Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Reflections: More Lifestyle Surprises

Odest Son walking out our "backyard" with visitng buddies to search for sea life on the beach.

I may be in stream of consciousness mode for the last of my Mexico posts as I reflect on the year … so more lifestyle surprises:

15) Cash Basis: We have lived on a cash basis. No bank account. Just us and the ATM. We have paid cash for tuition, electricity, gas, groceries, everything.

16) Electricity Here It Is, Here It Is Not: During the rainy season, we can just expect the electricity to go out at some point when it rains but not always, of course. We really did not mind much. I just had to be flexible with work since all my work was via the internet and on the Vonage phone.

17) Books: Not much of a focus on books coming home from school or required reading. I guess it really did not technically affect our lifestyle that much because I had the casa stocked with lots and lots of kid books (wish me luck getting them all back to USA.)

18) Shots and Meds: We have been able to buy all our pharmaceutical needs right over the counter! And very inexpensively too! We have found when we do go to the doctor when sick that they give shots frequently along with several oral medications.

19) Medical Care Paid Out of Pocket: We never used our medical insurance in Mexico. We just paid directly to doctor which was always incredibly cheap.

20) Small Tiny Ants: Everywhere and on every crumb in minutes.

21) Commuting To Mexico: So one of my biggest surprises or miscalculations was how often I would travel back to USA for work. Grateful, grateful, grateful for the income. But, I missed my family very much and my personal experiences in Mexico were somewhat more limited than I had expected. Our family probably would have traveled a bit more within Mexico too. Husband took on all the heavy hitting childcare. However, I am not complaining just explaining. Husband and I would do it again in a heartbeat! The trade offs were well worth it.

22) Commuting To USA: While in USA, I have stayed with my Super Special Friend and Friend’s Daughter (7 years old). Logistically, I was able to keep all my work clothes in her home along with toiletries so no schlepping luggage back and forth. Emotionally, what I have is more family now. Simple truth. Super Special Friend sharing her home has kept me sane and gave me something to look forward to when back in USA. The gifts abound from the Move to Mexico - even back in the USA.

3 comments:

Chrissy y Keith said...

You have reaped His blessing. Good for you. Not many choose to accept His gifts. God smiles upon your family.

CancunCanuck said...

I'm feeling so melancholy reading your wrap up, I am sad that your tales will be coming to an end. I've enjoyed your blog and experiences so much this year, I feel like my favourite tv show is being cancelled. :)

It is a pleasure to read your reflections, your attitude about the challenges you faced is exactly what other ex-pats need. I always say there is no such thing as a "good" or "bad" experience, ALL experiences have value and teach us something. It seems to me that you share a bit of that philosophy, kudos to you and yours. You've given your family a priceless gift.

Frankly Ronda said...

C - I like to think so :)

CC - LOL - your TV analogy is so on target. And your assessment of our philopsphy is how it is. Thank you for the thoughtful comment!