A Year in Mexico

Well, we've done it.  Made it through a year in Mexico.  We arrived on Friday, April 13th, yet despite that ominous arrival date, things have gone pretty smoothly. Well, with a few exceptions.  But let's dwell on the positive.

Random Things We Have Learned:

* Places exist where people greet strangers on the street with eye contact, a smile and a Buenos Dias.
* Children and dogs seem to do better when there are expectations, but otherwise they are kind of left alone.
* You do not have to treat pervasive bad weather as a congenital condition that you must endure for your entire life.
*  Time, and punctuality, are much more fluid concepts than we were brought up to believe.
*  You can kind of, sort of, learn the metric system but you won't really like it.  Ditto peso/dollar conversion.
*  Never completely, or perhaps even a little, trust your GPS in Mexico
*  The older you get, the closer you are to your expiration date, so you might as well not worry as much about risk as you did when you were thirty.
*  Always keep an eye out for errant cobblestones and dog poop.
*  In the U.S. the policeman is your friend -- not so sure in Mexico.
*  You can live without fast food.  But sometimes you will really want it.  Ditto Trader Joe's.
*  It is not necessary or possible to have all of your questions answered.  You want certainty but here you won't get it.  Embrace Quien sabe.
*  Never go to the beach except from December to March. Never. Then fly if possible.
*  During the dry months (most months) shake out your shoes before you put them on.
*  If a scorpion bites you (see above) drink one half of a glass of milk.  There are many reasons for this but no one can tell us what they are.
*  You can tell a Black Widow spiderweb because it is very strong and elastic -- run.
*  Despite the fact that virtually no children wear seat belts or helmets and appear to wander the streets at will very few of them seem to suffer harm.  While not endorsing these practices, we are relieved.
*  It is possible to have a well organized, effective National Health System.
*  Having either a village idiot or a village drunk is a good thing.  But maybe only one per village.
*  It is possible to ride a horse, drink a Modelo and rope a calf at the same time.
*  The Catholic religion in the U.S. and the Catholic religion in Mexico are two different things.  Very different.
*  There are at least three, perhaps more, versions of what really happened.  It will be impossible to ascertain which one is correct.
*  If you insist on treating your maid as your new best friend your egalitarian American heart will swell but she will feel profoundly uncomfortable.
*  The PRI ruled Mexico for 70 years as an old boys club. They were hated.  Fox and Calderone heralded in democracy, unleashed the drug wars and over 60,000 died.  Mexico voted the PRI back in.  The Devil you know?  Politics here is unfathomable.
*  Contradictions are normal.  Jalisco, our state, is the most conservative Catholic part of Mexico and yet has a birthrate similar to the U.S. (can't ALL be abstinence) and is a mecca for gay and transgendered folk.
*  Mexicans are, by and large, the hardest working people we have ever met and totally loyal to their families and friends.
*  There are bars on the windows and doors for a reason.
*  WalMart is even more loathsome here but more necessary.
*  It is not easy to be an immigrant and deal with irrational immigration laws (we empathize Mexicanos NOB).
*  Don't barter.  Just give them the money or don't.
*  A tee shirt and shorts seem to be appropriate dress for a Memorial Service.
*  No Mexican will ever say "I don't know" for fear of disappointing you.  Never ask for directions.
*  It is OK to eat street food if it is really hot (like cooked) or unpeeled and the people look reputable.  Or not.  You'll find out.
*  There is always a reason to have a fiesta and there is never a reason that it should end before 3AM or lack fireworks or loud bands with Tubas.
*  In spite of the fact that there are scads of really interesting houses at really attractive prices we seem to be unable to agree on even one and must be getting really picky in our old age.

Speaking of Which

We went on the final House Tour of the season and saw four more houses.  All the money raised by ticket sales goes to charity.  We're just going to show you the house we liked best.  If things get really slow later on maybe we'll drag out the other ones when we are desperate.  This one was in Upper Chule Vista.   It was beautiful and the setting was terrific but we found at least seven things that we didn't like.  See what I mean about getting picky....

Entry to the house

Living Room with lots of light

The bar by the pool.

The outdoor kitchen by the bar.

A place for alfresco dining.

Den with his & her easy chairs

The other side of the den with fireplace

Kitchen with a view

Another side of kitchen...

and yet another kitchen view

Master bedroom

Master Bath

His & hers sinks in master bath of hammered copper

This is the casita

Casita bedroom

A view from one of the other houses...

and another view of the lake & the mountains.

Spring is Strange Here

Well, strange is a judgmental word.  Perhaps different.  In my experience, Spring involves a lot of rain, a radical shift in temperature and rapidly lengthening days.  Resultant to this, you receive bulbed plants, green grass and lush landscapes.  Here, in Spring, there is no rain.  None.  The temperature is up maybe 5 or 10 degrees.  A little more sun.  But to look at the trees here you would swear that full bore Spring is upon us.  Michael will show pictures of the Jacaranda (Hackaranda) and Primavera (Spring in espanol) trees.  They are amazing.  The Primaveras come in yellow, red and pink.  There is also a tree with pink fuzzy blossoms but we have yet to capture it photographically  in the wild.  But, on the other hand, there is no grass.  There is dust.  People complain that the flowers are merely showy and not lush and exuberant.  That must wait for the rain.  In June.  June 13th at night.  Honestly, they can predict the start of rainy season to within a day or two.  People get increasingly cranky prior to the rainy season.  Then they are better.

A jacaranda tree in bloom...

and another jacaranda.

A primavera tree in bloom...

and another primavera in the background of a colorful Ajijic mural.

We are fervently hoping for an absolutely delugey rainy season.  The lake is down to 42% of capacity-- which is not pretty.  You can review some of my earliest blogs that deal with the whole lake situation... the importation of Manatees... etc.  Anyway, since it only rains at night (I am not making that up) we want it to rain from 9-6 every night rather than its usual 3 or 4 hours.  We'll see.


On The Road Again

Yes, it's time to cram the carryon and sally forth.  We're heading out in a week and a half.  First stop is a night in Tampa visiting with Michael's sister Mary and brood, then five days visiting Alex in Vieques.   When that wraps, Alex will head to Boston for his summer job and Michael and I will head to Spain and Portugal for a couple of weeks.  Back through Boston (all too briefly) and then heading to Guadalajara mid-May.  The divine Miss Siam (having acquired 18 and 3/4 years we now refer to her as Miss) will guard the fort with Nancy and Fredrico at the house to minister to her every need.  We may try to blog from the road but if not we will update upon our return.  It's still really hard to do the photos from the road (maybe it's us) and we know you like them-- so a delay may be in order.

For now, take care and have fun.  We've made it a year and one of the best things is that we have been able to keep in touch with most of our old friends (and have even seen many) while making a whole lot of new friends as well.  We'll be in touch.....