Random Observations After One Week

1) I am definitely in germaphobe therapy here. I might even come home a reformed germaphobe.

2) Safety doesn't seem to be as big of a deal here. I will reiterate that pedestrians must really watch out for themselves.

3) Farmacias (Pharmacies) are different here. You can buy many things without a prescription and there seems to be a Farmacia on every corner. Many of them have big mascots of a cartoon-like pharmacist dancing to loud music on the sidewalk outside the store. Azlyn loves one in particular and always tries to get a hug from him. Seems like something you would see at a car dealership or Little Ceasar's Pizza in the U.S. Some have doctors with whom you can consult with for around $15 U.S. Sometimes there is no line. Sometimes there is a very long line. We, thankfully, haven't had to use a doctor. We are told by our landlord that you are often better off to avoid them. Then there are places called "Botica Nueva." These are little shops filled with plant based medicines. Pablo told us that these are the only kind of pharmacies that used to exist. We visited one to get a topical for mosquito bites. It worked well. My instincts say to trust this ancient knowledge and those who work in "Botica Nueva" more than what appears to be a modern pharmacy.

4) You often have to pay to pee here. No kidding. At many of the public restrooms at places like the large markets, there will be an attendant sitting outside at a table with stacks of toilet paper that has been torn off in about one foot sheets. You give her $2.50 pesos (about .25 cents) and she gives you some toilet paper and permission to use the facilities. Which segues to my next observation...

5) Plumbing. Ay Caramba! I guess it is better than no plumbing at all but the plumbing is definitely different here. Toilets are very slow to refill after a flush so you better get it right the first time. Hot water is very rare. We have it in our shower (thank you!) but don't seem to have it in the kitchen. We have to boil water to do our dishes. We have one sink in the kitchen (not double sided) but it doesn't have a plug. We wash our dishes in a bowl or pot usually. We were told that we should use a small cap full of bleach when washing vegetables and fruit. Honestly...sometimes I do this and sometimes I don't. No one has died yet. We do stick to bottled water only for drinking and brushing our teeth. Another interesting proposition. Do you rinse your toothbrush in the tap in the bathroom or haul water from the kitchen's 5 gallon water jugs in a pitcher to the bathroom and pour water over your toothbrush. I have rinsed my toothbrush in the tap and seem to be okay. I use the pitcher for the kids. Most houses seem to have a double sided sink in the courtyard. One side has no drain so we use a yogurt container to scoop out the water. This sink seems to be used mainly for cleaning the house, although I have seen people using it for dishes and hand washing.

5) Electricity is also interesting here. Chad has been shocked several times. We have a three pronged adapter in one room with a surge protector for the computer. This is the only place we can plug in a blow dryer because of the polarized plug. A very interesting and quite scary thing happened yesterday. We were all sitting in our office and heard a sound like a chair scraping across a floor. Only, it was very loud. Like God's chair scraping across the floor of heaven. You felt this sound in the core of your body. Once the shock (pun intended) wore off, we all went to our front door. Everyone on the block was standing in the doorways of their homes and shops dumbfounded. From what we could tell, two of the electrical lines had touched. One woman said that fire raced down the lines as it happened. Odd. I can't help but look up and check-out the power lines as I walk down the streets. There are lots of wires and cables overhead.

6) I am very uncomfortable yet grateful to have a housekeeper. Maria comes to clean our house twice per week. She changes all the linen on one of those days. This service comes with the house rental. It seems as though most people have house cleaners here. I have never been comfortable having someone else clean my messes up. I don't know why this bothers me so much. On one hand, I am enjoying the break. On the other hand, I feel really guilty about this. I know that they aren't paid very much here. We will get her a gift of some sort.

7) We don't have a washer/dryer. It was finally time to do some laundry yesterday. Chad took our clothes to the laundry mat where you could either do them yourself or leave them to be done. We left them there and about four hours later picked up 2+ loads and paid about $8 U.S. Another lovely treat that came with some guilt.

8) In an earlier post I said that things weren't as cheap here as I assumed they would be. Okay. Let me retract that. We blew a couple hundred bucks, mostly on food, before we learned how to live here versus be a tourist. Pablo showed us his favorite street taco stands that he said were safe. Taco's Charlie and a Gorditas Stand. I personally love the Gorditas Stand. About .50 cents per gordita. Two make a good meal for me. We have Manuel's Taco's about 5 feet from our front door and Chad says they are good too. Pablo says that Manuel's specialty is Tacos Lengua. That is pig or cow tongue. It is a delicacy here. I think that Chad has tried it. I haven't. Not sure if I'll brave that one. Although, Manuel is very nice and I look forward to our exchanged greetings each day. When we received all of those tortillas as a gift the other day we gave some to Manuel to use. He graciously accepted them. Can you imagine a restaurant in the U.S. accepting food to use from a stranger. I don't think they have health inspections here!

9) Kids will invent things to do when they don't have the abundance of toys they are used to. I have watched my girls entertain themselves with a balloon for a long time until it kissed a cactus in our courtyard and was no more. The other night the girls each sat on their respective twin beds and played catch with a shirt. They seemed to have a great time doing it!

10) Jaydn was lamenting the fact that she doesn't yet know Spanish. I told her that she was absorbing more than she thinks. She said "Ah. Yes. It is like when you put some glue on paper and then sprinkle glitter on it. You turn it upside down and some of the glitter sticks and the rest falls away. That is me. Some of the words stick and some fall off." I couldn't have described trying to learn a language any better myself!

11) My final observation for today is that the Mexican people are the warmest, friendliest group of people I think I have ever met. In America we hear stories about Mexico being a dangerous place. There are dangerous spots in the United States, Europe, Africa, Mexico, everywhere. It certainly is not a dangerous country from what we have experienced. They have welcomed us with open arms in spite of our being a part of a country that hasn't treated them very well. When I look someone in the eye and say "Buenas Tardes" I am greeted so warmly in return. Jaydn was a few feet in front of me where she could get a better view at her height at a parade this morning. Those standing around her didn't notice me behind her. She was in my sight the whole time. I saw several people become very concerned and begin to keep an eye and one hand on her as they looked around for a parent. Within a matter of seconds I made eye contact with one of the gentleman standing right next to her. He alerted those around that I was right behind them. I really felt at that moment that if Jaydn had been lost they were prepared to look out for her. Another interesting thing happened on our bus tour the other day. Chad stood up to leave and a fellow Mexican passenger said something to Chad. Chad thought he was just saying "Goodbye" so Chad waved. The man said "No, cacahuates!" Chad had a bag of peanuts and the man wanted some. Chad quickly passed the bag to him and he took a handful and passed them back. I can't imagine that happening in America. For one, I can't imagine someone asking as though they were your brother. Secondly, I can't imagine feeling safe accepting food from a stranger on a bus. This just isn't something we do at home. With that said, it was a very nice exchange. It was just the brotherhood of man sitting on top of a bus in the middle of downtown Guadalajara having a snack. Share and share alike. That is what it is like here. We could use a little more openness and a little less fear in America.