A Conversation about Responsibility and Misleading People

Yesterday I had a conversation with Anita about my blog and people coming down here partly because of what they have seen on it. Anita said, "You have to be careful not to mislead people about what it is like here."

I do the best I can to be honest about the realities here. I know I sometimes portray it in a romantic light. That is because I love it so much here. But I have lived in very primitive places and conditions. I do not expect it to be like a first world Country. If you expect it to be just like living in the States with all the advantages of a wealthy Country plus the advantages of Mexico, you might be disappointed.

I don't have many expectations. I don't have a television. I don't have a phone, except a cell phone that doesn't work half the time. I don't have to pay for the electricity or gas or the maintenance of owning a home because I don't own one. I rent. My landlord has all those headaches. There are many headaches of home ownership here. Service people are slow. Most of the time they don't show up when they say they will be there. They may not come until several days later, or not at all.

Electricity is expensive here if you have a large house because it is based on how much you use. You are charged a higher rate if you have a larger place, obviously, because you can afford it. There always seems to be problems with the cable companies and it is difficult to get a phone.

I have been looking for a small place for a woman friend. She is coming down next week. I am surprised at how expensive it is to rent in Ajijic. The real estate woman told me that the going rate now is 700 dollars a month for a small apartment and that doesn't include anything else. So if you want a phone, electricity, water, propane, cable television it can go up a lot. It is much cheaper to live out of this general area.

I don't want to forget the crime situation here. There is a lot of theft. If you own a beautiful home here, you are a prime target for theft. Also, a couple of weeks ago a male friend of Anita's was robbed in midday at gun point. That was in Guadalajara. But there are robberies here too. Mostly they are break ins. You have to be constantly vigilant about your things. If you have a car and there is something valuable in it and you aren't there, it is likely to be stolen.

I don't own anything valuable. I don't carry a purse. I just carry a small fanny pack. I know it looks dorky but it works for me because I am so forgetful and it is harder to steal than a purse. I don't have a car and all the expenses that go along with owning one. If you get into an accident here, it can be a nightmare. You have to deal with the legal system and do small bribes just to get the paperwork done in a timely manner. I have a friend who had an accident a few months ago. A police car ran into him while hee was sitting in his car in a parking lot. He had witnesses. But he went through hell trying to sort that out.

I guess what I am saying is that if you come here expecting life to be smooth and easy, you may be disappointed. I don't want anyone to come back to me saying I was misleading. Once I lived for a month in a bamboo hut on the beach in Southern Thailand. It was an island with no electricity and no cars. I had to take a boat to get to the mainland. The hut had a bamboo floor which was several feet off the sand and just a bed. I kept falling through the floor. The toilet was a concrete basin three feet off the floor with water next to it to use to splash the waste down. No toilet paper. I had to go to bed as soon as it got dark just to avoid all the mosquitoes. I read by candlelight under the net. That was seven years ago. My legs are still scarred from all the mosquito bites. (Why did I live like that? It was the most beautiful beach I had ever seen. I needed the isolation at the time to sort out my life. I swam everyday in the turquoise water and read in a hammock on the beach. In the evenings, the owners of the huts cooked me delicious Thai meals. And I was poor. I couldn't afford a nicer place.) That is my baseline for comparison. Anita laughs at what I tolerate as far as living conditions. So I am not the norm....Please don't use me as the norm. You might be disappointed because your expectations aren't met. I have no expectations and my values are different from most people's. I am happy with an uncomplicated life. I hope that I have cleared up some things for you. I know this doesn't put me in a very good light but I have to be honest here and not mislead anyone.