Trying to Cook in Mexico

 Here's the Status Report!

• We're in the Air BnB in Mexico
• My mom and I got our residency cards
• We got a nice rental to move into April 1 with a 1 year lease
• We have furniture coming Mar 28 from Walmart.com.mx
• We've bought a lot of the things we gave up to drive down here and have boxes stacked in the new rental.

Buying stuff online to be delivered via our American credit cards is a mixed bag.  Sometimes they reject it out of the blue and we need to pay cash instead (not a scam, the truth).  But Walmart in Mexico takes Paypal.

Paypal is the secure payment for Mexico.  It never fails.  You can order expensive furniture to multiple addresses and it all goes through.

So today I scheduled a grocery delivery from Walmart.com.  Pro: they have a lot of food I recognize.  Con: more expensive than a local Mexican grocery.  But we needed food and we've been running around so much my mom is in pain.  

Last time we ordered from Ley Express and my credit card was rejected right before they came to deliver.  So I had to use the last of my cash.  And...stuff was missing.  I didn't get the shrimp I ordered and a few other things.  Did they keep that stuff?  Did they deduct it from the bill?  I don't know.  They showed me a receipt briefly, but I didn't think to ask to keep it.  I should have.

Meanwhile, Chedraui is a really nice mega-grocery store here.  Owned by Walmart, and like a Walmart with groceries, furniture, electronics.  We've bought a lot of stuff from there.  And I need to buy more.  Like all the regular pantry items I had on hand in the USA:  flour, sugar, oats, beans, rice, etc.  

So I have a cart already full of stuff I plan to order when we move into the new place.  I didn't want to empty it to get the stuff we need for the rest of the month at the Air BnB.  So I did a Walmart order.

I got $3,500 pesos worth of stuff which is $173 usd.  I don't have the pan set I bought here or any of my utensils or dishes.  Just the weird odds and ends the Air Bnb had.  I can't really bake stuff here.  So...what do I cook?

In the USA a staple of my food budget was the $2/lb ground turkey.  Healthy, cheap, versatile.  I can make cheeseburger mac and cheese, spaghetti, shepherds pie, salisbury steak, all sorts of things.  I can't find an equivalent in Mexico.  

I've had to settle for 400 gram ground beef tubes that are $3 each.  So what can I make with that at the Air Bnb?  It's been spaghetti twice already.  

I wanted to just get convenience food for the time being since cooking in the tiny kitchen with weird implements is not easy, but convenience food isn't a big thing in Mexico.  They eat healthy by default.  It's the cultural cuisine.  

I looked at other shopping carts when I went to the store for ideas.  The mainstay is: a tomato, onion, and bell pepper.  That makes pico de gallo which they eat with tortillas and some kind of meat.  Often just a few cheap hot dogs.  A lot of carts in the store only have these items.  1 Tomato, 1 onion, 1 pepper, some tortillas, a cheap meat. The tomatos, onions, and peppers are always together in the store for easy access.

It's not what we're used to, and I don't like having to chop these white onions that make you cry.  (I haven't found the milder yellow onions anywhere here).  My mom doesn't eat raw onions.

I want to order meat that I can serve with potatoes and the Italian squash that's so popular here.  Ordering meat is something I'm going to have to learn as I live here.

1. They don't have the same cuts that we have in the USA.  I don't know what this stuff is.
2. Everything's in metric which I need to learn.  I try to do the:  1 kilo is 2 pounds rule, but you often order in 200gram increments which means you get either 600 grams or 400.  600 is too much for one meal.  400 seems a bit short.
3. It's expensive.  As expensive as the USA, and sometimes worse.

Mexico has different cuisines in different regions like the USA.  Some things are popular everywhere, like tamales, but in this area a tamale is meat wrapped in a corn tortilla with tamale sauce, not masa tamales wrapped in corn leaves like we're used to.  We don't like corn tortillas.

I cooked some 'beef'.  I thought it was strips, but it was one whole long skinny piece folded over on itself with lots of round sections separated by gristle.  I don't know what that was.  It was tough.  

I'm guessing the cheap cuts are the thing in Mexico.  I did order some ribs but they're not like USA ribs.  They're weird.  Some sections have bone, some don't.  I in the USA a rib looked like a rib with flat bone on one side, meat and fat on the other.  Or the Korean cut ribs.  That's not what they have here.  

Chicken is chicken, no matter where you go.  They don't have the cornish cross mega-breast meat chickens here, but it's still chicken.  I can bake a whole chicken, eat the dark meat one day with my mom and have the white meat in fajitas or whatever the next day.  That's fine.  But a whole chicken is still pricey.  

Chicken quarters, thighs, and legs are reasonably cheap, so I'm thinking I'll do 1 piece of meat, salad or squash, refried beans and yellow rice.  We can eat that every day just swapping the meat.  That's probably how I'll manage once I can bake chicken in the new place.

I did figure out how to light the oven!  In Mexico they don't keep the pilot light on all the time.  It's less toxic and less wasteful.  Lighting the pilot isn't the scary hand into a dark area hoping you won't get burnt affair either.  There's a clear hole on the bottom of the oven that you need to light.  So, I'm fine with that.

We have enough food until the end of our stay now.  Then I can really get organized and set up for long term living in the rental.

I do plan to buy a house in Mexico at some point.  There's no mortgages here (they wouldn't give me one anyway with my zero credit history) but I can buy a place with the proceeds of the house in the USA once it sells.  For now, we're happy with the rental and our landlord is really nice.

Furniture Woes Part 2

 When we last left this blog, I had bought $3,600 worth of furniture from a store called Dicos that they advertised as being available to be shipped to me in 12 days.  Then they sent emails saying, 'Ha ha, no.  It will be multiple shipments over the next month and a half.'

I thought this was just how things are in Mexico and tried to work it out with my rep so we'd have the minimum pieces we needed to move out of the Air BnB in time.  She made me pay another 500 pesos 'to expedite' and would let me know.  

Monday was a holiday.  I thought I'd hear from her Tuesday.  Wednesday I asked for an update.  Today she finally got back to me saying my card had 'irregularities' and I needed to pay for everything by Paypal instead.

Except I'd not only paid with credit card already, I'd already paid for those charges.  And I wasn't going to just pull another $3,600 out of my ass when there was nothing wrong with my payment.  We had an annoying phone call where she wouldn't take a breath to let anyone else talk while my mom desperately tried to translate for me with her not stopping talking.  I literally had to yell, 'Perdon!' to get her to take a damn breath.

I told her that I could do an alternate payment *after* they gave me back the $3600 and extra $500 I'd already paid.  She said if I do that then I won't get my stuff until the end of April.  Send money to this Paypal address immediately or I won't have furniture for weeks.

I was smelling scam, but I can't really say that.  I just said I didn't have the money because I'd already paid my credit card.  She ended the call.

Well, they have my credit card money, they haven't refunded me, and I'm not getting my furniture.  I messaged that she needed to refund me or I was going to dispute the charges.  She sent screen caps of refunds.  

I'm now buying everything all over again from Walmart.com.mx.  I should have just gotten stuff with them in the first place after this company lied about how soon they could deliver things on their web site.  (Something she berated us for saying other people were ahead of us, stuff is in Mexico City and Guadalajara and you can't jump the line.  Bitch, YOUR company said 12 days to trick us to buy this shit.  Figure it the fuck out.  Or don't.  I'll just do Walmart.)  

Conclusion:  Don't buy from Dicos.  Go to Walmart.com.mx.  Same prices, same stuff, honest delivery estimates.

Seven Years of Spanish and I Suck At It

Y'know, I don't get how all the foreigners I've met in the USA are able to become fluent.  Learning a new language is DAMNED HARD.

During the pandemic I started taking Spanish lessons while I worked out on my treadmill.  Just for communicating in the USA with Spanish speakers.  I had no plans to move.  I took the 4 year high school class, then the 3 levels of Metodo classes that forces you to really speak the language.  

Right now I'm going through the highest level they have out, intermediate, and redoing the class a 3rd time.  It moves so fast and becomes so complicated.  But I didn't really start to 'learn' Spanish until that class.  

I have a pile of Udemy classes I plan to keep taking as I work out.  Right now, I'm still going blank when I hear Spanish.  My brain turns off.  I can struggle through transactions sounding horrible.

Like I went into a Mexican Petco and I wanted to ask if they had any cat laxatives because my cat was constipated.  For some reason I assumed it was laxativo because I'm a gringo idiot.  Finally I just said, 'Mi gata no puede caca.'  (My cat can't poopoo).  😖  And yes, he laughed right in my face.  

But I won't give up.  I have dreams of volunteering here and being able to communicate at least as well as I've seen ESL people communicate in the USA.  

My mom is my go-to translator when it comes right down to it.  I drag her out of the car and make her do the things that are too difficult for me.  It's going to be that way for years, I'm sure.  

Furniture Woes

 So, getting furniture is not going well.  I bought a whole house full of stuff (see last post) and went out of my way to get everything that said 'arrives in 12 days'.  I ended up not getting the exact things I wanted in favor of getting it all the same day.

Watch your step

The next morning I get three emails for my 3 orders.  Two will arrive between April 15-21 and one April 4.  😑

Um, yeah, we only have the Air BnB until April 4.  WTF.  

While I was ordering stuff a chat bubble popped up and an actual worker from Dico started talking to me.  First to give me a coupon code.  But I already had a default coupon code there for 5% off.  She said to use hers.

So my 5% off coupon was replaced with her 5% off coupon.  😑  Her insistence that I use her code for each of my orders tells me that this was her commission code.  But that's fine because she gave me her WhatsApp (all business is done through WhatsApp here) so I can bitch about the shipping dates to her.

I complained that it said 12 days and even the April 4th shipment is longer than that.  Note:  I accidentally broke up the order into 3 orders because I was too stupid to update the shopping cart when I tried to get multiples of the same thing, and I forgot a lot of shit the first and second time around.  So I got a 500 peso shipping fee three times instead of the one time I should have gotten it if I'd ordered everything at once.

She said 'Mexico' for the date issue.  Then she gave me a link to pay another 500 pesos for expedited shipping to get stuff sooner than the dates they emailed.  😑

So we'll get everything sooner apparently, but we won't know when until Martes (Tuesday) because Monday is a holiday and it's Sunday right now.  

The worst case:  We'll get one bed and the sofabed we bought for the 'guest room' so we'll still be able to get out of the Air Bnb as scheduled and sleep at the new house.  Without anywhere to sit beside that bed and couch.  😤

Meantime I'm trying to order other things for the new house so we don't have to wait weeks for stuff once we move but all my credit cards decided to stop working.  

It's a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme (as long as we don't have to get a hotel due to no beds after the Air Bnb kicks us out).  

Someone warned me it would hard to furnish a whole house but I thought I found a cheat code.  Oh well.

Getting Our New Life In Mexico

We're still at the Air BnB but life is happening hard and fast.  

First of all, we heard that it's best to get a facilitator to help you get your temporary residency cards.  We already had our temporary residency visas, and we have 30 days to report to immigration and get our cards.

Did we need a facilitator?  Yes and no.  The Consulate in La Paz BCS was not busy at all.  I'd heard that only the facilitators could get appointments and they stay in line all night to be first or something.  But that doesn't apply to hear. 

Other gringos didn't have a facilitator and got seen, but they didn't get it done.  They couldn't figure out the bad government web site and thought they could show up and figure it out there.  They couldn't.  They were told to leave and figure out the web site to get their proper form.  

While we were traveling to La Paz we met another gringo who asked if we needed anything.  We said we needed a facilitator.  They gave us the number to an older woman who'd helped them.  She's retired, but her two sons continue her work.  So we used them.

It's $150/each for them to take us to immigration and get our cards in 2 weeks.  Or an additional $250 each to get it the same day.  Plus the fee which is like $125 each to the government.  

We opted for the faster service.  I was fine waiting 2 weeks, but my mom wanted it over with.  

I got my card the same day (yay!) but there was a problem with hers and we must go back next Tuesday to get it.  They've sorted it out, just waiting for Mexico City to sort it out.  Doesn't seem like a big problem yet.  So next Tuesday we'll get her card and then we'll both go to the BBVA right by the immigration office and open bank accounts.

Yesterday we paid 2 months rent up front to get the keys to our new apartment that we will be moving into on April 1.  For now we have access to get our furniture delivered, appliances, toilet upgrades, etc.  

I was warned it would be hard to find all the furniture, so I did the nuclear option today and bought everything online at a big box furniture store Dicos.  They'll deliver to the new apartment in 12 days and set it all up.  It was $3,600 American and I still need a washer/dryer, treadmill, pots/pans, and my mom's special chair that lifts her up that's $750 in Mexico because they don't have it anywhere in the country.  

Anyway, trying to get everything piecemeal from 15 different stores which all have a 12 day lead time when we don't live in the house yet was just a nightmare.  I pulled the trigger on furniture.

I remember four years ago when we were broke and had to furnish that apartment we moved into after living in our RV for years.  I had $1,200 total and we made it work.  Got a big TV too.  Now?  $3,600 in Mexico and I don't have everything yet.

Here's what we got:

Articles	Shipment	Amount	Price
Santy Nepal Sofa Bed Product code: TAP36113S1	Dico Furniture	1	$4,499.00
Amsterdam Pink Double Headboard Product code: RAD39127S1	Dico Furniture	2	$5,548.50
Landmark Red 2-Seater Sofa Product code: SAL41897S1	Dico Furniture	1	$8,024.25
Merida Cafe Pantry Product code: COC18655S1	Dico Furniture	1	$4,499.00
Sealy Muga Double Mattress Product code: COL19418S1	Dico Furniture	1	$16,999.00

Sealy Muga Double Mattress Product code: COL19418S1	Dico Furniture	1	$16,999.00
Morrison Gray Desk Product code: OFC33630K1	Dico Furniture	2	$5,998.00
Scott New Gray Office Chair Product code: OFC32896S1	Dico Furniture	1	$999.00
Naro Life Rosa Bureau Product code: RAD36216S1	Dico Furniture	1	$999.00
Warma Café Dresser Product code: RAD43760S1 Dico Furniture 1 $2,699.25 Naro Life Rosa Bureau Product code: RAD36216S1 Dico Furniture 1 $999.00 Warma Café Dresser Product code: RAD43760S1 Dico Furniture 1 $2,699.25 Tammy Café Rectangular Side Table Product code: MOC42988S1 Dico Furniture 1 $3,599.25 Kenza Tempered Glass Coffee Table Product code: MOC28129K1 Dico Furniture 1 $2,249.25 Yes I got duplicates of some stuff.  I kept having to do more orders because I didn't update after changing quantities. To get the USD price, drop the last digit (ignore what's after the decimal point) and divide by half.  So $2,249 becomes $225 and $225/2= $112.50  That's because $1usd is 20 pesos.  That's the easiest way to calculate things. I also bought from Mexico's Amazon.com which is Mercado Libre.  Yes, they also have Amazon, but so far I've only gone there to get American products imported, like a bidet toilet seat that I can't live without. At Mercado Libre I got a doorbell, anti-slip tape for the stairs in the new place, the floor elliptical my mom uses to exercise that we couldn't fit in the car, new showerheads with handhelds, a shower seat and raised toilet grab-bar seat for my mom. I need to buy a lot more, but I also need to be here when it's delivered and give a code word.  So I'm holding off. I had my first remote therapy session two days ago.  I walked around with my phone and showed him the Air BnB.  When outside and a neighbor girl ran to the gate and said Hola!  Also had the local dog and cat greet us.  And told him my adventure coming down and all we were doing. I feel like he was impressed with me.  That I took the leap and did this.  Staying home and doing nothing was the easiest option, but I'd have to keep dealing with poor medical care and poor elder care options for me and my mom.   I'd have to keep saving like crazy for retirement and things get more and more expensive, yet here I'm already good.  Social security will be enough.  Especially after I buy a house.  (I can't get a mortgage, but the proceeds from the house we're selling in the USA should be enough.) He said he saw me smiling for the first time.  I'm lighter here.  I'm less burdened with future fear.  And I'm getting used to the rhythms of life here and feel I can solidly get by.  I don't have to give up anything, and I'm getting more than I got in the USA. Yes, we're going crazy right now trying to get settled, but that's temporary and we'll be relaxed soon.  Less stressed.  More free.  I don't think anyone actually reads this blog anymore, so I won't bother with pictures.  Unless I remember.  I'll try my best.