Mexicans are nothing if not creative! There is a place on the way to Ometepec, (which is about a 2 hour drive from here south & east), right before you get into the city itself where the road dips. There's dirt in this dip which I guess makes alot of dust. There's this family who have these small buckets that keep the dirt damp. That way the dust doesn't blow over you and/or your car. Then they stand with little bowls and people give them a few pesos. I've seen it twice now, and some people told us they are always there. Pretty cool. We give them 10 pesos when we pass- on the way back, not the way in. My husband commented that we don't see too many homeless people deep in Mexico. Even if people have nothing, they at least have a small shack they live in- and it's theirs. People own their home- shack or castle or in between (mostly), and you always see places with a small store or restaurant in front and they live in back or upstairs. With no mortgage ,when you own what you have, you can make it.
I also see lots of small jobs, so mostly everybody eats. The tips you give to the people who carry things to your car- in some parts of Mexico this is the only money they make- the store doesn't pay them. When we were in Acapulco Monday we went to Wallmart- there must have been 100 people working in there! But it works. As I write this I'm keeping my eye out for the bread lady, but it's afternoon and I might have missed her.
So many things we don't normally think about. We have a covered pitcher of water in our bathroom for brushing our teeth. I wasn't thinking about drinking water in the bathroom, but hey when you brush your teeth the water goes in your mouth ha ha. I just remembered the 3 weeks I stayed in someone's home in San Miguel Allende a couple of years ago to go to a Spanish immersion school; there was always a pitcher of fresh water in my room.My candles have been coming in handy and were merely decorative in Calif. It seems that during the rainy season the electricity goes out alot. But we just carry on. Don't know if I already said this, but a guy is rewiring our whole house for about 300 pesos- the wiring was messy and when the new construction was done they just "extended" the wire ha ha. Our electricity is not string enough for the pumps so he's gonna fix that too.
So in Ometepec today we went to Telmex and got a landline & internet. This was very cool because previously we were told that internet could be as much as a year wait because this area is "saturated". But somehow in the end we got it! yipee Well we'll see about yipee- the installation is 10-15 days away, which may nean something entirely different, but it's a positive start. All that's left now is one more trip to Acapulco to Telcel to get my IPhone "unlocked" so I can get service on it here from Telcel. But that's ok cause we had no time for Costco when we were there Monday so we can take care of things like toilet paper, cerea, etc. Last nite we ate a fish just caught by Chela's husband and it was yummy. Nothing beats fresh everything! That's all for now!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Mexico is a trip! Every day something new. Sunday nite we had no water in our part of the house. Our house is actually 2 buildings; one is the kitchen and a bathroom and a shower room, then across the patio is our living space; a big bedroom upstairs and ext to it a bathroom & shower, then downstairs a huge living room that I kinda divided into quarters- living room with chairs and TV, then an area with bookshelves, our "inside" picnic table, electronics and my exercise machine. One quarter is like the garage- tools and stuff, and the last quarter is empty. Anyway next to that is our bedroom & bathroom/shower. So Sunday nite I try to take a nice cold shower- believe me I don't even kinda miss hot water for showers! It is always soothing to get into the cool water. Everardo wanted to go outside and pump some water up to the roof but said no I could wait until morning.
Water is interesting, water is gold. Drinking water is purchased in those huge plastic bottles- I think I already said that, and for everything else you collect it during the rainy season in these cisterns in the ground. The roofs have an edge or lip so the water is collected and then goes down a pipe on one side cause the roof has a tiny slope you almost can't see. Then you pump it up to these big black tanks on the roofs to be used in the house. If you run out of that water you can buy it from these big trucks, or take your own big black tank down and buy it cheaper. Our friend created a project to pipe water to his land so he has unlimited supply and has offered to sell us water at a cheaper price than the others.
So we got up at 6am Monday and left for Acapulco to immigration and shopping and didn't return until after dark, I think around 8:30 or 9pm. And exhausted, we came home to no electricity! Well there's a guy for that, too and he had been to our house the day before to replace the line coming to our house4 from the pole- he said the electric company (or somebody) took it and replaced it with cheaper stuff. He re-replaced it with the better wire for 200 pesos. This was great because our electricity) was dim and light dim and light. So imagine our surprise Monday nite- no electricity. Well we talked to our buddy/neighbor because it looked like everybody on our end of the street had lights but us- and he said to cal Romero (the electricity guy) (Notice I don't say electrician- this guy is one I guess by experience- he's just good at it-hmm so I guess I will call him an electrician), but it going on 10pm and we were going to sleep anyway. So this morning he came over round 8am and now he's going to rewire the entire house for $300 pesos!! Yippee. By the way he fixed the issue by climbing up the pole across the street from our house and doing something- apparently he had to do this for our neighbor further up the street than us last nite so if we had been home...
We wanted a simple life and we got it!! But we are getting the hang of it. Gume, our good friend has talked Everardo thru a lot of stuff already and expressed some surprise (not in a good way) that we had some of the issues we've had after paying someone to build onto the house, and also paid for basic maintenance. But it's all good- we are learning and will know better next time! NO hard feelings, just more knowledge.
So back to Monday's trip to Acapulco. Got to the immigration office by 9am and said our final good bye and gracias around 4:30! We were not in their office the whole time tho' - initially we were sent to go have breakfast while they discussed what to do. ha ha since I had no documentation. When we came back from eating, oh and Everardo had crossed the street "Mexican style" dodging between honking cars to grab some cash from the bank while Chela and I went to this huge Wallmart to look at beach furniture...We told them the story of how I went up to the window, paid my $25, got a piece of paper for the truck and my visa back but didn't notice right away that they had not stamped it or written on it. As it turns out, apparently I was at the window to get the 180 permit for the truck and was supposed to go to another window for my visa. But I thought it was one window for foreigners and one window for Mexicans...ha ha again...I thought?? So anyway we had to walk back to the bank and pay a fine for entering illegally even tho' I thought they should have checked my paperwork before I passed...and Chela and I crossed holding hands and NOT in between cars! At this point they
tell us two very complicated ways for me to get documented, and one includes Everardo showing 3 months of bank statements to prove he can support me- or we can go get our marriage certificate and apostill notarized (an apostill is a notarized document confirming the marriage cert when going to a foreign country- even tho the marriage cert is already notarized- and we went thru some hell to get it, too, finally fedxing back and forth with the State of Nevada cause we were married in Reno..)
So now we have to notarize the notarized apositlle! And all this had to be translated to me because it was way too fast and complicated and I would say "que?'...ha ha I was laughing out loud and the woman thought it was pretty serious. So finally we agree that I will simply get a 180 day tourist visa and then we'd go home and collect douments like bank statements and see the lawyer for the notarized docs and start the process for citizenship. The woman wrote a book- ok 3-4 pages of the story of how I got here without docs thru the Santa Teresa border- I guess to cover everyone's collective asses ha ha. This took hours, we talked about the furniture I saw in Wallmart and agreed to check Home Dept &b Costco before making a purchase since they were all close. I want to put simple outside furniture inside until I lived here while and figure out what I want.... so then Everardo has to make a third trip to the bank to get a bank statement we think to establish our residency cause it's the only thing with our address. (which includes tby the way, casa verde next to El Faro!) You don't pay anything in their office; you must walk to your local bank- luckily we have one! He comes back and suddenly everything has changed- they are telling me to get photos and everyone is talking except I'm only saying "Mande?" (what). I a getting an FM2 Immigrante card which is r4esidency for a year! Yippee!! Maybe it was Everardo's good looks and kind manner, maybe it was my good looks and sincere desire to follow the rules, and just maybe it was what our bank statement said...which ended up changing pretty quick after furniture shopping, Home Depot for wiring and tools, food, and some other big ticket stuff we wanted to get all at once. Anyway as I always say- Everything is possible in Mexico...ya gotta wait....it's funny they said to comeback in a few days to pick it up, but when we returned with the photos they said just wait we will give it to you today. Oh and Everardo had to go back to the bank a 3rd time to make that payment...So...we waited.
Getting the photos was fun too- the first set taken by a young woman who never smiled even once the whole time we were there- well I had been smiling smiling for my photo and finally stopped and click! As they were cutting them up (taken with a very old camera and processed in the back room), I insisted to see them and said- oh no, no no I don't want these She informed us we had to pay again & I didn't care, the second set the flash made me blink so my eyes were closed. Chela and I were laughing but Chela then argued I shouldn't have to pay for that set. So for set three I opened my eyes very wide and yelled take the picture- she said are you sure? -YES! So I have wide eyes and a huge smile on my residency card, but good cause I'm a smiley person.
So we left there finally! Time for shopping but not too much time cause we wanted to be home before dark and the rain was coming. Almost ran thru Elektra (gong back later to see their mattresses), Home Depot and Wallmart. These were all down by the airport, almost out of Acapulco and we had been in downtown. Well I liked the first set the best but of course they didn't have it at this Wallmart,so back to downtown. Acapulco is very beautiful when you are driving along the cliffs looking down at the beaches and all the houses, hotels, and buildings. So I got to see it a couple of times ha ha.
We got home late, after dark and pooped out! And then no lights, so I arranged my new furniture by candlelight and we hit the sack. Today it's raining but there's a big party in Copala (about 10 min). It's a political thing- I'm not sure why it's before the election but people are decorating their ars and trucks to do a parade from here to there. I wanted to wait and go around 3pm since the electrican is working at out house but I an at Chela's using the internet and people are gathering...wow for a quiet life I sure am busy!
Water is interesting, water is gold. Drinking water is purchased in those huge plastic bottles- I think I already said that, and for everything else you collect it during the rainy season in these cisterns in the ground. The roofs have an edge or lip so the water is collected and then goes down a pipe on one side cause the roof has a tiny slope you almost can't see. Then you pump it up to these big black tanks on the roofs to be used in the house. If you run out of that water you can buy it from these big trucks, or take your own big black tank down and buy it cheaper. Our friend created a project to pipe water to his land so he has unlimited supply and has offered to sell us water at a cheaper price than the others.
So we got up at 6am Monday and left for Acapulco to immigration and shopping and didn't return until after dark, I think around 8:30 or 9pm. And exhausted, we came home to no electricity! Well there's a guy for that, too and he had been to our house the day before to replace the line coming to our house4 from the pole- he said the electric company (or somebody) took it and replaced it with cheaper stuff. He re-replaced it with the better wire for 200 pesos. This was great because our electricity) was dim and light dim and light. So imagine our surprise Monday nite- no electricity. Well we talked to our buddy/neighbor because it looked like everybody on our end of the street had lights but us- and he said to cal Romero (the electricity guy) (Notice I don't say electrician- this guy is one I guess by experience- he's just good at it-hmm so I guess I will call him an electrician), but it going on 10pm and we were going to sleep anyway. So this morning he came over round 8am and now he's going to rewire the entire house for $300 pesos!! Yippee. By the way he fixed the issue by climbing up the pole across the street from our house and doing something- apparently he had to do this for our neighbor further up the street than us last nite so if we had been home...
We wanted a simple life and we got it!! But we are getting the hang of it. Gume, our good friend has talked Everardo thru a lot of stuff already and expressed some surprise (not in a good way) that we had some of the issues we've had after paying someone to build onto the house, and also paid for basic maintenance. But it's all good- we are learning and will know better next time! NO hard feelings, just more knowledge.
So back to Monday's trip to Acapulco. Got to the immigration office by 9am and said our final good bye and gracias around 4:30! We were not in their office the whole time tho' - initially we were sent to go have breakfast while they discussed what to do. ha ha since I had no documentation. When we came back from eating, oh and Everardo had crossed the street "Mexican style" dodging between honking cars to grab some cash from the bank while Chela and I went to this huge Wallmart to look at beach furniture...We told them the story of how I went up to the window, paid my $25, got a piece of paper for the truck and my visa back but didn't notice right away that they had not stamped it or written on it. As it turns out, apparently I was at the window to get the 180 permit for the truck and was supposed to go to another window for my visa. But I thought it was one window for foreigners and one window for Mexicans...ha ha again...I thought?? So anyway we had to walk back to the bank and pay a fine for entering illegally even tho' I thought they should have checked my paperwork before I passed...and Chela and I crossed holding hands and NOT in between cars! At this point they
tell us two very complicated ways for me to get documented, and one includes Everardo showing 3 months of bank statements to prove he can support me- or we can go get our marriage certificate and apostill notarized (an apostill is a notarized document confirming the marriage cert when going to a foreign country- even tho the marriage cert is already notarized- and we went thru some hell to get it, too, finally fedxing back and forth with the State of Nevada cause we were married in Reno..)
So now we have to notarize the notarized apositlle! And all this had to be translated to me because it was way too fast and complicated and I would say "que?'...ha ha I was laughing out loud and the woman thought it was pretty serious. So finally we agree that I will simply get a 180 day tourist visa and then we'd go home and collect douments like bank statements and see the lawyer for the notarized docs and start the process for citizenship. The woman wrote a book- ok 3-4 pages of the story of how I got here without docs thru the Santa Teresa border- I guess to cover everyone's collective asses ha ha. This took hours, we talked about the furniture I saw in Wallmart and agreed to check Home Dept &b Costco before making a purchase since they were all close. I want to put simple outside furniture inside until I lived here while and figure out what I want.... so then Everardo has to make a third trip to the bank to get a bank statement we think to establish our residency cause it's the only thing with our address. (which includes tby the way, casa verde next to El Faro!) You don't pay anything in their office; you must walk to your local bank- luckily we have one! He comes back and suddenly everything has changed- they are telling me to get photos and everyone is talking except I'm only saying "Mande?" (what). I a getting an FM2 Immigrante card which is r4esidency for a year! Yippee!! Maybe it was Everardo's good looks and kind manner, maybe it was my good looks and sincere desire to follow the rules, and just maybe it was what our bank statement said...which ended up changing pretty quick after furniture shopping, Home Depot for wiring and tools, food, and some other big ticket stuff we wanted to get all at once. Anyway as I always say- Everything is possible in Mexico...ya gotta wait....it's funny they said to comeback in a few days to pick it up, but when we returned with the photos they said just wait we will give it to you today. Oh and Everardo had to go back to the bank a 3rd time to make that payment...So...we waited.
Getting the photos was fun too- the first set taken by a young woman who never smiled even once the whole time we were there- well I had been smiling smiling for my photo and finally stopped and click! As they were cutting them up (taken with a very old camera and processed in the back room), I insisted to see them and said- oh no, no no I don't want these She informed us we had to pay again & I didn't care, the second set the flash made me blink so my eyes were closed. Chela and I were laughing but Chela then argued I shouldn't have to pay for that set. So for set three I opened my eyes very wide and yelled take the picture- she said are you sure? -YES! So I have wide eyes and a huge smile on my residency card, but good cause I'm a smiley person.
So we left there finally! Time for shopping but not too much time cause we wanted to be home before dark and the rain was coming. Almost ran thru Elektra (gong back later to see their mattresses), Home Depot and Wallmart. These were all down by the airport, almost out of Acapulco and we had been in downtown. Well I liked the first set the best but of course they didn't have it at this Wallmart,so back to downtown. Acapulco is very beautiful when you are driving along the cliffs looking down at the beaches and all the houses, hotels, and buildings. So I got to see it a couple of times ha ha.
We got home late, after dark and pooped out! And then no lights, so I arranged my new furniture by candlelight and we hit the sack. Today it's raining but there's a big party in Copala (about 10 min). It's a political thing- I'm not sure why it's before the election but people are decorating their ars and trucks to do a parade from here to there. I wanted to wait and go around 3pm since the electrican is working at out house but I an at Chela's using the internet and people are gathering...wow for a quiet life I sure am busy!
Friday, June 22, 2012
Oh boy oh boy! We got our Mexican license plates last nite. Less than 2 weeks after we got here we have plates! This is great, no more worrying about being pulled over and having the car taken from us. I dont know if they would- but they can. So Monday we head to Acapulco to get some documents for me, since I think I'm here illegally! Nobody filled out my tourist visa at the border, well nobody has asked to see more than my passport until we got to the bank. So- Acapulco here we come. I also want to start my citizenship paperwork so it's good to get this going. Hopefully in Acapulco we can go to Telmex too and maybe get our phone...and do I dare to hope? Internet. It's not bad walking to the neighbors, they are becoming quite close with us, they helped us so much and we try to return the favors...picking something up (like cantaloupe & watermelon) when we're out shopping, or lending tools...
We gave another friend a ride to Copala today to pick something up and it felt so, so normal! Little by little. I till have a huge issue with bug bites but found a bug "lotion" that works, but like right now, I had peds & tennis shoes on so it must have worn off. Now I'm at the friend's with the internet and they have HUGE mosquitoes or some bug with bigggg teeth, and my feet are getting bitten. Shit that will make sleep a bear tonite! I hope I get used to it soon! The electricity was off all day but back now, so in a while we'll go home and sit in front of the fan. Maybe watch a little tv, but watching the ocean still takes up more of my idle time. Or reading, I'm on my fourth paperback in 2 weeks- the hammock just calls my name! Ok all for today!
We gave another friend a ride to Copala today to pick something up and it felt so, so normal! Little by little. I till have a huge issue with bug bites but found a bug "lotion" that works, but like right now, I had peds & tennis shoes on so it must have worn off. Now I'm at the friend's with the internet and they have HUGE mosquitoes or some bug with bigggg teeth, and my feet are getting bitten. Shit that will make sleep a bear tonite! I hope I get used to it soon! The electricity was off all day but back now, so in a while we'll go home and sit in front of the fan. Maybe watch a little tv, but watching the ocean still takes up more of my idle time. Or reading, I'm on my fourth paperback in 2 weeks- the hammock just calls my name! Ok all for today!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Ok so the tv is now working, for some reason we had to leave it on for a day and a half and then it started working. Funy tho' cause of tv, phone & internet, the tv I care about least. Oh well. So the lic plates did not show up, but last nite our friend talked to the guy and the one for the trailer was ready- ha ha don;t care about that one! But he said no later than Friday so we'll see. Just need it so we can be mobile without using taxi's or asking our friends...Last nite we went to a political rally. No we are not involved or want to be involved with Mexican politics- I barley want to be involved with politics in the U.S.!! BUt friends asked us to transport some young people so we drove down to the next town with 6-8 young women all standing n the back of our truck! Ha ha I was the only person nervous!! We met up with other friends at the rally and went to eat afterwards so it was a pretty fun time but I do not want to go tonite. There is a truck driving by right now with loud speakers talking about something. Sometimes it's news, sometimes advertising, but right now I think its politics, which will all be over at the end of the month. We have been invited to a huge fiesta following the elections, no matter who wins, but I have to wear something blue. ha ha Before this I hope to find out the significance of the blue!
This morning we walked and found taxi's to take us to the nearby town in the other direction (yes we drove last nite with no plates but that was kinda in a parade of sorts), anyway today to get the stuff to fix the roof, hopefully before it rains again. I think this will be soon since I was told rain for 3-4 days then sun for 3-4 days...and it's been 4 days of sun. But with no raining inside the house, books and the tv I really don't mind the rain since it's not cold- and my husband dug a trench to divert some of the water flow from the road to our patio- which is our outdoor living space.
I know I need to find the stuff I brought to teach little kids English cause they are asking me or Everardo every day when I'm gonna start! I am not a teacher by profession or experience, so I am simply going to give it a shot. I did buy a teachers "book of lists" for ESL and joined a website that gave me a few ideas for lesson plans but I think they wanted me to subscribe- meaning give them money cause I haven't received anything for awhile. I did also buy flash cards and some kid dictionaries English/Spanish, and these little kids are sponges. They remember the words I give them when I see them- usually of whatever is close by, like book or waterbottle. The truth is I'm scared and hope I can be of actual service to these kids,
Maybe set a schedule first, like Tue & Thurs from 1-3? Is two days enough or should I be doing MWF, well I'll think about this one but I should start in a week or two. That gives me just a little more time to try to put things away...we still need furniture...
This morning we walked and found taxi's to take us to the nearby town in the other direction (yes we drove last nite with no plates but that was kinda in a parade of sorts), anyway today to get the stuff to fix the roof, hopefully before it rains again. I think this will be soon since I was told rain for 3-4 days then sun for 3-4 days...and it's been 4 days of sun. But with no raining inside the house, books and the tv I really don't mind the rain since it's not cold- and my husband dug a trench to divert some of the water flow from the road to our patio- which is our outdoor living space.
I know I need to find the stuff I brought to teach little kids English cause they are asking me or Everardo every day when I'm gonna start! I am not a teacher by profession or experience, so I am simply going to give it a shot. I did buy a teachers "book of lists" for ESL and joined a website that gave me a few ideas for lesson plans but I think they wanted me to subscribe- meaning give them money cause I haven't received anything for awhile. I did also buy flash cards and some kid dictionaries English/Spanish, and these little kids are sponges. They remember the words I give them when I see them- usually of whatever is close by, like book or waterbottle. The truth is I'm scared and hope I can be of actual service to these kids,
Maybe set a schedule first, like Tue & Thurs from 1-3? Is two days enough or should I be doing MWF, well I'll think about this one but I should start in a week or two. That gives me just a little more time to try to put things away...we still need furniture...
Monday, June 18, 2012
Ooh two days in a row. Well I want to try to be regular, even if it's just for myself like a little online diary. Yesterday afternoon I had got my nails done with Eriika, the daughter of our friends, and she speaks English. So we walked down the road (all dirt roads in this town of less than 1000 people) to see Myra, who gave me a fill. Very interesting process and we'll see if it lasts longer than the 2 weeks they last in Calif. They are shiny like glass and hard. Anyway when I walked home after dark, in our kitchen which is very old with cracks around the windows, there were tons of these huge frantic ants pouring in! Our kitchen is not connected to the rest of the house; it's across a patio, so they were only there. This morning they were gone but outside, on the road, on the beach, everywhere were these same ants only with wings! It seems they come once a year (another first for me!), and they are a delicacy! The little kids were let out of school early (maybe 9 this morning) to collect them, and there were hundreds on the beach and they were being scooped up too! I did not try any- I spent most of today waiting for the guy from Sky TV to hook up our cable...
Then when he came, it took a couple maybe 3 hours to do- hey just like the U.S., ha ha, and then he told us to leave the tv on, but we could not watch any channels until after he got back to the company (in a nearby town) and the "activated it", that we would see this small box blinking red and then it would be working. May be today or else tomorrow but he said be sure not to turn it off. Hmmm what if the electricity goes off? (Like every day??) For some reason we also had to run to the mayor/commissioner of the tow to stamp the paperwork- I'm still not sure why, most of that conversation took place in Spanish...and I was chasing the clothes blowing off the line. Today is blue skies but really windy. On my shopping list is light bulbs and clothes pins! The guy with our license plates didn't show up yet today so we are still kinda stuck.ok all for now!
Then when he came, it took a couple maybe 3 hours to do- hey just like the U.S., ha ha, and then he told us to leave the tv on, but we could not watch any channels until after he got back to the company (in a nearby town) and the "activated it", that we would see this small box blinking red and then it would be working. May be today or else tomorrow but he said be sure not to turn it off. Hmmm what if the electricity goes off? (Like every day??) For some reason we also had to run to the mayor/commissioner of the tow to stamp the paperwork- I'm still not sure why, most of that conversation took place in Spanish...and I was chasing the clothes blowing off the line. Today is blue skies but really windy. On my shopping list is light bulbs and clothes pins! The guy with our license plates didn't show up yet today so we are still kinda stuck.ok all for now!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
OK! I made it! I live in Mexico. This is day one of week two! It actually took us a week to get here but I'm not counting travel time. The travel was it's own adventure, but funny it's quickly fading so I think I'll jot down a little of it. We came thru Santa Teresa cause we were in contact with a guy who works at the border for nationalizing cars, and we couldn't raise anyone at the other borders we were looking at. He told us to send all the required paperwork and it would be ready when we got there. Don't count on this part people! They were very helpful once we arrived, but nothing had been done ahead of time and we sat around for a day and a half at the border. Hot dusty, and for me, minimal Spanish, I couldn't really chat with others sitting around for the same reason. On day 2 we sat for about 5 hours, and my husband had to be with the car, So I sat with the dog, walked the dog, sat sat sat...of course we also got the red light, and of course the whole system went down and the line of cars became 3 deep.
Finally we got on the road! In Mexico- Viva! Pulled over twice in Chihuahua and once in Durango by Federales who all used the strategy that we didn't pay enough for all our stuff. My husband showed them the casa de mansaje listing and let them know we shouldn't have paid anything (but we did). He thinks they tried it because we were in the desert mountains with nobody around, but that they didn't push him too hard after meeting me cause I was an American (My husband is a Mexican National). Then on Acapulco we got pulled over a couple of times because of the trailer not having plates (which we had been told to remove at the border), but finally we just put them back on and we were good. So 5 days travel plus 1 1/2 days at the border- we were so happy to get here.
We arrived last Sunday afternoon and the skies were nice enough to hold on until we got the last of the boxes off the truck andout of the trailer. Then they opened with a huge lightening and thunder storm. We know a few people here, and two couples and their families have been wonderful! Monday we got water, Tues gas for cooking and a bank account, Wed we drove to Temetepce about 2 hours away to sign up for tv, phone, internet but came away empty handed. Friday we went to nearby Copala and paid for tv but the hurricane came and we haven't see that guy to install it yet. Today it has stopped raining so maybe he'll come even tho' it's Sunday....
Tomorrow we hope to get Mex lic plates and then we'll drive back to Temetepec for tv- I guess you have to have that up and running before internet, Of course we've heard anywhere from a week to a YEAR to get internet so we'll see. My two neighbors/friends both have internet so I'm using theirs for now.
So I want to end my first post actually in Mexico on a positive note. ha ha let's see- we are covered in bites (my are huge welts), our house is leaking in almost every room, but we are in heaven. We ae eating just caught fish, fresh eggs, and just made tortillas. The other morning having coffee at the meighbors, a school of dolphins AND a school of sharks swam by after sardines- so beautiful! This tiny town is amazing, horses and burros walk around free, and the people are beautiful. Some kids are asking when I'm gonna teach them English....I hope I have a couple of weeks to get settled, including putting stuff away in places that do not have water dripping in! Viva Mexico!
Finally we got on the road! In Mexico- Viva! Pulled over twice in Chihuahua and once in Durango by Federales who all used the strategy that we didn't pay enough for all our stuff. My husband showed them the casa de mansaje listing and let them know we shouldn't have paid anything (but we did). He thinks they tried it because we were in the desert mountains with nobody around, but that they didn't push him too hard after meeting me cause I was an American (My husband is a Mexican National). Then on Acapulco we got pulled over a couple of times because of the trailer not having plates (which we had been told to remove at the border), but finally we just put them back on and we were good. So 5 days travel plus 1 1/2 days at the border- we were so happy to get here.
We arrived last Sunday afternoon and the skies were nice enough to hold on until we got the last of the boxes off the truck andout of the trailer. Then they opened with a huge lightening and thunder storm. We know a few people here, and two couples and their families have been wonderful! Monday we got water, Tues gas for cooking and a bank account, Wed we drove to Temetepce about 2 hours away to sign up for tv, phone, internet but came away empty handed. Friday we went to nearby Copala and paid for tv but the hurricane came and we haven't see that guy to install it yet. Today it has stopped raining so maybe he'll come even tho' it's Sunday....
Tomorrow we hope to get Mex lic plates and then we'll drive back to Temetepec for tv- I guess you have to have that up and running before internet, Of course we've heard anywhere from a week to a YEAR to get internet so we'll see. My two neighbors/friends both have internet so I'm using theirs for now.
So I want to end my first post actually in Mexico on a positive note. ha ha let's see- we are covered in bites (my are huge welts), our house is leaking in almost every room, but we are in heaven. We ae eating just caught fish, fresh eggs, and just made tortillas. The other morning having coffee at the meighbors, a school of dolphins AND a school of sharks swam by after sardines- so beautiful! This tiny town is amazing, horses and burros walk around free, and the people are beautiful. Some kids are asking when I'm gonna teach them English....I hope I have a couple of weeks to get settled, including putting stuff away in places that do not have water dripping in! Viva Mexico!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Ok it seems right now instead of talking about Mexico I'm struggling with the mechanics of blogging. I can find my blog but nobody else can! I asked 2 of my friends to look for my blog and neither can find it. So I tried to read about sharing my blog and ended up connecting to google+. Well my first 2 posts weren't there so I actually copied & pasted them to the google+ site. ha ha I feel pathetic, and am wishing I knew a blogger to give me a quick lesson. Well I'll figure it out. I'll see if this post makes it to the google+ site.
Well almost ready to go. We went back Tuesday to the consulate and received our approved (stamped) documents for our household things, and the same day the guy from the border called. We had to resend our vehicle documentation and need to call him the day we leave so he'll have it ready for us. We are nationalizing the truck which is apparently going to cost about $1000-1200. (I'll report on how that actually went). I have a list that is so marked up I had to rewrite it for bank stuff, closing bills for our utilities, smaller list for our new tenants, taking care of the "to-dos", the fence got repaired and painted, inside the house painting, giving away most of our stuff, a rabies cert & health cert for Sam our black lab....tons of tiny details. 12 days to D day. So let's see if this post makes it to the google+ site.
Well almost ready to go. We went back Tuesday to the consulate and received our approved (stamped) documents for our household things, and the same day the guy from the border called. We had to resend our vehicle documentation and need to call him the day we leave so he'll have it ready for us. We are nationalizing the truck which is apparently going to cost about $1000-1200. (I'll report on how that actually went). I have a list that is so marked up I had to rewrite it for bank stuff, closing bills for our utilities, smaller list for our new tenants, taking care of the "to-dos", the fence got repaired and painted, inside the house painting, giving away most of our stuff, a rabies cert & health cert for Sam our black lab....tons of tiny details. 12 days to D day. So let's see if this post makes it to the google+ site.
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