People both here and back home, regularly ask us how we're managing our new lives, and we usually answer, "It depends on the day." Some days are very discouraging because I usually feel like an inept toddler trying to navigate (and embrace) the learning curve of moving to a foreign country - but then there are moments where I feel kinda Mexican-ish and it renews my ever-fleeting confidence that I can, in fact, survive and maybe even flourish here eventually.
Some examples of my newfound Mexican-ish-ness:
- I don't think driving here is scary anymore or even very shocking - I don't necessarily like how casual drivers can be maneuvering around and how motorcycles just weave in and out of cars all nonchalant-like (usually with a toddler or chihuahua in tow, no less) but driving here no longer makes me anxious. Plus, stuff like this no longer surprises me.
- Critters and bugs are less....stressful, let's say. I still don't like all the bugs, but it just starts becoming less traumatic and more of a normality. A crab got stuck in the pool again? Just scoop him out like last week. You have to dodge half a dozen iguanas on the drive down your street so they don't become roadkill? It's just part of your usual commute. A gecko scurries up the wall and startles the salsa out of you? You think, "At least it wasn't a big ass spider" and then go about your business. You spot a scorpion in your bathroom when you turn on the light at 2:00am? ...You freak out and wake up your sleeping husband to rescue you and vow to never walk around barefoot in the dark ever again!!!! (Okay, so maybe I have some more Mexican-ing to do on this one, but I'm getting better.)
- I can understand when people say numbers to me! I don't know why, but people trying to learn a foreign language will often tell you that numbers are the hardest to understand when spoken by a native speaker. But it's getting easier for me to understand when a cashier or taxi driver rattles off an amount. The first time I paid in exact change (instead of just handing them a bill and hoping it was enough) I felt like I had just won first place in a expat contest and I came home and bragged to Ty about it. Whadda nerd.
- I love me a Mexican party!!! Some of the funnest (I know it's not a word) parties we've been invited to here so far, we were the lone gringos and nobody spoke a word of English. Village celebration with dancing horses? Sign us up. A birthday party with Banda music? Yes, please. Quinceañera with a parade? We'll be right over. We always have the best time with the friendliest people and we always come away with endearing stories of how we're not so different from the locals we meet. Like the birthday party we went to a couple months ago...one of the gals hosting it let me use the bathroom in her house, and right away I noticed that everything was covered in English labels! In (bad) Spanish I told her I have everything labeled in Spanish at my house and we both got a good kick out of it. Adorbs, right?
- Instead of searching Pinterest for how-tos around the house, I just ask our wise, domestic goddess of a housekeeper because she knows how to fix any problem. Fun fact: salt, lime juice and sun work as a natural bleach and can remove set-in stains from a bath towel that you previously thought you'd have to just throw away because a 3-year old spilled grape juice or some crap all over it. Good to know!
- I love Latino music! I never cared much for it before, but now I may or may not have an entire Latino playlist on my phone. (And I'm pretty sure Ty is getting sick of listening to it.)
- Just like locals can tell we live here full-time based on our appearance, we can totally tell the difference between a tourist and an expat just based on looks alone...especially in places like grocery stores. Tourists like to wear fashionable hats and their cutest tropical "vacation outfits" while out and about (ahhh, I remember those days fondly), where as us sweaty gringos just throw on whatever is going to keep us cool and comfortable while we run our errands. (It's especially nice being recognized as someone who lives here, because we don't get harassed by beach vendors or by time share people!)
- My version of "fast food" is no longer going through a Taco Bell drive-thru on the way home from work...now it's swinging by the "chicken lady" on the corner to pick up a whole, roasted chicken and sides for 100 pesos.
- We'd much rather go to non-touristy beaches and watch pick-up soccer games while we comfortably cheer from our beach chairs than go to any "popular" (aka over-crowded) beach towns and fight the out-of-towners for a post-it note-sized patch of sand. Because, duh.
- The soccer boys were also enjoying my beach playlist of all Latino music...one even stopped in the middle of the "field" to bust a couple dance moves before scoring a goal. Cute.
- Unlike tourists, we hide from the sun! Mexicans don't stand in the sun unless they absolutely have to... It's not uncommon to see a thin shadow of a telephone pole and a line of Mexicans standing in it waiting for the bus. In fact, this specific trip to the beach was specifically to "get a little tan" since we know everyone is gonna give us crap about being so white when we go home this week! Ha.
Well, that's about all the ways I can think of that I'm becoming Mexican-ish. Obviously, I'm still very much a white fish-outta water, but at least I'm starting to sprout my little piernas de tierra.
In other news... We head up to the States this week, and I think it's going to feel like reverse culture shock. It'll be interesting for sure. I'm positive I'm going to accidentally greet people with "Hola, buenas tardes" on a regular basis and I'll probably try to pay in pesos more than once. But holy smokes, it's going to be sooooooo nice to be able to speak English full-time for three whole weeks! Hopefully I don't forget all my Spanish...
Well, I'm off... Hasta pronto!
