May 2, 2008 – Good-bye Miss Kitty. Miss Kitty is the cat in residence at Casa Alvarez and she has gone through some hard times recently. Upon our arrival a few weeks ago, 3 of her 4 paws were grossly swollen and somewhat useless. They became worse throughout our stay, despite numerous trips to the vet. Every now and then she would find a hiding place and it became somewhat clear that she was probably looking for a place to discretely pass away. Between language barriers, cultural differences, and tough choices, Miss Kitty’s situation provided some new experiences (and new vocabulary) for all of us—by the way, one way to “cut” the smell of cat urine from a tile floor is to splash a little bit of gasoline in the mop water. Who knew?

When we first came to Merida two years ago, Enrique introduced us to Miss Kitty with the clarification, “Like Miss Kitty on “Gunsmoke”. We said good-bye to her Thursday morning when we hopped in a taxi at 5:30. It is doubtful that we will see her again.


Good-bye now to the amazing kids and teachers at Escuela Ruben Dario. Our little Thank You card is but a token of all the appreciation and affection we send your way.

Good-bye for now to all sorts of Mexican acquaintances, like the retired woman who was born in Chicago when her father worked for Wrigley’s. The family moved back to Mexico before she was a year old, but she managed to take English classes in school and has a pretty decent command of the language. She used to be one of Enrique’s perfume salespeople in a door-to-door enterprise. The perfume business ended a few years ago and she is now retired and adheres to some unusual health practices that would be inappropriate to post on the internet.

Good-bye for now to Gabriel, our friend who was our landlord in Playa del Carmen two years ago but who has since moved back to Merida to be with his wife and sons. We shared all sorts of aspects of our lives with Gabriel, including personal trials and triumphs, in a wonderful afternoon’s reconnection. Funny line from Gabriel in his reasonable English: “We are like brothers and sisters. We are like family. It is nice.” Moments later, “But I can’t remember your name,” pointing at Ruth. It’s a nice relationship when you can comfortably admit to things like that.

Good-bye for now to the guy on the street who started chatting us up in Spanish after seeing Miles’s jersey for a local soccer team. The guy had lived in Nebraska at one point on a 6-month exchange program. (The world needs more of these, not less.)

Good-bye for now to the guy we met working as a guard at the museum. Years ago he lived in San Francisco and worked in food service at City Hall despite not having proper documents. (I doubt he could do that now.)

And we’ll catch you next time Doña Betty(?) from Chiapas, who stays at Casa Alvarez after recuperating from plastic surgery. This round included an old fashioned face lift, with big scars between her cheeks and her ears, and some liposuction in various parts with a little redistribution of the leftover fat to smooth out some wrinkles on her forehead. She was concerned her stitches were going to pop on the airplane back to Oaxaca. (Yuck!)

Good-bye for now to the good company, shared adventures and funny tales. One road trip took us to the nearby beach town of Progresso. As often happens, reaching the final destination was an accomplishment. Miriam was looking for a restaurant that looked like a castle and had a funny name. With no Mapquest, and a seemingly inherent inability among many Mexicans to give directions, it took a while to get to the restaurant. It resembled a family’s unfinished second story, not a castle, and many folks would shudder at the lack of amenities, but the seafood was outstanding and cheap.

A funny tale: Miriam told us about showing up at the annual Rummage Sale at the Merida English Library. She saw a very attractive cremation urn, made of marble. She watched as a lady asked the retired American, who was volunteering for the day, what it was. The guy said, “I think it's a jewelry box.” “How much?” “How about $10 after I blow the dust out of it?” “Deal!”

Good-bye for now to the time to think, to read, and to write. I had an especially interesting moment while reading an excerpt from an upcoming book by a Liberian woman who fled Liberia as a young teenager after relatives were killed in the 1980 coup. After years as a successful news correspondent in the USA, she finally returned to Liberia to try to find her adopted sister who was left behind when the family fled. The excerpt was a great read, and I was completely transfixed and transported back to Liberia in the heat, the Liberian English, the beach, etc. when the doorbell rang. I could barely figure out where I was or which language to use as I headed to the door. Fortunately it was just Ruth and the kids at the door. For a good read, check out: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/magazine/06Liberian-t.html


Good-bye for now to Enrique and his ability to transform the most decrepit antiques back to working order with an assortment of handcrafted parts and substitutions. He’s especially fond of a razor blade off a disposable plastic razor because it provides great flex for the pendulum to swing and it takes solder well. Watching him operate inside a 100+ year-old clock is pretty cool. (His new rear floor mat for his 1960 Peugot is pretty cool also. It is a yoga mat that some French travelers left behind.)

And finally, good-by for now to whacky geo-centrism. How can it be that an international airline flying in and out of Mexico can get away with not using any Spanish on its flights? Pity the Mexican passenger getting on a USAirways flight in Cancun: none of the announcements at the gate are in Spanish nor is any of the in-flight information, including the key safety presentations. And upon arriving a few weeks ago, the USAirways flight attendants didn’t know how to fill out a Mexican tourist visa arrival form (there are two parts, and each must be completed). Those who followed the instructions provided by the flight attendants got stuck in a hallway at the airport looking for a pen. Those who could read Spanish (and the English instructions that were provided as well) whizzed right through.

And, Hello Nature! We rolled up our driveway in Hinesburg at 12:40 a.m. after a long day of travel, but the smell of spring in the Vermont woods was outstanding. We love Merida, but it is a big, hot city with loud, smokey buses, plenty of traffic, and not a lot of silence.

And, Hello Raccoons! Mama and babies are doing well in the bottom of our chimney, ugh! Fortunately, I got the access cover to our living room shut tight before they broke through (I could hear them conniving on the other side of the thin sheet metal cover. It sounded something like, “On 3! Ready?”).

Hasta luego!