What? No Fireworks?

I had heard there were lots of fireworks here down at the beach on 4th of July. It's a long weekend and the town started filling up on the 3rd. I logged onto a local web forum for expats living here and read of a couple of places to watch them. Hmmm nope. I heard speculation that it will be tonite (Friday) or maybe tomorrow nite, but I guess I'm over it. We did see some people letting off the type that shoot straight up real high, and then make a big noise...but no colors. That's ok. We had fun, driving around in this big dune buggy thing with 4 wheel drive...

These friends of ours; Deb and Rick came and picked us up about 8pm and we drove from beach to beach to beach in this crazy dune buggy thing. The streets were really crowded and all the places that rent the 3 wheeled motorcycles, dune buggys and things were all sold out, so the party had started even without fireworks. It was fun to drive around in that thing and finally we went to the Monarcha Michocana- they have ice cream and paletas (ice cream on a stick), made with real fruit, the best lemonade in the world and other juices they make right there like jicama, coconut, ochata (sp), differetn berries. Anyway they always seem to be on a corner; they have a roof over the work area, over the products, but the chairs are basically on the sidewalk. We sat and chatted for over an hour getting to know each other. They're pretty interesting and we know them from the community center I teach at and Poppi works with dogs. They want to start a business down here and I would love to get involved...he's kicking around ideas as different as packaging this tiny pepper that Japan will buy all they can get of, and doing something with solar....and everything in between. But they seems to be a good business savvy couple....

I think there's alot of opportunity here. This city crashed and burned. I have written previously about the unfinished hotels and condo buildings, all the houses for sale...office/store space for rent. I just keep listening and reading and there are so many opinions about what's coming next, but everyone seems to be in agreement that this year there's been more people (tourists) here than the past 5 years. I'm reading and hearing that the cruise ship port is a done deal, that infrastructure is starting...that will brings jobs and people. In fact with my students we are working on conversations like taking people's orders at a fast food place like McDonalds and a sit down restaurant, next maybe checking into a hotel...

The airport is now international, meaning flights from Vegas, Tuscon, and somewhere else further east I think...So it would seem Puerto Penasco is in recovery mode. But then I also read on this forum, and I think (strongly-I think) these people are all retirees, but maybe somehow they're "in the know", that the cruise ship port will never come to fruition. They also comment in a negative way all the reasons it's a bad idea...like we already have a stressed water system, electricity problems, etc. So- I'm just waiting to see. But I can't see how new jobs can do anything but help.

I always write about San Rafael, where the community center is and how the people there are struggling to survive, to eat. But as I drive around town, I see struggling everywhere. Maybe those who are retired and live in the nice condos by the beach, and really just interact with other expats, don't travel away from the main downtown area; after all there's a grocery store nearby...and there's lots of activities always going on. Fishing derbys, concerts, art shows, bathtub races, (silly fun stuff), charity dinners...don't get me wrong, people do donate alot to the community centers, to 2Fish, who also feed people, to many organizations. But once you get away from the beachfront and the line of condo resorts, the gated communities of Las Conchas and Playa Encanto, where there are huge houses- of which many are for sale, and most are only populated part time...vacation houses- once you get away from that, well you have "middle class" and then the really poor. And middle class might only mean your house is not made of cardboard or mismatched planks of wood. Well our house is made of cement blocks, and we're lucky cause it's insulated or we'd be dying from the heat right now (ha ha).

Mexico is a poor country- or at least I believe the majority are poor. I don't like that I have gotten used to seeing the poverty in which so many live. But I also see people with pride, with integrity, who may live in a shack, but their children are polite and their clothes are clean and pressed. I'm making a couple of friends down at the ovavlo; well when the Zumba class actually happens I usually chat a little, but when I'm walking I'm in my own little music world ha ha. Now my husband has told me even another interesting thing, well to me puzzling...He knows people who are vendors here, on the beach or even that have a stand somewhere, who have made alot of money, and are still making money, but they live in one of those shacks. Why? You know most people do own their lot that their shack is on. A funny strange fact is that in Mexico almost everybody owns their house outright- no mortgage..the percent of people is some really high number (that number escapes me)...if you have that lot, many people start with a shack, and every time they have a little money they add a little, some concrtet blocks or bricks. Some houses end up with a funny configuration (like ours), but it's a house, their house. Out in San Rafael there are some bigger houses, put together over time, by people who struggle to eat. So I guess there's all kinds of people, eh?

We heard we can buy 2 lots for $2500 out in San Rafael. wow right? But for us right now we can't buy anything, we need to sell the other house, and we have no idea when/if that will be. One good thing we just saw in some Guerrero news online is that water is coming to Playa Ventura. That could make it a more desirable place to buy a beach house, so we'll see. We never ran out of water because our house has 2 cisterns, and it rained so much they were never low. And here, well Everado talk about buying a couple of lots and building an adobe house, but maybe we'll find something already built that maybe we'll just want to add/change or leave be. I've been in a couple of houses here in el centro that I like very much, so when we're ready I think there will be lots of options for us. Well ok that brings us back to the subject of the cruise ship port- will prices begin to rise again...probly is my opinion, but one lesson you MUST learn in Mexico is patience. And apparently I haven't learned it because it just keeps coming up for me ha ha!

Ok Lucky puppy has not grown too much in a week, since now he's only about 4 weeks old, but he has a little personality and has won our hearts- ok he had mine the second I laid eyes on him, but Poppi is now enchanted, and Sam is even starting to come around ha ha. Lucky follows Sam around and tries to eat from his bowl and chew his huge cow leg bone....but still needs to go out in the middle of the nite- well actually they're both sleeping outside, but Lucky cries about 4:30 am and needs a little TLC...

Ok fun fact:

The National University of Mexico was founded in 1551 by Charles V of Spain and is the oldest university in North America.^d

New puppy & other things

It's been a few days since I posted; well been all about the puppy. His name is Lucky and we brought him home last Thursday afternoon. He is between 3 & 4 weeks old, way too soon to be away from his mommy, but he was just thrown away in the street with his brothers and sisters. I know I've written about the dog problem in Mexico, and this is another one. Throw away puppies. Yeah, last week while I was there, some ladies brought in these cardboard boxes, and there was a momma and 2 day old puppies in one, and the momma had a rope around her neck, tight. Everardo had to find a knife and cut it off. The poppa was in the other box, shaking, a rope on him, too. There was a third box in the car, nothing in it. Ah but a hole torn in the backside...yes an escapee. Later after I left, they showed back up, and Karen told me the box was sealed. SEALED!! And they said, oh be careful, he's mean...hmmm well DUH! He's in a sealed small box....poor thing was trembling so much Karen took him home with her that nite.

Anyway....Lucky is tiny, and has to learn to eat solid food. He'll get the hang of it for one meal, and the later you gotta show it to him again. Thurs and Friday we gave him this puppy formula. Actually Saturday, too. Then Sunday we started giving him Pedialite for the electrolytes. Wow what a difference, right after he drinks a little of that he's all peppy for a little while, then crashes. He eats, poops and sleeps. And drinking also has to be learned. He learns and then forgets how to lap water in a bowl. I have a injection thing, like you add a needle to it to give a shot? It's the part you fill up with the medicine, or in this case, water or Pedialite. It's a plastic one Karen gave me from out at the center, and it works great. I was putting water in a cap from a water bottle and forcing his mouth open. For water I basically still have to do the same thing, for the Pedialite- as soon as he tastes it, he open wide ha ha.

The first 2 nites he slept in a box next to the bed on my side, and I got up at 2:30 and about 4am both times, to take him out...and it was good since he did his business. But for me....my kids are adults! I don't get up for middle of the nite feedings, and haven't done it about 19 years. But the amazing thing about Lucky is, he doesn't need company at nite. We put him in the kennel we borrowed, outside with a piece of chicken wire in a half circle so he could come out and poop but not wander around the yard. He was fine! Yipee! So now he and Sam are sleeping outside. Of course Sam is so insulted by it and jealous over the whole thing. He ignores Lucky, which is easy cause he is soooo small he fits in my hand. Well today actually he's a tiny bit bigger than my hand. But not much...did I mention he's only 3-4 weeks old? My guess is now he's 4 weeks so I'm going with that. So 4 more weeks until he's old enough to be taken away from his mommy....wow. I worry about him all day, but he's growing and figuring stuff out...and actually playing, just a little bit. So I'll keep everyone posted on his progress. I posted pictures of him on facebook, yeah he's pretty cute, and Poppi is falling for him too. Oh last thing- what kind of dog is he? Ha ha good question! Well he looks like a tiny mouse...part chihuahua for sure, but his back legs are kinda bowed, like a boxer or something....unless Chihuahuas have that? Have to google it...He's brown mostly, kinda of a square head, and a black stripe from the middle of  his shoulder blades down his back and his tale is black. He is sooo tiny (did I already say that?) and his legs are tiny twigs....ok so yep he's takin' up most of my time! (yipee)

Ok what else? The weather is definitely starting to change...getting hotter, not Playa Ventura, maybe cause of the wind...thank God for the wind, but it getting hotter. And the humidity....that lovely feeling when everything is sticky....ha ha back to the toilet seat sticking to me when I stand up so it falls down and sounds like a guy was just peeing. It's hard to get dressed cause you're sweating as soon as you get up. But very unlike Playa Ventura, you can sleep on top of the bed and not be eaten alive by mosquitoes. They are around in the early evening; if I want to lay in the hammock after about 4pm, I need to put on my bug stuff, but they have the same stuff, Autan up here and it's only 32 pesos (less than 3 bucks). I am hearing however that July gets increasingly hotter, and that August & Sept are unbearable. Everardo and I are laughing....bring it on! Been there done that, except it was every day all the time. We can do 2 months...or maybe it will be 3, cause it's only July 1, and if the wind stops, we will be in trouble. So, vamos a ver....

I'm doing Rosetta Stone faithfully, well it's only been 2 weeks ha ha. The Spanish teacher now has contacted Melody, a woman I had a couple of classes with, and first said she was available in August, then changed it to Sept (again). This class will be just Karen, Melody and me, so an intermediate to advanced. I agreed and think that if I stick with Rosetta Stone and then the class in a couple of months, I can only be...fantastico! We want to work from a book with her this time, not just her showing us notes on her laptop, and that will be good, too.

Mexico is amazing. Health care is one of the amazing things. The cost is SOOO much cheaper. As a permanat resident I can get Seguro Popular, and the first year it's expensive...like $800 USD and then drops to about $80 USD per year. And honestly, $800 for one year is not that expensive. I don't have all the facts yet, but as I figure it out I'll share. One other thing though- when European countries approve drugs that the US then puts thru the FDA for at least 10 years, well Mexico goes with Europe, so many more drugs are available. And as I said before, even my prescription drug for cancer, Arimidex (brand for another name) is over the counter. I'm having a problem with Kaiser right now so it's really on my mind. I thought I changed my plan the first of June so my monthly premium would go done July 1, and interestingly enough, "oh sorry it didn't go thru, but would you like to make a payment?" ha ha when I stopped laughing I said NO, you fix it...then maybe I'll pay....anyway a long involved ridiculously frustrating ordeal that everybody goes thru with big companies. So I won't go on.....except to say altho I'm waiting to see what the Affordable Healthcare Act will offer me, which will be available in Oct....do I even want US health insurance.... they have doctors here, right? But Mexico is amazing in others ways- haha in some ways it's like living in the 50's, and people just make things work. Cars are all beat up, nobody wears a seat belt, and the stops signs continue to be just a recommendation, but I don't see alot of accidents, in fact I haven't seen one since I've been here. Kids play in the street here. Parents don't watch their kids closely on the beach. People sit outside, in front of their houses in the warn weather. There are corner stores on EVERY corner, and usually some in the middle of the block. The stores and resturants, well the people live behind them or above them. There are hot dog carts and taco stands every where. And right up the street you can get a huge styrofoam cup of lemonade for less than $2. And somebody just made it fresh. Of course they call it limeade cause yellow or green they call it lime....People build things in small shops, like the furniture we had built in Playa Ventura, there's a guy down the street we're talking to about something we want for the kitchen. And we saw a guy painting a fantastic mural all across a wall around someone's house, and he will do one for us, much smaller area, for about $50! The back wall of our yard is white brick, and my hammock is right there, and now I have some nice pots, some the brightly painted type and others the earthy look, and my big Buddha I've been dragging around Mexico, well it's my little serenity corner, and the guy is going to paint some palm tress and maybe a garden...yeah for $50 USD

In Mexico, every thing is possible...yeah you might have wait....but it's posible....
 OK fun fact:
The first printing press in North America was used in Mexico City in 1539