update: getting legal

By Angela on September 14, 2011


As you may remember, when I crossed into MX, Mexican border patrol didn’t ask for my passport, I didn’t get a tourist visa, and didn’t get my temporary import car sticker; the police kept waving me on saying I didn’t need to stop, even through 3 custom stops past the border. Everyone here said I would now have to return to the border to correct this. I have met several people here now who had the same experience, so I’m not the only ‘criminal’ in town. I knew that I could have applied for my car permit online in advance of coming here, but their website didn’t work on a Mac, and I ran out of time before I left to find a PC to do it on.

Ah, Mexico, wait a minute and everything changes. Turns out that the website has now been updated so the application process works on a Mac and it’s translated into excellent English. So, I pretended I was applying while still in the U.S. I applied on a Saturday, it was processed and delivered by courier to a friend in the U.S. on the following Wednesday, who sent it by courier to me here, arriving 2 days later on Friday. This has GOT to have broken all bureaucratic speed records, in Mexico or U.S. for that matter.

Wouldn’t you know it, as I passed Wal-Mart (a known speed trap) on my way to Mailboxes Etc. to pick up my car sticker, I noticed flashing lights behind me. A very nice (and handsome) young cop claimed I ran the red light at Wal-Mart (I didn’t, but I was not about to argue with him). Naturally, he asked for my visa and the whereabouts of my car permit sticker. With visions of sweating it out for days (weeks?) in a Mexican jail, wondering how I could cope with the confiscation of my car and Krypto starving to death without me, I swallowed hard and decided to tell the truth. Luckily, I could say most of it in Spanish. As I spoke, he leaned into my driver’s side window  – many Mexican men wear nice colognes, very pleasant – and kept smiling and shaking his head, no doubt thinking ‘yet another crazy old gringa’. ‘Un momento‘, he finally said and went to his cop car, speaking with his cop partner (who was older and not anywhere near as handsome); the youngster returned, saying he will just give me a ticket for the red light. I was intensely grateful and asked where and when I could pay it, wanting to pay it quanto antes (as soon as possible), a phrase I had just learned in Spanish class that week. He explained it all, and being a Friday, I couldn’t do anything until Monday. Thus I got away with not only just a ticket, but he didn’t act like he wanted a bribe and I wasn’t about to offer one for a lousy traffic ticket (in the U.S., I ate traffic tickets for breakfast ;o).

This saves me the cost (several hundred USD) and aggravation of a trip to the border, and will free me up to drive long distances, which I have been avoiding until I got the sticker and the visa. I have managed to sashay around a couple of police ID checks on the Carreterra , but I knew it was only a matter of time. But now, at least my car is legal!

However, the visa application process has been seriously delayed, a classic “who’s on first” runaround between Chapala and Guadalajara immigration authorities. But we’re getting somewhere now. I just met with my lawyer to pay the fine $1196 MXP (about $97 USD)  for not having the FMM tourist visa; then when the actual FM3 visa is ready, I’ll  pay the regular fee for the visa $1294 MXP (about $105 USD). Then pay the remaining balance of the $1000 MXP (about $80) to my lawyer. But hey, it’s better than jail, deportation, or getting my car confiscated. Once I get the FM3 visa, it’s good for a year, and renewable locally, along with the car sticker. And it will end up costing me less than it would have had I been going from an FMM (tourist visa) to the FM3.

And so…this all got processed this week, I’ve got my FM3, and I am now thoroughly legal for a year! I don’t even have to pay the red light ticket because that’s a local jurisdiction and there’s no record of my being here (visas and car permits are federal), so they can’t find me ;o).

Along the way, I discovered something I’ve never known or considered before: as a child of a Mexican (my mother was born in Mexico City), I qualify to apply for a ‘Declaration of Nationality’ as a Mexican, which would make me a full Mexican citizen with all rights and privileges, whatever exactly they may be (I don’t know enough yet). At the very least, I wouldn’t have to pay the $400 USD or so every year to renew my FM3 visa, or if I should one day decide to become a citizen, I wouldn’t have to go through the rigorous naturalization process similar to that of the U.S. and which requires renouncement of citizenship in another country. With the nationality pathway, I do not have to renounce U.S. citizenship, both countries allow dual citizenship, and I could carry both a U.S. and a Mexican passport. There is some ambiguity in the law, especially from the U.S. side, and I would want to check it out thoroughly, but it looks like a path I might want to pursue.

The only glitch at the moment: my mother’s (and her mother’s and siblings’) birth certificates burned in a church fire where they were stored near Mexico City. Instead, I have a certificate of authenticity recorded by a parish priest verifying her birth according to the the baptismal records. This and another document was good enough for her to immigrate to the U.S. at the age of 6, an to have become a naturalized U.S. citizen 10 years or so later. If the Mexican authorities accept the documentation I have, I can apply; I would also need to get an “apostile” certifying my own birth certificate, which I would have to obtain from the state where I was born, Texas; apparently, my original official birth certificate isn’t enough. (I keep hearing John Lennon’s Imagine in the background).

So, my next immigration adventure is to see if the local Chapala immigration office would accept what I have for my mother’s papers, and if not, try Mexico City, which my lawyer thinks would be likely successful. My lawyer can help me with whatever, and I’m on the lookout for Americans here who have gone through this process. I’m in no hurry, and as I’ve learned so well, in Mexico, it pays to wait. But as immigration law in the U.S. is currently a moving target, and there are rumors here that Mexico won’t be using any type of visa except for tourist visas (or full citizenship), who knows where this will all lead? Stay tuned!

 

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update: Krypto

By Angela on August 31, 2011

Some of you didn’t realize that Krypto’s doggles are not just a fashion statement, but about protection from potential eye disease due to the high altitude and intense sun, which could cause corneal ulcers and some other terrible disease that could result in blindness. He’s tolerating them for about 5 min. then shakes them off – I put them back on, rinse and repeat. But I also try to walk him in the early morning and later evening when the sun isn’t so intense and he doesn’t have to wear them.

He’s gone through several personality changes since we arrived, and lately he seems back to his old self, sweet, friendly, not barking like the other dogs. There are a few dogs in the ‘hood he plays with while we walk (I can’t let him off leash, he runs away), and there’s less ferocious barking as we pass other doggies’ home gates. In fact, we can walk in total silence as the dogs have come to recognize and accept Krypto. I’d still like to find him a regular playmate and somewhere to run, but that will come. Meanwhile, after dinner, he takes to running laps as fast as he can in long circles from the front patio to the back. Does the trick.

 

 

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am I happy?

By Angela on August 31, 2011

hibiscus

An old friend asked me, ‘am I happy?’ I am happy.

I’m meeting the challenges before me, and adapting. I have chosen a healthy lifestyle and I feel good physically. I’m living in a beautiful physical environment, and can see the mountains shrouded in mist in the morning, like on ancient Chinese scrolls, while feeling the warm yellow sun on my skin. I’m surrounded by cheerful people who are NOT working and are having fun, and even more cheerful people who ARE working – and hard – but are still having fun. I’m eating delicious food that didn’t travel from CA or TX to ME, dying on the way. Because I’m experiencing how much people are alike, and the small ways we are not, adding spice.

rose

With the little travel I have done, there was always a moment during my hard- won vacation when, as I sat down to an outdoor meal, with the evening gathering around me, and a luxurious breeze starting to envelop me, when I knew that THIS was how life was meant to be experienced: simple, unadorned, without fret; THIS moment, without a remembered past, without an imagined future. In Lake Chapala, we have this magic whenever we choose to welcome it, if we know how. Yes, I’m happy.

 

lovemuffin

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my cool dude

By Angela on August 17, 2011

cool dude

Krypto’s “doggles” arrived, and after a few false starts, he’s learning to tolerate them. He rubs against my knee to try to strip them off, but when he forgets about them, he’s like he’s always been on a walk.

Children love to see him in his doggles, adult Mexicans (especially the men) crack up laughing, no doubt deciding I’m another ‘gringa loca’, and other expats seem to recognize a medical treatment when they see one, NOT a fashion statement.

What you can’t see in this photo is decor on his fashionista goggles: red skulls and cross-bones, like any cool dude would wear.

 

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learning Spanish

By Angela on August 13, 2011

Our Spanish classroom

 

Our Spanish I class - our teacher Lulu standing

 

I can’t express how delighted I am to be learning Spanish. My classmates have a variety of experience with Spanish and other languages, but what holds us together is the fact that we’re all doing due diligence with homework, and in class. We are progressing rapidly, and I’m anxious to keep going through all the levels possible. Already we are beginning to think in Spanish, which is of course how it should be, rather than translating words or sentences or paragraphs. I am impressed by how we humans continue to be hard-wired to learn language, even when we are a bit dotty at our ages. This has GOT be be good for warding off Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

New friend Valerie and I sometimes go to lunch after class

But it’s also FUN!! Especially with the teacher we have, Lulu (short for Lourdes). She shares personal experiences with us that makes me want to know more about her, and of course, Mexico, but she also maintains us in a fast-paced schedule without getting too far off the track, and we’re growing by leaps and bounds.

My maid Estella doesn’t speak English but understands alot. I don’t yet speak Spanish but understand a lot. Together we like to converse before she gets down to work. I was telling Estella that I hope that by the end of one year I will be totally speaking Spanish (no English). She told me, no way, it will only be 6 months or even less. She’s witnessed my frustration searching for words, and can see my improvement.

And since I don’t have Brynne here to speak/translate for me, I’m making progress faster than I thought I would. But I can’t wait to converse with Brynne in Espanol when we next get together. Jana learned French pretty rapidly, and has travelled to France more than once to visit friends; she understands a lot of Spanish too. What fun if we could be at least a bi-lingual family. (Although my teacher says bi-lingual technically only applies to someone who grew up speaking both languages from childhood on. Thus I guess I was partially bi-lingual as a child, my cousins Rosie and her brother Ray were truly bi-lingual because they continued speaking/learning as they grew and are fluent today.)

Spanish classroom garden

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big city shopping

By Angela on August 7, 2011

I made it through our shopping bus trip to the Guadalajara Galleria mall (La Galleria de Guadalajara), but didn’t set foot in Cosco. We had a full busload of Lake Chapala Society (LCS) members. Many of them do this every month to stock up in bulk at Cosco. There’s also a giant Wal-Mart, a Mexican big box store, a department store much like Macy’s, and too many shops to mention.

The Mall itself is a 3-story wonder that reminded me of Houston’s Gallerias. It’s beautiful and has  high-end shops with names even I recognize. Anybody living here or even just visiting can certainly get their mall fix there in style. And there’s even another mall that just opened. LCS has a great organizer of these trips; essentially we give her our wish list. I missed the trip to some fabric stores but it will come around again. Also Home Depot. We are already booked for Tonala at the end of the month.


The Galleria even had an Apple store authorized reseller, not quite a full Apple store yet, perhaps it’s coming. I’m an IMAX addict – check! there’s one there, along with the 26-cine movie theatre. I got all excited but then saw that they’re playing the same old kid crap (“Transformers”, etc.), same as the 6-cine theatre in our new tiny mall in Lakeside. I ended up buying $25 USD worth of stuff from …. Wal-Mart. Ugh, I hate supporting that store, but it is the cheapest for some stuff, and I’m in the appropriate budget category to shop there. 

At the end, it was quite amusing to see all the old codgers and codgerettes stuffing their mega packs of Cosco toilet paper into the belly of the bus. And they do this every month! How can they use so much? or maybe there’s a black market for toilet paper that I don’t know about. I buy a 2- or 4-pack from a local Mexican tienda (store) for cheaper per roll than Cosco.  Fear of Mexican products is rampant among some here.

My primary goal for going on this trip was to see GDL and how difficult it is to drive the 40 min. or so to get there. Its an easy drive from Lakeside. I didn’t really see GDL – it’s almost continuous industrial manufacturing businesses the whole way there. The offshoring of American manufacturing happens not only at the border, but here too, and I saw it in Monterrey. Duh, it’s the global economy, a view of which we don’t really see in Maine.

Although I’m not much of a shopper, I consider it the most extensive part of my orientation: finding where to get stuff and who has the best prices. I have most of the basics down now. It’s good to know that I can find anything here or in GDL as the need arises.

Why am I, an anti-consumer, so focused so much on shopping? Good question. When I left Maine, I eliminated all but the minimal essentials, and left behind some stuff I regret…up until now. It’s taken this long for me to realize, it’s still just STUFF, even my own artwork or other perhaps “precious” items. I really don’t miss it. The few things I’m buying here are mostly consumables (food, drink, Krypto food & toys, rent & utilities), and experiences (bus trips, classes, hopefully more travel in Mexico and beyond). I’m facing up to the fact that if there really is something I want, I can make it, rusty artist though I be. I continue to find ways to recycle and re-do, and if I do buy something, I try to find multi-purpose items. I’m in the center of the universe of people who have been making their own stuff for generations. Utilitarian household stuff, made beautiful and one-of-a-kind. I’m going to let that be my guide and inspiration.

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legal matters

By Angela on August 6, 2011

I’ve been having some sleepless nights over how I entered Mexico. When I crossed the border, even though I asked them, no one asked to see my passport, I didn’t get a tourist visa, nor a temporary import sticker for my car, nor certify my dog’s health. I’m an illegal alien!

That's not me in the photo...but suspected members of a Cartel

I’ve been seeking opinions from free legal consultants, and finally talked to a Mexican attorney who comes down from GDL to the central patio at LCS to offer free consulting. He seems to be beloved by all, and indeed has been delightful to deal with. Bottom line: He can help me skip the 180 day tourist visa and apply for the year-long FM3 visa which I had intended to do anyway, and it can be processed right in the new immigration office in Chapala. That’s the good news. The bad news? I can only get my car’s temporary import sticker at the border!

So, I have to make the 14-hr. (4-days for me) journey back to Laredo and get my car official. If the Policia stop me at any point without it, they could confiscate my car, they could charge a “fee” ($500 p about $43 USD), they could threaten the above in hopes of a bribe. Or they could just play it straight as if I (and they) hadn’t screwed up in the first place. As it turns out, my attorney says many gringos have mistakenly entered without proper documentation, since we’re not used to crossing borders where visas are needed, like in other countries. So I’m feeling a lot less like a criminal.

As I was chatting with a good-ole’-Texas gal who ‘works’ (regular volunteer) at LCS about this, she told me she used to help people drive back and forth to the border at both San Diego and Laredo, knows how to do it without getting lost, can make it in 12 hours (2 days), and she’s game to go with me! So it’s sounding more like a fun trip now than a penance for being bad. I can board Krypto for 2 days, and there are also dog/house-sitters who will stay in your home too. My attorney says not to bother with the doggie health certificate (sounds like they don’t really do that any more?).

So as soon as I get my visa in a couple of weeks, I can make the trip without missing Spanish lessons (Tue and Fri). Officially, I will have to pay an extra fine for the visa, but not for the car, unless someone at the border insists on a bribe. My attorney will also see about providing me with some sort of a letter of transit (like in Casablanca) in case I get stopped along the way, affirming that I’m on my way to get the car validated.

Already, I’m sleeping better.

LCS Patio

I recently chatted with a Canadian woman who had the most awful experience crossing the border – from Canada into U.S., and from Mexico into U.S. The problem was with the U.S. – our Homeland Paranoid Insecurity (HPI) force. The first time, they held her for over five hours while they took everything out of her SUV and inspected her gas tank and other hiding places for contraband. They wouldn’t let her pee, even though there were bathrooms right there and a female agent who could go with her. Ultimately, when she absolutely couldn’t hold it any more, she warned them “gotta-go-now” and then stood up in the middle of the “bad girl waiting room” and just pee’d on the floor through her jeans. Everybody waiting scooted over as far away as possible. When she stood up, the HPI cops had all put their trembling hands on their holstered guns and looked at their boss for further instructions. So…a new crime on the terrorist front: Bladder Deficit Disorder (BDD, nickname ‘baadd’). Luckily, they let her go right away.

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much to do

By Angela on July 30, 2011

I’ve had a busy couple of weeks.

I’ve bought a Mexican iPhone 4. I had been caught in a serious catch-22 with AT&T who will only cancel service by phone – but I didn’t have a phone that would work. My 2-yr. contract with AT&T finished last week; but to get a Mexican plan I would have to pay for an (unused) US plan too – double billing. Enough. What I have now is a pay-as-I-go phone which is the cheapest option, and no contract. I don’t do many phone calls, but do use several apps, maps, the camera. I’m gradually finding the hotspots in Ajijic & Chapala.  But there is still difficulty getting calls/calling US numbers, still trouble-shooting.

I’ve joined the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) that has an amazing array of activities (check out their website.)

I’ve signed on with LCS for 2 bus trips in August: one to GDL (Guadalajara) to the Galleria shopping malls, and another trip to Tonala, a small town known as the center of Mexican arts and handicrafts. The bus is a good deal, costs $150 p (about $13 USD), picks us up at 9am and delivers us back around 3 pm. One is free to explore on one’s own, or hang out with the group. This will help me conquer my fear of driving – and getting lost – in big cities, I hope, and I’ll get to meet more people. Shopping Costco is not my thing (I didn’t in the states), but I’m curious to see the other shops, and the bus driver takes us wherever. There’s a huge Mercado in GDL but maybe not this trip.

I’ve enrolled in a LCS Spanish I class, 2 x per week. All their classes had filled up, and I took the last seat of the 6 sections of 14 students each. So no more delay, I’m going to learn Spanish. The instructor is a very lively Mexican woman from GDL who recently moved to Ajijic for semi-retirement, like the gringos. The class is in a lovely flower-filled covered patio of a children’s biblioteca (library), with children learning Spanish and English, and singing songs in the classrooms inside, very sweet. Looks like my classmates will be a fun group to learn with, and it feels like I’m a freshman in a small strange college of old people.

I’ve signed up for a mail box with Mailboxes, Etc. (MBE), our “pony express” that delivers mail to/ from Lake Chapala and Laredo, TX. They make the mail run every day, and gets us mail within 4 or 5 days instead of 2 or 3 weeks (or not at all).  I can share the box with others to split the $ 34 USD /month cost. And  we can use the MBE address in Lakeside for UPS, DHL, and FedEx deliveries, which may not make it to my front gate. The sturdy mailbox on my gate still serves a purpose: ads for Domino Pizza specials – which is actually pretty good pizza, delivered on a motorbike, and besides the usual, they offer an awesome Mexican pizza.

My rental agency has cleaned up the construction debris in front of the house and completed my neighbor’s sidewalk that had been part of the tree removal.

I got my front patio fountain fixed and it’s such a peaceful, relaxing sound in the evenings during hammock time.

Life is good.

 

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shopping

By Angela on July 21, 2011

Note: there’s a new page above “Map of Lakeside” – you can see the Carretera, the yellow road across the area.

Krypto and I like to walk along the Carretera (in this case, small highway) one street behind my house. It’s essentially the shopping district for day-to-day, utilitarian items. Artsy and touristy stuff is mostly in Ajijic, and Chapala is the largest town lakeside with even more shopping, restaurants, and local government offices..

It’s amazing how everything you need you can buy on the Carretera. Picture a quaint little shopping area like Portland’s Old Port spread out along 4 miles on one road instead of bunched up into several square blocks of a city. Of course the shops are Mexican style and tiny, and you find what you need by going to many shops, instead of one big box store (sorry, Wal-Mart). There are small furniture stores, lumber yards, zillions of tiendas (small stores, usually with groceries and drug store items), blacksmith/iron work shops, computer fixit shops, electronic gizmo shops, Telcel and TelMex (Mexican cell phone and phone companies), plant stores, hardware stores, pharmacies, veternarian, physician, and dentist offices, bakeries, auto body and auto repair shops, 2nd hand clothing stores, art galleries, pet stores, pet shelters, and of course, bars and restaurants mixed in with the rest in random order.

I’ve learned to be on the lookout for items I need/want and then to wait: sooner or later it shows up somewhere. Today, I saw a 2nd-hand shop I never noticed before with 2 such items: a small table to use as a coffee table, and an ironing board. I may circle back tomorrow and actually buy them. (Waiting to see if I really want something saves money.)

Everything is done outdoors here, so every cafe and most shops and businesses along the Carretera have their doors flung open, and tables & chairs or goods for sale are set up in front of the shop (hence, Krypto is allowed inside if leashed and behaving himself). The entrepreneurial spirit here is amazing, for both gringos and Mexicans, to our mutual benefit. You basically browse and chat with the owners without the layers of corporate structure keeping you at arm’s length. Even my maid and gardener, if I happen to ‘ask where can I find…’ they want to go out and get it for me. They’re walking instant marketing and sales divisions.

It’s an important part of Mexican etiquette, to make contact with people you pass by, to say some greeting (buenas dias or hola) to acknowledge their existence. Personal space is also smaller than in North America, but I haven’t felt any discomfort by someone standing too close. It is said that many Mexicans perceive gringos as rude and cold because they ignore people they’ve made eye contact with in passing, without saying something. You also finish your brief encounter with a good-bye greeting, like hasta luego. I’m want to learn to do this automatically.

furniture

I’ve never rented a furnished apt. or house before. Down here it is the way most rentals come. It certainly serves a community of migrants, like the expats here. After looking on line and finally in person, you can get a sense of how much you’ll have to adapt to someone else’s ideas of furniture, color, and decor. I saw some I knew I couldn’t tolerate, esp. since home decor is so important to me. I’ve lucked out in finding a house that is traditional Mexico yet somewhat updated contemporary. Probably because the owner is American, it makes an easier transition. But I still find touches here and there I can do without, items left behind by another tenant perhaps.

It makes so much sense, though, the ultimate in recycling. Why should every household start from the ground up with furnishings, especially with HGTV and other media defining our taste. Probably 90% of what we think we should want and buy we share in common with the rest of American society, so why not leave it when we move on and only buy and move a few precious, highly personal items to the new place. I know we’re not ready for such a cooperative (socialist?) society but why not? Sure makes moving easier.

Nevertheless, there are several relatively upscale furniture shops here with everything from antique Mexican colonial, Early American Country kitsch, to mid-century modern, and what I think of as NY loft-electronic-geek style. (Probably stoner-aging-hippie too, but I haven’t been invited yet). Homeowners can outfit their homes exactly as they want, and from what I’ve seen in the real estate ads, most look just like homes in say, California. (Must be comforting.)

 

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MexiDog

By Angela on July 16, 2011

Krypto who is normally gentle with other dogs became somewhat of a Cujo last week. Attacking my neighbor Alejandro’s sweet boxer instead of playing. Refusing to come to me when called. Insisting on staying out all night in the rain, refusing to eat his kibbles, holding out for human food.

Then one night at 2 am he started barking at something at the front gate. Fierce, angry bark, warning, protective, watchdog bark like I’ve rarely heard from him. It could have been at anything – a wandering street cur or cat, or monsters only dogs can see, or a 2-legged trouble-maker. I couldn’t see anything and he kept it up for 10 minutes, getting the whole neighborhood of dogs to join in.

Good to know he can do this. His low, slow guttural growl is chilling. He must be learning from the dogs we pass on our walks who throw themselves at their gates, barking furiously at us as we walk by. Krypto joins in the barking, for practice. This morning I took him for a walk even before my coffee to re-establish something of our old routines. Children, dogs and elders need our routines.

After a day of trouble-shooting techie stuff and decorating the house, we had a long walk in the cool breazy evening, finishing up at a Middle Eastern restaurant practically across the street. It has an incredible menu of choices and the standard dish I ordered was excellent (tabouli, hummus, flaffel). It is owned by a beautiful young couple. She’s originally from Guadalajara, he’s from Egypt. They’re expecting their first baby in Sept. who will no doubt be beautiful too. The 20/30-something’s of this world seem to be exceptionally beautiful, much more than I remember my generation being. And what an exciting time to be Egyptian. How exciting to be able to get Middle Eastern food here.

Krypto seems to be back on track this week. Except when he was attacked by the wild cats at the Lake Chapala Society.

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me – with a maid?

By Angela on July 15, 2011

I debated about hiring a maid last week. My gardener comes with the rent, but a maid is optional and on my dime. I feel awkward asking someone to do “my work”, yet I’ve hired or managed plenty of assistants in my work life. It seems different when the work is personal.

I’m also curious about how these all-tile houses are cleaned: the tile floor in each room has a drain in the middle of the room, so one can just splash a pail of sudsy water on the floor and mop away, pushing it all down the drain. Seems easy and efficient, and maybe more fun than the American way. They also use the old fashioned type of mop that looks like me with long hair, and brooms made of long straws bound around a thick dowel, the type that wicked witches fly around on, or at least they used to before they changed to ultralights. When I tried out the witch broom (sweeping, not flying), I discovered another advantage: it sings! creates a nice sound that almost echoes itself.

While I was debating, Chuy came by and asked if I decided about hiring his wife. We had the conversation earlier, and I put it off, needing to research the situation. In the end, I decided on a compromise of sorts: hire Estella for once per week to do only the floors and the bathrooms, always my nemesis anyway. At $40-50 pesos/hour (about $3.43-4.26/hour USD) x 4 hours that comes to about $14-$17 USD per week. I will thus do my part to help the Mexican economy keep booming. (see the article). However it is worth noting that when one hires a maid one pays her salary when she doesn’t work, as on the many holidays Mexico enjoys, sick leave, maternity leave, etc. Should be interesting.

Husband Chuy, by the way, is an employee of my rental agency, fluent in English, and was very helpful when I moved in. I’ve been told that his name is a “nickname” for Jesus, and is commonly used around these parts. I know a certain dog with that name too (Hi, Bill and Pixie!).

…

My new maid Estella came today and did an excellent job, cleaning inside and out, doing extras, even with Krypto following her everywhere.  I paid $200.00 MXN; looking at Judy King’s article, this is at the high end of pay for a maid, but still reasonable.

Estella is very sweet, and in Spanish explained how she had had a close relationship with a prior elderly, Canadian homeowner she worked for, who told her he would leave her his car and some money when he died (he had no heirs). But another man she was working for, who may have been the first man’s partner, took it all away (as far as my knowledge of Spanish, and her Spanglish, could make out).

I didn’t promise her my grand fortune, in case you’re wondering. It’s a fine line between feeling exploited and ripped off, and exploiting and ripping off. If there has to be one or the other, I prefer the former. Which is why I have no grand fortune.

If only Krypto can learn to pick up after himself…

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routines

By Angela on July 12, 2011

I think I’m getting the hang of the routines here.

Weather:

When it’s mostly sunny all day, we get rain at night. On the other hand, when it’s mostly cloudy all day, we get rain at night. The other night we had a real Gulf Coast-type squall like I haven’t experienced since I left Texas for Maine. But there won’t be a hurricane with this storm. It seems to be true that it “only rains at night in the rainy season” – not quite accurate, there are spritzes during some days here and there, but it does always rain at night, sometimes with great force, lightening, and thunder. Krypto insists on at least trying to sleep outside at night, but then when he changes his mind, he whimpers at my window to let him in. Such a wuss.

The temps have been around 68-75 and very pleasant Maine-like weather. I get cooling breezes from the lake about 3 streets from my house. With each night’s rain there seems to be more new flowers blooming. And more peepers singing!

Shopping:

It’s easier to shop a little every day, rather than one big one every week. Until I’m ready to tackle GDL (Guadalahara) anyway. It’s good to meet shop owners 1:1 and get to know them a little. Many are warm and friendly and remember you when you’ve come back. I bet the ones who are not so warm have had bad experiences with gringos, or maybe they’re just always grouchy. I see this type in the stores frequented by gringos more than I’ve seen in the more Mexican-oriented shops. In the SuperLake (major gringo grocery), I see young Mexican men apparently hired to assist older women with their shopping, walking through the aisles, explaining and selecting things, and driving the cart. Either that or there are a helluva lot of gigolos here.

Krypto and I walked all the way to Ajijic one day, 3 miles of cobblestones, broken pavement, egg-size gravel, intermixed with smooth cement sidewalks; not so easy walking. It was a goal to see if I could do it, and to discover all the little businesses along the Carretera. You really can find everything you need here, it’s just not all in one store (not even in Wal-Mart). But the walk proved difficult for Krypto, who kept lying down in whatever shady rivulet (hopefully mostly rainwater) he could find, and wouldn’t budge without at least 5 minutes to recuperate. He IS  prone to heat stroke.  Six miles would be too much for me at this point. So we took a taxi home from the Ajijic Plaza for $60 MXN (about $5.00 USD). In future, we will drive to Ajijic, or I will go alone using the $7 MXN (about $0.60) buses who travel every 20 min. or so. The buses do not allow dogs.

Better to save at least produce shopping for the weekly Tianguis (outdoor markets) 8am to 3pm:

  • Monday – Chapala
  • Tuesday – (nothing yet)
  • Wednesday – Ajijic
  • Thursday – Jacotepec
  • Friday – San Antonio Tlayacpan

but the Tianguis offer much more than produce. My goal is to “buy Mexican” as much as possible, for their economy, and my wallet.

Water:

Everyone drinks purified water, homes or restaurants that have an installed whole house purification system, or individuals using bottled purified water. You can find all sizes of bottles everywhere in town. And to make it even easier, the Agua truck rolls through the neighborhoods shouting “aaaaagua” followed by a silly recorded jingle. If that doesn’t work, they look for the giant 20 L. empty bottle you’ve put out near your gate and ring your doorbell. 20 pesos for 20 liters, good deal. I think of the world’s water crisis every time and am grateful.

Most of the houses and other buildings have cisterns on the roof to collect rain, that gravity-feeds another cistern beneath the house. The cisterns are cleaned annually, but it’s not a sterile system by any means. Hence the need for water purification. There is a product you can find in any food store called Microdyn for disinfecting produce. After washing the fruits and veggies of dirt, etc. at the sink (non-pure water), you soak the fruits and veggies for 10 min. in a large bowl of a measured solution of Microdyn (using purified water). This presumably kills more than 600 kinds of bacteria including salmonella, cholera, and streptococci. You even treat produce with removable peels, lest peeling contaminates the fruit/veggie underneath. Then you drain the produce (don’t need to rinse it off) and they’re ready to eat. You can use the same bowl of water with Microdyn several times to save money.

I’ve been doing this and haven’t got sick once. What I wonder is, do natives do this too or does the normal flora of their GI tracks evolve over time to handle the bacteria? I will continue to investigate.

Gas (LP):

Another truck rolls through the neighborhoods shouting “Gaaasss” several times (no jingle), and will be happy to check your tank to see if you need any. My tank is on the roof; I have a ladder permanently installed in the back patio for this, and also for checking on and cleaning the roof-top water cistern.  So the roof is an active part of the house. One could expand that to include a mirador (lookout) – a roof-top deck for viewing the landscape – with potted plants, solar panels, maybe a Jacuzzi. Efficient use of normally unused space.

As far as I can tell, these trucks are owned by proprietary companies and compete with one another for  your business. Talk about direct marketing…

Garbage:

In my neighborhood, Tuesday and Thursday. I never had garbage pickup more than once a week stateside. I’m not sure there’s recycling as we know it, but Mexicans practically invented the reuse of useful stuff. The garbage trucks take any size plastic bag for garbage. Some streets and especially parks have many public waste cans available with “keep our (whatever) clean” signs everywhere.

Schedule:

Gardener Ivan: Tuesdays and Saturdays
Maid Estella: Fridays
Dog walking: twice a day, I’m up to 4 pathways we can take so far
Siesta: 2-4 pm most every day
Laundry: any sunny day (no dryer, but hanging clothes is one of the only housework tasks I enjoy doing).
Shopping, cooking, dog grooming, sewing, blogging, art, photography, trying to serve as a visiting anthropologist: whenever
Hammock: every evening, con mi vaso de vino (with my glass of wine)

Soon there will be groups and classes I will add to my schedule – but not too much, hey, I’m  retired.

Cafe/Restaurants:

So far I’m eating out about every other day for about $6 USD per meal, bringing half home for the next day. Eating mostly vegetarian, the fruits and veggies are better than the meat, although pork, shrimp and chicken are everywhere and good. Some of the street vendors offer “labia”, “lingua”, “tripe”, goat and other turnoffs for me. (I’m pretty sure they mean ‘labia’ that are fore and not aft.

The street vendors are interesting. I remember daughter Brynne said she often ate from street vendors when she lived in Latin America. Here, these are tiny outdoor cafes under a red (Coca-Cola) awning with maybe 4 tables, and a gas-powered hot cart for cooking. They seem to be families operating these, employing their teenaged kids. They are open all day every day from about 10a to 8p. One of the best is right around the corner from my house. For $10 pesos MXN (about $0.85 USD) apiece you can get either a fish or a shrimp taco with interesting trimmings you add yourself (salsa, hot sauces, onion, an orange cold slaw and other stuff), and cold soft drinks or bottled water. These are delicious and fresh, battered and fried in a tiny fry-o-later right in front of you. I’m learning to find where the Mexicans go for lunch and go there too.

Alcohol:

Buying my wine, beer, and eventually, tequila and rum, at stores instead of at the table, most of the time. There are some interesting Mexican and Chilean wines in an extensive wine shop next to the SuperLake. Wal-Mart has quite a selection.

Sleep:

Like a log, at least 8 hours at night and an hour’s siesta too. The climate and fragrances – mesquite wood fires, food and flowers – especially in the hammock, are just too tempting to stay awake. This from a recovering workaholic.

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my new home at last

By Angela on July 11, 2011

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In short, I love it here. Everything I expected, and more. The climate is Maine May. Gentle spritzer showers in the daytime, then serious downpour at night. Some days are sunny with rainbows, like today. All this rain has made the mountains green (they were brown in May when I visited) and they look like serious jungle (until you catch a glimpse of the rich folks’ houses). In the evening after dinner, I lie in my hammock in front and watch the southern sky over the lake darken and bring in the night’s rain. Reading in bed, I hear my favorite sounds: peepers!! and crickets and scary birds. Not so favorite is the rooster who crows all day – and sometimes night – long. I will definitely live outside here. Even Krypto refuses to come inside, taking turns napping in each of his favorite spots in the gardens. He’s already a MexiDog.

I’ve needed to sleep alot to recover (Krypto too). What a wonderful house to do that in…bed, sofa, hammock. I haven’t yet joined Krypto under the shady shrub he has claimed. I love this house and feel it was designed with me in mind (I felt that about Raymond too). My rental agents went the whole nine yards – painted the house inside AND out, repaired or replaced patio furniture, took out the trees in front whose roots were breaking up the fence and sidewalk, repaired with new landscaping, cleaned it all, provisioned me with a giant pure water bottle and other basics, and my gardener trimmed and planted both gardens and cleaned the fountain, (which needs a small hose which I found and bought today). It all looks beautiful. I feel like a princess instead of a wicked old witch on her last leg.

I’m learning my way around, never thought I’d shop at Wal-Mart (it’s the cheapest for many household things). I’m searching for the best flour tortillas in town, found a small paint/hardware store that carries artist paints, and lo and behold – this IS a milagro (miracle) – my next door neighbor Alex or I prefer, Alejandro is a cleaver young man who happens to be a Mac expert. We spent an afternoon loading a zillion of his songs onto my iMac. He has is own advertising company and does graphics and marketing, but does not do websites. As he put it, ‘I know Spanish, you know web’ – sound like a plan? He is totally fluent in English, as many are here. The smart ones like him who are self-actualizing and go-getters. He’s getting married at the end of the month. He has a white dog (Boxer) but Krypto acted horrible with him, tried to attack him instead of play. (Does he know something I don’t know about these guys?) Totally new behavior for the little criminal. We’ll try again, walking the two of them first. Alejandro, is also a bit of a Cesar Millan, and had some good training tips I’m trying out on the little devil.

I have so much to say, I’m learning so much, and I still can’t believe I’ve done this. Maybe I did die when I fell asleep at the wheel in NC, and I’m dreaming all of this. Oh well, I’ll take it either way.

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2 days to Ajijic

By Angela on June 30, 2011

June 29

Entering Mexico

Crossing the international bridge in Laredo took 1 minute, continuing to the highway took 3 more minutes.  Handsome young men at the international bridge looked really scary in full combat gear, AK-47s (?), and black breathable masks across their faces, I guess to protect their identity from the criminals (but you could still see that they are handsome…and take their jobs very seriously). One only asked if I had anything to declare, and does the dog bite. (No to both). Nobody asked for ANY documents. HUH??? Will check this out further in Ajijic/Chapala.

The temperature driving through the mountains of Mexico was cool (especially after the heat in the American South) and I didn’t need A/C anymore. These parts of Mexico are beautiful, the roads are new and pleasant, people are friendly and ask to meet Krypto. When we got out to stretch our 6 legs (together, we’re an insect!), I felt an exhilarating breeze that reminded me of sailing. Crossing the American desert somewhere in N.M. with my daughters a few years ago, I felt the same wind. In fact, they DO sail there, in hot air balloons.

Got lost in Monterey for 2 hours, trapped in a spaghetti bowl of highways. The thought kept occurring to me that maybe I really can’t handle this, maybe I’ve bit off more than I can chew. It is intense, and difficult, and especially when I stopped to ask for directions from several men on lunch break, Krypto decides to pull his head completely out of his leash and runs into a busy street, having a great time. Everybody was trying to help capture him but he wouldn’t go to anybody. I was so disgusted with him I just walked away, he’s dead to me now. But that’s when he decided to cooperate and came back to me. And I did find my way out of the spaghetti bowl, lots of tension, lots of anxiety – but I did it.

I don’t have a Mexican GPS, I will definitely have to download it when I get to Chapala. I’m setting a record for getting lost in every big city I’m forced to drive through, but hey, that’s nothing new. And at least I ‘get found’ more quickly each time.

Staying in a lovely inn in Matehuala tonight, Las Palmas, and leave for Lake Chapala tomorrow. Las Palmas turned out to be a rather classic and classy 1950′s style resort with delicious food, swimming pool, gardens to stroll in, just what I needed. Saw what I assume to be my first gringo expats there, American and Canadian, but mostly the inn serves Mexican families on vacation, and oh yeah, spring break kids. Luckily I landed there the week before the madness starts. Having dinner WITHOUT Krypto in the dining room straight out of the 50′s I think this is the perfect transition from my former life to the next one. How apt!

Mexico highlands

Mexico high chapparal

I’m seeing parts of Mexico I’ve never seen, and I love the mountains, the high chaparral flora, crazy cactuses, burros and too fast cars. (Wish I had better photos).

I forgot how respectful Mexicans are of older women.

Yesterday I was passed by a caravan of 4 pickup trucks with S. Carolina plates, loaded with household stuff including kid toys and equipment. There’s a story in there somewhere. More climate refugees?

I’m exhausted but feel so good knowing I can do this – and it will soon be over – and it’s just begun!

 June 30

Uneventful but excruciatingly long 10-hr. travel day (Google maps claimed it would be 7 hrs.), but the desert landscape is still beautiful.

Arrived in Ajijic the afternoon, safe and sound.

My rental agents did everything they said they would do to prepare the house, and then some – painted the whole house, inside and out, re-landscaped the front entry and rebuilt the sidewalk where they had to tear out trees that were uprooting the wall and sidewalk; cleaned the house and gardens spotless inside and out. Tomorrow we’ll go over what I need to know about the systems (utilities, phone, etc.)

Traveling has been rough on Krypto, but he’s already found his nap spots in the garden and refuses to come inside, even at night. I’m going to sleep for a week and start decorating!

Odometer readings:

  • June 16: 69,775
  • June 30: 73,200

I can’t believe my RAV made it all the way without a hitch – 3,400 mi.

Miss you all and I’ll let you know my contact info as soon as I figure it out.

 

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3 days to Mexico

By Angela on June 28, 2011

6/26, 6/27, 6/28

  1. Galveston, TX to Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, MX: cross the border into MX
  2. Nuevo Laredo, MX to Matehuala, MX: almost there (halfway)…NOT!
  3. Matehuala, MX to Ajijic, MX: done! (pick up the keys to my house in Chapala, about 3 miles away)

Last night in Galveston, we were both at the end of our ropes. I’d never seen Krypto looking so depressed, he couldn’t move, just lying on the carpet in the motel room, expressing everything I was feeling, thinking, ‘not another goddamned motel room’. But on the other hand, Krypto loves motel rooms because they’re nice and cold. But we recovered, we really recovered after we cooled down a little, and got out of there for a brief ride through the town.

In the morning I was delighted to see emails from Myrna, rental agent for my house in Ajijic (technically, the town of Chapala), and Jorge, hotel manager for Las Palmas Midway Inn in Matehuala, MX, hopefully our next stop. So I feel like I have a future ahead! Myrna said the house is ready and we discussed internet and cable installation, and when to meet at her office on Thursday 6/30.

So if I let myself, I’m getting very excited about what’s ahead. Also scared. There’s no question it’s scary thinking about crossing the border, so, I’m not going to think about it. Today I’ll head off to Laredo – there’s presumably lots of shopping there and I’ll probably see expats buying up supplies, either on their way down or back up.

It struck me, leaving Galveston, that if I were a believer, I would go to the mainland and visit my parents’ graves, but then, I’m not, and they’re in my heart, always. Visiting Galveston was visiting them and their memory. I think one purpose of this trip is to finally clear out all the cobwebs, all the negativity, the pain I used to experience whenever I went “home”. It’s gone, that’s not me, I don’t need to carry it around, I can set it down now.

 

Driving through West Texas ranch country reminds me of how when I first went to Maine, I was surprised to see that “ranch” was a popular design for homes. Here were the real ranches, you see a road from the highway leading to a clump of trees so thick it’s dark there and you can barely make out the ranch house nestled below the cooling trees. Surrounding all is wide open desert with occasional bursts of dark green, like an Arabian oasis.

I’ve also seen large fields of corn only one foot high, parched and dead dry with an occasional “Pray for rain” sign posted. You also see morning glory vines in full flower, trailing up fence posts, unable to give up the ghost. Not yet.

 

 

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hometown Galveston

By Angela on June 27, 2011

Crossing on the Boliver Ferry into Galveston

Krypto discovers the A/C vent

Almost too many sensations, observations, and memories to make sense of. Here we are on the Boliver ferry, but we can’t get out because they don’t let dogs out, even on a leash. There’s about 20 oil tankers, pleasure craft, another ferry or two – it’s busy! I remember it when it wasn’t. It all looks a lot slicker and there are wonderful beach houses built right on the sand around there too.

welcome

My old home

My old home: a man with his young daughter were relaxing on the porch as I drove up. I told him I grew up in the house and it was wonderful to see it in such good shape, brought back to its original design (my father had made some design faux pas I never approved of). The man had questions for me, and it was a pleasure to share my experiences growing up there, especially with his daughter.

 

 

 

The Original Mexican Cafe, Galveston, TX

Since I was in the neighborhood I went to ‘The Original Mexican Cafe” where my parents and I had delicious meals almost weekly, a few blocks from my house. It was a little updated, but still retained the original feel (if you’ll pardon the pun). There seemed to be lots of medical students, it’s close to the medical school my first husband attended.

I ordered takeout to bring back to our (horrible La Quinta) motel room, and the food is still the best tex-mex in the world. I’m glad they’re still hopping, since the 1880s, having survived the infamous 1900 Hurricane, and has been restored since.

Leaving Galveston: the Gulf is roiling this morning, it looks angry. It reminds me of so many hurricanes I have witnessed here. They were always exciting, teaching a thing or two about nature’s power over us. Now that they are likely to get CAT 5 hurricanes, I’m not sure how exciting they are now. Galveston never quite recovered from Ike.

But it was wonderful to see what Galveston looks like now. The 61st Street pier my father designed using his innovative methods has withstood the test of many hurricanes; the superstructures (fishing shack, bait shop) may have blown away, but the pier and its sturdy pilings remain.

It’s developed into a nice beach town, and I’m glad I grew up there. It had potential, even if I never saw it fulfilled, and I never saw mine totally fulfilled there either.

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hot

By Angela on June 20, 2011

Leaving Columbia, SC, heading to Marietta, GA. It’s incredibly hot, even with the air conditioning in the car. I forget how hot the South can be, this is unseasonably hot for them now. For me, it’s really a good picture of climate change. We’re really going to have to do something to survive this, it’s overwhelming to think about. And anyway, too hot to think.

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the long-lost cousins

By Angela on June 19, 2011

One of the wonderful, serendipitous elements in my journey was the unexpected re-connection with my long-lost first cousins on my father’s side. As far as I remember, I last saw this set of 6 siblings, 5 girls and a boy, when I was a kid (mid 1950′s) at their home in Chattanooga, TN. Our fathers were brothers, theirs a physician, mine an engineer. For some reason that is still not clear, the two brothers’ families never got together again. Part of my journey in meeting my cousins was to sort this out, gather opinions about why this was so. We may never know the truth, but it makes for an intriguing mystery, at least for us. I take it as great good fortune that we found one another and could meet person-to-person. As an only child, acquiring a whole set of ‘siblings’ this late in life is quite special. And as it turns out, I’m their only cousin!

This photo of them was taken after their mother Muriel’s memorial service, in April 2011. They are wearing wild and crazy clothes from her wardrobe, as she would have wanted. Cousin Betsy was not in the photo.

I will write in more detail about these delightful relatives who are all so different, and yet spark a common theme in looks and language and values.

First, let’s get to Mexico!

 

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asleep at the wheel

By Angela on June 18, 2011

It’s beautiful country – heading toward Roanoke – hilly, green, quite lovely. I get very sleepy, driving is mesmerizing, and I can’t be drinking coffee all day – for several reasons. I pull over and try to sleep, but can’t fall all the way asleep. I’ve caught myself asleep 3 times this morning, without mishap.

I’m in trucker city, everything around me is huge trucks, semi’s, doubles. On the way out of the motel, I ended up on the good side of the road, but for people heading north, they were backed up for about 10 miles, doing some sort of inspection. Maybe looking for criminals, maybe they heard that Krypto ran away and wouldn’t come back to me this am at the motel, and they were looking for him.

Fell asleep the 4th time – this time serious, I woke up as I scraped the driver side of the car along a guard rail, with cars all around me. I managed to cross the road and come to a stop on the shoulder. Car scratched and slight dents, but no flat. I was very shaken. Got Krypto and went to some trees beside the road and hung out for a while. I could have easily been killed, why wasn’t I?

…

Already it seems that the further I go the less I want the things I thought I wanted to bring, including the art. Ok, maybe the small pieces that I asked Connie to save, but certainly not the big pieces, I’m done with that. And that feels really freeing. I guess it’s really a change in perspective and it’s easy to change perspective when everything around you is a new perspective. It was interesting to see how minimalist Jana’s apartment is, and how sophisticated. It’s a little gallery of its own. Beautiful vitrines with unusual objects – stuffed birds, my mother’s wedding shoes from the 1940′s. And she seemed to be almost one of the objects in the vitrine of her apartment that houses her unique sensibility. I’m glad she’s done what she’s done. I miss her always, but I love her evolution as an artist, as a person.

I want to live not in a vitrine, but in a garden, a voluptuous garden filled with exotic plants like birds of paradise and fruit trees and whatever else that house will offer.

 

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launch!

By Angela on June 18, 2011

I struggled for several days, unpacking and repacking my car. Not sure what I really wanted to bring and leave behind. It wasn’t until after my visit with daughter Jana in Brooklyn that I realized all that unpacking was a feeble attempt to undo this decision altogether. Fear and loathing leaving Portland, without the loathing. Actually, I’ve been very nostalgic leaving Maine, it is of course a wonderful  place to live (shhh, don’t spread that around), and I was mostly happy for over 40 years. Part of my delay in leaving was because I wanted to see my friends before I left. And it surprised me how they wanted to see me too. It made leaving that much harder. Wish I had more photos of them, and they can send them to me (you know who you are) and I’ll add them here later.

Finally left June 16 to see eldest daughter Jana in Brooklyn, NY.

Jana is an artist and a raw food pastry chef who makes delectable sweets you could never believe are vegan and un-cooked. Her apartment is a confection too. White on white, with interesting objects housed in vitrines (small glass cases – I never heard of the word until art school). I went away feeling very proud of her success in New York – bright, talented kid from Maine leaves for NYC right after graduating from Maine College of Art, finds her way into a vegan/raw food culinary school, and gets promoted through cook/chef jobs in restaurants ultimately managing a raw food restaurant. A phone call comes in one day and she signs on with her current boss, a high end event planner and raw food aficionado, as his personal chef. They are now starting a business selling her pastries online and someday, in a restaurant they create. She is an artist with a good business head, a rare combo. She has accomplished much in her 5 years in NY.

So the next night I spent in a motel somewhere in W. VA  and yes, culled some more stuff, dumped a large garbage bag of “treasures” (oh well) and re-organized my car.

On to meet long-lost cousins!

by Malia Haddock

 
I’ll be recording my impressions in my iPhone voice recorder, and shooting some photos as I drive, and later enter them  on this blog.
Thank you, Malia, you are so right!

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