We Made It!

Posted on October 1, 2016 by Karen moves to Mexico

It definitely wasn’t easy but we made it! With our truck and our trailer and our giant assortment of tools and ladders – we made it. We had 4 main tasks – to import the:

Trailer
Truck
Tools
Ladders

We spent weeks researching the process and preparing the documentation and finally made a run for the border. I am not going to tell all the details – it would take more pages than you would ever want to read. Let me just say that every one of those items had some type of major challenge or incident – it took 2 full days and one sketchy night in Nogales to get it all done. But it is done and our trailer is now Mexican and filled with Mexican tools and ladders. Our truck is temporarily Mexican – it can stay for 6 months. And we are in Bucerias. The drive itself was beautiful but not easy hauling a heavy load – many mountains in Colorado and New Mexico and in various states in Mexico. We spent many hours on the verge of overheating as we climbed mountains. We have one smashed in truck back corner thanks to a run in with a concrete divider as we tried to get out of a customs line that we didn’t mean to be in. Our GPS took us on a couple of impossibly narrow streets and down one completely washed out road near Tepic. We had one scammer at a gas station rip our windshield wiper and then insist we had to pay him $650 pesos for new ones – and since it was about to rain we had no choice. We have 2 new cracks in the windshield. We did not see a white face for 3 days and most of the places we stopped did not have an English speaker so we had to bungle through with our crappy Spanish. We were stopped once at some type of inspection point but both my Spanish our paperwork got us through. The roads were so bumpy that my FitBit interpreted all the movement as me taking over 15,000 steps a day while I sat on my butt.

At the Border

But we met amazingly kind people all along the way. People in small towns stopped to watch our big rig go by – children waving, old men smiling. Hotel managers who worked hard to find a safe place to park at night and security guards who promised to keep our stuff safe. It was a week we will never forget, but we are more than happy to be sleeping in our bed in Bucerias tonight. As we came around the corner from Sayulita heading into Bucerias, we both just grinned. It felt like home – it felt right! WE MADE IT!

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Making a Run for the Border

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Karen moves to Mexico

It’s been a LONG time coming but we’re finally on the road with the load of tools that will turn Vision Enterprises – the company my husband has operated for most of our married life – into Banderas Bay Enterprises – the company he will operate for the next part of our story. It has truly been one of the most difficult – and annoying – things we have ever tried to pull off. Trying to understand the rules of three countries we will need to drive through has been confusing at best, agonizing at worst. But today we are loaded and headed for the first of the borders we will need to cross.

Because Grant sold his company in Canada, along with most of his equipment – we only have 1 trailer (okay to be fair it’s a really full trailer) of tools to take south. It’s all of the things he feels he needs to be a Mexican building guy. It seems like it shouldn’t be that big a deal. But the regulations are many and seem impossible to navigate. For instance:

We can’t import our business truck into Mexico because of the type and year
We can drive it in as tourists but we can’t leave it there if we fly out – so if we drive it in we must drive it out
If we drive the truck in as tourists (the only way we CAN drive it in) we can’t pull the trailer because it will have to be licensed at the border and only Mexicans can drive commercial vehicles in Mexico
We can’t buy a truck in Mexico and drive it to Canada to get our stuff because only Mexicans can drive a Mexican truck in Canada – even if we own it
So we can’t drive a Canadian business truck in Mexico and we can’t drive a Mexican business truck in Canada – and who knows what the Americans have to say about it all

So we are heading for the Mexican border in our Canadian truck pulling our Canadian trailer where we will meet up with our ‘guy’ Ramses who will help us jump through all the hoops. There is a good chance Ramses’ friend will have to drive with us all the way to Bucerias to keep everyone happy.

It’s not just the vehicles that have made us crazy. The tools. You can’t just show up with a bunch of tools. Over the past few weeks we have documented every nail, every screw, every extension cord (why does Banderas Bay Enterprises need so freakin many extension cords???). Over 800 items have been logged in a spreadsheet with Make, Model, Serial Number, Value and all translated into Spanish. We have an Ebay printout for every one of those items to justify the values. We have scanned and photocopied and hole punched all those lists and put in binders. One binder for American customs, 1 or 2 for Mexican customs.

And now it is out of our hands. We have done our homework. We have made our lists. I have copies of our company incorporation papers, copies of our house lease, copies of the deed for the land we have purchased, receipts for everything I can think of, passports and drivers licenses and car and trailer registrations.

Now it is time to trust. To believe that this is the journey we are called to be on and everything will happen just as it is supposed to. I think of my favorite verse “Whether you turn to the right or to the left you will hear a voice behind you saying ‘This is the way, walk in it’”. It might be easy, it might be hard, but it will be good – because that is how God is.

In the meantime, first stop is to fix the flat tire before we even leave Regina…. Sigh…..

A New Job

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Karen moves to Mexico

Today was the start of a new volunteer role for me! Those of you who know me won’t exactly be surprised that I have dipped my toes into the management of my favorite organization here in Bucerias. A few weeks ago Veronica asked if I would join the Steering Committee of the Manos de Amor orphanage. She already has a great committee but they all go back north to Canada or USA for ½ of the year so she liked the idea of me being here year round to lend a hand.

I have been at many committee meetings over the years – in offices and homes and boardrooms – but I have never had a walk to a meeting like this one which ended around a table on a patio under palm trees. Grant had to take our car to finalize our license plates (there’s another blog post for sure) so I walked to the meeting across town. It was so awesome as I walked to be greeted warmly by everyone I passed – and realize how many people I now know in this town. Many people who I have met – vendors, restaurant owners or waitresses, workers from the orphanage or people from the church – calling out “Hola – Buenas dias Karen”. Waving at me with huge smiles. I realized I was walking by myself – down the cobblestone streets, across the beach – with a really silly grin on my face.

Walking to a meeting – better than any boardroom I’ve ever been in!

Like most meetings I have attended over the years we talked about finances and fundraising events and websites (guess who is creating the new webpage ??) but we also talked about how to teach values to children who have never had role models, how to provide the best possible nutrition on a tight budget and how to bring love to children who have been abandoned or even sold into prostitution. It was sobering …. and exciting and while I hope some of my experience can benefit these children that I love, I recognize this will be a place where I will be the one to learn and grow and be humbled and ultimately receive much more than I can possibly give.

Job skills + education + experience + God’s assignment = JOY.

You can’t really ask for a better volunteer job than that!

Welcome to the Neighborhood

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Karen moves to Mexico

I really love my neighborhood! So often in my life, I drive from Point A to Point B and am surprised when I arrive at my destination. I know you are the same. We put our cars – and our minds – into automatic and forget to pay attention to what is happening along the way. That is quite impossible here in Mexico. For starters, if you don’t pay attention to your driving, you will definitely be killed. Cars and motorbikes cut in and out from both lanes and it is every man for himself. Also, there is just so much to see and no matter how many times we drive or walk down the same streets, I notice something new or different or crazy that I did not notice before.

Today I want to take you on a picture tour of my neighborhood. I will barely scratch the surface of what there is to see but I hope you will feel the love I have for this place and laugh with the craziness of it.

The town of Bucerias is divided in half by Highway 200. To the west is the ocean – which of course means this is the area where the tourists and gringos live and visit. There are restaurants and galleries and pretty houses. The main towns square and the flea market are there. It is fun and you can get by speaking English and eating guacamole and drinking cheap beer. There is an OXXO (like 7-11) on every block. One the east side of the highway is the Mexican part of town. Roads are bumpier, chickens are louder and Spanish is the predominant language. There are gringos like us who live here but they are few and far between. The restaurants here are generally taco stands on the side of the road or in backyards. Instead of OXXOs, there are mini-supers on every block.

IMG_20160312_152837 Grant and I often drive or walk up and down the streets surrounding our house, exploring each block so we know where to find the local mechanic or hardware store or tortilla lady. Today I found a seamstress in a tiny shop – someone I can ask to sew new cushion covers for our garden. Sometimes we look in windows or climb up to look over fences, curious to see how our neighbors live. We feel welcome here, everyone stopping to smile and say “Hola, Buenas tardes”. Children are everywhere and are excited to speak to the gringos. When we drive our convertible around with the roof down, everyone stops what they are doing to wave, and call out to us. Here are a few things you will see when you come to visit us in our colonia.

Transportation

When you watch an old Mexican movie, you always see vehicles on blocks, covered in thick layers of dust. This is a true depiction of my neighborhood. I now realize that all that dust does not mean the vehicles have been abandoned for a long time – it is just that dusty on the unpaved streets. Here are some of the transportation options around here:

Every block has a VW bug or VW van parked on it – I suspect it is mandatory.

Not all vehicles are exactly road worthy – but no point in getting rid of them.

Horses are almost as common as vehicles – not sure what the laws are for drinking and driving a horse but that horse is looking mighty hard at that sign…

Animals

Animals are everywhere – I am sitting at my desk and at this exact moment I am listening to dogs (a LOT of dogs), chickens, roosters, a parrot, and some goats. Check out the tiny chihuahua I am holding – there are more chihuahuas here than Volkswagons!

And lots of cats too….. certainly more dignified

Check out the giant iguana that sometimes lives in the tree next door

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Shopping

You don’t need a mall here – there is lots to be purchased on every block – today we saw fruit and tortillas and bums – and a ton of other stuff. Spices, flowers, pinatas…. what do you need?

A few weeks ago we came upon a woodworker making trinkets to sell at the market. Grant spied an old wood carving of a saxophone player way back in his yard. The woodworker said he had made it 28 years ago and it had stood in that spot ever since. Grant decided we needed the musician in our garden and convinced the old carpenter to sell it. It got a lot of attention driving home in the back of the convertible but it now looks great in the garden. Today we stopped to show the woodworker some pictures of the carving in our yard and he was thrilled! Can’t buy that at Walmart!

This morning we found our new favorite breakfast spot – full breakfast including bacon and eggs and hashbrowns and beans and coffee and fresh squeezed juice and homemade strawberry jam on toast in a pretty garden – for less than $5 – and of course no afternoon walk would be complete without a stop for a taco. (Why does every blog post I do end up being about food?)

A couple of other interesting spots around town.

But there are two places in my neighborhood that I love the most – my church La Fuente Riviera and the orphanage Manos de Amor Casa Hogar. These are the places where my heart has settled and where I both give and receive love when I am far away from my own family and friends.

It is not always easy living in this neighborhood – I don’t sleep that great because of the never-ending noise, I often feel hot and dusty and I struggle to be understood by everyone I encounter. When I walk down the street I risk breaking an ankle on the cobblestones and when I drive down the street I risk ripping the bottom off of my car on the speed bumps. I don’t have a bathtub or a clothes dryer or a BBQ. My kitchen is tiny. But I can truly say that I absolutely love living in this house and in this neighborhood. Every day is an adventure – some good, some not so good – but I have concluded that curiosity and the unexpected life is what keeps us young and engaged in the journey. Never again do I want to move through life on auto-pilot. From now on, I’m going to climb fences, and be bold enough to speak awful Spanish to neighbors and try new food that looks weird. I challenge you to do the same in your neighborhood!

You’re Invited to Dinner!

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Karen moves to Mexico

Welcome to my neighborhood! As we settle into a routine here in Bucerias, we are spending more time in our own colonia, Buenos Aires. As you know, we are planning to build a house up the mountain close to La Cruz, but for now we are happy to be renting a house in this Mexican neighborhood. So for the next couple of blog posts let me take you on a tour of where we live and tell you about our daily routine. First of course is the food!

Morning coffee

We always start the day with our coffee in bed or on our balcony, blue sky and palm trees welcoming us to come awake. Breakfast is a vitamin fruit smoothie in the back garden and then we work for a few hours in our office. We have a great setup and as I work I look out the window at the cat on the roof next door or the giant iguana in the tree. Sometimes I take my computer outside to work. IMG_20160303_101548

By lunch time we’re ready to get out and explore the town. Trip Advisor tells me there are 116 restaurants in our little town and we’re determined to get to them all! Most are in walking distance – lots of them offer us a delicious lunch for less than $5. Tortas, tacos, tortilla soup, shrimp salad – those are our favorites.

Some of our favorite Mexican restaurants nearby -you can always count on being entertained by some music or shopping or chatting with a friend while you eat! We also love the little taco stands on every corner with the Mexican abuelas (grandmas) cooking the best smelling tacos imaginable.

Afternoons are spent doing errands like paying bills – remember, only 1 errand per day – and volunteering or visiting at the orphanage. Some days we just explore – driving up and down all the streets in the town. If we are cooking dinner, we stop at all the little shops to purchase fresh ingredients – just enough for today! We also purchase food from the assortment of vendors who drive down our street, loudspeakers blaring. I certainly don’t plan menus far ahead – it’s more fun to be surprised by what shows up each day!

Jicama Guy and Corn Guy stop right outside my door

Fish Market and Fruit Store right around the corner – we bought vegetables and mangos and Red Snapper and cooked up this feast.

There’s the La Cruz market on Sundays – fish right out of the ocean, vegetables fresh from the garden and organic honey and eggs sold out of the trunk of a car…

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Always great food to be had at the beach….

And of course there’s no end of weird food stuff – a grilled cheese sandwich out of a vending machine?

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Our little Mini Super right across the street may look tiny but it always has just what I need – and we visit it once or twice a day to get 20 litre jugs of water ($2) or bags of sugar ($0.80) or eggs sold individually for 10 cents each. Fresh tortillas are always warm in the red cooler. It is open from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm every single day and the sound of its rolling door going up every morning and down every night is all the clock I need to plan my days. There is something comforting about knowing there is always someone in those white chairs, keeping watch over the neighborhood that I was once wary of but now call home.

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So that’s a food tour of my neighborhood. Next I’ll show you some of the other sights in the streets surrounding my home. It won’t be the same without the sounds, but you’ll get the idea! In the meantime, I’m starving and we have at least 99 other restaurants to check out…..

Learning to Share

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Karen moves to Mexico

Today we were invited to help Veronica and some of the Manos de Amor children with a task they do 3 times a week. We have told Veronica to assign us tasks that will make her life easier and this is one she has chosen for us. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday she takes a few children in the late afternoon and heads to Vallarta Adventures, a tour and excursion company that takes tourists out on crazy adventures. Every day, Vallarta Adventures piles people on boats or in open jeeps and take them snorkeling, sailing, whale watching, scuba diving, zip lining, touring tequila factories, hiking, horseback riding, and pretty much anything a tourist is willing to pay to experience. They are really a top-quality company – and today I found out they are also a generous company.

Most of the tours they offer provide lunch, which means lots of leftovers – and Manos de Amor is fortunate to be one of the beneficiaries of the excess food that returns to the Vallarta Adventures office in Nuevo Vallarta each afternoon.

Today was our training day. Veronica showed us how to fill plastic tubs and plastic bags with chicken, rice, turkey, salad, vegetables, buns and soup. It looked delicious and I would be lying if I said we packed it away without sampling a bite or two. The children worked hard, filling bags and carrying empty trays to the kitchen. But what was most impressive to me was the final destination of all of this food. Much of it of course was for the children at Casa Hogar. Veronica packed up enough food for them for tomorrow’s meals. Then she packed up many more bags to give to the women who work at the home and to the many poor neighbors who live in the streets surrounding the orphanage. She encouraged me to fill two large bags to deliver to our family in San Vicente. In the midst of receiving a blessing, she became a blessing.

I love that instead of filling the freezer and hoarding supplies, Veronica is teaching the children to share what they have with others who need help. To share. I know that we are super fortunate to have social programs in Canada that seek to care for the marginalized in our country. And let’s face it, it makes me feel less responsible or compelled to help when I know our government will provide. But that’s pretty much a crappy attitude. What if we all just shared our excess with others? Sometimes I go to Safeway and buy 3 or 4 tubs of Peanut Butter or 72 rolls of paper towel or a case of soup because hey, look at all the Air Miles! And then I stock my pantry and it sits there until I spill enough stuff to need 72 rolls of paper towel or make enough toast to eat 8 litres of peanut butter. I don’t even really like soup. What would happen in our world if we kept enough for tomorrow, or even for next week and gave the rest away? What if we were to share what we don’t need with those who don’t know how to face an empty tomorrow? Instead of implementing more government social programs to fight poverty, what if we, who have so darn much, just gave away our stuff? What if finally just learned how to share? Another day of being humbled by Mexico and learning a new way to live.

A Birthday Party

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Karen moves to Mexico

Last night we headed to San Vicente to deliver a birthday party for Mama Santana. I won’t tell you her age (okay it’s less than 40 but more than 38). She has a very full life. She has 7 children and 2 grandchildren – most live with her in her tiny one room house. She works hard at a garden store – 6 days a week for 11 hours a day. Her 3 youngest children live at Manos de Amor during the weeks so they can attend school. We have grown to love this family and try to visit a couple of times a month. They welcome us in and offer us tostados with macaroni or chicken – I know this is a sacrifice for them.

Earlier in the week Laurentino had told me that his mom’s birthday was on Friday. Isabelle told me her favorite food was Shrimp Ceviche. After our car shopping stress, we really needed a party, so we picked up a cake, and some ceviche and a gift and headed to what is often called Cardboardlandia – a neighborhood composed entirely of homes made of cardboard or tarps or tin. There are a LOT of little children and puppies and chickens and everyone is friendly and laughing at us as we drive through the water-filled potholes in the new convertible. I was used to children laughing at Milly so this feels good to me.

As always, everyone was excited to see us drive up. They were especially excited to see the new car. Instantly it was filled with little children and birthday balloons. Jose and Kevin and Lupita thought it was a toy and were ready to take it for a spin.

The rest of the evening was about eating tostados and cake and playing with children. Lupita loved hanging out with Klara, not even realizing that when she was just a baby she had met Klara and Fred and that they had paid to have her water tank filled. I don’t think we understand how the smallest acts of kindness – a hug, $8 to fill a water tank, a tub of ceviche – make a monumental difference in the lives of those who live in difficult situations every day.

Peace!

As we said goodbye, Mama grabbed me and with tears in her eyes said “Muchas Gracias Karen. Muchas Gracias. Te Amo.” (Thank you very much Karen, I love you). And I squeezed back and whispered “I love you too”.

This is why we are here. Car shopping and buying things for our house and figuring out how to buy insurance – those are the things that must be done in order for us to live here. But the reason we live here is so that we can touch lives that need God’s love and light. For some reason this family crossed our path 2 ½ years ago when 13 year old Ibon was about to give birth to Lupita and now they are part of our Mexican life. For that I am grateful.

Shopping for Wheels

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Karen moves to Mexico

Now that we are basically settled in our rental home, we have decided it is time to move to the next step of grown-up residency – owning wheels. We have been renting cars when we’re here and it’s really ridiculously expensive. We have long been discussing how to approach the car issue. As you all know – and have all mocked me for – I have driven Milly the Smart Car for many years. I loved her and felt totally safe and comfortable squeezing into tight spots and parking in crazy places. My favorite was the time I parked in the covered shopping cart spot at WalMart. It was Christmas season, which meant all the shopping carts were in the store full of toys and turkeys. Why waste a perfect Smart size parking spot? We have taken Milly to the mountains packed down with ski equipment on more than one occasion – once she sadly returned on the back of a tow truck. But mainly she has been my source of independence and a worthy companion. We had not decided if she would come with us south. German cars are not generally welcome in Mexico and I can’t imagine driving her all that way. She would probably fit in the back of the truck with our belongings but when would that happen?

A Milly Sandwich – RIP

Before we had made the decision, God/fate/Saskatchewan icy roads/traumatized friends stepped in and made the decision for us. Milly is now in Car heaven, revving her motor with the best of them.

So now what? Grant began by researching every vehicle in Mexico. Literally. I want a small car or SUV. He wants a big old truck that can haul his trailer full of tools. I want something pretty and fun. He wants something manly and hardworking. I want an automatic gas vehicle. He wants a diesel manual. We both want room to haul children and visitors. So we have made the marriage-saving decision to buy 2 vehicles. While I know we could easily make one vehicle work, I don’t want to be trapped at home when he starts building.

Apparently even the vehicles here come with their own chickens!

After perusing every online ad we could find, we decided to start by checking out all the used car lots in the area. Generally, vehicles are cheaper in Guadalajara, but I wanted to see what we could find locally. And BAM! I found exactly what I wanted – a baby-blue convertible Volkswagen beetle. After doing some price comparisons online, we decided this was a decent deal. Now we are risk-takers but we certainly weren’t going to buy a car without getting it checked over by a mechanic. How would we possibly figure out that process? I emailed our go-to buddies, Pastor Fredy and Pastor Gregory and asked if they knew of a trustworthy mechanic and of course they came through. Fredy told us that a mechanic would be at the church the next morning to look over all the church vehicles. So we went to the car lot, shoved the salesman in the tiny back seat, put down the convertible roof and cruised to the church to meet Francisco the mechanic. We received a good report and decided this was the car to replace Milly (R.I.P.).

The next tricky issue was to get the money together. There was no way to get money from our Canadian bank to the car dealership except the old-fashioned way – withdraw cash from an ATM at the Mega store. So we maxed out the daily limit on 5 credit cards two days in a row until we had the needed giant pile of cash. In 2016 there really has to be a better way! Once my purse and Grant’s pockets were bulging, we snuck around Mega store, taking sharp turns around corners to ensure no one was following us. As if Mexican cartel banditos were hiding in the fruit department of Mega grocery store spying on old, sunburned gringos.

The car had a couple of things that needed checking and the mechanic had suggested a tune-up, so we were told we could pick her up at 1:00 on Thursday. Now I totally didn’t believe it would be ready at 1:00 but we went to the lot – come back at 6:00 they told us. At 6:00 we arrived with our giant and secure Ziploc bag full of cash to complete the transaction. After the ceremonial counting of the cash, we were given a receipt and all of the original titles and paperwork. We knew the car had originally come from the USA but we did not know that it had never been licensed in Mexico before. The salesman had promised he would help with the licensing process, but he definitely had not mentioned that we would have to go through the whole process of getting it licensed in a new country. I see a bureaucratic nightmare in our future.

By about 7:00 we started getting nervous. Two business type men had shown up and driven away with our cash but our car was still nowhere in sight. It was still at the mechanic’s shop – on its way any second they said. The dealership lights went out, everyone started leaving. Our salesman told us “Follow that guy in the white truck, he’ll take you to your car”. Now that didn’t sound like a good plan to me – but I really wanted to see my car since my money was long gone. We backed out of the lot, prepared to follow the random guy in the white truck….. and it was nowhere in sight. So now the money is gone with the business guys, the white truck that knows where our car is has left us behind, the salesman has gone home, and we are standing at the side of the road in the dark wondering what the heck is going on. I did have the cell phone number for Pepe, the dude who had taken my car to the mechanic’s shop and I called him with just a hint of panic. He told us he was on his way and within a couple of minutes my new car pulled up alongside us, ready for me to drive her home.

We verified that it would be okay to use the dealership permit until we got our own plates the next morning (Oh definitely!) and that their insurance would cover me in an accident on my way home (Oh no… there’s no insurance on this car. You have to get your own but the insurance office closes at 2:00). I KNOW I NEED INSURANCE BUT YOU TOLD ME TO COME AND GET THE CAR AT 6:00 AND I WOULD HAVE A TEMPORARY PERMIT AND I WOULD TAKE THE CARD HOME AND YOU WOULD HELP ME GET ALL THE PAPERWORK DONE TOMORROW!!!!! But senora, the insurance office closed at 2:00 – you can’t get insurance now. Yeah ….. I got that…..

So no way am I driving a new car home without insurance. It’s Mexico people – there are crazy drivers and mountainous speed bumps and a variety of loose farm animals and chickens – I am not sending another good friend to Car heaven without insurance. So we headed home with no money and no car, trusting that tomorrow would be a better day.

To be continued…..

Today was indeed a much better day. It is so true that everything looks better in the daylight and that held for us and our car-buying adventure. Now I’m not saying everything went smoothly today – we still spent 3 or 4 hours going from office to office. I’m not even saying it’s all done. We are still waiting for our final registration and plates which will take another week. But we have a temporary sticker and I am driving my own car. Is there a moral to this story? Well, life in Mexico is not easy. Bureaucracy sucks. Mexican time is unpredictable. Speaking Spanish is really important. Convertibles are fun to drive and now I can do it all year round. Insurance offices close too early. Life is the place where patience gets you through or frustration takes you out. If you love where you are and what you’re doing, it’s all worth it!

It’s all worth it!

Guess I better learn to drive here!

Hashtag Where’s Jose?

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Karen moves to Mexico

It’s hard to believe we’ve only been back here in Bucerias for 4 days – our feet have been moving since the airplane wheels hit the tarmac! Friday was our re-entry day….. get the rental car, start unpacking the zillion suitcases, fill the fridge, meet the new baby that had been born to our neighbors in our absence, and go to two different taco restaurants to get things started. Friday night was the start of the sleep adjustment period – which means NO SLEEP due to the heat and the animals.

Saturday was a friend day. We met Chris and Darren in Old Town PV for lunch and then headed to the airport to pick up our first houseguest Klara. She may have thought she was coming to rest, but within a couple of hours of her arrival, we were all busy at work at the fundraiser for the orphanage Manos de Amor. The children’s home depends completely on donations and fundraising, so this event Rhythm and Ribs is absolutely vital to its existence. It was an amazing event to see – hundreds of people arrived to listen to the fantastic band Luna Rumba, buy silent auction and raffle items and eat ribs. And I mean eat a LOT of ribs. My job was to collect tickets at the Rib stand (Klara was working at the taco stand!). Hundreds of people lined up to exchange 5 tickets (50 pesos = $4 Canadian = $2.75 American) for a small plate of delicious ribs. Now let me just say one thing ….. if you go to a fundraiser for orphans, do not yell at the ticket taker because you think you should get all-you-can-eat ribs for $2.75. Seriously – that’s dumb.

Karen collecting tickets for Ribs

Sunday we went to church and then over to the market at the marina in La Cruz to get our giant shrimp and some veggies and pasta. Sunday dinner was tortilla soup and guacamole and a beautiful beach sunset.

The final task to feeling settled was a giant wash down of the house on Monday morning. Because we had left windows open to keep the house from turning into a raging inferno, we had a month of dust on every imaginable surface. And one really bad smell to track down. Note to self: do not put a package of frozen fish in the cupboard for a month….. frozen things should be in a freezer at all times.

Monday evening, after a relaxing day at the beach, Klara started preparing our shrimp and pasta feast while I was determined to get back in a proper workout routine. So I threw down a yoga mat and put on a pilates tape and got to work. About halfway through, Klara told me I had guests out at the gate. Being as I was just heading into the Plank series, I was more than happy for the interruption. Standing on the sidewalk were Isabel and Laurentino and two of their friends. Normally these children, who live at Manos de Amor, go home to their tiny tarp house in San Vicente for the weekend. Because their mom really can’t care for them, they get on a bus on Monday, along with their 5-year-old brother Jose, and head back to the orphanage for the week. Sometimes they get off the bus close to our house and stop in for a visit, so I wasn’t totally surprised to see them. But when I asked what they were doing they said they were looking for Jose. (Thus the title of this blog #wheresjose?) And could they have a glass of water. Seems they had gone to the home of their friend before going to the orphanage, and Jose had disappeared. Two hours ago! HE’S FIVE! So we panicked a bit. Grant panicked a lot. I suggested we get in our car and start driving up and down all the streets. Grant yelled at me to call the police. I looked at him incredulously – I don’t have a clue how to call the police!!!! GRANT: “Five year olds shouldn’t be lost for 2 hours!” ME: “no really, I don’t know how to call the police” (so now I know something else I need to learn). So we started driving around and hollering “JOSE” out the window on every block. At one point, Isabel told me she had forgotten her money at her friend’s house so we went back there – and as we pulled up the gate opened and out came Jose. I jumped out of the car and scooped him up and softly said “Jose, where have you been?”. “Sleeping” he whispered. “Where were you sleeping?” “En una cama” (In a bed). So while we were searching for him everywhere, panicking that maybe he had crossed the highway, he had found a bed and was busy doing whatever it is that 5-year-old boys do in dreamland. We drove them all back to the orphanage and went home for Klara’s delicious meal. But my heart struggled to settle. In Canada I often grumble about over-protective helicopter parents who won’t let their children out of their sight. Here I love little ones whose parents can’t – or won’t – meet even their basic needs. Here I drive up and down the streets wondering #where’sjose? I am so grateful for organizations like Manos de Amor – and there are others – that provide a home for these lost children. I am glad to know they feel safe to come find us when they need help. And I am glad I spent 3 hours arguing with drunk gringos about the price of ribs so these children can have food and clothing and schooling and love. Mostly I am just really glad to be home where I belong!

Not Better….Just Different

Aside

Because we have not completely wrapped up the zillions of details of our move south, we are back in Canada for three weeks to finish taxes, finish construction, and finish packing. There are a lot of ‘finishes’ before you can truly experience new beginnings. Last year when I met with a Career Coach Warren, he told me my Kolbe Index indicated I love to brainstorm and start projects, but I get bored with the carry through. I am strong in “Fast Start” and not so strong on “Follow Through”. (Mind you he told me I should NEVER be an implementer, working with my hands and now I’ve laid tiles and sawed stuff with a power saw….). The point is that I am pulling at the reins to get going, but I know that we need to finish well. So we are back in the North doing Follow Through stuff that must be done.

It is impossible not to compare my two homes – and I don’t mean our physical houses (although there are some serious differences between my fancy new house with all the fancy new appliances and my simple Mexican home). No, I am thinking about the differences between the world I have lived in for all of my life and this new place I am trying to be accepted in. Maybe I am mostly thinking about the differences in me and in Grant and in the things that we now value. Not better. Just different.

So here is a preliminary comparison

The Obvious Stuff

It is cold in Canada! There is great irony in that fact that my Canadian friends are rejoicing that this has been a mild winter (usually warmer than -15) and my Mexican friends are lamenting that it has been a very cold winter (in the mid to low +20’s). The human experience is just very tied to weather and no matter where you live, every conversation begins with a tiny bit of complaining about the weather.
The food is unbelievable in Mexico! We often ask ourselves what food we miss from Canada, and the list is pretty small. A Tim Horton’s coffee. Houston Pizza (the really thick meaty kind). Spring rolls from Viet Thai Restaurant. My zoodles since I couldn’t pack the spiralizer last time. A pumpkin pie. That’s about it. When we are in Saskatchewan we constantly whine about the lack of proper tacos – or any Mexican food – in Regina. Taco Time doesn’t cut it after eating Chilaquilies at Ponchos or Mole Enchiladas at Taco Itzel. We are slowly raising our picante level and are making our own Green Sauce now which makes everything delicious. Still can’t stand cilantro however which eliminates me from every being a true Mexican foodie.
The noise level is hilarious in Mexico. I have told many stories about the joyful celebrations in our neighborhood in Bucerias. First Christmas, then New Years, then the Patron Saint Festival, then some teen girls Quince, then some random dude’s birthday, then the 9 hour Karaoke party, then…… You get the picture. At the end of our 6-week relocation trip we were just beginning to ignore it all and sleep at night. Then we got to our house in Lumsden – a new ICF home (Styrofoam and cement) – super insulated and unnaturally silent. No traffic in the valley after 9. No music in the streets. Total silence. And then we couldn’t sleep there. We laid awake the first night home, unable to sleep because of the eerie quiet. It was beautifully peaceful, with the moon sparkling on the house rooftops – the complete opposite of the loud joyfulness that surrounds our Mexican home. Not better….. just different.
$$$$$$$. Much of Mexico is poor. I know that there are many poor people in Regina as well. There is addiction, child abandonment, child prostitution, poverty, illness…. It’s in every city in every country. But in Canada we have social networks of government that at least make an effort to close the gaps. We have medical care and education for everyone who will show up. There are welfare programs and food banks and intervention programs to try and save the children who are lost in family dysfunction. In Mexico, the money that should flow to those who are struggling is blocked by crazy systems and non-existent programs. Children are not mandated to go to school – and in fact there are crazy bureaucratic barriers that make it difficult or even impossible. Children must show a birth certificate before they can register for school. Only a mother can get this birth certificate. Many did not get one at birth and now cannot afford the $200 it will cost. Or children who have been abandoned by a mother have no way to get this piece of paper. And so they cannot go to school. Those who need it most cannot access education. Wages are unbelievable low. Minimum wage has just been raised to $73 pesos (that’s about $6), not for an hour but for A DAY! $6 a day to raise a family. How can a family or a community prosper in this environment? It has been inspiring to watch both the Mexican community and the many Gringo associations step up to care for the people who have needs and I am super excited to be part of organizations such as La Fuente Riviera Church and Manos de Amor who care for the poor, and especially the children in Bucerias and many surrounding towns and villages.

August, 2015

The Not So Obvious Stuff

We move a LOT slower in Mexico. Those of you who know Grant and I in Canada will not recognize us in Mexico. We are slow …. Bordering on lazy. I suspect this is somewhat temporary. We arrived in Bucerias in mid-December really tired (especially house-builder guy Grant) and we have taken some time to rest and vacation. We sit on our balcony or in our garden and read and play Candy Crush and talk and maybe even nap. While I expect that to change, I am pretty committed to guarding our time here. We are definitely planning to be involved in the orphanage and the church, but we are not going to organize every minute – we are going to leave time to just play with the children and to open our home for fun stuff with our new friends. Grant is ready to start building our dream home and I am continuing to do my job from a distance so that will be enough structure for us. The rest of the time will be for beach picnics and boogie boarding and watching hummingbirds in the garden. I welcome you keeping my accountable for this plan!
My heart is very soft. I am now a crybaby. I cry at everything. I cry because the hibiscus bloomed. I cry because Lupita is too cute today. I cry because every child should have their own dad, not just an old white guy from Canada who throws them around. I cry because I knew I shouldn’t have tried the ‘mas picante’ sauce. I cry at the airport and bus station because the kids are here. I really cry at the airport and the bus station because the kids are leaving. I think mainly I cry because I now have time to feel stuff instead of just rushing to do stuff.
Home is wherever you are today. When I am in Mexico I refer to Lumsden as home, when I am in Lumsden I refer to Mexico as home. Today, I am trying to embrace the snowy day, the beautiful new home I am in, the friends I have missed, the family I will soon spend time with and I will make sure I get a Tim Horton’s coffee and a springroll and some pumpkin pie. I will try to figure out how to import butter into Mexico. In a couple of weeks, I will pack 6 more giant suitcases with the stuff I haven’t been able to buy in Mexico, like my zoodle spiralizer, and I will head to my new home. I will try to embrace the crazy noise and the humid days and I will build a new life. And I will be home. Not better….. just different.

Our simple Mexican kitchen

Our fancy Canadian Kitchen

Our Mexican yard

Our Canadian yard

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Karen Moves to Mexico

My story: The craziest idea of my life

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