Angry Ex-Patriate Here!

Today, I was talking with our maid Martha (pronounced Marta)and I am really angry at my country, the good ol' U.S.A., this is why:

Martha's sister lives in Texas, legally I want to add, her sister has lived in Dallas for 8 years, she works for a company that exports clothes from Mexico to the States and is bi-lingual. Martha's sister (I don't know her name) is going to have her first baby in August, how exciting! I asked Martha if their mom and dad are able to go visit the Texas sister, she told me no. Of course I ask "por que?" because if it's money, I'll start a fund-raiser for them. But no, the answer is not money,the answer is Martha's parents can't get a visa.

well,I looked at the exchange rate for the dollar versus the peso, the dollar is the weaker of the two currencies, surprise, surprise. Well, this is a surprise to most Americans living here. Our family came here because yes, it was less expensive but there is a quality of life here that we do not have in the states. Here is where my anger starts, this country, Mexico, which most people in the states consider to be a third world economy, has a stronger financial base than the U.S. right now and probably in the years to come also! Why can Martha's parents not get a visa to visit their grandchild? Matha's mama and papa don't even want to live in the states, who would right now, an idiot is running the country and has driven a once strong country and strong economy into the ground. Meanwhile around the world other countries look at Americans with scorn. What are Americans so afraid of? Why can't my maid's parents visit the States for one week, American has ceased to become the shizzle-dizzle. If someone can answer this question please do!

Finally,I come to my most vehement of rants, let me say I did not vote for G.W. because I was afraid of what his politics would do to my country. And now the writing is on the wall, George the II has tanked us, you and me the middle class folk and I am pissed beyond belief at him, his cronies and the people that paid him into office. Why aren't we as Americans holding G.W. accountable for this disaster, indeed global disaster? Our forefathers are turning in their graves while the American public sits almost catatonic, unable to believe the situation we are all in.

To my friends and family that read this, I know some of you pulled the republican lever twice for him and I love you, but I am angry at him and his inattention to what the public needs. We aren't personal friends of the Pres, but "we the people" are the greatest asset of the United States and yet our politicians largely do not feel accountable to us! This is so grossly negligent that the call for revolution should be on all of our lips, why have we lost our collective voice for change?

Putting it all in Perspective

I finished my last post as BBC World was coming on. Oxfam has put out a statistic that is staggering, the price of rice has risen 360% in parts of the world. Camels are dying in Ethiopia, the ships of the desert, how can a child be expected to survive there? This makes my mother heart weep more than being stuck in a car for 9 hours with people I love, albeit, annoying people.Please follow this link to BBC World in case you, like me, need to put it all back into perspective.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7522626.stm

New visas, 9 hours in a car and Target in Texas

So, because I hate filing paperwork our family of so-called "ex-patriates" (though I don't remember divorcing my country, just G.W. Bush) must leave Mexico every six months to renew our visas. The price of airline tickets decided for us that we would just go to Target, I mean Texas, to get our visas. Oh Good Lord!! How I dislike being stuck in a car with 1,2,3 whiners for 9 hours. How many of you have ever driven into the United States from Mexico? It sucks, even with your passport from the U.S. the border patrol assumes you are up to no-good. When did travel between countries become so...looking for a word...can't find a word, ah ha, such a subject for animosity? Aren't we all on the same team, which is the human team not the "American" or "Mexican" team? Well, moving to today.

Currently we are hanging out in the Hampton Inn in Laredo, Texas, woohoo, good times!
The pool here is closed for cleaning, the skies are grey from Hurrican Dolly casting her shadow over southern Texas and at 10:30 last night the heat index was a steamy 94degrees. At this point I am going to become the whiner. Wahhhhhh, I want to go home! I don't want to be stuck in this room anymore and I don't want to go back to Target with 3 kids again, carts for multiple children are not meant for their skinny aisles or Roarke ("hehe I'm Indiana Jones, look here's my whip!" [the whip incidentally is at the front end of my limo-cart on the bottom rack and is a piece of black plastic about two inches long, no I'm not exaggerating!]). Will this trip be worth saving $3000+ in airfare? That will all depend on how great the clearance deals are at Target and if I find a good thrift store!

Roarke is three

Well, I cannot believe it has been 3 years since Roarke came into this world. My pregnancy, that I even was pregnant being on the pill and breastfeeding I thought I was safe, was a source of amazement to me for 9 months. Every day I wake up and see his sleepy face, mouth hanging open, arms and legs akimbo, I am still amazed. Why did he want into this crazy world so badly, and why did he choose us? We are good people, don't get me wrong, I just think I am ill equipped for being patient enough to deal with children, especially this 3 year old. So, Roarke Sinclair, I am honored to be your mama, even in the ugly moments. I am not quite sure of the lessons in store for me while we walk through this life, but if you have the patience to teach me, I will listen and learn.

Such a perfect day

 
 

The winds kicked up heavy over the presa last week and we took the opportunity to fly a kite in July, a first for everyone!

and still it rains

 

Does everyone know how much I hate tennis shoes? Well I despise them. They should be called foot prisons. As for fashion, how could these foot prisons ever be fashionable? The only saving grace is they are so yucky, I don't care when there is 3 inches of mud caked to them. San Miguel has been rained upon for 3 straight days, no sun only gray skies, I feel like I'm in the States in the Mid-West! Now that the presa is almost full, the rains can stop for one week, I need to wear pretty shoes again. Say what you will, but do not come between me and my fancy shoes!

The Lovely Maguey

 

 

Unlikely companions

 
a growing nopal and a mushroom, prickly and porous, hard and soft. side by side.

UNESCO world heritage site

It's official San Miguel and Atotonilco are on the UNESCO list of world heritage sites for 2008. Check out the link, click on the title to this posting, it will take you to the UNESCO site, and scroll down to Protected town, you'll get a brief history lesson, and I do mean brief. If you want to know more, come for a visit! We'll show you around.

Alma de Casa vs. House Wife with corrections

So, my dear fiend Stephanie just told me the correct title is Ama de casa, which you could translate as love of the house. I love this title also. But now I've grooved on being the soul of the home, I am adopting the title Alma de casa for myself. In a world of pre-packaged labels, I'm choosing my own this time, via my bad translation. Read on for the full-story...


As I begin my 38th revolution around the sun, I am disgruntled. Actually, I feel as if I am hanging in limbo, Roarke will begin school this fall and I will have a quiet home for 5 hours each morning. But, I digress from my reason for venting with this blog.

About one month ago, I went to the notary office with my landlady to sign the lease for one more year. (One thing you should know about Mexico, as an outsider I see the citizens of Mexico hold two things dear to their hearts: paperwork and the national obsession...cleaning!) So, we are going through volumes of paperwork and the woman in the office asks me my profession, I'm at a loss for words. I look at my landlady, Alma, and shes says "Alma de casa". I said "That is how you say housewife is Spanish? It sounds so much better in Spanish than English!"

This is why alma de casa is better, this translates as soul of the home. Yes, that is what I am! I am the soul that keeps things functioning, or not, and I put all my soul into this home. So many times I have been offended when people ask what I "do", I tell people what I do, and the response is "oh, you just stay at home with your kids?". I've posted that before and my response, which is always: "Yes, I JUST do." But this isn't the extent of me, I am a complex woman; not totally blissed out on motherhood and living only FOR my children. I live WITH my children, we are on this journey through life together, I hope I am a worthy guide and mentor to them.

My point; semantics matters to me, alma de casa sounds rich and heartfelt, while as housewife...I may run with a butcher toward the next person that labels me with those words! And now to the moral of this story, the next time you meet a mother that stays at home and is the soul of her house, call her alma de casa, domestic goddess, call her extraordinary but don't call her a housewife or a stay at home mom. We women don't stay at home, we take our children out into this world and we teach them (and ourselves) love, compassion, wonder, discovery and so many other adjectives. But we are not married to our houses and we don't just stay at home. Now go on, go make a domestic goddess' day!

same view as one month ago. the water basin is filling up once again, we're watching the flow of nature and getting really muddy in the process!

nursing mammals

As a mama I have spent six years nursing my little people. As we went for a walk we saw this mama and baby.

Roarke said: "Mommy, look the horsie is nursing!"

I can tell he is thinking...

Roarke: "Mommy can I nurse?"
Me: "I don't make milk anymore baby boy."
Roarke: "Oh, they're broken?" (He means my breasts. )
Me: "Mmmm, yeah, they're broken."
Roarke: "But they are still there mommy, look!"

At which point he gives one boob a poke, thanks for keeping it real baby boy!

This would have been a dream when I was 8 or 9, especially the pony with the crescent moon marking. Well, it still is a dream! Some people get stray dogs or cats, we do too, but how many times a week do you get 3 stray horses of varying ages? Not so often! So as rainy season sets in, we're eager to see what other mammal rambles up our drive way, today it was two humans, they were stuck in the mud. Not nearly exciting, unless you're Richard with keys to the Land Rover and a good length of rope, he had both and had a lovely time in 18 inches of mud and helping out a neighbor. Me, I'm sticking to photographing stray animals!