Posts
Dinner with friends Carol and Michael at Señor Godzilla's
It took a week to get things back in order. We've been living out of an ice chest. We finally agreed to have Samsung repair the fridge. They were supposed to be here on Monday after ordering parts. We had to pay up front for the parts, which is pretty standard here.
Monday went by, and they couldn't make it. Tuesday, the tech had a minor fender bender. Wednesday, rescheduled for Thursday. Thursday, the tech took a course. Today is Friday, and they should be here as we speak. UPDATE: The technician just left, and the fridge is humming away. So much we take for granted.
There are three websites for Samsung in Querétaro. I was afraid we might have been scammed. We paid for the parts and then faced constant delays. I decided to dig deeper. The bank account number was on the work order sheet but a guy's name on the bank account when I went to Banamex. I deposited the money at an ATM, very common here. I did a search for the guy's name on the bank account, and he has a YouTube video promoting Samsung service. Whew! Legit. Of the three Samsung locations in Querétaro, there is a Samsung factory, Samsung offices, and then this independent factory authorized Samsung repair facility.
We took a break on Sunday and had breakfast with our neighbor and friend Cheryl. We went to the Fábrica Aurora art gallery. We spent a few hours there looking at all the art we'd love to have but can't afford! I did see a new carpet for the living room here, but it was still a bit overpriced.
The tile man is finishing the roof terrace, and he is a real whiz at laying tile. He'll be doing some other things here when he's done. Nice to find a guy who wants to work and shows up everyday and wants to work into the night.
San Miguel de Allende is growing more and more. There is a new Autozone being built not far from the house. That will be number two unless it is a relocation. Home Depot will be starting their location here as well. New restaurants are coming, and others are going. That's a constant here. The more expensive, the less likely they are to survive. Expats here jump on the bandwagon every time something new comes along. With new stores opening, especially franchises, there will be the group that says, "we're not doing that, we support local business". Well, good for them. Don Pedro is a small hardware chain here that gringos run to. What they don't take into account is that Home Depot will hire more Mexicans, pay better benefits, and provide a much broader selection of goods.
We're still undecided which way we're going on our rv maiden voyage. I've been doing a lot of research, and there is very little boondocking in east and southeast Texas. The Gulf Coast has the beaches for free, but we don't have 4X4, to risky.
Texas state parks, America the Beautiful, have passes. The America The Beautiful pass seems to be a better one but has a lot of caveats.
Since I paused in writing this, we have decided on the Gulf Coast using Texas State Parks. We won't have solar, I don't think so we will have hookups, and there are two parks with primitive sites we can try out and see what the lead-acid batteries can do in the meantime.
More to come this week as we celebrate Mexican Independence Day and watch the fireworks from our soon-to-be-finished rooftop.
If you are wondering why fuel prices were high in Mexico before the gas crunch in the U.S., this is the reason. Paying off PEMEX debt to keep the company afloat. In U.S. dollars, the amounts below total 88 billion dollars. Regular gas in Mexico is $5.40 USD, and Premium is $6.75. I remember the days when people would cross into Mexico with 55-gallon drums to buy gas because it was so cheap.
De-commodification and Anti-neoliberalismo: Arriaga advocates for a public education system that rejects neliberalism model, firmly opposing the commercial logic of private publishers and the pedagogical dictates of international bodies such as UNESCO, UNICEF, and OECD.
The textbooks were revised by Max Arriaga, a known communist. The same party that the president and her mother fought for and did activism in the 80s. In mathematics, the number of pages have been reduced from 201 to only 20 pages. This is the result of those changes in the last eight years:
