Soapbox Time!!

Okay the question is---do you know someone who is living in a different part of the country or in a different country so that they can help the local population? Do you write them? Regularly? Have you thought that maybe you should drop them a line or call? Since I am now living in a "foreign" country I have to tell you how much hearing from home means to me. Those who stay in touch may make the difference between having a miserable day or thinking of how to resolve the day's challenges in a positive, productive manner. 
I would like each one of you to make a list of those who you have thought you should communicate with...do you have their email addresses? Can you get it from other friends? Compile a list of people you want to write to and their email addresses. Then think about what day each month might be a good day to do that. Schedule it in. You can do a sort of form letter for friends and family perhaps personalizing it a bit for each. Asking specific questions. They will be thrilled to hear from you and you will be happy that you wrote them. It is a win/win situation.  Today was laundry day here...I do laundry by hand; no washing machine yet. A third of the way through the laundry there was no water in the house and so it goes....it came on for a couple of minutes around 5pm but is gone again. My neighbor said that some pipe had broken. I have a back up well that I can pump and turn the pump on to fill my water tank but once done, I still have no water. There must be a valve turned off somewhere.  I need to contact my landlord. Yesterday we stopped with friends to visit some friends and ending up eating outside. It was pleasant but the mosquitoes were nasty so today I have about 30 new bites on my legs...and they were just looking normal. Bummer. I have been taking an antihistamine to keep the itching and swelling under control. Some days are just easier. So tomorrow if I have water I will work on some laundry. I really do hope that you take my suggestion seriously and write those letters. You have the power to spread some joy and good cheer. Do it! Thanks for listening!

Hi,

Hope all is well with you. We are fine. Still adjusting. Here is some of our recent happenings to bring you up to date!

We had to re-import our car which meant that we needed to take it out of the country and bring it back in. The U.S. is much too far away and would have been a big expense, so we went to Belize. It is about an 8 hour drive (400 miles.) Many of you know that I hate the condition of most of the roads here--potholes & speed bumps. The road to Belize was surprisingly pretty good. Rob says it was the best so far. At the border we had to pay on our visa for being in Mexico for more than 30 days. We had to cancel our last car import permit so that we can get our $200 deposit back. Then we went to Belize. We have to admit that we sort of chickened out. Those from Belize say no problem enjoy our country and others have all of these warnings to give you. We had planned to stay a night or two. We got as far as the free zone between Mexico and Belize. If you actually go into Belize you have to pay taxes/insurances which are not huge amounts but add up. We decided to hold off exploring Belize for a future trip, say in six months when we have to do this all again. So we headed back to Mexico and had to do all of the paperwork again. We got our passports stamped (which you may remember is why we had to go back to the states in May--nothing like being being an illegal in Mexico!) Paid for visas, paid to import the car again and paid non-refundable tax. Of course the office needed copies of some documents and of course they do not make the copies, so we had to drive to a small border town and make the copies and go back. Everything is always very complicated and nothing is in English. Our Spanish is improving but understanding government papers is a whole different matter --important not to get it wrong! Afterwards we went back up to Chetumal and found a cute Mexican resort on the beach. It wasn't fancy but clean and the location was beautiful. I will be posting some pictures.

We had to go to the immigration office  in Villahermosa before July 25th for Robin to finish his paperwork. We got to the office on Wednesday at 1:30pm...the office closed at 1pm! Bummer. So we drove home and drove back to Villahermosa on Thursday. Rob still has to go back one more time...he has until August 22nd. Once they needed copies and some pictires of Robin and of course they do not make copies or take pictures. We did find a copy place but not a place where they take pictures. So we decided to go back another day. Walking to the mall near by sounded like a great idea...malls make us feel like we are in the U.S.

Okay, now for the new house. We reluctantly agreed that we needed to move out of the jungle for a number of reasons, the top one being not being able to get internet service from any company. We also did not have electricity all of the time which is not a big deal unless it is 100 degrees with 100 % humidity or it is night time and Robin's cpap machine will not run. We also had a neighborhood theif who would take stuff out of our yard. I could not leave chairs in my patio or clothes on the line. He stole shoes from  outside my front door. My landlord came and took my mangos off of the tree in the back yard. He came while I was gone and was surprised to find out that we had already chopped down our bananas! The bananas were good and we shared with friends but not with him. So we thought we had a house picked out that would work just fine.  The renter had given notice that she was moving at the end of the month. When we came back from the states we met with the owner of the house and arranged for us to rent it and we would give notice to our landlord. We gave notice. Then we got a call from our new landlord who said that the renter had changed her mind and might not be moving until November. Sorry. We were shocked by how flippant he was about telling us that it would not be possible for us to rent his house. I visit an older lady who lived in the Pasadena area for 30 years when she was a girl. She had told me that she had a house for rent but we thought we had found a house so we thanked her for wanting to help us. Now we asked her if her house was still available but no, she had rented it out and the lady was very happy. But she did know of a house that would be available soon. Animal doctors were renting it but had decided to move back to Villahermosa. So we met the owner, later saw the house and rented it. It is an older Mexican house. Larger than the last house. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, dining room, living room, kitchen, storage area, covered palapa (patio), front porch, back porch and a huge yard. The price was the same as the house we were renting. So we saw it on a Thursday, signed the paperwork on Sunday and moved in on Monday. The inside has been painted. The kitchen is orange, the bedrooms are light yellow and the porches are lime green. I will be painting the living room and dining room white. I will take pictures of it for you. Now we have a place for you to stay when you come viist or to give the public talk! Our dogs love the house and yard.  The house is down the street from an ice-cream store!! A family in our congregation are re-modeling their house and gave us a refrigerator! Now I need to buy a washing machine. I have been doing my wash by hand except for the towels, jeans/pants and sheets. I strung laundry line around my round palapa. I want to put a veggie garden out in the front planters. Our Boston Terrier loves to help me garden. She cultivates the pots with her paws.....not very effective but very destructive. I plan to keep her out of the front yard. We now have a front gate that can be locked so that no one can enter the property without us letting them in.Never thought I would like to live in a locked gated house but it is better than people taking stuff from your back yard.

We had 16 attend our first WT study in English in Paraiso! We are delighted that 2 Bible students came along with 4 English speakers from the Spanish congregations here. Since we have so much territory to cover and need lots of help to do it we want witnesses who speak English but are in local Spanish congregations to join us. We do not have enough help to do the search work looking for English speakers, call back on those we have spoken with and conduct Bible studies. Forming an English congregation here in Paraiso would be wonderful. Right now we meet in Comalcalco which is about 30 or so minutes away. Not bad you say but most people do not have cars so they take buses and they may take an hour or so. But the buses stop at 8pm so any who attend from Paraiso need to find a ride back or take a taxi which for them is expensive. Also the "highway" is like some crazy video driving game...people crossing, stray dogs, vendors, motocycles, parked cars, u-turns made from the right lane, buses picking up and dropping off, bad roads and weather. The road is being repaired so Rob is being positive and saying that when it is finished we will have a nice road for about a month... also while it is being worked on there are new challenges...there are no "work ahead" signs.. you just see that everyone has come to a stop or is merging to one side or another. They do not work on the roads in sequential order from here to there. So they work on this patch of road for about an eighth of a mile then about a mile or so later you encounter more road work on the other lane and so it goes. People cross to the concrete dividers and then climb over it...some have babies, some are chubby, some have bicycles, some are on crutches (wonder how that happened...), and some are burdened with packages. There are pedestrian crossing bridges but most do not use them. Honestly I believe they should but they do look quite steep...no steps, two ramps to climb up and two ramps not to slide down. So getting Bible students to join us at KH is no easy task when life is so complicated here. During the day people go all over on buses.

One of the differences from living in the states is that I have two machete wielding senior citizens "mowing" my yard right now. They cut to the ground but plants grow back quickly here. I have been working on the house--cleaning, painting but have not started with the outside. I want to plant a vegetable garden. I have only met one person with a vegetable garden and she was raised in the states!

 Rob had to finish his immigration paperwork. We started the week by going to IFE office here in Paraiso to see if he could finish up by just getting an identification card but no, they said he had to go to the Secretary of Exteriors in Villahermosa to get naturalized status first. Rob wanted to go back to the immigration office in Villahermosa who had given him a checklist of items to bring back to finish up his paperwork. So, on Tuesday we took a really ugly rickety bus from our house to downtown Paraiso and then got a small mercedes van/bus to Villahermosa for $40 pesos each. The vans are newish and look very nice but ride is crazy. We sat in the last row on one bus and the bouncing was painful...I worried for Robin's neck and mine. When we waited for our last bus Rob said that if the only seats available were in the back we would wait for the next bus but we ended up sitting in the first row. It was a much nicer ride! On Tuesday before we left our house on our adventure a young brother in the Spanish congregation showed up to go out in service with us. We apologized and explained how we had to go to the immigration office in Villahermosa. He said "no problem" and followed that with "I will go with you and help you!" Yeah! He was very helpful and were very glad to have him with us. He helped us get a taxi from the bus stop in Villahermosa to the immigration office. So, you see an empty taxi and think I will wave it down and it will take me to where I want to go....that would be wrong.  Not all taxi-s go to the same areas so first you need to ask if they would take you to wherever you need to go. It may take asking over 10 taxicab drivers to find one who is going where you need to go. Secondly, you do not look for an empty taxi....you look for one that has room for your group. On Tuesday we were a party of 3 so we looked for a taxi that only 1 or no passengers. On Wednesday we looked for taxi-s who had 2 or less passengers. We had to get 3 passport type photos of Rob prior to going to the immigration office. In Puerto Ceiba there is a small Mercado that includes a small photograpy shop where the young photographer said that he could take the pics and give them to us right away for $40 pesos. So Rob took the pics. At the immigration office in Villahermosa on Tuesday the ladysaid oh, these are too big! We need 3 mini-pics! Bummer. The immigration office person told Robin and Jose to go to the nearby mall and get the pics made while I wait for our number to be called. Rob was able to get the pics and get back in time to claim his place in line. The pics cost $200 pesos! The immigration officer was still puzzled as to how Robin got "residence permanente" from the Mexican Consulate's office in Douglas. We call it a blessing! Our items were looked through after which she decided that Robin needed to write a letter in spanish stating that he had been given permanent resident status. So, we went home and had our WT  study in Paraiso. Got home at 10:30 after cleaning the hall and getting everyone back home. Up early on Wednesday to work on the letter. Jose came by and corrected the letter. I was soo proud and smugly thought it was perhaps perfect..but no. The letter had to include what Robin would be doing here in Mexico, how he would support himself, where he would be living and with whom. Then Jose left. We would be on our own. We took the buses. The road to Villahermosa is being worked on, a new bridge is being built. We had to go to a bank before we left Paraiso. Banks here are the place to go to pay for hotel reservations, electric bills and immigration payments as well as other payments. We had thought that Robin's immigration paperwork would cost the same as a visa about $36 dollars but no, it was $3,900 pesos!! Yikes, it will be a tight budget until the end of the month! (and there goes my washing machine stash money...athough Rob is pushing for a bed first...I still think the washing machine is more important) Happily the immigration office was happy with all of our paperwork and money payments. We need to return in 2 weeks to pick up Robin's permanent resident card.  Wahoo!!
We have been having rain. It pours for a short time and may rain lightly for a while. Sometimes we hear thunder but nothing like the monsoon season in Arizona. Strangely, we have not seen a rainbow here. We will keep looking. Our roof is fiberglass so the sound of the rain is loud. We like it. Our dogs are less than thrilled.

So that is about it for now. We love having internet service now. Talk to you later!

Moving!

Hi, Sorry about not posting. I have lots to tell you but no internet yet. Sad. We hope to move by the end of the month to a house where we can get internet service!!! I will be soooo happy!! Love you!

More Learning Done But Maybe Try Another Learning Method Next Time.....

Hi, I haven't posted a blog entry in a while. We are settling in. The novelty of our situation has began to wear off. There is still much to learn about living in Mexico. We had our first experience with the local traffic police. One of our friends had a slight fender bender. This friend is notorious for being a slow driver so he was probably going about 10mph in downtown traffic when another car tapped his bumper. Both drivers got out of their cars and surveyed the damage. Our friend's suv suffered a small dent to bumper. The other car had a dent on their front right fender by their light. The other driver did want the traffic police called over who were just at the end of the block. He said that he did not have insurance. Our friend said since both cars received slight damage they could just call it even. Our friend is from the States but has dual citizenship. He speaks Spanish. At this point our friend got back in to his vehicle and drove to the grocery store about a half mile to a mile away. The other driver followed him. When our friend stopped, the other driver got out and yelled at him for smashing into his car and driving away! The uproar caused a crowd to form. Police were called. The locals were horrified that a tall American (who cares if the American is of Mexican descent and is a citizen of Mexico) would do such a thing to an older Mexican couple. The police arrived. At this point our friend knew that things were not going well. He asked how much they wanted. How much did he have to pay? The police said that he had to go to the police station to settle the incident. It was at this time that we arrived to help. (We had dinner plans with them, so, they had been texting us as to why they were late.) There were about 10 or more police surrounding him and saying that since he was not cooperating and had such a bad attitude they had to take him in. Our friend was handcuffed. The police only reached his shoulders so if the situation wasn't so serious it would have been comical. The police led him to a police truck with an extended cab. Our friend had to scrunch up to fit in it. We followed a motorcycle police to the station. I asked our friends if they had photographed their cars. No, they had not done so. They asked if I had my camera with me. No, I did not but I had my cell phone. So out came the iphone and I started taking pictures. When I took a picture that included the director of the police station, I was in trouble. First of all the police do not like pictures taken. Secondly, the director does not allow any pictures taken of himself. He grabbed my phone. I grabbed it back! He had a wild look in his eye as if he would throw it against a wall. Couldn't let that happen! He told me that he should arrest me for taking pictures. He told me that in my country I would be arrested. He was very angry with me. It was at that point that I decided it might serve my friends' best interests if I kept a low profile. Before I went into hiding I showed a policeman that I was deleting the director's picture from my phone and to please tell him that I did it. I did call some other friends in to help. One brother wanted to speak to a policeman but no one would...but I did run across the director again and sincerely apologized for taking his picture. He said sorry was not good enough and that I belonged in jail. After that encounter, I had Robin park the van out on a side street and took refuge in it until the entire situation was resolved 2 hours later. Our friend was accused of leaving the scene of an accident. He had to pay $1,500 pesos to the older couple and a fine of $1,200 to the police for “leaving the scene of an accident.” At one point the wife of the older couple complained of stomach pains brought on by the accident so our friend's wife and another friend who was being a wonderful go-between with the police (along with her husband) volunteered to take this poor lady to the hospital to get her checked out...she had an instant recovery! Before the older couple left the station, they told our friends that they were friends with most of the policemen there and that they were good friends with the director's parents so he needed to watch his back! A threat! It was heartwarming to see many of our new friends from the Spanish congregation come by and, as was already mentioned, we were so thankful for our friends from the English congregation. This Mexican couple were so calm and respectful to all involved. One brother from the English congregation works for the city and knows many of those involved. He made some phone calls in our friend's behalf. By midnight our friend had paid up, was released and was driving himself home! Later we learned that if the police impound your car you must pay an impound fee each day in cash and another lump sum when the car is released! Yikes! So, you never want the police to take your car. Another important lesson is that if you have a fender bender it is best to resolve it on the spot. Pay up there. I questioned rather the person would do the same thing as the older couple even after you give them money....the brothers were shocked by my question....they replied that no, the other people would honor the settlement....another one of those “things-that-make-you-go-hmmmmm....” Our neighbor thought that the older couple did not want the police involved at the scene of the accident because then when a crowd formed there would be ones who saw the accident and they could have said that the older couple were to blame so they took it somewhere where they could accuse our friend and no one would know how it really happened. We have been hearing about other newcomer's traffic stories...seems that some have had to spend a night or two in jail due to a traffic/car infraction. Now that would be very scary. At one point one of the officers told our friend that this was how he was treated in the states....could he be holding a grudge? I have to say that up to this night I had found the traffic police pleasant and helpful but this was during the day. At peak traffic times, the traffic police control traffic flow. It helps! I have been always thankful to see them directing traffic. Showing respect to those in authority here is important. One of the big reminders that we are-not-in-Kansas-anymore!

A Visit State Side!!

We are going back to the States this month for a 2 week visit! I am so excited! We are leaving this Thursday or next. Megan & Sage have been helping us find flights. We still need to work out our internet problems. When we come back we will make getting internet in our home our mission. Our American phones will be working when we are in the States so feel free to call us! We would love to visit with some of you in person.

We will be getting some immigration paperwork done. Shopping. Clothes are pricey here. And I need to tell you about laundry...but that is for another time. Wii & other games are pricey here...about $100 each! American food....particularly a steak!! No, thick steaks here. No roasts either....but that is another story too! For me, gluten free food!! And giant green salads!!!

Number one thing to do in the States---> See our family!! I am so missing them! Especially the grandchildren!! It will be great to visit with them! We might be able to spend some time with our brand new daughter-in-law!

Now that I know a little more about life down here, I know what items I have in storage that would be very useful to bring back. We also want to downsize our storage units. Leaving the country was not the planned organized affair I had envisioned. I did not give ourselves enough time to pack and organize. I think it was part of a denial mentality. I certainly did not expect to be sick when we were leaving. I am still so very grateful for all of the love and help we were given at the last minute. We could never have left on time without it. Our brotherhood is a wonderful, wonderful thing. Jehovah provides the help we need from the least likely source. We had not expected our community to be so involved in our move. But they were....and we are so glad for all of their help and support during that time!!

We have not gotten our return ticket yet but I will be researching how much an extra bag will cost me verses sending myself a box through fed-ex or DHL. A $100 for a large suitcase is sounding quite reasonable!.

A Random Update on Life Here....

Hi, Still no internet in our house. Still fighting with the internet service who sold us a wifi device that would work in our area. It did not work. Very disappointing. Everything else is going pretty smoothly. Settling in to life in a foreign country is bound to take some time. The weather ranges from very nice in the 70's to very warm in the 90's with high humidity. We have a mini-split air-conditioning unit in our bedroom. Rob likes to sleep in a cool room then he can face the sticky hot day ahead of him. Whatever it takes to get us through the day! We now have a dining room set and two smaller tables to use as desks. The young man who made our chairs is now working on a living set for us. It will not be ready until after the 15^th at the earliest. Whenever we get it into our home will be a positive change. I really miss having something to sit on other than the bed or a dining room chair. Robin and his dog have discovered that they really enjoy napping in a hammock! They try to get in some “hammock” time on the days that they can. We go out in service on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. We usually start around 9am and work until noon or 1pm. We take a lunch break that allows us time to go to the wifi coffee shop or for Rob to have “hammock” time. Both activities allow us time to cool down. We regroup for afternoon service at 3pm and then again at 6pm. Our service days end anytime from 6pm to 9:30pm. Long days. Saturday at 2:30 is our public talk and Watchtower study at the Kingdom Hall in Comalcalco which is about a 25 minute drive from Paraiso. Mondays and Tuesday mornings are our “down” days. I clean house on Monday in preparation for the English classes here that start from about 5pm and last until 8pm or so depending on how much visiting one family wants to do afterwards. I also try to do some cooking for the week. I will try to make at least two main dishes and freeze some for during the week. If I make salsa, it is made on Monday. We have a chile bush that is covered with small red chiles that are surprisingly very hot! They are hot even when they are still green...don't ask me how I know this.... Some of our citrus trees are starting to bloom. Our seasons seem to be the same as in the states.

It was hot today...about 98 and humidity. The people here say it will get warmer.... Something to look forward to...maybe. Rain is in the forecast so that will cool things down.

Our van is getting work done on the brakes tomorrow...replacing the pump or something. So we will carefully drive it to the mechanic brother and take a bus to the bus terminal downtown and run some errands and then get taxi back to our house. We will have to get a bus to pick up the car later. If it rains it will be cooler and wet and muddy....if it doesn't it will be hot and sticky.

My neighbor sister runs a chicken ranch about 3 miles from here. We buy chicken from her. It is pretty tasty. Robin and I are not sure what to do with the feet so I have been freezing them. On Monday one of the English class students said she loves them to add flavor to her soup or to cook them up for the dog's food. I gifted her with about ten frozen feet. I did take a picture of some in a frying pan but that was shock value only. Today our dainty pioneer partners smacked their lips while talking about how delicious chicken feet are...okay, another group to gift them too!!

My neighbor has been washing our clothes. She has an outdoor kitchen with dirt floor but she has a washing machine and a real stove!! Such wealth!! She prides herself in getting all the stains out of any garment. Her wash does come back clean albeit a little worn from the extreme cleaning efforts. I am not comfortable with her doing my personal items so I hand-wash some items. I have a clothes line but no clothes pins. My very smart and practical neighbor showed me that with the plastic laundry line that I have you can separate the twisted cords and put corners of your laundry through. Very clever! I have had my clothes ironed but I am so picky about this that it has only been a one time occurrence. I don't mind ironing our clothes in the early morning.

We have had some help with the gardening. The brush was sort of wild around the house and we had been thinking about cutting some of it back when the neighbor showed up with a machete and said that they would like to cut the growth back from the side of the house so that the snakes will keep away....yeah, about them snakes.... Here's the thing...when we first came in September we asked about the critters and challenges of living here aside from the obvious. Everyone said “no problem.” When someone says “no problem” it usually applies to them....”no problem” for them since all of their growth is cut back....”no problem” for them because they know what to do and so on. The “no problem” part usually does not include you...for you there could very well be a huge problem overhead....a huge spider ready to pounce you but hey, no problem...it will not hurt me!

There is also a mosquito season during the summer months. I will definitely let you know how that goes. I have changed my opinion of “Off” and “Raid.” Raid is very effective for ridding a house of bugs and the smell is really not that unpleasant. I use ecologically sound bug repellents as much as I can to the point that I am sure if I were to have a blood test today they would find citronella in my blood. I spray my shoes, Bibles and umbrella with Off. Before we leave the car to walk to an 8pm Bible study that is conducted on the porch, I spray Off on my legs and elbows. I have such a huge reaction to a mosquito bite that I really don't want to get any if I can help it. I have been so against these products for most of my life but now I see how truly helpful they are...much like the invention of light bulbs. I know some of you are saying ewwww...but doesn't problems with mosquitoes pale in comparison to the bugs and stuff in Myanmar? Have you read the 2013 Yearbook?

There are lots and lots of taco places. We have been trying them out as we go. Tacos are usually pork, beef, beef ribs, the hump on a brahma type cow, brains, intestines or tongue. We stick with pastor which is the pork cooked much the same way the Greeks cook gyro meat. I have tried the hump, called ube or something like that..it was tasty but I probably won't eat it again because I am a food snob. Oh, sometimes they do offer the breasts from a cow....and no, I will not try these. I do order argentine chorizo tacos as well as regular beef tacos. The cows here are a Brahma mix. They are very thin. Beef is usually served as skirt steak. If you are looking for a U.S. -type steak just get that silly thought out of your mind. They are not to be found. In San Cristobal, Chiapas we did find an Argentinian restaurant that had great steaks!

It is surprising that beans and rice are not served with every meal like in the U.S. -when you order Mexican food. Tacos come with condiments...salsas, lime slices, onions, cabbage, pickled carrots and other items. It is strange to order a meal and only get meat and tortillas. Tortillas are bought each day here. Tacos are about 6-8 pesos each. Tortillas run about 7 pesos for half a kilo. Warm tortillas are still an amazing flavor for me! Good childhood memories of La Tolteca.

Vendors go through neighborhoods throughout the day selling tortillas, bottled water, fruit, chicken, ice cream, newspapers, snow cones, furniture and some buy scrap metal. Each vendor has a different song or whistle or bell. Robin and I are still not sure which is which. Robin hates the noise from these vendors so he is happy to live on a dirt road where there is only one other house. Few vendors venture down our nick of the woods, or our nick of the jungle.

Vendors can be found on the streets throughout the city. Almost anything is sold from these primitive kiosks. You can buy fruit, pottery, furniture, tacos, hats, hammocks, plants, candy, toys, cookies, empanadas, crabs, gum, and other items that I can't remember.

Small open stores line the downtown streets. Most do not have window store fronts, they just have a rolling metal garage door that is down when they are closed and up when they are open. Most store owners are friendly and helpful. Our favorite type of store is a “papeleria” which is probably spelled wrong. It can be a photo copy center or just an office supply type store with paper and pens. You never really know what you will find in each store so when we have the time we stop in and take a look.

The downtown area has the big Catholic church and a public downtown park where vendors gather to market their wares. A sister sells cut up jicama, mangos,or ciwellas. I picked a large container of jicama to munch on but she would not surrender it before she doctored it up with hot sauce and salt and lime. A brother sells popcorn there too. The park is also a good place to find foreign visitors. It is very nice to be able to just talk to someone in English who understands what you are saying. Saturday and Sunday is the when the park fills with local people out to enjoy the nice evening and treat their children to some delightful treats. We did buy some corn from a vendor. It was served in a cup. Cut corn with cream was ladled into the cup then butter, then mayonnaise then cheese, salt and pepper....did not taste as good as you might think.... They do sell corn on a stick but they butter these, mayonnaise, put some heavy cream on it and then the cherry-on-top is hot sauce....I bought one plain. The corn is not the sweet corn type. Bummer.

Empanadas are popular here. Almost anything can be made into one. In fact there are empanada restaurants where you pick what you want in your empanada. They are usually made with a corn masa for which I am very glad since I can eat these. So, I have tacos and empanadas to chose from; not bad! Marisco empanadas are popular here. You can get shrimp, crab or fish empanadas with or without cheese. Forgot to say that tacos here are usually just the meat in a corn tortilla and then you add the condiments. If you want cheese then you order it “a gringa.”

Let's talk cheese. The cheese is good. Oaxaca cheese is sort of like mozzarella or string cheese. It is great on a quesadilla since it seems to melt easily. Easy to find parmesan cheese. There are gouda cheese around and no that is not the opposite of “bada” cheese! Cheddar cheese seems not to be around. We will have to look around in the grocery stores in Villahermosa, the state capital which is about an hour's drive from here. I have heard that the Walmart there has gluten free items!! Must check that out! There is a mayan cheese that is sold by vendors and in the stores. It crumbles easily and tastes a lot like queso fresco in the States. There are some queso fresco cheeses available for a very low cost. A package is about 3.50 pesos.

I have one less morning chore to do...sadly my large mango tree is done for the season. I did enjoy the mangos. We gave lots away. We learned to make “mangoladas”....mashed mango mixed with the red pepper/limon stuff and frozen with a stick in it. You then pour “chamoy” on top of it before you eat it. It is surprisingly very good! My favorite way to use my mango crop was to make salsa with it...onions, mangos, chile, lime juice and cilantro. Yummmm!!! especially on chicken tacos!

Let's talk chicken....now “gallina” is when the chicken is walking around taking in the sunshine and eating his grub. “Pollo” is what you eat! And Tabascanos love to eat pollo! Everywhere they are roasting chicken on grills---pollo asado. It is usually very tastey but can sometimes be disappointingly dry and flavorless. It is always a good value for the money. A whole chicken runs about 100 pesos but you get tortillas, hot sauce, onions, sometimes cabbage, sometimes beans, sometimes rice, and chiles. So for us it is a great value since it will feed us for more than 2 meals.

Tabasco is Mexico's chocolate maker. I have cacao trees outside my bedroom window. Tabasco is famous for its pozol. Pozol is a chocolate flavored drink made with cacao and corn meal. My neighbor makes the best. It comes in a loaf about the size of meatloaf. You break off pieces and put in the blender with water and some sugar if you want. While you are drinking it you need to swish your cup around to keep the corn meal from settling to the bottom. You will find Tabascanos doing that with any cup in their hand. I like pozol cold and with sugar. It is supposed to help you take the heat. It is sort of a meal replacement...when it is too hot to eat, you can always drink some pozol!

Umbrellas. People here love them for shade. There is a real learned skill in how to manipulate your umbrella while walking through crowded, narrow streets. I am still working on it. Today I tried just wearing my hat but it flew off. Thankfully Rob was behind me so he retrieved it for me. I may have found out why the women prefer umbrellas to hats....I also, think that vanity comes into play....hat hair and all.

I may have trouble finding shoes here...most shops carry women's shoes up to a size 9 which is a Mexican 6. I am a 10! I will keep looking.

Service is very enjoyable. We teach English to those in our car group. We have started doing an English search again. We are working all of our territory, door-to-door and asking if anyone in the home speaks English if they do then we talk to them and invite them to our English Bible meetings. We make return visits when we are too hot. Four of our regular pioneer partners, a mom and her three daughters, do not drive so we drive them to their studies and do a “search” in the area around their study's house. Good times! We just work in the Paraiso area. Since Paraiso not only includes the city but the outlaying beach areas, service can be rather scenic!

Today we rode public transportation for the first time. We got a bus from the mechanic's place into town. We walked around downtown familiarizing ourselves better with the city. We took a bus back to pick up the van. The first short bus was a better ride than the bigger bus we took back. Buses cost 7 to 8 pesos.

Water. We have water delivered to the house about twice a week. It is $14 pesos for 5 gallons. The water to the house from the pipes stops about 9am and comes back on around 7pm. We have to make sure that we have plugged the pump in to fill the water tank on the roof. Taking showers has been more enjoyable now that the weather is warmer. We do not have a water heater. If you order water at a restaurant they want to know what kind....plain, mineral, pina, coco, jamica, orange or something else. So many choices...it is like being at a “subway” for water...decisions have to be made. At home I have made pozol, pineapple water, orange water, jamica, mango water, and horchata.

On my one burner stove I have made American breakfasts...fried potatoes & eggs. I have fried chicken, made chicken mole, chicken stew, quesadillas, fajitas, and more. I have fried bananas. It works. Glad to have the microwave to help out!

All fruit and vegies have to be washed in water with microdyn. They need to stay in the water about 10 minutes. I make it a habit to wash everything before it goes into the fridge.

Since there is no hot water in my house I follow the regional building committee's procedure of giving the dishes one last rinse through bleach water.

Our Life Here Part 1

(From a couple of weeks ago...but I was not able to post...the no internet problem.)

Hi, Still no internet connection at our house! This has become the biggest hurdle to get past. We heard of a cable company in our area that offers internet too. Let's hope it is true and works! Wednesday – Friday & Sunday are our service days. They are long! :) We start at 9am and sometimes finish at 9:30pm! Our day is varied with return visits, Bible studies, and English speakers search work (where we go door-to-door asking if English speakers live here). So, it really is not too bad. I have been having to pick up mango-s each morning in our yard. Our mango tree drops the fruit throughout the day. They are small mango-s but very tasty! I love mango-s!! I think our tree will be done by the end of this week. We have another mango tree but the fruit is just starting to form; very cute! These mango-s are supposed to be large. It will take a while for the fruit to grow and then ripen. Our dogs seem to be enjoying their new yard. We still leave them in the house when we are gone.

I buy my food both from the local grocery store and from the local market. Papayas, pineapples, oranges, bananas and many other fruit are sold from the back of parked pick-ups throughout the city. My neighbor is a partner in a chicken farm so, we buy our chicken from them. I was surprised to find out that a whole chicken included the feet! They cut up chicken different here so Rob and I are always trying to guess what piece it is...we always get the legs & wings correct! There is a brother who owns a meat market here. I will go check it out and buy some beef from him. Cheeses are different here. Lots of softer types. The Oaxaca kind is sort of a string cheese in ropes that are curled round into a roll. The Oaxacan type works well for quesidillas. We were told that manchego cheese is a cheddar cheese but Robin and I think it tastes more like a Jack cheese. We buy our tortillas from the tortilla shops around town. Our bottled water gets delivered as does our propane for our stove. I do not have a washing machine or dryer so, our neighbor sister does the wash. I really want to buy my own machine so that I can do my laundry my way. I handwash my personal items because I find it strange to have someone else do this. Her husband made my dining room table as well as our other tables. We had a return visit make our 6 chairs. The wood chairs were about $5 more than buying plastic chairs. We did buy a small A/C unit for our bedroom. It works fine. We are in our bedroom right now. Rob is working on his talk for Tuesday night. He also has the special talk on April 6^th in Comalcalco where the Paraiso English congregation meets. Busy times for him.

The beach is about a 10 minute drive away. This week many in Mexico have time off and much of it is spent at the beach. This is probably not the week to go to the beach.