Contact home-sweet-mexico.com May 22
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home-sweet-mexico.com
home-sweet-mexico.com is for you. Whatever your questions or comments are, I would like to receive them. Please send an email to the address below and I will reply as soon as I can.
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Karen Jun 7
Hi Julia,
Just wanted to say that I am enjoying your book immensely. You make me laugh. Only early pages but just wanted to encourage you to write more. You might inspire me to write my story living in another culture too. I can’t stop smiling about your description of gestures on the bus, “mad” looking! Sounds like me in Japan. Personal space on buses and trains sounds similar. Back to reading!
Kind Regards,
Karen
PS Please do NOT publish my email
Julia Taylor Jun 8
Karen, Thanks so much for taking the time to write and say that you are enjoying Mexico: The Trick is Living Here. It makes me feel good to know that others think it’s funny too. Will you be traveling in Mexico?
Sincerely,
Julia
Nancy Louise Jun 27
Hi,
I am hoping you might be able to point me in the right direction. My Father is currently back here in the states receiving some medical care. But he is anxious to return to Mexico and his wife (understandably). The trick is, he needs 24/7 care, and I am trying to find nursing homes. The one they picked they are no longer happy with. While he is semi active, his wife is not really active at all. But it would be good if they had some activity. Where can I find this information. My spanish is limited to a few greetings and emergency words. So obviously that is going to make some things harder. Dad wants to live the remaining of his life there and my sister and I want to honor his wishes. Any suggestions?? Thank you so much.
Daughter of an expat
Nancy Louise
Julia Taylor Jun 27
Nancy Louise,
Your situation is a difficult one. I personally can’t recommend any nursing homes and I can imagine that some are terrible and some are great.
The thing about Mexico is that it’s hard to know what you will find unless you can talk to someone who has personal experience with a nursing home and can tell you about it. The only place I can think of to get this kind of personal opinion is on the forum of Mexico Connect. You have to pay a fee to join, but I think in your case it would be quite worth it. I’ve used the forum to get answers about other questions and people always reply quickly and give lots of information.
Once you sign up go to the forum. Tell them in what city you are looking and someone from that city will reply.
Also feel free to write to me again if I can help you with anything else.
Good luck!
Julia
Carol Ann Jul 7
Does your book only apply to the region you are currently living in. I plan on moving to the mayan riviera. They have everything there. Where will I run into problems? I think I bought the wrong book. PLEASE HELP. Thank-You.
Julia Taylor Jul 10
Dear Carol Ann,
First I want apologize for taking two days to reply to you. We were in a small town in Michoacan and did not have internet service there.
I hope in the time since you wrote your email and comment you have decided that the book is useful for you. I hope that–even if the sections that are cultural in their focus aren’t of interest to you–at least the section on Documents will be. If this is not the case, I can offer you a refund.
You ask where in Mexico my book applies since they “have everything” in the Mayan Riviera. The answer to your question is not in the where but in the how. Where ever you are in Mexico, there are different ways to live there. It seems to me that the difference in your perception of Mexico and mine has to do with differences in our economic wealth and cultural experiences.
I too have been to Playa del Carmen, Cancun, and other places near the Mayan Riviera but when I was there I never went to a WalMart because I was traveling on a tight budget. I also visited tiny places that you may never have heard of, such as Cocoyol and Konhulich were extremely poor people were our generous hosts. We have large grocery stores here in Cuernavaca too, but as I explain in my book we choose to frequent smaller, locally owned stores in order to support local Mexicans who own their own businesses.
My husband is Mexican and “grew up poor.” As you may have read in the introduction of my book, we had to move to Mexico against our will and without time to prepare financially. This means that we experience Mexico the way the common Mexican does, rather than the way the small percentage of rich Mexicans do or even the way most north American expatriates do.
Despite the fact that you must have enough money to be able to live in Mexico similarly to the way you do in Canada, there are still differences between Mexico and the rest of North America. I hope that all of my readers will benefit from the cultural perspective in my ebook. I have been exposed to a side of Mexico that is hard for Canadians or people who grew up in the United States to experience. If nothing else it might help you to understand your gardener or your maid.
Another aspect of my book that is quite unique among expatriate guides and may have surprised you is that some of the tone comes from the way I experienced culture shock. Culture shock is a result of living in a culture other than the one you grew up in and is almost universal. In fact, one Mexican woman living in Canada read my ebook and commented to me that she felt like she had the same feelings and experiences in Canada as I described having in Mexico.
You ask where you will run into problems. Don’t worry, you probably won’t. Since you have visited 20 times you have become familiar with Mexico on your own terms and should be just fine. If you do find that you experience culture shock once you retire in Mexico maybe you will relate to some more parts of the book. I’m sorry if my book caused you undue concerns and hope that you do find something useful in it.
Sincerely,
Julia
Carol Ann Jul 11
Dear Julia, thank-you for responding to my e-mail. So you took a side trip to Michoacan- land of the butterflies. I just want to let you know a little about my visits to Mexico. First off I don’t shop at Wal-Mart unless it is necessary. I have a girlfriend who lives in Playa, & also have Mexican friends whom I dearly love. I go to Mexico to learn about the people & the rich history. I am soooo interested in the Mayan people the true people of Mexico. I spend most of my time learning about the people & their culture because it is important to me. When I arrive & the plane touches down I start to cry because I feel like I belong here. I am not rich in money, but am rich in the person I am. I bring tons of gifts for the Mexican people each time I visit. I have tried to teach people back in Canada the following… First you have to remember you are a VISITOR in another country, treat the Mexican people with respect not like they are your personal slaves while on your vacation. These Mexican people are just like you & me, they have families, & work very hard each & everyday for little pay. They are kind people trying to make a living just like us. Treat them with RESPECT & they will do anything they can for you, but once you show disrespect they can make your vacation hell. I have seen tourist yelling at workers, get me this, get me that, & think what are you doing to these people..they are NOT sub-human they are warm, kind, compassionate people trying to make a living. I have seen so much abuse to workers from tourists it makes me sick. I think, would you do this at home? but some people go on vacation & think they get personal Mexican slaves with their package deal..I tell them, no, no, no, don’t treat these people like that. Alot of people go to get drunk everyday, get a tan & tell all their friends back home they went to Mexico. haha Each time I go to mexico I need to learn something new, so I can come home knowing I took the time to learn a little bit more about these wonderful people. Playa has changed so much. I use to be able to buy these wonderful hand made tops by the Mayan woman, now the rent is so high alot of them have gone back to their villages. I find Playa too commerical for me, so each time I go I have to keep moving farther & farther south. There is alot more I would like to talk to you about but I must go for now…Take care, God Bless..Carol Ann.
Carol Ann
Julia Taylor Jul 11
Carol Ann,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences. I wish everyone who comes to Mexico would be like you. I’m sure you are inpiring more people than you’ll ever know.
Julia
Kim Kakoulli Feb 15
Hi,
I will be traveling to Mexico shortly for a two week vacation. I would your ideas on anything that I can bring to give to the locals?? Like should I bring chewing gum for the children, should I bring trinkets to leave the maid in the hotel rooms,.
Your help would be much appreciated.
Hope to hear from you soon
Thanks so much
Kim
Julia Taylor Feb 18
Kim,
That is very kind of you, but I have to tell you not to bring things at all. For children, a smile is all that is needed. Think of yourself more as a neighbor than benefactor.
For the maid in the hotel, tips would be welcome. Just leave it on the table by the bed. Trinkets would be either insulting or confusing.
If someone is selling things they’ve made, you can buy them at the price that they ask for them. Otherwise, you’re just a neighbor.
You might benefit from my pages about being a conscientious traveler.
Check out my page on tipping at: http://www.home-sweet-mexico.com/travel-pre-retire-in-Mexico-conscientious-tipping.html
All the pages in the section are listed on: http://www.home-sweet-mexico.com/travel-pre-retire-in-Mexico-conscientious1.html
Sincerely, Julia
Mara Feb 21
Dear Julia,
Your website is awesome!
Congratulations!
Love ALWAYS,
Mara Aller.
Allan Jun 16
Dear Julia,
I am a Scottish language student that is moving to La Piedad in September to be a language assistant for a year. I have looked in several guides on Mexico in books and the internet but am yet to find much information on La Piedad. I was wondering if you had ever been there as you mention in your book that you have travelled in Michoacan? Also do you have any general tips for me being a young guy who has never before travelled in Mexico and also has no teaching experience.
Keep up the good work!
Allan
Julia Taylor Jun 17
Allan,
I’m sorry, I haven’t been to La Piedad. What larger city is it near? Because of the way the highways cross Michoacan there are areas of the state that I have never been in.
In response to your request for tips on living in Mexico, I first make a “Mexican noise” that sounds a bit like a dying bird. “eeeeeeeee” they say. I make that noise because my tips would fill a book and a web site!
I’m curious what part of being young makes you feel that you need tips. I guess you are saying you are headed to a totally new experience. This is so exciting!
I do have tips for the complete newcomer to Mexico and teaching (though, I’m sure I’ve written something similar to this somewhere…).
1. Be patient with yourself. You may get ‘overloaded’ sometimes. Go to a quiet, private place and read a book, listen to music, write in your journal, or some other centering activity.
2. Don’t try to do too much. Just “do” one thing a day.
3. Listen a lot. What are people really saying? What do they mean? Since you will be in a new culture sometimes your first response to a situation would not be the best one. Don’t put your foot in your mouth, watch what others say and do in each setting.
4. Find a “cultural guide” you can ask questions. Find a Mexican who understands “foreigners” or a “foreigner” who understands “Mexicans.” This person can help you know good ways to express yourself in situations you find confusing or what people really mean when they say or do “X” thing. As is normal in a cross-cultural experience people will do or say things that when you “translate” them into your own culture/language are rude (and you do the same to them) and you feel “bad.” If you have a cultural guide they can help you see what is really going on.
As far as advice on teaching, I recommend reading my serious of articles about teaching English in Mexico. They are in the section of my web site called “Articles” and might help you get some ideas to get started. I’m sure the people you will be working with will be more than happy to teach you what you need to know.
Have fun! I hope this will be one of those big experiences in your life that you always remember and you learn a lot from. I’m so grateful for all that I’ve learned in Mexico. Write back and tell about your adventures or ask more questions.
Sincerely, Julia