Garden Restaurant

We are finally getting more rain. It has not been heavy, although Thursday morning it rained quite hard for a bit over an hour, with a bit over an inch. However, most of the rains have been about half an inch or less, but they have been frequent--every day and even twice one day. Thus, the cumulative effect has been significant. Also, there hasn’t been too much runoff as the rain can sink down. Our street down from the Carretera is now covered in green grass between the cobbles. I said our rains here in La Floresta have been light, but Chapala, barely 5 kms away, gets much more. On Friday morning we had a light rain (less than 10 mm.), but when we went to Chapala, the streets were small rivers. I hope that it is beginning to raise the level of Lake Chapala.

We have discovered a new outing for the 3 niñas at the Garden Restaurant. They have a blowup plastic trampoline that little kids can jump on. We like the restaurant because it has a huge garden with a number of fruit trees (grapefruit, orange, lime and banana); they also have a peacock and 2 peahens, plus some Bantum chickens. Last year when Jeff, Tarra and Aiden were here, we went there. It was great for Aiden, because he could run around when he didn’t want to sit longer. The waiter there knows us well and is great with the kids. Last week, they made quaesadeas even though it wasn’t on the menu. However, we got hamburgs and cut them up this week. After eating the kids play on the trampoline. After we take them to one of the malecons (walkways along the lakeshore). By the end of the afternoon, they are usually tired out; Barb and I are as well. We ususally come home and lie down for a while. [By the way, if you click on these photos, it enlarges into a full size photo.]

We are doing an information page (with photo) of each child at Love in Action. We are getting more information about their backgrounds. All of their stories are wrenching and some are truly horrific. These individual pages will be sent to the godparents and sponsors of the kids so that they can learn more and feel more in touch. Just in the last couple of weeks, there was another family of 5 brought to the center; the mother would go off sometimes for days and leave the 12 year old girl looking after her younger siblings. They arrived without clothes so are having to share with other kids the same size. We want to try to get some more clothes. It is troubling to learn of kids in such need, but it is also extremely heart-warming to know that Love in Action is giving them a chance to get an education and some hope for their lives. Anabel, the founder and director, also is housemother for the age 13 and over girls (she has 14 girls). Several of those girls realize how important an education is and really put themselves into their school work and are doing really well. Anabel glowed as she was talking about them.

Harper's screwup with Mexico

I feel compelled to comment on the Harper government’s imposition of prior visas for all visitors from Mexico. It is extremely ham-fisted, and in line with other aspects of its handling of foreign affairs (for example, it has screwed up relations with China royally). Mexicans now have to go to Mexico City to get visas to Canada; for some reason, the consulate here in Guadalajara is not being used. In spite of pretty harsh screening procedures for Mexicans at American entry points, the Americans have not done anything as draconian as Canada. Such procedures are usually adopted only by authoritarian regimes and police states. The government claims to want good relations , trade and economic interchanges with Mexico, but is now enraging vast numbers of Mexicans.

Of course, the current system for handling refugee claimants needs to be reformed; it is a hopeless muddle with bogus claimants clogging and taking advantage of the system. A huge backlog and opportunities for endless appeals mean that cases drag on for years. Many Conservative Party supporters want to vastly reduce or even eliminate acceptance of refugees on humanitarian grounds. Harper and his colleagues know that that is not acceptable to the majority of Canadians. Instead of trying to fix the real problem, this policy simply inconveniences vast numbers of people who would not be part of the problem in any case. The policy probably will slow down the numbers of those who would abuse the system, but won’t end the problem. However, Harper doesn’t care about alienating Mexicans or sullying Canada’s reputation abroad when his government’s actions appeal to the Conservative Party’s ‘nativist’ supporters. Harper focuses on nothing but narrow, short-term political considerations.

Harper is now here in Guadalajara for the NAFTA leaders meeting with Abama and Calderon. He might as well have stayed home for all the good he can do for Canada here at the moment.

Back in action

I see that it is more than 3 weeks since my last post. The information on shigella said that although most people recover quickly, it is often some weeks before they get full energy back. Because of a pinched nerve, I had stopped jogging for 3 weeks or so. When I started again, I found that it was much harder and I tired so much more. I didn’t do much work on my Spanish either. On the jog today was the first time that I started to feel even close to what I was before. Also, while Barb was visiting Toronto and Nova Scotia from July 14 - 27, I did not do much and didn’t feel I had anything to say.

We did get our 3 niñas yesterday. It was a real pleasure to see how excited they were to see us after 3 weeks. Barb had brought back a number of dresses and other things for the kids (including the Canada t-shirts); she brought backpacks. Those were a real hit. Once they were given them, they didn’t want to take them off, even while they were eating! When we took them to the play area in the Ajijic malecón, as you can see, they kept them on while on the swings and slide.

The rains in July have been much less this year, although we have had a couple of good rains in the last week or so. Especially, there can be big differences in the amount of rain just a short distance apart. Letitia, our maid, was excited one day. Here in La Floresta, we had a nice (15 mm.) rain and a small amount of hail. However, in Chapala where she lives (not much more than 5 kms. away), there was a great deal of hail and a lots of rain. The latter had meant that they had had to cope with many leaks and drips. Most houses here have leaks; with rains confined to a 4 month rainy season, one forgets. As the end of the rainy season comes into view, why bother? We have had only one leak this year and not every rain. There is only a small puddle which soon dries up. A large number of roof tiles would have to be taken up to find the one small leak. Thus, we have not felt compelled to do anything.

One thing I did do while Barb was away was go to the movie house. It is located upstairs in the small mall where the El Torito supermarket is. Thus, it is only a 10-12 minute walk away. The first movie I went to was the latest Harry Potter movie. Newly released movies appear here very quickly. They are in English (except of course Spanish language movies) with Spanish sub titles. It was distracting because I was intrigued to see how much Spanish I could understand and especially to see how they translate slang. The movie prices are very inexpensive. For the Harry Potter at 6:30 p.m., I paid 38 pesos (less than Can. $3.50). I did go to a second movie matinee on Sunday. The ticket was 20 pesos! However, as in Canada, the money is in the food. I got a medium bucket of pop corn and small pop-- 40 pesos! That is still inexpensive by Canadian standards, but twice the price of the movie.