A Day in the Life...

When we returned to the US for a visit this spring, several friends asked us what it was like for us living in this area of Mexico on a day to day basis. "What do you do all day?" they wanted to know. We don't spend our days eating tacos and listening to mariachi music, so what is a typical day like for retirees living in the Lake Chapala area? I was stuck for what to write about for my next blog entry, and Pixie suggested this. The truth is, our lives now are not very exotic.

Being retired has its advantages and disadvantages. Obviously, not having to worry about going to work is huge. Living here offers many opportunities for getting involved in various activities, so, you can be as busy or idle as you wish. The downside is the fact that we have to live on a limited income. We are living on a state pension, and we try to put money aside every month for our trips north, and we basically live on what's left. Generally this is not a problem. Now that we own an house and are in the process of furnishing it, it is tempting to spend more than we can afford. Mostly, though, we have no problem living on our income because of the generally low cost of living here.

So...a typical day. I am an early riser and enjoy getting up early to have a cup of tea, check my email and read the newspapers online. I always enjoyed reading the paper newspaper in Maine, but here, The Guadalajara Reporter, the English language newspaper comes out only once a week, so I read the newspapers online. I regularly check the NY Times, The Washington Post and sometimes The Boston Globe and the Lewiston, Maine, Sun-Journal. Since we now have a Mexican mailing address, I cancelled all my magazine subscriptions and now read them online. My two favorites were The Atlantic and The New Yorker. But now that I can access other magazines online as well, I often read the Nation, The National Review, and the Economist. I still miss the paper versions of periodicals, but the cost for international subscriptions is high.

Sometimes I do some writing in the mornings while it is quiet. I have written enough poetry to publish a collection. I am collaborating with an artist friend, Vicente, to do a painting for the cover, and Donna, his partner, is translating my title poem, The Sacred Lake, into Spanish. I have been working on that project in the mornings recently.

It stays dark here late because we are very far west in the central time zone, so it doesn't get light until about 7:30, so I am usually up in the dark. Pixie usually is up by about 8:30, but is not good for much conversation for another hour or so. She makes tea and turns on the news. (We have DISH network here. It thinks we're in New York, so we get local NY stations, but the usual list of cable channels.) Maggie often sleeps even longer! She does not like to get up.

Generally, I have to water the gardens every couple of days. This time of year, we often get rain at night, so it isn't as necessary. I usually do this in the morning. Our ajibe (our underground water tank) fills only through the day, so if we use a lot of water at night, we may run out till it fills the next morning. It usually takes me about half an hour or so to do the watering, but I love the tropical plants, and it's very relaxing to just walk around with the hose and generously water. We have a young man, Horacio, who comes once a week for about 2 1/2 hours to mow, trim, prune, and weed. He has been taking care of this garden for years and keeps it looking beautiful.
On a typical day, we usually have things we need to do. Today, for example, is market day. Since we generally buy our fruits and vegetables, yogurt, cereal, flowers, honey and spices at this market, it is a regular Wednesday morning chore. Pixie is doing water aerobics now, and she has this on Wednesdays, so she generally catches a ride with a friend while I go the the market alone. If she's around, she always comes with me. This usually takes a couple of hours, because we have to check over all the produce and we invariably run into friends, so we get talking. We have our regular vendors we like. We always buy our produce from Aaron and his wife, Carmen. They help us pick out the best pieces and usually throw in some cilantro and chiles for free. Several times I've inadvertently left something (produce I've bought, or another package) at Aaron's stand, and he always saves it for me for the following week. He takes good care of us, and we are loyal to him. We buy our cereal from an Indian woman. The granola is excellent. She recently broke her hip, so her husband is running the stand. We usually check to see what new movies are available from the movie guy. He knows me now, so when I walk up to the stand, he hands me a stack of the new movies he has. The movies are 35 pesos, or three for 100 pesos ($10). They are all pirated, but in English and generally good quality. We buy flowers almost every week, and fresh yogurt. The hardest part is hauling everything back to the car.

Even if it's not market day, we usually just shop for our evening meal the day we are eating it. It's easier to do this because we may have a sudden change of plans if friends invite us to join them for dinner. Also, the fish and meat is much fresher if we buy it and consume it immediately. Usually we eat fish, shrimp, chicken, or beef, either grilled or stir fried when we cook in. Pixie has lost about 17 pounds, and is keeping me eating much more healthily than when we first got here. Mexican food is delicious, but uses lots of fat (like lard!) and the tortillas are delicious but very fattening. We eat Mexican food sometimes when we go out, but, except for fresh tortillas to make quesadillas and tacos, which I love, we don't cook Mexican much at home. I recently ordered a book from Amazon The Gringos' Guide to Mexican Cooking, though and I want to try some healthier Mexican alternatives.

Also on a typical day, we may have other errands to do. We may need to pick up a prescription from a 'farmacia, ' which can take a long time. Drugs are generally available over-the-counter, but the prices can vary widely. We might find one drug at a good price at one store, but another at a different one. So comparison shopping works. We need to check our mail in Ajijic a couple of times a week. We sometimes need to pick up printer paper, fill and ink cartridge, or pick up cleaning supplies or any number of other things. These are usually sold in different stores, so shopping can take a considerable part of the day.

I will continue this post next week...

Unexpected Leaks

Well, we thought our renovations were complete, but the heavy rains brought some unexpected leaks into the house. We thought we were in the clear. We had experienced some heavy rains early in the season, and we'd had no leaks. BUT...after we finished our renovation and painting, of course, several leaks appeared, dripping water onto the floor and leaving mildew stains on the ceiling and walls. Here's what water does to concrete walls and ceilings. Doesn't look too bad but it needs to be fixed to prevent more damage:



I thought they could be easily fixed, so we called our good friend and construction guy, Antonio, and asked what we should do. Ahhh...not so simple. The clay tiles on the roof needed to be removed, and the flat tile roof underneath needed to be sealed with a plastic paint they use here for waterproofing. Apparently this needs to be done every few years, and the previous owners did not do it. Antonio suggested that while we have the tiles off we should do all the areas of the roof where leaks have appeared. So, we now have a sealed roof, but we have to wait for the leaky areas to dry before sealing and repainting.

I was feeling a bit sorry for myself since we hadn't planned to spend this extra money. So when our Mexican buddies who did the renovation cheerfully showed up and told us "Don't worry Mr. Guillermo...we feex your casa. No more agua!" and went to work, I was glad at least to be getting it fixed. However, as I began to chat with the workers, I was able to put our problem in perspective. They all started telling me, very cheerfully, often laughing, about the terrible leaks in their homes. Here they were fixing our leaks while they were having worse problems which they could not afford to fix themselves. When we ran out of tiles (some inevitably break when being removed), Jesus went home and retrieved some tiles form his OWN house to put on our house. I was, of course aghast when I discovered this. "No problema, Mr. Beell, that part of my house need fixing anyway." What do I say to these guys???!!!

This very unequal situation prompted the following poem I wrote and read at the writers' group yesterday morning:

Mexican Rain

They accept the rain
Without grudge
As the clouds empty
Over the green mountains
Bringing waves of mud
Cruelly into the cobbled streets
And into their homes
Darkening their lives.

We, however, insist
On stopping all leaks
Which, to us,
Represent failure
And calamity.

And so they work
Conscientiously
To patch our roofs
While the rain
Pours into their homes,
For they know
That water is not
A tragedy.
It comes and it dries
And keeps us connected
To the earth
And that patching a roof
Only provides
The illusion
Of permanence.

One last note: I did a funny "dumb gringo" thing when they were fixing the roof. I borrowed their ladder to climb up on the roof of the terrace over the BBQ area at the back of our yard to see if I could see the lake from there. I did NOT realize that the tiles are not strong enough to support my weight. So....I realized almost immediately that this was NOT a good idea, and turned to go back, but it was too late, my legs had fallen through and I was hanging onto a support bar. Jesus saw me and ran with a ladder to provide me with an escape route. "Senor," he sympathized," It is NOT so good an idea to climb on the roof." Obviously. They were all sympathetic, and returned the next day to fix the roof, but I bet they had some good laughs that evening. Here is a photo of the damage I did:













I did get a peek before I fell. Unfortunately, I could NOT see the lake.

The Ajijic Writers' Group

The Lake Chapala area has been a haven for expatriates from North America and Europe since the early part of the twentieth century. In the early days, it drew mostly artists and writers. The old Posada on the Ajijic waterfront, and the old hotels in Chapala, provided lodging and watering holes for such writers as D. H. Lawrence, Somerset Maugham, and Tennessee Williams. D. H. Lawrence's novel The Plumed Serpent takes place in Chapala and the surrounding area. For thirty years, the Ajijic Writers' group has been meeting to listen to and critique writers who are here from around the world.

When we relocated here, I must admit I was a bit intimidated about attending a group with such a history. I had written a bit of poetry for many years, but had never subjected it to any serious criticism. So it was with some trepidation that I first ventured to la Nueva Posada (the New Posada) where the writers gather the first and third Friday of every month to share their writing. We meet from 10-12 then gather for lunch under the big rubber tree.

Each writer is given up to ten minutes to read what he or she has been working on. If a writer goes too long, they are politely told to wrap it up, as we usually have more writers on the list to read than we have time for. I'd estimate that we regularly get between 30 and 50 writers, depending on the time of year.

Most of the people read fiction, either short stories or portions of novels. Some read non-fiction pieces, often travel pieces or other essays of interest to a larger community. There are some poets who read regularly as well. When I first attended the group last summer, I was surprised by two things: (1) the overall high quality of the writing, and (2) the accepting attitude and helpful criticism offered by the group. I immediately felt comfortable and decided to read at the next session.

I was even more surprised to find that most people in the group genuinely liked my poetry and gave me positive comments about it. But the best thing for me about the group is how much I am learning about writing fiction. I have not yet tried to write fiction, but I am thinking about it.

There are some very interesting people who attend this group. It is moderated by Alejandro Grattan, the publisher of the local English-language magazine El Ojo del Lago(The Eye of the Lake), who was, for many years, a screenwriter in Hollywood. He also happens to be an excellent critic and I have learned a lot just listing to his pointed criticism of other writers. He has published a number of my poems in the Ojo, and when I sent him a non-fiction piece about using critical thinking as an expat living here, he asked if I'd make it into a monthly column which he wanted to call 'Uncommon Common Sense." I have been writing this column since January. (I have a link to this column, and to the Ojo on the left column at the beginning of this blog.)

Jim Tipton is also an excellent writer who has written many articles for local magazines, fiction and poetry. I have been inspired by him to try my hand at Haiku. Jim, and many others, have published in many publications, and many have published fiction and poetry books.

In the photo below, on the far left is Karen Blue who has written a very popular book called Midlife Mavericks, which is a collection of stories about single women who decided to move to Mexico. Next to here is Canadian Neil McKinnon, author of Tuckhoe Slidebottle, a collection of humorous short stories. He is a very funny writer. At the end of the table, wearing the white baseball cap is Alejandro Grattan.
Reading below is Stan (I don't remember his last name) who writes mostly poetry. A few years ago, he moved to Guatemala and word was received here at Lakeside that he had died. Some friends organized and held a memorial service for him. Everyone was surprised when he showed up again few months later, and it has been the source of much hilarity in the Writers' Group.

Below my friend Jim Rambo reads a piece written by another friend of mine (whose back you can see in the foreground) Sheldon James. Sheldon has a tremor and can't read himself easily. Sheldon was a professional musician who wrote a memoir of his life on the road as a musician. Jim Rambo was a prosecutor in Wilmington, Delaware who writes poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Some of his most gripping pieces are his true-life memoirs about some cases he prosecuted in his previous life. Sheldon attends our UU fellowship, and Jim took over my English class for me when I went back to visit the US last spring.

As you can imagine, I look forward to the writer's group every two weeks and have met some interesting and vibrant people there.

Below is a copy of the recent review I wrote of Sheldon's book:

Jazzman

SAXOPHONE PLAYER: Notes from a Transient Musician
by Sheldon James

Reviewed by Bill Frayer
For El Ojo del Lago
June 2008

One of the great things about retiring to Lakeside is our opportunity to meet fascinating people. Sheldon James is one of these people. My only regret in knowing Sheldon is that I did not have the opportunity to know him earlier. Fortunately, Sheldon has published a collection of recollections and stories which have helped me understand how he turned out to be such an opinionated and lovable man today.

Sheldon is a retired musician. His professional life was as a saxophonist in many bands over more than fifty years. This collection includes seventeen stories from his years on the road and his relationships with many colorful characters. Some of the memories are poignant and sad, others uproariously funny, but all are focus on Sheldon’s imperfect humanity and benefit from his unerring eye for detail. The book includes photos from Sheldon’s career, and ends with six additional stories from other aspects of Sheldon’s life, including his life in Mexico.

It’s clear to me that life as a musician during the big band era, and beyond, was not for everyone. It was not always profitable. The travel schedule was grueling. The food was often bad, and Sheldon does not hold back when describing some of the unique characters with whom he worked. But what comes through, in all the stories, is his enthusiasm for life and his dedication to music.

Some of the most notable stories are about Sheldon’s experiences with some of the music industry’s giants. He describes his private meeting, as an aspiring jazz musician, with Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong. He describes seeing the great Charlie Parker, the Bird, diminished by drugs and alcohol, in a pathetic performance during the last year of his life. And, perhaps in his most memorable story, Sheldon shares the heartrending story of his young daughter Claudia’s battle with cancer, and the very special relationship she formed with Sonny Bono, before she died.

Of course, most of the “cats” in Sheldon’s book are less well-known, but perhaps even more interesting. The life of a musician is that of a hustler: hustling for work, for a drink, for a room, even for a pretty girl’s attention. The road musician is always looking for his next gig, learning music on the fly, and having to act confident even when he’s feeling exhausted and vulnerable. Sheldon’s characters help him recreate his world, and he’s not afraid to reveal his feelings. He’s lost many good friends, and he still remembers most of them with a tear and a smile.

Sheldon is a good writer, and a long-time member of the Ajijic Writers’ Group. His stories are concise, full of dialogue, and interesting. They are true, as far as Sheldon remembers, and when they’re not literally true, they have been enhanced only by Sheldon’s wish to make his art more perfect.

Copies of Sheldon’s book are still available, and can be purchased from the author.

July Rains

The mountains have suddenly turned green and the weather has turned cooler, although the threat of rain hangs in the air every afternoon and evening. Last night we had a steady, drenching rain and rumbling thunder all night. This morning, the clouds had dispersed to reveal a sunny, cooler day, typical of this season. We are glad to have the dust gone!

This week we had a visit from Sara Wright who used to work with us at the community college in Maine. She was only here for four days but she was able to check out the area for herself. She was a most enthusiastic visitor. Sara has spent a good deal of time at a women's cooperative in Peru and is used to the Latin American culture. She found many similarities between Peru and Mexico while she was here. She enjoyed driving with us along the north shore of Lake Chapala and visitng the markets. One disturbing thing we see at markets here is wild birds in cages for sale as pets. Sara purchased a captive cardinal at the Chapala market and released it near the lake:


Here are photos of Pixie and Sara and of me as we drove into the mountains east of Chapala towards Mezcala later that day:















One interesting development about the lake, which we saw with Sara on our travels, is the remarkable absence of Lirio, the invasive water hyacinth which used to cover large parts of the lake, damaging the ecosystem. The government of Chapala decided, last summer, to treat the lirio with some type of herbicide. (Previous attempts to simply haul it out by the truckload did not work.) The environmental group, Amigas del Lago, protested, claiming it would kill many fish in the lake. Well, the massive fish kill apparently did not happen, and the lirio is mostly gone. There have been various claims by the government of the safety of swimming in the water, but some contradictory claims as well. I'm certainly not going to swim in it. The government also built a beautiful walkway along the lake in Chapala, called a malecon. Living in Riberas now, we are halfway between Ajijic and Chapala. We spend more time in Chapala now, shopping. It's more Mexican and a good deal less expensive than Ajijic. Here are some photos of Chapala:
















































One more interesting event: we ran into a woman who showed up at our UU fellowship last week who was walking from San Diego to Santiago to raise awareness about the environment. Her name is Rolene Walker (get it?) and she's haired drivers to drive her camper while she walks so she has a place to sleep at night. She was hoping to hire one of us at church to drive for her, but no takers. The trip will take her two years, she anticipates.
If you are interested, her website is www.walkwithearth.org.

On a personal note, Pixie is almost fully recovered from her surgery and feeling much better. After a long stay in the US, having all the renovation done, and Pixie's surgery, we are looking forward to getting back to our "normal" life here. I am writing a sermon on why I am an atheist to be delivered next Sunday. We enjoyed a 4th of July picnic yesterday at a gathering for Democrats Abroad. We picked up our applications for absentee ballots so we can vote for Barack Obama!

Here is one final photo. We didn't know it, but you have to groom palm trees. They grow fruit which feeds the fruit bats, which causes them to defecate on our terrace. The palms also drop seeds and other waste, which makes a mess. Here is Israel, our tree trimmer, at work this morning:

Getting Back to Normal...At Last!

Here's an image of one of the more eccentric gringos living in Ajijic, on his burro along the main highway. I don't know his story, but I imagine it's interesting.

On the home front here, things are getting back to normal. Pixie has been recovering nicely from her surgery and is already noticing the benefits of having had her gallbladder out. She is eating, exercising lightly, and with only minor pain. She's even been busy decorating our newly-completed renovations.

Here are some before and after photos of the renovation; as you can see it looks very different:































Here are some additional photos:


































We are definitely enjoying the peace and quiet of having the privacy and quiet of not having the house full of workers. Nevertheless, we enjoyed getting to know Guillermo, Antonio, Jaime, Jesus, Girardo, and Raoul, the "maestro" who did such a beautiful job making our fireplace. They were courteous, thorough, and willing to change what they were doing to suit our tastes. They wanted us to be happy with the work, and we really are. Now, the money's gone, but our house is just what we wanted, a simple, very Mexican casa.

I'll leave you with an image taken a few days before Pixie's surgery: Our friends Don and Val invited us to eat a local restaurant celebrating its second anniversary with a Mexican buffet and a Cuban band, among others. Here is a picture of Pixie with Don, our ex-monk, monster-movie fan, writer, IBM alum whom we met at our great books discussion group.

Pixie Has Surgery

Pixie had an overnight stay in a Guadalajara hospital this weekend for an operation to remove her gallbladder and fix and umbilical hernia. The surgery was done arthoscopically so she had only four small incisions. She is now home recovering and we are both relieved to have had the surgery go so well. Hopefully this will continue with the recovery.

I thought it might be interesting to share some of the experience of having to have surgery here. Pixie vetoed the idea of any photographs, but gave me permission to share some of her experience.

She had been having problems with her gallbladder since about January. Always proud of her "iron stomach," she was frustrated to have so much difficulty and discomfort after eating. So we knew that she may have to have this surgery at some point after an ultrasound revealed a problem with her gallbladder. During her routine physical last week, Dr. Leon discovered that an umbilical hernia, which she had also known about, had grown much larger and needed immediate attention. She suggested that if the hernia needed repair, it might also be a good time to remove the gallbladder. Dr. Leon agreed.

We scheduled the surgery for last Friday, requiring Pixie to reluctantly turn the Summer Solstice service at our UU fellowship over to others. She had worked hard on developing the service and hated to miss it, but she really didn't want to wait several weeks. We have our friend, Sarah, coming next Sunday for a visit, and she wanted to be better by then.

So we met Dr. Leon at his office at 5:30 AM on Friday. He drives any surgery patients, every Friday, in his car, and there was another woman who rode in with Pixie and Dr. Leon, while I followed in our car. We arrived at 6:30 and immediately checked into a very comfortable room, with a sofa, air conditioning, and cable TV. The hospital is a small one and looks more like a small hotel, with marble staircases with wrought iron railings, sky lights, plants, and quiet hallways with no nurses' stations. There is a central nurses' station on the first floor, and they always arrive quickly when you call. There was a small cafeteria downstairs, which was convenient for me.

A nurse inserted an IV and we were told that they would come get her for surgery when they were ready, but we had no idea when. Eventually, after about 6 hours, they came at 12:45 and wheeled her out to the OR. She was brought back to the room at 2:05, awake, although a bit loopy, and both Dr. Leon and the surgeon, Dr. Gustavo, came into to explain to us that the surgery had gone very well with no problems. They wanted her to spend the night just to keep an eye on her.

Nurses came in frequently to check on her and change her dressings, but it became obvious that they spoke little or no English. I was able to decipher the general conversation, although they spoke very fast and expected us to understand. Since my Spanish is a bit better, and Pixie was a bit out of it, I decided to spend the night, so I could help her get to the bathroom and translate what the nurses were saying (more or less!). She got very attentive care all night. The surgeon stopped by at 9 PM to check on her, and again at 9AM to release her. We paid the bill for hospital and medications, which came to about $850 USD, but we will have to still pay for the Doctor's fees at Dr. Leon's office.

The worst experience for Pixie was probably the ride home. She felt every bump, and, although I tried to avoid potholes and topes (speed bumps), it was, to say the least, an uncomfortable ride. But now she's home, and we're working our way through the second season of Grey's Anatomy we bought at the market last week, glad to be home with the workmen off for the weekend.

Speaking of workmen, they had hoped to be done by yesterday, but it was not to be. They have at least two more days to work, I'd say, so they'll be back Monday morning. I'll post pictures of the finished product later this week, but here's sopme ome in-process photos:

The Rain Has Arrived

Today is our 34th wedding anniversary, and the third time we've celebrated it in Mexico. Not much celebrating today as Pixie is a bit under the weather, and the house is torn apart, as you can see below. Nevertheless, a day worth noting!

The afternoons have been very hot and dry, with the temperature in the mid 90's F and the sun intense. There has been lots of dust, to the point where it seems to drift into the house and cover everything with a light film. Although the humidity has been low, the sheer intensity of the sun has made the air hot and uncomfortable late in the day. We even had a few overnights last week where it didn't cool to its normal 70 degrees, and getting to sleep was uncomfortable, even with a ceiling fan. Even our Mexican friends complain about the May heat: "Esta muchoa calor!"

Last Friday, Pixie and I were sitting in our living room watching a movie on TV, when we heard the first rumblings of thunder. "Ahh," we smiled. "Rain tonight?!" Pixie had predicted it, but I was still skeptical. "Probably just some thunder," I suggested. But I was wrong. As the wind picked up, the lightning and thunder increased, and the rain began. It rained hard for several hours, moistening the soil, eliminating the dust, and providing cooler, fresh air. As the Mexicans describe it: "fresco!"

We had been waiting for a torrential rain to test the new house and find any leaks. Everyone finds leaks during the first rain. The good news: only one small leak around a bedroom window which created a mysterious puddle on the floor. We didn't know where it was coming from; the ceiling was dry (very good news). We eventually found a leak around the bottom of the sliding window, about 5 inches off the floor. Otherwise, it looks as though we're dry. Whew.

While this is all going on, we are also finally starting the renovation projects we have been planning. We've hired Antonio, a local contractor, to redo the kitchen counter with traditional Mexican tile, including the installation of a new sink. We've also hired him to put in a fireplace in the living room. He has a crew of two young men, Girardo (the maestro) and Guillermo (the helper) working on the kitchen. Believe it or not, they are fabricating the new kitchen counters out of cement, and will cover them with tile. Pixie has been agonizing over the color choice. Color schemes in the New England style have little relevance here, where bright colors and unusual combinations are the norm. She's decided on a mustard yellow tile with brown grout, yellowish brown paint on the walls and brick red paint for the cupboards. I'll update the progress on the blog; here are some photos of the kitchen work so far:


This is the form the workers built for part of the new kitchen counter. They fabricated the rebar for strength and used pvc pipe on the edges to form the curved edge of the counter. Below are Guillermo (left) and Griardo (the "maestro") admiring the poured form for the counter. Notice the holes for the stove and sink. They did all this work on the sidewalk in front of our house.



Below is what the counters look like installed, before the tile is applied.










This morning, the tile is being applied. Here is Girardo posing with the first line of tile. We were uncertain how to arrange the tile, but we have learned to trust the Mexican workers who do this all the time. They suggested a beautiful pattern which I will be able to show in the next post.
In the meantime, Raoul (right), the fireplace maestro, and his helper, Jaime, chip away at the living room wall in preparation for the building of the fireplace. They will also install stone to the wall surrounding the fireplace. More photos of the fireplace progress in the next post.

while this has been going on, I've been having some dental work done on my sorry teeth. I am in the process of getting two crowns done at a dentist in Chapala. The dentist office is very basic: just a chair and equipment in one room, with no receptionist, no assistant, but modern equipment and a lab in Guadalajara which fabricates the porcelain crowns. The work is excellent and the cost even better: $175 per crown. White composite fillings are $35. We have a friend who makes trips here twice a year just for dental work. He's getting implants.

As I write this today, it is raining, DURING THE DAY! Very unusual, but nice and cool, so I'm not complaining. This is the fifth day in a row when we have received rain after virtually no rain since November. Soon the mountains will be green and lush!

My Mexican Students

When I retired from teaching in the United States, I was concerned that I would miss the interaction with younger people. I was very happy to find that here that the Lake Chapala Society sponsors a free English language program for Mexican students. The school is located in an old house off of the LCS grounds, in the village of Ajijic, which was donated to the LCS by Mr. Wilkes when he died. The house has been turned into a Spanish language biblioteca (library). It also serves as the space where four levels of English classes are taught by volunteers. The only cost for the students is to buy a book and workbook, for a total cost of about 250 pesos, or about 25 US dollars. There is a fund available to provide free books for students who cannot afford the books.

Classes meet at various times during the week to accommodate different work schedules. My class met every Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30-7:00PM. Students range in age from 12 through adulthood. Learning English is popular here, obviously, because it improves one's job opportunities, since we have such a mixed community.

Believe it or not, I was nervous when I began teaching last September. My 31 years in the community college did not prepare me to walk into a room of Mexicans who spoke little or no English, and do a good job. Pixie had taught ESL, but I had not. I quickly learned, as anyone who works with these students does, that they are hardworking, courteous, and friendly. I think it helped that I was simultaneously struggling to learn Spanish; it gave us something in common.

Well, the year of working with these students has just ended, and I am very pleased with their progress. About 22 students started the program, but a majority dropped out because of work, family issues, or realizing that learning a new language can be daunting. Ten students officially completed the course and are ready to move on to level two. I am very proud of them and wanted to share a bit about them on this blog. Working with these students gave me a chance few other gringos here really have the opportunity to do: get to know young Mexicans in a more intimate way and learn a bit about their lives. The six students I introduce here are the six who showed up for pizza on the last class. The others were probably working or otherwise engaged, or they would certainly have shown up for free pizza.



Augustina was one of the older students and might be considered the "mother" of the group. She spoke more English than the others because she is married to an American. Her skills came in quite useful in class when we had to clarify something which my Spanish was insufficient for; she often explained what I was trying to say in Spanish for those who spoke no English at all. She would explain when another student was having a problem of some type. She was probably a bit advanced for level one, but wanted to improve her confidence.





Carmen is working at a local seafood restaurant which is especially popular with Guadalajarans. Since most of the clients are Mexican, she does not need much English. She is very shy about speaking English in class, but her written work is excellent which indicates to me that she is taking her work seriously and studying hard. She is very pleasant to have in class and seems to enjoy the interaction.









Ana Paula could probably win the award as my most enthusiastic student. She breezes into class each day with a broad smile and a "Hello Teacher!" (They all call me "teacher" even though I told them my name. It's a cultural sign of respect.) Ana Paula works as a teacher and administrator at a women's college for culinary arts and hospitality in Jaltepec, several towns west of Ajijic. She is extremely motivated and knows that a career in the hospitality field will require English. Her dad is Maggie's vet, a very nice man who has raised his children as a single parent. She plays cello and sings in a church chorus.






Abigail is a hardworking mother of several children who travels to class every day with her daughter who is also enrolled in a level one class. Abigail works for aprivately-funded organization called Ninos de Chapala y Ajijic (Children of Chapala and Ajijic) which provides services to children with special needs. She is a teacher who works every day with many of these children. she is often exhausted by the time she arrives at class, but she is always the first one to arrive, often with a bag of groceries to take home to her family on the bus after class. She has made excellent progress this year.






David (pronounced Da BEED, since the Mexicans pronounce v's as b's) is one of two twelve year olds who started the class. He is now thirteen. He is attending Secondario, which is equivalent to middle school. He is a very reticent young man, who is painfully shy and struggles to speak in class. Of course all the women in class love him and mother him. He does very well on all written work, so I know he's getting the idea quite well. He plays violin. I sometimes see him around the village carrying his violin case.








Maria Elena is a lovely young woman who joined the class around Christmas. She is the fiance of Augustina's son, and I think it was Augustina who recruited her to join the class. She worked very hard, showed up for almost every class prepared, and made fine progress. She is also shy about speaking, but worked hard to overcome this. She was pregnant during most of the class and had her baby, Gustavo, during the last few weeks of the course. She brought him to class last week. He's even younger than Isabelle.




There were four other students who finished the class but were not there for the final class, so I did not include their photos: Jose Antonio is a young construction worker who often wears a Yankees cap to class. We had a lot of joking about that. His brother Julio also works construction and is more quiet and serious. They both did very well in the class. Myra, a teacher from San Juan Cosala, had to miss a number of classes because of her job and during the mudslides in San Juan, but stayed with he class nevertheless. Finally, Karla is a young woman who consistently showed up for class even though she was also very shy about speaking. She was working at a local restaurant frequented by Americans and Canadians.

I will miss my students, but I am looking forward to getting a new group in the fall. I think it would be much more difficult to stay in touch with younger people unless I did something like this, and I am energized by the process.

We are settling back into our new house after our trip north and working on making it a home. The weather is very hot and dry, especially in the afternoons. Everyone is wiaiting for the rains which should arrive within the next few weeks.

I'll end with a poem I wrote recently about my experience with my class. One thing you need to know: Bimbo is a brand of bread (pan) in Mexico.

Learning English with the Gringo

They are patient with me

The gringo who no longer works

While they struggle to learn new sounds

Which hurt their mouths

So they can understand more clearly

What these old gringos really want.

They arrive in our tiny classroom

On Mexico time, straggling in,

Always pausing at the door, smiling

Until I invite them in

To join our loose group.

I butcher Spanish words, they politely correct

Sometimes in unison, articulating with wide mouths

Showing their teeth, but all together

So the sound is muddled to me.

“Que?” I ask; they obediently repeat

Until they are satisfied with my approximation.

They talk about their families

As they try to fathom

Our language, where objects are sexless,

And pronunciation follows no rules.

“Not bideo,” I implore, “viiiideo!”

“Veeeedeo!” they repeat, eyes twinkling

Another “V” word for them to forget.

When learning geography words

We come across “Paris.”

“Heh heh,” chuckles Juan Jose, “Paris Heeeelton!”

“Oh,” I declare, “She’s a bimbo, you know.”

“Pan” they look bewildered?

“No,” I laugh, and swagger.

“This is a bimbo!”

They roar, and I love this moment.

Isabelle: Who Wouldn't Love This Baby?

Well, we're back from our US adventure, and although I know this blog is about Mexico, I will devote this posting to photos of our trip. This is probably the posting that has the most photos, but since our trip was about the people we love and care about, what better way to document our trip than showing their faces! Since I know the entire world must be waiting, with baited breath, for more photos of Isabelle, our one and only grandaughter, I'll start with her:































































I have included a photo of Eric, Pixie and I with Isabelle, but you will note, no photo of Crystal. I only had one photo available of Crystal lying down with Isabelle, but Crystal hated it so I did not include it. I promise to include photos of Crystal and Isabelle when we visit for Christmas.

Here is a photo of the mural Eric painted for Isabelle's nursery:

The other big news from Muncie was that Eric landed a professional position as a Student Support Counselor at Ivy Tech Community College. He is grateful to be using his Master's Degree and enjoy is working with this population, as Pixie and I did for many years in Maine. Here he poses in his new office.


Once we left Muncie, after three weeks for Pixie and one week for me, we stopped in Philadelphia. We spent most of the time with my Dad, and my stepmom Joy. We had a wonderful chance to visit with Joy's daughters as well when their neighbor Mary hosted a wonderful dinner for us all. Unfortunately, I took no photos of this event, but here are one year-old photos of Dad and Joy. We had a great visit. I had the chance to see Dad deliver a lecture on the history of Ophthalmology at Penn to the residents, and Pixie particularly enjoyed some Philadelphia sticky buns!




















We had a chance for a visit with my brother Fred, his wife, Heidi, and their children, Alex and Nora. We all went to a Phillies game at the new ballpark in Philadelphia. Here are Fred, Pixie, and Heidi at the game, and Alex posing in his new Phillies hat.




















Next stop was my old stomping ground, Providence, where Cassie and Alana are living. I enjoyed visiting Brown again, and we took a train into Boston to visit Cassie's studio at the Art Institute of Boston:














Here are Cassie and Alana preparing dinner for us, and Cassie with her new friend, Gertie. Cassie is considering whether to continue her pursuit of a certificate in professional illustration or to change her path to go for an MFA. More decisions!





















While we were in Providence, we were able to stay in Jim Edwards' apartment. Jim is a very special person for us, because he was the one to introduce us to the concept of retiring in Mexico. When we were at the gym one day, I was talking about retiring in a warmer climate, and Jim asked if we'd considered Mexico. We hadn't, but, at his suggestion, we considered Ajijic, where he'd spent a winter. And, of course, the rest is history! Jim has moved to Providence to be near his grand daughter, Lucy. He just bought a small house near the bay in Pawtuxet, where he posed here on his new front porch.








Wendy and Cassie both were in Maine with us for Mother's Day weekend, and we had the opportunity to spend some great time together. We also got to see Wendy's new apartment. She is glad to have a place of her own for her and Boo! Wendy is planning to return to USM in the fall, full time, to finish her degree in Recreational Therapy.





















We were also glad to see all our friends from Maine as well. We crashed the after graduation party at CMCC and saw many of our long-time colleagues. We had a reunion of our wonderful dinner group: Kathy and Doug and Gene and Betty; alas no Marlene and Elliott this time!)We were welcomed back warmly at the Auburn UU church. Mary Kay and Claire, below, hosted a wonderful open house for us.
Kevin and Judy Simpson, having just returned from India, invited us for lunch with Pearl Sawyer, the poet laureate of the Auburn UU Church!


Here are some of the wonderful friends who joined us at the open house:














Karen, PJ and Lil



Pixie, Mary-Lou and Bonnie















Claire and Charlotte; Erland and Esther














Ellie; Pat and Andie
















Bonnie and Robin; Beth, Ron, Tom, and Al
Mark, Toby, and Al


While we were in Maine we were graciously hosted for ten days by Pixie's sister, Liana, her husband, Marc, their children, Jen and Nathaniel, and Pixie's mom, Corinne. (We also enjoyed a dinner in Bath with Pixie's brother, Vance, his wife, Sherry, her son Philip, Pixie's brother Tex and his daughter Jan. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring a camera.) Here Pixie, Liana, and Corinne get special facial masks from Jen, and Nathaniel and I pose in our Hawaiian shirts before our final night dinner, where we were graciously joined by Wendy, exhausted after a long shift at Pat's.















So, our first trip back to the United States since moving to Mexico a year ago was bittersweet. We loved seeing our family and friends, and it reminded us how important they all are to us. Fortunately, with modern transportation, living in Mexico is not any further away in terms of travel time from living, say, on the west coast. We plan to return for another extended trip next spring, and are looking forward to having the family gather in Muncie for Christmas. Curt and Judy Webber are planning a return visit this fall, and we are hoping Wendy and Cassie will make it down over the winter, on their breaks from school.

So, now we have returned to our still in-progress home in Mexico. We are looking forward to getting back into our activities here and working on the house, but we have been warmed by the love of many people we reconnected with in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Maine! The next posting will be back on the subject of Mexico.