Stick Shift Stretch

There are those days where you wake up and find out it's not going to be anything at all like the day you might have imagined. And then as you go through the day, even what you thought it would turn out to be is completely and utterly different.

Today was that day.

I'll begin my day a little earlier.

The windows in my room don't close entirely and they face the street so I get a lot of the street noise. I actually enjoy it. The life, the energy, the feeling of inclusiveness, is one I like off and on. The cacophony of sounds usually forms a white noise of perfect sleepfulness for me.

This particular location has one caveat however. There is a large, and obtrusively loud dog across the street that is a fantastic guard dog in that every person or car or animal that wanders by the street is alarmed. Most nights this dog is fairly quiet, but last night, it was a torture room in my bedroom. Just as I would fall asleep the dog would bark and wake me up. I would listen for a few minutes and try to fall back asleep. As I'm just drifting into a beautiful deep sleep finally, again, the dog barks. This went on all night long. By morning I could barely talk without yawning and was having difficulty focusing.

This is where the fun began.

My couch surfing host came home from her early morning class and said her mother would prefer me to drive her mothers car to a house 3 hours away to change out a light bulb and hang a curtain. Spending the day driving was the last thing I was interested in. Really, I just wanted to go back to bed.

However, there was a key feature in this request that changed my decision. The car I was asked to drive is a manual.

It's funny to me that the daughter initially told her mother I couldn't drive a manual because my car is an automatic, and as she clarified later, she's never met an American that can drive a manual. Well, now she has.

That's not to say I'm any kind of manual driving wonder. In fact, I'm quite the opposite. I rarely drive them and am extremely unconfident in my ability to do so. However, I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to further develop my manual driving skills, because the chance only comes every few years usually.

So with an exhausted mind and a stiff neck, I got dressed and said, "Let's do this! As long as I can get coffee on the road".

What an adventure then ensued.

Mexico is a country of speed bumps (topes) and so being able to constantly shift gears is a true necessity. I don't have any problem with that, but I had a rather frustrating time with getting this particular car not to kick me out of first gear after each tope. The daughter was extremely patient and kind as I stalled the car multiple times trying to get the gear shift to stay in first gear. After a few rounds though, I got more comfortable with the car, remembering that I've driven manual cars before. I could do this!

And I did.

I drove that car successfully all the way there and back, up and down 45 degree hill grades and managed to somehow instill a since of calm and confidence to the daughter and to the mother for driving her daughter on the busy highways.

I'm still not exactly sure how I did it, but I stepped outside my comfort zone and succeeded.

The success of my drive was not the pinnacle reward of my day though.

I was gifted with a local's knowledge of a small town beverage that people drive from all around to get in a little town, San Luis Soyatlàn, a good hour from Guadalajara. It was (and still is actually) originally a fruit stand and at the end of the day, they would take the leftover fruit and mix the juice of them with some soda, salt, and tequila. The locals loved it and as word spread, the little roadside stall became a sensation for this beverage. Since it started as a fruit stand, the workers didn't have cups to put the beverages in so they just used the plastic bags they had for selling the fruit. They still do that today, so when you buy a half liter or liter of Vampiro, it comes in a plastic bag knotted around a straw.  I can't say it was my favorite (because of the tablespoon of salt added), but it's apparently many people's highlight.

The "Fruit Stand"

Vampiro preparation

Tequila pour. You get to choose your tequila and how much you want :-)

The full Vampiro liter (okay, my new Mexican sister and I split it)!

Then I got to view one of the most beautiful villages just south of Lake Chapala, Mazamitla.

It's so charming and stunningly beautiful. There are hideous hills to drive, and teeth rattling (more like throw you out of your car jarring) original cobblestone streets, but the character of the village is extremely inviting. I enjoyed walking around it for a brief time and seeing the town square.

The road to the square.

Looking up.

The square with the church and a giant catrina. Notice how small the people are behind me standing next to her.

I also used my tall height to help change light bulbs and hang curtain rods, by which I was rewarded with homemade quesadillas with fresh local cheese inside upon my return home.

Ok, maybe I also used my monkey skills in addition to my height to climb onto the window sill to hang the curtains.
Can't say it was a bad view for curtain hanging!

There was no way I could have foreseen such a wonderful reward of local drink experiences, beautiful sightseeing, and some "little sister" bonding time.

I'm so glad I chose to make the difficult choice to stretch my comfort zone and put the pedal to the metal! The bonuses far exceeded the discomfort.

The Symphony Sensory Overload

Today has been a day of driving around yet again, although more driving than idling.

Being a professional classical orchestra musician, I feel, has prepared me well for today and the days to come. Why? Well, here's what is different about driving in Mexico first.

1) Driving rules are not the same in Mexico as the USA. I actually enjoy driving here much more, but I'm still constantly learning and questioning what is right and what is wrong and which rules I can stretch and which I can just outright break. Watch, try, and learn every day.

2) There are speed bumps (so tall my car drags bottom quite often even at the slowest drop) randomly with no notice often and giant potholes. Topes, as the speed bumps are called, sometimes have a road sign a few meters ahead of them. Sometimes they're painted yellow and white to stand out from the blacktop. But very often, they're just black and there is no sign so when you're driving trying to watch for everything else, well, my heart has lept into my throat more times than I care to admit.

3) Following Google Map instructions is only partially helpful. Meaning I have to listen to Google, zoom in to physically read the map, and watch all the road signs go by at the same time. Google consistently tells you to turn one road to early and doesn't understand the divided road system here so is constantly telling you to stay left or right at the Y when there is no Y and when there actually is a Y, Google almost always says to go straight!

4) Stop signs and right of way are a learned process more than they are marked. Best idea right now is to anger every driver behind me as I slow down at each intersection to figure out my particular driving rights. And most of the time it's impossible to see around the intersection until you're out in it so knowing right of way really helps, although I'm sure not always.

5) Many roads here are one-way and there may or may not be a sign painted visibly on the ground or posted on a pole or painted on a wall. I spent nearly an hour driving north on a divided road simply wanting to turn left anywhere. Google maps showed that I could but when I got to each intersection, there was a 'no left turn' sign that everyone seemed to follow so I did as well. Ended up having to wind through one-way neighborhood streets east of the road to cross the north/south bound road going west. Bloody nightmare!

6) Since I'm apartment hunting I'm a looking for "Se Renta" signs everywhere which keeps my head on a continuous swivel. As soon as I spot a sign I then need to either pull over randomly in the street or figure a way to drive back around. Either are spur of the moment decisions I hope don't end badly.

7) Investigating all the neighborhoods means I'm interested in what kind of shops and restaurants are around and how far they are from each other. It's been fun translating everything at the speed of driving. This has been my easiest task though I think.

8) In Guadalajara there are a whole lot of bicylists. Many times there are bike lanes as well which are nice and divided from the main road with concrete barriers. However, neighborhood streets don't have the bike lanes and even on the main roads, I feel like I'm the most grateful girl in the world to have a 2 door car with extra large windows. So far, no bicyclists injured in the house hunt!

9) In addition to the bicylists, there are mopeds and motorbikes everywhere. (Understandably, considering the car traffic). They drive similar to how they do in Europe (around and through all the cars). There are even patches of green at the front of the interesections for them to accumulate before the light changes. I am familiar with this and it doesn't phase me driving-wise, however, since I'm overwhelmed with looking for everything else, one still surprises me every so often. Thankfully, no motorbikers have been injured in the house hunt!

10) Parking and finding parking is an absolute nightmare. I have a long car for Mexico and that makes it even more difficult. Mostly though, there are just not many places to park. When you do find a spot, it's usually in front of a garage and you have to hunt for the no parking sign and move on. Then you find another spot but it's got a blue sign which means it's a goverment regulated spot so you have to pay for it through an app (and only the the app mind you). Since I don't have the app set up, I have to keep trying. It took me a half hour of driving around one-way streets this morning to find a parking spot for my first apartment showing. Sure glad I left early! Most important though is making sure you don't pass up any potential spot because by the time you can drive around, it will be gone. Finding the speed to drive where you can look and potentially stop, yet not anger the car trying to not park behind you is a 'fun' game I'm already tired of playing.

What it feels like trying to drive in Mexico all by myself.

So why has the years in the symphony orchestras helped me to drive here in Mexico? I believe the ability to read my music, watch the conductor, watch the section leader, watch the concertmaster, listen for doubling throughout the orchestra, listen for the melody if I don't have it, listen for the harmony and bass to perfect pitch, and also listen to myself has given me the tools to be able to simulataneously be successful in the midst of the sensory overload that is driving in Mexico.

Yes, I hit a few wrong notes or occasionally misread the conductor or concertmaster, as I occasionally drop in a pot hole or sail over a tope. But so far, my senses on high alert, my symphony of apartment hunting from the car has proved successful and extremely valuable.

Here's to making even more beautiful music in the world to come!

Holiday House Hunting

It certainly has been a unique set of events regarding my apartment hunting in Guadalajara. I arrived Sunday early evening and enjoyed a lovely night chatting with my hosts. All my research was as done as could be before heading into the actual city on Monday.

Turns out, Monday is a national holiday so everything is closed and everyone is out and about so traffic is abysmal and my lunch doesn't exist.

Also, today was the last day of the Mexican Black Friday: Buen Fin. Everyone was out to get the very last deals of the day. Whew, there are a lot of shoppers in Guadalajara! Almost felt like I was in Japan with the sidewalks and crosswalks so full they were spilling over into the streets with people.

After driving, or rather sitting, in my car for hours today, I've seen two apartments and had almost identical experiences.

I'm not a typical renter, even as an expat, in that I'm not retired, I don't have a formal job, nor do I know a land owner in Guadalajara (another city in Mexico doesn't work) which makes it apparently quite difficult to rent, even to non agencies. Both couples I visited today to see their apartments immediately retracted their generosity when they found out I didn't have the "formal" job, nor a land owner in Guadalajara to vouch for me. Both are required.

Interestingly, both gentlemen were quite willing to offer various alternatives, while both women were various levels of adamently angry with me for seemingly wasting their time and urged the rules that must be followed. Knowing I'd probably end up having to deal mostly with the women because of their ernest overtaking of the situations, I'm a little concerned with my current options.

I'm finally done with driving as far as apartment hunting goes today. I've seen quite a bit of the city and will see two more apartments tomorrow. Hopefully these will go better than those today. One is with an agency that specializes in expat situations so I'm crossing my fingers for more hospitality.

There were so many downsides to the holiday today. First was that everything is closed so getting a feel for a neighborhood is difficult because outside of Centro and a bit of Av Chapultepec, all doors were shut leaving an impression of undesireableness. Where things were open, pretty much the entire town was out walking and driving around creating a huge deadlock that is abnormal (I'm told), however, still my first (and only) impression.

Another downside was trying to eat. So many restaurants are closed that I walked an hour without finding one open and had to drives hours to a different part of the city to eat. Hours, mostly because traffic was a deadlock and I found myself on a north-bound street that didn't allow left turns for miles. Insane!

Good news is that I found a sushi and sake bar. Fried cheese and bananas, tepinyaki fish, and cold sake for me for dinner tonight! I ended back up in Chapultepec as it was at least the right direction toward home and restaurants were open when I drove through earlier in the afternoon. They aren't all open now, but at least there are a few. Thank heavens as I was really hungry!

Who knew lightly fried cheese and bananas on a stick were crazy delicious?!?!?

Meh. The appetizer was much better but my glass is almost empty :-)

One thing I have noticed that I really am excited for is the bike lanes in Guadalajara. There are actually a lot of them and bicyclists are everywhere. I'm excited to get out there without my car! If today is any indication, I'll get places much faster on a bike. Yes, if you're wondering I left my bikes in the USA. However, my couchsurfing host has a friend that is selling exactly what I need for super cheap (so I'm told) so hopefully I'll have a city bike within the week... Denny Crane in the basket on the front of course!

Still so much to do tonight to prepare for tomorrow. My host will be back at work tomorrow so I won't have my interpretter with me, which has really helped keep things short and understandable. My Spanish is just fine for a normal conversation but specific words for renting are not in my vocabulary yet. I'll be sleeping with a rotating Spanish dictionary tonight lol!

14 Hours & 12 Donuts Later

It was one of those days where I was so excited the night before I could hardly sleep. I listened to relaxing music, calmed my mind, regulated my breath, watched a chosenly mostly boring-to-me documentary to aid the mind to zoning out sleeplessness. It took a while, but I did get a few hours of delightful deep sleep and woke up ready and excited to get started on the first leg of the new adventure.

I'd already filled up the gas tank and had a 3 hour drive to the border from the north edge of San Antonio. I had looked up the Einstein Bagels around the corner from the house and Google maps said they opened at 5 a.m. so I pulled out of the driveway about 10 minutes after 5 and pulled in to find out Google maps was indeed wrong and that they were not open. I have no idea when they open, but it's definitely not 5 a.m.

Disappointed but not deterred, I continued on my way toward the Laredo border.

As I was driving through the dark, alone with my thoughts, I considered what I might do for coffee and breakfast (I was surprisingly hungry for the time of day). Realizing I was leaving the US for a possible long period of time in just a few hours, I suddenly thought, how silly of me to even consider going to Einstein Bagels when my cheating heart belongs to Dunkin Donuts.

I looked it up on Google maps and to my girlish delight, there was a Dunkin Donuts in Laredo just before I would cross the border. Yes, it was totally worth the 15 minute detour. I ordered my coffee and a breakfast sandwich and my guilty pleasure of a half dozen munchkins (half chocolate and half glazed). Grabbed the bags after it was all prepared and headed for the last fill up this side of the border (meaning a $30 or less fill up instead of $50 or higher).

It was a quick fill up and bathroom stop and I headed to the border just a mile away. The line going into the US was abysmally long by 8 a.m. when I arrived but I was eternally grateful that the line into Mexico was well, not a line. I waited behind one car to pass through the blinky camera and then chose not to go through inspections but instead just drive right into Mexico. Crossing the border took less than 5 minutes.

About to get scanned and pictured at the Laredo border.

Once in Mexico I needed to get a tourist visa and a car permit. The permit station is just across the border and there are signs to follow, in English, to find it. However....there is one small detail that is left out in the signage.

Imagine: there is a 4 lane road with a concrete divider and a turn lane at the traffic light. The sign says to U-turn to reach the permit station. Important: If you U-turn into the lane directly opposite you it is the direct line back to the USA, not the permit station. On the far side of the two opposing lanes is another 2 lane road, separated of course by a concrete barrier from the 4 lane road so if you U-turn incorrectly, it's too late to change your mind. The 2 lane road on the far side doesn't have clear designations for which direction the traffic goes and since you're U-turning into it, it appears that all the traffic is coming toward you leading to the wrong lane choice. There is also no visible signs or lines on the road to indicate traffic direction to aid the warry driver of turning choices.

Now I've done this before and I knew to U-turn down the far side 2 lane road was the correct choice, but it is so unnerving to appear to turn into direct oncoming traffic that I panicked and turned down the wrong side. As soon as I had done it I knew I'd made the same mistake I had made the very first time I crossed the border in Laredo. I also remembered finding a sneaky way down through some vacant parking lots right before the border crossing so I continued, hoping to find it. Well, I did indeed find it, but in the year and a half since I was here, some local entrepreneuring Mexicans had decided to put a chain across it and lock it. Then when it was clear a tourist was trying to find the permit station but realizing they were in the line to go back to the USA, the entrepreneuring Mexicans, dressed in reflective looking offical vests, would wave them over and show them the shortcut. Only deal is now they promise to unlock the chain and let you through for a mere $20 USD!

Since I'd already been around this rodeo I denied their ploy and drove back (the wrong way) to the turn around point and found my way correctly this time.

I made many mistakes through the permit processes that I will write an article about but suffice it to say that I spent over an hour at the offices before finalizing both my tourist visa and my car permit. Then I was able to head to the bank ATM for some pesos and hit the road again.

Partition No.1 for Immigration

One other major misstep I made that actually turned out to be nice, was having "avoid tolls" as a route option on Google maps. The toll roads between the border and major cities in Mexico are quite nice and the tolls are minimal. When I originally saw that Google maps was taking me on a round about way to Monterrey I thought there must be something on the direct route between Laredo and Monterrey. It took about a half hour down the wrong highway before my mind finally kicked in to remember that I had told Google maps to avoid toll roads. I quickly changed it but was already too far down the road to bother going back to the toll road.

I had to pick a particularly good part of the road to quickly snap a picture with only one hand on the wheel!

So I enjoyed driving down a 2-lane road that declared "no speed limit" (in Spanish of course) for a couple of hours. It was a no shoulder, bumpy and not without giant potholes road, but I gripped the steering wheel and sped along at 90 mph. About half way through the trip a road closed sign appeared and I spent 4 kilometers driving through the gravel ditch (which was where I was supposed to be driving). I was driving 40-45 mph and appreciating the fact that I have an old car that can handle the bumps and rocks and it also doesn't matter if a rock gets kicked up on it. That is, for most of the time. Had to follow, wait for it, a Jeep, going 10 mph for about 5 minutes before I could pass. Seriously, if you drive a Jeep, enjoy your off roading time and don't a) confuse those around you when you don't and b) waste your perfectly good off roading vehicle by driving like it's a Porsche.

Yes, I had to pull up on the dirt pile to let the semi truck get by. Not exactly a two-lane ditch. The actual road is up on the left.

A short interlude in my driving story to share that after I got on the road for Monterrey, I actually opened my Dunkin Donuts bags. I saw my breakfast sandwiched wrapped up but I wanted just one munchkin to spoil it first ;-)  I opened the bag of munchkins to discover 12 munchkins, 6 of each kind! I checked my receipt, and indeed, I'd only been charged for a half dozen, but had been given a full dozen. The sugar gods knew my drive ahead and had granted me a wonderful surprise of munchkins farewell. I thank them.

No caption needed!

I finally made it to Monterrey and got back on the toll roads and headed toward my second gas stop. Unfortunately the place I chose to stop was a lonely station without a price listed so I ended up paying $73 for my 13 gallons of gas. The station attendants were annoying at best asking for pens (that's a thing) and tips. I tipped the guy who washed my window and no one else which is correct but was unhappy with the harassament they showed sticking all their hands at me in the car. My second gas stop was much more normal for Mexico and was very easy and fast and courteous.

I finished my drive with the last half hour after dark. People tell you not to drive after dark in Mexico. There are various reasons. Mine is that I can't see pot holes fast enough to avoid them. There are still plenty of people out on the road and there are road lights most places, but the pot holes are deep and if you hit one, well, let's just say I don't bother getting my car aligned in Mexico. Thankfully, I hit no pot holes and pulled into my San Miguel home at 7 p.m. on the dot.

My friend was there to unlock the house, let me pee, and tell me to lock the car so we could go back to the birthday party he'd just come from. I did and froze because the birthday party was outside!! at night but I got to meet some fabulous new people and have a great time on my first night back in Mexico.

A very long table with about 30 people drinking Mezcal and eating wonderful food!

I've settled in for a few days here before finishing the journey to Guadalajara, enjoying the company of wonderful friends I consider family. After a great nights sleep I've woken early for a fantastic workout and a day enjoying the company of others followed by an afternoon to write and research before a home grilled (yes, grilled!) meal.

Moving Toward Mexico

The time is HERE. People occasionally ask if I'm really going through with it, like it's some kind of initiation or under the table risk. For real, I am moving to Mexico.

Understanding that I don't typcially think inside the box, I'll just put the remaining explanation here:

I moving to Mexico because why not.

There are pros and cons and the pros outweigh the cons. 

Pros:

1. Cheaper living
2. Part-time desireable job lined up
3. Tastier and healthier food
4. Second language immersion
5. New musical opportunities

Cons:

1. Furthur from my home if my parents need me.
2. Expensive gasoline should I be driving around the country or city.
3. Not knowing or understanding how things work like renting or job contracts.
4. Far from the USA should I need something difficult to get or imported from the US.
5. There isn't one.

There are actually a lot more pros I can think of than just those listed but even numbered lists are nice :)

I've lived in Asia and Europe and have traveled through Central and South America, but have never lived there. Moving to a new culture is always a bit of a whirlwind and gut punch all at the same time. Trying to function in a new language and new traditions and cultural expectations is daunting at best.

Yes, it's scary. Even after living in other countries and traveling many places in the Americas, it's still scary. I have no idea how much money I will be making. I don't know yet where I'll be living. I don't know a lot of anything about my immediate future.

But if I let all those unknowns turn into fear that keeps me planted in a routine of comfort and "stability", then I've lost. 

I'm here to win and taking this leap into the unknown will give me the opportunities to learn and grow and help others in more ways than I can now. 

Here's to the new adventure! To unlimited personal growth! To many more stories to share :)