Excuse Me!

I know I've mentioned to you before how polite the Mexican are. Would you believe they have three different ways to say "excuse me"? The first is quite formal: "Con su permiso" or literally, "with your permission". You use this when you are trying to squeeze by someone on the sidewalk. Shorter versions are "con permiso" or just "permiso". I find the young Mexicans to be are notoriously immoveable on the sidewalks down here! The second saying is "Disculpame". This expression is used when you are approaching someone you don't know to ask them for directions, for example. The third is "Perdoname" or simply "perdon". You use this when you accidentally bump into someone or step on their foot trying to get to your seat in the dark movie theatre. I'm not sure what I would say if I accidentally ran over someone's foot while trying to squeeze by them at the grocery store while asking them for directions to the cracker aisle. LOL

TIDBITS

We have to carry our garbage to the curb for pick up. Unfortunately, the curb in question is almost two blocks away! Garbage pick up is every single night in Vallarta. Not a small feat when you consider how big this city is. So we lug our garbage bags down 45 stairs, down the driveway, through the 7' gate, down the laneway and down a block to the "drop zone". Every morning, there is a man there sweeping and washing down the corner, in anticipation of the evening's collection.

Milk and eggs are not refrigerated here. You simply pull a cardboard carton of milk off the shelf and take it home. Once opened, it must be refrigerated. Eggs are stacked in the produce section beside the tomatoes and avocados. Apparently they never have to be refrigerated but I do it anyway. You can also buy any odd number of eggs (11 or 13!) at the local mercado. They gingerly place them in a plastic bag so you can carry them home.

We have performers on the bus. They jump on, usually with musical instruments or painted faces and perform for the captive audience of bus riders. At the end, you are expected to pay a small propina (tip) regardless of how bad the performance might have been. Usually the "plays" are in Spanish so I have no idea what the hell is going on but I hand over my pesos just like every one else. It is also proper to tip the grocery bag boys a peso or two after they have placed your paid for groceries in bags at the store. But you NEVER tip taxi drivers unless they help you with your bags or luggage.

In Toronto, when you enter a subway car, get on the streetcar or bus, you always look for a seat by yourself. If you have to sit beside someone else, as soon as there is another empty seat available, you move to it. In Vallarta, when you get on the bus, it is customary to remain in your seat for the entire duration of your ride. The entire bus could be empty, but if there is someone sitting beside you, they will not move to an empty seat. I think moving to a different seat implies that there is something wrong with the person you are sitting beside. Very impolite!

Conversations are constantly interrupted down here by people trying to sell you stuff. You could be discussing world politics or religion or why you're breaking up with your boyfriend but if there are silver bracelets or wood carvings for sale then, darn it, they are going to interject into your conversation to ask you to buy. I found this extremely disconcerting when I first got here (knowing how polite Mexicans are) but am now used to it. Everyone has to make a living somehow!

The healthcare system is remarkable. I had two wonderful experiences last year at two different hospitals here. One Sunday night, I attended at Emergency at CMQ (one of the local hospitals) and was seen by an internist who treated me very compassionately. I was hooked up to an IV, given a list of medications to take and discharged all within 45 minutes. The cost was around $90US. Waiting time: 15 minutes, PLUS the doctor gave me his home AND cell phone number, plus a free follow up visit the next day in his office. The second occurrence was at Medassist. I attended at the lab for some blood work and then met with the doctor who sat with me for 10 minutes, discussing my life in Vallarta and the meds he wanted me to take. He also gave me his home and cell phone number should I have any questions and insisted that I follow up with him in a few days, at no extra charge. I think that visit cost me $45US, including the lab work.

Dr. "Lupita" is a female doctor of some renown here in Vallarta. My friend Ruben says that Dr. Lupita saved his wife's life when she was in labour with his youngest son. Another friend considers her care to be the best she's ever had! I was intrigued and wanted to meet with her to discuss some minor health issues. In short, I wanted her to agree to take me on as a patient! On Saturday, I dropped into Medassist to make an appointment to see her, thinking that I would probably have to wait a week or more. "Hasta lunes a la una y media" I was told. "Not until Monday at 1:30 p.m." TWO DAYS LATER!!! I couldn't believe my luck.

I arrived at the appointed hour today (truth be told, I was a few minutes late but this IS Mexico!) and got in to see her about 20 minutes later. I found her to be charming, direct, intelligent and funny. She answered my questions, agreed to take me on as a patient, told me I was beautiful and sent me on my way, all for $350 pesos. This I paid to the receptionist on the way out, in cash. She put the money in an envelope, on the side of which she wrote my name, in pencil, and the amount, and placed the envelope in a drawer of her desk. Very efficient! Canada and the U.S. could learn a lot about healthcare from Mexico!

We had a beautiful sunset tonight, the first in a very long time. Most evenings have been overcast and gloomy but we were rewarded with 30 minutes of rain last night. Today was clear, warm, breezy and 28C. I believe the full moon is tomorrow night so be careful out there! I know most of you are buried under a shitload of snow. Don't strain your backs and drive slowly. Taking a few more minutes to reach your destination won't kill you whereas rushing to get there might. Stay warm and throw another log on the fire. Spring is only a few months away ... hehe! [insert evil laugh here]