MeXscape

I mentioned in a previous post that my glasses broke in the first big storm of the season. And, yes, it has taken me this long to replace them. The arm of the glasses broke off in a non reparable way, so I have been running around looking just a little bit more like the übergeek that I am, with the arm of my glasses held back on with tape. Could I be more cliché?

At the beginning of April, my friends Bonnie and Alan went back to Dallas for a little over a month to take care of some things and check on their rental property there. When I found out that not only were they going to Dallas, but driving, I asked if they would mind taking a purse along with them that I had purchased almost a year ago for my sister's birthday. It's one of those cute ones woven from metallic ice cream wrappers, and I knew my sister would get a charge out of it. My parents live very near Dallas. Bonnie graciously agreed to deliver the purse.

I am more of a volunteer-my-time, rather that a give-you-my-money, kind of a person when it comes to charities, so when they put up the Angel Tree at Canuck's, I wasn't really interested. I didn't even feel bad, because the names and wishes were flying off the tree, taken by other people more generous than me.

I get a kick out of buying eggs. It's a small and trivial thing, I know, but it's one of the things that makes me feel like I have discovered some of the marvelous secrets about living here. Not only is it indicative of how so many of the small things here are different, but it also makes me feel closer to my food and my little community.

I have talked with several recent expatriates who are surprised at the daily cost of living in Mazatlan. It is not expensive by any standard to live here, but it is also not cheap. It's easy to be fooled into thinking Mexico is cheap, especially with the proliferation of travel books out there like "Mexico for $18 a Day". It is possible to live here for $18 a day, but you are probably not going to like it.

I have a cousin who lived in Mexico for a scant $500US a month. He lived in a hut on a remote beach with a few meager possessions: a hammock, a blanket, a pot, a pan, a few plates, cups, and forks, a change of clothes, and that's about it. He didn't even have walls. He fished for his meals. Honestly, most of his budget was beer money. While that may be a great, carefree adventure for a 20-year-old, it's not the way most of us want to live.