WE ENJOY
The Mexican People
The people have not only accepted us, but adopted us as family. We have found a great little church which has also taken us in as their own.
The hospitality of the Mexican people is well expressed by a phrase that they use. We asked a fairly new acquaintance where she lived. She responded, "Su casa esta..." (Your house is at such and such an address.) It took me a few seconds to realize that she has actually saying, "My house is..." but by calling it "su casa", or your house she was expressing how welcome we would be there. I've found out since then that this a commonly used expression.
We've become friends with some simply by being a friend. John stopped and helped a man get his car started on our first trip and they invited us to their home in Santa
Anita (just outside Guadalajara). They took us to the club house to have dinner and we had a great time.
Americans/Canadians
Expats who live in areas with a large expat community may not be interested in chatting with every person they see who looks as if they are of our language and culture. When we meet any of these folks it's generally at Sam's, WalMart, McDonalds, or Burger King. Thus, if given the opportunity, we almost always speak to them. Natually, we don't invite them all home with us, but we have found some who are of kindred minds and interests and thus we have become close friends with them.
While on our "exploratory trip" in 2000 one evening at a motel in Ajijic, I was in the room and heard John speaking English outside (We had heard almost no English on the trip). When I went to check it out I discovered he was chatting with Carl Franz, author of "The People's Guide to Mexico" (which we had read) http://www.peoplesguide.com/ , Lorena Havens, and Teresa Kendrick, author of "The Insider's Guide to the Northshore for International Travelers" which she was still working at a the time. http://www.chapalaguide.com/
time.
Fourth of July with Expat Friends
The Climate and The Heavens
The weather here is great almost every day. We love spending so much time outdoors. Very few days go by that we don't comment on how glorious the weather is. We never get used to it.
Local Places of Interest
Plaza Tres Centurias (Three Centuries)
Picnicking with the Sabinales (Bald Cypress)
John barely visible in this huge tree.
La Charreada (Type of Rodeo)
This is John and our friend, Luis (the one who first befriended on the street). They joke around so much together that I call them "Los Dos."
OUTINGS WITH FRIENDS AT THEIR GETAWAYS
The Dias Getaway at El Potrerillo
The Berne Getaway at Sierra Laurel
TRIPS BACK TO THE "OLD COUNTRY"
About twice a year we meander back to the country of our birth. Sometimes we venture as far as Denver by vehicle. Last Christmas our grandchildren and children bought us tickets to Denver and then on to the Seattle area to spend the holidays with them. What a great gift and we enjoyed each one of them so much. We didn't enjoy the twenty-some straight days of rain in Washington, but I loved all the greenery, the tall pine trees; the holly and the ivy being my favorites.
We still do the mad shopping sprees while in the U.S. for the impossible or hard-to-find articles--like cement screws, brass thumb tacks, clear polyurethane wood finish, and some edibles such as green peas, Rice-a-roni (and its cousins) plain Cheerios, semi-sweet chocolate, licorice, etc., etc. We're also buying unfinished cabinets for the laundry room, a piece or two at a time.
There is lots of desert between here and the border, but it's not all boring.
