Phone Rings, You Answer: No Matter What

The other day I got a message from a friend that said “I have to tell you, you look amazing. Happy. Radiant!”  I have to tell you that I feel really happy here (and FYI – having someone send you a message like that makes you really feel like you are radiating joy and beauty)!

Radiating joy in el campo. 

One of my fellow volunteers recently said that in the US she felt really unhappy and here in Mexico she felt extremely happy.  I can relate.  I had a good life in the US, but I felt like I wasn't living life to the fullest, churning away at a job I liked and felt proud of but spending all of my vacations visiting all the people I loved who lived far, far away.  Maybe it’s because everything is still new here and there’s an adventure around every corner (#adventureswithgiantmothsandspiders), but the only thing I’m missing these days is access to sushi.  Ok, and sometimes I really miss Target, the comfort of a spider-free plush couch, anonymity, and massages.  I really, really miss massages.  However, I feel more like myself now than I have in a really long time and I think a big part of that is having the time and will to learn new things.  For example, I recently learned how to embroider tortilla towels, that not all grasshoppers are green and that there are hormones you can use to make plant cuttings grow roots.  

Word in the forest is that the red grasshoppers are the young ones. 

My group of volunteers, counterparts and Peace Corps staff.

Those Peace Corps volunteers - they're good people (for example, Mickey & Tess)! 

There’s also comfort in being part of a larger group of like-minded souls who are all going through the same things as you at the same time.  Nothing restores your faith in humanity and the next generation like hanging with a bunch of Peace Corps volunteers.  I’m learning new things about myself every week (the good and the bad), and learning about all those cultural differences that could lead to misinterpretations.  For example, phones.

From what I’ve seen, people in Mexico have a different relationship with phones than in the US.  In the US there’s a socially agreed upon norm that it’s rude to be on your phone while at a meal with a friend, during a work meeting, in the movie theater, etc.  People still do those things in the US but there’s a lot of apologizing/explaining involved (or at least there are a lot of nasty looks and exasperated sighs from passive aggressive bystanders) and phones are put on silent when you know it would be rude to interrupt someone or something with a call.

No worry about phones when you're out in el campo without cell service. 

Not a cell phone tower in sight. 

I think we all prefer the sound of a waterfall to a phone. 

Things are a little different here in Mexico where every phone call is treated with a certain amount of reverence.  My cell phone apparently has the capacity to record a voicemail, because one time I received one, but I have no way to retrieve it.  So let’s just hope that message wasn’t important.  My coworker told me not to worry because nobody really uses voicemail in Mexico.  That appears to be true as people will answer the phone each and every time it rings.  You’re in the middle of giving a presentation and your phone rings? Well, just stop presenting and take that call.  You're in the middle of a meeting where someone else is talking and your phone rings?  Go ahead and answer and talk at the meeting table.  I was giving my first presentation (in Spanish) and the office phone rang. I knew it would be answered but kept on talking. After a few minutes I was talking mid-sentence when, without warning, the phone was put on speaker mode in the middle of the table and suddenly the person on the other end was wishing us a happy Independence Day.  More different from office culture in the US this could not be.   

Speaking of different, this is part of the ice collected during the defrosting of my mini-fridge after one month of use. A well-sealed freezer I do not have.  

I was really taken aback the first time I saw someone stop to respond to a What’s App message as they were actively presenting in front of a group of about 50 people, and I had to fight the feeling that it was rude for a call to be answered during my presentation because it wasn't rude.  I'm just in a different place with different norms.  And it made me wonder how many other times in my life I’ve gotten aggravated or felt slighted by someone because they behaved in a manner that didn’t match my cultural norms (or how many times someone here has had a negative thought about me because of something I've done that was totally normal for me).  For sure, people are sometimes rude (you know who you are and yes, it really is rude to text during movies), but sometimes maybe their actions just don’t match with what’s normal and polite for you.  

I’m going to stick with my US phone norms here in Mexico, but I'll also try not to take it personally the next time that phone gets answered while I’m talking (cause that's for sure gonna happen). And I can always suggest that we all follow the sage advice from the artist Cake and just put those phones down for the day.  

Bugging Out

I recently spent 5 nights in a very nice hotel and I got the best sleep I’ve had in half a year.  I realized on day two that the reason I was sleeping so well was that I didn’t have to worry about anything (including rolling off the bed as this mattress was almost queen size!). For the first time in 6 months I wasn’t worried about any critters coming out of the ceiling, any spiders crawling on me or the potential to run into cockroaches on the floor.  I slept with my arms on top of the covers, freely flailing about with no fear, even walking barefoot in the middle of the night.  It was a magical time.

I'm not saying I'm the world's best photographer, but clearly I'm pretty good. 

Not magical: clown-themed candy. This stuff is everywhere. 

My first night back in my own house, I felt strangely confident and comfortable.  I mean come on, I only found one dead cockroach when I came home after more than a week, and I slept like a rebel with my arms on TOP of the covers.  Well, I slept that way until I remembered that I came home to large piles of wood “powder” that had accumulated everywhere during my absence thanks to all the termites in my wood ceiling.  One of those piles was on my bed near my pillow and I started to worry that the wood dust would end up in my ear, so I spent the rest of the night with the sheets pulled over my head.

I did notice a few more spiders than normal in the house after a week's absence but whatever; spiders are an important part of the ecosystem and if you don’t bug me, I won’t bug you.  The next day I ran into one of those flat, jumping spiders and I didn’t want to kill it, but it was jumping towards me and in my bedroom, which was not cool.  When it was time to go to bed, I saw something moving on the living room wall – another spider.  Adios mi amigo - your time in my house has come to an end.  Then I saw a HUGE spider on the glass door to the garden.  I mean huge like the size of a full hand.  I took the bug spray – purchased to take out the cockroaches – and sprayed and then the spider was gone.  Like "vanished into thin air" gone with no trace that the giant creature was ever there.  As I frantically jumped around searching my hair and body for where it went, all I could think was "what kind of magic spider am I dealing with here?"

Querétaro art that captures the creepy spider mood.

I headed back to my room and something flew by my head which elicited a scream.  Turns out it was a big black moth the size of a small bat.  I ran into my bedroom, feeling safe behind the door with a guard at the bottom to keep all those creepy crawlers out.  The sanctity of a bedroom is a precious thing.  That sanctity was quickly dissolved when I saw another one of those huge flat spiders on the wall above my bed. Too big and too close to ignore I headed back into the kitchen for a chair, the broom and bug spray and narrowly avoided another run in with the big flying moth (who I think we can all assume had some kind of malicious intent).  The spider was too high to reach with the broom so I sprayed two times and watched him crawl back into the ceiling. I could literally hear him walking on the wall that’s how big he was.  Anytime I now hear a noise while in bed, I’ll assume it’s a giant killer spider.  Wait, what if that noise I hear every night in my ceiling is actually a bunch of giant spiders walking around, plotting their attack?!

 This is how you keep everything from walking on your ledge: shards of glass sticking straight up.

I'm guessing there are fewer spiders in this alley than in my house.

About 10 minutes later the giant spider dropped out of the air onto my bedside table, less than a foot from where I was sitting. There may have been another shriek followed by the broom beating on the table which then shattered the glass on top and sent shards all over my bedroom.  I headed back out to the kitchen to get the dustpan to clean up all the glass, and sure enough, there was the other giant flippin spider back on the door.  I sprayed it again, and again it disappeared into thin air, continuing with its mysterious ways.  I cautiously backed my way towards the bedroom door, ducking as the killer moth tried to strike again.

I'm on an "every-other-night I see something a little creepy in my house" schedule these days.  Which means every other night I don't find anything as I constantly scan the walls and ceiling searching for anything out of place.  And every other night I scan and find a cockroach crawling above me or a spider jumping towards me.  Or what I think is a bat flying at my head.  

So yeah....  I’ve needed a lot of calming music to get to sleep at night and the soundtrack to the movie The Descendants is my favorite source of soothing, Hawaiian music.  I love that soundtrack so much, I just bought a ukulele to learn how to play.  What better skill to learn during my Peace Corps service?  Maybe my lack of musical ability will drive all the spiders out of my house and into the peaceful quiet of the great outdoors.  A girl can dream.

Who knew the characters from the TV show "The Dinosaurs" still had a presence in Mexico?

Season of Celebrations

The past two weeks were full of celebrations in my pueblo and in my life as I got to see all my fellow Group 18 Peace Corps volunteers for the first time in almost 4 months.  There were many parades, fireworks, street vendors and church events in celebration of both the fiestas patronales and Mexico’s Independence Day.  I finally saw what device makes the loud “booms” that shakes the house whenever it’s time to celebrate a saint (which we celebrate A LOT here) and ate pozole for the first time (which was delicious!).

Independence Day colors on display. 

  Celebratory colors in the square. 

View on my street. 

I wish I could tell you more about the cultural significance of the fiestas patronales but here’s what I do know: every day there was a different group of people walking behind a religious image carrying gifts to the church.  I saw the owners of the fruit stand on the corner carrying a large basket of food to donate and there was always a huge group of people to watch the procession.  There were also many mariachi bands playing music in the square, day and night, and lots and lots of people on horses.

 The start of every procession. 

Flowers for the procession. 

Mariachi bands. 

I was traveling on a bus during the highpoint of parades and celebrations for Independence Day but saw the remnants of a party with tons of confetti in the street upon arriving in Guanajuato.  Guanajuato is nestled in the mountains a few hours from Queretaro and houses a lovely collection of brightly colored homes on hillsides.  I met up with four other volunteers and explored the city, including the Museo Casa Diego Rivera, the modern art museum, the Monumento al Pipila and the Museo de Las Mumias.  The art was all amazing but the mummies were kind of creepy for two reasons: 1) there were babies and 2) word is that if someone’s family couldn’t pay their “perpetual” burial taxes they were exhumed and put on display.

Mural outside the mummy museum.

Panorama view from Pipila. 

That's the monument for Pipila on the left. 

Rail car travel to the top of the mountain. 

So many beautiful views! 

Mountains in the background. 

Local art.  

Guanajuato is really beautiful and teeming with visitors from all over the world.  We got to see the underground tunnel system that zips cars through town and serves as an overflow route for flood waters.  We stayed at an Airbnb with our gracious host Scott who – with his friend Fernando – gallantly carried our suitcases up all 200 plus steps to his house.  When you have to climb up 200 plus steps to get to your lodging, you tend to leave in the morning and not return again until it’s time to sleep. Airbnbs are always an adventure and although the stairs were not mentioned in the description, and it was physically impossible to fit the advertised “room for 5” in one single bed and one double bed, we had a great time.  My friend Kati had to sleep on the plywood bed placed on two buckets but she only almost flipped over once.  

Scott had to work for the majority of our visit but his friend Fernando spent all day with us which made us talk more in Spanish, which is always a good thing! He didn’t want to smile in the photos but I guarantee you he had a great time with us.  I laughed so much during that trip and have a little site envy as another volunteer in my group actually lives there. 

A blurry shot of our host Scott.  

Spending quality time with Fernando. 

One of several beautiful churches on our daily walk. 

University of Guanajuato.  

The kissing alley - where I sadly did not get kissed.  

Kati's "bed".  

Shopping in the local mercado - also home to delicious breakfast tamales. 

The local theater - and site of many street performers.  

This shop had great art.  

A magic little find.  

On Sunday I headed to Querètaro to join the rest of my Peace Corps group for a week of training back in our home city.  It was good to be back in the Peace Corps office and to start working on project frameworks and monitoring and evaluation plans.  It was even better to catch up with all my fellow-volunteers.  We enjoyed lots of adventurous bus and uber rides, pizza and pool parties, lots of non-Mexican food and opportunities to buy all that stuff we can’t find in our small towns (like fabric for my future wall art project).  I also spent an evening with my old host family and Lilia made me chilaquiles for dinner. It was so good to see the fam and I look forward to seeing them every time I'm back in town! 

With Natalie, sharing one of many laughs during a laugh-filled week.   

Fountain in Guanajuato. 

So many colorful homes.  

Don Quixote statue. 

It took 10 hours on two buses, plus transfer time before and during my trip, but I safely returned home and was pleasantly surprised to find only one dead cockroach in the house.  My brother wasn’t sure how that was a success, but I think it’s a good sign that I’m slowly driving them out.  I spent today shopping for food which required a trip to the following places: the tianguis for veggies, a local tienda for seafood, another tienda for fruit and more veggies, another tienda for eggs, and a final mercado for bacon.  I now have a big batch of chicken, veggie and lentil soup ready to go for the week.  Needless to say I am exhausted and more thankful than ever that I now have internet in my house. Last week my landlord came to my office and said “I found a Telmex guy on the street and they can install your internet right now but you need to come home.” So off I went and after 5 weeks of waiting for internet, it was installed. Patience, flexibility and internet – these are the keys to life.

View on the bus ride home.