Things Google Can't Teach You

It's our Mexi-versary!!!  Three years ago today, we arrived in little La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Nayarit after making the 2,800 mile trek from the Pacific Northwest.  It's so surreal to think it's been that long already... It feels like just yesterday that I was going through the Starbucks drive thru at 5:30 every morning on my rainy commute to work, and Ty's stressful job was prematurely turning his hair gray.  

Bienvenidos a Mexico!  Crossing the border in Nogales, Arizona in May 2016... 

I was lying wide awake in bed at 5:00 this morning, when the idea for this post popped in my head.  I heard a familiar (and unwelcome!) squawking sound outside our bedroom window and I thought, "Ugh, I hope it's not black and yellow obnoxious bird season already!"  Now... I have zero idea what kind of bird it is or if they really have a "noisy season" in our area, but I do know that our first spring here, we were woken up by a flock of inconsiderate black and yellow squawkers outside our bedroom window before dawn every single morning for several weeks.  

Bored, and not sleeping anyway (as per usual)... I grabbed my phone and tried Googling, "black and yellow squawking bird nayarit mexico" and found this likely candidate... He looks harmless, but don't be fooled.  These guys make roosters sound like pigeons... 

I set my phone down and thought about how it's interesting that some things can only be learned about a place by living there for a while.  And that those are the things that make a place feel like "home."  I thought back to three years ago and silently laughed at how nervous I was to make this big move; how much planning and preparing and research I attempted to do...  I thought... "A Google search couldn't have taught me when not to sleep with the windows open if you don't want a black and yellow alarm clock."  Bingo!  An idea was born.... "Things Google Can't Teach You" 

Let's rewind a little... In early 2016, before we left Seattle, I started writing a blog (that I never posted) entitled, "Things I Never Thought I Would Google" while we were neck-deep in the visa process, researching and preparing for our big move, selling everything we owned, etc.  

Just a few of the many, many searches I did:  

• Dog groomers in Bucerias, Nayarit 
• How long does it take to get a Mexican Visa
• Mexican Consulate in Seattle 
• Mini vans for sale in Auburn, Washington 
• Eyelash extensions in Puerto Vallarta (muy importante!) 
• Requirements to bring a dog across the border 
• Quickest way to learn Spanish
• Why the hell doesn't Pandora work in Mexico?
• Does Amazon ship to Mexico?????  
• Sports bars near La Cruz de Huanacaxtle (because, priorities) 
• Which brand of sunscreen is the best? 
• Do I need to get vaccinated to move to Mexico?
• Is there a Costco in Puerto Vallarta?  
• Gyms near Bucerias, Nayarit 
• Poisonous bugs and snakes in western Mexico (I do NOT recommend this search) 

The months leading up to our move South of the Border were a whirlwind of to-dos while both still working full-time -- add to the fact that we decided to throw together a last-minute wedding / going-away party... It was a stressful time, and when we left, I had lists upon lists of items I hadn't gotten a chance to do or research, and I felt so unprepared the morning we drove away from our cute little river cottage for the last time.  Well... The joke was on me, because it wouldn't have mattered how much research I had been able to do before we got here, because I felt like an inept, culture-shocked, fish out of water for a solid 12-18 months, despite all my "planning."  

There's a million things that Google can't teach a person about moving to a new country, but I'll spare you the boring stories about banking processes, immigration, power outages, etc. and instead share with you the silly sounds that make our little fishing village feel like home. Enjoy.  

The Sounds of (Our) Mexico:

(Side Note:  The following pictures are Google images, but accurate to our area... I didn't want to go out on a scavenger hunt/wild goose case taking photos but wanted you to have an idea what our life is like.) 

• If you hear someone incessantly laying on their horn while driving by your house - don't get angry.  Instead, that's your signal to run out onto the sidewalk and flag them down, because they're selling garrafones de agua purificada (big jugs of purified drinking water) for 20 pesos each, and it saves you a trip to the corner tienda.  

• If you hear a pretty flute sound moving through your neighborhood, it isn't a kid learning to play an instrument... It's the "knife-sharpening guy" who rides around the streets on his bike-turned-mobile business, calling out to see if anyone would like their kitchen knives sharpened.  He sets up his pedal-powered sharpening wheel on your doorstep and gets to work polishing blades so Abuelita can keep cranking out her famous carne asada tacos for the local workers on their lunch breaks. 

• If you hear what sounds like the world's least-appetizing ice cream truck... It's a safe bet that it's actually a SoniGas truck blaring it's very loud "jingle" while driving around to see if anyone needs to switch out their empty propane cylinder for a fresh one.  Very convenient for yours truly, since I still only take HOT showers... 

• If you hear what sounds like loud, jibberish-y singing (that's the best I can describe it,) then there's likely a man walking around outside carrying a giant basket of bread and pastries on his head and he's letting you know he has baked goods for sale.  (This particular sound is probably very specific to our village, but Ty and I always know when "bread man" is in the vicinity.) 

• If you hear what sounds like a boombox tied to the top of a truck driving slowing through the streets in the spring and summer months - do yourself a favor and look out your window, because odds are the sound is going to belong to a beat up pick-up truck with a giant pile of watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapples or jackfruit selling for cheeeeeap.  Yes, please.   

• If you hear what can only be described as cannons going off very early in the morning, invite your frightened pup to cuddle with you in bed and just accept the fact that it's a Mexican holiday and that there are only, like, 2-9 more days of celebrations. (Just kidding.....except not really.) 

• If you can't figure out what the chirping/trilling sound is (but it's definitely coming from inside your house and not through the open windows)... Don't be alarmed, it's just a friendly, bug-eating gecko hiding behind a picture on the wall waiting for a tasty spider to scurry by.  I'll take geckos over spiders and scorpions any day!  They also eat cockroaches, so they are my bestest amiguitos. 

• If you are kept awake welllll into the night/early morning because there's a giant fiesta with blaring banda music happening in the empty field near your house... then a local family is most likely celebrating a wedding or quinceanera - which are very important (and often elaborate) events to the Mexican people.  The family usually hosts hundreds of people and likely has to work very hard and save a lot of money to make it happen.  It's a very proud, happy day for them (and the only people who'll ever complain about the noise are white people, *clears throat*.)  So, take a chill pill (or a few shots of tequila), pop in some earplugs and just go with it.  Or better yet... Join them!  Mexican parties are the BEST parties!!  Just ask Ty... 

I'm sure there are a lot of other distinct regional sounds that I'm forgetting, so if you also live in Nayarit (or spend a lot of time here), tell me your favorite "Sounds of Mexico!"  

I'm off to flag down the water guy... Adiós mis amigos!