June 19, 2008:  Grand Opening of

Ecléctica ~ Cocina y Música Fusión...

June 19, 2010: 

Ecléctica   Coffee ~ Tapas ~ Bar...

SOLD and CLOSED; DONE DEAL;

GOOD RIDDANCE;

YEAH, BABY! WOO HOO!

 

Yes, it's finally over. The desperation. The nightmare.

I'm finally free of that ball and chain… and it feels OH, SO GOOD.

 

Of course, it wasn't all bad times.

                                                There were some good times, too...

I got to know and have become friends with a lot of my customers who will be friends for life.  Totally opposite from the ones early on who befriended me, then wrote bad checks and/or burglarized me.  It was great to finally have found a team of employees who I could finally trust. Good People. Unlike the ones early on who had taken advantage of and stolen from me (and from my daughter when she visited) on a regular basis.

 

I was literally at the end of my rope up until the last moment. I was behind in the rent by two months.  I knew that by the end of June, if I didn't have the money to pay the electric bill, I had no choice but to let them shut it off. I had surrendered to the fact that if I didn't find a buyer by the end of June then I would just have to shut the doors, try to sell everything I could inside then walk away. There was no way I could borrow any more money; I already owed too much and my sources had run dry.  I had visions of walking the streets in high heels and red lipstick… (but at my age, that would have failed too!)

 

Then along came a miracle... 

 

A couple, who responded to one of the multitude of ads that I had placed in the paper over the last year, came in.  At first I thought they were just regular customers (even though heterosexual couples didn't usually frequent the place).  Then after about 1 ½ hours of drinking and dining thy approached me, introduced themselves and said they saw my ad in the paper and that they really liked the place.  From then on it was a whirlwind of activity. Three solid weeks of gathering and copying documents for them, negotiating price and terms, going to each institution together (electric co., phone co., city hall, etc.) to change all accounts/licenses into their name, (there is no 'escrow' here that does all that for you), making last minute repairs to the building and complying with other special requests they asked for. During the whole three weeks I hardly slept, having to get up early for meetings and appointments (even though I didn't get home from work until 3 or 4 in the morning, as usual); and even though I sometimes had enough time for sleep, I just couldn't, feeling so many emotions all at once—happiness, fear, excitement, anxiety… not being able to believe this was actually finally happening!

But it did...

 

And I'm so ecstatic that the new owners want to continue with the same name, the same concept and the same employees. My customers would have hated me for deserting them and allowing the place to no longer exist.  I've kept all the encouraging comments my customers have sent me over the last year and a half, after I changed the concept.  I promise not to post them all   :^)   but I'd like to share with you a few of the ones that say it all:

"Greetings to all the Ecléctica team!  I can truly say that this is the nicest place in Puebla for the gay community, since there is no other gay place in Puebla that is concerned about providing a pleasant ambience that is clean and with such refined taste!  I hope you always care about those certain details that have made this place the very best!  I will recommend it to all my friends, and I hope you continue with your success."  ~Alex Franc Najer

Hello, Linda: I am from Guatemala, and last night I went to Ecléctica with 3 friends because a friend we have in Puebla recommended your place.  I simply want to say this:  Instalations: 10; customer service: 10; drinks: 10; food 10; music: 10; ambience in general: 10.  Congratulations for this place, it is super nice and very comfortable!  We left very content with hopes to return very soon and will recommend it to everybody. Congratulations also to your personnel who form a part of the place (what great selection and training!).   ~Mischael Hernández

...and then after the news that I was leaving:

 

Nooooooooo Lindaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!  You have taken Ecléctica so far and you have been a pillar of our community!  Thank you, Linda, for making Ecléctica, without a doubt, the best gay café/bar in Puebla!!!!!  I hope the new owners continue with your same good example and continued success.  Hugs & kisses!!!! 

~Bryan Danitho Torres Rivera

 

You know Ecléctica will never be the same without you. That place means the world to me. I spent unforgettable nights along with the love of my life there... and now without her—and you... it just won't have the same meaning for me. I will miss you!!!  a lot.... 

~Erika Bada

 

I know you must be thinking that with all this enthusiasm and support from my customers that it's hard to believe why I was in such dire straits.  The simple fact is that not enough people came often enough to be able to make any kind of profit. The rent was way too expensive. My monthly expenses were way too high. And, of course, I was never able to recuperate what I lost after the burglary (only two months after opening), all the people that stole from me (over the last 2 years I've gone to the local police dept. to make police reports against 11 different people, of which I have accomplished absolutely nothing, thanks to the useless and apathetic police here ) or when the authorities shut me down (for three weeks, remember? Only 5 months after opening) and I had to pay all the steep fines to be able to open again. 

I was actually having to PAY MONEY to have to go to work every day...

Nevertheless, I don't consider this venture as a failure. Financially, it certainly wasn't a grand success—(duh!); but I feel so proud to have created something special and unique for a certain group of people for whom I have acquired such an affection.  I truly feel that I have made a contribution—be it ever so small—to the gay movement in Mexico. To have tried to open closed minds in this ultra conservative town in Mexico; to provide them a clean and dignified place of their own without having the fear of being kicked out if they so much as hold hands; to have offered encouragement and support to those who were still afraid to come out of the closet for fear of being excommunicated from their families and society… and for that, I feel that maybe I have fulfilled a small but significant purpose in my life…

In addition, Eclectica had the honor of being voted "best cafe/bar" in Puebla within the gay community this last May!

On the 18th of June I hosted a bon voyage party for me (that kind of continued into the 19th as well!). I'd like to share a few of the photos from those nights:

the new owners, Marcela and Miguel

 I hired Mariachis for the night. I LOVE MARIACHI.

toasting with my awesome team...

it was hard to hold back the tears....

(continued on UPDATE!!!!!!!! part 2)

(Sorry, I didn't know this BlogDrive site would limit how much I could post in one entry.... so here's the rest...!)

I want to take this time to thank all of you, family and dear friends, for all your moral support, unwavering love and continuing encouragement during this most difficult time in my life—ever. There's absolutely NO WAY I could have survived this without your love and support.  And to those of you who were so incredibly generous to either gift me or lend me money after my desperate plea (which was a very humbling experience in itself), a very special thank you, too.  I realize that my debacle could not have happened at a worse time, at the height of the economic crisis in the U.S.  If it weren't for that I know more of you could have—and would have—been more than happy to help.  Thank God everything worked out in the end.  I still have all my credit cards maxed out, but soon I'll be able to pay them and all my other debtors very soon...

I've also sold my house!

I'm so thankful that I was able to arrange with the new owner to stay here for a few months more for a reasonable rent. I'll be taking these next couple of months to first of all, REST AND RECUPERATE, try to get to feeling HUMAN and ALIVE again; take a couple of side trips, to visit some places that people have been telling me about over the last 5 years that I have to visit before I go, but haven't had the time since opening this business; and then to organize all my things—decide what I will be willing to sell and what I absolutely can't part with—and then have a big garage sale. Of course, I'll be driving my beloved and trusted Toyota Rav4 back.  It will be almost like a ritual, so meaningful for us both, since we came down together 4+ years ago, me and my brand new RAV 4. 

It's been through just about as much as I have, poor thing, with all the wear and tear, dents and scratches; envious people gouging their keys into it's side, slashing it's tires; and with what my dear Two Socks (a German Sheppard I found and loved (and equally drove me crazy for 3 months, about a year and a half ago) did to the interior—totally ripping out the ceiling…

My sweetie, Two Socks. (remember Dances With Wolves?)

Don't worry, I found a good home for him...

So my plan is to be back in the States no later than September of this year.  My daughter, Toni, has announced that she is engaged to be married… and I haven't even met this dude! So as you can imagine, for many reasons, I am very anxious to get back.  I can't wait to set foot back in the good ol' U S of A , calling it my home again.  I swear to you, that once I cross the border with my Rav4, I will literally kiss the ground... I am not kidding.

 

This is not to say that I regret coming to Mexico nor that I despise Mexico for all that has happened to me here. Amazingly enough, I still love Mexico.  (It's kind of a love/hate thing, actually).  There is so much here to admire and appreciate:  The quaint, little pueblos with all their simple warmth and charm; 

(Guanajuato, Mexico)

the history, the tradition, the customs passed down from generation to generation;  the humble people who--even though they have almost nothing and even if you are a stranger--will  invite you into their home and offer you food and drink and treat you like family;  the music, the dancing, the partying (Mexicans definitely know how to party!);  and of course, the countryside:  from the pristine, white-sand beaches and rock formations,

(Acapulco, Mexico)

to the majestic mountains and volcanoes,

(Popocatepetl volcano - Cholula, Mexico. Yes, I took this photo!)

(I took this of "El Popo" too, from the upstairs bedroom in my house)

to the multitude of spiritually-charged ancient ruins,

(Palenque, Chiapas)

to the blue agave-garmented desert…

(somewhere on the way to Oaxaca)

 

I have learned so much...  And I have changed so much.  I am definitely not the same person who came down to Mexico in February, 2006.  This quote by Winona Judd completely describes what has happened to me over the last 2 years: "Religion is for those who are afraid of Hell; Spirituality is for those who have been to Hell."  With this experience I have definitely found a certain peace and enlightenment within me that I could not have possibly found anywhere else.  Having to totally surrender all that I am, all that I thought I was, and all that I have desired in this life, to God—to the Universal Intelligence—and  having no option but to have full and complete trust that no matter what happens, I will be fine.  I will be OK. The Universe will take care of me.  And that no matter what happens, I will always be happy and grateful for what I DO have...

 

I am grateful for you all...

 

~Linda

P.S. This was long, I know, but it was only everything in a nutshell.  There is more.... so much more experiences over the last 5 years...

But for that I would have to write a book!

Hello, Everyone,

 

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

Well, my original, kind-of plan was to stay and teach English in Puebla for around six months, then continue my journey farther south to Costa Rica.  However, I am finding that I'm liking it here pretty much and have already started to plant some roots here.  So much so, that I've decided to have my furniture and things shipped down here, which are still stored in Bellevue, Washington.  Costa Rica still is, and always be, close to my heart, as well as my "familia tica" who lives there.  So, my ultimate dream is to have a place in both places, where I can travel back and forth.  (Hey…  when we stop dreaming and having goals to achieve, we might as well die, right?)

 

Although I really enjoy teaching and am forming bonds and friendships with my students, I've known all along that that's not the main reason I came down here.  My main reason is, of course, to become fluent in Spanish; but the ulterior motive is to open some kind of business here—either a small restaurant, café or bar.  But during these last few months I think I've pretty much narrowed it down to a bar.  I've been doing a lot of research on the Internet about small business ownership and looking for a place here to lease.  I know I need a Mexican partner, however, to reduce the amount of confusion, roadblocks and headaches, and that is the more challenging task at this point:  Finding someone who has the same ideas as I do, with the same enthusiasm, some capital, and above all, someone I can trust!

 

My tourist visa expired last August… so, I now see what it feels like being on the other side of the soon-to-be-fence, (which is a whole other subject that I will cover later), as an illegal alien!  The permission for my car to be here expired at the same time as well.  This means that if I get pulled over by the police, they have the power to permanently confiscate my car... And I still have 3 1/2 years of payments on it!  I've already been pulled over several times for piddly things...  With my foreign plates I'm an easy target for all those corrupt officers (which is nearly ALL of them!) who want to make a quick buck. I've already contributed about $100 to their sleezy pockets—but it sure beats having my car confiscated and getting deported!

 

I took all my paperwork and paid all the money needed to the Foreign Personnel Department at Volkswagen two weeks before my Visa expired for them to renew it for me.  But now I see that I should have submitted the request 4 months before it expired.  (You think bureaucracy is slow in the States???)  The good news is that I just got a phone call yesterday saying that I need to go to the Immigration office next Tuesday to FINALLY sign the documents and get my new work visa. Yay!!! 

 

September was a very fun and exciting month.  My son, Travis, my daughter, Toni, and her boyfriend, Erik, all came down to visit me for a week.  We had a wonderful time!  Our fun started in Mexico City where Pepe was our "tour guide".  (Pepe was the exchange student from Mexico City that we hosted for a whole school year in Sequim, Washington.)  We danced salsa to a live Cuban band and drank mojitos at the Mambo Café, shopped at one of the mercados (huge, outdoor markets), and ate delicious, traditional Mexican food at some great restaurants. 

 

 

 

Yes, Pepe looks like a "bad ass" in this pic... probably because he is!  Making a long story short: With all the luggage piled high in the back of my SUV, we said our goodbyes and began aour journey back to Puebla. Almost immediately, we got pulled over by a couple of policia.  They said it was illegal to have my rear view mirror blocked and began interrogating us. I know that in the States it doesn't matter, as long as you have side-view mirrors and tried to explain this to them, but they wouldn't go for it. They first tried to get $190US from me. As I was trying to talk them down, Erik calls Pepe on his cell to let him know what's happening; Pepe says, "I'll be right there."  After finally talking them down and paying them $30US, the officers walk back to their car across the street and we begin to leave.  Just then, Pepe shows up. We quickly explain what happened, and he says, "Wait here". He walks across the street and starts talking to the officers. After about two minutes, we see one of the officers reach into his pocket and hand something to Pepe. They gave him my money back!  As Pepe returned and handed my money back to me, he said that (just as in the States) as long as you have rear vision with side-view mirrors, it is NOT illegal to have the back of the car obstructed. .....Those dirty bastards!    Well, at least Pepe was there to come to our rescue! 

 

The next day, we headed back to Puebla, which is about a 2 hour drive from Mexico City (D.F.)............. 

 

 

Erik is a very talented guitar player, singer and songwriter.  Since they met, Toni and Erik have been singing and writing songs together and performing at different venues around San Francisco.  Two months in advance of their arrival to Puebla, I looked for and found a small bar downtown that has live music nightly, and sometimes during the week, English performers.  I spoke with the owner of the bar and told him about these two artists coming from the U.S. to visit me and asked if he was interested in having them perform is his bar for one night.  He was immediately receptive to the idea… so on a Tuesday night while they were here, they put on an excellent 2-hour show! I invited everyone I knew to come that night—which basically included all my students and the other teachers—and they all really enjoyed it!  It was the first time that I had seen Toni perform in front of a live audience since singing in the talent shows in high school (apart from belting out a breathtaking "Ave Maria" at my mother's funeral last year).  As you can imagine, I was beaming with pride that night!

 

 

Erik really works up a sweat when he performs...

 

 

 

 

This is the poster I made on my computer to advertise the event. The owner made copies and posted them.

I

 

The next day we drove to Acapulco, which is a 6 hour drive from Puebla.  The drive was gorgeous.  We got some really good shots of El Popo, (the volcano), and other landscapes.

 

 

 

 

 

The weather was perfect in Acapulco.  We all got plenty of sun and ate some great food.  Erik and Toni chartered a full-day fishing trip.  Erik, (who's 6'6"), was totally stoked when he caught a sailfish taller than him!

 

 

(I only posted a few photos on this blog site as I have limited image space.  However, to see all the pictures taken during my kids' visit, just click on the following link.  Included you will see a short video clip of Toni and Erik's performance at the Cafe Maria Candelaria.)

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2099121804&code=25447648&mode=invite&DCMP=isc-email-AlbumInvite

 

 

Travis has just recently made the decision to go into the U.S. Navy. He has only 4 more months to go before he graduates from Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, with a major in Community Health and a minor in Psychology. Since he will be entering the military with his degrees, he will enter directly into the Officer's Training program.  He is very excited about it, and of course, I am very proud of him, too!

 

 

 

Mexican Politics

The coming months, (and especially tomorrow, December 1st), will be quite interesting here in Mexico.  Felipe Calderon is the new President Elect who is supposed to be sworn into office Friday, December 1^st.  However, the opponent, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who lost by a very narrow margin, seems to have gone absolutely mad and is still claiming to have won the election!  He used to be very popular and well-liked when he was governor of Mexico City so he still has quite a large following, mostly consisting of the lower economic classes.  On November 20^th he orchestrated his own "inauguration ceremony" in Mexico City in front of tens of thousands of supporters-- creating a "parrallel government".  He is threatening to interfere and prevent the inauguration of Felipe Calderon tomorrow with protests and who-knows-what-else.  It makes me a little nervous.....  My students don't seem to be alarmed, though, saying that he's just crazy and nothing will happen-- but in this country one never knows! 

For more information on the current happenings in Mexico, you can consult this blog site: 

http://mexicotoday.blogspot.com/

This site is maintained by the radio host who gives the news in English on a radio station from Mexico City that I listen to every morning.

 

 

...And I'm sure you've heard about the fiasco that has been going on in Oaxaca for the last 5 months...  People here seem to be more concerned about this.  It started out as a teacher's strike, but has escalated into total chaos. The riots, protesting and setting off bombs have spread to other states.  The teachers and the state eventually settled on a wage increase; but because the Federal Government (under current President Vicente Fox) didn't do anything about the unrest there (until an American journalist was killed, unfortunately), other radicals who have general discontent and want to oust the current Governor there decided to take advantage and moved in.  I was there at almost the beginning of the whole thing, at the end of July, and the city looked horrible then.  I didn't feel afraid on the streets, but the protesters were literally camping out and sleeping on the streets everywhere, streets were blocked off by the protesters, and many places had been vandalized.  It was truly a sad sight for me to see after seeing how beautiful the city was two years ago when I was there learning Spanish, for example, in this photo: 

 

My camera doesn't take pictures nearly this good!  This photo I pulled off the Internet...

 

I not only feel sorry for my friends who live there and tell me it's like living in a war zone; but I also felt for the tourists who were there and had to witness that ugliness where there was once so much beauty and warmth... 

 

This used to be a prominent outdoor restaurant in the zocalo, or main square. (This photo I did take!)

 

 

A fence to be built on the U.S. Mexican border??? 

How sad and ridiculous is that?  I agree that illegal immigration is a problem, but this is NOT the way to try to solve it.  Where there's a will, there's a way; and most certainly, other ways to cross the border will be done, including by air, sea, or digging tunnels underground.  This is a complete waste of government spending, in my opinion, that could be better spent on programs such as the guest worker program that Canada currently has and seems to be working very well.  Mexico is our neighbor and our friend... we should be tearing down walls in this (I thought and was hoping....) evolving world, not regressing back to barbarism and building them!  In reading the news and chat sites, I notice the political climate in the U.S. becoming extremely tense, causing hate and alienation between races.... even with the legal immigrants! 

 

I am truly embarrassed to be an American right now....

 

(okay, now that I got that off my chest.... this station will now return to its regular programming....) 

 

 

I had a week vacation at the end of July/beginning of August and drove first south to Oaxaca, then south-east down to Chiapas, which borders Guatemala on the south and east...

 

Linda's Blonde Adventure

So, I'm driving along, and then comes this like…detour… So I follow the signs and keep driving.  The road was taking me up into the mountains, but I thought, "Well, eventually this detour MUST come out somewhere! I mean, geez… you can't just have a detour that takes you to like, nowhere!"  So I'm like driving along… and it's a beautiful drive!  I mean I'm like, driving all through these mountains and little villages and stuff, and taking a lot of pictures, because it's like totally cool, ya know?    The villagers were like soooo friendly and would smile and wave as I would drive by…. I was thinking that maybe they noticed how the color of my hair matches with the color of my car and thought that was like totally cute!  

 

But you know… after about two hours of driving, I thought that maybe this was really too long of a detour.  So I like stopped and looked at my map right then and there.  I found out I wasn't lost, though.  Afterall, if I were lost, I wouldn't know where I was, right? But I knew exactly where I was… I was way up in the mountains going in the opposite direction of where I was supposed to be going!     So after peeing on the side of the road, ('cuz I had to go like really bad, ya know?), I turned around and started my two-hour journey back down the mountain. 

 

 

But as I was driving back down the mountain, I looked at my gas gage, and there was a red light flashing.  (You see, all along I thought that the "E" meant enough, and the "F" meant fill-it-up.)  So I said, "Oh, my god!"   because I was like, "What am I gonna do?"  I tried really hard to remember if I passed any gas stations on this road—but that hurt too much, so I stopped.  But then I found this cute little place that said "gasolina".  I love that song, "Gasolina" by Daddy Yankee, (it's a great Reggaeton dancing song, in case you haven't heard it ) so I thought I'd stop.  And you know what?  They actually had real gasoline, even though it wasn't a gas station with pumps and everything!    They even had a hose thingy to put the gas in my car, so the nice man put the gas in for me, and I gave him a good tip, because I was just so tickled pink and thankful.  (I almost was going to kiss him--but then I thought, "Eew!") 

 

 

So after a half day of driving, I finally made it back down the mountain I and was back on the road to Chiapas…     (whew!)

 

Chiapas

So far, I've been through 19 of the 31 states of Mexico; and so far, I think Chiapas is the most beautiful state in Mexico.  Even though photographs can never capture the true essence of really being there and seeing something with your own eyes, these photos will attest to that!  It is very tropical, with greens as bright as green can be, the sky as blue as blue can be, and the air so clean and clear, you can see for miles from bird's-eye views.  Unfortunately, it was the rainy season when I went, so I didn't have sunny days every day.  But the thunder storms were spectacular, too!

 

 

 

 

Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of Chiapas, is where my cousin, Jill lives.

 

Jill is a couple of years younger than me.  She came to Guadalajara with her mother and sisters 30 years ago to live and go to school there for a couple of years.  While there, she met and fell in love with Fernando.  She has been with Fernando ever since, moved to Chiapas permanently, and built up a business and raised a family with him.  Though I knew what she was up to from her mother, I hadn't spoken with nor seen her for those 30 years until I went to visit!  I feel badly that we hadn't kept in touch all these years… but we instantly reconnected and had a lot of catching up to do.  I only stayed a couple of days; but we plan on getting together more often now that I'm here, and she and Fernando are empty nesters. It's nice to say that I have family here in Mexico, too...

 

 

 

Jill, Fernando, and their two handsome boys, who are both now attending schools away from home. The younger is on an exchange student program living with a family in Oregon; the older just went off to college in Guadalajara. (Jill reminds me of Jaime Lee Curtis!)

 

 

Agua Azul

From there, I headed up north through some of the most beautiful country I've ever seen in my life. (It reminded me so much of Costa Rica!)  I traveled through one of the famous routes of Chiapas that heads north-east to the Agua Azul waterfalls and the ancients ruins in Palenque.  Too bad it was cloudy and rainy when I got to Agua Azul, so it didn't look anything like I had seen in the pictures in my tour book.  Nevertheless, it was still a beautiful and magical place-- my pictures just don't show it!  But if you're interested, here is a link to some cool pics and more info about this wondrous work of God:  http://www.locogringo.com/chiapas/aguaazul.html

 

 

 

 

Palenque

In Palenque is an important archaeological site that rests in the foothills of the Sierras, surrounded by primordial jungle vegetation. This was like no other archeological site I had ever visited before.  It was so lush and green and impeccably manicured and maintained.  It almost didn't seem real.... a mystical, ethereal place, with an atmosphere of feeling like you  just stumbled into the existence of a deep, mysterious secret. The bone-shuddering thunder and the ear-shattering screeches of the wild monkeys high from the treetops helped to create an eerie feeling of traveling back in time thousands of years…

One of the site's structures, The Temple of the Inscriptions, holds the Royal Tomb of Pakal, a great Mayan priest-emperor who was a mathematical genius and was supposed to have had magical powers. Some speculate that he was a space traveler from another planet. Note the position of him sitting in the same manner as a present day astronaut in a space ship. 

Temple of the Inscriptions

 

 

Here is more interesting information about Emperor Pakal:  http://www.devaram.com/PACALVOTAN.html

The palace in the background

 

Again, I only posted a few photos here.  If you're interested in seeing all the photos of this road trip, click on the following link to my photo-sharing website.  Included are a couple of short video clips.

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2098836687&code=25451561&mode=invite&DCMP=isc-email-AlbumInvite

 

 

Christamas Plans

I bought my tickets to fly to San Francisco and see Toni and Travis for Christmas.  From there, we will drive up to Incline Village, on the crystal blue shores of Lake Tahoe, to spend Christmas with my brother, Doug, and his Australian wife, Fiona.  I am so excited to see them and hopefully spend a nice, peaceful White Christmas with them all.

 

Happy Holidays to you all!

 

Until next time…..

 

~Linda

  

I've been receiving e-mails from several of you wondering if I was still alive and asking for an update; sorry to keep you all in suspense for so long!  I had a feeling that once I started working that I wouldn't have very much time to keep in touch, and I was right!

 

 

When I first arrived, I was very preoccupied with finding a new apartment.  It's a very difficult task when you don't know the area and don't have a phone!  At first I was using a calling card from any pay phone I could find on the street to call each one of the numbers I had circled that said "amueblado", which means furnished.  It's almost impossible to find a pay phone in a quiet place with so much noisy traffic on the streets and it's always difficult to hear; and when there's already a language barrier there, well….. you can imagine what a challenge it was!  But I finally found one, and moved out of that cramped little studio apartment with nothing but a bed and a toilet to sit on, after 3 weeks.  Since April 19^th I have been in my new apartment and am really enjoying it so far.  (Thank God, no major bugs to deal with. Just a few pesky ants that somehow keep finding my honey and sugar, no matter how clever I think I am in hiding it from them.)  It's a humble little abode…. a little more than I originally planned to spend, but it's got everything I need.  And the best part is that it only takes me 10 minutes to get to work, now, (with no traffic) instead of half an hour…. so now I can sleep in 'til 4:30 AM instead of getting up at 4:00!

 

 

 

 

My job is going great, but keeps me extremely busy.  Right now, I teach classes from 7:00 in the morning to 2:00 in the afternoon.  Then after a break for lunch, running errands, and whatever else I can squeeze in, I have to be back to the school for a two-hour class at 6:00 PM.  I also  have a four-hour class every Saturday morning at 8:00 AM (which totally screws up my Friday nights)! The in-between times are spent preparing for my classes for the following day. At first, the hours were killing me.  It's been difficult to get to sleep early enough to get enough hours of sleep.  After a couple of months of this crazy schedule, I figured I should be used to getting only 5 to 6 hours of sleep each night by now; but I still was dreadfully exhausted and couldn't figure out why.  So I started to pump up on multi-vitamins and extra vitamin B (StressTabs®)… but even STILL, just walking up the stairs to my apartment on the third floor would just wipe me out.  Then I discovered that the altitude here in Puebla is just over 7,000 feet!    That's almost as high as Mt. Olympus, which is just under 8,000 feet, and is the highest of the snowcapped/glaciered summits in the Olympic Mountains (near where I used to live in Washington).  No wonder! Mystery solved!  Living all my life at pretty much sea level, I think that this has been a drastic shock to my system... not to mention the CULTURE shock I've been experiencing! (more on that later…)  I don't know how long it takes for a body to adapt to a new altitude, but I do feel like I'm starting to feel better... better enough to begin a new work-out regimen, at least.  My back is completely healed now, and I started to walk again, about 3 miles, three days a week, supplemented by "ab" work—and I'm starting to feel myself again, thank goodness! 

Volkswagen didn't make me sign a contract with them, but they want me to stay and work here for at least a year.  At this point in time, I'm thinking about staying until next January or February.  I'm really enjoying my new career—more than I thought I would, actually—and my students are great!  I'm teaching business English; so my students are all adults, and are here because they want to be.  They need to improve their English to further their careers or get a promotion or even a new job that requires them to speak English. They are all so eager to learn, and it is very rewarding to know that I am helping them in achieving their goals.  They especially enjoy (and prefer) learning from a native speaker-- someone with the correct pronunciation and who knows all the expressions that a non-native speaker wouldn't be familiar with.  For example, to "fly off the handle", or to "be blown away" by something amazing, or to be "chomping at the bit" when you're so anxious to do something.  I'm finding that even the other non-native English teachers come to me with questions about meanings and use of words or expressions, so I'm realizing that native English speakers are very much in demand here.  My students also get a kick out of learning the new, hip expressions, such as, to "jump on line", "let's "kick it", (or hang out) for awhile", and when something is very cool, it's "bomb".   It may not help them too much in their jobs, but it sure keeps them coming back for more!  I like to make it fun.   8 ^ )   In order to stay hip, I'm going to have to ask my kids to keep me updated on the new lingo that pops up… (did you get that, Toni and Travis???)  And it's interesting for me, too, because I never realized how many expressions and figures of speech I use in my daily dialogue.  So when I say something and my students look at me funny, I realize: There's another one they haven't heard yet! 

 

 

Culture Shock

In trying to get settled, I've been experiencing some pretty frustrating situations.  For example, it took almost two months to finally have my home phone and the Internet installed in my apartment.  It would take way too long to go into details, but the bottom line is that I don't think a majority of the Mexicans here know the concept of customer service.  Almost everywhere I go when I need some help with something, I'm completely ignored and left standing there, because the employees will be chatting amongst each other, until I finally have to interrupt them.  And almost everything here turns into a huge, complicated project that takes forever to materialize! I guess the "Honeymoon" stage is over, and I must perhaps be experiencing the "Distress" stage of culture shock right now!  An article I read recently describes the four stages of culture shock, the distress stage being:

 

"As the novelty begins to wear off and the visitor tries to settle into a normal routine, the 'interesting behavioral differences' become frustrating to deal with. The visitor changes from being an observer to a participant in a new culture with unknown rules of behavior..."   

 

I realize that I'm comparing too much how things are done here (or should I say NOT done here!) vs. in the U.S.... but after I remember the things that drew me here in the first place—i.e.; the rich culture, the language, the music, the dancing, a life-style with a more relaxed approach—I calm down and go with the flow of things.  In the text books that we're using here, the differences in the manner of conducting business between various cultures are compared.  It doesn't surprise me that American business is depicted as being very fast-paced, driven by work-a-holics and deadlines, with popular catch phrases and acronyms buzzing about such as, Time is money, A.S.A.P., streamlining, power lunches, and "I want it done yesterday."   One of my students, Guillermo McNamara, (the architect that designs and builds the new dealerships all over Mexico),  lamented to me that one of his pet peeves is being in the middle of a meeting (in the U.S.) and the caterers bring a cart of sandwiches, chips and sodas for lunch.  So people are chomping on food and making a mess all over the table with important documents, charts, etc., instead of taking a break, even if it's only for half an hour.  "The two things should be kept separate!" he exclaims. "You should be able to relax and enjoy your food!"  I must say that I whole-heartedly agree with him…

 

(More about my work and my students in my next update, so stay tuned….)

 

 

"Driving in Puebla".  One of you creative computer entrepreneurs should invent one of those computer/video arcade games called just that; because seriously, that is exactly what it feels like driving here—dodging busses that think they own the road and almost run you over; hurried drivers that cut you off, only missing your front end by a hair;  dogs, cows, and other four-legged creatures taking a gamble on becoming road-kill that dart out in front of you; and not to mention the HUGE potholes in the road that would surely do some major damage if you took one of those head on.  The term defensive driving now has more meaning to me than ever!  And putting on lipstick or talking on the cell phone while driving is absolutely not allowed anymore.  I learned that there is no such thing as a driver's training course here, and that the written driving exam for obtaining a driver's license is so easy that a 10 year old could pass it. And there IS NO driving test at all!  When I first arrived here I noticed an unusual amount of people wearing neck braces around town.  Now I see why!  Even the Poblanos (people who live in Puebla) laugh about it, even though it really is no laughing matter.  All I can do is be as careful as I possibly can… and pray a lot!

 

 

Popocatépetl  (Popo-kah-TEH-pet'l)

 

I never dreamed that I would be living in the shadow of an active volcano.       The name Popocatépetl, (or "El Popo" as the Poblanos call it), comes from the indigenous Náhuatl dialect meaning literally, "smoking volcano", and just happens to be the second largest volcano in Mexico.  I freaked out when I found out that El Popo is active and just had a recent eruption in 1994!  It wasn't a full-blown eruption and there were no casualties, thank goodness; but there were earthquakes, and it did spew enough lava and ash where the whole city—cars, buildings, streets, everything—was covered in ash the next morning, and which sparked a whole new public awareness campaign.  So I see notices and hear public service announcements on the radio telling the public how to live under a volcano, e.g.; being prepared with enough water and breathing masks stored up and knowing the evacuation plan. My curiosity prompted me to jump online and pull up some info about El Popo:

 

"Because these areas are so densely populated, this makes Popocatepetl one of the most potentially dangerous volcanoes in the world."

 

Yikes!

 

On one of my weekend excursions, I drove with some friends to explore the volcano more closely.  Since the eruption of 1994, climbing to the crater at the top is now off limits. However, there are small towns on the way up that are beautiful tourist spots, surrounded by forest, rivers and trout fishing ponds. We stopped at one of them that had quaint log cabins for rent and ate at their restaurant that had a big, warm, crackling fireplace (it was COLD up there!), and ate delicious trout that was just caught only minutes before. (mmm!)  

 

 Just like any powerful figure, El Popo is rather elusive, often shrouded in clouds and haze.  But early in the evening on our way back to Puebla, he revealed himself in all his glory and majesty, as if to say, "OK, Linda, here's your Kodak moment!"  It was an offer I couldn't refuse….

 

 

 

 …and this is a photo taken by CENAPRED (the Mexican version of FEMA) on January 1, 1997 that I pulled off their website:

 

 

 

The Poblanos tell me that every once in a while you can wake up in the morning and your car and the streets will be covered with ash from overnight fumarolic activity …. But as of yet, I haven't witnessed that. Nor have I witnessed, yet, the seismic activity that results from El Popo now and then…. and I hope I DON'T have a chance to experience that, either.  After living in Southern California most of my life, I don't "do" earthquakes very well!

 

(More on my weekend excursions in my next update…)

And the thunder rolls…. 

Because of the altitude, the mornings and the evenings are VERY cold and I'm kicking myself for getting rid of almost all my warm clothes! During the day, however, it's been warming up to around 70 to 75 degrees—which right now, is colder than it's been in Seattle!  We're in the rainy season right now, which started in May and lasts until around September, they tell me.  Almost every single afternoon/early evening, the ominous black clouds creep in and mercilessly pound the ground with some of the hardest rain I have ever seen (outside of Costa Rica), and like fireworks, shower the skies with spectacular lightning shows.  The volume and rumble of the thunder--nature's subwoofer-- soothes me… until that one, fierce bolt strikes just a little too close for comfort and sparks a split-second adrenaline rush within…

Need I say that I am completely  ENCHANTED  by thunder storms?         : ^ )

 

The following pic isn't a spectacular shot of Puebla, and you can't see them too well… but, "Yes, Randy, we DO have KFCs,  Domino's and Blockbuster Videos here…!"  And you wouldn't believe the McDonald's and the Burger Kings—they're like MANSIONS here!  I will have to take a couple of photos of them and include them in my next update….

My two kids announced that they're coming to visit me the first week in September, and I'm just chomping at the bit to see them!!!  I have some fun stuff planned and will let you all know how it goes and include some pics….

I can't believe that only after working only four months that I get a two week vacation!  Actually, the whole plant shuts down for a week and all the plant workers are off; but the whole education department gets an extra week on top of that.  I don't really understand why…. But I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth… I'll take it and run!  And I decided to "run" to the state of Chiapas in the very southern part of the country.  Since I arrived here, I've been wanting to visit a cousin of mine whom I haven't seen for about 30 years, who lives there with her family.  Besides, I've seen pictures of Chiapas and have heard rave reviews about how absolutely spectacular it is in its natural beauty.  On the way, I will visit some friends in Oaxaca whom I met when I was there two years ago, and stay a couple of days there.  So I'm taking off Monday, the 24^th of July, and will return in time to prepare for my classes that resume on the 7^th of August.

So, you think this update was long……?  Just wait for the next one!  But I promise that this time it won't be so long before the next one… and I promise more pictures, too…

Hasta Luego!