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IT’S ALREADY BEEN A WHOLE MONTH

Wow!

It’s been one whole month since walking in the door to our new home.  Can you believe it?  It feels like we have already been here for ages.

There has been a plan to move our family to another country for years -even before we became a tribe of 5.  Mikee has spent the last 10 years or so developing a business that could sustain the family from any country -as long as there is internet.  (yeah, there is internet here but that is another story)  The last 2 years have flown by as we have put the details of life together to make this work.  We spent the summer exploring several specific areas.

We were as prepared as we could be.  We (Mikee and Cami) are confident enough in our level of Spanish and know it will come up to speed quickly.  We feel the kiddos’ learning will be expedited as they are immersed in the language.  The people and their culture and easy to love.  We love to be challenged and get used to a new place.

but I also love to come “home” at the end of the day.  And this house took a while to feel like home.  The smell, the feel, the items in the house -they just weren’t comfortable and welcoming.  (homes in Mexico are made of cement and block and that is an entirely different feel than the wood we are accustomed to.  a wood house would not handle the climate as well, though.)

and the lack of convenience and the fact that so much just doesn’t work when you try to get it going can be frustrating.

also the paradox of beautiful next to ugly takes some getting used to.

As prepared as you try to be the culture shock and adjustment are harsh.

A lot of time was spent in trying to get things in shape -clean and neat.  But everytime I tried to tackle something, it was broken or just didn’t feel right, or required half a dozen more steps to finish.  Quite overwhelming.

Poor Mikee is always answering my pleas for help or my calls of frustration.  He is awesome in putting out fires and has just been a fixing machine.  A gallant hero coming to rescue this damsel in distress.

Do we miss anything? Yep.  My super capacity front load washer.  ::sigh::  That machine was my good friend.  It could get through a week’s worth of clothes in short order, plus it took such good care of my gentle hand wash items and did a tender but thorough job of cleaning the girls’ pretty dresses.  (sure, we miss friends and family but we carry them close to us in our hearts -can’t really do that with a washing machine)

Were we nervous? Of course. (sometimes we still are)  No one can be totally prepared for whatever the future holds.  But we know that we can adapt.

It’s a work in progress.

Everyone is safe and healthy and adjusting like champions.

We just love the brothers and sisters in the congregation.  This is a hard working, happy, theocratic, congregation of doers.  Normal everyday people, doing extraordinary things.  And already it feels like home!

You have been reading about the cool view, yummy food, fresh fruits & veggies, pretty flowers.  This is all true.  There also is no glossing over that lots of things don’t go the way you expect them to (not even close) but that life goes on.

It’s no secret that adjusting to life here in Mexico will test your ability to change and adapt but we try to keep a sense of humor and (hopefully) a good attitude.

Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.
– John Homer Miller

Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey!
– Barbara Hoffman

OK, so yesterday afternoon offered an excellent example of the need to have a good attitude.  We came home around 5pm after a long day in service.  Tired.  Hungry.  Ready to relax a bit before bedtime.

Driving into Raquet Club the guard at the gate lifts it for us to enter.  (we figured he might have been bored and was just doing this service today)  At our driveway the remote doesn’t work to open the gate.  (we figured it’s just another thing not working)  A couple neighbors are driving by in an electric golf cart with their cute pups and they let us know the electricity is out.  It’s been out since around 3:30.

Change of plans.  Plus it’s getting dark soon so we have the kids get pjs, find some candles and light them, hunt down the flashlights and light a fire in the chiminea (no idea how to spell that).

We could have gotten very frustrated and angry.  But then that would be a daily way of life because things just don’t work in Mexico.  We didn’t even have any idea if there would be people to fix the problem soon, the same evening, or the next day.  It wasn’t just us, the entire Raquet Club community was in the same boat.

If we had gotten upset, we would have missed a fun evening sitting by the fire, kids laughing, and watching the immense sky above us (with no electric lights for distraction) just light up with stars.  Even a couple satellites!

PS-plus our friend Chad (the Raquet Club Guru) has the most AWESOME flashlight!

{ 6 comments… add one }
  • Jen Pressler February 6, 2011, 12:09 pm

    Love the photos in the post showing the contrast of pretty & not so pretty. Also love that you are posting the fun and not so fun aspects of such a move…still you are troopers and love the positive attitude and the smiles on the kids faces. Your kids rock!

    • admin February 7, 2011, 11:25 am

      Thanks Dad for your fun comments each day. xoxo
      Jen- we are so proud of them! we figure this is the best way for them to learn some valuable life lessons. hugs to you and the boys.

  • DAD February 6, 2011, 1:08 pm

    MAKING LEMONADE CAN BE FUN!

  • Lori Borys February 6, 2011, 1:39 pm

    Cami, let me know when you get the mail thing figured out and I will send you a care package complete with awesome flashlights for everyone.

    I may have missed something important at some point so bear with me as I ask what is probably a question you have already answered at some point: How long are you staying down there?

    • admin February 6, 2011, 7:13 pm

      thanks lori. 🙂 we are here for at least a year. still working on the mail thing.

  • Heather E February 7, 2011, 6:59 am

    I still can’t stop thinking about all that yummy juice you have over there… Yum! Please pass along your mail address when you get it figured out. We were just talking about that yesterday!

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