Personal

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Comfortable

I think I might have mentioned it once or twice of the winter that the Isla casa didn’t have a comfortable spot for relaxation since both the bed and sofa were hard.

As some of you may have noticed, I have a somewhat leaner profile than when I first started blogging. It might have also been quite obvious that I am an apple shape, with all my weight concentrated in the abdomen area. To get a semblance of a waist, I had to lose weight everywhere else first. The end result was knobby knees, hips, shoulders, and buttocks that desperately need not just padding, but also springiness.

Working this winter was pretty much agonizing. Even after adding a cushion to the computer chair I bought, it wasn’t enough. It felt like I was sitting on daggers, hence why I had such a hard time focusing for long stretches of time. The gals on my weight loss support forum told me to look for a doughnut cushion so that the bones would not press on anything, but I couldn’t find one in Maz.

After so much pain during the day, work was finally done and my only options for relaxing were the sofa, which didn’t have a single soft spot, or the bed, which was barely better. I was okay leaning back on pillows, but not sitting up, and I had to learn to sleep on my back since there was too much pressure on my knees, hips, and shoulders on my side and I would wake up with bruises.

So I spent most of the evening last night at the desk on the computer doing emails and answering blog comments until my behind had firmly enough of all the abuse (the truck seat is no longer comfortable either) and I was tired anyway. So I went to bed and…

OH.

It was like sinking into heaven. The mattress was thick and had lots of give. I could roll over without all my knobby bits hitting a hard surface. For the first time in months, I was comfortable and not hurting. It’s amazing the things that the human body can get used to, isn’t it? Pain just became my new normal and I used walking to get out as many kinks as possible.

The room was quite dark and quiet and I fell asleep very fast. I woke up around 4:00 absolutely frozen, though, so I turned on the heat and went back to my comfy nest. I’m going to have to pull the flannel pajamas out of the truck and repack my overnight bag since I didn’t think to take into consideration cold nights when I was sorting my clothes.

It’s also quite cool this morning, so I threw a cardi on over my sundress to schlep down to the office for coffee (still very decent). I’m finishing up my breakfast, I need to get started on my work. I don’t plan to get far tonight and it will likely be a sleep in the truck night. After much deliberation, I have decided to skip Las Cruces and am heading for Truth or Consequences, as accommodation there is cheaper. Bu until I hear about work, there are no motels in my future, so I’m in no hurry to get there.

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The Winter of My Dirty Feet

Sitting at Charly’s Rock tonight munching on my octopus tacos as I watched the Sea of Cortez, I was flooded with a feeling I couldn’t understand at first. It was overwhelming and I almost choked on it as tears welled up in my eyes and threatened to spill over. I took a deep breath to calm myself and then I knew what it was I was feeling.

If my life was a movie, there would have been a montage running backwards through the last seventeen years of my life ending with me sitting on a bench by Melrose Abbey in Scotland. The feeling was utter oneness with the universe and my place in it. Peace. A certainty that I am exactly where I am supposed to be and that my life is on track.

I’ve always felt that I was being prepared for something. Part of that something was my winter here in Mexico. So many little life lessons all added up to no significant culture shock and an ability to slip so easily into my Mexican routine. I’ve been wanting to come to Mexico for so long, but I was patient and went when going there felt like an inevitability, the most logical and sensible next step in my life.

There is no doubt in my mind that I will be back at Isla this time in seven months. And there is little doubt that I’ll have Mexican residency within the next few years and citizenship within the next decade.

The thing about travel, truly living in a new place instead of just vacationing there, is that it expands your horizons and refashions your worldview. I remember taking a train to Mountainview, California, eight years ago, my first time being in a warm climate, and having a life altering revelation. I didn’t have to keep trying to enjoy winter and cold weather. I could choose something else because there were other options!

Just because I was born in Canada does not mean that I am forced to accept its climate or culture of apathy or exorbitant cost of living. The whole world is open to me and I can choose to live in a climate where I am healthier. Rather than bemoan the status quo and lack of desire to grow as a people, I can choose to live somewhere that is growing into ‘first world’ status and choosing its own path that honours the past while shaping an exciting future. Or I can choose to live outside the first world because I know I can be very happy with very little as long as I have good internet… and just about anywhere in the world has better internet than Canada anyway. And then, there’s my income, barely enough to eke out an existence in Canada, yet sufficient to live well in less developed countries. I might not love what I do, but I love the freedom of schedule it affords me and when I can live somewhere like Mexico where that money buys me a lot of freedom, it really makes me feel stupid to have ever considered giving it all up for a ‘real’ job in Canada.

The life education I gained in the last several years was costly and now I need to focus on paying it all back. I’m grateful that Mexico is relatively close by and will provide me with the stimulation I need I until I can afford to take off and explore the far reaches of our world. I’m also thankful that I found a sliver of Canada that is calling me back, a piece of property that I love and where I don’t feel that my values are compromised. Haven is a blessing and I can honestly say that sad as I am to leave Mexico tomorrow, I am happy to be heading home.

Just think of what lies ahead for me; nearly six months of good weather under the bright blue skies of my beloved Prairies while knowing that my life now is a nearly eternal summer and that I do not have to dread the coming winter. I’ll have a brief spell of cold before I can leave and, soon enough, my feet will be getting reaccustomed to the grit of sand between the toes and forgetting what closed shoes feel like.

For the last seventeen years, this song has been a lament. Fond memories of my Scottish travels were marred by the failures that followed my great adventure across the pond.

Now, I can say, Caledonia, you were the best thing I ever had and I can finally remember you with only joy in my heart and not an ounce of regret.

¡Gracias, Mexico, y hasta noviembre!

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Long Lunch On the Beach

The last few days have been insane! Everyone is trying to squeeze one last job out of me. I got an unexpected project on Tuesday that I couldn’t pass up and that has meant very, very, very, very long work days. Any breaks are spent starting on laundry, packing, and cleaning.

I asked my friends L&N if they wanted to go to Miguel’s for dinner tomorrow night, but that didn’t work for them. They asked me to instead join them at El Velero for lunch today.

So I did and I wound up being there for almost three hours! I didn’t really have that much time to spend there, but it was nice to chat with friends and just take a break before the final push.

El Velero is really popular with the Canadians, but I don’t find it great and it’s rather expensive. But I’d heard all winter about their ‘Imperial’ shrimp. I decided to do a splurge (and at $140, what a splurge it is!) and try them out.

They are huge shrimp stuff with cheese and wrapped in bacon and very delicious! I managed to make two meals out of the dish (have supper waiting for me later!), so that amortized the cost somewhat. But it came with just a tiny scoop of rice and frozen veggies (what?!) so it really wasn’t that special. I’m glad I tried it and the shrimp were amazing, but it’s not something I’d have again. I had a mineral water limonada with it since I had to get back to work after. Yum!

I came in to find another small job waiting for me related to the Tuesday project, which explains why I haven’t been paid yet. So I’ll do that tonight and hopefully will get paid tomorrow. I’m a little tight in my April budget, so this project being something of a windfall, I’m allowing myself to access the funds next week rather than waiting till May. Normally, money made one month is only accessible the following month, even if paid the same month, but I’m going to have some overlapping April/May expenses, so this will be much appreciated bridging funds.

Contessa sent me a link to information about protests shutting down the Mex-15 cuota between Maz and Culiacán. So I think that is the universe possibly trying to save me several hundred pesos. It took me five hours to do Guamúchil to Maz city limits, so there is no way I’m doing that entire trip by libre, but I think I’ll do the libre to Culiacán, check traffic on my phone, and get on the cuota there if everything’s okay.

Back to work I go. And by that, I’m not sure yet if I mean typing or packing…

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Quantifying Linguistic Progress

One of my goals for this winter was to improve my Spanish and gain more fluency. I really didn’t know what that meant because I had no idea what level I was starting at. After four months or so, I was able to use Berlitz’s linguistic proficiency level scale to not only figure out where I started, but also to quantify my progress.

I started shakily in functional level 2. “At the functional level, you have a basic command of the language needed in a limited range of simple, routine, and familiar tasks and situations.” This is evident from the fact that I was able to negotiate the apartment, deal with TelCel, and do basic business interactions immediately upon arriving, but had a difficult time when going ‘off script.’

I am now hovering between intermediate levels three and four.  This is reflected in the fact that I can now following simple conversations and discuss more complex topics, but am still struggling with verb tenses, vocabulary deficiencies, and understanding idle conversation.

Yesterday, I got chicken for the first time in weeks, if not months, and for the last time this winter (there’s nothing wrong with it, I just got bored!). I got there late and the line up was long. All the chatter made me realise oral comprehension really needs to be my focus for next winter.

I have  good comprehension in one-to-one situations, but put me in a middle of a crowd and I only catch the odd word or phrase. I also rarely understand two Mexicans talking to each other. I know that watching simple Spanish programming with Spanish subtitles this summer will go a long way to helping me hit the ground running on this issue next year. It would unlock a lot of mysteries of Mexican social mores to be able to sit on a bench and eavesdrop on conversations!

But I do get some of what I hear and what I understood yesterday at the chicken stand was further evidence of the progress I’ve made. After the vendor took money from a little girl, I clearly understood, “Tell your mother she owes me five pesos” from a few rapidly fired words.

And guess what I was able to do? As soon as the vendor had a moment to breathe, I asked her if the price had changed for a half chicken and she said, “Yes, to 55 pesos.” I know for a fact that when I got to Mexico in November, I wouldn’t have been able to understand her comment to the little girl in any way that would relate to me, much less be able to formulate a related question and be able to understand the response!

I helped some friends move today and they hired two Mexican movers. I warned the guys that I understand Spanish in case they wanted to say anything negative about my friends or the move or whatever, all of which I didn’t want to hear. They said a few things to me in Spanish as we did 50 billion trips down a very, very, very, very long flight of stairs (I got my exercise today!), but mostly stuck to quite good English for my friends’ benefit.

Later, at the new house, the two movers and I flopped down for a break while my friends settled things with their landlord. The guys started chatting with me in Spanish and the conversation was really quite in depth, almost to the level of what I would share with my riding guide. Once again, their English, like my landlady’s, is excellent, much better than my Spanish, and they chose to speak to me in Spanish. That tells me I’m not bumbling along with the language as badly as I think I am!

(They find the dogs and roosters as annoying as I do, by the way. I’m glad to know that!)

Finally, there’s another thing I’ve been able to do this winter, simple translations, like I did from my riding guide to my riding buddies. I’m also doing simple Spanish transcription when I have extra time. I’m not getting paid for this, but it’s experience for which I’m getting good feedback. So who knows, I might be able to add Spanish proficiency to my resume in a year or two!

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Tacos Al Pastor At Last

Ellen: All I want to know, I just want to know one simple thing. When do I get to become an Islander?
Councilwoman: Ellen, never! Never! You’re not born here — you’re not an Islander.

When reading up about tacos early in my Mexican stay, I became obsessed with finding al pastor tacos. They are made of pork meat marinated in pineapple juice (and other yummy stuff) and roasted on a spit like gyros meat. Since I have been in Maz, I have been looking for these elusive tacos, chasing dead internet leads and finding places that claim to have al pastor tacos, but the meat is merely cooked on the barbecue. I know I could have probably asked and been directed to some, but this was my own little treasure hunt for the winter!

I had the right idea on how to find them, walk and walk and walk and follow my nose, but I found them in the last place I would have expected… the Golden Zone, right on Camarón Sábalo!

So  I’ve been working myself to the bone the last few days because a client is injured and her other main subcontractor is ill. If this company goes down, I go down, so like the little Dutch boy, I stuck my finger in the dam and typed, typed, typed.

I was finally done the project by 11:00 today and was done for the day, needless to say! I have work for tomorrow and through the weekend, but it’s a normal amount. I haven’t been to town in a full week, so I decided to head out for lunch and to pick up a few groceries.

All the pangas now have these brand new life jackets with their names on them.

All the pangas now have these brand new life jackets with their names on them.

Cruise ship in dock. I saw some of the guests on a 'topless tour' of Maz. Get your head out of the gutter, topless refers to no roof on a double decker bus!

Cruise ship in dock. I saw some of the guests on a ‘topless tour’ of Maz. Get your head out of the gutter, topless refers to no roof on a double decker bus!

I think this is a graveyard.

I think this is a ship graveyard.

I did my normal route to the bus stop, picking up a grapefruit juice on the way.

Ooh!

Ooh!

So purty!

So purty!

Delivering mail in style!

Delivering mail in style!

Then, I rode the bus to just past the Rafael Buelna roundabout. The taco places I’d seen advertising tacos al pastor were all in a row on the southbound side of Camarón Sábalo and I went into the first one as it looked very clean, but not as Gringoified as the others. I had a good feeling I made the right choice when the server did a double take as a I came in and told me, in a very thick accent, “Sorry, no menu English.”

The restaurant is right across the Deloitte building on Camarón Sábalo.

The restaurant is right across the Deloitte building on Camarón Sábalo.

Ah, deliciousness on a spit!

Ah, deliciousness on a spit!

Ta'Locos

Ta’Loco

The prices were typical for authentic Mexican fare. The al pastor tacos were something like $13 each or four for $40. I ordered two and a limonada that, at $35, was more expensive than my food!

Before my tacos arrived, I was presented with four bowls of salsa (pico de gallo, avocado, spicy pimento, and brown deliciousness, as well as a plate of limes and cucumbers and another of chips. I’m glad I only ordered two tacos! And I’m also glad that I called the server back to specify corn tortillas because he had told the cook flour ones, which, by the way, were double the price! Crisis averted! 🙂

The cucumbers were really good... especially dipped in salsa. :)

The cucumbers were really good… especially dipped in salsa. 🙂

I liked all of these salsas. The avocado, pico de gallo, and brown one at the top right were not particularly spicy. The creamy orange one on the top left was HOT but add flavour, like pimento cheese, and I actually made some inroads in it!

I liked all of these salsas. The avocado, pico de gallo, and brown one at the top right were not particularly spicy. The creamy orange one on the top left was HOT but had flavour, like pimento cheese, and I actually made some inroads in it!

And behold tacos al pastor! Marinated pork, pineapple, onion, and cilantro:

I finally found a dish where cilantro felt like it belonged...

I finally found a dish where cilantro felt like it belonged…

They were everything I hoped they would be and so worth the search! I loaded on the salsas and dug in. I didn’t get any utensils, so I used chips to scoop up what fell out!

When I was done, I worked my way through the rest of the chips, cucumbers, and limonda, then paid the $62 tab (plus a $10 tip).

I am getting used to being served toothpicks after a meal.

I am getting used to being served toothpicks after a meal.

I decided to brave the bathroom and was surprised to find a rather nice very recently redone bathroom with everything but toilet seats. By the way, navy blue toilets seem to be the rage in Mexico!

On the way to lunch, I had seen something I haven’t seen since San Carlos, a Thrifty’s ice cream parlour! So that’s where I headed after lunch!

Hey, a Thrifty's ice cream place!

Hey, a Thrifty’s ice cream place!

I love nieve de garrafa, but sometimes you want a real proper chocolately ice cream and that is surprisingly difficult to find in Maz. I ordered a scoop of chocolate brownie in a regular (galleta) cone. I remember thinking in San Carlos that $29 was cheap for an ice cream cone, but I don’t think that anymore. 🙂

Then, I headed to Mega and took a picture of a restaurant that has caught my eye a few times:

Killer sushi, huh? Might want to rethink the name...

Killer sushi, huh? Might want to rethink the name…

I was just at the Mega parking lot when I realised I didn’t want to get my groceries there. I didn’t need anything I couldn’t get at the little Ley and lugging stuff home from Mega would be a huge pain unless I took a pulmonía, which would have been the best thing to do since I wanted mostly cold stuff.

So I went back to Avenida del mar to catch the bus and just missed it. I waited about 15 minutes for the next one.

I did see something that made up somewhat for the wait. A car inched its way down Avenida del mar and there was an old man in the back seat practically hanging out the window yelling, “It’s the ocean! It’s the OCEAN!!!”

The car was plated in Chihuahua, a non-coastal state, so I’m thinking this was the man’s first trip to the sea. I am choking up thinking about how joyful he sounded.

I finally got on a bus and did some research on my phone about reliable web hosts since I’ve decided to move the blog to a better provider after uskeba.ca was down for about an hour this afternoon.

I put the phone away as we turned into Centro as this was only my second time riding towards the Mercado and I wanted to get a better sense of the route. The (Mexican) lady sitting next to me then asked if the Mercado was coming up, telling me she just moved to Maz and doesn’t know the buses yet.

I look so much like a tourist in my sundresses that I’m shocked she asked me, but I guess that since I did the bulk of the route buried in my phone, I must have appeared to be an experienced bus rider. I told her we were about four blocks from the Mercado and to just wait for a huge crowd to stand up to know where to get off!

After we passed Zaragoza and turned onto Aquiles Serdan, I realised that I didn’t need to go all the way to the Mercado (I was exhausted and ready to get home). I got up and the bus stopped at the corner of Melchor Ocampo, the street the Ley is on!

So I only had a couple of blocks to walk and there was the store. I really like the little Ley as it’s so compact that you can get in and out very quickly when you know what you want. My top priority was powdered milk, which I use in my coffee. It was on sale again and about a quarter the cost of what I pay in Canada, so I picked up two bags and that should get me through until I get back in November.

WOW. A bag like this is about $12 (4x the cost) back home!

WOW. A bag like this is about $12 (4x the cost) back home!

I’ve figured out the shortest route from the Ley to the panga, so I was at the dock in short order. There, a family was crowding the ticket booth debating whether or not to go over and the ticket seller took pity on me and told them to move aside. I paid my $8 and as I was putting away my change, I heard the man complain about the cost of the fare ($30 round trip x 4 people=$120) and the fact that I hadn’t paid that much. I then heard some very sweet words, “¡La chica es una Isleña!” (the girl is an Islander). 😀