Living at Lake Chapala in Mexico

A year or so ago, I answered an email by creating this list of tips for living successfully within the prevailing Mexican culture. I thought I'd share it with you all here.

1. Never make a negative statement about a business, activity orperson in the presence of two witnesses. As a matter of fact, don't make negative statements at all. Liability is not an issue in Mexico, but libel and slander are?even when the statements are true.

2. Keep my immigration status, driver's license and Mexican car insurance clear and clean, paid up to date. Making sure that my car insurance includes bail bond and legal representation and liability.

3. Live behind the walls, surrounded by as many Mexican neighbors as possible. Maintain very good relationships with the neighbors. It's the best form of neighborhood watch ever.

4. Avoid bars or saloons late at night. If you do go, never, ever allow anyone see how much money is in your pocket or purse.

5. Don't drive at night. If it just can't be avoided, keep the distance very short, and your wits a bout you and watch for livestock along the road, vehicles driving without lights and bicyclists in dark clothing.

6. Accept the rules and laws of Mexico the way they are, without expecting them to make sense, be logical, efficient or productive. It is not up to me to determine the right way to do things here. It is up to me as a guest to live by the rules as they are. Never ever express anger or extreme displeasure to a worker, employee or another driver on the highway.

7. Never, EVER discuss Mexican politics or participate in any political demonstration or gathering. (If you have questions about this point, please consult the Mexican constitution of 1917.)

8. Mind my own business - live and let live - do unto others, etc.Never "see" what is not mine to see. If a door is ajar don't stop to look. If you can see into a neighbor's walled garden, don't gaze and stare. Avoid eye contact with strangers of the opposite sex. Never hold eye contact. Stay out of stuff that doesn't belong to you. It isn't my business (or yours) how another person treats his child, pet, automobile, body, land, home, property, wife, budget or spare time.

9. Avoid dressing or acting suggestively (well, ok, with most of us at retirement age and with some of us amply sized, this point may seem to be a stretch). Still, remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder - and there is an old Mexican adage that suggests that all gringas are easy. Avoid making and holding eye contact with strangers of the opposite sex. It's considered a come on.

10. Give up thinking everyone here has my best interests at heart. Just like everywhere, at some level folks are thinking about themselves and their own pocketbooks. There is a Mexican phrase, "the slap with the velvet glove" that is applied to those businesspersons who are just so nice you can't believe it. Maybe you shouldn't believe it.

11. Learn to accept the things I can not change--and that's abouteverything here. Next learn to turn all of these people, places and things over to my higher power. Having problems deciding what you can change? You can't change anything, just turn it all over.

12. Relax...it'll all happen just the way it's supposed to, when it's supposed to, no matter how much I try to make it happen sooner. Remember that attempting to accomplish three or four things in a single day is inviting insanity. Consider that your quota of accomplishments is to complete one thing per day. After all that's the mark of someone well on their way to adapting and accepting this country, and loving the experience of living here, just the way it is.

Viva Mexico!

Labels: Retirement in Mexico, Tips

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Judy King is publisher of  Mexico Insights' Living at Lake Chapala, a monthly online magazine for people interested in Mexico's Lake Chapala region, in the state of Jalisco.

Judy, a 16-year resident of Ajijic on Lake Chapala's north shore, conducts weekly newcomer's seminars, shares her expertise about Mexico in her monthly online magazine, and in the "Mexico Lindo" column for the Lake Chapala Review.

Judy also is a speaker for local organizations and visiting tour groups about the Lakeside area and Mexican customs and holidays.

Mordita

Sometimes just learning Spanish words is not enough.

Mordita, translated literally means a little bite. That's probably why the word has been used to also mean the small bite traffic cops sometimes accept in order to not ticket drivers.

While the government has been striving to reduce incidences of mordita, each of us needs to think through the situation and then decide how we will respond to situations in which a small mordita might be accepted, alleviating the payment of a much higher fine or bigger problem.

We received an email a while back from a man who had been stopped for driving the wrong way on a one-way street. He was convinced that since the block on which he was driving didn't have a one-way sign that the transito (traffic) officer was simply trying to get a holiday mordita (bribe).

As we've said so many times, the way Mexico works is very different than the countries North of the border. Each of us in this country - Mexican or foreigner is expected to take responsibility for our own actions. In this case, our subscriber is responsible to learn which streets are one-way and to know which direction to travel on each one - whether each block is marked or not.

Mordita bothers a lot of newcomers; others take it in stride. One long-time resident said that he felt paying mordita was a good example of taxation with representation?he paid the traffic cop with which he was doing business. He felt that in most cases the amount he paid on the spot was far less than the time and money involved in coming back to pay the ticket. In many cases, I think he is right.

Your best defense against mordita (the little bite) is to ask the officer to write a ticket for your offense. Offer to follow him back to his headquarters so you can pay the ticket?just as you would in the U.S. As a matter of fact, that's also a good way to determine if the violation is real or only a front for mordita? if they are only interested in the money, they won't be anxious to write a ticket.

My experience with mordita
About two years ago I was happy to pay a significant mordita to end a fairly situation in which I was certainly at fault. I made an illegal left hand turn from the highway onto an Ajijic street. For 15 years, I've been legally making that turn, and while I knew the rules changed when the stop light was installed at the OXXO corner, that morning I was driving on "automatic pilot."

When the officer approached my door and asked for my license, I realized I had a second strike against me?both of my own making and my own responsibility. I'd left the house without my purse. My license was at home.

Next the officer asked for my car importation papers. While I've told countless participants at the weekly Living at Lake Chapala newcomers seminar to make copies of these valuable documents and to never carry the original papers in the car.

Guess what? It was a clear example of do what I say, not what I do. Worse yet, when I pulled those original documents from the glove box I immediately noticed that the most important document, the one that proves I had legally imported the car was blank.

Somehow, when I'd brought the car across the border back in August of 1998, the officials (and I) had missed filling in my name, and the car's pertinent information. The blanks for the car's make, model, VIN number and license plate data were all blank.

As the officer began talking about the impound lot (he was absolutely within his rights to impound my car. For the moment I appeared to be illegally in Mexico). I began considering my few remaining options.

I knew the only way to straighten out the paperwork would be to drive the car back to the border. I also knew that I wouldn't be able to remove the car from the impound yard without proper paperwork, and meanwhile the car would be accruing additional fees every day it remained in impound. It was the most glorious example of all catch-22 situations.

Basically I realized that if I couldn't pay a mordita to this officer, I was in effect going to relinquish my car ? and I had no one to blame but myself. I was totally responsible.

I was delighted to solve the whole situation with an $800 pesos mordita. Yes, I paid the officer about $75 U.S. and yes, in the following weeks I solved the car's paperwork problems. As we used to say back in Iowa, I think that solution was cheap at the price.

By the way, if I hadn't been in the wrong on all three problems, I would have handled the situation differently. In fact, if I hadn't been wrong on any of the points, I would have talked long and hard, and in the worst case would have insisted that the officer write me a ticket.

The other meaning of mordita
At birthday celebrations here at Lake Chapala, once assembled guests finish singing the lovely words of the traditional song, "Las Maņanitas" and the candles have been extinguished, the guests begin chanting "Mordita, Mordita, Mordita!" (Little bite, little bite, little bite!)

At this point the guest of honor?child or adult has a choice. He or she can either lean forward to take a bite of the cake or wait for someone in the crowd to help by shoving his or her face into the cake. The most popular party photo of all is that of is of a smiling child, his or her mouth and nose covered in icing.

Life is good at Lake Chapala

Labels: birthday parties, bribes, Mordita

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Judy King is publisher of  Mexico Insights' Living at Lake Chapala, a monthly online magazine for people interested in Mexico's Lake Chapala region, in the state of Jalisco.

Judy, a 16-year resident of Ajijic on Lake Chapala's north shore, conducts weekly newcomer's seminars, shares her expertise about Mexico in her monthly online magazine, and in the "Mexico Lindo" column for the Lake Chapala Review.

Judy also is a speaker for local organizations and visiting tour groups about the Lakeside area and Mexican customs and holidays.

Labels: Construction, Next Corner

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Judy King is publisher of  Mexico Insights' Living at Lake Chapala, a monthly online magazine for people interested in Mexico's Lake Chapala region, in the state of Jalisco.

Judy, a 16-year resident of Ajijic on Lake Chapala's north shore, conducts weekly newcomer's seminars, shares her expertise about Mexico in her monthly online magazine, and in the "Mexico Lindo" column for the Lake Chapala Review.

Judy also is a speaker for local organizations and visiting tour groups about the Lakeside area and Mexican customs and holidays.

Labels: statistics, Weather

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Judy King is publisher of  Mexico Insights' Living at Lake Chapala, a monthly online magazine for people interested in Mexico's Lake Chapala region, in the state of Jalisco.

Judy, a 16-year resident of Ajijic on Lake Chapala's north shore, conducts weekly newcomer's seminars, shares her expertise about Mexico in her monthly online magazine, and in the "Mexico Lindo" column for the Lake Chapala Review.

Judy also is a speaker for local organizations and visiting tour groups about the Lakeside area and Mexican customs and holidays.