Mexican Living: Daily Schedule of an Expatriate
Mexican Living: Daily Schedule of an Expatriate
I was wondering if you might be interested in what I do with my time as an expatriate and if I have any sort of real life. I guarantee you that I do. Here is an example of my life:Monday-?Get up at 7:45 and feed birds.?Sit on couch in coma while wife fixes breakfast.?Eat breakfast.?Go back to bed.?Get up at 2:00 and eat lunch.?Write a 650-word column.?Eat more food.?Watch Simpson's.Tuesday-?Get up at 7:46 and feed birds.?Sit on couch in coma while wife fixes breakfast.?Eat breakfast.?Go back to bed.?Get up at 2:15 and eat lunch.?Walk downtown to shop. Eat ice cream.?Come home at 5:03 and write column.?Eat more food.?Watch Simpson's.Wednesday-?Get up at 7:30 and feed birds.?Sit on couch in coma while wife fixes breakfast.?Eat breakfast.?Go back to bed.?Get up at 2:10 and eat lunch.?Write a 650-word column.?Eat more food.?Watch Simpson's.Thursday-?Get up at 7:55 and feed birds.?Sit on couch in coma while wife fixes breakfast.?Eat breakfast.?Go back to bed.?Get up at 2:05 and eat lunch.?Walk downtown to shop. Eat ice cream.?Come home at 5:05 and write 650-word column.?Eat more food.?Watch Simpson's.Friday-?Get up at 7:00 and feed birds.?Sit on couch in coma while wife fixes breakfast.?Eat breakfast.?Take shower early because maid comes on Fridays.?Leave house walking downtown like zombies (no nap).?Eat Mexican food in nice restaurant.?Try to not to fart too loudly from consumed Mexican food.?Get home by 3:30.?Take Maalox. (Ate too much Mexican food.)?Write 650-word column.?Watch Simpson's.Ah, the weekend! This is when we really wig out and do so much stuff that we are exhausted.Saturday-?Get up at 8:30 and feed birds.?Sit on couch in coma while wife fixes breakfast.?Eat breakfast.?Go back to bed.?Get up at 4:00 and eat lunch.?Write a 650-word column.?Eat more food.?Watch same movie they played last Saturday.?Write a feature article?Too exhausted-turn in by mid-night.Sunday-?Get up at 8:34 and feed birds.?Sit on couch in coma while wife fixes breakfast.?Eat breakfast.?Go back to bed.?Get up at 4:08 and eat lunch.?Write a 650-word column.?Eat more food.?Watch 40th rerun of The Lost World.?Write a feature article?Too exhausted-turn in by mid-night.This is not as boring as it may superficially seem. If you will examine the schedule carefully, you will see that though it appears I do pretty much the same thing everyday the truth is I don't. There is variation in times when I get up in the mornings, get up from the naps, and when we come home from afternoon outings. This is an exciting schedule with much variety. It is an interesting life I lead.What I no longer do as I did when I lived in the United States:?Worry about terrorists blowing up a major U.S. city near us.?Worry about my wife being killed by a drunken drive on
Interstate 35.?Worry about ice storms rendering us without power for weeks on end!?Worry about keeping a hectic, insane, death-inducing schedule of mindless and meaningless events.?Worry about all the worries in the Unites States that makes life itself worrisome.?WorryThere you have it! The exciting life of an American Expatriate!Doug Bower is a freelance writer and book author. His most recent writing credits include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Transitions Abroad. He lives with his wife in Guanajuato, Mexico.His new book, Mexican Living: Blogging it from a Third World Country can be seen at http://www.lulu.com/content/126241
Mexican Living: Lets Be Perfectly Clear
Mexican Living: Lets Be Perfectly Clear
Readers often send me interesting and exciting e-mails about the op-ed pieces I write and manage to publish. As a writer, I get all sorts. Some are actually encouraging. Then there are those who say, "This is YOUR fantasy, not the reality I have seen." Or, they ask, "Your point is?"Alas and alack, it is the lot of professional writers to suffer these comments all in the name of trying to write something someone wants to read (and buy!).In my latest piece on the Minuteman Project, some readers took offense at my attempt to link Chris Simcox, one of the co-founders, with groups run by gomers like Glenn Spencer. In fact, one lady wrote and said,"Your attempt to tarnish the citizens of the Minuteman Project by linking it to Spencer and the ABP is about as honest and courageous as spreading the stench of MS-13 over the entire illegal population."And of course, everyone knows what "MS-13" is!So, I am thinking, perhaps I was not as clear as I could have been. Perhaps this lady has a (small) point and I need to restate my position.Therefore, your humble columnist is here today to try to right a possible wrong. So here goes, and let me be perfectly clear:
What tainted this Minuteman Project from its beginning was that Chris Simcox was one of its co-founders. The evidence supports, in my view, that this man has another agenda.I did not buy the "Observer and Report" goal of his Minuteman project because of the past behavior and rhetoric of this man. Never once has he recanted, apologized, or generally taken back what he's said and done in the past about the Mexican Immigration issue.For example:1. Chris Simcox has a federal arrest record. "Chris Simcox, the co-founder of the group he adulates, was arrested in January 2003, by Federal Park rangers for possession of loaded and concealed weapons, disorderly conduct, and interfering with law enforcement on federal land, according to Ernesto Cienfuegos of La Voz de Aztlan."2. Los Angeles Times Magazine writer, Dan Baum, wrote on March 16, 2003:?Chris Simcox won't stop fooling with his gun.??whenever he is photographed by the media--which is often these days--Simcox makes sure the pistol is in every frame.??but his body language is all about the gun. Sooner or later he's going to use it, he wants everybody to know, in a showdown with the illegal immigrants and Mexican drug dealers he believes are ruining the United States.??If Simcox dies in a blaze of border gunfire, so be it, he says.?At 42, he is owner, editor and publisher (and reporter, ad director and circulation manager) of the weekly Tombstone Tumbleweed, circulation 1,200. His Oct. 24 issue bore the headline: "Enough is Enough! A Public Call to Arms!" The paper invited readers to join a "Citizens Border Patrol Militia."Let me ask the questions America should be asking:Does Chris Simcox, from his past rhetoric, seem to be just an "Observe and Report" kind of guy? Has he once admitted and recanted this rhetoric? Has he admitted to any of this?I would like to hear Mr. Simcox's public explanation of what he's said "on the record" and if he still believes it.
I would also love to know why this man's past hasn't been reported in the press and especially on the "Fair and Balanced" cable news network, Fox News?There is an expression, "The Fish Rots From The Head Down."Let us watch and see what happens.Doug Bower is a freelance writer and book author. His most recent writing credits include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Transitions Abroad. He lives with his wife in Guanajuato, Mexico.His new book, Mexican Living: Blogging it from a Third World Country, can be seen at http://www.lulu.com/content/126241
Living and Retiring in Bolivia – Vacation-Rentals
Living and Retiring in Bolivia
A beautiful and inexpensive place without a tourist in sight. Sound like a dream? It's not. This slice of paradise does exist. Nestled high in the Andes Mountains of South America, Bolivia is a little-known retreat exotically spiced with a unique Latin and Native American flavor. Bolivia has a lot to offer?a very low cost of living, unspoiled natural environment, friendly people and a range of climates to suit virtually every taste.Property prices are among the lowest in Latin America and it has the potential to become the world's next great expatriate haven. Bolivia has long been a favorite destination of adventure travelers, yet few mainstream American and European tourists make it to this secretive outpost. Why? Well, perhaps it's because Bolivia isn't a destination you stumble across by accident. Shrouded by great mountain ranges, it lies hidden between Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Peru and Paraguay.The country's most famous visitors were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the American outlaws who fled to South America in the early 1900s - they are said to have had their last stand with the Bolivian army and are buried here. As recent as the 1980s, wise old men in towns throughout the Bolivian highlands could be heard gossiping about the fate of two of America's most notorious outlaws. In Bolivia, myths come thick and fast, and one legend has it that the Incas have an underground network of secret passageways on an island located in Lake Titicaca, which is praised by visitors as being one of the deepest blue and most beautiful bodies of water in the world.Leave your worries at homeBolivia is one of those countries that seduce you through sheer personality. The colorful bustle of its markets and street vendors, the liveliness of its nightlife, and the charm and friendliness of its people, make it one of the most livable places in Latin America. Bolivia has a bit of something for everyone: charming old-world colonial towns with great restaurants, museums, and nightlife, as well as slow-paced cozy developments in rural areas near indigenous villages, where hunting, gathering and fishing are a way of life.The climate is another plus. Temperatures in Bolivia range from the mid 60s to the low 80s, with the average being in the mid 70s. Even the hottest days are always tempered by cooling breezes.Bolivia is a republic with a presidential system of government. Its fully democratic, American style system retains the respect of individual rights and freedoms.Bolivia enjoys a remarkably low crime rate, with violent crime being virtually unknown and theft not commonplace.Americans, Canadians, Australians and most Europeans don't need a visa to spend up to 90 days as a tourist in Bolivia and nonresidents may buy property. Live the good life on less than $9,000 a year. Besides the fact that there's no such thing as a rat race in Bolivia, its biggest asset is its cost of living. You can stay in a clean, friendly hotel in the city center for $8 a night (or US$125 per month) where every meal costs less than $3. Groceries are up to 70% cheaper than in the United States or Europe. A routine trip to a good English-speaking doctor will set you back no more than $20. You can take in an American movie for only $2 or get a taxi across town for as little as 80 cents. And you're certainly not going to have high utility bills: Electricity and heating costs average $15 a month.Cheap Real EstateTo give you an example of the costs, here are some properties on offer right now:A 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 2500-square-foot home in an affluent neighborhood with a large garden, a garage, an alarm system, and every modern convenience, for $75,000.A 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom, 800-square-foot apartment with a dining room, a kitchen, central heating, a balcony, and parking, costs $15,000.Rentals are downright cheap by First World standards. Apartments begin at around $75 per month for something small, with houses starting at the $200 mark.You could certainly rent a nice two-bedroom apartment in one of the best parts of town for $175 to $350 a month. And you can lease a luxury three-bedroom suburban home would rent for between $275 and $400 per month; homes with private swimming pools start at around $500 monthly.Recently, I helped a client find a lot to build on for less than $5000, with good shopping, a lake and the airport all in walking distance.These deals and many more make little-known Bolivia worth investigating.About The AuthorCopyright 2005 by Shannon RoxboroughShannon Roxborough is an international lifestyle expert with close to 20 years experience. He has helped hundreds of clients with overseas living, retirement and travel matters. Visit his website at: www.TheGlobalLife.netaskinternational@aol.com