Four Months in Merida!-Things I've Learned Part II
Things I've Learned After Four Months in Merida
Four months down! It's been three months since my previous "What I've Learned" post and I have discovered a few more things! From the way my kids are handling living here, to my feelings, to things that irk me, and things that I love. I cover all of this in today's post.
Bugs and critters-
They are everywhere. Ants! I'm about tired of ants. Drop one crumb of bread on the floor? 5,000 ants. Leave an apple rind on the counter while you deliver the slices in the living room? 10,000 ants. Yep, it's a royal pain. Hubby has sprayed and they go away, but they always come back. The good news is they don't bite you like the red fire ants in Texas. That's something!
Along with ants you have spiders which somehow proliferate within a few min. I'm always finding webs throughout the house and it seems like no matter how many times I clean it up, the web reappears almost overnight. I once read an article that says over a human's lifetime, in their sleep, they consume thousands of insects. If it'll happen anywhere, it'll happen here! We can probably stay well fed just by the bugs we are unknowingly eating at night.
The skunks here are apparently different than the ones we are used to in Texas. They smell different too!!! They climb trees too! What the what?!
Geckos sound like birds, birds sound like car alarms... you know all normal stuff.
Living with bugs I think depends on the area you live too. We have a field behind us and I'm sure that doesn't help. Overall, yeah it's annoying and can be quite baffling, but not enough to make me hate living here or anything.
You experience a roller coaster of emotions-
It's only been four months but we've all still had our ups an downs. If you're a family wondering how moving to another country could affect you or your kids read on. My kids are 7 and 9. My 7 year old has been handling things wonderfully. Nothing phases her. She goes with the flow and is pretty much always in a good mood. She's in her own little world and happy wherever she is. Maybe it's her personality or her age or a combination of things but she's doing great and I'm thankful for that.
My 9 year old son however, has had a little more of a difficult time. He currently says he's liking Mexico a little more each day but still wishes we were back in Austin. The first few days we were here he was very home-sick. It made me question whether our move was the right choice-2 days in! He gets frustrated that all he hears is Spanish or he misses his friends back in Texas. It's all understandable and I feel for him but I tell him give it time and it'll even out. He has made some friends here already and there's a lot of fun stuff to do so it's not all terrible.
One day everything may go smoothly and then another day you are just frustrated with everything and are so relieved when someone speaks a little English. The process of some things here don't make sense and requires a lot of waiting. It's just something to get used to around here. I just tell myself "Paciencia". (Patience).
Foods are different here-
Doritos, Fritos, Cheetos, Cheddar cheese, Nacho cheese, among other things may look the same on the package but taste completely different. Doritos are less cheddar-y and more spicy. Cheetos are more airy and spicy as well. They don't have plain Fritos here. They have salt and lime, chorizo chipotle, and chile and lime flavors. They also have flavors here that I haven't ever seen in the US. Things like mayo with lime. At movie theaters they don't just serve normal popcorn with butter but they have Cheetos popcorn, caramel popcorn, and cheese popcorn! Grocery stores sell chicken breast with bone in(they also sell boneless but for some reason I accidently keep buying bone in). Olives aren't pitted, I can't find ground turkey or ground breakfast sausage. No canned green beans or cream of celery or cream of chicken. So I've had to tweak several of my recipes or not make some at all because the ingredients just aren't there. It's hard to find a good cheeseburger. The cheeseburgers here have a different taste and texture. We have found a couple places that have good ones though.
Little Caesar's, Fuddruckers, and Domino's taste different. We like Little Caesar's pizza here better! So it's all trial and error and trying new things and making a list of places you like so that you can enjoy all the foods here.
The Weather-
Everyone here is always asking how we are handling the weather. Honestly, it hasn't been too terrible. Since we are from Texas we are used to the heat already. It's hotter in Texas right now than here. The month of May is said to be the most difficult month in Merida. It was pretty hot but we got through it ok. Now in June and July, it's been raining a lot. Almost every afternoon which helps cool things off. The humidity is no joke sometimes though and it can be stifling. This is when you go to the mall or stores that have A/C to beat the thick air. I can't wait for Fall and "Winter". It's probably all going to be Fall, but I still can't wait to experience it.
Plants-
Houseplants are so much cheaper here! It's so exciting for me because I love having plants. I bought a good size monstera for $7 the other day! The area and weather also makes it a bit easier to grow things. My elephant ears are getting huge and my hibiscus are blooming. I haven't been able to visit a nursery yet but I'm going to soon and I can't wait.
Roundabouts-
You're doing it wrong. Just kidding. There are roundabouts at practically every intersection around here it feels like. We struggled at first trying to figure out which lane we needed to be in to go left, or go straight....even to u-turn. What we have deduced is that you go with the flow and pretty much anything goes. You're in the inner lane and want to turn right? Go on ahead! Outer lane and need to keep going left? Get on it. If there's a space, you can take it! That's my understanding and we just look out for cars and go with the flow.
Right turn on red- Roundabouts may be a free for all but it is not legal to turn right on a red light. The only exception is if you see a sign showing a right curved arrow that says "continuar." Now does this mean I haven't seen ones turn right on red with no 'continuar'? No, not saying that. If you get to drive in Mexico though and don't want to take a chance then just wait till the light turns green.
Always have change- Small change is always necessary wherever you go. You need 1-5 peso amounts for running around town. You need to tip the grocery bagger pesos. You need to tip the guy helping you with your cart and loading up your car. You need to tip the guy directing you while you are backing out of your parking spot. Which also brings me to tipping in general. We had no idea what the acceptable tip amount was for things and we felt cheap even when our friends told us how much. Generally for the above mentioned helpers you can tip 2-5 pesos. We give 10 pesos to ones who seem to go the extra mile and are really nice. At restaurants you tip 10 % unless it's a fancier place, then you can tip 15-20%.
There you have it. Four months down living in Merida and still really enjoying ourselves. It's not without frustrations but we are happy where we are at. Look for my next post about things I've come to learn once we've been here even longer!
~Bee
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