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?
The problem is I am terrified of the phone. Every time I have to use the phone my stomach clenches, and my heart rate speeds. Talking with people face-to-face is so much easier. For one thing, the telephone quality here is not exactly pin drop. For another, I don't get to see all the facial expressions and hand gestures that communicate the meaning of what someone is saying as much as words do.
It just seemed like so much work, especially in this heat which makes me lazy, to drive to the glasses store to make an appointment, drive back for the appointment, then drive back again to pick up my glasses. Ugh. So I lived with the tape. The real problem with the tape was not looking like a geek. It was the fact that my glasses no longer sat on my face squarely, so I had to keep pushing them back into place or have out-of-whack vision, which had almost reached the point of being annoying enough for me to do something about it.
I spent a couple days trying to decide on trying the phone or getting in the car when I noticed a very small eyeglass shop two blocks from our house. I stopped in to have a look.
It was really time for me to get new glasses anyway. The lenses on my old ones were pretty scratched, and I was ready for a change of style. The first pair of glasses I bought here in Mazatlan were ultra modern. The next pair were understated. Now is the time for fun and funky.
The guy in the shop came out and thankfully flipped on the fan mounted over the counter. Then he handed me any pair of frames I pointed at and gave me a mirror. I found a pair that I liked and asked him how much they were. I was having trouble reading the number written on the lens, but it looked like 975. He told me $490.
I wasn't sure I heard him right. The other glasses place I have always gone to doesn't have anything in the store that cheap. "¿Mande?"
He said it again, slowly and clearly: $490. Then, just to make sure I understood, he said, "Fifty dollars". Okay, not at the current exchange rate, but I got the point. I was definitely getting the new fun and funky frames. Next question: How much for the lenses?
We had to establish first that I wore single vision lenses, then he took my glasses to his machine to read the prescription. He came back and told me $390. We went through the mande dance again. The poor guy, mistaking my continued incredulity for incomprehension, kept speaking more slowly and clearly and repeating himself a lot. He tried to translate the numbers into English numbers for me – the only English he spoke – but he got them a little confused. He said fourteen dollars when he clearly meant forty, but I got it.
Next I asked the price of an eye exam. $70. I didn't even bother to have him repeat it. I just turned and gave Chuck my "holy cow" look. Then I asked my million dollar question: could I get an eye exam right then? That's where to whole process derailed.
It was the proprietor's turn to look at me uncomprehendingly. I thought it was my really bad Spanish. I tried again. And then again. I used different words. I changed my accent. Finally he told me he understood my words, just not what I wanted. He asked me if I needed an exam.
Well, duh. That's what I was asking for, wasn't I?
Then he asked me a bunch of other questions, most of which I didn't get. He asked if I could see, and that's when I finally got it. If I took a step back from my American mindset, it all made sense. While in the States no glasses vendor is going to make a set of glasses for you without a recent prescription from a doctor, that is not the case here in Mexico. He had my prescription; he had gotten it from my glasses. If I could see well through my old pair of glasses, why did I want an exam?
With that finally straightened out, I asked him when I could pick up my glasses. It has always been at least a two-day wait as the frames had to be sent to the lab to have the lenses ground and installed. He said two hours. I took in on faith that I heard him correctly.
We came back to the store at 7:45 pm. He was standing outside waiting for me. He had my glasses ready, and he had ground the lenses perfectly. I can see great. We paid him the $880 (about $68 USD), and went on our way. Another great convenience of our new neighborhood.
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|SAdministrator |m-d-Y H:i:s jenniferYou know, Chuck and I were discussing the very idea of multiple pairs of glasses while standing in the shop being flabbergasted at the prices we were quoted. I was a little worried about the funky frames, and the red. He said, "heck, at these prices, you can come back for a new style whenever you want!"
They are very cute, but I am afraid between the haircut and new glasses, people won't recognize me!
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|200.66.55.xxx |m-d-Y H:i:s AnonymousJajajaja. Fun read on a smokin hot day.
Mande Dance, now that's a new one BUT so true. Is it like the macaroni dance? Maybe the Mambo.
Oh we'll know you when we see you, glasses, hair or not.
How could one miss the BIGGEST SMILE in Maz? CAN'T BE DONE.
Now. Go turn on the a/c and check out the PRETTY GURL.
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|SAdministrator |m-d-Y H:i:s jenniferIt's more of a waltz, although sometimes it's hard to tell who's leading...
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|68.184.185.xxx |m-d-Y H:i:s Cjil - New Hair??What have you done to your hair???
I guess I will see
My boat docks in Mazatlan on the 19th. Will you meet me at the pier? Should I call? What do I need to do for the Chuck and Jennifer hookup???
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|SAdministrator |m-d-Y H:i:s jenniferYep. New hair. I cut it all off. To dang hot this summer.
The first thing you need to do to get the Chuck and Jen hookup is answer your email
But yeah, a call wouldn't be a bad idea. The number is still the same as it was in Texas. Or ask your sister, she has it.
Counting the days...
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|200.66.55.xxx |m-d-Y H:i:s AnonymousJennifer, I felt the same about the phone, and came up with a bit of a solution. If it is an appt. for the dogs, or something of that nature, I go to the translation site and print out a copy of what I am going to say. Not the BEST solution, but it does work. I speak a bit of Spanish, but I always get tongue tied when I call. (I just make sure I am giving them ALL the information, so they don't have to ask me too much. '-)
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|SAdministrator |m-d-Y H:i:s jenniferI have had enough people call me, email me, and ask me in person, that I figured that I should post the information of the glasses place here. I probably should have included it in the original post. Sorry about that.
The name of the place is Clinica del Lente. It is a very small, dark orange storefont on Zaragosa between Carvajal and Rosales, just a few doors down from Camacho.
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And are you ever lucky that you wear single vision glasses. But even with my no line bifocals they are waaaay less expensive than in the US. And at those prices, you could have a dress-up pair, a trendy pair, and prescription sunglasses, too!