It's Monday & I leave for The Big Apple on Thursday. Hmmm is it still considered the big apple if you're not going to the city, but just the state, out in the country- to a tiny community? Yesterday someone told me if it's not "the city", it's "upstate". I told them I think I'm going more to the middle of the state and they said- you're going upstate-ha ha. ok. I'm so so so looking forward to this visit. My sister and I have so much closer over the past few years whether or not we actually see each other. Closer with my brother as well. Funny I have left from Mexico to visit my brother in Texas and now my sister in NY...Mexico encourages me to travel? And when I get back..yipee the road trip.
So my sister bought me the IPhone 5 I found on craigslist in her town- oh boy a "5". Ha ha right now I have a 3g, so it should be quite an improvement. I mean, my phone is fine- I don't need it for much besides magic jack so we can call the states for free and not need it connected to our computers or the wall. But I goggled the difference between the 3 and the 5....it's alot, size and shape, but the internet is quicker, the camera better, the speakers, I guess everything. I mean I rarely look up anything on the internet or even go on FB because it's so slow, but when I was with my kids they were using the gps, and other internet functions and getting immediate results while I was still waiting, so I guess I'll have it if I need it.
I know I say this all the time, but Mexico has changed me. There is so much I don't need, can go without. I never use the dryer, I don't wear shoes. I don't text. I don't have 3000 channels on the tv. In fact we pay about 325 pesos a month for tv- that's about $26....I was listening to these people talk about their tv packages,,and they pay $100, $150 a month! They get "everything" (this means they get all the channels from the states). We get about 6 channels in English, and a couple that are a guess. The movies will say a different title in the on screen guide- now I just think it's funny- so you either have to watch a minute or read the blurb to see what movie it is. And I am starting to watch things in Spanish- however I notice if I watch a show I know- like Special Victims Law & Order, I can understand more and they speak slower because they are dubbing English which is spoken slower. But- at least right now (because I seem to change my mind alot-) that there are so many longer words in Spanish no wonder they have to say them faster ha ha. It has taken me some time to be open to long words- I mean so many syllables...that some words seem to go on & on. Words I had so much trouble with when I got here, or sounds I wasn't used to making.
There is basically no frozen food here. Popsicles, pizza, sometimes veges, and if you go to Costco in Ensenada you have some choices as long as you are willing to buy it in the big big big size. But I like the bakeries in all the stores- the food is out and you use a pan and tongs to pick your own, the amount you want, the ones you want. They they bag them up for you. Needing change for everything- coins I mean. For the guy who pumps your gas (no self serv), the people who bag your groceries or take your empty cart after your groceries are loaded into the car. And those guys- that's the only thing they get paid. Knowing that people are existing on so little. People work so hard here. Kids take care of their little brothers and sisters- grandparents take care of kids because parents work. Not crazy about all this part. I want my kids to have a childhood, and my young adult children to enjoy themselves, to find themselves- I am happy my daughters didn't (and for the 21 yr old- don't) want to have a baby until late 20's or early 30's. If I wished for one thing for Mexico it would be birth control. I see parents every day who look like teenagers. Married at 16 or 18, or even 20...kids right away. I mean I do love how the Mexican people are so family oriented, that families stay together, kids, parents, grandparents...but everyone grows up to quick, and they work too hard for too long.
You never drink water from the tap, or even use it for cooking- it's just for washing dishes or your hands. There is no mail, no mailbox. You pay your bills at the grocery store. The phone system- ha ha. You have to dial numbers in front of the number when dialing from a landline to a cell and different to a long distance cell. You do not pay gov't fees, like dr lic, school, immigration at their offices, you pay it at the bank. And even weirder- you must first get the money from you bank, then give it back to them in cash to pay whoever it is.
The stores may or may not have the same items as last week. You will always wait in line. For a while. Back to the tv- it used to drive me crazy when they showed the same commercial 2 or 3 times back to back, on every break. Now I don't even notice. I know something may take all day. I know we make plans and they may or may not happen. So I guess I would say maybe patience and acceptance are the 2 biggies I am learning here. Ha ha the cars! My car is getting rusty from the salty air, and the driver door-wait- both front doors have to be opened from the outside! Cars that would never be approved to drive in Calif- never pass smog, some with no lic plates, lights not working, pieces missing. Many homes are the same way- they would never be lived in-yet people find a way.
But there's other stuff. I'm so lucky to have the opportunity to be on a path where I am working on myself- mind, body, spirit. Exercise, eating right, mediation, AA....I'm finding a way to make all these different things seem to go hand in hand. I am journaling about my exercise-food-weight, and starting to do the same with meditation. This blog has been my day to day online sort of diary where I get to think it thru by writing it down and sometimes I just wait to see what I write ha ha. Right now I am feeling "Let it go" in a huge way. It's a concept we embrace in AA- do your best and then let go- it's about not worrying, it's about having some faith in the universe, about understanding that you do what you can, but so many things are out of our control, and anxt'ing over them does nothing. In fact I believe that negative feelings/thoughts can actually create negative energy around something and maybe affect the outcome in a negative or at least different way. In meditation, which to me is also about spirituality (like AA), doing my part and then getting out of the way for the rest. The process is the goal. Make plans but don't be married to the results. Detaching. And with my health program I am trying to measure my results, see what works and what doesn't and modify process and goals as I go- no judgements. So I am starting to see where it all relates to each other.
So yeah, Mexico has changed me- for the better. I appreciate what's around me. I have slowed down so much.Wow I just wrote about a page on something else I'm trying to take care of and then accidentally deleted it- well maybe it's not the right time to share it. Ha! Expectations is another huge thing I am learning to let go of here. Expecting things to go "right". In Mexico think of how something should logically go, then get ready for the opposite ha ha.
But it's ok. Watching the fog and clouds yesterday slipping over the mountain at the mouth of the bay and then back over the hills all wispy. Our bay is a horseshoe with us at the bottom, Ensenada on the north side and these hills on the right. Fog comes in and sneaks around the peak at the end, the sun sets right there as well. The water is different colors at different times of day. There's some crazy birds in the big tree across the road going the other way (toward the estuary) and lately they are very nosiy at nite. They are some kind of egret I think. I've been trying to figure out what they are by google (of course) but am not sure. But they start talking about 9pm and are sometimes still making their funny noises after 11pm when I go to bed, and my window is on that side. In the gym this morning I was looking out at the water as I did the bowflex for my arms, and thought about how the door to the place is so rusty- it looks terrible- but usually I don't even notice it as I gaze thru the doorway out to the bay. We are a contradiction of beauty and old broken down ugly...people are so poor here, but so rich in spirit, in nature. Maybe that's how it works eh?
I love Mexico! I love the people, the country, the love, the simplicity, the culture, the history. Yes i know there's lots of bad stuff, corruption- how do you tell the cartel bad stuff from the gov't bad stuff? Giving cops $ to let you go. Knowing in most cases I wouldn't call the cops for something wrong. When they are racing down the road lights and sirens- ha ha the cars don't move out of their way! They shake their heads..."fuckin cops"....but if an ambulance comes shrieking thru- the cars do their best to move over. Cracks me up. People are just trying to live their lives. Hanging onto hope. Smiling all the time. Yeah- I love Mexico!
Well maybe my next post will be from a farm house in NY...viva!
So my sister bought me the IPhone 5 I found on craigslist in her town- oh boy a "5". Ha ha right now I have a 3g, so it should be quite an improvement. I mean, my phone is fine- I don't need it for much besides magic jack so we can call the states for free and not need it connected to our computers or the wall. But I goggled the difference between the 3 and the 5....it's alot, size and shape, but the internet is quicker, the camera better, the speakers, I guess everything. I mean I rarely look up anything on the internet or even go on FB because it's so slow, but when I was with my kids they were using the gps, and other internet functions and getting immediate results while I was still waiting, so I guess I'll have it if I need it.
I know I say this all the time, but Mexico has changed me. There is so much I don't need, can go without. I never use the dryer, I don't wear shoes. I don't text. I don't have 3000 channels on the tv. In fact we pay about 325 pesos a month for tv- that's about $26....I was listening to these people talk about their tv packages,,and they pay $100, $150 a month! They get "everything" (this means they get all the channels from the states). We get about 6 channels in English, and a couple that are a guess. The movies will say a different title in the on screen guide- now I just think it's funny- so you either have to watch a minute or read the blurb to see what movie it is. And I am starting to watch things in Spanish- however I notice if I watch a show I know- like Special Victims Law & Order, I can understand more and they speak slower because they are dubbing English which is spoken slower. But- at least right now (because I seem to change my mind alot-) that there are so many longer words in Spanish no wonder they have to say them faster ha ha. It has taken me some time to be open to long words- I mean so many syllables...that some words seem to go on & on. Words I had so much trouble with when I got here, or sounds I wasn't used to making.
There is basically no frozen food here. Popsicles, pizza, sometimes veges, and if you go to Costco in Ensenada you have some choices as long as you are willing to buy it in the big big big size. But I like the bakeries in all the stores- the food is out and you use a pan and tongs to pick your own, the amount you want, the ones you want. They they bag them up for you. Needing change for everything- coins I mean. For the guy who pumps your gas (no self serv), the people who bag your groceries or take your empty cart after your groceries are loaded into the car. And those guys- that's the only thing they get paid. Knowing that people are existing on so little. People work so hard here. Kids take care of their little brothers and sisters- grandparents take care of kids because parents work. Not crazy about all this part. I want my kids to have a childhood, and my young adult children to enjoy themselves, to find themselves- I am happy my daughters didn't (and for the 21 yr old- don't) want to have a baby until late 20's or early 30's. If I wished for one thing for Mexico it would be birth control. I see parents every day who look like teenagers. Married at 16 or 18, or even 20...kids right away. I mean I do love how the Mexican people are so family oriented, that families stay together, kids, parents, grandparents...but everyone grows up to quick, and they work too hard for too long.
You never drink water from the tap, or even use it for cooking- it's just for washing dishes or your hands. There is no mail, no mailbox. You pay your bills at the grocery store. The phone system- ha ha. You have to dial numbers in front of the number when dialing from a landline to a cell and different to a long distance cell. You do not pay gov't fees, like dr lic, school, immigration at their offices, you pay it at the bank. And even weirder- you must first get the money from you bank, then give it back to them in cash to pay whoever it is.
The stores may or may not have the same items as last week. You will always wait in line. For a while. Back to the tv- it used to drive me crazy when they showed the same commercial 2 or 3 times back to back, on every break. Now I don't even notice. I know something may take all day. I know we make plans and they may or may not happen. So I guess I would say maybe patience and acceptance are the 2 biggies I am learning here. Ha ha the cars! My car is getting rusty from the salty air, and the driver door-wait- both front doors have to be opened from the outside! Cars that would never be approved to drive in Calif- never pass smog, some with no lic plates, lights not working, pieces missing. Many homes are the same way- they would never be lived in-yet people find a way.
But there's other stuff. I'm so lucky to have the opportunity to be on a path where I am working on myself- mind, body, spirit. Exercise, eating right, mediation, AA....I'm finding a way to make all these different things seem to go hand in hand. I am journaling about my exercise-food-weight, and starting to do the same with meditation. This blog has been my day to day online sort of diary where I get to think it thru by writing it down and sometimes I just wait to see what I write ha ha. Right now I am feeling "Let it go" in a huge way. It's a concept we embrace in AA- do your best and then let go- it's about not worrying, it's about having some faith in the universe, about understanding that you do what you can, but so many things are out of our control, and anxt'ing over them does nothing. In fact I believe that negative feelings/thoughts can actually create negative energy around something and maybe affect the outcome in a negative or at least different way. In meditation, which to me is also about spirituality (like AA), doing my part and then getting out of the way for the rest. The process is the goal. Make plans but don't be married to the results. Detaching. And with my health program I am trying to measure my results, see what works and what doesn't and modify process and goals as I go- no judgements. So I am starting to see where it all relates to each other.
So yeah, Mexico has changed me- for the better. I appreciate what's around me. I have slowed down so much.Wow I just wrote about a page on something else I'm trying to take care of and then accidentally deleted it- well maybe it's not the right time to share it. Ha! Expectations is another huge thing I am learning to let go of here. Expecting things to go "right". In Mexico think of how something should logically go, then get ready for the opposite ha ha.
But it's ok. Watching the fog and clouds yesterday slipping over the mountain at the mouth of the bay and then back over the hills all wispy. Our bay is a horseshoe with us at the bottom, Ensenada on the north side and these hills on the right. Fog comes in and sneaks around the peak at the end, the sun sets right there as well. The water is different colors at different times of day. There's some crazy birds in the big tree across the road going the other way (toward the estuary) and lately they are very nosiy at nite. They are some kind of egret I think. I've been trying to figure out what they are by google (of course) but am not sure. But they start talking about 9pm and are sometimes still making their funny noises after 11pm when I go to bed, and my window is on that side. In the gym this morning I was looking out at the water as I did the bowflex for my arms, and thought about how the door to the place is so rusty- it looks terrible- but usually I don't even notice it as I gaze thru the doorway out to the bay. We are a contradiction of beauty and old broken down ugly...people are so poor here, but so rich in spirit, in nature. Maybe that's how it works eh?
I love Mexico! I love the people, the country, the love, the simplicity, the culture, the history. Yes i know there's lots of bad stuff, corruption- how do you tell the cartel bad stuff from the gov't bad stuff? Giving cops $ to let you go. Knowing in most cases I wouldn't call the cops for something wrong. When they are racing down the road lights and sirens- ha ha the cars don't move out of their way! They shake their heads..."fuckin cops"....but if an ambulance comes shrieking thru- the cars do their best to move over. Cracks me up. People are just trying to live their lives. Hanging onto hope. Smiling all the time. Yeah- I love Mexico!
Well maybe my next post will be from a farm house in NY...viva!
