like a really nice lady actually. I'm sorry if I seem too harsh on points, but somebody has to be the counterpoint.