Notes on Oaxaca

So the good news is, as a larger city, Oaxaca has more to recommend it than sleepy Chapala - at least in terms of my preferences. The bad news is, it's no quieter - altho in a different way. While we have a pretty cool set up/place, we're also right off a major thoroughfare through town and street noise is amplified by an outdoor hallway / breezeway leading to our front door.  Multiple busses run down this street and THEY are very loud. Worse yet, there are a LOT of motorcyles here where the guys - obviously NOT well endowed - have tweaked them to make them REALLY, REALLY loud and they LOVE revving them up in a HUGE way. Little miss delicate flower is already sensitive to loud noises, so he's NOT digging it.  Like in Chapala, they also REALLY like their super loud firework rockets - holiday or not - altho THAT aspect was worse in Chapala.

Speaking of holidays, there was one the day after our arrival - Taxi Day. Yes, for real, celebrating taxi drivers.  So it was very loud our first full day and we were worried. Lol  

And speaking of loud, the thunder here is INSANELY loud.  I remember thinking it was particularly loud in Chapala, but put that down to being surrounded by mountains.  Here, not sure what causes it as I've never been strong in science, but I've heard the loudest thunder in my life here more than once.  Also like Chapala, it rains more than I thought it would - but again mostly always at night or late afternoon/early evening.

On the plus side, there is an AWESOME sandwich shop literally right next door that sells amazing, huge sandwiches that I can get two meals out of for around $3 - $4 total.  Every sandwich has avocado, and a good chunk of them have pineapple, which I avoided at first, but then I eventually tried pretty much every sandwich they have and the pineapple works!  Yay.

Speaking of food/drinks, we also discovered a great restaurant not too far down the street where we go semi-regularly for their Tlayudas - an Oaxacan dish that is best described as a "Mexican pizza," where the crust is a dinner-plate sized light corn toritlla fried to a crisp and then topped with any comboination of things (our favorite: chorizo with Oaxacan cheese).  At this restaurant, I also discovered my new favorite thing: Sangria-flavored soda.  I was a little worried when I ordered it, but trying to do the culture thing, and it was yummy!  It tastes pretty much like you would think Sangria flavored soda would taste. Score!

Kind of hard to believe we're already almost halfway through our stay here!

Summer Streaming Binge Over - Let the Recommendations Commence!

There's lazy summers and then there's the summer DJ and I just had - supremely lazy. I planned it because we'd both had a lot of stress leading up to the adoption, so sleepy Chapala was a good fit to just chill, go for walks, and watch a SHIT TON of TV. Lucky for you, gentle reader, that means lots of reviews and suggestions! And to help you see how far off the mark my own opinion is, I've helpfully included the show's IMDb rating in parens. So let's get started with my summer (and near all time) favorite:

Money Heist (8.2) - not to oversell this, but not only was this the best show I watched this summer, this is now one of my all time faves. I ALMOST wish I had stopped watching after the second season, as more than one of my favorite characters were offed during the next/final three seasons.  But this was definitely intense, gripping, addictive, etc.

Elite (7.1) - for folks who love sexy soapy shows of beautiful rich people behaving badly. It was wild to see three of the folks from Money Heist also in this one. I have a much higher opinion of Spanish TV after this summer!

Beyond Paradise (7.4) - one of your standard charming/fun British detective shows set in bucolic English country towns.

Atypical (8.2) - shout out to David Phipps for recommending this. DJ and I both loved it - and it's one of DJ's all time faves now. Sam is one of my favorite characters from TV.

Bojack Horseman (8.8) - this was on my list to see for awhile and was surprised when one of my writing seminar students in Montenegro listed it as a favorite. It's definitely a weird universe to adjust to, and I feel like the series sagged a bit in the middle, but I loved the first season and stuck with it through all of them.

Brooklyn 99 (8.4) - This was a re-watch for me, but I thought DJ would like it, and boy does he! lol One of the best ensembles I've seen for a sitcom and one of the most accessible cop shows I've seen - again, partly due to the mix of fun characters.

Love, Death, & Robots (8.4) - VERY eclectic mix of animated shorts with some truly amazing ones scattered amongst other good ones, great ones, and some not-so -great. But a great thing to have in your queue for when that edible is winding down and you just wanna watch something fun/different/wild for a little bit w/o committing to a full 30 minutes or hour for a regular show.

Adolesence (8.2) - yeah, yeah, yeah, the single shot gimmick makes it more "compelling," and it was well produced and acted, but I guess my expectations were too high after all the raves. Cyber bullied teen acts out? Maybe it was just me, but yeah, I know this kind of stuff happens so  wasn't quite so shocked as others.  Also too short IMHO to really be able to get into it.

Disjointed (6. 8) - I really wanted to like this and it's possible I would have stuck with it if it had not been filmed in front of a live audience and I had to hear all the laughing. I DESPISE shows with laugh tracks/live audiences. It always seems fake/forced.

Baby Reindeer (7.7) - Wow. Almost as fucked up as Squid Game (see below) but more on a psychological level. All the more compelling considering it's based on a true story and the lead actor was the dude this actually happened to.  Brave of him to admit to and put out there his own neuroses like he did coz I was like, "Dude, WTF? Why are you not stopping this more forceuflly.....and sooner??" 

Smiley (8.0) - fun, romcom limited series - another from Spain.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (7.4) - short film by Wes Anderson that is very Wes Anderson, so if you like him (like I do), this will be right up your alley!

Call the Midwife (8.6) - I was bummed that Kanopy didn't have all the seasons!  Started watching this in Oklahoma and then watched seasons 4 and 5 here. If you don't have Kanopy, get it. Very eclectic mix of TV shows and movies that are free if you have a library card.  

Squid Game (8.0) - This show was so amazing and SO. VERY. fucked up that I did a whole blog post on it! Click HERE to check it out.  

Disenchantment (7.2) - Kind of surprised this isn't rated a little higher, but I will admit it can be a little uneven. I just finished the first two seasons and find it fun/quirky, with a lot of witty wordplay you may have to watch twice just to catch all of it.

The Queen's Gambit (8.5) - Great "limited series" that I REALLY wanted to be a true story! lol But still lots to recommend from the original storyline to the great job of time and place to the across the board great performances.

The Umbrella Academy (7.8) - Started this some time ago and watched the first two seasons stateside before finishing the last two here in Mexico. The first season is definitely the highlight, and Five is one of my all time favorite characters from TV.

Lupin (7.5) - Just finished season 2 of this and having a bit of "Money Heist" angst thinking that I should stop now! lol  But I'll continue as it's good stuff. Does some cool "Memento" type shit going back in time to lead up to the previous scene to show how it came about.

The Law According to Lydia Poet (7.8) - I REALLY wanted to like this show more - particularly as it's loosely based on a real person.  Not sure why I have not made more of an effort, and I do still have it in my queue and will keep watching every now and again when the mood strikes. The mood just doesn't seem to strike often! 

Resident Alien (8.0) - I just started watching this, about halfway through season one, and digging it. Hope it maintains!

How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast) (7.8) A German show based on a true story, nerdy H.S. boy gets dumped and takes to selling drugs to win his lady back. Yeah. Another one I've recently started watching and am enjoying so far/hope it maintains. 

With all that, I STILL have a shit ton of series on my "to be watched" list. Without giving any spoilers, do folks have recommendations on any of the following?

Queen Charlotte, Altered Carbon, Ripley, 1879, Rita, 1670, The Witcher, Kath & Kim, Dirty Lines, The Eternaut, Innocent, Shadow & Bone, Wednesday, Alice In Borderland, The End of the F***ing World, Dept. Q, Kaos, Bridgerton, Derry Girls, The House of Flowers, Maid, Dark, Bodies, Sex Education, The Empress, Merli, Dead Boy Detectives, and Sense 8

Or anything else, lemme know!

Pics of our new digs and fun facts about Oaxaca!

So we've been in Oaxaca for a couple of weeks, and will be here until a few days past Day of the Dead, so looking forward to that! Our place is smaller than the big place we had in Chapala (altho probably close to the same size if you throw in the large patio), but actually costs $600 a month compared to $500.  BUT this place also includes weekly cleaning, which is awesome! And of course we're in an urban area which is always pricier (about a 25 min walk/10 min bus ride from Centro).  Including some pics of the space below, but first, here are some fun facts about Oaxaca!

 1) The Oaxaca Valley has been inhabited since 11,000 BC and is the birthplace of corn and squash. First inhabitants were the Zapotecs, displaced by the Mixtecs, then the Aztecs, and then.........the Spanish.

2) Oaxaca's colonial center is a UNESCO world heritage site - pics to come!

3) Oaxaca is a well known gastronomic capital. "The land of the seven moles" is also famous for their hot chocolate and mezcal. We've already tried memelas and tlayudas - and we both LOVE the latter. I did have something with a mole sauce years ago but wasn't too enamored of it - it felt weird to me to have a chocolate flavored sauce on enchiladas. But maybe I'll like a local, authentic version that's spicier maybe.  We'll see!

4) Oaxaca (state) is the most culturally and linguistically diverse in the whole country.

5) Oaxaca’s often mis-pronounced name comes from the Nahautl-speaking Aztecs. After establishing their garrison around what is now called Cerro del Fortín, they named the site Huāxyacac, meaning “place of the guaje trees.” But how did “Huāxyacac” become “Oaxaca”? Enter the Spanish conquistadors who transliterated the pronunciation of the x in Huāxyacac from “sh” to the modern Mexican Spanish “j”. Today, Oaxaca is pronounced “waˈhaka” instead of its original Nahautl pronunciation of “waˈshaka”.

6) Why is the city often called Oaxaca de Juarez?  Born into an impoverished Zapotec family in the Oaxacan countryside, Benito Juarez went on to become a lawyer, politician, and the first president of indigenous descent in Mexico. Besides his indigenous roots and political success, he is most famous for leading the fight against French occupation in the 1860’s. Upon his death, the city of Oaxaca proudly added “de Juarez” to its name to honor him and his contribution to Mexico’s freedom from foreign rule. His name also appears on various buildings, streets, and institutions all over the city and state and his birthday, March 21, is now celebrated as a national holiday, an honor no other Mexican individual has received to date.

And now for some pics of our place:

Final Review on Chapala Mexico as a Retirement Option.

So after 3 months in Chapala, and some final reflection, here's my "review" on Chapala's suitability as a retirement option with grades for the major considerations:

Weather: B+ This would be an A if not for the humidity. And the reason it's still this high with the humidity is that the temp doesn't get too bad and the humidity decreases as the day goes on. May is their warm month with highs consistently in the low 90s. June & July low 80s for the high and I understand the rest of the year is the same or cooler. There's a fair amount of rain in the "rainy season" but it's almost all at night, so that's a plus.

Safety: A I feel like this is illustrated best by the number of elderly (expat) women I see walking around alone. Never felt unsafe here, and even DJ - normally a timid soul with this kind of sutff - felt safe enough to go to the weekly Monday market on his own if I wasn't up to it - and it's a good 15 min walk away.

Food: B+ Points off for lack of variety, but of course tons of good Mexican across all price points, a few random cafes/restuarants with American and other food, and adjacent Ajijic has even more diversity and availability.

Infrastructure: C+  Mexico remains a somewhat poor country, and while Chapala is more of a "vacation area," many buildings are still run down, most main roads are cobblestone, etc. It's an easy trip to Guadalajara and the airport, the busses do run frequently and are cheap, albeit often crowded and sometimes not the most comfortable around town. Utilities were fine, altho we did have a generator for when sotrms knocked out the power (which was very rare, actually, considering the strength of the storms).

Health Care: N/A we didn't need to access health care here, but I do know there were multiple docs who spoke English, there's a nice hospital in Ajijic, and from some expats I talked with who DID have to use the health care system, they had nothing but good things to say. I'm guessing we'll have to access health care in Oaxaca, so we'll see. I've also heard/read from others here that Ajijic is very well set up for older folks - including those needing assisted living services.

Costs: A  Our very large, modern apartment was $500 a month (2 bedrooms, 1 bath, large, clean, huge wrap around patio with great views of the lake) and included all utilities and internet (which went out once in 3 months - WAY less than Cox in Oklahoma). Dining out was about half what we paid in Oklahoma for small/quick service restaurants and/or for mid-range sit down restaurnats (we did no fine dining). U.S. chains were about the same costs altho the only ones we did here were Popeyes and Little Caesar (for DJ). On the whole, I would say our cost of living is about HALF/a little less than it was in Oklahoma.

Social/People: C- There IS an expat community here, mostly older/retired folks, and the locals are friendy enough, AND if I knew this was a place I was seriously considering, I might have made more of an effort, but considering the next category, there's not much to do in this sleepy town. Probably a little more in Ajijic. So far we have found Mexican folks to be friendly, helpful, and honest (one small example: when folks get on the back of the bus, they pass their 13 pesos in a chain up to the driver through the crowded bus. No one thinks to try and get off w/o paying, and folks along the way don't pocket the fares).

Culture: D There's a small museum/culture center in Ajijic, and a couple of movie theaters, but that's about it. Again, if I dug more, might find more things, but this is defintiely a weak area here.  We did catch a local parade by accident! lol

Flora/Fauna: C It's cool being by the lake, but because it's polluted, you cant really DO anything in it.  Sad face! As mentioend in previous posts, there are a lot of "roaming" dogs, but mostly friendly, and DJ & I have our favorites in the neighborhood. And the foks who own dogs up here in this neighbrohood have no issues with letting them bark their effing heads off. VERY annoying and I would not recommend this otherwise amazing apt. just because of that.  Other areas are supposedly not so bad in this regard. The cicadas are annoying for about 6 weeks, and there are JUST enough other bugs to be annoying and gross for two boys who hate bugs! Lol  About once a week a large cockraoch or cicada would get in the house, grossing us out. Had a few weeks when flies were really annoying, and even had a couple of lizard sightings inside the house. There ARE some cool birds and even a handul of horses and a couple of donkeys in the hood - that was fun for the two of us.  Plentiful trees, our allergies weren't oo bad, but also too dusty in the height of summer.

Location: C+/B- Again, being by a large lake is cool to look at, it's quiet, etc. We're about a 40 minute taxi ride from Guadalajara so that's a big plus for flights out, and it's also in the mountain time zone so doing stuff on "U.S. time" is pretty easy.  But otherwise it's more of a "vacation" / chill place in MY mind and not so great for every day living for a confessed city boy!

At the end of the day, Chapala is a pretty hard pass for me as a retirement option. Too sleepy and small, altho others may appreciate that!

BONUS CONTENT: Before heading to Oaxaca, we spent a few days in Guadalajara, since we were flying out of there from Chapala.  GDL is a pretty cool city, historic, lots of cool things to see and do, etc. I would recommend it if you find yourself in the area, but not sure if it's worth a trip on its own.

Squid Game: I Have Some Thoughts!

Okay, first of all, What. The. Hell? I've seen some twisted stuff, but man oh man is this show a piece of work. I remember when I first heard something - vaguely - about it. I actually thought it was a legit Japanese game show and they were joking about contestants actually DYING as part of the games.

So when I realized it was actually a South Korean TV show that was insanely popular, I thought i'd give it a whirl. I'm generally a fan of Korean cinema, and know they do a lot of dark, DARK stuff (e.g., Oldboy, Parasite, the Handmaiden, etc.). Still I was not prepared for the....level of....of....evil.  

That being said, it IS extremely compelling. Extremely appalling, and yet extremely compelling. I think it was the pathos.  I don't know that I've experienced the level of pathos I felt while watching this. I was torn between wanting to stop watching because it was so emotionally exhausting, and yet couldn't STOP watching. TV show as a huge car wreck on the highway you can't help but gawk at.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely not. I mean, very well done, technically, good production values, good acting, etc.  Villains to root against and plenty of folks to root FOR - for what it's worth since (spoiler alert but not really) literally everybody dies. I would be interested to hear what others thought of this?

Of course the ending teased an American version, but I absolutely will NOT watch it. You know it will be even MORE violent, MORE grotesque, and with even slimier villains.  BUT let me share my rankings of the best heroes, worst villains, and most appalling games (SEVERAL SPOILERS BELOW):

THE 3 MOST APPALLING GAMES:

1) Hide & Seek.  While I was very emotional during most of the games, this one was the only one that had me full on crying at the end. Obviously, turnning them full on loose on each other made this one intense, but the trans character getting it - and how/by whom - was bad enough, but sympathetic old lady being forced to kill her own son, while he APOLOGIZES  to her, and then ends up hanging herself in grief?  Seriously, kill me now.

2) Flying Squid Game. I was a Nervous. Wreck. all during the last game just because of the baby. I thought, "Surely, they won't kill a baby!" But then I remembered all the other things they'd done and all I could do is chant to myself as the game started/played out, "I'm so unhappy! I"m so unhappy!"

3)  Mingle. I was almost sobbing and begging them to stop as this one went on. "Please, don't do another round, PLEASE don't do another round!" 

Honorable mention: Glass Bridge and Marbles. I would have lost for sure on glass bridge as - discounting my fear of heights - my "lucky" numbers are 2 and 5 so I would have picked one of those. And died. Marbles was awful coz folks picked buddies/relatives to pair up with  and then.....well, you know.

THE 3 BEST CHARACTERS:

1) Seong Gi-Hun. At first, I thought, THIS is the main character? He ws NOT very sympathetic or likable at first, but he grew. And he tried really hard to be a hero. And I was very, very angry when he died.

2) Ali Abdul. The rage I felt when this dude got gypped in marbles! And how I then hated #3 below because of it!

3) Cho Hyun-Ju & Jang Geum-ja (tie). They ended up being tied together in wonderful and horrible ways and I was devastated when each died - particularly the horrible way the latter went.

THE 3 WORST CHARACTERS:

1) Collectively, the VIPs. I was SO grossed out by these people - while also totally seeing these folks as plausible in this day & age of shitty human being billionaires - that I actually started tuning out the scenes with them with their disgusting commentary. Seriously, off with their heads.

2) Jeong-dae. This sorry old bastard couldn't die soon enough for me.

3) Cho Sang-woo. Sad and yet also utterly despicable and vile. Cloaking his evil in "pragmatism" made him no more likable.

Okay, folks, let me hear your thoughts if you've seen this. Am I too delicate? Will you be watching the American version?  Which games freaked you out most? Favorite and least favorite characters?  Tell all!

Wait, these tacos are WHAT kind of meat?

So lots of folks here have 4X4s to get around which is kinda cool and makes sense, what with the hills and cobblestone streets. DJ is jealous to see kids driving them often and of course wants one of his own.

We've navigated the steep hill that leads down a block from our place now enough that DJ no longer needs to cling and hang on to me (ostensibly, he's trying to "help" me - ha!). Still get out of breath coming back home/up the last hill but definitely some improvement in our cardiovascular health, I'm hoping. Here's a pic of the last block up to our place - pic doesn't do it justice. It's hella steep!

Movies! There are two decent theaters here - well actually in next door Ajijic, which is about a 10 minute bus ride that costs about $1.30 total for both of us. One theater is a little "nicer"/more modern in terms of overall look and feel, while the other is just fine with better seats (recline, footrests, etc.). When we go for Sunday matinees or Wednesday discount days, it costs about $5 total for the both of us.  A large popcorn and two large drinks is about $10 - so just like the states you pay way more for refreshments!

My favorite little taco place in town expanded! Apparently, our frequent business gave them the capital to buy the space next to them and now instead of being a little hole in the wall with a few tables outside on the sidewalk, it's now more of a little restaurant with inside seating. You're welcome, local business! lol

It's the place we went on Father's Day and while I normally stick with chorizo or the occasional al pastor taco, and DJ sticks to quesadillas with the occasional chorizo taco (which he tried for the first time here), for Father's Day we tried one of each of their tacos, even tho we didn't know the English for Suadero, Cabeza (I do now!), and Labio. When we got home, I discovered we'd "enjoyed" head meat tacos, lip meat tacos, and leg meat tacos! We found most pretty "bleh," but at least we're trying new things!

Speaking of trying new things, DJ had his first churro! While I like them okay, the ones we got here are VERY good - easily the best I've had, and DJ fell in love with them and asks for them every time we walk by the place now ("conveniently" located right at the bottom of the hill from us). 

Final random note: unsurprisingly,  I eat a lot of beans here. Interestingly, they sell refired beans in pouches rather than cans. They have regular, with chorizo (yum!), and chipotle flavored. Chipotle flavored stuff here is much spicier than in the states, while chorizo is about the same. I eat a lot of tostadas - Mexican style.

Coming in a few a weeks: my final overall assessment of Chapala as a retirement option and if I think it will make the final cut! 

Naps, Noise, and other Miscellany in Mexico

One thing that's been interesting about our time here so far is that DJ and I have both been sleeping much better.  For me, at least, I'm sure it's no longer having the stress of worrying about selling all my stuff, planning all the travel, dealing with the adoption, etc.  Not sure why for DJ - partly maybe diet, and I would say partly due to not wondering about the adoption anymore, but since his behavior hasn't improved, not sure.

It seems like cicada season is finally over, thank god. I mean, I've lived in OK and experienced locusts back in the day, but those aren't NEARLY as loud and annoying as the fucking cicadas. At first I actually thought it was the high pitched whine of some electrical machine someone was using and I was ready to scour the neighborhood to find it and give them stink eye. But then I finally googled, "What is that annoying, loud whistling sound around Chapala all the time?" and discovered it was cicadas. Seriously, what awful creatures. Thank god THAT is over.

Also apparently done is our hot weather. I knew coming in that May was their hottest month, and it has indeed been more pleasant on the whole since June. Typcial highs around 80, but also humid in the mornings. Also, June ushered in their "monsoon season," but even that has been bearable as usually the rains are at night. But man oh man have there been some downpours!  Again, I've certainly experienced my share of weather in Oklahoma, but we've had 1-2 storms that were INSANE regarding the intensity of rain and wind - and the THUNDER. Among the loudest I've ever epxerienced, probably helped by the echo/the fact we're surrounded by mountains. Exciting stuff. I don't know why, but it also seems like weird weather to have while on a lake.

Luckily, our place has a generator so when the storm knocks out the electricity, we still have precious internet and can still stream Netflix! Lol

Otherwise, the dogs still bark their fucking heads off, and I'm over THAT - and we also had a "fun" evening of a very loud domestic squabble in the street next to our building. Typical husband chest thumping/haranguing while the wife yells back and cries. Exciting times.  All that being said, it's still pretty chill on the whole and both of us are starting to get a little bored in this sleepy burg.

Speaking of sleepy, taking advantage of the lazy summer to get a nap in every day and man oh man am I digging THAT! Fun fact: the DNA/family geneaology test I did says I have a marker that means I am "genetically predisposed" to enjoy napping.

One other "noise" thing: periodically, cars or trucks will drive around the neighborhood with loudspeakers on their cars making announcements, selling water, etc.  Another one of those things that, when I first heard it, I was like, "What the fuck is THAT?" lol  And while I'm still plugging away with learning Spanish, I'm still not fluent enough to understand what the hell they're yammering on about! 

Finally, in additon to better sleep, both me and the little monster have lost weight from eating better (well, eating less junk/fast food) and walking a lot more. While I'm still panting and out of breath whenever we make it back to the top of the hill from shopping or eating out, I don't have to stop and rest halfway up, and DJ no longers gets a stich in his side from the effort. But then he's quite the little delicate flower.

Comida Mexicana! (Food in Mexico)

Let's start with the most important thing: eggs are about $1 for 15. They come in cartons of 15 or 30, and in the market (the weekly tanguis) I can consistently find them for around $1. If I'm lazy and just go to the grocery store that's closest to me I may pay closer to $1.50 - $1.75.  For 15. And yeah, they're fine.

Just this week I had the best tamale I've ever had - and I've had a lot of tamales over the years. These I get from a street vendor at the bottom of the hill on the main drag. Tamales are tricky. They can be too dry, have too much masa/not enough filling (or vice versa), etc. But these (Rico's Tamales!) are tasty, just the right texture, just the right mix of masa/filling, etc.  Score! $1 each and they're good size.

Not too surprisingly, I have also eaten a shit ton of tacos since I've been here. While I have an early "favorite" on the main drag, there are other spots - LOTS - all around with good tacos, from street vendors to small diners to restaurants. The best I've ever had? Probably not, but then I have had a LOT of tacos in my life from a lot of places and - oddly enough - the best I can remember were from a street vendor/taco truck in.......Zurich, of all places.

I am waiting to see if I will tire of Mexican food - I'm guessing no, since I love it so much. But after we were here about a week, and had already had many Mexican meals, I broke down and took DJ to get pizza but on the way, all I could think was, "Wah! I'm in the mood for Mexican!" lol  Have also eaten a lot of tostadas. Everywhere sells the crispy tostada tortillas and there's multiple good local brands of refried beans in a variety of flavors. 

After the tamale, the best thing I've had here was something not necessarily "Mexican," but I would have never thought to make in the states. Since they use limes so much here (to the point where there is actually a lime press included in the cutlery in this airbnb place), I bought a bag at the tanguis ($1 for one kilo - 2.2 pounds). That's a lot of limes, so I decided to make fresh limeade.  Then, I hit on the notion of blending some limeade with frozen strawberries and good gawd almighty, that was some awesome shit that I have since had again and again. It helps that the strawberries were so good - and I spent about $1.50 for a kilo.  Potatoes are about $1 - $1.25 for one kilo, Mandarins the same.  I got a full quart of fresh blueberries for $2. Tomatoes about $1 - $1.50 for one kilo. And so on.

I do wash produce well, but have scaled back from the heavy duty "treatment" I was initially doing after being frightened into it by my friend David. He insisted - and was validated online in a few places - that I need to give all produce a "disinfectant bath" and/or a bath in vinegar and water.  So I did that the first couple of times. Then got lazy and just scrubbed produce with a sponge dipped in vinegar. Finally, I asked the expats downstairs what they do, and they said they just wash/scrub them good with the "good" tap water we have up here on the hill, so now I do that. Not dead yet! (knock on wood)

In the grocery stores, selection is pretty good - and you can get all kinds of American stuff (shudder) if you wanna pay a little more and/or shop at specialty stores.  Mexico requires products to have labels on the front/top if said product has excess calories, or sugar, or salt, or saturated fats. Makes it easier to pass it up.

There's nothing I haven't yet been able to find that I want/need, and in fact they have  things that aren't available in the U.S. - or hard to find anymore. Like Fresca! I never did like Fresca as a kid, but I love it after rediscovering it somwehre abroad some years ago. DJ had never had it before, but is now a fan.  I've already discussed Mexican Coke, and we can even find Dr. Pepper here w/o too much trouble - including a flavor I've never seen in the states: "Dark Berry" Dr Pepper that i had to try.....and, well, it wasn't BAD, but....meh.

Some things are actually pricier than in the states for some reason (e.g., pasta sauce), and pizza, while cheaper in general, is pretty closely priced to the good deals you can get in the states with so many options.  Milk is cheaper, and you can actually buy it in a 3-pack of 1-qt plastic bag/pouches which is convenienft for us coz we don't use it a lot and can freeze 2 of the 3 bags until needed. Cheese is a little pricey, unless you wait for a sale.

I made my first homemade salsa and it was amazing, and also just made a huge vat of black bean chili for the first time. Good stuff. If by some chance I do end up in Mexico for retirement, FOOD wll be a major reason why!

Fun facts about Mexico!

Part of why I picked Chapala to check out is the weather. Most of Mexico is just too hot for me to consider for retirement.  But Chapala is one of the few areas listed for "nice weather year round" in Mexico.  Apparently, the hottest month here is in May and the rest is pretty pleasant.

I had actually hoped to start our adventure sooner, but the adoption delay meant we started here in May. And it was indeed hot for most of the month - low to mid 90s for the high pretty much every day. BUT it's dry heat, which helps. BUT it also has bright UV intense days, which isn't so great.  So far, June has indeed been cooler with highs in the lower 80s.

If I end up really liking it, I suppose I could spend the month of May elsewhere, but the goal is to land somewhere where I don't HAVE to escape for however long. But while we're waiting out the summer, here are some fun facts I learned about Mexico from a  little booklet in the "Lake Chapala Society" expat group HQ "downtown:"

1) Not only is Mexico home to the world's largest pyramid - the Great Pyramid of Cholula - but it also has more pyramids than Egypt. Cholula (AKA Tlachihualtepetl, or 'constructed mountain') is actually shorter than Giza, but much wider and larger in square feet.

2) As you may know, Mexico is the birthplace of chocolate!  The Olmecs and Mayan used it to make beverages.

3) Mexico City is sinking, with some buildings sinking up to 4-20(!) nches per year. Those clever conquistadores drained Lake Texcoco to expand the city originally built on the lake's islands.

4) Too bad it's sinking, coz Mexico City has the 2nd most museums in the world.

5) There are 69 recognized/"official" languages in Mexico! 

6) A Mexican engineer, Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena, invented color TV.

7) Mexico is home to the 2nd largest coal reef in the world. The Great Mayan Reef actually stretches from Mexico down through Belize, Guatemala, and down to Honduras - well over 500 miles.

8) Mexico is home to the oldest university in North America: The Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico predates Harvard by 80 years, although AI will still say Harvard is older.  Tell me again how AI isn't corrupted by the information/propaganda it's fed.

9) Per capita, Mexico drinks more Coca-Cola than any other country. And yes, Mexican Coke is still better.

10) Mexico is home to the Americas first printing press - established in Mexico City in 1539, about 100 years before the first one arrived in Boston.

11) Mexico is home to the world's most volcanoes - including the smallest (Cuexcomate is only 43 feet high).

12) Las Colorados in the Yucatan has pink lakes! It's not "natural" but rather due to a high concentration of red and pink algae, plankton, and brine shrimp.  If it wasn't so far, I'd love to go see them!

13) Technically, the country is called The United States of Mexico.

Life in Glamorous Chapala Mexico

So what's the most important thing that happened for DJ once we moved to Mexico? Trying Mexican Coke, of course. We're both Dr Pepper fans at heart - like all the cool people. At home, we never drank Coke, going with Sprite or Orange or even Root Beer if Dr Pepper wasn't available. But I told DJ Mexican Coke is way better than U.S. coke, so first oppt'y we had, we each got a bottle with lunch and he agreed it's way better - and we've each had a few since we've been here (partly out of fear of ordering water).

He also had his first experience using a bottle opener - as they use more glass here. Altho it took a little doing, he was enormously pleased with himself after getting his bottle open and insisted on doing mine.

Arriving in Chapala was a bit of an adventure. We got a taxi at the airport in Guadalajara, and while dude was confident in his ablity to get down here (Chapala is about 40 miles south of Guadalajara - Mexico's 2nd largest city), he wasn't quite that familiar with the town itself and we wandered for quite awhile around town, before I could finally get him to understand our rental place was at the top of the hill - so then LOTS of wandering around there, trying to find the short street we're on (Calle 4 Milpas). Locals were very friendly and helpful, and after much back and forth we arrived.

We both really like the place. Very good size. Click HERE to see it - and it's even nicer than than the pics. Only weird thing is bathroom is only accessible through my/main bedroom. But it's good size, on top of the hill which is good in the sense we get nice breezes, but bad in the sense it's a pretty serious hill so while walks down to town are okay, the trudge back up is a bear - but it's only about 5 (down) to 10 (up) minutes so we get some good exercise.

The population of the Chapala metro area is around 50K - which includes neighboring Ajijic - and is the largest of the little towns that dot the shoreline of Lake Chapala (Mexico's largest freshwater later, but let's put fresh in quotes since too much crap is dumped in the lake to make it potable or swimmable, alas). My geography was off and I thought Guadalajara/Chapala were south of Mexico City and more central. It is not.  Lol

One down side to our digs is the barking dogs. I'm sure I'll be talking about this more as I'm blown away by how many fucking dogs bark their fucking heads off here all the fucking time. Lol  Apparently this is kind of a "thing" in Latin America and is definitely a big CON for moving here unless I'm able to land a place with no neighboring dogs. But good luck with that as there are a lot of dogs here. On the plus side, the roamers are all friendly and not aggressive - a welcome change from the mean Balkan dogs in Montenegro.

Along with dogs, though, there's a fair number of horses in our neighborhood, which tickles DJ (and me, honestly). Probably will take the little monster for his first horeseback ride at some point while we're here as there's a place in Ajijic that rents tame ones.

Final interesting thing about the place we're staying. Until about 20 years ago, there were very few, mostly hovels, up here on the hill. But the influx of gringos and moneyed folks vacationing at the Lake opened up this hill to development and lots of new/nicer places are being built (like ours). Bonus: they found the hill sits on volcanic springs which means more/fresher water, and they also built more modern plumbing so none of that 3rd world scourge of not being able to flush your toilet paper (yay!). So we CAN drink the water up here - but we don't due to all the volcanic minerals in it. But it's definitely fine for washing, brushing your teeth, cooking, etc.  

But you can tell when the reservoir in the hill gets low and refills from the volcanic spring as sometimes the water will come out hot if the reservoir has just recently re-filled.

While it's ear;y days, I still can't imagine ending up here permanently. Our first three stops on my retirement scouting tour are being done in reverse order of my initial thinking on preference. I figure I'll like Oaxaca more because of it being more urban/more stuff to do, and I'll like Quito even more due to weather. We'll see!

Why I'm in Mexico

So a lot of people think/assume I've left the states coz of IT (Krasnov). And while I'd love to ride that noble high horse, I actually put this current adventure/plan into motion some months BEFORE the election - and when I actually was dumb enough to think Americans would make the right choice.  

As most of you know, I ended my Peace Corps service early to come back to the states and adopt my little monster. But I made sure he knew that as soon as that was official, we'd be taking off for me to explore where I want to retire. In fact, the main reason I had selected Montenegro for my PC service was to explore it/the Balkans as a possible retirement option. Decision: No. While I enjoyed Montenegro, and it's a VERY beautiful country, well located, etc., it gets too hot in the summer AND any of the cities I'd consider retiring in - specifically coastal cities like Bar or Kotor - are already getting too expensive.

I did make a sojoun around the Balkans the month before I left, seeing Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia - and while I MAY go back to further "analyze" some, I have at least so far dismissed them all: Slovenia - specifically Ljubljana (which I still can't spell) - was my favorite. Charming town center closed off to autos, interesting history, great architecture, people seemed cool, etc. But, alas, others are getting the same idea and the city will be priced out of my retirement savings/reliance on SSI. I would consider living with someone, but even then I'm worried it's too hot for me in the summer.

Croatia has plusses, but too toursity and expensive and hot.  I did like Belgrade, but personally find the Serbians off-putting/arrogant/uber-nationalistitc. Bosnia has some VERY cool towns, and is quite affordable, but again the heat in the summer and much of th country still bears very large/depressing scars from the war.

So after finalizing DJ's adoption, I've whisked him away to be a nomad online learner while helping me evalutae a landing place for retirement. I don't think Mexico will be it, but I feel compelled to at least check it out due to proximity to the states, same time zones, inexpensive, etc.  But I'm guessing the summer weather will nix it (if you haven't guessed yet, weather is my #1 consideration in choosing - followed closely by cost of living).

We're spending 3 months in Chapala and then 3 in Oaxaca (U.S. citizens can stay 6 months in Mexico on your passport), before heading to Ecuador for three months. From there, we're headed to Europe where we'll spend about 4 years bouncing around the different countries I'm considering there. 3 months in each place, due mostly to visa restrictions. But I did learn in Peace Corps that 3 months is a good amount of time to really get to know a place.

Finally, I know a lot of folks seem to think I'm rich for being able to do this and/or that I'm reitring early. I wish! To both! I am still working - TRYING to get more work as a travel agent, and also doing online remote work (and looking for more). I am the opposite of rich and another reason I am doing this is because it's CHEAPER to live overseas.  From a quick analyses, it looks like our living expenses will be around HALF of what they were in Oklahoma (a notoriously cheap place to live coz you get what you pay for) - so I actually can't afford to NOT live abroad.  And thanks to miles/points I've saved up and travel agent perks, the travel side is free or very cheap (e.g., free repositioning cruise on Princess of 25 days will get us from S. America to Europe).

I've posted my itinerary in multiple places on Facebook, but if you're interested in checking it out - and/or meeting up someplace along the way (that'd be awesome) - here it is. Set in stone pretty much until we land in Europe, and can be fleixible then if folks are interested in meeting in a particular country during a particular time:

May - Oct. '25 - Mexico (2-3 months in Chapala and then 3 months in Oaxaca - we'll be there for Day of the Dead! Yay!)

Nov. ' 25 - Jan ' 26 - Ecuador (Quito)

Feb ' 26 - repositioning cruise from Buenos Aires to Rome. 25 days! and after a couple days in Rome, it's off to:

Mar - May ' 26 - (S) Portugal (Porto)

Jun - Aug '26 - Ireland or Scotland or Wales

Sep - Nov '26 - (S) Spain - probably Valencia

Dec. '26 - Feb. '27 - Morocco

Mar - May '27 - (S) Bulgaria

Jun - Aug. '27 - Macedonia/other Balkan state

Sep. - Nov. ' 27 - (S) Romania

Dec ' 27 - Feb. '28 - Georgia (this could be longer and thus push everything else back as you can stay in Georgia up to 1 year on a U.S. passport)

Mar - May - '28 - (S) Estonia

Jun - Aug. '28 - Ireland/Scotland/Wales

Sep. - Nov. '28 - (S) Poland

Dec. '28 - Feb. '29 - Croatia/Bosnia/Montenegro/Albania

Mar - May '29 - Another city in Spain or back to another Shengen country I really liked to explore more or try another city.

By this point, DJ will be almost 18 and depending on a variety of things, we may then head to SE Asia and bounce around for a year or so to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and who knows where else.

So make your plans now to join up or meet us somewhere along the way! Or if you are interested in any of those places, let me know anything in particular you'd like me to pay attention to there.

Resist!

Where to start?  How about some judgement (including self-flagellation) all around for how we've been partially responsible for bringing this current hell down on ourselves and how we may have fucked ourselves right out of a functioning republic. 

I was going to do a recap of all the horrible things that have already happened, but how to choose? There's just SO much! Instead, I'll focus on the "one" thing we should ALL be doing - and doing a LOT better on: punishing the oligarchs and willfully ignorant voters who unleashed this hell on us.

Firstly, if you don't completely understand what an oligarchy is, google it (no wait, don't use google - those craven pieces of shit are renaming the Gulf of Mexico). We are currently living under an oligarchy quickly trying to transition to a dictatorship.  How do you punish oligarchs? By going after the one thing they love above all else: their money.

Here's a fun little fact: The average consumer funds politicians and PACs about 3 times more through their purchasing decisions as compared to their direct political contributions.  So you made a feel good $25 donation to Kamala last year?  Aww, sweet, give yourself a pat on the bac....oh wait, then the next day you spent $25 on lunch for you and a friend at Chick fil a or however it's spelled? Congrats, not only was your $25 bucks to Kamala wiped out, but you basically gave that and then another $50 to Trump.

NO self respecting American citizen who cares about equality, decency, Democracy etc. has ANY excuse to still be eating at Chick fil a, to still be shopping at Wal-mart (exceptions for those isolated rural folks with no other option), to still be buying on Amazon, to still be on Twitter, reading WaPo, etc.  I could go on and on. And it's not hard to find the evil.  Start here:

https://www.goodsuniteus.com/

And fucking commit! I admit I've been bad/made excuses, but no more. Boo hoo, you'll miss their lemonade, boo hoo, you might have to pay 25 cents more for those socks, is that REALLY so much more important to you than your neighbors getting deported so their sobbing kids come home to no parents? Is the "convenience" of Amazon worth your LGBT friends and family being persecuted? I KNOW some of you are going to say, "Oh well, just ME stopping won't change anything." Congrats, you bought in to their propaganda and you've been cowed. just like the sheep who listen to and believe Fox/Newsmax.  

You find these companies, you stop supporting them, and go one step more by writing their CEO and explaining why. Tell your friends and family. Organize "buy ins" like Sharpton did with some folks at Costco to reward the good businesses, and write and tell THEM as well. "Oh, I'm so busy, I can't write businesses, my congressman, etc" says the person who ten seconds later blathers on about the reality show they spend their no time they have watching. Well, good luck finding that show in our future dystopian hellhole.  

NEXT: the folks who brought this on us. I read somewhere once that Democracy dies when folks who do wrong aren't punished/suffer nothing for their support of fascism. If you are still hanging out with Trump voters, then stop. Just stop. I don't care if it's your long time friend, neighbor, family member, etc. Every single person who cravenly voted for this BS needs to be ostracized. And while I wouldn't say you MUST be mean about it, I encourage you to do so. Otherwise, a simple, "Sorry, your values don't align with mine and we are in a very horrible and perilous situation that your choices helped bring about" is sufficient.  Or similar.  Seriously, there is no excuse any more.  Maybe, just MAYBE, if these propaganda-infested tools suddenly started losing their friends and family members, they'll re-think, try to educate themselves, etc.  

We're supposed to be teaching our children that bad choices have consequences. Going to lunch with your Trump-loving brother just because you shared an incubator is inexcusable at this point. They feel they're still "a good person at heart" because, otherwise, why would Kamala-voting Aunt Peggy still be hanging out with them? Just stop. Before it's too late.