I'm late to the party here, but I think a Mexico section would be great. I've been living in central Mexico for over 12 years and interested in what others have to share. Mike Leavy over at Mexico Listo
Victor ... thanks! I am going for it and wondered why I even hesitated. This is what I want to write about. I'm studying ... again! ... and plan to actually have conversations this time ... where in Central Mexico are you. I will be definitely be in Morelia and hope to get to Zacatecas and a few other favorite spots next year.
Thanks, Louise ... I am doing just that ... found an incredible "Women Are Sacred" tour in Chiapas and have picked up my dusty Spanish studies. As they say in Zacatecas: Deslumbrante!
Thanks for clarifying in a straightforward way - the difference between the midlife and old age issues. Opportunities verses relevance in so many cases seems to come down to state of mind, health, and finances. I really admire your goal of becoming conversational in Spanish as I have been interested in for decades - mainly because of my lack of opportunities. And it seems you have a huge one. The cliche - GO FOR IT - comes to mind.
When my mother entered an assisted care facility (which she did on her own at age 80, bless her!), she complained: "This place is full of old people." Well, I'm not 80 yet, but I suspect I have nevertheless begun to experience late-life crisis. I don't feel irrelevant, but I do feel my time shrinking. I'm trying to put that aside and just keep living and writing novels. As for Mexico, it has never called to me. I took Spanish in junior high and recently bought a "Great Courses" learning course, but I haven't been inspired to start it yet. So I have to vote Disinterested (meaning not biased, but also meaning uninterested, as in "meh").
I'd definitely be interested in Mexico writing ... mostly because if you're interested in that comes through in writing. But also because I've been brushing up on my Spanish a little and have hopes, if finances allow, to finally go to Mexico City for the first time in the next year or so.
Funny thing about my age - 48 - is that I'm supposed to be post-midlife crisis, or at least going through it, but I feel like I've already done that like 9 times so far. Being an entrepreneur means failing a lot, and freaking out once in a while. Hopefully the "freaking out" days are behind me now!
I suspect that I won't really lose relevance either as I get really old, although I will need to talk to other folks who understand my language. I think there's a pretty firm line in the sand between folks who were born and grew up before the internet, and those who grew up after. Kids today know only a world with the web, and kids born in the last few years will only know a world with generative AI.
Go to Mexico and write about it if you can! I have never been, but it's (of course) on my bucket list.
"I will need to talk to others who know my language." That's a mouthful. I think it's important to keep accumulating touchstones that are relevant to as many people as possible - but you're point about acknowledging that the entire framework is different for some, adds a new and important factor to consider.
Thanks, Andrew ... I appreciate your encouragement and I think you're touching on something. Some folks look at the changes that leave everything topsy-turvy as "crises" whereas some of us just think of them as just another reinvention. My guess is you've got many still waiting for you. ;-) And, if you ever get to the Mexico part of your bucket list, I'd love to share some of my favorites.
I love Mexico too! My dad lived there at the end of his life and I spent a lot of time outside Puerto Vallarta - when it was still a small town - and I've traveled pretty much everywhere in Mexico except the north.
I did the same thing you did: felt stupidly guilty about never learning Spanish, so I signed up for Duolingo. Unfortunately I lost my nice long streak when I was sick, and now it's hard to restart... but writing this now is convincing me that I should, right now.
I wish I could afford a 'paid' membership but I can't. I love Mexico and that area too... I hope to be able to read. Have not been down to that area or to Mexico since 2000. Much has changed, some for ill - but I love Michoacan, the Mexican people, I long to go back some day. I hope you do this 3rd part of your substack, even if I can't afford to read it!
Thank you for the positive response ... Mexico is about love ... not money, and Michoacán is one of my favorite states. I'm planning my adventure right now. I've committed to keep my posts free so will love having you along as a reader. What was your favorite part of Michoacán?
Sorry for the late response to your question. I loved Paracho. I arrived there during siesta; all was quiet and guitar music floated through the air. I Love Michoacan and how different villages make different things, and Paracho makes guitars. They have a guitar festival in spring I think. I visited many towns around Patzcuaro and loved them all. I loved learning about the patron saint of Michoacan, Vasco Quiroga. I collected lots of artesanias and carried them with me in a cardboard box tied up with string! - and brought them home for gifts and for myself. I went there to Mexico the first time with not all that much money (all in travelers checques), about 200 words of Spanish, a phrase book and a dictionary! I was terrified! but it was exhilarating - and I learned to converse - not with all the proper verb tenses but by pure desire and curiousity and enchantment with the people. At night in my room which was on a rooftop and had a fantastic view of the town, I would study the dictionary and phrase book, and in the day I would go to the mercado or I sketched in el centro and brought my sketches 'home' to my room to watercolor. I still have most of those watercolors, but actually used some for barter and sold a few for a few bucks US. I have so many wonderful memories of that area, the people, the sights. I never made it to see the monarchs, but I visited Morelia a lot because I was seeing a dentist there... a long story - won't bore you with the details. I loved Patzcuaro - there is a lot of energy in that place and I had the most remarkable metaphysical/spiritual dreams there. That was home base the 2nd trip. I made two trips there to that area in '96 and '99, alone, for about 2 months each visit. I stayed in one room in Patzcuaro the second trip for most of my time there. Back then, everything was so cheap and I was and am still so poor, but if one stayed longer than a week, a room in a posada cost about 4 -r 5 bucks a night. I ate great street food which was cheap. Thanks for asking and for letting me reminisce.
So excited for you that you are going back to MX this week! Enjoy, and write! I want to read your word paintings about Mexico!
Thanks for sharing ... you sparked so many of my own memories and set in motion a thought about visiting the guitar festival ... although it's in August now. That town went crazy with tourists after the movie Coco ... but it may have settled down a bit by now. I've pre-scheduled the rest of my posts for the year so I don't have to "work" while I'm down there. But, you've given me an idea ... I may add a "Glimpse from the Road" to each post. It will make them a bit longer but will avoid adding to the inbox. ;-)
what a good idea! The object is to keep it fun and not 'work' - wow - you are so organized to pre-make posts for the year! Yes, after I wrote that I remembered the fest was in August. Too bad Coco put that town on the map. They still transported straw and other things by donkey when I was there, though it was changing even then. Happy travels - enjoy every moment in that beautiful country with those beautiful people!
Heck. I just said to heck with it all, spent 6 wonderful but very warm weeks in Panama with my son and his husband where I completed my paperwork for my Pensionado status. We are packing up as I write. I’m getting rid of much more than I’m sending. My house sold in a heartbeat and since my son and I are going one way, I sprung for first class tickets for us and my dog. As for my Spanish, it’s been 56 years since my classroom instruction but I found that a lot of it was just buried in the crevasses of my gray matter. Not worried about any of the rest. It will all work out.
leave for 18 days just after thanksgiving.
It sounds wonderful, Joyce! I would be interested in reading about your Mexico adventures! 💜
Thanks ... I'm excited about it also ... begins just after t-day.
Oh wow, you are already there? Or just about to go?
I'm late to the party here, but I think a Mexico section would be great. I've been living in central Mexico for over 12 years and interested in what others have to share. Mike Leavy over at Mexico Listo
https://www.mexicolisto.com
is one of my favorite reads.
I speak Spanish every day. Some places you can get by without much, but I'm not in one of those places.
Anyhow, sounds like a good idea on your part. Go for it!
Victor ... thanks! I am going for it and wondered why I even hesitated. This is what I want to write about. I'm studying ... again! ... and plan to actually have conversations this time ... where in Central Mexico are you. I will be definitely be in Morelia and hope to get to Zacatecas and a few other favorite spots next year.
Yes, I've been in Morelia a couple of times and (nearby) Patzcuaro and the surrounding area. Not Zacatecas, though I'd like to visit there, too.
I sent you an email with some more info. Keep studying!
Thanks, Victor ... looked for your email but didn't find it. Could you resend ... jwycoff@graititudemojo.com?
At first I sent via substack, but I'm not always clear how that is supposed to work. I forwarded to the email you gave, but it bounced.
Okay, I think I see the problem. There's an extra "i" in gratitude above. I just tried it again. So far, so good....no bouncy..
Go for it! Buena suerte con los estidios!
Thanks, Louise ... I am doing just that ... found an incredible "Women Are Sacred" tour in Chiapas and have picked up my dusty Spanish studies. As they say in Zacatecas: Deslumbrante!
Thanks for clarifying in a straightforward way - the difference between the midlife and old age issues. Opportunities verses relevance in so many cases seems to come down to state of mind, health, and finances. I really admire your goal of becoming conversational in Spanish as I have been interested in for decades - mainly because of my lack of opportunities. And it seems you have a huge one. The cliche - GO FOR IT - comes to mind.
Thanks, Mark ... synchronicities seem to be confirming the plan.
Wonderful!
When my mother entered an assisted care facility (which she did on her own at age 80, bless her!), she complained: "This place is full of old people." Well, I'm not 80 yet, but I suspect I have nevertheless begun to experience late-life crisis. I don't feel irrelevant, but I do feel my time shrinking. I'm trying to put that aside and just keep living and writing novels. As for Mexico, it has never called to me. I took Spanish in junior high and recently bought a "Great Courses" learning course, but I haven't been inspired to start it yet. So I have to vote Disinterested (meaning not biased, but also meaning uninterested, as in "meh").
Thanks, Robin ... it helps to know what you're thinking ... and, here's to staying relevant!
I'd definitely be interested in Mexico writing ... mostly because if you're interested in that comes through in writing. But also because I've been brushing up on my Spanish a little and have hopes, if finances allow, to finally go to Mexico City for the first time in the next year or so.
Funny thing about my age - 48 - is that I'm supposed to be post-midlife crisis, or at least going through it, but I feel like I've already done that like 9 times so far. Being an entrepreneur means failing a lot, and freaking out once in a while. Hopefully the "freaking out" days are behind me now!
I suspect that I won't really lose relevance either as I get really old, although I will need to talk to other folks who understand my language. I think there's a pretty firm line in the sand between folks who were born and grew up before the internet, and those who grew up after. Kids today know only a world with the web, and kids born in the last few years will only know a world with generative AI.
Go to Mexico and write about it if you can! I have never been, but it's (of course) on my bucket list.
"I will need to talk to others who know my language." That's a mouthful. I think it's important to keep accumulating touchstones that are relevant to as many people as possible - but you're point about acknowledging that the entire framework is different for some, adds a new and important factor to consider.
Thanks, Andrew ... I appreciate your encouragement and I think you're touching on something. Some folks look at the changes that leave everything topsy-turvy as "crises" whereas some of us just think of them as just another reinvention. My guess is you've got many still waiting for you. ;-) And, if you ever get to the Mexico part of your bucket list, I'd love to share some of my favorites.
Just another reinvention - - So true
I just don't have the bandwidth to handle another Substack. I'm always happy to do Spanish language & cultural immersion field trips in CA.
That would work perfectly. The intent is not to increase quantity ... just variety. ;-)
I love Mexico too! My dad lived there at the end of his life and I spent a lot of time outside Puerto Vallarta - when it was still a small town - and I've traveled pretty much everywhere in Mexico except the north.
I did the same thing you did: felt stupidly guilty about never learning Spanish, so I signed up for Duolingo. Unfortunately I lost my nice long streak when I was sick, and now it's hard to restart... but writing this now is convincing me that I should, right now.
Let's both do this!
On it!
I wish I could afford a 'paid' membership but I can't. I love Mexico and that area too... I hope to be able to read. Have not been down to that area or to Mexico since 2000. Much has changed, some for ill - but I love Michoacan, the Mexican people, I long to go back some day. I hope you do this 3rd part of your substack, even if I can't afford to read it!
Thank you for the positive response ... Mexico is about love ... not money, and Michoacán is one of my favorite states. I'm planning my adventure right now. I've committed to keep my posts free so will love having you along as a reader. What was your favorite part of Michoacán?
Sorry for the late response to your question. I loved Paracho. I arrived there during siesta; all was quiet and guitar music floated through the air. I Love Michoacan and how different villages make different things, and Paracho makes guitars. They have a guitar festival in spring I think. I visited many towns around Patzcuaro and loved them all. I loved learning about the patron saint of Michoacan, Vasco Quiroga. I collected lots of artesanias and carried them with me in a cardboard box tied up with string! - and brought them home for gifts and for myself. I went there to Mexico the first time with not all that much money (all in travelers checques), about 200 words of Spanish, a phrase book and a dictionary! I was terrified! but it was exhilarating - and I learned to converse - not with all the proper verb tenses but by pure desire and curiousity and enchantment with the people. At night in my room which was on a rooftop and had a fantastic view of the town, I would study the dictionary and phrase book, and in the day I would go to the mercado or I sketched in el centro and brought my sketches 'home' to my room to watercolor. I still have most of those watercolors, but actually used some for barter and sold a few for a few bucks US. I have so many wonderful memories of that area, the people, the sights. I never made it to see the monarchs, but I visited Morelia a lot because I was seeing a dentist there... a long story - won't bore you with the details. I loved Patzcuaro - there is a lot of energy in that place and I had the most remarkable metaphysical/spiritual dreams there. That was home base the 2nd trip. I made two trips there to that area in '96 and '99, alone, for about 2 months each visit. I stayed in one room in Patzcuaro the second trip for most of my time there. Back then, everything was so cheap and I was and am still so poor, but if one stayed longer than a week, a room in a posada cost about 4 -r 5 bucks a night. I ate great street food which was cheap. Thanks for asking and for letting me reminisce.
So excited for you that you are going back to MX this week! Enjoy, and write! I want to read your word paintings about Mexico!
Thanks for sharing ... you sparked so many of my own memories and set in motion a thought about visiting the guitar festival ... although it's in August now. That town went crazy with tourists after the movie Coco ... but it may have settled down a bit by now. I've pre-scheduled the rest of my posts for the year so I don't have to "work" while I'm down there. But, you've given me an idea ... I may add a "Glimpse from the Road" to each post. It will make them a bit longer but will avoid adding to the inbox. ;-)
what a good idea! The object is to keep it fun and not 'work' - wow - you are so organized to pre-make posts for the year! Yes, after I wrote that I remembered the fest was in August. Too bad Coco put that town on the map. They still transported straw and other things by donkey when I was there, though it was changing even then. Happy travels - enjoy every moment in that beautiful country with those beautiful people!
YES!
oh, I'd love that too! thanks so much!
Heck. I just said to heck with it all, spent 6 wonderful but very warm weeks in Panama with my son and his husband where I completed my paperwork for my Pensionado status. We are packing up as I write. I’m getting rid of much more than I’m sending. My house sold in a heartbeat and since my son and I are going one way, I sprung for first class tickets for us and my dog. As for my Spanish, it’s been 56 years since my classroom instruction but I found that a lot of it was just buried in the crevasses of my gray matter. Not worried about any of the rest. It will all work out.
Now that’s faith or the way mine works at least.
Oh, I love that story and your guts. May your journey be joyous!