I am a freelance writer, living in Mexico. I'm very appreciative of the informative material we have been getting from Writer's Digest about how the current economy affects writers. I'm looking to embark on something new for me: travel writing. Next week I will be going to Oaxaca to join a boot camp group, Monday - Friday,  9 - midnight, learning the nuts and bolts of travel writing. At my age, it's scary, taking on something so new but I figure I'm not getting any younger, and I was lucky enough to get accepted. I am excited about the challenge.

I've just joined this site and after checking it out for the better part of the morning, it looks like a good place to be.

Please accept my apology for posting what children in Mexico eat. If you read it and enjoy, thanks.

Friends visiting have three kids and plan to do a certain amount of cooking while here. Eating out is expensive with five people, even when the fare is cheap. Inquiring where they could pick up some kid-like food, I asked what exactly they had in mind. Well, you know, like mac and cheese. When I informed them mac-and-cheese-in-a-box is an imported item and would be rather expensive, they asked what the heck to kids eat here?

Good question. What do they eat here? The poor families live on rice, beans, tortillas and an assortment of fruits and veggies. Chicken and fish can round out the balance. Goat and pork are common and not one inch of any animal goes to waste. Mexican kids that I know love ceviché, raw fish cooked in lime juice. Tacos are a mainstay of the diet and pickled (escabeche) vegetables a common side.

I've never seen anyone put soup on the table faster than a Mexican cook. It starts with a pot of water on the stove, assorted vegetables and perhaps a chicken thrown in. Once the soup reaches the table, it's joined by little dishes of finely chopped onion, cilantro, exciting spices and freshly sliced limes. An accompanying basket of tortillas is mandatory.

Salsa, sauces and moles have flavors that seduce us first with their scent, then their taste. Walking down a residential street is often a delight for all senses, odors wafting out doors and windows, smoke billowing from grills.

It's very important to point out that there are two kinds of Mexican food, the Mexican version and the American one. The former is very healthy; the latter is laden with just about everything that is bad for you.

Too many come to Mexico expecting the type of meal they are accustomed to at El Torito. Little do they realize the abundance of flavors truly available. Hundreds of variety of peppers ranging from child-safe-mild to raise-the-roof-hot, tamarind, fresh and dried basil, epazote, the ever-present cilantro, to mention a few.

That's what kids here eat. And they drink lots and lots of juice and flavored water. Horchata is a special treat, a sweet drink made with rice, cinnamon and lime. Other desserts are flan (egg custard) and rice pudding.

It's not that processed food and junk are scarce. Coca cola and potato chips have ruined the health of many in Mexico , a country that is genetically prone to diabetes.

However, the normal diet in a Mexican home is very healthy, regardless of income level. As in any country, education is the key.