Mexico - One Year Later

We have now lived in Mexico for a year (and a month to be exact). I've found myself thinking a lot over the last couple of months about how far we've come. After the first week we had here, I wasn't sure Mexico was going to be all I had imagined, but I can confidently say, one year later, that it's been so much more! I'm not going to say it hasn't been hard at times (especially with the language and completely different culture), and there have been many times that I've missed family and friends more than I expected, but we definitely feel like Queretaro has become home! We have made some wonderful friends here and have had amazing experiences that we couldn't have had anywhere else. I would say that it took a good 9 months to completely adjust, but we've loved (almost) every minute of it.

James definitely wins the "most improved" award when it comes to speaking Spanish. He can carry on a conversation pretty well and fakes it through the parts he doesn't quite understand. He has even given a couple of short presentations in Spanish at work. Lydia is a close second to James, although it's hard to gauge how much she really knows since she just started speaking English fluently. She seems to understand almost everything (they say she does at school at least) and she comes out with words all the time in Spanish. I can understand (or get the gist) of about 50-75% of what people say and I usually don't get caught in my daily routine (shopping, classes at the gym, restaurants, Starbucks), but there are still times that I get completely frustrated with myself. My speaking is pathetic, so I use it as little as possible, but I manage. I keep thinking about how much more I'll do/ ask for in the US when we move back because it'll all seem so easy! Ethan and Nolan are at more of a disadvatage with Spanish because they go to an American (english speaking) school. Ethan is in SWAS (school within a school) where he goes a few hours a week and learns Spanish and the other subjects that are taught in Spanish to the other kids (cursive, for example). We have seen a lot of improvement in his Spanish this year because of that. It really amazes me that he can hear a word once and remember it with no trouble. I need to hear it a half a dozen times AND see it written down to remember. Nolan's schooling is almost all in English, so he's picked up words here and there from his classmates, but he has definitely fought it the most. He is still very adamant that he speaks "Engwish" although he's the one that always wants to watch movies in Spanish! Part of our motivation for coming to Mexico was so the kids would pick up Spanish, so I really hope we're here long enough for them all to have some Spanish in their little heads!

We've been fortunate enough to have had a lot of family visit over the last year. It's nice to see a face from home every now and then and be able to share with them different parts of Mexico. My Mom and Don, James' parents, and Jess have all visited twice and my Dad and Anna and Justin have come as well. We're hoping to have some new visitors to show around in the next year, but we know it's expensive to get here!

We have definitely kept ourselves busy with travel around Mexico! There is so much we want to see of before we move again that every long weekend (and a lot of regular weekends) is booked with some kind of adventure. For the first time in my life I'm getting a little burnt out on planning things! I never realized before we moved here how much more there was to Mexico than just the beautiful beaches!

Although the drug problem in Mexico has gotten worse since we've lived here, we continue to feel very safe. There has only been one time that the violence has affected travel plans and we've seen no signs of danger anywhere we've been. I do hate that there are places we would love to visit (Copper Canyon) that we would never even think about going to at this time. It really is too bad that the drug problems overshadow everything else.

It's crazy to think that this could all be over in less than a year. I am sure I'll be ready for something different at some point in the next couple of years, but it's going to be very hard to leave. I still can't believe how perfect the weather is and we have all gotten very used to having a maid! All good things have to come to an end at some point, we'll just continue enjoying it while it lasts!