Visiting the Ninos y Jovenes Orphanage

Ninos y Jovenes in San Juan Cosala, Jalisco, is an orphanage which has existed for many years. Founded by Padre Macias, who was for a long time the priest at the church in San Juan Cosala, it is located on the edge of town, with the mountains right behind it. This photo, which Kelly took during the rainy season, shows the entrance to it. I don't know whose horses these are.

The orphanage is just a few blocks from where we live, so recently I have gone there a couple of times to visit the priest. Padre Macias, or Padre Beto as many call him, is in his early 80s and still sharp as can be. He knows some English, but we conversed in Spanish, which he was adept at slowing down for us. If he thought we didn't catch a particular word, he often tossed in the English one. Our young friend Peter was with us yesterday, and his Spanish is more limited than ours. Padre Macias told a couple of jokes. Kelly and I got one but not the other, and I think Peter missed them both!

The priest told us that Ninos y Jovenes currently houses about 120 students. Some 40 of them are indigenous: Huicholes, Coras, and others. When the indigenous students first come, they often don't speak Spanish very fluently since it isn't their first language, but within a few months, they are doing great, he reported... most of them would have studied it in school for up to three years in primary school.  The other students are from San Juan Cosala and other areas. Some of the students are indeed orphans, but others may have living parents who cannot care for them for one reason or another.

I have no idea how the orphanage operates financially, but I am sure any help would be most welcome. So far as I know, neither the government nor the church is a major factor. I have heard that there are some local people who help in various ways. There is a staff, including an English teacher I met briefly.

At the time of the waterspout, when there was some damage to Ninos y Jovenes, I linked to a website about the orphanage but my emails to that site have gone unanswered and the US phone number given there doesn't work any more. My guess is that the people moved to the Lake Chapala area, as they said on the site that they intended to do, and just haven't gotten back to the site.

If anyone reading this knows more about the foreign involvement with the orphanage, I would like to know more... both regarding people who volunteer and regarding any organized way of donating. Please email me at rosana at mexico-with-heart.com or leave a comment here. (I do know about Ruben, the local restauranteur who helps out.) Thanks! I found it very inspiring to meet and talk with Padre Macias.

Finding Rentals in Mexico

How do you go about finding a rental home in Mexico?

A reader asked me this a while back, and I imagine other people must also wonder about finding Mexican houses for rent -- or condos or apartments. Whether you are already planning to move to Mexico or retire in Mexico, or if you are still considering living in Mexico, in either case if you rent a Mexican house, you have a way to get to know an area without major commitment.

Here are some things you can do:

[1] Plan a trip to one or more areas of Mexico where you are considering living. This will help you get a sense of what each one is like and where you would most like to be. (Of course, you can rent sight unseen but if you do, be sure it is for a short time or that you can leave without losing much money if you don't like the place.)

[2] Before coming down here , do some homework online. In the Lake Chapala area, some rentals can be found from many of the realtors. Here are some of the Lake Chapala rental websites in alphabetical order. Many of them do like to keep already-rented listings on the pages, but at least you can get an idea of prices and the sorts of things that are available.

http://ajijicrentals.com/listings.html

http://www.casamexicorealestate.com/publicRents.php

http://www.chapala.com/chapala/coldwellbanker/tenant.html

http://www.eagerrealty.com/rentals.html

http://www.lagunamex.com/SitePages/rentals/rentals.html

http://www.lakesidehomesre.com/rentals.htm

http://www.remax-ajijic.com/rentals.htm

http://www.rtkenterprise.com/Hernandez/rentals.html

I noticed that quite a few said no pets, but often if you are renting directly from Mexicans, they will be much more open to your having pets than you might have found in the US.

If you are interested in another part of Mexico, just google "real estate" or rentals and the name of the city. If you find a list of real estate companies, go through them for ones that have rentals.

You could also try Craigslist: http://mexicocity.en.craigslist.com.mx/

Although that URL says Mexico City in it, there are listings for several cities. I received an email once from a reader who had found a rental in Guanajuato on Craigslist.

[3] Once in a community, talk to the people where you are staying, whether it is a hotel, B and B, or private home. Find out where the bulletin boards are that might list places for rent. For example, in Ajijic you would be sure to go to the Lake Chapala Society, and in nearby San Antonio Tlayacapan, there is a large board in front of Superlake, a grocery store carrying a lot of foods that foreigners eat. I'm sure there are other bulletin boards I don't know about too.

[4] Walk around in the areas that interest you and ask people if they know of anything for rent. If you speak even a little Spanish, you might find something really nice this way, and perhaps less expensive than if you go through a real estate office. But in any case, it's important to know that in Mexico tenants are often responsible for the costs and the work of repairs that would be done by landlords where you come from.

Note that during snowbird season (early November to roughly the end of March), rentals are harder to find and more expensive, so for the best deals come after that. There is sometimes another influx from up north during the summer too. The Mexican highlands can actually be cooler than most of the US in the summer, once the rains start in June or so.

I think renting is an excellent way to try out a community in Mexico, and I hope these tips on finding a rental in Mexico help you. If you have more ideas, please post a comment!

There is Hunger Here

A Mexican friend of mine went to Soriana in nearby Chapala the other day. It's a box store with a large parking lot, and there are always several guys there washing cars while you shop. We often get our car washed there.

When one of the men asked her if he could wash her car, she began by saying, "It's hardly worth it because of all the jacaranda trees where I live... my car never stays clean." But when she glanced at him, the disappointment in his face caused her to change her mind and say "Sure, go ahead and wash it."

When she was done with her shopping, she paid him what he asked, some 25 pesos, and she added a tip. The man's eyes welled up with tears and he told her that he had had no work in two days and his children had not eaten.

Yesterday, Kelly and I did some shopping at SuperLake, a grocery store on the main highway in San Antonio Tlayacapan which caters to foreigners. I've mentioned it before -- it's where I get a lot of things that a typical Mexican store doesn't carry, like tamari, brown rice, and black tea.

There is an indigenous woman beggar who is usually sitting on the sidewalk in front of SuperLake or the liquor store next door. I often give her ten pesos and over time, we have developed a friendship. She has had some health problems which we have discussed, and she has showed me the medications  prescribed by the IMSS, the national health care system. Here is a photo of the two of us on the sidewalk in front of the community bulletin board, taken with her permission.

So after hearing my friend's story about the man at Soriana, yesterday I squatted down and told my beggar friend that a Mexican had been talking with me about how sometimes people here don't have anything at all to eat. Does this happen to her?

She nodded. On the days that she comes and begs, she can always eat something, but on the days she stays home, sometimes there is nothing to eat. She said she has to pay, not for only food, but also for her rent and light bills, as well as bus fares, from what she earns begging. I know she lives a bus ride away beyond Chapala someplace, not in the fancy high-rent districts.

Well, I wasn't born yesterday and I knew that many poor Mexicans eat a substandard diet. But I was a bit taken aback by total lack of food. I asked if she had family that helped her. There was a bit of a catch in her throat as she said her daughter does sometimes. I got the feeling there was a sad story there, so didn't pursue it. I asked  if she got any money from the government and she was astonished at the idea.

I went into Tony's for lunch with friends, and told them what I've just written here. One of them said she never gives to beggars but will now. Lakeside has a small contingent of regular beggars, and most of them are not whining... the ones in the more anonymous atmosphere of Guadalajara tend to do desperate pleading which is pretty rare here. There's a blind man stationed in front of  Tony's who speaks English and I often say hello as I walk past him.

As I did my shopping a little later, splurging on a package of that nice Mexican brie I have just discovered and loading up on luscious golden mangos that are now in season, I felt wealthy. As we put our groceries in the trunk of the car, I said hi to a fellow standing in the parking lot with his dog. I had chatted with him before. He's American and had been singing quite a lovely song in front of SuperLake once, begging in that way. Yesterday when I said hi to him, I reached in my purse for a coin. He said, "You gave me something before. I try not to ask the same people," and he went on to mention that he is homeless, which didn't surprise Kelly or me. Haven't seen any other American homeless here. I gave him the coin anyway. Any hunger is too much hunger.

Rocket Spanish: Just What Can You Learn from It?

Recently I received an email from a man who wondered if Rocket Spanish would be right for helping him learn Spanish. He had seen my page where I review Rocket Spanish. I should update that page because I now like the program even more than I did when I wrote it. But I'd rather blog than revise an old website page!

Last summer, driving from our home near Guadalajara to the US, my husband and I listened to the first lessons of the Rocket Spanish course. We are both way more advanced than that but we were really impressed with how easy they were to listen to and learn from. I think that a person could get a good grasp of a lot of what is needed to live or travel in a Spanish-speaking country. We even picked up some vocabulary. Click on the image to go to the Rocket Spanish website.

The program consists of a bunch of mp3 files which you can put on your ipod or similar device, or use on your computer. There is a printable ebook which matches the mp3 files, having everything where you can see it. The lessons don't just give you vocabulary-- they stand out from other such lessons because of the cultural comments that explain usage. I really like those!

Topics covered include discussions, asking and giving directions, descriptions, shopping, parties, family life, and much more. Each lesson gives you some basic dialog along with additional vocabulary. I like the really attractive page layout of the ebook, which makes it easier to learn, and I also like the informal style of writing.

The mp3 files do not cover the past tense. They stay in the present with a little bit of future and conditional. Suitable for beginners. You can get a lot done in Spanish in the present tense! I've found Mexicans very able to understand when we foreigners use the present instead of the past when speaking of the past. Still do it myself when I don't know a past tense verb.

But the package includes another nice ebook which is 176 pages and a LOT of that is about the preterit and past tenses. I think I am going to work through this myself. These people seem to know how to make the material lively and thus more learnable.

"Can one really learn Spanish from this course?" asked that email I got. My answer is that it is excellent for getting started if you will be living or traveling in a Spanish-speaking country. Many of the foreigners here at Lake Chapala don't know near this much!

But if you need to learn Spanish for academic reasons, or if you already are very advanced, this wouldn't be your thing.

Here is a link to the Rocket Spanish homepage. Take a look! They explain the various options and their money-back guarantee. 

Las Pozas of Edward James: Surrealism in the Mexican Jungle

Three years ago, Kelly and I spent a day roaming around the concrete fantasies -- wait a minute, how can a fantasy be concrete? By being  architectural, constructed of concrete in the jungle of San Luis Potosi...

Recently I made a short video from photos taken that day. Here it is:

I made the video late one night, and when I went to bed, the images of that magical jungle spot kept moving in front of my eyes. You can see a selection of images at my page on Las Pozas of Edward James,  and here's the link to my blog about going to Edward James' Las Pozas. This second one has a surreal photo-collage that I was inspired to make after being there.

That blog entry is also interesting for the comments to it. I mention Carmelo Muñoz, who was James' architect and building construction contractor, and a couple of his grandsons found the blog entry and made comments. Later renowned potter Ken Edwards chimed in with his tale of Edward James, and more recently someone who has been there recently commented on things as they are now.

Troubles with Being an Expat in Mexico? Take This Survey!

If you are an American or Canadian who lives in Mexico, the Mexican government would actually like to know about the good and the bad of your experiences in dealing with the various challenges of getting here and of living here.

They have set up a survey where they want you to answer a few pages of questions, like how hard it was for you to do a menaje de casa, how you get and pay for health care here and how you think the costs and quality of that care compare to the US (or Canada, I suppose, didn't notice) and so on. These are check-box type questions and there is room for your written comments at the end of the survey. It's all anonymous.

I took the survey last night and I must say it was satisfying to be able to tell someone in government about some of the hassles! Whether things will change substantially as a result of survey, who knows. None of us were born yesterday... but I do think it's well worth a few minutes of your time. I have used the survey software they use, for some work on another site of mine, and it's reliable.

Here is what the start page of the survey says: "The Mexican Government is conducting a perception survey among citizens of the United States and Canada living in Mexico in order to identify the main difficulties they faced during the process of migrating to Mexico and once they have settled in the country. Its purpose is to collect information, analyze the main difficulties, and propose policy changes to facilitate migration to Mexico."

Here's the link: Main difficulties faced by US and Canadian citizens when migrating to Mexico

Please feel free to pass on this article to others, or just give them them link to http://www.mexico-with-heart.com/blog/ and tell them to scroll down if the article isn't on the very top of the page.

Relax on Mexican Beaches, Right Now!

When people up North think of Mexico, the beaches of Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Mazatlan, and other resorts often come to mind. When we drove down from the US in our motorhome a couple of years ago, we stayed in a couple of campgrounds before getting to the Mazatlan area and then in one at the north end of that city's long stretch of beaches. We spent several days at the most remote of these three places, luxuriating in the solitude and tranquility.

Naturally Kelly took a lot of pictures, and I took some too. The other evening, continuing in my efforts to learn video software, I made a two-minute program from a number of those photos. It's much more relaxing than anything I've done so far. I watched it earlier today, after I got totally frustrated with something, and sure enough it chilled me out!

So relax, sit back, and enjoy the grandeur of sky, sun, beach, and water...

Health Care, Health Insurance, Money, and Quality of Life

We've had several conversations lately with other foreigners here in Mexico about health insurance and health care, both here and in the US. Some aspects are not pretty, wherever you are.

Nobody wants to end up suffering.

So a couple of questions come up: what preparations to make and how to cope with the fear of what might happen?

Preparations that Kelly and I have made include getting lots of exercise in his case and a moderate amount in mine...  I do wear a pedometer every day and make sure I get in a certain amount of walking. We eat very healthfully, mostly at home, and our large organic garden helps out here. Kelly is pretty much an ideal weight and well, I'm working on it. We don't smoke and we don't drink a lot. We stay off the highways at times they are more dangerous. I do various stress management things, like deep breathing and EFT. We both come from long-lived ancestors but that is now considered less important than lifestyle. (I've even thought of doing a website on food, exercise, and health, to learn more and increase my motivation.)

Another aspect of preparation is of course the financial. Expats around the Lake Chapala area range in income levels from miniscule to wealthy. So various options exist. IMSS, the national Mexican health care system, is something that foreigners can join for a few hundred dollars a year; there is a three-year wait for some things, and I am not sure what -- maybe pre-existing conditions. I have not looked into IMSS, because the level of care is so uneven that I would be reluctant to use it. Private insurance exists and US health insurance may work here... unlike car insurance! There are also health insurance companies that insure you worldwide, and I am going to look into those for us.

Cash is the option we have used thus far. Health care costs are so reasonable that even when Kelly broke his rib and had an ambulance ride, x-rays, and various doctor, medicine, and physical therapy bills, the total was under $600 US and the care was fine. 

Other people we know have used IMSS (some with very good results), private insurance, and cash. Some people use Medicare, returning to the US to do so as it does not cover Americans outside the US. Once in a while, we hear of people who returned to the US after living here, because that was the best solution medically for them.

I think that a lot of the practical preparations grow out of each person's way of dealing with any fear they feel about what might happen. In my case, the fear is one part of what motivates my dietary and exercise choices, and I'll admit to taking better care of myself now than I did when younger! Someone else may choose to carry better insurance.

I do think that we Americans can get so focused on the risks of the future that we don't quite remember to live fully in the present. I really feel for people in the US who stay on at jobs they don't like because of their health coverage, to take one example. I'm glad I've never been in that position.

None of us will get out of here alive, as the saying goes. May each of us actively work at staying healthy and at enjoying our time here on this earth. We can learn a lot from Mexicans about the second one.

I thought I had finished this article with the last paragraph, but I just remembered a very inspiring video I saw this week about achieving your childhood dreams. It's pertinent here because  it's a lecture by a man with pancreatic cancer: