Golden Doodle in Mexico

Golden doodles in Mexico seem to be pretty rare. Just about every time we take Molly on a walk, we get stopped by a pedestrian or someone leaning out the window of their car. Each person/couple wants to know what kind of dog we are walking.

So, FINALLY today, I have google translated poodle and golden retriever, so I'll be prepared from now on...provided I remember the translations!

Poodle = caniche

Golden = dorado

Retriever = perdiguero

But, when I googled golden retriever, the translation came back "golden retriever". So, I had to break it down to get the individual words. From now on, I can tell people caniche y perdiguero dorado.

Speaking Spanish in the U.S. vs. Mexico

I know very little Spanish. Much less than I thought I would know by now.

However, I no longer find myself saying "hello" or "good morning". Saying "hola" or "buenos dias" has become first nature.

So, when in the U.S. and ordering food at Chipotle, I found myself saying "hola", "gracias", etc. But, I was not confident enough to do my whole order in Spanish. When I went over my order in my head, using Spanish, I figured I could do it fine and they would understand.

But, is it rude to use my broken Spanish in the U.S., when speaking to a bilingual Mexican? Especially if I am just saying "hola" or "gracias"? Part of me thinks it is. Especially, since I don't know if the Mexican is a first or second generation Mexican-American. For all I know, they don't even speak Spanish.

Mexicans are very proud of their culture and heritage. So, I am pretty sure that the parents and grandparents make sure the kids grow up speaking Spanish. They may not be able to write in Spanish, but surely most know how to speak the language.

But, I don't want to assume and be rude.

So, while I wanted to practice my Spanish in the U.S., I was very hesitant to do so.

In Mexico, when I am speaking my broken Spanish, I feel like people don't hold it against me. I feel like they are happy that I am at least making an effort to speak Spanish. Clearly, everything would be easier, on both sides, if I knew more Spanish. But, I am not hesitant to try to put sentences together.

Going forward though, I need to put a much larger emphasis on learning Spanish!

Differences We Noticed Between the U.S. and Mexico

After being in the U.S. for several days, Mike and I realized we had yet to hear a car honk it's horn. In Mexico, you don't go five minutes without hearing honking.

Upon taking a walk in downtown Naperville, Mike and I both had the thought "there's so much open space". In Mexico, open space is very difficult to come by.

In the U.S., we had to make a conscious effort to get out and walk around. In Mexico, walking is all we do. Every single time we go anywhere, aside from Mike going to work, we walk.

We used to think traffic in Naperville was heavy and annoying. Now, we think it is light and peaceful. Driving in the U.S. is so much easier and less stressful than driving in Mexico. In Mexico, driver's have to be constantly alert and aware of all the cars around them, jockeying for various lanes, watching for topes (speed bumps), looking for cars going thru red lights, etc.

Certainly, there are MANY things we take for granted in the U.S. Going to the grocery store and having refrigerator upon refrigerator of choices. Aisle upon aisle of beauty products and toiletries. In Mexico, I have yet to see an eye pencil sharpener, nail polish or greeting cards. I am sure they are in abundance at Walmart...but I have only been two Walmart twice in five months. And, at the time, those were not things I needed. When I started wanting these items and was on the lookout, these items were nowhere to be found!

American Airlines - Mexico to Chicago

We took our home leave earlier this month, returning to Chicago.

We always fly American Airlines, since it has a direct route from Mexico City to Chicago...and because we are working on earning free flights with mileage points.

But, we were a bit disgruntled with American on our flight to Chicago.

Annabelle is two and we have to pay for a seat for her, which is fine, because then she doesn't have to squirm on our laps for four hours.

A few days before the flight, I looked at www.aa.com to refresh my memory on their baggage policies and children's policies. I was glad to see that we could take Annabelle's car seat on the plane to use, since Interjet had made us check the car seat.

When we got to the airport and were checking in, the person helping us told us we had to check the car seat. That we were not allowed to bring it on board. We argued, saying we needed it. She said "use the seat belt". We told her that Annabelle was able to get out of the seat belt. Her response "tighten it". Clearly she was not a mother, as any mother would know that at about age 1, children figure out how to unhook the seat belt on an airplane. The woman was relentless and made us check the car seat.

Once we got onboard, we asked the flight attendants about the car seat. They were baffled and said we should have been able to bring it aboard. Upon leaving Chicago to return to Mexico, the check-in attendant allowed us to keep the car seat with us and had no idea why the attendant in Mexico forced us to check it.

Needless to say, the flight back to Mexico went a lot smoother than the flight to Chicago. On the way to Chicago, sans car seat, Annabelle refused to sit in her seat with her seat belt on. A problem when the pilot told us to expect turbulence for two of the four hours. When we tried to keep her contained on our laps, she screamed...something the other passengers loved, I'm sure.

With the car seat, on the way back to Mexico, Annabelle was contained, couldn't escape and seemed to accept the confines of her car seat. She watched a bit of the movie playing onboard, played with the iPad, looked at videos of herself on the iPhone and ate snacks. Unfortunately, she also kicked the seat in front of us a bit, but settled down pretty quickly after being yelled at and told not to kick.

The ideal flight would have been to have the car seat and sit in the first row, where she would not have been able to kick the seat in front of her. Or, to have the flight full minus at least one seat, so that no one was sitting in front of her.

Next time, American Airlines in Mexico tells us no to the car seat, we'll ask to speak to a supervisor. Not only is it easier for the parents and other passengers to have children confined, but it is a LOT safer, especially when there is turbulence.

Infinitum Telmex Internet Service

This past Monday afternoon, my internet stopped working. I waited about six hours, until my husband got home, then had him call Telmex - our service provider.

They ran a "test" - unplugging the internet and phone (losing the call with the service person). But, that didn't help.

So, Tuesday afternoon, I called back, ran another "test" - holding the reset button in for 20 seconds. That didn't do anything either.

At that point, Telmex gave me a report number and told me that a technician would be out to look at the modem in 1-3 business days. I said "will he call when he's on his way???". The wonderful service man said "no, if he's in the area, he'll just stop by".

Was I really expected to sit around my house with a crazy two year old for three days?!?! Apparently!

But, when I went to shut the computer off tonight, I noticed that all the lights on my modem were lit up again and I had working internet!

On the plus side, I didn't waste my whole day sitting around the house. Another positive...I'll never again be irritated in the U.S. when someone gives me a 6 hour time frame! Mexico is teaching me patience!