Nueva Puerta

Posted on August 10, 2015
by Lori

Last night, our property manager sent me an email to say that “the blacksmiths” would be here today to install our new security gates. They showed up right on time and after about an hour of welding, grinding, a big electrical flash complete with the sound of a power surge, the smell of hot metal, and a lot of general clanging, they started cleaning up their tools and asked for a broom. That was easy!

When they closed the interior doors and the new security gates, I could tell from their body language that there was a problem. The new doors were the wrong “hand” meaning that the swing was incorrect. The locks were on the opposite door leaves, so the lock on the gate was on the right, and the lock on the interior door was on the left. Because one of each set of doors is “inactive” meaning that it is fixed at the top and bottom with surface bolts, the lock needs to be on the same leaf of each pair so we can use the doors on that side without opening the other leaf every time. I’m pretty sure I heard the Spanish word for F*CK a few times. I did NOT try to explain to them that I have some experience with doors – they were on their own.

One of the blacksmiths had already figured out that Norah was my Spanish interpreter, so he told her that he had to go get something and would be back. He took both of the new gates and came back several hours later after somehow switching them around so the hardware was on the correct side. The gates require a key to enter or exit, so I reinforced my instructions with the kids that in the unlikely event of a fire, we will be heading up to the roof deck and escaping to our neighbor’s roof.

I’m not sure whether I feel more secure, or more worried that I have one more key to keep track of! There are now 7 house keys on each ring!

Fin de Semana – Fabuloso!

Posted on August 9, 2015
by Lori

I don’t know why it’s different being here on a weekend (fin de semana) vs. being in the ‘Ham. Maybe it’s the leftover work that I used to feel obliged to tackle, the household projects waiting to be checked off the mile-long list, or the multiple scheduled events on the calendar. Here, we have no scheduled events, no household projects, and although I do have to get my work done, I’m trying to finish the mandatory stuff during the work-week and spend the weekend recharging.

Yesterday we went shopping with the Taggarts at the Organic Market and another arts and crafts market that had sprung up (where I showed amazing restraint and bought only edible items), and then we all came back to our house and ate the quiche and fresh bread that we had just bought, and some chips and guacamole I whipped up. It was SO NICE to just wander around town, on foot, and then sit around and eat until the wine ran out.

A thunderstorm began during my afternoon nap so the kids and I hung out waiting for it to stop so we could take Annie for her evening walk. It hadn’t stopped by 8:30 but the lightning seemed to have passed by, so I made the kids some quesadillas and took Annie out in the rain by myself. I can hear some of you questioning my judgement…walking in Mexico at night by myself (rain aside) but a) I didn’t have a choice because the dog had to pee, and b) I didn’t feel unsafe at any time. I’m not stupid, but I’m not going to live in fear, here or anywhere.

Adlani and Aliya have been having some tummy troubles so yesterday we asked the pharmacist whether they had any fiber gummies and instead she sold us a medicine called Treda. The information online ranges from “Treda is a miracle cure,” to “It’s better to avoid medication altogether and let it flow,” to “Treda can make you deaf.” They’ve each had 2 doses and are feeling much better, and they still seem to be able to hear me except when I tell them to pick up their crap.

Today we all slept late and then got ready for a date with some of the kids from our new school. Adlani was being lazy so he stayed home (all of the kids were girls), and I headed out with Aliya and Norah. About 3 houses down from ours I saw an old man passed out in a car, with the car door open and a dozen roses on his lap. It was a very surreal scene – like from a movie. A female police officer was walking by, so I asked her to check on him and we waited while she tried to rouse him – honestly, I was afraid he was dead. He finally moved – I don’t know if he was drunk, sick, or just got super-sleepy at the exact moment he tried to get out of the car, but from the look of the roses he had been sitting there a while. We gave him a glass of water and left him in the care of la policia.

The owner of our school had given me the email address of one of the moms from school – CC, and we made arrangements to meet at an amazingly wonderful café near our house, called Geek & Coffee. It’s a mix of an internet café and coffee place, with a bit more substantial food than a coffee place would typically have. The “geek” in the name is because there is usually a technology expert on hand to help with any issues you may be having with your laptop, tablet, or smart phone. There is a huge grassy courtyard with wifi throughout. We would have never in a million years found it because it’s off the beaten path behind the parking lot of Fabrica la Aurora, a beautiful art and design center that is a bit out of our budget at the moment.

We sat there chatting for about 3 hours, and it was fantastic! There were lots of dogs running around and we had Annie with us – there is also a resident cat. CC has 2 daughters around Aliya’s age, and one of their friends also joined us, plus a family from Missouri that sold everything and just began a trip that will end when the money runs out or when they find a place they want to stay for a while. They left 12 Rubbermaid bins and a rocking chair in storage, and they each have one bag with them. I’m so excited for them – what an adventure! Aliya and Norah hung out with the girls at CC’s – it’s just a little over ½ mile from our house to theirs. Annie and I walked home to check on Adlani, but not before Annie puked on CC’s floor. CC didn’t even flinch – my kind of friend. 😀

Come on in! The water’s fine!

Posted on August 7, 2015
by Lori

One of the most common pieces of advice we’ve had when people hear about our move is, “Don’t drink the water!” Considering all of the other issues that go along with an international move, the water is probably a minor one, but the effects of drinking bad water can be debilitating – at least temporarily.

When Ben and I went to Zanzibar during our 5-week camping trip from Nairobi to Johannesburg, I made the mistake of ordering a frozen drink. I didn’t think about the ice, and that decision resulted in 2 days spent in the bathroom, wondering how long I should sit there holding the trash can before I needed to go to the hospital. Our 3 nights in Zanzibar were the only nights of the trip (besides the first and last) that we were not in a tent, so I guess if it was going to happen, that was the best time.

In Morocco we never drink the tap water, but there’s something about the food or the spices they use that always gives us some “digestional irregularities.” Our pediatrician told me a long time ago to pack fiber gummies and that would help to free up the bathroom. We’ve never gotten really sick there, but my brother and sister-in-law did and it was not pretty.

The house we rented last time we were here in Mexico has a water filtration system, but I had no intention of drinking the water from the tap. We were only here for a month, so we could make do with bottled water. I don’t know what caused that plan to go out the window but we threw caution to the wind and drank the tap water from Day 1 with no problems.

Our current house also has a water filtration system, but when we arrived there was an empty giant water bottle with a spigot (like the office water cooler without the cooler). Adela told me that for 25 pesos ($1.50), Fernando could get us a new bottle. The tap water is probably fine, but for that price, it seemed like a good investment. Plus they re-fill the bottles so we’re not contributing to the plastic water bottle problem. And…we can buy new bottles from Miguel at la papeleria (yes – water from the paper store) so it’s close by and gives us another excuse to chat with our neighbors.

We do use the tap water for everything else, including washing the dishes and brushing our teeth. Fruits and vegetables have to be soaked for 10 minutes in an antibacterial solution (there’s a lot of information about that here). I don’t know how I would have figured that out if it hadn’t been in the printed instructions that came with our first house here. It wasn’t mentioned by our current landlord or property manager, and there wasn’t a bottle of the stuff under the sink or a plastic tub dedicated to that purpose like we had last time. I guess everyone just knows that it’s a requirement.

The other water issue in some of the houses here is low water pressure. I’m very happy to say that our house has great water pressure and the shower in the master bath is fabulous. The washer and dryer work great too, and so far the laundry pile hasn’t gotten out of control. One thing to get used to has been washing dishes by hand (no dishwasher) but the kids are on a rotating schedule – 1 clears the table and puts away any leftovers, 1 washes, and 1 dries, while I have a glass of wine and supervise.

I can’t believe we’ve been here for a week already! And Ben caught the cat!

Neighborhood Watch

Posted on August 6, 2015
by Lori

I’m at home alone with the housekeeper, Adela, right now, who talks to me in Spanish muy rapido even though she knows mi español es no bueno. Oh well, I guess it’s the best way to learn. I think I told her that a) the kids went to the hot springs with my friends, b) she only needs to change the sheets on my bed because the kids are still insisting on sleeping with me (yes, it’s crowded), and c) no, she won’t bother me if she cleans while I’m working. I have a magazine article to write while I have this extra quiet time, but I’m used to tuning out the noise, including people talking directly to me.

Yesterday, Norah and I went to the papeleria (paper store) on our street to have a couple of copies made and buy some envelopes (they’re sold individually). We met the owners – Miguel and Vero, and spent a few minutes chatting with Miguel, who noticed Norah’s Spanish and told her that he expects her to only speak Spanish to him. One of my hopes in coming to San Miguel was that the kids’ brains will switch to Spanish more quickly. They are used to speaking Spanish at school but on the street it takes them a few seconds to get into Spanish mode. Most of the people we’ve met here are trying to help me with this by forcing the kids to only speak to them in Spanish.

I told Miguel that we live on his street – we’re just a few houses up on the opposite side. I had already warned the kids not to blab our address to every Tom, Dick, and Pedro, so when Miguel asked which house I hesitated and he immediately said, “¿La casa amarilla?” (the yellow house). I said yes, and he said that he watches the neighborhood…everyone watches the neighborhood – not in a creepy way, in a “we’re watching out for each other” way. I asked him why there are always policia on our street and he said that it was because of the cars parked here. That makes a lot of sense, because cars aren’t allowed to park on the main street that is one street over, so a lot of people park here. We don’t have a car in San Miguel, but I still appreciate the extra vigilance while they’re watching for stereo snatchers.

Speaking of security, our property manager, Norma, came by yesterday to collect the rent and make sure we were doing ok. She didn’t volunteer to take the scorpion out of the washer, so Norah and I removed it with my new kitchen tongs and saved it for the kids to examine. Maybe we’ll keep it as a souvenir. Norma told me that she is going to have a security gate installed on the outside of our door, not because she is particularly worried about our security but because she has had them installed on all of the houses she manages. I think that will be nice, although it doesn’t comply with my egress standards. I already told the kids that in the unlikely event of a fire (everything here is masonry so once the plants and upholstery flame out there’s not a lot to burn), we’re heading for the roof, where we can escape to other rooftops.

Norah and I went to La Biblioteca Publica yesterday to get a library card, which cost 200 pesos ($12.50) for the year. There was so much going on while we were there…kids playing chess, teenagers taking an English class, ladies doing embroidery. It’s a real hot spot and we hope to get involved in some of the activities there. Norah found Harry Potter en español but decided to read Esperanza Rising in English first.

Our other big accomplishment of the day was to meet with the facilitator who will help us finish the process of getting our temporary resident visas. She and her husband drove us to get our pictures taken, and gave us lots of advice about San Miguel on the way. She will handle everything with Immigration and all we have to do is go in a few weeks to get fingerprinted. Her fee is about $300 but I think it will be well worth it. She and her husband are both very nice, professional, and knowledgeable about the immigration process and everything else about SMA.

Now back to work!

Settling In

Posted on August 4, 2015
by Lori

From the first morning when we woke up in San Miguel, I have felt like we moved – we’re not on vacation. There’s no pressure to see all of the sights before it’s time to go. We can buy food and cook at home without worrying that there will be a refrigerator full of leftovers when we leave. On the flip side, things that would be a temporary inconvenience if we were here for a short vacation become things we need to address. Like the little friend we found in the washing machine last night. On the bright side, the presence of escorpiónes (and unknown other critters) is good motivation for keeping dirty clothes off the floor and shoes put away. Our property manager said the scorpions here aren’t dangerous, although our friends’ housekeeper said, “Muy peligroso!” when we told her. We may get some of those sticky mousetraps which I’ve heard can be used for scorpions too.

We spent the first few days settling in…

Saturday was my 48^th birthday, and our big agenda item for the day (other than celebrating) was to take a taxi to the home of a woman I “met” online, who was selling her kids’ bunk beds. Adlani’s room doesn’t currently have a bed, so that was a priority. We also bought another very important item – a Christmas tree stand!

We had my birthday breakfast at Rincon de Don Tomas, where our favorite waiters were still working. One of them – Felix – told the kids they are not allowed to speak to him in English, and he’s helping me with my Spanish too. I swear, I’m already starting to understand a lot (again). While we were having breakfast, one of the many guys selling hats, bracelets, etc., stopped at our table, and it was our pal Carlos. He looked at the kids, then looked at me and said (in English), “I remember!” and broke out into a big grin (unlike the fake smiles below). We also hit the Organic Market which is held every Saturday.

After shopping for some pantry staples, our friends the Taggarts took us out to dinner at Chopino for my birthday, followed by a lemon meringue tart at their house. Dinner was great – they even had my favorite cocktail – a lemon drop martini! Don told the manager that our family was here for the year, and after chatting with us a bit he said, “Welcome home.” I was very touched by that, and also by the birthday card signed by lots of my friends from the ‘Ham. So thoughtful!

On Sunday I caught up on some work before heading out for more food shopping. We have had no technology problems (knock on wood) – except that the wifi is so good it has been hard to keep the kids off their screens. Once school starts we’re going to have to set some serious rules for screen time. I’ve been able to do everything I need to do for work, including my monthly call with my boss using the wifi phone. He said I sounded like I was next door.

We had dinner at our house with the Taggarts on Sunday night, so we went to the local grocery store, Bonanza, to stock up (yes, food-shopping is a daily occurrence). We visited our favorite fruit and vegetable lady, Rubina, and when she saw us she said, “Que milagro!” (what a miracle). After that we walked over to San Antonio (another part of town) to buy rotisserie chickens with onions and peppers that are AMAZING.

Monday was a work day for me, but Aliya went on a run in Parque Juarez with some of the Taggarts, and at noon we went to the kids’ new school which is a very short walk from home. The owner of the school, Victoria Robbins, is originally from the Northeast, and is a super-cool lady who runs a small school with multiple grades per class. She thinks she will put Aliya with the 9^th-grade group because of her maturity, which doesn’t mean she skips a grade – just that she’ll be spending the day with the kids that are most like her. There are 10-12 kids in each group. It’s possible that Norah and Adlani will end up together in the same group, which could be interesting.

We met our housekeeper Adela, who is really friendly and chatty. She seemed to love Annie, and I could hear her talking with Norah while she was cleaning. We’ll meet our property manager, Norma, and our gardener, Fernando, later in the week.

The only issue we’ve had so far (besides the scorpion) is that half of the lights in the house went out along with the washer and dryer. Norma sent Artemio, the electrician, who turned the circuit breaker back on (I didn’t know where it was) and started turning on lights, the dryer, the fountain, etc., until the problem became obvious when one of the outside lights blew up. He fixed the light and the switch, and we were back in business.

If anyone is wondering about the missing cat, Wally, he is still wandering the neighborhood, but Ben caught another cat in the trap. I read that cats and chickens are good at keeping the scorpion population at bay. I’m voting for a chicken.