Lo Que Mama Dice

Well, I suppose it is time for me to weigh in all on all this craziness. The thing is, it is so un-crazy. I wonder, how can it take so much time, effort and money to end up in some place so surprisingly similar? I suppose the obvious lessons are:
1. Where ever you go, there you are
2. Anytime you move, anywhere, it takes time, effort and money
3. Though I might not want to paint it, the world is small and getting smaller.
4. Especially in terms of the country next-door.
5. Monterrey is quite different than many other parts of Mexico.

I'll sum it up like this - We're living in Beverly Hills but everyone speaks Spanish and the sidewalks are broken.

Technically, we don't live in Monterrey. We live in San Pedro Garza Garcia, a separate municipality. But it is physically contiguous with Monterrey and in fact is more central to the heart of Monterrey than many parts of Monterrey itself. Though San Pedro Garza Garcia is the Beverly Hills, there are many communities (colonias) within Monterrey that are nice. It is said that there is a significant middle class in Monterrey. Now, I believe it.

In some respects, I wish we had ended up in a different area than San Pedro Garza Garcia. It is littered with places like HEB (Texas supermarket chain), GNC, Starbucks and countless high-end designer shops (Louis Vuitton, etc). There are lots of expensive furniture stores and I've seen several Porsche Cayenne driving around. What’s the point of being in Mexico? The parents of the children at Enid’s pre-school and dance class drive nicer cars than we do, wear better clothes than we do, and live in nicer houses than we do. It is just like being at home!

That said, there is still, of course, plenty of local color. It’s just not charming like I expected. In 1997 we were in the southern state of Chiapas for about 3 weeks. Tuxla Gutierrez, San Cristobal de las Casas, Palenque – these places are charming. I didn’t expect northern Mexico to be the same but I didn’t expect it to be so completely lacking.

Don’t get me wrong, it is a wonderful city. It is modern, extremely cultured and physically beautiful. But it is not charming.

Some of the things I like best about living in San Pedro Garza Garcia:
1. There is an amazing recreational pathway running the length of two of the major traffic arteries (perpendicular to each other). Probably a total of about 6 miles, one way. It is tree-lined with annuals planted at the intersections and truly a very pleasant respite from the city, despite the fact that it is literally in the middle of the street. It is very well used and at any given time on the weekend, or during mornings during the week, you will find scores of people out running or walking.
2. It is relatively easy to find things like organic milk, cheese, peanut butter, meat, etc. Often times, even the same brand as at home. No tofu yet though.
3. There are some great play parks.
4. Chipinque, a national park, is right up the street. Literally you drive 10-15 minutes south of our house and you are up in the mountains and fresh air. There are miles and miles of excellently maintained hiking trails and beautiful butterflies to look at. As with everywhere around here, there are also large public art installations just before the entrance (at intervals): a giant ant, a giant ladybug, a giant grasshopper and a giant centipede

One thing I suspected and which has turned out to be true is that the biggest difference for us is living in a big city. Well, and the fact that everyone Speaks Spanish. : )

Signing off for now – La Mama