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Living in Mexico

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Isn’t it About Time Everyone Went Home?

Chrissake, do I hate Semana Santa. For the uninitiated, the Holy Week leading up to Easter here in Chelem is the first chance in the new year for wealthy Meridanos to actually use the guest houses that they utterly neglect the rest of the year. For the first few weeks leading up to Semana Santa, [...]

1Apr2010 | Malcolm | 12 comments | Continued
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Expattitude

Imagine the coolest person you’ve ever seen. Dial that back about 26%. Drop this beautiful badass into a daytime street scene in a busy Mexican port. That’s me. Imagine me walking. Up the sidewalk on April 1st. The sky is blue, the sidewalk packed with vendors and vacationers. I found a parking space. This alone [...]

1Apr2010 | Jillian | 4 comments | Continued
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New York Magazine Affirms My Life Choices

In this week’s (online) New York Magazine the weekend travel section recommends both Merida and Mid-Coast Maine. And, as far as I know from my own experience, their assessment is pretty spot on.
Hacienda Xcanatun is a lovely place for a decent meal, but it’s the surrounding grounds that truly invite escape. The endorsement of Urbano [...]

25Mar2010 | Jillian | 0 comments | Continued
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Us vs. Them: Expat-on-Expat Crime

In a recent entry, I wondered aloud why Yolisto hasn’t been fully embraced by each and every expat living here in Yucatan, and Josh (of the consistently excellent American Egypt) posted the following comment:
If there are some ex-pats who have not embraced it, don’t worry: some are posting on their own blogs and don’t have [...]

16Mar2010 | Malcolm | 6 comments | Continued
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Collector’s Items

Here is a hope, a vision of the future: nearing the end of my time on this earth, rich with experience, love and wisdom, I would like to have a cozy house filled with family, friends, and beautiful things, objects I’ve collected from many travels all over the world. They will be lovely and they [...]

16Mar2010 | Jillian | 0 comments | Continued
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Norte #33 was a Doozy

I am typing this from the one room in the house that has power, after getting socked for the last 24 hours with one of the most powerful nortes I have ever seen. The waves were breaking on people’s houses, and our neighbor’s house was covered in foam that was being spit up from the [...]

25Feb2010 | Malcolm | 0 comments | Continued
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Life in a Small Fishing Village

It’s not that pictureque, actually. Oh, but it can be. I was naive to think it would look like a painting, with colorful masts studding the ocean’s swells, happy moppet children playing with their untoys, and beautific faces in church on every Sunday. Those idyllic images do occur. There have been afternoons when fishermens’ families are meeting boats onshore at sunset, a dynamic tangle [...]

11Feb2010 | Jillian | 2 comments | Continued
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The Reckoning: Verbal Skills and Communication

Language Lab
Most of the Spanish that I speak, I learned my first six weeks in Mexico. I bounded into the English library like a puppy, and in the eyes of the cranky ancients, smoking and mouldering amid the stacks, must have seemed like one about to piddle on the carpet. I signed up for a [...]

8Feb2010 | Jillian | 1 comment | Continued
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Tacos y Amigos

Yesterday we jumped out of bed, had coffee, and were on the road before 10 am. We like to slip out before the arrival of Mari and Marcelo, so that when we come home it seems the house and yard have been magically washed and tidied, as if by Fabuloso-bearing elves. Our Saturday mornings have [...]

4Feb2010 | Jillian | 2 comments | Continued
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Everybody Seems to Wonder What It’s Like Down Here

it’s not as difficult or as easy to live in Mexico as I imagined
I have seen exactly three scorpions in three years
don’t bother eating the Chinese food
you will not immediately lose 30 pounds
I still don’t have a good doctor
insurance is cheap
labor is cheap
quality furniture is not cheap and hard to find
we don’t drink beer all [...]

18Mar2009 | Jillian | 7 comments | Continued
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Isaias y Toobi

An organization called Purpura Plastika works with orphans and abused children in Yucatan, to improve their quality of life through art. We were lucky enough to acquire this painting over the weekend.

The artist’s name is Isaias; depicted is Toobi, the imaginary friend who keeps him company. I am a big fan of this program. Sniffle a little, then [...]

27Jan2009 | Jillian | 4 comments | Continued
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Seaside Inspired Poem, Untitled

The fisherman’s wife waits at the edge
of the fluctuating sea
with one baby in her arms and another in her big belly,
enacting a habit of her ancestors.
As he sculls closer
it is impossible to tell if he has his work’s reward -
octopus is elusive this season since the red tide -
but perhaps he struck some other maritime [...]

14Oct2008 | Jillian | 0 comments | Continued
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