Author: iagardener55

Life is grand!

Really, no matter how you look at things, if you are above ground, life is good. And being above ground means certain things are expected of you. Make your bed in the morning, and brush your teeth after you have showered. Eat a decent, homemade breakfast, hopefully not something from the drive through. Pay your bills on time. Be courteous to those that help you in your day-to-day activities. Think the best of the people you encounter because you do not know what their circumstances are.

My husband drove us, in our newest car, to the local Home Depot this morning, halfway across town, in and out of CDMX traffic. And an excellent job of driving he did I will be the first to say!! Driving here is unlike anywhere we have ever lived before. Most of the thoroughfares here are 4-6 lanes of traffic, each person deciding which lane they want to be in, at speeds that would make my hair grey if it was not already thus!! But he held his own like he had been living here all of his life. True, it is Sunday traffic, which is quite a bit less than weekdays, but he knew exactly where he was going, and how he was going to get us there and home again.

I am much more relaxed knowing he has been able to pay attention to those driving us around while I have been relegated to the back seat. (Not to worry for me. It is the safest place in the car. Especially in this city.) Soon, however, I will need to take my turn driving but I believe I will wait until I have had some front seat exposure. The speed bumps in this town are frequent, and quite significant. To run over them at more than a 2-5 mph clip is to wreck the bottom of your vehicle.

My father in law, Juan, is out walking with his nephew, our cousin, Juan, in whose home we currently reside. They do the same route most every day, as they have for the past 2 months. Mind you, my father in law is 91 and in the best of heath, and his nephew is in his 60’s, wheelchair bound, though in pretty good health himself. They have a great time, Juan pushing Juan, and travel about 3+ kilometers, talking all the while, resting when Juan Sr. is a little winded. Then they watch the traffic go by, and enjoy the sunshine, as there is sunshine most everyday, until around 7pm. About that time, we get a downpour which lasts usually less than 30 minutes, and cools the temperature down for some beautiful sleeping weather.

It is so amazing to be above ground. Life is to be enjoyed.

Paperwork

This past Wednesday a good friend of ours, Enrique by name, helped us get to the Municipal building in the southernmost regions of the city, (or so it seemed at the time) where we needed to go to file the paperwork which will change my residency status from a temporary visa, which allows me to stay 6 months, to a permanent visa, which I will need to renew every few years, but will allow me to stay indefinitely. Said paperwork includes, but has not limited to: my passport, with 2 copies; (6) 2 cm. X 3 cm. photos of me facing front, and facing left; a government form, of which we had to fill out online, print, and make 2 copies; my husbands passport, plus 2 copies; the contract from the purchase of our apartment, with 2 copies; an original receipt of a bill paid here at the house in which we are staying, (for address verification), plus 2 copies, of course, plus….. well, you get the idea.

We spent 2 hours on the Metro, an hour in each direction, which cost us only $5 MN (pesos) each direction, roughly $.25. We then spent about an hour standing in line, waiting to file the above paperwork, only to be told we did not have the correct paperwork. What we cannot seem to remember, yet, is that with each newly elected president/political party comes an entirely new, well, everything- new government agencies, new government officials, new council members, from mayors to attorneys, to …. fill in the blank. Everything changes, and I mean everything -where you have to go to file said paperwork, as well as what paperwork is now necessary to file.

This trip down we were told that I had stayed one day passed the date on my temporary visa paper, which was issued at the US/Mexico border, in Nuevo Laredo, and is only good for 30 days. So, what was the point of going to the Mexican Consulate in Chicago, and getting my 6 month visa, which cost $95? Is that not supposed to supersede the little 30 day paper? Normally, yes, it would. However, there was a new president elected in 2018, President Andres Obrador, whose political agenda was not that of the prior president, therefore, things are now happening his way. As it should. We simply have to find someone here that can, what? No guesses? Translate our marriage license into Spanish. That’s right. That is the paperwork for which we do not currently have 4 copies!! We have 4 notarized copies of our license in English, which was approved, and certified by a notary, called apostille, at the Mexican Consulate in Chicago, at $1 each, and, to which we had to make 6 trips to finish our paperwork allowing us to transport our household goods into Mexico, (but that, too, is for another day), but that isn’t what this politician wants. He wants a foreigners marriage license in Spanish. Resistance is futile. We must comply. And we will.

So, the hunt for Red October continues. We will continue to search for someone who can translate our marriage license into Spanish, we will have it notarized, and we will go, for the umpteenth time, to the Municipal building, stand in line, and get my more permanent visa.

Other than that, it’s been a joyous ride thus far. Stay tuned.

Full service

Last night we went to the gas station to fill up our cousins car. Exciting, I know, but I wanted to tell you that down here, the general population gets treated to full service gas stations. No one pumps their own gas as it is done for them. Those of us that are old enough to remember sometimes miss little things like that. They wash your windshield, check your oil if you request it. Most here, however, feel the need to get out of the car to supervise the transaction. Believe it or not, not everyone in the world is honest! Several here have had bad experiences with being duped by the station attendants; being told they owed xx amount but then noticing they didn’t get as much gas as they should have. I’m not sure which side of the road I’m on yet- get out and supervise, or hope they don’t cheat me. For the foreseeable future, however, since my husband and I go most everywhere together, and are still being chauffeured, it won’t be a factor. I’ll let you know in a future post. (No, we haven’t been able to get our drivers licenses yet because of the other paperwork that needs to happen first. And that’s a whole other story for another day.)

Living the dream

My husband Ivan and I have been coming to Mexico since 1971, so it is only right that we finally moved here. Now that we are both retired, we were able to make the move more easily, both financially and physically. It is my hope to share with you, not only this amazing country and their culture, but the beautiful colors, the delicious food, the diverse landscapes, as well as the different ethnicities. Of course there will be plenty of fun and laughter provided by my better half, a fair amount paid to our apartment and its changes, but also some of the things that aren’t so pleasant, like how long it took us to get permission to bring our household to Mexico, because that’s life! It’s our new life now, and we’re Living the Dream. Welcome to my first blog. My name is Diana, and I invite you to come along with us on this journey. Let’s see what we can find.