Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Final Thoughts

from the mom
Yesterday, a friend described her daughter's life (with four children under 7) as "really hard and really wonderful." I think that pretty much says describes our trip to Mexico. Being at Amber's wedding was a privilege. She has embraced Mexican culture and language and she loves it there. Her stomach has adapted and without any formal studies she is so fluent in Spanish that she speaks it even to her English-speaking spouse.

At times the rest of us were frustrated with the pace of life. In Mexico, things happen on a different timetable. The last of the groom's family and wedding party showed up about 30 minutes after the wedding party was supposed to start. Service is slower, even at our fabulous 4-star resort hotel. Americans want things NOW; Mexicans (and most of the rest of the world) have a patience that I envy.

The cost of living is high in comparison to wages. M's sister had to pick up a lot of things for the wedding and she didn't find many things to be much cheaper than the U.S. Some things (like bottled water) were even more. (We paid between 3.80 and 5.00 a bottle.)

Tropical Storm Julio affected our experience. Water was a foot or more in places and we were terrified our engine would flood. I was amazed at people riding on motorcycles, or walking through deep water. We saw one naked little guy standing in water past his knees, who promptly covered himself when he saw us.

Mexicans don't eat a lot of fresh vegetables. I hit it off with an expat friend of Amber's and she was helping me order at the rehearsal dinner. I told her I needed a salad, something with vegetables. "Mexicans aren't big on vegetables," was her response. M and I are not huge Mexican food fans anyway; I can't say that being there changed that.

The grounds of our hotel were amazing. Flamingoes and swans (black and white) roamed, there were iguanas, lizards, frogs, peacocks, parrots, parakeets, and lots of birds. We loved the pools and our room was nice.

The hotel staff was courteous and helpful. When we checked in, about four different people told us M's dad had stopped by. Carlos, the gate man, was a favorite. Everyone was great at their jobs; some helped us with our Spanish patiently and others found it simpler to just make us stick to English. Everyone works long hours; we think there were two shifts. We didn't see a lot of new faces. I took a short walk one day and discovered the maintenance entrance to the hotel; an employee bus departed as I watched. While we were staying in beautiful clean surroundings, the employees were transported in a beat-up, dirty bus with broken windows. There was a stop outside the gate where employees could be picked up. Clearly, they could not bring their old cars inside the beautiful grounds.

Ben earned the gold medal for the most capable traveler. We were most concerned with taking him, our allergy-ridden sickly child. He not only was the most healthy (and required no medication on the trip) but he adjusts well to wherever he is and whatever situation he finds himself in. He was so tired at night (we were up until 11pm or later most nights) he would crawl into bed with his clothes on and be out in seconds. He charmed with his small Spanish vocabulary. Kyri's travel skills leave room for improvement, but she promises she'll be nicer on the airplane when she has her own seat. And she prefers her own bed for sleep.

4 comments:

Darcien Balog said...

wow! What a fantastic trip. I love the pictures and am glad you all made it home safe and sound.

Darc

concretegodmother said...

well, it all sounds like a blend of horrible and wonderful! i'm sorry you both got sick. that's no fun at all. i'm glad the kids were largely resilient; they usually are. and it's that kind of travel experience that broadens and toughens them for the next one; the more they do it, the better they get at it.

Stitched With Grace said...

I am so glad you made it to the wedding and had a good time (for the most part).

And welcome home again. I am sure the kids will remember this trip for a long time (for many different reasons than you will remember!)

I look forward to seeing some of Ben's photos.

~Becky

Sarah M. said...

Sounds like a great trip -- even if it wasn't perfect in all ways. At least you had a good experience (i.e no muggings, hospital trips, etc.) LOL :)

Btw, what words did Ben say in Spanish? That's so cute. :)