Today we did nothing…. no I’m not even exaggerating …. we actually did nothing. And it was freaking awesome! Just a perfect Saturday in Paradise.
Saturday in Paradise
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Category Archives: Our Life Here
Dancing in the Streets
Our family Christmas vacation is officially over! It is sad to say goodbye- but now we will find out what it is like to live in another country with no family or familiar friends around. We will have to create a life. Where do we even begin to establish a daily routine?
Brett and Luis head out for more Mexico backpacking
Yesterday we drove Brett and Luis to the bus station to send them on their way to Guadalajara. We knew our first task was to fill up the cupboards with groceries – it is time to cook like a normal person again (never really my strength and now I have to figure it out with new ingredients and new flavors). But it was already 1:00, so no point getting groceries until after lunch right?. We headed into Centro and found a giant torta (sandwich but in a big bun) for $30 pesos (around $2.50). We then wandered through the market looking for a colorful picture to hang above my stove in my kitchen. If I am going to cook, I need to be inspired and I definitely need a cheery picture. As always, I got stuck in a never ending loop of indecision when faced with too many choices. Yellow or green background? Purple or blue flowers? Writing or no writing? Ceramic or wood? I recently told Meigan that perfect decisions are not always necessary – sometimes a good decision is enough. But today I could not take my own advice. No inspiration and no decision here. So we headed home, planning to get our groceries.
In the afternoon I did some work at my computer while Grant painted a pot and had a nap. I sat in the garden and read an inspiring book about water wells in Africa (One Thousand Wells by Jena Nardella – a great read!). Still no groceries – but of course it’s now close to supper time and everyone knows you shouldn’t get groceries when you’re hungry. We could tell it was going to be a fantastic sunset. So we looked at one other and said “Supper at the beach tonight, groceries tomorrow!”. Perhaps this is our new normal “Manana – we can do it manana”.
After dinner on the beach, we wandered through Centro and saw a band was about to start playing in the square. It was a plain old Thursday night and the square was packed with Mexicans and Gringos alike. Candy floss and peanuts and ice cream and tequila available for purchase.
Candy Floss Guy
Peanut Guy
Within seconds of the band beginning to play everyone was dancing – entire families, tiny children, teenage couples, grandmas and grandpas and ME. And since Grant hates to dance, guess who I was dancing with? First the beach vendor who sells peanuts (I had turned him down at least 3 times that day in various places around town – I didn’t have the heart to turn him down again) and then a Mexican grandpa in a ball cap. There is video evidence of both of these dances but they will never see the light of day! I am sure I looked like a silly old lady, but it was fun to be part of the activities of the community.
My good friend – and hero – Veronica
So that is a normal day here in Mexico. A bit of work, a bit of lazy, a bit of fun, a bit of dancing, a beautiful sunset, lots of food – all done with laughter and noise amongst my new community of friends and neighbors. And today ….. today I will get groceries…..
We have a Garden!
When we first rented this house the most obvious problem for me was the lack of usable outdoor space. There was no way I was moving to Mexico and sitting in my house looking out the window. I absolutely must have a place to sit outside and drink morning coffee or evening wine while I read a book or pray or think. Or eat coconut popcorn. There is a pretty good balcony off the bedroom which is great in the morning. But I wanted a garden. And what I had was cement.
So being a woman of great faith – Grant would call it something less flattering – I proceeded to find yard furniture that would work in ‘the garden’. I knew if I could imagine it, Grant could build it.
I got permission from our landlady to paint the walls and we (ie Grant) set to work. Even though we were totally exhausted from the last few weeks of construction in Canada, we couldn’t begin to relax until we had the right environment. I bossed, the Kids helped and Grant’s creative side had fun.
We then set to work gathering plants and pots and dirt from one end of the Bay to the other. We had bougainvilleas in the trunk of our VW and palm trees in the truck we borrowed from the orphanage.
And now we have a Garden! It’s small and we are still waiting to buy some tile and a piece of turf – but it’s definitely a peaceful place where we love to sit throughout the day. We eat all our meals there and sometimes I take my computer and work out there. But mostly we just spend time together chatting and laughing and listening to the crazy activities around us. We have no idea how to grow tropical plants – and are already shocked at how fast they are growing. But I have a garden. And if you look closely in the pictures, you will see a smiling metal pig amongst the flowers and trees just as I dreamed!
Our First Party
Yesterday we had our first house party! Well it wasn’t much of a party by Mexican standards – no boom box, no piñata, no fireworks – but we did have guests at our house. They were little, but still they were guests.
Lupita’s Birthday, August, 2015
I’ve told you about the family from the small town of San Vicente that have stolen our hearts. We first met the Santanas 2 years ago when 13-year-old Ivonne was about to give birth to Lupita. A few months later her twin sister Ivette brought Kevin into the world. The twins and their babies live with their mom, their sisters Irandi and Isabelle, and their brothers Jose, Laurentino and Nasabid. 10 of them in one room. So we have become friends and adopted abuelos (grandparents).
Baby Lupita, Sept 2013
When I held Lupita when she was only a few weeks old I whispered in her ear that I would make sure she would be okay. I really have no logical ability to keep that promise and yet I am standing by it and the least (or maybe the most) I can do is show up from time to time and hug and kiss and cuddle this sweet little girl. And pray for her – that God will hold her close and give her a hope and a future. We trust that our continued presence in the life of this family tells them that we care – that we support them as they walk their own journey. Two years ago little 2-year-old Jose looked at us suspiciously. He seldom smiled – and never wore pants! Now when we drive up Jose flies out of the houses and into my arms.
So yesterday we did what I have dreamed of for a long time. We picked up Laurentino, Isabelle, Jose, Lupita and Ivonne and brought them to our house to play Wii and have lunch. After some crazy Mario Kart, we headed down to the beach where we all played on boogie boards for a couple of hours. While I watched Lupita, Ivonne was able to have some fun in the water, like the teen she is. It just made my heart happy to have a normal family day with my sweet little friends.
Zumba
Jose is a crazy driver!
Mario Kart – no language barrier here
All little kids love a fountain!
Uncle Grant does some repairs for Jose….
…. and acts silly with Lupita
The Ice Cream Guy is coming!
In 2015 my word for the year was JOY. For me that word was a reminder to squeeze everything I could out of life – to live fully in every moment, to stop thinking only about the destination but rather to find pleasure and meaning in every step of the journey. But I know that when you live life to the max it can be messy and dirty and scary and uncertain. So my word for 2016 is PEACE. I know that this new life is not going to be easy – heck, thanks to the roosters I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in 2 weeks! – but I know that in the midst of it all, I can experience peace. I want to wake up every day and be able to say “It is well with my soul”. No matter what.
So yesterday, in the midst of the chaos of hanging out with children who I can’t properly communicate with, keeping a constant eye on Jose who was getting slammed by the waves, I held sleeping Lupita in my arms and knew that this was peace. To love a child. It is indeed well with my soul.
A First Christmas
I am sitting in my yard listening to 2 or 3 different types of music wrestle with one another before wafting over my wall – neighbors are clapping and singing along and I really just have to laugh. In Canada the police would have been called long ago – here it is a typical Sunday family evening in the neighborhood.
We have made it through our first Mexican Christmas with some old traditions and many new. The final outcome was the same as it has always been …. family time playing games and laughing and eating until we can’t move. But the individual components looked quite different. Here’s the comparison:
| OLD TRADITIONS | NEW TRADITIONS |
| CHRISTMAS EVE | |
| Chinese Food pickup | Chicken Dinner Pickup |
| Candlelight service at church | Fireworks in the street (Thanks to Luis for this one) |
| Christmas carols | Posada at our door |
| Early to bed so Santa can come | Up until 3:30 because the neighbors were partying in the street – which in turn encouraged the chickens and dogs to party in the streets. These people have serious boom boxes and they do not hold back! They literally set up tables in the street for their families to join. And fireworks – there were a LOT of fireworks all night long. |
| CHRISTMAS DAY | |
| Christmas breakfast with hashbrown casserole, sausages, fruit, pastry and quiche | Christmas breakfast with hashbrown casserole, sausages, fruit, pastry and egg burritos |
| Opening one million gifts | Opening a couple of gifts and using the money saved to buy gifts for a family less fortunate. |
| Hanging out assembling and playing with new stuff | Going to the orphanage to play with sweet children and help distribute their gifts |
| Eating candy from our stockings all day | Watching children smash pinatas and dive for candy |
| Board games – Upwords and Chicken Foot – while looking out at the cold frosty day | Board games – Upwords and Chicken Foot – in the yard under a palm tree |
| Eating Turkey dinner until we’re stuffed in our cozy dining room | Eating Turkey dinner until we’re stuffed in a garden under the stars |
| BOXING DAY | |
| Leftovers for breakfast | Leftovers for breakfast |
| Tobogganing on the hill outside our house | Boogie Boarding at the beach |
| Eating the peanut brittle we got in our stocking | Eating the peanut brittle we bought from a vendor on the beach |
| Boxing day shopping sales | Taking gifts to a family that doesn’t have a lot |
| Eating Turkey leftovers | Eating chicken tostados served by this same family – a real sacrifice for them |
So Christmas was exactly the same….. and completely different. We spent it together doing many of the things we normally do – but we did most of it outside with the loud noises of other families celebrating all around us. We received gifts from one another – and gave others away. We ate as much as possible – some traditional fare like Turkey and dressing but it was married with chilaquilies and tacos and tostados.
We did have a couple of new activities that I hope don’t become new traditions. Meigan had a nasty rash on her legs for a few days – we had tried Benadryl and hydrocortisone cream to no avail. So on Christmas Day we stopped at the Farmacia (drug store) to ask for something to try. They referred us next door to the doctor’s office. We were seen immediately and he gave Meg a prescription for some pills and a cream. He also gave her an injection. The consultation and the injection cost $70 pesos (about $5). The other meds cost around $10. It worked – her rash is significantly better today. Can you imagine trying to see a doc on Christmas day in Canada or the US? For $5? Within 5 minutes?
Unfortunately, as we pulled away from the doctor and headed across the street to the farmacia, Grant forgot to put on his seatbelt and the traffic police were hungry for a Christmas Day victim. Didn’t help that it was directly in front of the Fasten your Seatbelt sign. So we got a ticket and Grant had to give up his license until he went to the traffic ticket office on Boxing Day to pay his $116 peso fine – about $8. Seems to me a seatbelt ticket was $240 at home last time Grant got one. So even our transgressions fit within our new budget here.
Our family time is coming to a close here – Meigan heads home tomorrow. Brett and Luis have a few more days. It has been fun but I recognize we are on vacation – this is not real life yet. But we have had real life issues – medical needs, police confrontations, language shortfalls, and we are doing just fine. Now if I could just figure out what day garbage is picked up! Every night I take it out and every morning I bring it back in. Maybe Monday…..
Christmas Eve
Fireworks in the street
Posada coming down our street singing carols
CHRISTMAS DAY
Swanson Traditional Breakfast
Playing board games – I won Upwards but lost Chicken Foot!
Time at Manos de Amor – this was a pleasant surprise. We knew most of the children had left for the holidays but they came back for Christmas day to open gifts and we were happy to be invited.
BOXING DAY
Visiting friends and eating tostados in San Vicente
Our First Week in a New Life
We have been here for 1 week now – and it has been a joyous combination of vacation, family reunion and settling in. Having our children with us for the start of the adventure makes me feel like this is a place where we can all be happy, where we can gather together from time to time even though most of the time we are far apart. They are part of our journey and contribute their opinions on what dishes we need and which taco stands are best and what color we should paint the pots in the soon-to-be garden.
We have shopped …. a LOT. Boring household items that I have never really had to buy since most of it came from wedding showers many years ago. But we are starting from scratch like newlyweds trying to find the best bargain on a potato peeler. Today we purchased paint and pots to create a little garden in the back – a sanctuary from the crazy noise and activity around us.
Speaking of noise…. It took us a few nights to finally get a proper sleep. Between dogs and roosters and our neighbor who played music louder than any nightclub until the wee hours of Sunday morning, this is a very ‘vibrant’ neighborhood! But that is one of the things we love about Mexico – people here have a joy for life and family that permeates everything they do. And they are not quiet about it. So we embrace it and play our music a bit louder.
Little neighbors lighting their fireworks…..
…. pretty proud of themselves. Of course not an adult in sight!
We have eaten a lot of Mexican food. Breakfast at Poncho’s of course. But we were also thrilled when we realized there is a Mexican restaurant right behind our house. Well ‘restaurant’ is a bit of an exaggeration – it is a few tables in a backyard under some trees. But truly a delicious meal of mole enchiladas, sopes, tacos, drinks – the 5 of us ate and drank until we were stuffed for $210 pesos – around $17 total.
Juggling on a unicycle between the traffic – typical day waiting in traffic!
Signs of Christmas are around us – more tourists than usual, some trees and lights and decorations, lots of fireworks and pinatas. I have spent a lot of time this week stressing about how to either recapture our family Christmas traditions or start new ones. In the end, we’re figuring it out as we go. We’ll have some of our favorite dishes like our hashbrown casserole (with fresh potatoes because they don’t sell frozen hashbrowns here and Mexican crema instead of sour cream) but we’ll substitute Mexican egg burritos for our normal quiche. Luis has made us a giant pot of amazing beans and a nopale (cactus) salad. We’re going out to a restaurant for a turkey dinner – next year I’ll be set up to cook my own. Instead of sledding outside of our house in Lumsden tomorrow, we’ll boogy board at the beach. Traditions are important to keep us connected as a family – but it’s okay to let them breathe and grow and change. That’s what make life an unpredictable adventure.
Our Christmas gift to ourselves – a fully loaded beach pack. Note the short lawn chairs – couldn’t bring the ones from home but found new ones. With a matching umbrella and matching boogie boards. Broke it all in at Sayulita yesterday.
So Feliz Navidad amigos! I will miss the rest of our family this Christmas. We will be thinking of you all and wish you a blessed day. Don’t forget to celebrate the birth of the one who gives us ultimate peace and joy and freedom.
Karen Moves to Mexico 