After working leads to no avail this morning, I decided to go for a walk on the beach in the hopes of lifting my grey mood.
I met Dale at the entrance to the beach and we chatted for a bit. We might go down to the docks later to check out the cruise ships.
In a bid (successful, might I add) to avoid vendors, I turned left at the beach and walked towards the other apartments I looked at on Thursday, hoping that Daniel, one of the French guys, would be there so I could touch base and make sure there are no hard feelings about my not taking one of his places.
He was outside painting, so we gabbed for a bit. He apologized for the suites being so dirty when I saw them. While, yes, that had bothered me, I knew that he was doing renos, so that was not the main reason I wasn’t interested. I came here to get some experience living in a Mexican community, early morning horn blasts and roosters included, and his suites are rather isolated. He was very understanding about that, especially when he learned that I speak Spanish.
I was beyond ready for lunch by this point (and am learning to move ‘lunch’ to somewhere between 10:30 and 11:30!) so I headed home. On the way there, I got stopped by one of my Mexican neighbours who wanted to introduce himself. I had him repeat and spell his name, but I don’t remember it. 🙁
He asked a lot of rather personal questions, but this is such a small place that I know people talk and that anything I didn’t answer he was going to learn from someone else, so I just answered him — renting alone, from Canada, working from home, here for the winter, etc. He was very friendly, but not in a creepy way, and we had a nice chat.
He said that he is delighted that I speak such lovely Spanish, with a good accent and pace. I replied that I’m enjoying the practise, but know I am making so many errors!
He then said something no one has said to me here yet (translating loosely): “We are having an interesting conversation in my language. I am understanding you perfectly and you me. When you leave, I’ll remember what we talked about, not the mistakes.”
This is exactly my theory of using a foreign language. Use it. You are going to get the odd jerk who will mock you, but, really, you’re the one who gets the laugh as you gain entry into another culture.
I am not going to stop rehashing all the mistakes I make in my interactions with people, because ‘good enough’ isn’t for me, but I’m going to try to stop being embarrassed by errors!
What a lovely thing for your neighbor to say. This folks on the Isla are so very appreciative of us being there. Their economy thrives when when we arrive. I remember a few years when things were tough and few RVers were traveling that when we arrived we must have been thanked over 100 times for coming. Another year one of the veggie guys remembered a specific request I always made. Once he heard we had arrived he can the next morning with a full bag of the veggie in question. I has no need for it at that time because we had arrived with a full fridge. However I thanked him profusely and paid for what he had brought me. Very very special.
Ahh Daniel, now I understand the situation. Actually the suites are called Casa Flora or Casa Blanca, it changes from year to year. If you recall I gave you two choice of places to check out, this was the second one. I believe that this is Daniel’s 2nd or 3rd year working there. I have know many people who have rented there and they have enjoyed it. But yes it is at a distance.
This is why I feel safe here. There is no way anyone is going to tolerate anything being done to the Gringos. What a lovely thing for that veggie guy to do!
Yes, the suites are Casa Flora, the ones you told me about. I knew that and had tried to get hold of Daniel, but he was elusive. The suites would have been good after a major cleanup, but for the same price, I’d really rather be somewhere newer since I don’t care about the beach view.
I agree with you about your decision. Not sold on the roosters though 🙂 Personally I need the beach view. If I’m not walking on it, or drinking a margarita on it, I am just sitting there soaking it all in. Sunsets on the Isla are a must. I can’t believe it, we actually are still planning on leaving on the 27th.
The only major plus for the other one was that there was internet there already.
The roosters SUCK. I am getting used to all the honking, but the roosters are going to be my downfall!
Having lived in a lot of older grungy places in my life, now being used to a beautiful home, and having had a winter on the beach, new construction beats a beach view for me! 🙂
Buy a slingshot for the roosters.
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