It's been so long...

I can't believe that my last post on here was at the end of June.  So much has happened since then and most of it has been diarised ready to enter but before our departure life was chaotic and ever since we arrived on 6th August, we've been without proper internet access, despite the promise of it being connected ready and waiting.

 I now have a dilemma.. whether to continue with my entries retrospectively and in chronological order or whether to cut straight to the present with news of our first few weeks living in our new country, leaving the remainder to be added by way of retrospectives...  I shall ponder but for now let it suffice to say that we're settling into our new home which although small, is very convenient and so beautifully rurally located in a wooded hillside setting yet within only 20 minutes' walk from Mark's school.

However the difference between what we saw when we made our original foray in June and what we found when we arrived in early August was quite phenominal!  The photos on the left are of the garden in June and on the right are as it was six weeks later with the onset of the wet season. So green and lush...

We were told that the rain started the moment we left Mexico in June and it kept falling every day following! It's continued very regularly since we moved in with tropical style storms the like of which we have never experienced!
Click the Play arrow to see...

Here are a few shots of our new home. On the left is the front of the house which sits at the entrance into the landlords' house and grounds, and the remaining photos show some internal shots. We love the arched windows but the metalwork infills make cleaning a real chore!

The Kitchen is smaller than we're used to but hey ho!  It means it has to be kept really tidy!


The one very useful area is a large walk-in clothes closet - more room here than in our wardrobes back in Reading!

The "Utility Room" however, is very different, as can be seen from this photograph - very well ventilated, no chance of condensation being created, and never gets overly hot.  Indeed, I think that in the winter it will be darned cold!  So far, it has suffered extensively in the severe storms we've been having and we're advised to get an "overcoat" for the washing machine...



On the other hand, one of the main things that attracted us to this house is the separate Annex which comprises a large Living Area, with its own toilet and shower room








Finally, here is a glimpse of the Landlords' house, built about 20 years ago in the style of Antoni Gaudi - it's fabulous!  

House rental...

I cannot believe how lucky we’ve been!  My former colleagues Dan and Kate Williams from Premier Letting took on the task of letting our house and within 48 hours of the To Let board being erected, we have found tenants, Ana and Geraldo Perroud and their two lovely daughters.  They will move in on August the 5^th and we fly out to Mexico on the 6^th. Things could not have worked out better.  We have organised storage for the items of furniture they do not need, and everything is set!

The letting details almost made us feel we wanted to rent it ourselves :)

Catching up...

It will have become clear that I've been making lots of notes and taking photographs, and have only now been able to spend a little time making posts to this blog.


More to follow...

Mexico...

I’ve just read the following in an article to which I’ve subscribed:

6 Reasons Why Mexico Is Safer Than You Think

Topics: Lifestyle | Mexico Safety | Travel Advice

Written by: Mexico Insight

Published: Monday, May 2, 2011

News headlines reporting drug-related violence in Mexico have caused people to question safety and security in Mexico by default. To provide some perspective, listed here are six reasons which demonstrate that Mexico’s drug-related issues, although real and in need of addressing by governments, do not make Mexico wholly unsafe, nor do they foretell a collapse of the Mexican State.

Visitor numbers are rising: The Bank of Mexico is responsible for collating and publishing foreign visitor statistics. Earlier this year, the figures showed that over 22 million foreign visitors arrived in Mexico in 2010—a rise on 2009′s figures and one of the highest recorded numbers since these records began. Despite the swine-flu of 2009, the global economic crisis, and the drug-violence, people keep coming to Mexico.  Statistics from foreign consulate records show that the overwhelming majority of visits to Mexico are trouble-free.

Mexico’s economy grew at 5.5% in 2010. Industrialised nations turn green with envy just thinking of Mexico’s economic growth rate. Years of sound economic governance, shrewd investment, and relatively low debt (public and private) have created an attractive environment for investors and foreign companies. Furthermore, Mexico is now one of the world’s few ‘trillion dollar’ economies, and mature nations are today falling over themselves to work with Mexico—if you don’t believe this, look up how many foreign trade missions have been taking place here in the last couple of years, led by top politicians and ministers of the respective countries vying for a piece of Mexican pie.

No expat exodus. In decades past, when Mexico’s economy was less certain and less stable, foreign expats would often flee home in the event of a peso crisis.  Today, even with the drug-related violence playing out, no such exodus is taking place and, furthermore, interest in relocations to Mexico is rising. Mexico’s government is fully expecting its expat communities to grow over the coming decade and beyond, and has been working to facilitate this process, as the financial and cultural benefits it brings are significant. If Mexico is a wholly dangerous place to be, why are existing expats staying put and inquiries for relocations to Mexico increasing?

Most people remain unaffected by the drug-related violence. Recent figures published by the Mexican government showed that most of the homicides in the country over the last few years have comprised of gang members killing other gang members. Tourists, business visitors, and foreign expats are not being affected by the drug-gangs, and statistics show that the overwhelming majority of visits to Mexico pass by trouble-free.

Mexico matters: the neighbour to the south of the U.S. is one of the world’s most important nations - poised to play a major role in world affairs during the 21st century. Its shared land border with the States is a primary reason why drug lords want control of the overland trade routes into seemingly insatiable U.S. narcotic markets, where the illegal substances they peddle are readily available to those who seek them. For these reasons and others, the matter will not be resolved by Mexico alone, but by Mexico and the U.S. working in partnership.

Mexico’s underlying story is strong and getting stronger. Notwithstanding the current drug-related violence, the country’s macro economics are in good shape; Mexico has substantial oil and gas reserves as well as considerable mineral and precious metal wealth; foreign visitors keep coming back to visit despite the unsavory news headlines; foreign governments are actively courting trade and commerce with Mexico; expats living here are going about their lives normally; statistics continue to show that Mexico’s levels of general crime and violence continue to be lower than those of most large U.S. cities; foreign expats we talk with say that they feel safer here in Mexico than they do in their home country.

Spring looks at its best...

Spring has been lovely this year and our garden has been beautiful with flowers and shrubs all looking splendid, with colours and textures to envy.  We'll surely miss this but maybe if we're lucky enough to find a property with a garden we can create something equally as attractive, albeita very different...  maybe a collection of cactus!!

We’ve been continuing with the work at home to prepare for a future letting.  The garden project has continued apace, the turf has arrived, we’ve spent a few hours laying it and thankfully the weather has been kind enough to provide much needed rain to ensure it takes without too much use of the hosepipe!

And we've finally succeeded in producing an additional lawn to compete with Wimbledon...

With more still to do...

From Mexperience Newsletter May 2011

I've just read this from one of my Newsletter subscriptions:


Mexico's rainy season runs from about May to October each year. Rains can start a little earlier or later; and in a very dry year they might not start until June and could finish as early as August. Even during the rainy season, Mexico offers warmth and sunshine during most mornings and early afternoons, with torrential rain showers in the late afternoon leaving the evenings dry and cooled.  It's unusual for an entire day (or days) to be wholly overcast, except when a weather front moves in perhaps in the form of a tropical storm or hurricane. Although some people avoid Mexico at this time of year, it's actually one of the best times of year to be here. The rains cause the flowers and other plants burst into life and color, and the precipitation causes the magnificent fragrances of Mexico's varied flora and fauna to become immediately apparent, especially in the evenings, following a refreshing (and sometimes dramatic) downpour.  Coastal areas can be affected by tropical storms and hurricanes, usually in the hottest months of the year (August through October). Despite the varied seasons and their features, Mexico remains an all-year destination for visitors. To learn more about the best times and the best places to visit this extensive and diverse land, connect to our When To Go To Mexico guide, that shares a wealth of information to help you schedule your visit to Mexico based on your preferred climate and other options like location types, regions, events and festivals.

We'll be arriving in the midst of the rainy season!!

Royal Wedding

It's been far too long since I 'Blogged' but I simply couldn’t resist recording this… I spent most of the day sitting in front of the TV watching the coverage of  Prince William’s and Kate Middleton’s wedding.  Ever the Royalist, I admit to being very emotional at times as I thought how proud his mother would have been.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Royal-Wedding/Royal-Wedding-Highlights

I must get back to proper blogging soon!

114 days and counting...

Well, here we are again. It's been a couple of weeks since I added my thoughts and believe me my thoughts have been piling up so rapidly that I haven't had time to Blog!

However, the sleepless nights returned with a vengeance a few nights ago and I laid awake for quite a long time trying to fathom out what the heck it is that is causing this and then it hit me! Actually my only real concern is my lack of knowledge of Spanish!  I think it stems from when I learned that in the particular area in which the school is located, very little English is apparently spoken and that worried me!   But the rest of the adventure is so exciting and there is everything to look forward to, and I realise that I have to press on with my learning apace.

What was becoming clear was that my old Spanish course is proving not so easy as I thought it would be for revision as it’s one designed for use in a classroom environment, with a tutor filling in many of the blanks and providing handouts of additional materials.  This doesn’t really work at home when I’m self-learning so I researched and sourced another course ‘Living Language’.  Then it was back to good old Amazon and I'm starting from basics again which is already proving much more helpful because it is so much more interactive.  Having loaded the discs onto my laptop it’s going to be altogether easier (hopefully).

In the meantime we’ve been sent some brief details of a couple of properties close to the school, which demonstrate that we should be able to find something suitable.  One is an apartment, a bit above our budget, but the other is a nice looking house in a small condominium, and well within budget. It’s good to have a local member of staff on the lookout for us!  Apparently it isn’t wise to rely on a bicycle on the local roads because car drivers are a bit erratic and it’s either Shanks’s Pony or a taxi, so it does make proximity to the school much more desirable.

There was one house in the village to rent, which was quite expensive at 14,000 pesos per month but from these two photos seems to be nicely located, and another was priced at 11,000 pesos per month and we await further details.  Mark's colleague is hoping to have a look at it for us and report back. It would be quite nice to find a house with a small garden although we'll be very happy with an apartment.  The consensus at the school is they will continue to look around and hopefully something will come up.

We’d heard that the village “is just working class and nothing special” but this has since been corrected by someone who went out for a walk thinking she would look to see if there were any houses to rent and who came back to say that she had forgotten that there are a few beautiful streets in the village and sent some pictures.

Meanwhile I’ve added Mexico City to my iPhone as a weather centre and when I looked the other day I found this...

Temperatures hovering around 30° during the day but which drop quite significantly during the night.  Whilst we have enjoyed a few days of excellent sunshine here in Reading, the thought of this sort of climate is very appealing.  I must remember to take plenty of Factor 30 (now on the list!!).

During the past few days  at home therefore, I’ve been able to cultivate the vegetable patch ready for laying the turf.  That was quite sad after all the hard work put into vegetable production and 
what was this….

Is now this…..

UPDATE!!

Right out of the blue I received a telephone call two mornings ago offering me a job as Team Leader in charge of a group of Interviewers employed by the Company appointed by the Government to follow up the Annual Census which was taken on 27^th March (one is taken every ten years) and check on those households which had not returned or completed the Return online.  This will involve organising the already appointed team of interviewers in making random checks at specifically targeted postcode areas, and although I applied some while ago and thought I had been unsuccessful, there was apparently a last-minute replacement vacancy to fill, and so I've accepted.  This is going to keep me quite busy for the next few weeks.

Buenos dias. ¿Empezamos? (Shall we start?)…

We started the day by packing up after an early start but which we thought initially was an over-sleep!  The clocks should have been moved an hour forward to get us into British Summer Time (BST) and we realised we hadn’t done so when I looked at my watch. However thankfully the iPhone which we had used by way of alarm had automatically set itself!

After a quick breakfast we packed and checked out of the hotel and I drove Mark to his Seminar for 9am, and went on to visit Greenwich Park, an area I have never visited.  Greenwich Park is a vast Royal Park and is the home of The Royal Observatory, home of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian line, which is one of the most important historic scientific sites in the world. It was founded by Charles II in 1675 and is, by international decree, the official starting point for each new day, year and millennium (at the stroke of midnight GMT as measured from the Prime Meridian) (thank you Wikipedia).

From the main vantage point, looking north, there is a panoramic view over The Maritime Museum and The Queen’s House, to the Royal Naval College and over the River Thames and beyond, with a glimpse of the O2 Arena The Millenium Dome

It was such a pity that it was so hazy so I can't show the more distant views.

A group of about thirty bikers on their Harley Davidsons arrived just after me which brought back memories of our trip South on Highway 1 which we made on a hired Harley during our stay in San Francisco last summer.  And a Pearly King from St Pancras completed the ensemble.


It was too cold to hang around too long so I headed back to London in the hope that the weather forecast would live up to its promise of being a sunny afternoon, the intention to sit in Hyde Park and spend the rest of the day reading, Spanish lessons and, of course, additional material for this Blog.  I parked up and found a suitable spot near  Speakers' Corner. This is an area where open-air speaking, debate and discussion are allowed. The original and most noted is in the north-east corner of the Park. Speakers there may speak on any subject, as long as the police consider their speeches lawful.  Contrary to popular belief, there is no immunity from the law, nor are any subjects proscribed, but in practice the police tend to be tolerant and therefore intervene only when they receive a complaint or if they hear profanity.


Today has been no exception and I witnessed several speakers in direct contention, all in matters of religion.  I listened to one very interesting exchange between a Muslim and a Christian.  At each turn the Christian shouted at the Muslim decrying what he was saying in order to discredit him, and whilst it seemed seriously intentioned it appeared relatively good-natured with no suggestion of violence apart from the odd loud blast which the Christian blew on his large red trumpet!   I’m including links to a couple of short clips which will give a flavour of the day which was continuing still when I eventually left the Park just after 5 o’clock.  Speakers' Corner 1 and Speakers' Corner 2

Only at Speakers’ Corner!  Where do they get the energy?

Miraculously all the rubbish and detritus from yesterday’s rally has been cleared – it must have taken a veritable army working throughout the night to achieve that!  All that seems to remain are some awful examples of graffiti but workman are at work with chemical cleaners with some success.

Reports in the Independent on Sunday say that an estimated 500,000 attended the Rally and March but some disturbing images are also featured, a sample of which I share with you, the reader. 

I simply comment that I think it’s such a pity that a small minority seem to want to spoil things for the rest but I also heard on the radio news that one of the companies attacked was not a naughty tax-avoider but is, allegedly, a Charity based organization to which special taxation rules apply.

However the sun is shining, albeit a little weakly at the moment, but it’s very pleasant and I grabbed a healthy option snack lunch and got down to some listening, reading and writing about 3 o’clock.  Incredibly I found a WiFi connection out in the Park and was able to do some updating directly.   So back to the Blog…

• “Unit 1 – Uno
• Actividad A y B”
• ¿Cuál es su nombre?
• ¿Cuál es su nationalidad?

Shall I get used to these inverted question marks? They are so difficult to write neatly and I had some difficulty in finding them on the laptop!

I’m actually being distracted by the Speakers. The Muslim and the Christian are still at it although they’ve parted slightly and there now seems to be a competition to discover who can gather the largest crowd of listeners. The Muslim gent seems to be winning at the moment!

• ¿Cuál es su profesión?
• ¿Cuál es su dirección?

This an interesting "listen and repeat" exercise but the couple at the other end of the table are giving me some rather strange glances!

• ¿Cómo se llama?
• ¿De dónde es?
• ¿Qué hace?

Buenas tardes, me nombre es John Catling. Me llamo es John (or will that become Juan?) y mi apellido es Catling.

Of course all this is being spoken at modest speed but I fear in reality, as I’ve already experienced en España, everything is said at such a seemingly rapid pace, that it will be difficult to follow. One phrase which has come back to me is ¿Perdon? ¿Puede repetir, mas despacio por favor?  I’ll certainly be using this pretty regularly to start with to slow things down a bit.

Spanish lessons (again)...

I now realise how important it is to practice a language, and practice, again and again. It’s been three years since I completed my 12 months’ evening classes course and I am so, so rusty!  So I’ve had to go back to basics and have pulled out my Access Spanish produced by María Utrero Cajudo. But thankfully with the help of my trusty MacBook, I’ve downloaded it all and I’m able to take it with me and plug in discreetly wherever I am – currently in Pret a Manger having a coffee just across the road from Marble Arch in London while Mark is attending the first session of a two-day Philosophy Seminar in Peckham.  I’m just spending a while listening to the audio examples to refresh my memory and quite a lot of it is sounding familiar.

Looking over to Hyde Park I am witnessing a huge police presence as preparations are under way for a TUC Rally and March “…against the government cuts” which is due to take place later. I’ll try to make my escape before that officially gets under way but I thought I should add another chapter or two here while I have the opportunity. 

I can’t believe the numbers of policemen everywhere.

A quick break for lunch so I made a dash to the Edgware Road where I found a very nice Lebanese Restaurant and enjoyed a meal of falafel in a wrap with a delicious tomato and onion salad.

Reports are beginning to emerge that violence has erupted in some sections of the TUC march, where a break-away group appears to be causing havoc, with attacks on Top Shop, an attempted take-over of Fortnum and Mason, and damage caused to a branch of HSBC. The story appears to be that this small group is attacking those businesses which are allegedly taking part in tax avoidance schemes.  I spotted a TV report showing broken windows, and pictures of masked participants throwing paint and smoke bombs and, more alarmingly, electric light bulbs containing ammonia.  Regretfully not much more Spanish to be done today with so many distractions and I am becoming alarmed at the prospect of having to extricate my car from the underground carpark at Hyde Park and to negotiate all the thousands of people to get away, so I mustn’t leave it too late as I have to collect Mark from his Seminar at about 5.30pm.

Half an hour later, and with advice from a friendly traffic cop, I was on my way but having to follow the route suggested rather than that according to the Satnav to avoid crowds and traffic congestion.  I actually discovered that following the route on the iPhone was better but there was a constant battle with the Satnav, and I arrived rather late.  We finished the evening at a Turkish Restaurant, which appeared to be family-run, with an excellent meal served by very friendly and helpful staff (unlike our experience the evening before at an Indian Restaurant where, despite the excellent food, we felt obliged to complete the customer satisfaction response card with “Staff could be more friendly and less hurried”).

Spanish and English…

Mark’s future Leader of English at La Escuela, was in touch a few days ago and we learn that she has a daughter in her early teens attending the school who now speaks excellent Spanish and even has a Mexican accent but of course I realise it’s much easier to learn at that age. 

However, there is about to be set up “a little learning group for children in the local community”. Two of the teachers should be starting this just after Easter, mostly to teach a bit of reading and writing and provide some help with homework “to children who get a bit of a rough deal in life”. This will apparently also involve the older students in school - as it will all be in Spanish and it’s mentioned that I “will be very welcome to get involved - the more adults the better”.   In addition it’s been asked if I might be willing to give some basic English tuition to Mexican members of staff on the basis that “the level is quite basic so not very challenging, but worth thinking about".  That certainly sounds interesting…  this is proving so helpful with advice over and above school matters, and with such a welcoming attitude to me as Mark’s partner, which I am finding really gratifying (so long as Mark prepares the lesson plans!).

We have learned that the school is in a place called St Pedro Martir, a village on the southern outskirts of Mexico City.  The English Department Leader lives in a house with a garden in which she says she can “enjoy a cold beer” on a warm summer evening.  The house is very close to the school which she says is a great advantage but several of the staff live a bit further away in accommodation close to La Plaza de Tlalpan, “a quite picturesque area with a nice square with restaurants and cafes”  somewhere I can sit to people-watch and read maybe.  The village is also “very Mexican – you won’t find anyone speaking English here” and she has sent a few photographs, some of which I’m sharing with you:

I am finding all of this very welcoming and, of course, I’m more than happy to give it a whirl but from my recent  revision lessons in Spanish with Mark, it’s become clear that I also need to revise my verb conjugations in English as well.  It’s been a helluva long time since I did this at Burford Grammar School all those decades ago, and I admit most of that theory is forgotten.  

We all speak our mother tongue 

naturally and as a matter of course but it’s become clear that verb conjugation is going to be an imperative if I’m going to succeed with my Spanish.

I’ve also been told that it might be possible for me to join in classes run by the school for new members of staff wanting to learn or improve their Spanish. This will be very welcome if it can be arranged but I must try to brush up on what I’ve learned to show that I’m not a complete greenhorn.

Coupled with all of this is that once the school heard I was interested in gardening, they said there is a small gardening project on the site and I will be more than welcome to get involved with that. 

What is becoming clear is that all of this simply confirms the impressively helpful way in which I too have been embraced by the school and some of its members; all part of a great ethos on which Mark picked up when he did his initial research into the school when he saw the TES advertisement way back in January.