A Day in the Life - Part 2

Part 1 of this post was indeed a “typical day” in my life, but the following is also a true representation of what I encounter on a regular basis. Please enjoy this less sarcastic view into a “day in the life” of yours truly.

 I frequently find myself in a-typical locations...

 ....often with new friends!

I was cooking breakfast last weekend when the gas went out. This is a minor crisis because there are typically no trucks driving around town selling gas on Sunday. That means no cooking and no hot water. I was ill with a stomach bug all weekend and looking forward to real food, but maybe the universe was telling me to stick with my oral rehydration salts and crackers for one more day. In what can only be described as a small miracle, I heard a gas truck driving down the street mid-day Sunday. I lept off my couch and ran downstairs yelling “Gas! Por favor!” The truck stopped and backed up, and I profusely thanked the driver for working on a Sunday, because that was the only gas truck I heard all day. 

I recently went to a meeting a few hours away, and we had to leave at 6:30 AM. We made it to our 9:00 AM meeting only 20 minutes late, but the person who was leading the meeting didn’t make it until after 10:30 AM. They apparently got stuck behind a bus going ~18 mph on a 2-lane road and were severely delayed. No one was surprised or bothered by the late start time, which is one big cultural difference here. It's not a sign of disrespect when someone shows up late to a meeting – we're just operating on a different plane here with respect to time. While the majority of meetings I attend start about 30 minutes late, there are frequently times when we wait an hour or longer for the organizer to arrive. All you can do is be patient and not schedule more than one meeting a day.  

We didn’t have time to stop for breakfast on the way to this meeting, so I started my day with cookies and peanuts, the breakfast of champions. I said no to coke and orange soda and just had some Nescafe coffee for my morning beverage. If you are allergic to peanuts, you may have a hard time in Mexico as they are the “go to” snack for all meetings and parties.  

 View to the east from a gas station/site for adding oil to the car. 

 This picture really doesn't do this magnificent tree justice. 

View to the west from the gas station. You can tell it's the dry season.

The meeting itself was productive and interesting. There were around 20 environmental educators all gathered to give input on the development of a statewide plan for environmental education. As a relative newbie in Mexico, it was really great to hear about their different experiences and programs. We finally had lunch around 3 PM which included fresh shrimp that was delicious but almost cost my weekly grocery budget. Needless to say, the rest of the week I ate whatever was available in my house, supplemented with inexpensive veggies. 

I traveled to/from the meeting with 4 other people in an old car that was filled with laughter. As the oldest person in the car, I was graciously given the front seat, for which I was super appreciative when the game “corners” got going. We stopped twice on the way back to add 2 quarts of oil to the car, and we could hear the muffler scrape every time we passed over another speed bump, or tope in Spanish (pronounced toe-pay). These are EVERYWHERE in Mexico. There are a surprising number of articles online about topes, including one from Tripadvisor which said the following: 

Speed bumps/Topes:  Topes are legendary car-stoppers. They are NOT your average speed bump. If you see a yellow highway sign with a thick horizontal black line with circular bumps (some with the word "Topes" on them), slow WAY down when you see it. Some of them are made of Steel Spheres imbedded in the road. If you hit those going too fast, you may injure (your) car.

I’ve been in a vehicle more than once when the driver didn’t see the upcoming tope and girrrrl, you fly when you hit those! If you’re riding shotgun, it’s your duty to help spot topes and prevent injury to your car and your fellow passengers. I taught the people in our car how to say “speed bump” in English, which they thought was hilarious. Then we practiced saying all of their names in English – George, Alan, Erica and Veronica – and they practiced saying my name in English, which is never easy. I’ve been getting some really good spellings of my name lately, including Atom, Aatomm and Authum, and some people are finally agreeing to just call me Otoño (although honestly, I will answer to any pronunciation or spelling).

 Sunsets are a regular part of life here. 

  My regular landscape - mountains and volcanoes. 

 Sunset and overhead wires - part of my daily life.

During our drive back home, I had this strong sense of déjà vu – with Anthony Bourdain. I had a memory of traveling down a river together in search of peace and adventures (and I presume weird and/or delicious food), but then I remembered that I had just recently passed through this same spot on a bus while listening to a Fresh Air podcast with Mr. B. 

I made it home safe and sound, and ready for a shower after a long, hot day of traveling. I was just about to turn on the water when a small, semi-translucent lizard darted out from behind my shampoo bottle. I’m a big fan of lizards; however, I'm not a fan of encountering a lizard while naked, and I definitely cannot knowingly shower with a lizard. So, I got dressed and put on my blue rubber gloves (thanks Felicia!), grabbed an old plastic container for beans, and safely escorted señor lizard outside. I had a quesadilla for dinner and spent waaaaaaay too much time watching Youtube videos – like this one – before searching my bed for any additional lizards and listening to the many neighborhood dogs serenading each other throughout the night.      

So there you go - another typical day here in Mexico. ;) 

A Day in the Life - Part 1

A lot of blog challenges encourage you to write about a day in your life as a volunteer.  There are certainly days with really funny or magical moments - like when I happen upon a band playing in the central square or a baby with a mustache attached to it's pacifier, but most days my life isn’t all that different from yours.  I wake up, I eat breakfast, I go to work, I eat lunch, I come home, I eat dinner, I watch a few shows on my computer, and then I go to sleep.  It’s not that riveting to read about.  So…..without further ado, please enjoy this awesome summary of “a day in the life” of yours truly!

Daily view in the office.  Those bottles are representative of bebidas in this region and some of the producers that we work with. 

Morning: I set my alarm every morning but it’s a rare day indeed when I don’t wake up before it goes off.  I can tell you without doubt that life is better when you don’t have to wake up to an alarm.  There was one week where I had to be at the office at 8 AM on three separate days, which definitely required an alarm.  That was a really rough week.  In the US, I used to say that I only wanted to wake up before 6 AM if I was traveling somewhere on vacation.  These days, I only want to wake up before 8 AM if a vacation awaits.  

I generally lay in bed for a good 5-15 minutes contemplating how I could cut down time getting ready in order to lay in bed longer, and if today is the day that I’m willing to make the 15-minute trek across town with my laundry.  Do I really need clean sheets or can I go another day?  I take a shower every morning, which never lasts more than a few minutes.  If I have to wash my hair, it’s a military style shower with no water during periods of sudsing.  If I don’t have to wash my hair, I can leave the water on for the full two minutes available before the hot water runs out.  Now I could go out to my patio and turn the hot water boiler on, but I’ve decided that I can survive with the small quantity of hot water provided each day from the pilot light.  This decision is driven by both my desire to save water and gas, and my unwillingness to put on pants that early in the morning.

No pants, no more than 2 minutes of hot water. 

The Work Day: I’m usually out of the house within 30 minutes of waking and then take a leisurely stroll to work.  There are three streets I can walk down to get to work so I mix it up during the week to add spice to my life.  Occasionally I run into the truck spraying water on the road and have to adjust my route on the fly to keep from getting wet.  Once I get to the office, I eat breakfast and make coffee and talk to my coworkers about insightful issues, like how I unconsciously say "like" all the time - in English - when talking to them in Spanish.  I work for about 8 hours every day, usually at a computer, in a meeting, or attending a community workshop.  We currently have a mouse problem in the office, so I also work on keeping my feet off of the floor and far away from the mice running about.  

I almost always bring my lunch to work, which is definitely not the norm here.  I would like to go out to lunch with my coworkers more often but I gotta save that money to see more of Mexico.   

Typical view on my walk to work. 

Typical view on days with community workshops

Unexpected view during a recent meeting. 

Evening: This is where the magic happens.  I walk back home, sometimes stopping at the grocery store or the laundromat, and then prep my breakfast and lunch for the next day while rocking out to some tunes.  I make dinner every night, which typically consists of only two options: quesadillas with veggies and beans, or cereal.  I fluctuate between Trix (not just for kids) and Honey Nut Cheerios with lactose-free milk.  I recently tried regular milk for the first time in a year - not a good idea.  I wasn't lactose-intolerant before I came to Mexico, but now, lactose-free is the only milk for me.  After dinner, I wash dishes, take my trash/recyclables down to the street, and chill.  Before I got to bed, I pull back all of my covers and move my pillows to make sure there's nothing else in bed with me and then cover myself in lotion to combat the super dry winter air. 

So there you have it: a glamorous glimpse into my daily life.  You are welcome. :)

Typical breakfast. 

Typical dinner.  How much more exciting can food photos get?   

*Please note that a sarcastic sense of humor does not translate well in my current culture, so I gotta get it out somewhere.

Spotlight: Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta – perhaps your easiest port of entry to Mexico if you don’t speak Spanish and are worried about visiting a foreign country where things are vastly different from the US.  I recently got to spend the weekend in Puerto Vallarta and get a glimpse of this popular tourist retreat, which has lots of great local restaurants, along with Starbucks and McDonalds.  I’ve been living in Mexico for a full year, and I like to think I’m getting some color, but I’m still pretty pale.  A gentleman on the street told me “You’re from Canada. I can tell by the way you walk.”  I assume he was referring to how I walked around blissfully content to be at the beach and in the presence of my beloved ocean, while slightly resembling an albino whale.

View of Puerto Vallarta. 

Welcoming waters of the Pacific. 

Festive street. 

Lovely church.

Puerto Vallarta is full of tourists from all over the world.  I heard English, Spanish, French, German and Japanese during the weekend, and met a woman who was from Washington state.  I had only two goals for this trip: to eat sushi and watch an ocean sunset.  I got a tip from a local regarding a cheap sushi joint a few blocks off the main tourist drag and told the waiter to skip the salad and rice side dishes – all I wanted in my belly was fresh, tasty fish.  I watched the sunset from the beach while listening to musicians at the neighboring wedding and turning away vendors selling fresh shrimp and oysters on skewers and paper plates.    

View at sunset.  

Magical ocean sunset. 

Waves at sunset. 

Beach wedding next to my sunset viewing spot.  

Hotel lights at night. 

Boats and people at sunset. 

In between sushi and the sunset, I hiked to the Matamoros view point, explored el malecon and made people talk to me in Spanish.  Just because I look like I emerged from the frigid winter of Canada doesn’t mean we have to revert to English (i.e., please keep talking to me in Spanish so I don't regress too much).  El Malecon is full of shops, restaurants and street vendors selling everything from handmade dolls to hand drawn caricatures of you and your travel companions.  I explored la Isla del Rio Cuale, which has suspension bridges, tons of vendors selling arts and crafts, and a problematic population of abandoned cats.  While climbing the 125 steps to leave la isla, I met a man who suggested I visit the nearby house that Richard Burton built for Elizabeth Taylor.  I can check that off my bucket list, but will likely never have enough money to eat in the restaurant or stay in the hotel that now occupies the formerly famous home.  

I only needed to feed my sushi animal on this trip, but if you desire an active night life, there are plenty of clubs and places to get your groove on in PV. 

There's also a big art scene and a large LGBTQ population in PV. 

The next morning I headed out early to hike to the top of the Mirrador del Cerro de la Cruz.  It’s not that long of a hike but it is steep!  On the way up, I dripped sweat and thought about the strong contrast between the luxurious mansions placed next to concrete homes with only sheets for windows.  On the way down, I marveled at the physics of how I was staying upright while walking at a 45-degree angle to the ground.  

View from el cerro. 

El cerro de la cruz. 

Super sweaty but super happy at the beach. 

I spent the rest of the day sitting in the shade, enjoying the sounds and smells of the ocean.  Before leaving, I made a beeline for the mega mart where I bought goldfish crackers to help satisfy my recent craving for foods not found in my mountain town.  Sushi, ocean sunsets and goldfish crackers – that’s pretty much my recipe for happiness.  So, if you've been thinking about a visit to Mexico, but want to ease in to a new country and language slowly, I recommend Puerto Vallarta!  Maybe I'll even meet you there ;) 

Making Friends

I used to love Valentine’s Day when I was a kid.  I loved filling out and receiving cards in class and those fancy heart-shaped boxes of chocolates.  Valentine’s Day as an adult is a much more commercialized affair that has lost it's luster.  However,  February 14th has a different flair here in Mexico.  For starters, it’s called El Día del Amor y la Amistad – or the day of love and friendship.  Right off the back, it’s inclusive (you just need to have at least one friend). 

 Signage at a local cafe. 

Celebrating el día del amor y la amistad. 

I received my first message of celebration from my host family at the crack of dawn, followed by several What’s App messages from coworkers and English class students.  One of my students invited me to join her and another friend for a snack that afternoon and refused to let me pay for anything since they had invited me.  I think we should totally embrace the addition of friendship to our Valentine's day celebrations in the US!  Note to Hallmark: no, we don't need a new line of merchandise to support that addition.  

It’s been great to find myself with friends outside of my volunteer group and to feel more integrated.  I’ve been working with a woman in another office for months but didn’t really get to know here until we recently spent 5 hours alone together in a car.  She’s a well-educated young woman who has spent time living abroad, and we had an interesting conversation regarding the role and treatment of women in different cultures, and our unique experiences.  I was pretty excited to maintain a successful flow of conversation in Spanish for that long and to have a conversation with depth.  I got together with her family the following weekend and was extra stoked when I was able to make them laugh – on purpose – in Spanish!  The pride one feels at being able to make a joke in another language is enormous. 

  Red and white flags in a neighboring Pueblo Magico. 

   Red and white building. 

Pueblo Magico. 

Workshop crew, taking a coffee break.

I’ve been lucky to meet to some really good people here, including my new friend Elena.  She has been so kind, letting me borrow her Ikea tables and introducing me to new areas and people in our community.  I was walking home the other day when I saw two horses barreling down the street in my direction.  I slowed on the sidewalk and shrunk closer to the buildings as I plotted how to avoid being in the street at the same time as those, um, lovely creatures.  Suddenly I heard Elena call my name from the corner store and was rescued.  Inside the store, she introduced me to Carlos and Javier, who make piñatas and offer services for painting nails and coloring hair.  Elena mentioned that I was looking for a Spanish teacher, and Carlos presented me with a gift of books on learning Spanish.  I feel confident that one day I will need a piñata, and clearly I will have to buy it from this kind gentleman. 

Speaking of kind gentlemen, my friend Marcel recently took me, Cindy and our new intern  from Belgium (Pierre) to brunch at a local hotel.  We piled our plates high with chilaquiles, scrambled eggs, green beans with shredded meat, tamales and fresh papaya and yogurt.  I’m all for 4-hour brunches with amazing food, good conversation and a bottle of wine.  Marcel took us on a tour of the hotel, where we met a group of Mexican visitors who were as excited as me to see the room where the actor Diego Luna once slept (that's just the hook you needed to come visit me, right?).  Everyone in the group spoke English and had some unexpected connection to us: one man was born in Detroit, one woman had been to Belgium several times, another had an ex-boyfriend from Belgium and another had an ex-boyfriend from WA state and had lived in Los Angeles for several years.  

International brunch crew. 

 Lovely sitting area. 

 Hotel courtyard. 

Art on display.  

A lovely blue wall. 

Our table for brunch. 

We talked about the vast differences in “Mexican” food in the US vs. authentic food here, and our mutual love of tacos.  We also talked about why I was here, the three Peace Corps goals, and how I learned Spanish from immersion this past year.  When it was time to leave, one of the women stayed behind to tell me that she thought she knew English when she moved to LA after years of bi-lingual schooling.  However, she said she didn’t have the confidence to speak for a year in the US and didn’t really learn the language until she too was immersed.  She told me that I was doing a great job and she thanked me for sharing my experiences and a positive view of her country with people back in the US.  I feel like I receive 99% of the benefits from this experience, so her comments were really touching. 

The following week I headed to a community workshop where we received invitations to lunch from four different community members.  I was in a state of panic trying to decide who I was supposed to go eat with, as I didn't want to offend anyone.  I randomly went left with a coworker and ended up in the best house ever.  The family served us a delicious dish of rice, vegetables, tender meat and nopales, and fresh agua de naranja.  They had lots of questions about current events in the US and they laughed really hard when I said I thought it was odd that people put ketchup on pizza here.  They also thought it was funny that I got a little nervous when three giant chickens grazed my legs while eating their tortillas in a dish by my feet.  

Chicken on a wall. 

There’s a weird balance to life here in Mexico for me.  Every day with a rough moment has been balanced by a moment of kindness, love or beauty.  That formula has been at work, without fail, every single time I’ve encountered a rough patch during the past year.  The other day I had a rocky start to the morning and while walking home thought “ok, there are still a few more hours left in this day, so I have full faith that my balance is coming.”  Sure enough it did.  My neighbor Elena stopped by to chat that evening and when she left I was smiling and back in my groove.  Maybe I’m more open to looking for those positive moments  (or just more in need of finding them), or maybe life is just more magical here in Mexico.  Either way, I greatly appreciate every little moment of joy and balance that I encounter.  If you can’t remember the last time that happened, start looking for it.  You’ll find it ;)