Pets

Me and Diablo

The Mexicans in our Pueblo (interchangeable with Village) have lots of dogs for pets.  They seem to prefer small dogs, like Chihuahuas.  But, they also like Pit Bulls.  So, we take our two dogs for daily walks in el campo, and, several homes are being built within a mile of our house.  Our dogs are off-leash, because we're  in the outskirts of the Pueblo.  Suddenly, two Pit Bulls from the construction crew, also off-leash, are charging our dogs.  We thought our dogs were going to be mauled.  Well, much to our surprise, the 4 dogs just played, and played, and played.  There are probably 30 Pit Bulls in the Pueblo, and, we have never seen any problems.  They are always happy and playful.

The dogs here are fed reasonably well, with some exceptions.  Diablo was a wild dog living off of whatever he could find in the streets.  We officially adopted him, and he is slowly putting on weight.  He's  a typical Mexican dog, long ears, long legs, long tail and not very bright!  Oh well, we love him anyway.  We don't see many cats.  I talked to a friend here and, he said that Mexicans like the affection that dogs give.  Most cats don't give that same kind of affection.  That seemed like a believable explanation.

Well, the bottom line is that, in general, Mexicans don't treat their pets as well as we Americans do.  They seem to see them more as objects rather than live beings.  Us Americans see them as part of our family.  But, keep in mind, where we live, the residents don't have much spending money.  They're going to spend money on their family before they spend the money on pets.  We Americans would do the same thing if we were a third world country.       Adios, Ken

The Charros

Debbi and Diego

The cowboys here call themselves Charros and, they take their horsemanship seriously.  They are very proud of their dancing horses,and love to exhibit their skills while riding in the many parades.  My wife, Debbi had an opportunity to ride her horse, Diego in the Independence Day parade on December 16.  Many Americans think that Cinco de Mayo is Independence Day, but, it is really December 16.  Anyway, Debbi was asked by the Queen of the Charros to ride alongside her.  One of our friends has lived here for 18 years, and has never seen a Gringa accompany the Queen.  So, it was a real honor for Debbi.

We live a block from the Plaza Del Toros.  Every town, village, and city has one of these.  They are the old Bullrings.  But, now they use them for mock bullfights, horse shows, and concerts.  The concerts are free sometimes, but, can cost 5 to 15 dollars.  However all we need to do is open some windows in the house, then we have a free concert every Sunday!  The concerts are always on Sunday from 3:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and, they last for 4 months.

There is a lot of pomp and circumstance in the village.  Someone is always having a party: a graduation party, a birthday party, a Christmas party, Mothers Day party and on, and on. The Mexicans here love their parties.  And, as we live here longer and longer, we get invited to more and more of them.  They have Tequila and beer at some of these parties.  But, it is rare to see someone who has had too much to drink.  I guess nobody wants to be called the town drunk.    Hasta pronto, Ken   

The Village

This is the time of year that I am very thankful for my friends and family.  It is also the time of year that I miss them the most.  We have been living in our Mexican village for nine months now, so, I guess you could call us newbies.  However, we are not newbies to Mexico.  My wife and I have been traveling to Mexico for forty years, and, have been to fifty different cities.  I am not fluent in Spanish, but, I get by just fine.  My accent is pretty good, so people think I'm better than I really am.                                                                                                   

Our village is San Nicolas de Ibarra, or, San Nicolas for short.  It is five miles east of Chapala.  We rent a house here from a local family, and, just recently bought a car.  For the first eight months, we took buses and taxis.  I highly recommend these modes of transportation.  We averaged 50 dollars per month for buses and taxis.  As our social network grew, we could see the need for a car.  Taxis and buses stop running at certain times and, several times, we were almost stranded.  So we bought a 1995 Jeep Cherokee with 150,000 miles.  We still plan on taking the bus whenever we can.

An added bonus of having no car meant that we had to walk throughout the village for our errands, such as paying  the electric bill.  So, by walking to these places, we would meet the local people.  If, we were driving, we would be just passing them by.  Originally, we were planning on living in a place for one year, then moving to another area of Mexico for a year, and then another place for a year.  But, the village is such a charming place, we think we will be here in San Nicolas for quite some time.

The purpose of this blog is to report our experiences of living in Mexico.  I welcome all comments, and, or criticisms.  And, since this is my first experience blogging, if you have any suggestions for me, I would really appreciate any input.  My email is  domingo444@msn.com.  Thank you,  Ken