Vive Mexico!

We went downtown (el centro) to go to the post office. We wanted to buy some stamps and mail some letters. We were astonished to learn that Mexico does not really have much of a postal system. The main post office for all of Villahermosa (a city of 500,000 people) is a little bit bigger than our bedroom. When we went in I think the teller was asleep in the backroom. We learned that people here do not write letters to each other or mail letters. It just is not done very much here. Communication is through the internet, texting, or cell phones. If you send mail to us here at our apartment, which we do not recommend, it usually ends up on the ground in the alley. That is why we have given you the Mission Home address in Tuxtla. It takes longer for us to get the mail, but we do, eventually, get it. In Pohnpei, where we served two years ago, there is a real post office with rental boxes and an area where we picked up packages every day. How can a small island of 34,000 people have a better postal system? No se.

We have two bathrooms in our apartment, and hot showers in each. Everything works fine except for the smell coming from the sewer. One of the sinks does not have a trap in the plumbing to prevent gas from coming into the bathroom. It has a straight pipe leading to the sewer so the sewer gas empties into the bathroom. Nita covers the sink drain with a pretty bottle to stop the smell.

Our apartment is really large and well furnished. The furniture is made of bamboo held together by some kind of strong vine material. It looks very nice and holds together very well. Our dining room table has a glass top about 4 feet across. We have a tile floor and concrete walls and ceiling. The kitchen is adequate size and has good cupboard space. There is one section of cupboard area that we do not open because we see little things that run fast or jump up at us. This area is off limits. Every once in a while I hear a scream from the kitchen because Nita forgets and opens the forbidden cupboard and sees the little critters. The best part about our apartment is two air conditioners, one in each bedroom. With both running the apartment is kept livable. The mission furnished a microwave, and an osterizer. We got a water cooler from the temple that was not being used. All in all we have an apartment that is very nice for about $530 dollars a month.

Everyone might be surprised that I do all the grocery shopping. I usually walk to Wal mart early in the morning before it gets busy. I fill up my shopping cart and hit the check out stand early so I don’t have to stand in line. Today I got my cart half full and left it to get some fruit. When I came back my cart was gone. No panic. I probably just forgot where I put it. I felt silly walking around the fruit and vegetable section looking for my cart. I finally decided someone liked what I had so I went to go outside to get another cart. LO and behold I found my cart some distance from the original spot. I hope this is really what happened and is not an early sign of Alzheimer’s. After shopping I go outside in front of the store to the taxi stand. This is where taxis come to pick up people. There is a guy to hail a taxi and a guy to load groceries into the taxi. Both the hailer and the loader get a tip and that is how they make a living. A few pesos are all they expect. I pay the taxi driver an extra 5 pesos for driving right to my apartment door, which is down an alley and kind of out of the way.

Mexico has a very effective way to control traffic speed. It is called a speed bump. Believe me when I tell you they really work. It is not unusual to see cars go 40 mph in town traffic and quickly apply the breaks when they approach a speed bump. Speed bumps are all over town usually at intersections. They are even located on major highways, but usually only when the major highway passes through a small community. In this case I think they serve two purposes; one to slow down traffic and the other to allow the locals an opportunity to sell banana chips, drinks, fruit, newspapers etc. In Villahermosa, when you stop for bumps or red lights there are kids wanting to sell their goods or wash your windows always for a few pesos of course. When traffic is stopped because of congestion sometimes you see young boys with painted faces doing gymnastic tricks on the road expecting a donation for their efforts from the people in waiting cars.

There is a lot of diversity and interesting cultural differences in Mexico. We love the people and there is much to admire. What an experience we are enjoying, until next time. Hasta Luego!
The missionary Murdocks