Me too, but not to hurt her. She gives much more than she gets and whines about being a victim more than anyone else I know.
Immie
Link please? I want to watch!
AnnieInMexico ...
I'm sure I don't qualify ... I come from people who still lay awake nights thinking up new ways to be stupid the next day!
THROW ALL THE BASTARDS OUT!
The Colonel
You are new too! Welcome! But watch out, the gauntlet is terrifying!
Hello all:
I am Annie. I am looking for a forum that isn't run by 12 y/o trolls. Finding such a political forum is no easy task.
I am a US citizen living in Mexico. I'm in medicine, private contractor, and that's all I can think of. Oh, I'm an independent.
Hope I like it here and I sincerely hope to meet new people.
Welcome to USMB, AnnieInMexico. There is currently a
State Department travel advisory in effect for U.S. Citizens going to Mexico. I hope you are safe there.
It states: "While in Mexico you should be aware of your surroundings at all times and exercise particular caution in unfamiliar areas. Bystanders, including U.S. citizens, have been injured or killed in violent incidents in various parts of the country, especially, but not exclusively in the northern border region, demonstrating the heightened risk of violence throughout Mexico. TCOs, meanwhile, engage in a wide-range of criminal activities that can directly impact U.S. citizens, including kidnapping, armed car-jacking, and extortion that can directly impact U.S. citizens. The number of U.S. citizens reported to the Department of State as murdered in Mexico increased from 35 in 2007 to 111 in 2010."
Vaya con dios, AnnieInMexico, Go with God. And best wishes to you.
I am well aware of this. I have been living here for almost a year. What people do not understand is that it is not the entire nation that is dangerous, it is specific cities. Tijuana, Juarez, and Monterrey probably being the worst. The city I live in is very similar to Phoenix where I lived for about 25 years. I walk around at night but on busy streets with good lighting. I don't walk around in dark back yards. Just like Phoenix. Mexico is full of regular people doing regular things and just living their lives.
You know what? The US has criminal activities as well such as kidnapping, armed car-jacking, and extortion. There are places in the US you couldn't pay me to visit.
I have yet to go to a business where I was struggling with my new Spanish skills and someone didn't jump in and offer to help translate. I intentionally do my grocery shopping around 3pm because that is when schools let kids out and if a child is in school at 15 years old they are able to speak Spanish and English very well. They are wearing uniforms and I can ask them to help me read labels, find products, etc. They are sincerely respectful of adults, Americans, everyone.
There are three things I abhor about Mexico. The dust, OMG, you have to see it to believe it. I have to mop my floors daily or I can literally write my name in the dust on the floors. It is an extreme I have never seen before and I lived in the Phoenix desert for 25 years.
I hate drivers. The drivers here are extremely aggressive. These people are so nice and so sweet and so amazingly helpful and then --- they get in their cars and it's a total 180.
I especially hate the attitude towards animals. It's hot here, VERY hot. The past few days it's been around 116(F). Animals are left outside all day every day. There are strays everywhere starving. Dead animals hit by cars. If your dog is hit by a car, no big deal. Just get another one. Being an animal lover is hard here seeing what I see. Example of the mentality, I have two dogs, a 10# Shih Tzu and a 1.5# poodle. A friend of mine, David, was here a couple of weeks ago. He saw my dog staring at the door meaning she wanted to go pooh in the back yard. I asked my dog if she wanted to go outside and she started bouncing around and doing her usual so I opened the door and let her out. David was shocked, he didn't know dogs could be house-broken. He was shocked at how smart my dog is. Little does he know just how stupid she is.
Those are the three things I hate about Mexico. Dust, drivers, and animal mentality but of course, there are many animal lovers here as well but it's still different from what I am used to.
The people are kind, I get lost here. It's a huge city and anytime I go more than about 5 miles from my house I am lost. Just last week I was on the other side of town and totally lost, couldn't find the address I was looking for - for anything. I stopped at a house where two gentleman were sitting drinking a cold beer. I asked for directions and instead of just giving me directions they got in their car and led me to where I needed to go. That's not unusual, that's how things are done here.
There is a 7/11 really close to my home. Due to one way streets and such it's easier to walk there than it is to drive. I have yet to have a male friend here that when we walk to the 7/11 for a soda or what-not they ALWAYS walk between me and the street, it's the gentlmens way of doing things. It is very different here, men are like they were in the US in the 50s. Very respectful of women. I rarely open my own doors in public, a man will always hold the door open for women.
The first two sentences I learned in Spanish were:
No lo se. -- I don't know. No matter what someone said to me I could respond with an anxious and desperate look and say no lo se!!
Donde esta mi casa. -- Where is my house?
My neighbors taught me that one early on. HA! Like I wrote, I get lost a lot.
Here, you pay your bills on time. Period. Very little grace period. If I want to pay my electricity bill as long as I pay it 3 days before the due date I can pay it at pretty much any convenience store. But if I pay it on the actual due date I have to go to the utility company in person and pay. Three days after it's due and your utilities are cut off. A couple of weeks ago I forgot to pay my electricity bill until the due date so I had to go to the utility company. Of course, I got lost. I stopped and asked a young woman where to go showing her my bill. She understood fully and spoke English. She got in the car with me and led me to the building, I took her home, and my bill was paid. That is how it is done in Mexico. For such a supposed dangerous country, people are amazingly respectful and trusting.
Corruption is an issue here. But it's not all bad either. HA! I haven't been pulled over by the police ... yet. But when I do I will likely have a choice. Since I have AZ tags on my car and an AZ drivers license if I get a ticket I have to go to the police station right then and there and pay my ticket. But, the officer is more likely to offer a bribe. If I give him $100 pesos (about $8 USD) he'll forget the traffic violation. What would you do? Pay $8 and be on your way or go to the police station, spend about 3 hours paying a fine for about $50 USD? Some here hate the corruption and insist on going to the police station. Most prefer to give the cop $8 bucks.
Just like any country there is good and bad here. Same holds true for the US. Everything is different here, absolutely everything. But it's not what most Americans think. It's pretty darn nice here. I am loving it.
Hello all:
I am Annie. I am looking for a forum that isn't run by 12 y/o trolls. Finding such a political forum is no easy task.
I am a US citizen living in Mexico. I'm in medicine, private contractor, and that's all I can think of. Oh, I'm an independent.
Hope I like it here and I sincerely hope to meet new people.
First, you must run 'The Gauntlet'.
What is the average land air speed velocity of a Mexican swallow?
What is your name?
What is your quest?
What is your favorite color?
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWS8Mg-JWSg&feature=fvsr]Monty Python and the Holy Grail: 3 Questions - YouTube[/ame]
Annie
My quest is to learn driving in Mexico
Blue
