A big Imac

The rain seems to be coming less frequently and less quantity in the last week or so. Nevertheless, we are only about 12 mm (.5 inch) from equally the average annual rainfall and only about 62 mm (2.5 inches) of equaling the 2008 rainfall. The lake level is now only 30 cm. (12 inches) from the peak in 2008. At least one projection (based on the fact that the peak usually comes only near the end of September) is that this year’s peak could be about 1 meter higher than 2008. That will probably mean the park will be flooded again and even start up some of the streets into the town. More people who have intruded into the lake will be flooded.

I ordered my new computer (27 inch Imac) on Aug. 9. I ordered the big screen desktop so that we can watch movies on DVD. I went to the Apple Online Store to see if I could get the educational discount here. I could and that saved 2000 pesos (Can $170) making not much more than if I bought the same model in Halifax. I ordered through the Mexican online store, getting the basic model except I asked for the English language keyboard. I don’t know if that is why it took 11 days to ship it from the warehouse. I expected that the warehouse would be in Mexico, but it turns out that it is in Ontario, Calif. That is 60 or 70 miles east of Los Angeles. Thus, I don’t know why an English language keyboard should be a problem in the US; of course the other explanation is that they had sold out of that model and had to wait for more to arrive from the east where they are assembled. Apple doesn’t hold much inventory. The computer is being shipped with UPS and although picked up on Friday, did not go to Louisville, Kentucky until Sunday. It arrived in Mexico City early this morning, but so far no word of leaving Mexico City. It will probably be delivered either Thursday or Friday; that is longer than I expected. I have of course been checking the tracking several times a day.

Here is a small item about differences in Spanish. The previous Monday, I asked Letitia (Lety as she is called here apparently) when her children started school. It was yesterday on Monday. We would usually say “a week from today”. Also, we would say “2 weeks from today.” In Spanish, they say “8 days” or “15 days” thus counting the current day as well as the week or 2. I had seen this in the Spanish books, but had never encountered it before. When I looked blank, Lety went to the calendar and pointed out the date.

So many people we meet here have had interesting careers and lives. Jill, someone Sonia had met, falls into that category. She too is English but married a Canadian. After he completed a Ph.D. in agriculture, he was hired to work on an American company’s operation in Guatemala. After a year there, the company asked him (and the family of course) to go to Costa Rica to start and manage a new operation there; they lived for an additional 9 years, a total of 10 years in Central America. When that was closed, they were moved back to the company’s base in California where they lived for many years. She had a really bad patch when she lost her mother and learned in the same week that her ex-husband had also died. Then, 10 months later her daughter died in childbirth. A little over 2 years ago when she retired, she decided that her resources and income would go much farther in Mexico than in California and she is comfortable in a Spanish speaking environment. She has lost partial sight and has diabetes; nevertheless, she has come down here on her own. Although we thought that we were pretty daring to do what we did, others here leave us in the shade.