Another Crisis

Having been gone for four months, I had forgotten some of the realities of life at home. Indeed, on my trip back in to town from the airport my thoughts of swine flu were briefly overshadowed by another international crisis: the economic recession. Just as the swine flu had interrupted my day to day life in Mexico City, I quickly noticed how much the recession had hit here: every shop on College Ave had a big SALE sign in the window. Those that weren't actually selling the business or the building were offering deep discounts on what used to be high-end merchandise for the Berkeley elite. My trip to Safeway a few days later revealed more sales, this time to help the struggling family buying cereal and ice cream. Although I must that admit these price reductions made the transition to the higher-priced American food a little easier to bare.