I'm back in Guadalupe!!!

I am back in Guadalupe with it's 115 degree heat!!! I missed Miguel but, not the city! LOL

Well the trip to the US started off crazy, my son got sick, he had diarrhea and it started half way to Nuevo Laredo. So, here we were in the middle of no where and my 7 year old son has to go to the bathroom!!! By the time we crossed the border he had to change clothes 2 times. Long lines at the border!

The 85 toll road from Monterrey to Nuevo Laredo is ok but, expensive! We paid 186 pesos to drive it and it only lasts about half way.

Other than the beginning, the trip went without incident.

I had 2 not so restful days in GA with family and on the last day (the day we were to load up) it poured, thunderstorms with hail and tornados all day!! So, here we were at mid night loading my truck up. I have to love my cousin and his wife, they helped me load even after it started raining again!! Love ya Jermie!!

I started out at 8AM Friday morning, all was well or so I thought. I stopped in Alabama to get gas and saw that the tarp had ripped and was flying behind me. I bought another one and more rope tied it down as good as I could and started again. About 5 miles down it started flying so, here I stop again to get more rope. I wrap the rope around the tarp about 6 times and tyie it down. I start off again, I stop in Mobile and see that the tarp has ripped again. It wasn't flying so, I left it as it was. I looked like the Beverly Hillbillies going down the road. I made it to Houston Friday and stopped for the night. After I paid the hotel, I had 25 dollars left and my credit card was already over limit. Atleast, I had a full tank of gas! I left Houston Saturday and put 20 dollars more in the tank in San Antonio and prayed to God that I made it to the line.

I hit low fuel right when I got into Laredo, TX so I stopped and counted all the change I had and put in $5. I got lost trying to find the correct bridge even though I just passed it on Monday, go figure. Sat in line for 3 hours to be inspected, I could see my husband at the corner but, couldn't get to him due to Aduana regulations. When I got in place for inspection, one of the soldiers let Miguel come in to help me unload the truck, Thank God, it was all wood furniture! After paying $505 pesos for taxes, we were off to the gas station. Miguel was just as broke, it cost him 500 pesos to get to Nuevo Laredo and all he had was 400 pesos left so we put in all 400 for gas and came the regular road to Monterrey. It was just as quiet, a little more bumpy but, atleast it was a great scenic route. 

So, after a round trip drive to Georgia, I am back home and exhausted but, happy to be with Miguel and at the beginning of my break! The kids did stay with my Mom, they woke up gave me a hug and kiss, told me see you in August and went back to bed! So much love! That was good because, I know they are happy there. 

Next plan, we are moving to this colonia in Nuevo Laredo that I saw when I was going to the US, it is 2 minutes from the border and guess what? No graffitti at all!!! I have a busy summer ahead of me.

My last surprise, when I got here Miguel told me that we are going on the honeymoon that we never did when we got married!!! YAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!

Take care and I blog this week again!!

Finally!!! Going to US tomorrow....

I finally going to the US tomorrow to drop the kids off with their grandmother for the summer and to get most of my furniture. In August, I will be going to pick up the kids and then, I will get the rest of my stuff. I am kind of worried about driving through Mexico but, not enough to stop me this time. Just pray that we make it ok, please. I might not get time to blog this week but, I will be back in Mexico by Sunday so, I will definitely blog on Monday of next week. Enjoy your week everyone!

The¨Me First¨ attitude

I just read another blogger's blog about Mexico's me first attitude.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with her and that just adds one more Con to my previous list.

     I have been to 3 different areas in Mexico and all are the same. They just ignore everybody else's problems since, ¨It's not them or theirs¨

First example, I was in Coahuila and a car ran into the people's house next door and everybody just went outside to stare but, nobody tried to help. I was told it is not our business so we do not go but, it was enough their business to sit there and stare.

Second example, I was in Oaxaca and a man was laying on the side of the road, he looked dead or about dead, the people just walked by him and the exception was an older lady who probably knew him. She stopped and checked on him.

Third example, Here in Guadalupe. A week ago, the lady accross the street was being beat up by her husband and she was yelling for my sister in law. You could here things being broken, slung up against the wall, and her screams for help. My sister in law wanted to go but, my mother and father in law would not let her, they said ¨it was none of our business¨. She however did go to get her friends mother in law. Throughout the whole ordeal people went over to the entrance and just looked inside but, did nothing. I wanted to call the police, I went as far as to the phone and started dialing 911 but, then remembered it doesn't work here. Nobody would give me the number. My husband wanted to go help her but, his Dad grabbed him and wouldn't let him. So, here we were totally freaking out for this lady and everybody else just standing there. All they kept saying was well she probably deserves it. That got me, I got mad and told all of them I hope you never have to go through something like that because noone deserves it and that I lived through that for 7 years and if somebody had thought that it  ¨it was none of our business¨, I would be dead right now. I asked his Mom if my siter in law would deserve it if it was her and if she would want somebody to interven before her husband killed her. She then said yes and I said well this lady has a mother who would want someone to intervene. They still did nothing but, then the girl's mother in law arrive and stopped it. About an hour later the police arrived and arrested him for assault, possession of drugs, among a few other charges. However, the next morning he was out without paying anything, all it took was a phone call from the mother to the chief of police, another con of Mexico, the police ¨being bought¨

Pros and Cons of Mexico

So, I have been thinking about how my life has been since we moved to Mexico and what is good and what is bad. Here is what I came up with:

Pros

•   Life is so much calmer here even with all the gun fights.
•  The food is AWESOME.
•  Most of the people here are very nice.
•  You usually have a store at most 2 houses down from you because, a lot of people have stores in their houses.
• The amusement areas are very cheap to get into.
•  I absolutely cannot live without the bolitas de cajeta and Tostitos preparados con elote!!!
• Rent is cheap here.
• Last but, not least: My husband.

Cons

•  Drug Cartels
•  Most restaurants are nasty.
•  A lot of women hate seeing an American with ¨their Mexican Men¨ so they try to cause problems!!!      (These are the women who make Mexican women look so insecure.)
• The kids always want something from the store since it is so close.
• It seems to smell like sewage all the time. Yuck!!!
• It never rains and when it finally does, everything floods.
• Salaries are even cheaper than the rent.
• The heat, 110 humid degrees!!

So, this is what I came up with and well, I figure that I can deal with and come to love living in Mexico.  I would love it even more if I had more money but, that is wishful thinking right now. If anybody can think of anything else feel free to add to list. Have a wonderful Sunday evening ladies and if you are anywhere near Monterrey, enjoy this wonderfully cool weather.

Busy week....

I haven't time to blog this week; I have been taking care of our dog, Chata. 

    All day Monday, she was just lying around. I thought she was just cold; it was very cold here Monday and Tuesday. She didn't eat much or anything. On Tuesday, she woke up and had diarrhea and vomiting, I was watching her all morning and that afternoon she had blood in her stool so, off to the Vet we went. She gave her 2 shots and some oral medicine. Then, told me to feed her suerox, the Mexican version of Pedialyte every hour and to also feed her baby food and to bring her back the next day for her next dose. 

       So, here I was force feeding Suerox to Chata every hour all through the night up until 3AM, I fell asleep.

       Miguel woke me up at 7AM to tell me that Chata was sitting up in her bed scratching her stomach a huge difference from the night before when she wouldn't even lift her head. Well, I took her back to the Vet, she got 2 more shots and the oral but, an hour later she was vomiting and was really weak again. The vet gave her another shot and she just got worse throughout the afternoon, I thought she was dying. We called another vet, one that my sister in law trusted a lot. He came and got her and said that she should have been given an IV from the beginning with her age. He gave her a 60% chance of living.

      Well, today 2 days later, she is eating food and getting better. We are going to see her this evening and she will be coming home in 2 days. If I had not of changed vets, she would have died. I learned from experience that certain ¨Vets¨ are not real so, be careful if you live in Mexico with your pets.

      She will get home just a couple of days before we leave to go to the US. So far, we are still leaving on Tuesday afternoon but, that could change if it gets more dangerous on the highway again.

       We have 2 birthday parties tomorrow, our nephew's 4th and my father in laws 54th and then on Monday, we have hired a Mariachi group to sing for Miguel's mom for Mother's Day and Miguel's sisters have hired a caterer for the Mother's Day Dinner since, we all are Moms except one of us. 

         Have a Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms!!! Take care and have a good weekend.

Change of plans...

      Well, we were all set to get on the road tomorrow but, I decided to check the Travel Advisories on the US Passport site and guess what I found??

      Travel via road from Monterrey to Nuevo Laredo and to Reynose is prohibited for employees of the US Consulate Offices due to the danger on those to roads at this time. SO, we discussed this and decided to postpone the trip until next week, maybe giving these people another week to finish making up for the fights they missed during Semana Santa and hopefully then it will be OK.

       I wouldn't be so worried about going if it was just me and Miguel but, my kids are going so, there is my main concern. Everybody says to leave them here with Miguel but, call me the overprotective mom but, I just can't leave my kids here without me knowing how it is here. I know Miguel and his family would take care of them but, it's the whole issue with the balaceras. A ten year old girl got shot in the head a couple of weeks ago for God's sakes!

      We are still considering moving to the border but, haven't made a definite decision, yet. I am going to give it another try at finding a job here before we do leave. Something has to give, the house we were going to get has been took off the market or something. The owner will not return phone calls or anything so, that is out now.

       This morning I was in a traffic jam on one of the major Avenues here but, it was not caused by cars but, by horse drawn wagons!! There were about 10 of them together, I told Miguel only in Mexico will you find a traffic jam caused by horse drawn wagons in the middle of the city. LOL Crazy.
     
       The heat has took a vacation, the high today is going to bening 26 celsius or 78F degrees and it will like that through Thursday and then Friday and Saturday will be 34C or 93F which is cool comparing to the last week which was between 40C or 104F and 46C or 115F.

       We didn't really do anything for Dia Del Niño because, we were plannig on leaving for the US tomorrow. We did go buy their favorite food (Carne Asada) for dinner and took them out for ice cream that evening, though.

       If anybody hears of any jobs in the Monterrey area, please post a comment or email me. Thanks ahead of time. I will keep an update on our postponed trip to the US this week. Have a good Monday everybody!!!