From here to there...

From here:                                                                                                                                and this:

To there:                                                                                                                            and what?

                                                                                           ?   

There’s an approximate distance as the crow flies of 5553 miles or 8934.78 kilometers or an 11 hours 50 minutes non-stop flight with British Airways! 

A few local concerns…

We have begun to think about what needs to be organised here in Reading and the list is growing longer by the day, which in itself is even more daunting. No sooner do we tick one item as having been dealt with than another few need to be added.  There’s such a huge amount to think about!

Things such as planned maintenance of one or two parts of the house, programmed for the next year or so are now hurriedly being brought forward so that they can be completed before we leave, when the house will be let.  We’ve already completed the insulation of the loft space, and bought the paint for the external woodwork which needs to be painted during the summer.

Do we let furnished or unfurnished?  This is a current theme and so much depends on what type of tenants we find for the house.  We had planned on using the adjoining Annex for storage of our personal possessions, but are now considering putting our possessions into storage?  A tour of the local Storage Sites such as Big Yellow and Lock’n’Store have revealed that the costs of those aren’t as expensive as we imagined so we may yet be able to let the property as a whole.  We’ve already started to work through boxes in the Attic which hadn’t been looked at since we moved here and already quite a lot of “stuff” has been carted to the local refuse disposal point.  We’ve also made an initial foray into our not inconsiderable wardrobes and it’s clear that we have sooooo much that we are not wearing and are not likely to wear so the first bundle has been stacked on the landing ready for the journey to the local  Oxfam Shop.  Why on earth do we hold on to these so-called “favourite” but out-moded shirts, jackets and jumpers. And as for ties, well….  I’m whittling down the original 58 to nearer 15!!!

Buried in his books...

Mark’s Library is also going to require very special attention.  Here is a collection of books to make the eyes water...


These he’s collected over many years and they are all beautifully catalogued, categorised and organised.  He will need to take some with him but the vast majority will need to be carefully packed and stored but therein lies another difficulty. They will need to be stored with relatively easy access and identification in case he needs some of them shipping out!  A task that might have to be entrusted to a willing friend to organise on our behalf.  However, he is organising with the Library at the University of Reading, where he is currently reading for another Masters, that a lot of source material he will require for research will be available online. 

We are also currently considering what type of tenant we should be looking for.  Ideally we would prefer a professional couple with a family because it lends itself well for that use but, of course, with the main Campus of the University of Reading being within a 15 minute walk, and with several other similar properties in the immediate vicinity being used similarly, there is also the opportunity to let to a group of students. The rental would be greater but on balance we think we are coming down on the side of a family.

As I mentioned in an earlier entry, I have cultivated a very productive vegetable plot over the past three years, with soft fruits and apple and pear trees, but it is pretty certain that tenants will not want the responsibility of that sort of maintenance.  That is a major factor so with some regrets we have decided to re-lay the garden to grass to make life easier.  I guess that the vegetables can be reinstated at a later date.

We’ll miss too our Urban Fox who pays us fairly regular visits 

More soon...

Some darker moments...

Oh dear...   I’ve been suffering more sleepless nights and seem to have got into a pattern of waking up in the very early hours, wide awake and feeling uneasy.  This morning was one of the worst. After going to bed at 11pm I was wide awake at 02:30!  Crazy and with no apparent reason.  It is clearly a sub-conscious concern which I know is stupid because the move is an opportunity of a lifetime and I should be embracing it with open arms.  I guess it’s the great number of uncertainties, such as knowing where we’ll be living, the type of area and the actual property, and my poor command of Spanish. A couple of years ago I went to evening classes for twelve months to learn the language, and progressed quite well, but I found that with the lack of constant use it became difficult to remember.  Our fairly regular visits to Spain were helpful and of course our original plan was to move there, an exercise we explored two years ago, but with the sudden strengthening of the Euro we were obliged to put the plan on hold.


 However, when in Spain, it was all too easy to stand behind Mark and let him do the talking, he being fluent but I realise I will have to get to work on the learning again!   Mark has already looked out the grammar books and I’ve found the audio learning pack I used during the evening classes!  Revision will need to start soon and I’ve also now discovered an online programme the BBC have helpfully provided in their website.


People tell me that it will be much easier once I’m living there and I’m sure that will be the case but it remains to be seen. I’ll just have to put aside my normal reservations and nervousness of “getting it wrong”.  Secretly I hope that I might find a nice friendly neighbour who will take me under his/her wing and let me trot along on the odd shopping trip to help me get to grips.


I worry too because I’ve always been one to like my life properly organised according to my own wishes and needs and the fact that we’ll be moving to a property that will have been chosen for us (although I’m hoping that we get the opportunity for input, albeit through details on the internet and photos being sent) is slightly unnerving.  But we’ve been assured that it will have two bedrooms, and will have “food in the cupboard and flowers on the table”.  


Having been a property agent all my life I've trawled the details published by rental agencies in Mexico and they seem to be very sparse on actual detail;  floor plans which we have come to expect as the norm here, seem to be non-existent.  With the help of my trusty Google Language Translator on which I currently have to rely for speed, the details reveal that some properties have a fitted Kitchen (Cocina Integral- although the Mexican idea of a fitted kitchen appears a good deal different from my own) and in oneinstance I even discovered a Cocina para estrenar (apparently brand new). Some are described as Muy bueno (very good) or Excelente, and these are often confirmed by photographs.

For instance, these examples are from one property which appealed to us both, being spacious and well presented, and the school HR department immediately called the agency but were told that it had already been let.  But we’re told they will try to find an equivalent.

Of course there are some that are not so immediately attractive, including one which had this photograph, in a property simply listing a Cocina which left me wondering!  Not sure how we’d cope with a hot water cylinder and a sink.

This early excursion into searching for property has demonstrated two things; first that there are some nice properties around and second, the willingness of the school to do what they can to help us.  The one point, which has become clear, however, is the fact that the cost of accommodation is a lot less than here in Reading!  While the rents being quoted at first sight seem huge at around 10,000 pesos, it equates to only £500 a month!!

We’ve also realised that access to public transport will be essential, at least in the early stages, as we will not have our own independent means of getting around and so we were glad to learn that the Metro line to and from Mexico City centre will be close by and a 45 minute ride will get us there. And apparently the local 'bus services are pretty good too.

I’ve been quarrying well respected Guide Books and although these are excellent for the tourist, they are not that helpful for those, who like us, are planning to live there for any length of time.  However, through one or two very helpful friends, particularly a new found friend Carol, who just happened to be staying with our hosts, Joseph and Humberto, in San Francisco and Berekely last year, when we chatted to them on Skype.  Carol told us she has had a home in Mexico for some time and gave me some useful tips and recommended reading which has proved valuable.  And the wonders of the internet and Google is enabling me to source other material too.  So things are becoming a little clearer in my mind.

Still pondering...

Back to the matter in hand. This particular episode of our lives started thus:  


In  January issue of the Times Educational Supplement, Mark spotted an advertisement for a teaching post in Mexico City and after quarrying the website of La Escuéla in question, he discovered that the school had an ethos very similar to his own in matters of education and this resulted in many hours of discussion as to the ramifications of considering such an action, and he was eventually moved to apply, with my full support.

He subsequently attended an all-day interview in London with several other applicants, held by the School Head on 2^nd February this year and came away feeling quite positive about the day, a day which concluded with that momentous ‘phone call.


Since then I have been having a few sleepless nights…  it seems a huge leap of faith and yet to have the opportunity of such an ‘adventure’ in such a diverse country when one is being paid for being there is nothing short of exceptional. Yes, I’ve loved travelling but that’s always entailed no more than two or three weeks. This time, to go for a two years’ stay, things are very different and I’m gradually realising the enormity of the task before us.  In the early hours of several days, while I’ve been sipping hot milk to calm the nerves, I’ve explored the streets via Google Earth around La Escuela so thoroughly and I seem to know the area as well as our own here in Reading.  I’ve discovered streets lined with market stalls piled high with fresh fruit and veg, and found that there are so many small street corner stores that everything needed is within easy reach.  However, whether the local 'everything needed' will compare with our own requirements remains to be seen.


I've also come across areas which do not appear so attractive, and the age-old problem of graffiti is as evident there as it is in some areas of Reading.


However, I was fortunate enough to stumble across a Costco within a short taxi ride!  Thank Heaven for that… I’ve been hearing and reading about such outrageous things about shopping and the quality (or otherwise) of fresh produce, that I’m delighted that such a familiar store will provide us with at least the usual basics until we can get familiar with the area. One thing which is quite worrying is the fact that water from the tap is not for drinking.  And neither should it be used for washing salad veg and fruit, and we are advised that all water used for consumption or washing of foodstuffs, should be either bottled or 'disinfected' and the thought of the latter was just terrible.  I imagined that our lettuce would taste of Dettol but have since learned this is not the case and that apparently tasteless tablets are dropped into the tap water which is left to stand for a few hours to make it useable.  There's a heck of a lot to come to terms with but then, it will all be part of the overall adventure.


Note to self - check in good time with GP about what requirements are needed in the way of injections.

Opening thoughts...

It started at 8pm on Wednesday 2^nd February 2011, a moment I shall remember always!

I was with Mark at the local Indian Takeaway waiting for our supper to be prepared when the call came…

Mark answered the ‘phone and a smile crossed his face as he heard “I would like to offer you the post if you would like to accept it…” and there started what is probably going to be one of the biggest adventures of my life, and one which I want to document as it progresses.  Not for self-gratification or publication (although as to the latter who knows what may eventually happen to this script) but more to help me organise my thoughts and actions in readiness for the momentous move (or should I more correctly say “upheaval”) which is about to take place, and to maintain a record of initial emotions, the ups and downs I am already experiencing, and subsequent events.

To put this in perspective and by way of a brief background, my partner Mark, is a teacher of English, a brilliant and passionate one so far as I am concerned (but I guess this opinion has a little bias attached) who has been achieving singularly impressive results in the private secondary sector for the past however many years.  However, he came up against “in-house” difficulties at his last position, the precise details of which are not relevant here, but suffice it to say that had a badly debilitating effect on him with the result that he has spent the past six months attempting to regain his health and confidence in order to continue and further his career.

On the other hand, I have always been a practical type of person and especially since I became semi-retired, I have preferred to get busy in the garden or with DIY rather than becoming too absorbed in in-depth reading and writing. Give me a spade and fork, a plot of ground and I’m very happy producing a crop of vegetables for our home consumption and we achieved a very successful project at home, including the erection of a greenhouse kindly given to us by our neighbour.  We produced excellent results which has virtually supplied all our vegetables and, indeed, some fruit over the past two years.  This I will surely miss…

However, I am rambling...  enough for now. I will return.