LIFE IN MEXICO: Never Dull

Situation: We live in a gigantic house. The upstairs we rent. We have a full bathroom, three rooms, our own electric meter (so we do not pay more than we use), access to the kitchen, phone, laundry facilities, all of which are downstairs.
The family is totals four. Two adults and two sons. Olimpia's parents, sister, brother (his wife and three girls) live next door. It is a family compound popular here in Mexico.
Problem: This week, one evening, everyone was gone from our house. Her parents were home next door. Someone called her aged father and demanded money for ransom of their adult son who works as a computer geek in Leon. The kidnappers knew not only the names of the family, and I mean ALL OF THEM, they also knew Cindi and my name and even told Oli's father Cindi's and my routine of walking to the bus stop each Monday and described us perfectly down to the clothes we wore when we went out last Monday.
Also, Carlitos (16 years old), one of the kids in our home, was in the Plaza at the end of our street playing with his cousin and the caller told Mr. Sergoviano ( Olimpia's father) where they were and what they were wearing. So, he (they?) had to be watching us -- ALL OF US.
This sort of thing has been common in the past. I haven't heard of it or read an account of it in a while. But, it does happen here.

The adult son who works in Leon was not kidnapped as claimed by the caller.
One of the huge problems is that locals fear rather than trust the police. Some will claim that the cops could be in on the plot. To "Protect and to Serve" is in this country a myth according to some Mexicans.
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Having Mexican Friends or Not?

Here is a forum post I read and to which I would like to respond:

"I always have to smile when a NOB American, who's planning to move to Mexico, says she wants to come down and live in a Mexican pueblo and not near any gringos so she can bond with the Mexicans. They are a very tight-knit group! As stated, they will be very polite, but they don't want you for their new-best friend unless there is money involved, and even then they will pretty much interact with you only on an employee-employer level. Without my gringa friends, I would be very lonely and sad. I would never think of moving anywhere that I could not have access to my gringas!"

This quote is true to an extent. Throughout the 7 years we've lived in Guanajuato we've found ourselves on both sides of this issue.

When we moved to Mexico we had absolutely no desire to mix with Gringos. Why, we reasoned, would we want to be a part of a Gringolandia when we went through all the trials and tribulations of moving to Mexico? If we had wanted to be a part of an American enclave, a.k.a. a Gringolandia, why move to another country? We could have stayed in America if that had been what we wanted to do.

We found ourselves Mexican friendless based on the degree of our Spanish fluency. The more and more we increased our Spanish fluency the more and more we began to develop Mexican friendships. And, what I mean by Mexican friendships is being invited into their homes to dine but mostly just to chat. Never once did these who invited us into their homes and with whom we've had friendships ask us for money.

Mexicans are, as the forum poster stated above, "a very tight-knit group." They are that. And it is not easy to win your way into their hearts. Some do befriend you based on their preconceived notion that ALL Americans are rich and exist to take advantage of financially. it is just a way of life here. Not ALL Mexicans will do this. Some actually have a work ethic and an ethic that teaches they should work for their money instead of relying on the rich American patron. Some don't, unfortunately.

We are friends with two groups of Mexicans. One is a group of Christians. We attend church with them each Sunday (protestants) who have taken us into their lives. We've been in their homes many times. Never once have any of them asked us for money (as if we had any extra dollars laying around going unused).

The other group of Mexicans have no particular church or Christian leanings (other than Catholicism) and still invite us into their homes to eat or just to have a cup of coffee and lots of chatting. Neither have they begged money.

Though the poster, in her mass generalizations, did not indicate whether or not she can carry on a meaningful and in-depth conversation in Spanish with anyone, I just wonder whether she can or not.

My best friend is a Mexican guy in our church. We've sat and held he and his wife's hands through family tragedy and would not have been able to had we not had the Spanish fluency we have.

So, consider that when reading posts like the one I quoted above.

You might note that 96% - 97% of Americans cannot speak a foreign language. This carrys over when they move to Mexico expecting the Mexican to fall at their feet and become fast friends for life.

It took us seven years and this, we are convinced, directly related to our Spanish fluency!

American Unversities Canceling Language Programs in Mexico

In May, 2010, Texas Universities their Mexico study-abroad Spanish programs due to increasing violence. The University of Kansas followed suit in June, 2010.

Increasing violence from Mexico's drug and gang problems are cited as reasons for the language program cancellations.

The University of Kansas has, in the past, lost students to violent deaths in other countries which is a consideration in the strict policy governing the decision to cancel the Mexican language problems.

Source 1

Source 2


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Guanajuato, Mex - Women Suffer Violence

Here is another fact the Gringolandians in Guanajuato selling real estate and who have rentals don't want you to know. In a situation assessment conducted in 2009, 6 out of 10 women suffer some form of violence in the municipality of Guanajuato. Another line of the study revealed that 52% of the households in Guanajuato have women head of household.

My point in reporting this is that Gringos, almost always, move here based on a fantasy. Websites talk of living in Mexico will use phrases like, "It's heaven on earth," "Come live in Nirvana," "Experience the magic of Guanajuato," or whatever. These sites are generally real estates website trying to sell you a house or some other service pertaining to expatriation.

Putting in nicely, they have a bias.

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Guanajuato, Mexico - Tourist Robbed

A twenty-two year-old Oriental woman was robbed at 7:15 PM, Monday, 7/5/10, while walking down a callejon from the Pipila when she was set upon by three men. The victim reported to police that the men violently relived her of her laptop, a bag with personal items, cameras, money, and her personal documents.

Though the poor woman reported it to police, there will be nothing significantly accomplished in finding her assailants. She is a tourist with a limited time in the city. Unless she is fabulously wealthy and would gladly return to GTO in the unlikely event someone locates her attackers, there will nothing much done in some sort of investigation. The police know that, the tourist doesn't, and what do you want to bet the thieves do.

If caught, the thugs know the tourist will be unlikely to return just to testify against them in a trial.

The girl was walking alone.

When will they learn?

Guanajuato, Mex - Interesting News

A lot of the blogs you will read here are scheduled to appear in a certain order, by date, so keep that in mind if you see dates that don't make sense.

Here's a tip or two: There are areas of Guanajuato you should definitely avoid when coming to visit or checking it out to live.

1) Las Teresas - The sanitary condition are horrific according to residents of that barrio. The neglect of the area and the lack of protection of the environment has caused the place, says the residents, to become a giant rat's nest. The area, according to the neighbors, affected is the back of Calle San Francisco de la Barranca in Las Teresas. [Source]

2) Fight-Violent Zone - Another brawl at Cerro del Gallo ... This area of the city of Guanajuato has a very seedy reputation. Fights and other nefarious events are not unusual. What you have to watch out for is real estate people trying to sell or rent you a house or apartment in this area. They will routinely tell you this is an absolutely safe area to live and nothing ever happens here. That's why, dear tourist or expat, you need to arm yourself with enough Spanish to be able to ask locals about barrios the shysters are trying to convince you to move into.

I predict the onslaught of Gringos moving into Guanajuato will get snookered in a big way because of their inability to read and speak the language and "ask around." You've got to be able to do this to keep from getting ripped off.

Guanajuato, Mex - Aggressive Vendors

It is amazingly satisfying. It seems that this year alone I have been getting more and more vindications in the Mexico newspapers of my observations about culture in Guanajuato. In my first two books, I made the observation about aggressive vendors around the city that frankly would get mad in a threatening kind of way when you would not buy the stuff they were hawking.

Besides my observation of dangerous parts of the city of Guanajuato where crime of non-petty nature certainly exists, I have reported also parts of the city to avoid because of aggressive and sometimes threatening vendors. Finally, I have vindication:

No habrá vendedores en Plaza de la Paz

Por: Alfonso Ochoa , Martes, 04 de Mayo de 2010

Los permisos para que se instalen se terminaron, debido a quejas de los vecinos contra ellos, dijo el director de Fiscalización

¿TERMINARÁ LA TRADICIÓN?

Ya son varios años que han instalado los comerciantes, ahora éstos resultarán afectados

No se darán permisos a vendedores ambulantes para que este año se coloquen en la zona de la Plaza de la Paz, pues que los vecinos se han quejado de que se roban la luz y han llegado a amenazar a transeúntes, dijo el director de Fiscalización, Jenaro Barba Uribe. [SOURCE]

The article says, and I am paraphrasing, that vendor licenses have been denied for the Plaza de la Paz plaza. The reasons being that citizen have long complained of not only the inconveniences of electric cables to power the kiosk's lights creating walking hazards, the fact that the stands (kiosks) block natural light, but there have been physical threats, "han llegado a amenazar a transeúntes,".

At the end of the article what type of threat is specified:

"Hubo una señora a la que amenazaron con un cuchillo, por eso no podemos volver a darles permisos, pues hay muchas quejas de la ciudadanía" [Ibid]

Or:

"There was a lady whom they threatened with a knife, so we can not give them permission to return, as there are many complaints from citizens"[Translation]

I am not implying that all of Guanajuato's vendors are like this and will threaten you with a knife. However, I have reported that the vendors in certain areas of Guanajuato, like up and around the Pipila, are of this ilk: very aggressive and threatening, and for my efforts those "Cultural Experts," Gringolandians, have in turned threatened me.

One I received was from a Gringolandian male who not only indicated he knew where my wife and I lived, but said, "I ought to come over to your house with some of the expat men and reeducate you as to the benefits of living n Guanajuato."

I sent that quote to my attorney in the U.S. who advised me to leave Mexico immediately.

Well, we didn't (we weren't able to because of my health) and lived in fear for years until we were able to move, finally, to another part of Mexico.

Anyway, there you go.

Crime in Guanajuato...Yes, It' Here Folks!

If you go to this link, click here, you will find a litany of posts answering someone on this forum as to the safety of Guanajuato.

Now, if you will read below, you will find the facts as to how safe it is in Guanajuato:

1) Correo (Guanajuato) 4-15-10

Four more members of La Familia Arrested

Guanajuato - In less than one month the State Police of Guanajuato have arrested 20 people affiliated with La Familia Michoacána. Most recently, State Police detained four people, (two of whom were women), for murder, kidnapping and vehicle theft.

Of the 20 members of La Familia, who were captured, 2 were juveniles, 3 women and a former policeman in San Miguel de Allende. Also among those captured was the driver of a vehicle who fled at high speed and who was in the possession of a .380 caliber pistol. (SOURCE)

2) The State of Guanajuato is third in the nation for highway robberies of tractor-trailer trucks. -- (SOURCE)

3) NBC's Dateline Report on San Miguel de Allende Kidnappings- -- (SOURCE)

4) Guanajuato Kidnappings: "...in 2008, in Guanajuato were 14 illegal deprivation of liberty, in 2009, the figure rose by 500 percent, committed 70 kidnappings in the state." (SOURCE)

5) GUANAJUATO -- Crimes such as household burglary and vehicle in the capital have doubled over the past year, this surge began from the second half of 2009. Unlike the first six months of that year, the crime rate was increased by 27 percent. (SOURCE)


Here is the point I want to make: Tourists or Gringolandians who do not live in the culture and most certainly have no Spanish skills whatsoever, will make comments about the safety of Guanajuato (or where ever in Mexico) when they have no idea whatsoever what they are talking about.

In fact, they come here I suppose wanting so badly to find a place that isn't as dangerous as America that they will act out in reckless behaviors when coming to Guanajuato. They will go walking in the late hours of the night expecting nothing to happen. Sometimes, things happen.

I have written of these event extensively in this blog.

But, what kills me is that the so-called expats (Gringolandians) and especially tourists really have no idea what they are saying when they make comments about the safety of Guanajuato. I mean, how can they know unless they can read the Mexican news sources that quote the stats and stories.

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Guanajuato, Mex -- Out of Touch!

My Lord, how out of touch I've become. When we moved on 12/30/09, we moved so far away from downtown Guanajuato that, 1) we have to take public transportation to get there, and 2) downtown has changed and we weren't there to see it.

It is interesting how that if you get out of the downtown area and barrios close to it that you begin to find "other" Guanajuato's. This is a good thing. While house hunting in December 2009, we begin to find areas of Guanajuato that were actually quiet (like the place we live now), car traffic wasn't that bad so air was cleaner, people were a lot nicer and more "Mexican" than downtown, and so far no one has pushed us off the sidewalk and into the path of an oncoming bus.

The disadvantage, if it really is one, is that to walk to downtown you have to be in excellent shape and in some cases it is too far to attempt walking. So what, I say. We have actually walked the distance but regretted it later.

We had to go downtown today. We do this no more than twice and month usually and try to limit it to once a month.

We arrived at El Jardin by bus at about noon and it looked like an average day in San Miguel de Allende. It was loud, loud, loud (did I mention loud?). There was canned music playing from an unknown source. In typical Mexican style, the locals were louder than the music so as to be understood by the person with whom they were with and to whom they were screeching. There were scores of Gabachos spending their Gabacho dollars which was good.

Right now there is sidewalk war. The local owners of eateries are fighting with each other, but most of all the city, to be able to put tables on the sidewalk in front of their establishments. This looks all cutesy and San Miguelianish but it is causing a verbal donnybrook between store and restaurant owners. They are saying that such and such place has violated such and such requirement for tables and chairs.

Apparently, you can only have so many tables and chairs and this and that and if someone thinks you have too many of something, war breaks out. The main argument is that someone's tables, chairs, and customers are blocking access to someone's store or whatever. The only evidence I saw where pedestrians had to jump off the sidewalk, into the street, then back onto the sidewalk was in front of "La Capellina". (That place is overpriced and the food is terrible, if you ask me. Avoid it!)

As I sat in the Jardin people watching, I couldn't help but think how the locals in Cuernavaca must have thought at one time how protected and isolated they would forever be from the crime woes of the bigger cities. And yet, they are trying to sell their homes and look elsewhere for greener pastures because of the Narco-trafficker's wars that have broken out in their once safe little provincial town. Tourism, I read, is dead and the city is virtually bankrupt as the result of the Narco-traffickers presence.

How long? How long until Guanajuato is overrun by the Narcos and life changes overnight in this Colonial Mexican Treasure?

How long?

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Guanajuato, Mex -- People Are Happy Here...Not All Of Them!

If you cruise the net for websites and blogs about living in Mexico you will find a horde of Gringolandians who will tell you that Mexicans are such a happy people making living here for the Gringolandian "Heaven On Earth." (They really use this phrase, literally.)

At least 50% of Mexicans are not happy. In fact, they are depressed. Not only that, Mexican teenage suicide has increased 2.5% this year alone. This is an increase of almost 3 times what it was in 2009. (Source: Dr. Enrique Campizano)

Dr. Enrique Campuzano says the problem isn't one factor alone but a combination of problems in Mexican society.

That goes without saying, in my opinion. However, I want to know why you do not read this fact that half of Mexico's one hundred million population is suffering from depression?

Should this not tell you how out-of-touch Gringolandians are in Mexico?

They are physically in the culture but not of the culture.

Think about it.

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Guanajuato, Mex -- Differences

When the gnats invaded our home and we had to flee, we went to our neighbor's place. She is a lovely chemical engineer from Guatemala. We know several Guatemaltecos who live here in Guanajuato for work or other endeavors. They are different folks.

Those whom we know have all zeroed in on a common thread when we've talked about living in this to-a-fault provincial Mexico. Living in Guanajuato is like living in a closed society. I have mentioned this before. In fact, I have mentioned it several times. The heartland of Mexico is very much like living in the Ozarks in the United States.

It is provincial.

...having or showing the manners, viewpoints, etc., considered characteristic of unsophisticated inhabitants of a province; rustic; narrow or illiberal; parochial: a provincial point of view.

A lot of Gringolandians will tell you I am out of my mind to say that this is the provincial mecca of Mexico. But, keep in mind that those who do, do not live in this culture but live in a Gringo Bubble (Gringolandia).

Anyway, our conversation with our Guatemala neighbor focused on how hard it was for her to break into any sort of relationshop with Mexicans for almost 2 years. She agreed (as has all our Latino friends who were not born in this city) that this sample of Mexican culture is very "closed" compared to the rest of Latin countries. Spain might be an exception and could be considered as closed as is Guanajuato.

Also, she agreed that the Spanish here is sheer madness sometimes. She could not understand anyone, when she came to work here, unless they stopped their modismos laced language.

I most heartily concur with her. The Spanish is here is almost all modismos or consists of so much idiomatic expressions which makes it almost impossible to understand them. On the street, the Spanish is so full of idioms that you just have to scratch your head trying to comprehend what it is they are trying to say.

In more "educated" conversations with those who have more formal education you have a better chance understanding Spanish.

Now, having said all this I do not mean to imply that Guanajuato is so dreadful that you should not come for a visit and spend a few thousand dollars in the local economy. Rather, here is what I mean:

Americans and a lot of Canadians come here expecting Guanajuato to be like cities that cater to Gringo tourists. Guanajuato DO NOT cater to Gringo tourists. The Gringo wants English to be spoken from their hotel staff to any and all eateries they frequent. They want the vendors to speak English. They want E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E to speak English and in this part of Mexico all I can say is: don't hold your breath!

Guanajuato is NOT San Miguel de Allende or any other resort town that panders to Americans and Canadians. I fear this will change, but for now find a Spanish phrase book and leave your Gringo expectations at the border.

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Crimes and misdemeanors: Staying safe in San Miguel
Is SMA still safe, or falling prey to drug dealers and thugs?

By Anne Nicolai
August 11, 2009


Knowledge is power: Spanish-speaking residents are safer

Across the board, every official interviewed for this article agreed that one of the best ways for foreigners to provide for our personal safety is to learn the language of the country that we’re living in. They point out that Spanish speakers have an easier time getting to know their neighbors and the local police. Knowing the language also helps when calling for help or reporting a crime.

In fact, the author’s calls to the various emergency telephone numbers prove this point: on two different days, at two different times of day,...there were no English-speaking operators.


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Guanajuato, Mex -- Gringolandian Kids

As I wrote in a previous blog, more and more Gringo families are moving to Mexico. There seems to be an interest in Guanajuato with some of these exodus participants if what my wife is reading in her online forums is any indication.

Many of them ask questions on these forums that seems to us to be a bunch of Gringos who know little to nothing about culture in Mexico. I actually read one online post (I blogged about this) where the woman boldly declared that having to learn Spanish was unnecessary because living in Mexico is just like living in another American state. She based this on, are you ready for this, the fact that Mexico has Wal-Marts. Believe it or not, she thought Mexico was just like living in America by virtue of the existence of Wal-Marts.

My Lord, these Gringos!

Anyway, just what families with kids think they are going to do with these kids once moving here is a little beyond my imagination.

Typically they ask questions that most certainly show a lack of understanding that Mexico is NOT America. They ask questions that seem to show that they believe Mexican society is organized or structured just like America. Some of the things which they want to know is how to get their kids involved in:

1) Summer Camp
2) Play groups
3) Art and music classes
4) Sports (They usually ask this question naming AMERICAN sports)
5) Day Care Center
6) Babysitters
7) Easter egg hunts, Easter Bunny, and Easter parades.

Now, this might not seem to weird to you but they end these lines of inquiry with the proviso that all these must be in English.

Where do they come up with this idea that English is universal here beats me!

(I have to say this: They will have the expectation universally that if a Hispanic comes to America he or she should know English but will not apply that mandate to themselves to learn Spanish.)

I know this couple who moved here for a year with their 14 year old daughter. While she was enrolled in an exclusive school she made friends with some Mexican girls. One of those girls she invited to her house (a typical American teenager thing to do) for a sleep over. The Mexican girl's parents refused to allow this since the American family was "unknown" to them.

This is not atypical. When I heard this story I made inquiries with one of my University Professor friends. He told me that this school the American girl was attending was considered one of the "higher-class" schools. He did not mean that in the sense of a higher quality school. He meant that in the sense that this school had students from a hoity-toity, snooty-pooty socio economical class of families. Families, I might add, that would not associate with families of a lower or unknown class of people.

Our landlady thinks this way. She told us that the area to which we moved was generally quiet but for a group of "lower class" kids in a school up the street when walking by our house on the way to and from school. When I asked, she said she meant they were lower class because they were walking to and from school rather than driving or being driven by drivers.

Do you get that? The fact they had to walk to school and home from school mean they were a lower class of humanity.

And, do you get that the degree to which your kids will be involved with other kids in this culture will be based on a centuries-old class system?

The shocking thing about this is that it seems to be the educated in this country who cling to this class system most strongly. They will often refer to someone who is socially inept as maleducado or poorly educated. In general, I have heard them say this about someone poorly dressed, drives poorly, drives an old model car, or pretty much anything else that is different from themselves.

If you move here you will have to contend with this class-system thinking. Americans don't get this. They just do not get this.

And, as I have previously blogged, it can takes years to get involved in the life of a Mexican family. I know Gringos here who have been in Guanajuato for decades and have never been in a Mexican's home. Never.

It took us seven years and getting involved in a protestant church (a rarity in this country) before we were consistently invited into Mexican's homes for a meal or just good, clean fellowship. Seven years!

I think it a tough row to hoe to move here with such intensely Anglo-Saxon acculturated kids and not expect culture shock problems.

Learning Spanish

I thought I would once again jump on my How To Acquire a Second Language soapbox. I have written both a paper back book (click here for paperback) as well an eBook on this subject.

The vast majority of potential epats who move to Guanajuato seem to be retirees. I have more or less given up on trying to convince this group that acquiring a second language, Spanish, is not an impossible task and most certainly a reachable goal. The reason for my "throwing in the towel" is that this group is so old that they have these unchangeable preconceived notions (untested assumptions) that their age would prevent them from developing a high degree of spoken fluency so they don't even try.

What I cannot seem to get through their heads is that the human brain is "hardwired" for acquiring languages. Notice I did not say "learning languages." If what they mean is that their age might affect the memorizing of thousands of vocab words and grammar rules then they might have a point.

But, as I have painstakingly pointed out in four books and hundreds of articles, learning a language is not the same as acquiring speech. That is what is sought--speech. Speaking in Spanish is the goal and should be engaged in first long before studying grammar or memorizing anything!

More and more families with young kids (and teenagers) are moving to Guanajuato. I just wonder if they really know what they are getting into.

Think of how kids are prone to swallowing things that they shouldn't or falling off roofs or whatever. (My brother fell off roofs more than once.) Do these parents think that in provincial Mexico there are going to be English speakers sitting around ready to translate and interpret when seconds count in a critical medical situation?

I am personally acquainted with a situation with an elder gringa woman who keeled over in a plaza. The gringo man with whom she was walking managed to get her into a clinic but between the both of them they could not communicate to the doctor what happened or her very complex and dangerous medical history.

Imagine this with kids!

How are the parents going to communicate in a situation where no interpreters are available and when seconds between life and death could count?

I mean to tell you this scares me just thinking about it.

I read an article, and quoted it in this blog site, how the police head hancho in SMA opined that learning Spanish is the single most important safety tactic you can take when moving to this country.

So, that about sums it up. In my view, I think that moving to Mexico with kids and without a high degree of spoken fluency first is madness. I do not mean to offend at all. Just let your mind meditate on this for while and all the horrid possibilities that could happen and when seconds count, you cannot tell the emergency room medics what is wrong.

And, do not count on English speaking hospitals employees being in the clinics scattered around the city of Guanajuato. Though I would not go as far as to say GTO is a backwater Mexican town (I can think of towns far more provincial) it does come close and the chances of happening upon a clinic with an English speaker approximates zero.

I say, "Why wait until moving here...start now, in your home country, to learn Spanish. There are dirt cheap courses and free online resources that you can use to begin Acquiring Spanish long before you arrive in Mexico to begin your expat adventure.

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Guanajauato, Mex -- Conformity

Years ago I saw on Mexican television a public service commercial. It featured handicapped people and pregnant women boarding a public transportation bus and finding no available seating. All the very healthy looking passengers refused to get up and offer their seats to those in greater need. The morale of the story was very obvious.

We ride the buses a lot since we refuse to own a car here that adds to the already bad pollution problem. We noticed the same thing locally that the public service commercial showed.

No healthy looking person, no matter their age, would get up for someone who was obviously in much greater need. It didn't matter if the lady was pregnant and holding an infant or the man was missing a limb or two.

The only circumstances under which someone would offer their seat is if they recognized the other person boarding the bus.

This was too obvious to be circumstantial.

The one seated would greet the bus boarding person by name or title, like Grandmother or Auntie (abuela or tia), and get up offering the close friend or relative his or her seat. Otherwise, tuff stuff if you were in physical need, you did NOT get a seat offered to you.

Of course I have to mention that mentioning this in my books and articles has earned me the title (you knew this was coming), THE MOST HATED GRINGO IN THE WHOLE WORLD.

Well...let me just say I did not make up the whole thing about the public service television announcements. And, to this day (years later) no Gringolandian has ever answered or spoken to the issue: Does this or does NOT this sort of thing happen? The Gringolandian community refuses to address this but chooses rather to accuse me of "hating Mexicans" for mentioning any of this.

Would this drive you insane?

I have often wondered if they send hate mail to the Mexico City folks who produces these public service announcements? ... Oh! But Wait! ...

I have the answer. None of the Gringolandians (maybe one or two) can watch and understand Mexican television because they can't speak a word of the language!

Anyway...

I said all of the above to make this point: Unless a Mexican knows you, unless you are a member of their extended family, you will be treated as though you do not exist.

You can see this everywhere. I could take you to pharmacies to stores to restaurants in which you are treated as an inconvenience. Let someone with whom the waiter or vendor is familiar come through the door and suddenly the waiter or store clerk is all smiles and merry. Then they turn to you and they literally will say, "What do you want?" No "At your service," or "How can I serve you?"

If they are on their cells or land line phones when a relative or pal comes in then they put the phone down and wait on them. If you walk in they will finish their call, no matter how long, and then--perhaps--wait on you.

God forbid should you live under or over them in an apartment. You will be subjected to and forced to conform to their schedule. If you want to sleep until eight in the morning and your downstairs neighbor wants to get up at seven in the morning, guess what? You are forced with door slamming, dumped over chairs (or maybe they are bowling down there), or whatever that forces you to conform to their schedule.

Sigh...

Guanajuato, Mex -- Free Speech?

I ran into this issue with the Gringolandians a few years ago when I was writing a series of articles that basically disagreed with the Gringo image that living in Mexico, in Guanajuato particularly, was like living in heaven itself. You know the sort of clap-trap I mean: Guanajuato is heaven on Earth, a Nirvana, a literal Shangri-la.

What "some" individuals in the Gringolandians in San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato would do is send me the most vitriolic responses one can possibly imagine. I have mentioned this often in the blog and keep mentioning it for the reason that as of 7 years living and writing in this town and country, none of these alleged detractors have taken me to task on the issues. What they've chosen instead is to threaten me in all manner of imaginative ways. And the point is, they call what they've done free speech.

I am bringing this up again because on the gto_list, not to be confused with Mr. Bill's new list, www.gtolist.com, there is a raging saga over the fact the list owner has been removing certain posts from the list and this has earned her the "you are denying me free speech" hue and cry.

Years and years ago before the epoch of Microsoft Windows, I was online with something called Unix. This was a programming language that you had to use if you want to work on the fledging internet. There was AOL and others like Compuserve, but if you wanted on the hard-core internet you used Unix to get on something that was called The Internet Relay Chat. This was the then Internet's chat room format.

In this live format, where you "talked" live with folks trying to type at the speed of light, it was free-for-all mess. There were multiple channels or networks to which you could logon and thousands of chat rooms you could enter. Once inside one you could talk or chat.

This thing had to be monitored and upon occasion had to be censored. If this wasn't done, if there wasn't an authority to enforce the rules of the chat room, it devolved into anarchy.

For example I ran a room called "church". I, of course, didn't allow cursing or any generally offensive speech. If someone was sincere (an almost never situation) to learn about Christianity, they could stay and debate us. If someone was a troll and just wanted to stir up trouble, they were unceremoniously banned from the chat room.

Yahoo.com used to have a free-for-all chat. It was at the end of their news stories and you could, or at least was suppose to, give your "opinion" about the story to which this chat feature was attaches (this was not live but more like a forum format than a chat room). It was unfettered, unmonitored, and it turned into total anarchy. It had to be shut down after one too many death threats were made on this forum format. I heard the Feds got involved.

What the Gringolandians on the gto_list don't seem to understand is that "free speech" does not mean "unfettered" speech. You cannot threaten someone with death. This is something I've had happen to me more than once for writing on expat issues. Nor can you walk into a movie theater and scream "fire" when there is no fire. You cannot phone in bomb threats. You cannot on a Yahoo.com chat forum threaten to kill the President of the United States (I think that's what finally got Yahoo.com news forums shut down).

Free speech is not the right to say something with the intention of inciting harm to someone else. You can hate what someone believes but you cannot utter a threat to kill them for it.

"The right to freedom of speech is recognized as a human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The ICCPR recognizes the right to freedom of speech as "the right to hold opinions without interference. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression" -- Source

In the case of chat rooms, or forums like gto_list, the person who starts up the list is responsible to the business that allows such a thing. The gto_list is under the umbrella of Google.com and the list owner has to enforce the rules Google sets or its curtains!

The owner of gto_list is responsible to follow Google's guidelines and to set and enforce her own list rules and regulations. This is not only sensible it is how it has been in these forum/chat setups since they began. Monitoring and censoring is how its been done.

If you don't like this, start up your own chat/forum and tell everyone it is a free-for-all, every man or woman for his or herself. Even if you do, history shows this always devolves into an anarchical absurdity and Google, or whoever, will have to step in and put an end to the nonsense and remove your chat/forum because of your lack of management and plethora of complaints.

In my case, my death threats came in response to me expressing a difference of opinion as to whether or not Guanajuato was a heaven on earth or just a place with hordes of problems within its provincial culture.

Do you get that? I was expressing a "difference of opinion" as to the status expat quo and for all my efforts I get verbal abuse aimed toward me and my wife and threats to kill us.

Tell me, was it wrong that I removed these comments from the forum on which these nut-cases posted them?

I think not!

(Was it a violation to kick someone out of a George Bush speech because they had an anti-Bush bumper sticker on their car?)

###

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Guanajauato, Mexico -- Vindicated

I am always am on the alert for smart Gringos. From time to time some get through on the forums and when I spot a post (actually my wife spots them) worthy of a mention I try to post them on my blog.

The theme of the post I am going to quote below is something for which I caught all manner of persecution when I began writing about living in the central highlands: a.k.a. San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Dolores Hidalgo, etc...

If you want to see the absolute insanity of Gringolandians, try finding some of the SMA forums from 2004-present and do a search "Doug Bower" ... these people are murderous in their prose about me.

I was recently interviewed by an academic from Scotland. In the course of the conversation she asked me why I do not associate with the "Gringo Community" (translation: Gringolandians). When I told her why, that I do not generally get involved with folks who want to kill me, she was very understandably incredulous. In fact, one friend told me he had read a great deal of what I had written and asked me if I was making up the whole thing about receiving death threats for my writing.

Then I showed him the emails I had received.

He questioned me no longer.

So...that is so much water under the bridge. Gringolandians will engage in illegal activities in Gringolandia, like threatening you with death, and get by with it.

Here is a prime example of the themes that got me lots and lots of hate and even death threats and it is from someone else's pen:

SMA is a very beautiful small city , the Centro and small streets are charming. and photogenic. There are many art galleries and is certainly worth a visit for a day or two, at most. We found it very different from other Mexican cities in a way that it does not feel like its in Mexico, I was surprised that most people greeted us in English and quoted prices in US. We are originally from Canada and now live in Mexico so we only use pesos and it felt strange to have to convert from US to pesos and figure the exchange rate in Can$ as well. Hijole!

There are many many English speaking foreigners living in SMA , most
of them retired and I guess they have made it their own and I figured
that must the tourist attraction for us. My husband is just learning to
speak Spanish, he was offended when he asked to buy something, the clerk replied in Spanish and someone in the store right away translated in
English.

The food we ate was good but not the sopa de tortilla, it tasted like tomato soup.
In summary SMA is worth a visit as long as you are prepared that its
not authentic Mexican.

Try telling a SMA Gringolandia that "their town" ( and they do call SMA 'their town') is not authentically Mexican and see how many threats you get.

###

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Guanajuato, Mex -- It's Impossible

In a not-to-long-ago blog I mentioned the joys (not) of trying to watch Mexican television in Guanajuato. Unless you have cable or satellite, it is virtually impossible to watch TV without consistent problems.

The current problem is channel 12. This channel has been a problem for years and not just for us (I make inquiries). This channel, and none of the others, does pretty much what it wants when it wants. Actually I should be fairer in my judgment of the channel. It has to be the Mexicans who run the thing that do pretty much what they want when they want.

Remember, "preventative maintenance" is generally NOT a Mexican forte. I can easily imagine how the workers, those responsible for maintaining the channel's broadcasting integrity, may not show up for work, sleep on the job, wonders what job they are suppose to do (their uncle hired them), and/or are too busy engaging in any number of nefarious activities while on the job they are suppose to be performing. I mean this most sincerely, this is seems to be a way of life here.

Anyway...

Two years ago, channel 12 went off the air. It took the better part of the year to come back on. I made inquires. No one knew anything.

A year ago, for several months, the channel just "rolled." I made inquiries. No one knew anything.

(No one ever knows anything.)

A week to ten days ago, channel 12 began sending secret coded messages. What I mean is that the picture is visible but the sound, audio, cuts out with a predictable sequence each time. It sounds like Morse Code is being sent. It is as though every other syllable of a line of dialogue is blanked out. Then it runs normally for about a quarter of a minute and starts again.

This is, I am sure, meant to torture me but I have not been able to confirm this.

Also, I've yet to make inquires but will and will blog my investigation when I am able.

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Guanajuato, Mex. - Excuse Me?

My wife is an "official" travel advisor for an online outfit that is quite popular. They have a host of these advisors for just about anywhere. One cool thing they have is this secret online forum just for the advisors where they can chat among themselves and share the insanity with which they must deal in the questions they must answer.

Don't misunderstand. They do a fine job in answering the same questions over and over again. I suppose they need some sort of catharsis in this sharing with one another.

One that struck me the other day was this woman who is an advisor for some Mexican resort town. She said that the thing which gets her the most is how frequent she has to answer this question: "Why are Mexicans so stupid that they cannot learn to speak English?"

This does not surprise me. This is the true nature of the Culture Imperialist American who comes to a foreign country (Mexico especially) and really in their heart of hearts believes that anyone with whom they come into any sort of contact must speak English.

Have you ever wondered why they must think this?

I have and am found lacking when trying to offer a plausible answer.

How can anyone offer an excuse for this bizarre mindset or be so stupid as to have this mindset?

Spanish is the spoken language in this country and no matter where these Gringos go they expect to be catered to in English.

I suppose I could ask these gabachos this:

• "Why are you so stupid that you cannot realize that the entire planet is NOT fluent in English?
• And why are you so stupid to expect Mexico will have an English speaker at your elbow at every turn?
• Why are you so stupid to NOT learn Spanish when you come to a country in which Spanish is the major language?
• In addition, why are you so stupid for being so stupid?"

Well, excuse me if I sound a little testy but it just is beyond the pale to hear this sort of thing so often.

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Guanajuato, Mex. -- Buy It Sight Unseen

I have written about this before: Gringos who buy a house sight unseen or buy it on a whim knowing absolutely nothing about the culture. It happens more often than you might think. Here is a forum post from a lady living in Honduras. She writes of the very same thing. Unbelievably, it goes on there as well.

Most women would not buy a dress without seeing it, touching it, trying it on unless there was no other choice, and − this is a big one − unless there was a pretty good guarantee that they could get their money back if it didn't fit. For sure most men would never buy a car without first taking it for a test drive and kicking the tires. Lots of people won't even commit to buying a new flavor ice cream unless they can taste it firstto make sure that they like it!

Why, why,why, then will so many people quit their job, 'sell the farm', pack up and move to a foreign country without trying it out first? Or even worse, buy a property in a foreign country without ever seeing it or after only a week-long visit to the country, listening to promises about how all the locals are so nice and there will be water, electricity, security, roads, .... Some day. "As soon as enough lots are sold...."

Hah!

The truth is, for both foreign and local investors, that day doesn't always come. The money is spent and the contractor or the developer, and maybe the nice attorney to whom he probably introduced you to handle your purchase, have both moved on to fresh
territory. The Honduran courts rarely help foreigners to get their money back from a fraudulent deal and that probably is true for most Central American countries as well as Mexico.

The Honduran courts rarely help foreigners to get their money back from a fraudulent deal and that probably is true for most Central American countries as well as Mexico.

Those who quit their job, 'sold the farm', and moved only to find out after a few months or a couple of years that the life in a third-world country is not for them are the ones who are really suffering needless expenses.

You could be stuck trying to sell a property in a foreign country for months or years while meanwhile trying to figure out how and where you will live in another country since you no longer have a liquid nest egg.

Some locations in Honduras have most of the things you could want.

What will you do when rainy season or a hurricane or earthquake washes the road and bridge out and you can't get there? That quaint little colonial town may seem an ideal place to live.

What if you have health problems or have an accident? Believe it or not, there are many places where no doctor or hospital is available, or at least not one that you would want to go to.

You probably will not want to send your children to a Honduran public school and good private schools are hard or impossible to find in some areas.

You can and should find out about all of these things in advance of a permanent move.

Renting a house in the area where you think you want to live is cheap.

If things don't work out for whatever reason, all you have to do is pack up and leave.

Just remember, though, that people who didn't make it in their new country will rarely be blogging about it, nor will you likely find them talking about their experiences in internet discussion groups.

While reading everything you can about these topics is a very good first step, there is no substitute for trying it out yourself personally.

The way to find out if your expectations can be met is come for a long stay.

They will probably want a house just a little bigger and better appointed.

They will probably want a kitchen with more than 18 inches of counter space.

They will want internet service, a good sized TV, cable service, and their own car.

They may want to travel and go out to eat a little more often.

They may want to splurge every now and then on those expensive imported items that they miss from home.

They will probably not want a wood burning stove or to wash their clothes on a scrub board.

Maybe you'll even find the perfect dream house on the internet being sold by an honest person.

Guanajuato, Mex -- Dirty Hands and Disease

When the swine flu hit Mexico, the authorities were a bit on the embarrassed side having to explain why so many infections and subsequent deaths were in Mexico. The disease eventually spread to the rest of the planet but Mexico seemed to be the epicenter.

Political correctness forbid publicizing why the infection spread so fast, far, and wide here: poor hygiene habits!

I have American friends who not only own eating and drinking establishments but who have to train their Mexican staff to wash their hands after using the toilet. This is almost too unreal to believe. But, more than one employee has had to be let go, fired, for failing to heed verbal warnings, read warning signs, and being yelled at for not washing up and then handling customer's food and drink. It is barbaric.

Their personal hygiene habits are never more plainly seen as when helping themselves to samples at the supermarket. With little plastic spoons and forks, toothpicks, napkins, and small plates sitting beside the deli samples or bakery cakes, in plain sight, they will elect to use their hands. They will pick up food with their filthy fingers just after wiping, picking, gouging, or generally touching almost every orifice of their bodies (Especially their noses...OMG...the nose!!)

I thought I would have to lean over and empty my stomach when I saw this little woman use her hands to grab a GLOB of cake from the bakery and begin stuffing it into her cake hole. I felt my stomach cramping, tightening up, that pre-vomit hot flushing feeling coming over my face....I was able to just close my eyes a pray for God's calming mercy.

These are the folks that after grazing on the Supermarket's plenty will trip off to their food kiosks in merriment and mirth and prepare your tortas (sandwiches) or tacos with the same hands that infected the Supermarket food samples. They will wash the fine dining ware after each cutomer in a vat of BLACK water that they keep adding clorox to making it smell like a toxic waste dump.

This...this...this is why the flu spread so fast in this country.

It is sickening. It certainly causes one to pause to see grown men and women, most notably the women, stick their hands into meat sample trays instead of using the toothpicks on the side of the tray.

It is barbaric!!

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