Year End Kindness

Gratitude.  It’s probably the defining word of my time in Mexico thus far and a fitting theme for my last blog post of the year.  I say it all the time because I really mean it: the people of Mexico are incredibly generous, patient and welcoming.  People love to stop me on the street and ask where I'm from and what I'm doing here and they always say how happy they are to have me here (usually while asking if I have a boyfriend - this includes the police who stopped me on the street this week to practice their english).  

My heart is perpetually full from the kindness bestowed upon me by friends and strangers alike, and you really need to hear about how giving my office has been this past month.  But first, let’s talk Christmas decorations, because you also need to hear about how popular Precious Moments-themed Christmas decorations are in Mexico!  Ceramic figurines, giant paperboard cutouts...you name it.  

Precious Moments overload. 

Word on the street is that Christmas is focused strongly on the religious element here vs. extravagant gift-giving, and I have noticed that decorations are centered on nativity images vs. Santa Claus.  Our office has a small plastic tree that we decorated together, and I’ve seen small displays of lights and decorations around town, so – even though it’s still close to 80 degrees here in mid-December – Christmas is in the air.

  Street decorations in Querétaro. 

  Decorations in our town square. 

  My only Santa sighting thus far. 

  Local pharmacy. 

  Piñata in the grocery store. 

I'm pretty sure that's Olaf! 

Christmas in Costco.  

Nativity scene in the main plaza (minus baby Jesus).  

Now back to kindness: I’ve never experienced this level of generosity in my life and my heart is often bursting with the sensation of love and gratitude.  I have to admit that it's been a challenge to accept that kindness at times.  I'm pretty sure the last time I was this dependent upon other people I was still wearing diapers, and it’s a strange feeling (being dependent on others - not wearing diapers; I don't have any memory of how that feels).  

As a fiercely independent woman, it's frustrating to know that I can’t take care of everything myself, and to constantly need help.  I know I can't carry a refrigerator by myself, but I really wish I could.  My goal for 2017 is to not have to ask for nearly as much help from others, but there's comfort in knowing that if I need it, I'm probably gonna get it.  Allow me share with you some of the outstanding examples of kindnesses bestowed upon me by my officemates this month (because it's been a mother load).

That's Martin to my left - my bringer of coffee, connector of gas and installer of lightbulbs. 

• Carlos, an intern in my office, helped me get my new apartment by asking around, calling at night to tell me he found something, and then going with me to meet the landlord and view the apartment. 
• When I said I needed to buy a bed and move it into my new house, everyone offered to help.  My coworkers Noe and Israel helped me move both a bed and a couch into my second-floor apartment, and just waved their hands and said “that makes no difference” when I said there were stairs.  They then proceeded to carry the heavy sofa on their backs and their heads with what can only be described as herculean strength.  I said thank you over and over again, and bought them cheese, but they just said “this is what we do in our community.”  I tried to explain to them that getting people to willingly help me move a sofa bed up a flight of stairs in the middle of the work day just wasn’t common in my previous life.  Afterwards Noe took us to his house for a chicken, rice, pasta salad and chocolate beer lunch so my cup literally runneth over. 

  That's Israel underneath the sofa. 

   My beloved new sofa bed (ready for visitors).

   Isreal (in plaid) has been more than gracious in helping with literally anything I need. 

Noe - he carries furniture and regularly supplies me with delicious food and drink. 

• My office helped me get several things for my new home, including a bed and a gas tank, which I could not have gotten on my own for another month or more.  My co-worker Alma also called the phone and internet company on my behalf to help me place an order for a phone line and internet at my new house.  I can usually communicate with people a-ok here, but on the phone, setting up a new account?  Forget about it.  Alma’s help saved me a lot of time and frustration.

Setting up our tree: Cindy, Alma, Fabricio and me. 

• Israel and Martin connected my gas tank, got the boiler up and running, figured out how to get the old stove in my kitchen working, and then installed light bulbs in fixtures that were too high for me to reach. Hot water, a working stove and light in one night? I was literally jumping up and down while squealing.
• Gustavo, a student in our English class, helped me move all my suitcases to my new home, which was a pretty nice gesture from a 16-year old boy, and cut my move time in half.  
• My fellow-volunteer Cindy offered me her toolbox and the height and skill set of her husband who recently came to visit.  He drilled screws in my walls to hang all of my art (and even checked it with a level afterwards) and installed one more lightbulb for me.  Cindy has been extremely generous in all other facets of life as well, and her husband has brought me many much-needed items from the US during his visits, for which I really can’t say thank you enough.

Two of my helpers: Carlos and Gustavo. 

 Me and Carlos; people often ask Cindy and I why all Americans wear Teva-type sandals. It's a defining characteristic for our people here. 

The week ended with a delicious dinner provided by our English class students in appreciation of our weekly classes.  They made fresh gorditas on our office patio and gave us chocolates and cookies.  It was a very generous and thoughtful gesture, especially for someone like me who only gets dinner cooked for her a few times each year.  

 With Luz, an English class student. 

 Sonia and Yeya preparing delicious gorditas. 

Enjoying our tasty gorditas (with Cindy's husband too!).  

It's been a really good 2016 in Mexico.  Sometimes things here take a lot longer to accomplish than in the US, but I like to think I'm learning how to be more patient (I'm not sure that's true, but I like to think that).  For example, I made the call to get my internet set up as soon as possible because I knew it could take a month or more to actually get installed.  And chances are that I’ll need to track down the local guy who does installations on the street to get a firm date and time established, but I have faith that it will eventually happen.

Just like I have faith that at the end of two years I'll be able to talk to you more fluently in Spanish and tell you about some good things I did for work.  For now, I can say with certainty that Mexico is a warm, loving and welcoming country.  It’s hard to fully describe how generous the people are here but I hope that you at least have an inkling of the kindness and warmth that's waiting for you here  (especially in my Pueblo Mágico).  We'd love to have you anytime!

Holiday display at a local restaurant.