As I walked down a narrow street in Ajijic, Jalisco, MX today looking in some shops and stopping to look at items for sale I wondered; how did a kid from NE end up in a quirky place like this; the mountains of Mexico. One morning many years ago I had the same sensation in Chicago, I had just taken the morning train into the Monroe Street Station from Barrington, tried to read the folded paper like the other veteran commuters, walked with the morning work-a-day masses across the draw bridge over the Chicago River into the Loop and in that moment I stood there in my 3 piece suit, briefcase in hand looking up State Street wondering how I ever got there. Once again today I smiled at my life and the places it has taken me and the things I have done.

I bounced along the cobblestones, though the narrow streets designed for wagons, horses and pedestrians and I smiled again as I saw the blending of technology everywhere, the basic simplistic lifestyles of the local peoples, yet many with cell phones, occasionally a horse and rider and the modern cars driven through places never designed for their bulk. What a contrast in human development.

I'm sure there is some resentment here because we have so much by comparison, but the local people never show it, I feel completely at ease driving or walking anywhere. They are very helpful in trying to understand and help you if you don't speak Spanish. They will often call another person who speaks English to help and are very patient with our attempts to communicate, basic as it may be. I feel most helpless when asking for pricing on something. If it's marked, as in a store, there's no problem, but in many shops the pricing is more or less open for negotiation. So, a useful tool is to carry a small calculator and when asking the price simply hand it to the person and they key in the cost and then you can negotiate from there, so all things are possible, it's just a bit odd not being able to understand people talking near you or to you. Today the repair guys daughter asked for an escoba and I guessed at a mop and showed her the mop, no that was a barrido, she wanted a broom, an escoba, so we live and learn.

The storm seems to have passed us by tonite, no lluvia (rain), but quite a lightening show and at one point I could hear the waves breaking and the rustling of the palm trees was very peaceful.. The whole end of the house facing the lake is windows, so I get a nice view.