(1) CLAVE NO.
I think about the day Terry emailed Adrianna at Monex Mx. to tell her to transfer money from Monex to our Mexican bank account. The house was bought and we were ready to buy stuff...that's what you do when you buy a house. She had told us prior that all it took was an email. Sounded easy until she emailed Terry back and said in order to do it, we needed a CLAVE no. What the heck was a CLAVE no. Adriana said it was something we could get from the bank. This lead to a string of unsuccessul attempts to reach the bank by phone. We ended up walking all the way up to Paseo to a branch bank location and finally found somebody to look up our account and give us our CLAVE no. Terry and I discussed how we have developed a whole new appreciation for anybody in the US that didn't speak English trying to open a bank account. We said "Muchas Gracias" so many times to the bank clerk that helped us, I'm sure he wanted to throw something at us....and all with that stupid tone of voice we use when we are excited, grateful, and speaking Spanish.
(2) CUAAAANNNDOOO
Terry made fun of me more than once since our return from Belize over my use of the word "CUANDO", or as I pronounced it...."CUAAAAANNNNNNDOOOO" (5 octaves higher than normal) when I walked up to the ADO bus station ticket window and didn't have my question rehearsed as I was going to ask the guy behind the ticket counter "When is the next bus leaving for Merida?". I was trying to buy time, and formulate my question but CUAAAAANNNNDOOO is all I could get out. The young Mexican man behind the counter replied with a grin: "I speak English."
(3) TERRY'S LAST DAY
The day of our anniversary we really wanted to make it special yet it was Terry's last day in Merida as well. He had his list of things he wanted to get accomplished, I had my list of things I wanted him to get accomplished, and then there's reality. We were feeling some tension yet we were determined to not let it get the best of us. Things went good for the most part. And the last two things on our list were to go out to the north part of town and buy the sofa we had looked at previously, and pick up the patio set that was at Jim's house (the gentleman we bought the house from). All went well until we were waiting for the bus to take us out north. It was HOT! And the bus was taking a long time to arrive. Terry crossed the street to stand in the shade while I stood where the bus picks up. I was so scared I was gonna look up and he was going to be gone. He was hot, tired, and just wanted to go home. Thank goodness he hung in there and thank goodness they accepted my brand new, never used Mexican check card. We then had one hurdle left - pick up the wrought iron patio table and 4 chairs at Jim's. He had said it was no problem - he would just call his taxi friend that had a big taxi...it would fit. Wasn't gonna happen!!! So our last resort was to walk the 3 blocks (tired and hot) to Mejorado Parque and hope that the truck guys were hanging up there and wanted a late afternoon haul to La Ermita. Sergio was our godsend! Once we loaded up he and Terry started conversing in Spanish...most of it was way beyond my comprehension. Sergio was very honest about the foreigners he likes and dislikes....he liked Terry a lot! He said many of them are too bossy, and many of them stick to their own kind and aren't friendly. We ended up having a wonderful meal of shrimp with vergetables and rice with a bottle of wine sitting on the back terrace in our new to us patio furniture. It was an evening I will NEVER forget.
(4) WILBER THE HERRERO
And what are the odds of stumbling across the blacksmith's shop only to find out he's the same blacksmith that did the existing work that you are trying to match. So excited about his work! Wilber says his wife is the boss and he just works for her.
(5) TAXI BICICLETA
One afternoon we took a taxi from the house on Calle 70 over to the Chedraui. It was the day we cleaned up the house on Calle 70, locked the front grill, and threw the keys into the foyer before closing the door. Adios to Calle 70 and Hola to Calle 64A (pronounced AHHH). I was tugging around my roll-around luggage. While Terry was in the Chedraui I sat outside with my luggage. When Terry came out with several bags of groceries we decided to get a bicycle taxi the 8 or so blocks to the house. We had no idea it was more than he could really pedal!!! He only had one bicycle gear and it took all he had to pedal...at times we were barely moving. At one point Terry and I both leaned forward to help him out - literally. I was willing to get out and walk but Terry wouldn't let me. He explained it was best to let him finish his job. That was ok until we got to the house and he charged us something less than 10 pesos....considerably less than a dollar. Terry gave him 40 pesos!!! I don't know what he may have done with the money, but I hope he realized he truly deserved it. He never complained although he was sweating and very tired. It pains me to even write this. I will n6)evr forget him, and I will NEVER overload a bicycle taxi again!
(6) LLUVIA Y MI FAMILIA
Right now I'm sitting on the front porch and it is about to rain. It rained yesterday afternoon as well. Not all bad as I learned the drains are draining well, no leaks anywhere, and our house sits well up on the street that drains good. All day long activities have been going on across the street - it's a fundraiser for La Ermita Church. They just played a Michael Jackson song over the loudspeaker! I went and checked it out earlier in the day - lots of families, kids, clowns, food, and speakers. I would say it was like a Catholic Church bazaar in the US except they do NOT serve cerveza. I bought a taco and ate my first kibi from a food booth. I've wanted to try a kibi for quite some time, but I wanted to make sure they were fresh. These today were being made as I watched. Kibis are a patty of bulgar wheat and other stuff that are deep-fried then served with fresh onion and pickled onion. Although it wasn't much bigger around than a 50-cent piece it was very filling. My 'opinion - so/so. My favorite part of the day was seeing family time in Mexico - family is everything here in Merida. It's very beautiful. That being said - I do miss my family. Missing Terry. Missing friends. But I think I'll get a lot done within the next two weeks and it makes it exciting.
This is Jim playing the pipe organ at his colonial house - the high ceilings and thick walls make the sound really awesome!
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