Yesterday morning I bundled up in leggings,a turtleneck and a fur-lined quilted vest. The occasion? Headed to the airport for a flight back to Washington? Or Canada? Nope. Just a one block walk to the lavenderia. It was a balmy 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Mexico—-the country of sunshine and heat. Not yesterday. We’ve actually been going through quite the cold spell. We even had pouring rain the other day. And last night’s overnight low hovered in the low 30s.
I’ve been drinking way too much coffee and cocoa to keep warm while I’m writing. Caffeine overload. I do switch to herbal tea at night though. And hot oatmeal in the morning has become the norm.
I’ve stopped asking Alexa for the daily forecast. Cold, cold and more cold. Can’t wait to get up to Culiacan in a couple of weeks to warm up.
I came across this quote the other day and it intrigued me.
Keeping busy is a wonderful defence mechanism for avoiding the things that really need your attention and avoiding feeling the things you really need to feel.
Everyone is curious as to when exactly I am leaving Mexico this year. I don’t know the answer to that at the moment. I haven’t even decided how I’m going to get to where I’m going. But I think I need to figure out where I’m going first.
Maybe I need to ponder that quote a little more and take a few things off my calendar this week. Is it really time to start thinking about where I’ll be about a month from now?
0ne of my writing friends challenged me to write a post about unusual things that have happened in my life throughout the years since I left Winnipeg. Interestingly enough, some of these do involve travel back to Winnipeg. This is a real challenge as I’m only supposed to choose one thing per year. Here goes!
2010. As if moving to Culiacan wasn’t unusual in itself, I’d have to say that the trip on El Chepe in the Copper Canyon stands out. I headed for the bus station in Culiacan and looked up at the departures on the board. A bus to Mazatlan in a half hour, a bus to Los Mochis in twenty minutes. Hmmmm. Los Mochis. Sure. Why not? When I got there I was in a taxi where by some miracle the driver spoke English. I asked him what there was to do in the area. He told me about the train. He took me to a hotel that had a travel agent. She arranged a package for me and the next morning I was on the train. And I really must add that it was on this trip that I met Angie and her family. We are still great friends and I spent this past New Years holiday with them all in Tlalnepantla, Jilotzingo and Pachuca.
2011. Definitely my escape from Irapuato to Tlaquepaque. A school had flown me down to Mexico from Canada but never lived up to their end of the bargain. I wasn’t interested in working more hours for less money. They never came through with renewing my work visa or providing a health plan. I received a phone call on a Saturday night from a school in Tlaquepaque with a job offer. I packed up my suitcase and Sunday morning I was on a bus headed for Guadalajara. I started at the new school Monday morning.
2012. Knee surgery number one. Terrified. My mother had died having knee replacement surgery. I returned to Winnipeg and rented a room in the lower level of a duplex. Of course there were steps to get into the house which meant walker to cane and back to walker for the first little while. And my walker didn’t fit through the bathroom door. And the laundry room was in the basement. Not conducive to recovering from knee surgery. But I did it and headed back to Guadalajara in the fall.
2013. Back to Winnipeg for knee surgery number two. This time I lucked out and was able to rent a house that had been completely renovated for a handicapped individual. Wheelchair ramp at the front door, walk in shower with a bench, lots of room to maneuver a walker…. I was in heaven! And recovery time was much faster. Soon I was on my way back to Mexico.
2014. I discovered that teaching Business English was a lot more lucrative than teaching ESL. I ventured into areas of Guadalajara that were new to me as I taught on site. I taught in high security buildings for private companies and government offices, as well as in places such as Fedex.
2015. I had just moved to Mazatlan when I found myself on a plane to Toronto to meet up with a group en route to Punta Cana for my daughter’s wedding. Kimmy wanted a destination wedding and chose the Dominican. It was quite the trek for me but as all moms know, you do anything for your kids. It was a beautiful wedding and I have wonderful memories, but in all honesty I was very happy to return home to Mexico.
2016. I had a leading role in a murder mystery dinner theater and was winding down my teaching career with a handful of private students when a friend I’d met in Mazatlan invited me to come to Leavenworth, Washington for a visit. I thought it was the prison place until I realized Kansas was home to that one. So off I went for two weeks, only I wound up staying for four months. One morning I got up and there was this white stuff on the ground. I hightailed it back to Mazatlan.
2017. I had this really strong gut feeling that I wanted to be with my son on Mother’s Day. I’m glad I did. That’s the last time I was in Winnipeg and I haven’t seen Kyle since. I certainly hope Canada can get it’s act together so that I can go to Winnipeg this summer.
2018. My granddaughter Madeline was born. On my way back to Leavenworth I flew up to Canada first to see her. My daughter now has a daughter of her own. I remember holding Madeline for the first time. Exciting and emotional. It was really hard to leave and I cried all the way from Belleville to Toronto on the train.
2019. This was the year I discovered Aguascalientes. I arrived in January after spending three months in San Ciro de Acosta. I had a list of museums and art galleries and visited them all. But there was still more to explore and I came back in October to spend the winter. Besides, Las Flores was beginning to feel like home. I am very comfortable in my room on Begonias and Raul is the most amazing landlord ever.
2020. March already? I was anxious to go to Winnipeg to see Kyle. Oh oh. Covid arrived. My six months in Aguascalientes turned into eleven when I sought asylum and was given an extra six months as I chose to stay in Mexico to ride out the pandemic. What I never told my kids was that when Covid first hit and people were panicking and packing airports and dealing with canceled flights, I’d been in bed with the flu for a few days. Who knows? It may have even been Covid. There was no testing being done back then. I finally made it to Leavenworth in September when I was able to secure health coverage that included Covid.
2021. My 180 days in the USA are almost up and the CDC issued a Level 4 Do Not Travel To Canada advisory. I retained an attorney and once again sought asylum. It was granted and I remained in Washington for twelve months instead of the usual six.
2022. It’s early yet. I’ll have to wait and see what unusual thing wins this year, not that there haven’t been a few that are definitely in the running already.
And now for the far from usual but the one thing that spans the more than decade since I left Winnipeg. That first year in Mexico when I worked at Senda, Juan and I taught together and became good friends. He wanted to improve his English and I desperately needed to learn Spanish. Juan’s wife Lucila used to pick us up from school and drive me home. At the time their son Juan Carlos was a year old. To make a long story short, they adopted me. This was huge to me. Coming to a foreign country solo, my own kids back in Canada, I now had family again. Juan and Lucila now have four sons and I am the proud abuelita of four amazing grandsons. Can’t wait to hug them all later this month when I go to Culiacan.
As I write this I’m eating a bowl of pozole and listening to Voodoo Lounge. They don’t go together? In my world they do. I know I’m in Mexico because it’s pozole. And I’ve been a fan of The Rolling Stones for decades.
But as I listen to The Rolling Stones I’m magically beamed back to a hot August night in 1994 mildly buzzed as the smell of pot wafts through the stands of the old Winnipeg stadium. Down below Mick Jagger is strutting his stuff across the stage just as he did back in the 60s when I was a teenager.
Amazing how music can make you travel back in time like it was just yesterday.
So how is your 2022 going? I actually am beginning to wonder why we were all so eager to slam the door on 2021.
With the advent of Omni, I find myself no closer to going back to Canada than I did last year. I have way too many friends now struggling with family crises. I’ve had a few small blips on the radar screen myself this month.
But, ever the optimist, I’m looking forward to the future. February will be a bittersweet month as it’s countdown time until I head up north. It kind of feels like 2020 again when I didn’t know where I was going or how I was getting there.
My playlist for meditation time today will include Matt Redman and Josh Groban in addition to the usual Pachelbel. Lots to contemplate. Lots of people in my life who need prayer.
It’s been a crazy weekend so far, a real roller coaster ride. And I’m trying to get off of it. But it’s a tough struggle.
It started on Friday when I read something on Facebook. And then I made the mistake of reading the obituaries in my hometown newspaper. And if that wasn’t enough, I received malas noticias from a friend here in Mexico. The icing on the cake is the crisis one of my characters is going through, and I can’t get it out of my head.
Time to clear my head. Time for a long walk, by myself. Hoping I don’t bump into anyone because I just don’t feel like talking right now.
Some people call me homeless because I keep moving around. But this woman is truly homeless and she doesn’t move at all. No, she’s camped out on a boulevard on a busy street here in Las Flores.
I walked by a travel agency and saw this interesting poster. I’m thinking it was an old one, before Covid.
Luckily the only person I had to talk to was the server at Country Break. And yes, I ordered a burger to go along with my “comfort food.”
I think the walk helped. Duolingo is calling. Today’s story is a cheesy one about a secret place. I wonder what Junior will be up to today….
I had a fabulous New Years Eve with an amazing family in Jilotzingo. Actually it lasted the entire weekend and today we are finally arrived in Pachuca.
We left Tlalnepantla Friday morning. Traffic was heavy and once we left the highway, it was slow going as we drove through interesting small pueblos.
We arrived in Jilotzingo where we enjoyed a sumptuous lunch of chipotle pollo. We then began the project of stringing grapes on skewers. Here is a photo of Kamira doing this.
A total of 60 were made, one for each person attending the fiesta that night. 12 grapes, twelve months of the year, twelve wishes.
Here is a photo of our hostess. This dynamic lady in her 80s prepared a leg of pork, a turkey, lasagna, ponche and other dishes. Also in the photo are her daughter Liliana and son-in-law Ventura.
Here is a photo of the table. I thought of Canada and the limits of gatherings to 10 people. Happy I’m here in Mexico. Wasn’t able to capture all 60 in one photo.
Here I am in a photo with my friend Angie, her son Ventura and his wife Liliana.
Countdown to midnight followed by toasts and hugs. No idea what time we actually got to sleep, but I do remember texting friends at around 4 am while sipping cognac.
The following photo is dedicated to my friends up north who are either in awe of my nomadic lifestyle or critical of it. The tradition here in Mexico is to walk around the block after midnight carrying a suitcase. This signifies the hope for travel in the coming year. So here I am!
This year I’m writing my last post of the year from Mexico City. It’s been quite a year and I must say I’m looking forward to 2022.
Back in December of 2010 I took a train trip in the Copper Canyon and met this amazing family. Nine years ago I came to Mexico City for New Years and although we’ve kept in touch, we haven’t seen each other at all. And it’s been a fabulous reunion!
Angie and I are about the same age. When we met, we were both teaching English here in Mexico. Her son Ventura and his wife were also on that train trip, along with her daughter Kamira. Ventura spoke some English, but Liliana and Kamira spoke only Spanish. I had only been in Mexico for three months, so my Spanish was extremely very limited.
Today I can hold my own and converse fluently in Spanish with everyone. However they are all learning English now and are interested in practicing this language as well. So it’s been great talking in both languages.
I arrived in Mexico City yesterday and am staying at Ventura’s. Tomorrow we are going to Jilotzingo where we will spend New Years Eve with Liliana’s family.
On Sunday we return to Mexico City. Angie and I will then travel to Pachuca, where Angie lives now. So my first post of 2022 will be from Pachuca.
To all my readers and followers, best wishes for a Healthy and Happy New Year. May all your dreams come true in 2022.
Have I really been back in Mexico for three months already? I wonder where I’ll be three months from today. I’m not even sure which country I’ll be in. The travel restrictions appear to change daily, with Canada winning the gong show hands down.
So much for the future. The past came to me in the form of Facebook memories. Twelve years ago today, with Kyle and Kimmy beside me, I held Koal in my arms as he began his journey to heaven. There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t miss that little guy and long for one last cuddle.
And now for the present. Today Joanne and I began our search for Santa. Apparently the jolly old man doesn’t arrive in Aguascalientes for at least another week. This is what we found at Liverpool.
Next we headed for Altaria. While the mall was decorated, still no sign of Santa.
But we did enjoy a delicious lunch of enchiladas suizas! And there is still lots of time before Christmas to continue the search.
I have this annual tradition when I’m in Mexico over the winter. I head to Waldo’s and buy a small tree which I decorate and then leave behind when I head up north in the spring. And of course there is also the obligatory tin of butter cookies to nibble on while I adorn the tree.
Another annual tradition is spending Christmas in a different place with different people.
My first Christmas in Mexico was in Culiacan. I quickly learned that Christmas Eve is the big event and the menu was tamales and ponche.
Other holidays were in Tlaquepaque, Tototlan, Mazatlan, San Ciro de Acosta, Puerto Vallarta, Lake Chapala and Aguascalientes. Last year was really different. I was living in Wenatchee, Washington.
Christmas is only twenty-two days away and I haven’t finalized my plans yet. I’ve been busy with other plans involving traveling somewhere new to ring in 2022. But more about that in a future blog post.
An amazing statue of Christ is found on an island in the pueblo of San Jose de Gracia, an extremely popular pilgrimage site. Boats are kept busy daily ferrying all the visitors who come here.
El Cristo Roto is an 82 foot tall concrete and steel sculpture, crafted by Miguel Romo. It has been on this site since 2006.
Note that the statue is missing an arm and a leg. This represents the troubled history when the area had extensive flooding and most of the population left. Originally inhabited by the Chichimecas, fighting took place during the Cristero War. When the Plutarco Elias Calles dam was constructed in the 1920s, the majority of inhabitants fled to the shores of the newly formed lake that had resulted from the flooding and the town of San Jose de Gracia was founded.
Romo was also influenced by the folklore at the time. The story was that a priest found a broken crucifix and vowed to have it fixed. However the crucifix spoke to him, saying that it was a symbol of those who feel broken or lost.
The statue is considered to be the savior of lost causes. It has also been the sight of faith healings.
For over a year now I’ve been posting on Wednesdays and Sundays. It’s time for a change.
I started writing this blog years ago when I lived in Guadalajara. At the time it was mainly directed to my friends I had left behind in my hometown in Canada. I replaced the mass emails with blog posts. My close friends know that I detest email and consider it to be snail mail. I don’t check it regularly.
What I do check daily are calls and texts on my phone, Messenger and What’s App. I don’t even check my stats on WordPress daily, although it is interesting to see that I have followers from a variety of countries, some whose names I can’t even pronounce and have had to look up on a map.
Over the years I’ve taught with people from all over the world. Everyone seems eager to come to Mexico to teach. People stay for varying lengths of time. Some return to their home countries although many keep right on traveling.
As for me, after six years here I reverted back to snowbird status. But I don’t return to Canada. I spend the summer and fall in the USA. Covid complicated things and I applied for and was granted two extended stays in foreign countries during the pandemic.
Just as my life has changed, it’s time to change up the blog posts. I do look forward to posting on a regular basis, but it won’t necessarily occur on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Thank you to all my readers. It’s gratifying that so many of you follow my blog. I appreciate your feedback and comments, although I seldom publish them on my page. I know that when I read other people’s blogs, I prefer to form my own opinion rather than scroll through a myriad of comments, and am determined to spare my followers from just that.
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