Let me just say this is not a bash on the local system at all, just my observations about our experiences so far. First of all, the people here have been amazingly friendly. I have a developer named Mario that is just great. He offers to do just about anything for us. Everyone else I have met acts in a similar fashion.
In a previous post I related how we were trying to get electricity, and internet, and cable. Well, we still don’t have any of those. Let me relate the story. I joke that if I wanted patience, I would have been a Dr. I think that by the time we have everything installed in the building I will be halfway to owning my own practice.
The internet connection via the E-1’s (btw an E-1 like a T-1 in the USA except it is 2Mb) is expected to take 30-45 days, so here everything is OK. We’re not expecting anything from that yet.
The guys actually came out on Wed afternoon to turn on the electricity. While they were looking at it, they determined that we don’t have 220V coming into the building, but rather 500V. Well, they weren’t equipped to install the 500V, so they gave us the phone number for their boss. We met him at 10PM that night to look at the system and determine what needed to be done. He said that he would have to call in an engineer to look at everything and give it the blessing to re-connect. In addition to the engineer, we also needed someone from the actual electric company (CFE) to come out and agree that what the engineer said was correct. We finally got the engineer and the rep from CFE to come out on Saturday. Turns out there has been a change in the regulations since electricity was last turned on in our building. We need to have the meter moved from its current location to the outside of the property line. That is going to cost a little chunk of change and time (30 days). We might be able to get “provisional” power while that process is happening. We should know more about that later today.
Cable, arg Cable. I mentioned that we were going to get cable to use as a temporary solution for internet connectivity. I’m not sure we’ll actually have it in before we have the E-1s in. As I mentioned previously, we were told that they would be out to install it last Tuesday, the 2nd, and they never came. Then they said they would be there Thursday, and I waited all day again. And Friday and Saturday. Count em, four days of waiting on cable guys. I’m sure we will wait a few more. On Saturday we even called to confirm 3 times. After the second time I was fairly certain they weren’t coming though. The first time we were told between 9 and 2, then 3 and finally 4. We left the building at 6:30. I have been pretty mellow about the whole thing until Saturday. That one really irked me. I understand that things aren’t going to move at the same speed as in the States, but when we verify 3 times that someone will be out, and they still don’t show up…
Let’s talk about some good things now. I asked Mario about less expensive places to shop, and he introduced me to Chedraui. It is like Walmart here, but cheaper. I’ll try to go by and do the price comparisons soon, but I haven’t had time this past week. I found propane tanks here like in the states, so now I know I can bring my grill. I’m excited about that.
We eat out a lot here, as we haven’t bought much food or things to cook with. Face it, there are four guys living together right now, and not a lot of urge to cook for each other. So, with that, we have found some really good food. Across the street at the little cafe where I was working in the picture, they have pretty good tortas (sandwiches) and tacos. Tacos here are generally soft tacos, either flour or corn. BEWARE the green salsa!!! It is habanero and is known to spontaneously catch fire. I have seen 3 shops burn down because of habanero salsa. 😉
I stayed in yesterday, as I had a lot of work to catch up on and the guys went down to the beach for a couple of hours. They were kind enough to bring me back dinner and WOW was it tasty. Shrimp ceviche and beef tips with steamed vegetables. I could do that all the time.
Today we are working out of the apt as it has both electricity and an internet connection. We just called the cable people and they said they would be there to do the install by 11am. I’m not holding my breath, but I will remain hopeful.
I’ve been reading Isaiah during my quiet time lately and Isaiah 55:8-9 is really sticking with me.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
I know that God has a plan for us, my family, and we trust Him to know what is best for us. We began this as a journey of faith, and we are well aware that there will be stumbling blocks along the way. It is our duty to remain faithful and follow even when we don’t know where we will end up. God doesn’t promise a perfect life here on earth, but if we remain faithful and do as He asks, He will provide an amazing adventure that will glorify His kingdom. It is our prayer that He gives us the strength and fortitude to remain faithful even in the difficult times.
Blessings, Robba