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As many folks know, I recently returned from Mexico. I was there to help my Mom move from her rental house in Ajijic to her newly renovated house in San Antonio Tlayacapan (about 2 miles away). No move is problem-free, but this one certainly was different than the last two moves I've helped her with.
Over the past 1-1/2 years, my Mom has now moved 3 times. First was from Florida. After Hurricane Charlie almost two years ago, she decided she had enough of both Florida and hurricanes. So after repairing the house, we packed her up to move back to North Carolina. Then she had a messy break-up with her common-law husband of 16 years. So we packed her again and moved her to our home.
After a few months, she returned to Ajijic, a small town on Lake Chapala in the state of Jalisco. She had been traveling back and forth to this little town since 2001, sometimes staying several months at a time there. Does my Mom speak Spanish? No, not really, but she is trying to learn Spanish. How does she manage? Ajijic has become the second largest North American community in Mexico. It is also a native artisan area (weaving, ironwork, Huichol artwork, etc). This is paradise for my Mom, a longtime artist. So I wasn't surprised by her decision eventually to purchase a house and to apply for dual citizenship.
So what was different about this move?
Problem #1... There was a little bit of a language barrier at times. My Mom's solution... "You speak more Spanish than I do. Handle it." Do I speak Spanish? ROFL! Back in the dark ages (high school), there were only two foreign languages offered - Latin and French. I took French but didn't learn anything as my French instructor was from Charleston, SC, and had a heavy Charlestonian accent. In college, I had to take 3 years of a foreign language. Many were offered but I attempted French again. I learned a little more vocabulary (most of which I've long forgotten) but never learned how to speak it. Two of those three years, my instructor was from Jamaica, man. ARGH!
I purchased from Latin American CDs to which I listened and practiced intensely for a month prior to this visit. Granted I learned basic phrases but I did manage to "handle it" during the move. *whew!* Plus I carried my English-Spanish phrasebook with me at all times. I like hedging my bets as much as possible.
Problem #2... While walking back her rental house after dinner (the evening before the move), my Mom tripped, fell and dislocated her shoulder. A friend took her to the medical clinic but the general doctor there gave her an appointment to see the orthopedic doctor the following day. The appointment was scheduled for 1 p.m. (during the time we were supposed to be supervising the movers). Also my Mom is not an organized person. When I arrive Friday of last week, she had only 3 boxes packed. So I had the bulk of the packing to do... which was okay as I've done this moving thing with her on two previous occasions. With her arm out of commission (fortunately it was her left), I had all the last minute packing to do Monday night and very, very early Tuesday morning. We were supposed to be completely moved in by Tuesday.
Problem #3... Day of the move, the movers (two guys and a big pickup truck) arrived at 9:30 a.m. They got a little over half of the stuff into the new house by 1:30 pm. They said they were going to have lunch, run some errands, and would be back by 4 pm. Around 5:15 pm, I get a call that they had truck problems and would not be able to finish the move until 10 am the next morning.
Problem #4... By this time, my Mom had been picked up by a friend from the orthopedic's office. Her shoulder was relocated without complications but she has to wear a sling for 2 weeks. Guess who had to unpack all those boxes and put everything up in the new house?
Problem #5... The movers got the beds over to the new house and placed in the rooms. However, the bed linens and my clothes were still at the rental house (3 miles away). Good thing my Mom has lots of friends here with cars. I got one of them to pick me up and bring those items over so we could have a place to sleep and so I could something clean to wear the following day.
Problem #6... Despite my Mom contacting the telephone company prior to the move, the phone at the new house was not connected. Dead phone and not internet access. gonk
Problem #7... Movers came the next morning as promised and had the remaining items moved by 11:30 am. Boxes filled the garage. Thank goodness I labeled everything. We didn't get the telephone connected until late Wednesday. But I had too much to do. I've only been able to send an e-mail home to my family each night late to reassure them that I'm alive and what progress I've been able to make.
Problem #8... That afternoon through the night and the remaining three days of my visit , I carried around and unpacked boxes and tried to put things where my Mom wants them. Did I mention she's not an organized person? Several times she would change her mind about where something should be put after I had already put it up. I was very proud of myself for maintaining my composure. But after several times of doing this, I did have to put my foot (and subsequent box) down. The last box was unloaded and items put up. All the old boxes were collapsed and all the trash was temporarily put in the garage. Trash is not picked up on Saturdays and Sundays in the town (it was Friday night). On Monday, she had some friends put the trash out at the corner (there are designated areas for trash pickup).
The happy ending to all this is that my Mom is in her new home. She's happy with the renovation and the move. And that's all that really matters, right? Here's an exterior picture of the new place.
 Rhiannon2006 · Wed Aug 08, 2007 @ 02:23am · 0 Comments |
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