Four Months In A Strange Land

View of Ajijic from Lake Chapala

Tomorrow will mark our four month anniversary of crossing the border.  To say we have entered into a new phase of life is a cliche while also an understatement.  So, since there are no new bizarre events to report this week, I thought I'd take the opportunity to recap some of the things we like best here, miss most there and other general musings.

Ten Best Things About Living In Mexico:

1)  When you walk down the street EVERYONE says hello and they smile.
     -  There are no acceptable exceptions to this rule in Mexican society.  If I say Buenos Dias even the most surly gang of teenage sulkers will look up, meet my eye and greet me.  They may not like it but they do it.  Sometimes I say it to them just to make their teenage years more miserable.

2)  Pinch Yourself Medical and Dental Care
     -  True the floor is dingy linoleum and the chairs in the waiting room look like they came directly from an office in 1954 but the Docs are GOOD.  How good are they?  Our friend had a serious car accident and plowed into a church (we won't go into the obvious ironies).  She had no doctor but her friend called hers and he drove directly to the accident to treat a person he had never seen.  They do house calls.  They go with you to the hospital if they think you need to be admitted.  Michael went and had his teeth cleaned last week.  The exam room (not the waiting room -- we covered that) was more high tech than our very hi tech Boston dentist.  His teeth were cleaned by the Dentist, not hygienist, and total cost was less than $40.  She is pretty expensive for here.

3) The Mexican People
   -  This is a very civil society.  If you are in line at the bank or store and an old person or a handicapped person walks in, people immediately invite them to the front of the line.  Always.   I won't give you that old bromide about the love and respect for family and friends compensating for economic hardship, substandard public education and rampant government corruption.  Because, beyond a certain point, obviously it doesn't.  But the Mexicans do know how to live a very rich life on a very low budget.  Walking back from dinner Friday night we passed family after family sitting outside their houses directly on the street chatting with neighbors, eating dinner, having a beer and watching their kids play in the street.  And every family we passed said Buenas Noches.

4) The Gringos - Mostly
  -  We've regaled you with tales of some of the more outrageous/adventurous people we have encountered.  By and large, the group here is very liberal, very well traveled and very outgoing.  Are there jerks here?  You bet.  The Ugly American is not dead, but most people are really interesting.

5)  The Weather
 - What can I say.  Today it is about 78 degrees.  It rained last night  between 2 and 4AM.  I'll stop.  It's annoying you, I can tell.

6)  The Unknowable
 -  We have learned to say or think "Well, we'll just never know" and not have it drive us crazy.  Americans, like us, have an obsessive need to know and understand and quantify everything.  Google was MADE for us.  I wonder if Mexicans even bother to Google.  Was it Space Junk that landed, how did the manatees die, did the PRI have a deal with the cartels to act up before the election? We'll never know.  Just let it go, don't stress.

7)  The Markets and Personalized Service
 -  We'll skip the food markets which are great.  Michael and I need pool deck furniture.  We ask around.  Go to Tonala we are told.  In Tonala, there is an entire street of people who make outdoor furniture.  We walk into one place and see a sofa and 2 chairs we like.  The owner takes us out back where there is an ironworks and they are making the stuff RIGHT THERE.   No middle man here.  We can specify anything we want and they will do it custom for us.  Price of sofa and two custom chairs with custom cushions a little less than $700 USD.  I need cushions for chaise lounges.  Walk up the street to Jasmine's little upholstery shop.  She says sure, she'll walk down and measure and we can pick fabric.  It is so easy.

8)  Your Dollar Really Goes Further
-  More of an issue for some than others, it is just a fact of life.  In the US we would be paying over $24K a year in health insurance with a big deductible.  Here we pay $2K with a big deductible.  Property tax in Wellesley $8K, ave. Mexican property tax $200USD.  Dinner out in Ajijic usually less than $20USD.

9)  It's an Outdoor Life
-  Kind of cheating counting this as a separate item since it's directly weather related but we eat outdoors almost all the time -- maybe winter will see a change in that.  The temperate climate makes it easy to be out and we walk almost all the time.

10) The Animals and the Kids
-  Both are more wild and free than their counterparts North of the Border.  Not that our American kids and pets are not adorable (they are) but there is a certain spontaneous nature to the Mexican variants that makes it fun to be around them.  The other day, I saw a young boy of about 7 or 8 coming out of a tiny tienda holding his toddler sister gently by the hand.  When they reached the tall curb, he hoisted her into his arms and kissed her while carrying her across the street. It's the norm to see older children caring for younger ones and they are very unapologetically demonstrative with their siblings and friends.

What's Not to Like?

Well, the cartels and their mayhem is high on the list.  The level of poverty and it's impact, particularly on the children, can get you down.  Police corruption is pretty awful.  There's a ways to go environmentally.  I'm sure there is more but that's true of every place.  All in all it's really a nice country.

What Do We Miss Most after 4 Months?

1)  All of you
2) Trader Joe's
3) The Ocean in summer
4) Lobster Rolls at the Barnacle
5) Wandering through bookstores

Not too bad.  You can all do your part to minimize #1 by planning a visit.  Our first official NOB visitor other than Justin arrives on the 21st.  Kent Nutt of Austin will be with us for a week and we will do our best to entertain/freak him out.  Alex is scheduled to be with us for October.  Gary and Ginny are slotted in for some time around Day of the Dead.  My family is due in for Thanksgiving and Michael's family arrives for Christmas so things will be hectic and fun.  2013 is opening up for booking so email now!  Take care and be in touch.

PHOTOS FROM BOAT TRIP ACROSS THE LAKE TO SAN LUIS SOYATLAN

Campesinos & Los Gatos 

Back garden of restaurant

More back garden of restaurant

Templo de San Luis Soyatlan

Una Casa en San Luis Soyatlan

Fishing boats by the shore

Playground on the malecon

Nobody sues in Mexico

Not many dives for the ball on this court

Some of our friends that went on the boat

Kids playing in the lake