The Mexican flag consists of three stripes green, white, and red with an emblem in the center. The overall general design of the Mexican flag has been the same since 1821, but the current flag was officially adopted in 1968.

The emblem in the center of the flag is the image of an eagle holding a large snake. Below the eagle is cactus a rock and a lake. The Aztecs had a legend that their gods had instructed them to found a city where they saw an eagle with a snake. According to the legend this is the city that became Mexico City.

Originally the three colors represented green for independence from Spain, white for the Roman Catholic religion, red for union between Europe and the Americans. Overtime the meanings were changed and the current official definition of the flag is doesn’t assign a meaning to the colors. Generally the colors are now known to be green for hope, white for unity or purity, and red for religion or blood of heroes.

Up until 1968 Mexico used the tri-color flag without the emblem for some things. However when they hosted the 1968 summer Olympics, this presented a problem because it was identical to the Italian flag. This led to the current definition that requires the emblem.

In 1995 the legal definition of the Mexican flag was changed once again because it didn’t allow for the reverse side of the flag to allow the eagle to face right instead of left as it is on the front of the flag. After the 1995 change, an official flag can now be viewed from both sides.

Most people have heard that people from the U.S. can’t buy property in Mexico. This isn’t entirely true. In fact the only real regulations are on the near the border and coast. These areas are known as the “restricted zone”. The “restricted zone” is the area within 100 kilometers of any Mexican border and within 50 miles of any Mexican coastline.

Originally the “restricted zone” was created to protect Mexico from foreign invasion. The idea was to keep any foreigner from owning land that could be used to bring in troops and launch an attack on Mexico. This was written into the Mexican Constitution in article 27. The constitution was signed in 1917 and made a lot of changes to who could own property.

From briefly reading over this section of the Mexican constitution from 1917, it looks like it took a lot of land away from people. It changed the concept of land ownership to one where the government actually owns all the land and even though they sell it to individuals for use, the government can get it back if they want it. From what I’ve seen this doesn’t happen often and when it does it is similar to what happens in the U.S. when they put in a highway through an area that used to be private property–the government has to pay a reasonable price for the land.

Other than the “restricted zone” foreigners can own land subject to Mexican law. Just because you are a U.S. citizen doesn’t mean the land becomes U.S. property. It is treated just like a Mexican citizen owned it.

If you are looking to buy land in Mexico keep in mind that you real estate is not regulated in Mexico. There is no type of real estate license required. Anyone can sell real estate and there isn’t any type of code of ethics that they all agree with. You will want to work with someone trust worthy.

If you want to buy land in the “restricted zone” there are ways to do it. The Mexican government knows that selling the costal areas is a great way to bring in money not just for the sale of the property but for the local economy. Foreigners coming to Mexico and spending money are a great way for the country to profit financially. However since the law about the “restricted zone” is written into the constitution it would be very difficult to change.

The Mexican government came up with a work around. You can create a legal entity in Mexico and use it to buy the land. Since the land is owned by a Mexican entity, this fulfills the constitutional requirements. If this entity is a trust, a foreigner can be named as the beneficiary. The trust is administered by a Mexican bank which is obligated to act on the behalf of the beneficiary of the trust.

These types of trusts are called fideicomiso and last for 50 years. While the land is in the trust it can be sold, inherited, etc. In the last year of the trust, it can be renewed for an additional 50 years. This can go on indefinitely.

Legal transaction involving the property must be done through the Mexican bank that holds the trust because the bank actually holds the title to the property.

Many people think the trust is a type of lease because it lasts for 50 years. At one point I think the closest thing to owning Mexican coastal land was to lease it for 100 years. The current method of creating a trust seems to work around the lease situation and provide more control for the foreigner wanting to own land in the “restricted zone”.

It is also possible to create a Mexican corporation that is foreign owned and that corporation can buy land in the “restricted zone”. However the corporation can only by land that is not for residential use and there are other restrictions on what the land can be used for. It appears that if you created a corporation and bought a shop that had living quarters above it, you might be able to live in above your shop, but I’m not sure.

If you are looking to buy land in Mexico make sure you find someone who you can trust who can help you through the process. Law change and just because something is legal to do doesn’t mean it is the easiest way to go about purchasing property.

There is not much to say about the corn, but it is so good it deserves its own blog entry. Street vendors sell great corn. I am avoiding street vendors while I am pregnant so I got mine at a cook out.

The corn is cooked in the husk over an open fire. All of the corn is placed in a big kettle and stirred with a big stick until it is done. When the corn is done is can be eaten in two forms, either on the cob or scraped into a cup like cream corn. It is not only the cooking method but the toppings that make the corn good. The corn can be topped with butter, sour cream, shredded white cheese, salt, chile, and even lime. It is definitely worth trying. I shouldn’t recommend street vendors so I am not but if you are with some one you trust who can recommend a vendor try it. It is like the corn they show the guy eating in the awful and dumb movie Nacho Libre.

The primary Mexican diet consists of carbohydrates. Rice, beans, tortilla–oh and some form of meat. It is surprising how many people do not know that beans are a carbohydrate and not a protein. I worked at a clinic and was discussing with some of the medical assistants and non-medical staff that even though rice and beans make a complex carbohydrate, beans are still a carbohydrate. They did not believe me until the doctor confirmed what I was saying.

Anyway back to rice, beans, and tortillas. Mexicans don’t seem to eat many vegetables. When they do it is lettuce, cucumber and occasionally corn. I will talk about Mexican corn later because it is amazing.

I remember growing up in Texas at all the Tex-Mex restaurants and even at home we would have this knock off version of rice. It was red with some unidentifiable objects in it. I always avoided it. It was not until my good friend made rice was for me that I realized what this red stuff was supposed to be. She cooks her white rice with water, oil, and salt. If she wants a tomato flavor she will add a tomato bullion cube or tomato puree.

She also makes other amazing rices using the same method of cooking. She will add onion and garlic. Sometimes she adds a chicken bullion to this. I think she also has some secret ingredient because it always turns out perfect. Of course lime can be squeezed over any of these varieties because lime and chile are added to most foods. At others times she adds sour cream to already cooked rice and it is very good. All the rice I have had so far in Mexican is very good even though I prefer whole grain rices.

Beans can be bought pre-boiled at any of the little corner stores. You just have to choose who you trust to have good beans. They come in either a plastic container or bag. Of course you can make them yourself at home with water, salt, oil, and a little garlic and onion. The dried beans can be bought anywhere and they are pretty inexpensive. If you choose to buy them pre-cooked they can easily be turned into refried beans. They are first pureed with a little juice and then put in a skillet with oil or lard. My friend uses canola oil because she is trying to be a little healthier. You can buy olive oil in Mexico though, we will have to try that some time. Anyway they are cooked in the skillet with the oil until they are how you want them, hopefully not too long or they will dry out.

Tortillas can either be corn made from Maiza (this is corn flour, very different from corn meal and will not work for cornbread–I tried) or flour made from horina (normal white flour). Or it is pretty easy just to walk down to the tortilla shop and buy them pre-made. In Mexico corn tortillas are used more often. Sometime my friend is going to teach me how to make tortillas but that has not been a necessity yet. I will learn before we leave Mexico. My cousin Joy, who is married to a Texan from Mexican descent, makes the best flour tortillas in the world. Her mother-in-law taught her. When I was teaching my friend in Mexico how to make a pie crust she said it was pretty similar to making tortillas. Someday we will see.

There are all kinds of fruit drinks available in Mexico and they are pretty simple to make. It is just adding water and sugar to taste. This is the same as making lemonade or sweet tea. The different types of fruit I have tasted made into an agua include: papaya, cantaloupe, watermelon, orange, lime, pineapple, and cucumber (a vegetable).

Like every city Durango has its good points and bad points. Since some of the people reading this site are considering moving to Durango I though I'd list out some of the advantages and disadvantages of living in Durango Mexico.

Disadvantages:

• Scorpions – If you live near the mountain or in the downtown area you are going to have scorpions. In a newer house this is likely to be less of an issue, but it is always something you are going to have to deal with.
• Food costs – Durango imports most of their food from other states, so the cost of the food is generally the same as the US and many times more. Shopping at the market can help, but even there the costs usually aren't below what they would be in the United States.
• No Language Schools – There don't seem to be any Spanish language schools available. Most of the schools are there to teach you English. In some ways this can be a benefit because it means that there aren't a whole bunch of people around who speak English so you'll won't have as much opportunity to speak English.
• Pollution – Although it doesn't have the smog and bad pollution of Mexico City, Durango does have it share of pollution. The city is big enough that the many trucks and buses place a heavy toll on the quality of air. This can be minimized by picking a house way from the heavily traveled roads.

Advantages:

• Few Tourists – Durango doesn't have a bunch of tourists from the U.S. This is beneficial because there isn't an economy built around charging northerners high tourist prices.
• Inexpensive Housing – The housing prices are very reasonable especially if you can find something that is being offered for rent by the owner.
• Beef – Durango grows its own beef, so the prices are reasonable and the quality is high.
• Walmart – It is nice to have a familiar store nearby even though the inventory is different from the U.S.
• Healthcare – The doctors we worked with were very good, highly skilled, extremely nice and very inexpensive.
• Elevation – The elevation of Durango helps keep the summers from getting too warm and the fact it is in Mexico helps keep it from getting to cold in the winter.
• Internet – Durango has two cable companies that provide internet as well as DSL through Telmex. The cable modem prices are very reasonable and comparable (sometimes even cheaper) than similar service in the U.S.
• Safe Taxis – The taxi service is safe compared with the issues in Mexico City.

There are other advantages and disadvantages of living in Durango, but hopefully that will be a useful starting point for people looking at a possible move to the city.

We made it back into the States crossing at Laredo. Our plan was to come across at the same place where we originally went into Mexico–Laredo Bridge II. Unfortunately due to strategically missing road signs, we ended up crossing at Bridge I. Bridge I, seems to be primarily a tourist bridge, so it took us about 3 hours to get across. The bottleneck was the U.S. side of things of course.

It appears that many Mexicans make their living selling stuff to the U.S. citizens waiting in line to go back. We were offered everything from a small drum set to corn on the cob to windup chickens. Evidentally, "No, Gracias" is one of those phrases with multiple meanings. Usually it means "no, thank you," but I guess sometimes it can be translated "I'll buy your dancing chicken if you let it run all over the hood of my automobile."

At one of the stop lights leading up to the bridge, we saw someone with what seemed to be a fairly effective marketing technique. Once the light turned red, he would run around depositing a handful of candy on every reachable dashboard. Then he would revisit each recipient collecting payment if possible. If you keep your windows up, you'll reduce your chances of buying something in this area.

After several hours of street vendor entertainment, it was our turn to cross. The border guard eyed us suspiciously when I told him we had been in Mexico since October and were planning on going back in January. He wanted to know what type of work I did to be able to spend so much time in Mexico and how much money we had with us. I told him I worked with computers and we lived very frugally. We had a couple hundred dollars in U.S. currency and about the same Mexican. I think you start to run into problems if you are carrying more than $10,000 per person.

He seemed particularly suspicious of the side panels of our car and kept banging on the doors in the same way you'd kick at the tires of a used car. Our Yorkie isn't use to having people beat on the side of the car, so she started barking at him. I was thinking "Great, our car survives two months in Mexico only to have its paint job destroyed by an overzealous U.S. custom official and the interior shredded by a freaked out dog." Even though the suspicious looking side panels got a lot of attention, he never even looked in the trunk or at our luggage.

He came back to the window and asked. "Is anyone else with you in the car?" I guess maybe he wanted to see if it sounded like we were lying, but seriously is someone really going to say, "Just Jose. He is sleeping under the luggage cover in the back of the car because it is more comfortable."

Finally he was satisfied that no incredibly skinny people were hiding in the walls of our Volkswagen and he sent us on our way. We drove over a very large well painted speed bump and out into downtown Laredo.

In the parts of Mexico we’ve seen, there appears to be a different approach to speed bumps than what we are used to in the U.S. In the States, you paint the speed bumps white or yellow, so they are easy to spot and so drivers slow down. The idea is to keep people from coming through really fast because they can see that there is a speed bump.

In Mexico, speed bumps seem to be used as punishment instead of a deterrent. The speed bumps are made to blend in as much as possible. I guess the idea is that if you are going to fast you’ll ruin your car and maybe you’ll be more careful next time.

Before we headed back to the U.S. for the holidays, I took the car on a quick drive around Durango to get gas and get it washed for the trip. My friend was explaining how the roads worked and who had the right of way. He said that most of the East/West roads in the center of the city had the right of way and most of the North/South roads had to yield. Sometimes this was marked with stop signs, but there are several intersections where there is no markings at all. I asked how you know who has the right of way, and he said you just know by living there for awhile.

I don’t understand how you could give someone a ticket for not obeying a non-existent sign. Before you travel in a town you’d have to get a list of all their streets and read each one to see who has the right of way. I think I’m safer just assuming the other person isn’t going to stop.

Sunday we’ll be heading back to the U.S. to spend the holidays with family. We’ll be leaving most of our stuff here with our friends in order to keep more room available for bringing down baby stuff when we drive back in January.

We went around town and took a bunch of photographs today. Hopefully we’ll have more time to edit them and put them up over the next few weeks.

It is going to be a long drive back. I’m planning on leaving around 4am in order to make it all the way to Austin before it gets too late. It will take us about 10 hours to get to Laredo and another 4 to get to Austin. If we are sick of traveling we can stay in Laredo overnight. I think I would prefer to drive about 7 hours and stay in Mexico and then head out early for the border the next day. But since we aren’t very familiar with the hotels here and we have a dog, it probably would be pretty difficult to do. We may want to leave a little earlier so we can try to hit the border by mid afternoon.

Living in Mexico is challenging. It is a different culture and so there are a lot of little things to get use to. We are very fortunate to have great friends that are helping us out so much. It is frustrating to be somewhere that you can’t even make a telephone call and set up and appointment. This is, of course, our fault for not knowing Spanish, but it can be so challenging to try to do little things like that.

We are growing, though, and that is the whole reason we came down here. I’m not just talking about understanding more Spanish, but growing in our cultural awareness. It is easy to look at another culture and think that they would be so much better off if they did things the way you are use to them being done. It is a lot more difficult to look at yourself and your own set of cultural expectations and re-evaluate which ones are really important.

Haley and I met with our Spanish teacher again today. I'm beginning to see that we have very different learning styles when it comes to languages. Our teacher is helping us to say things correctly which is good, but I'm still at the point that I don't really care if I said it right or not. I'm just trying to muster up enough Spanish to communicate. If I say something wrong, I don't care as long as I don't accidentally insult someone and get myself dumped off in the middle of the desert.

I guess since Haley has a much better grasp of Spanish from her work at the clinic she is interested in saying things correctly. I was reading a blog post from someone who has been in Mexico since February 2006. He started out by taking classes for 3 month 3 hour per day. The idea was that he would understand most everything in 3 months and be fluent at the end of 6. It sounds like a good portion of his lessons were learning Spanish grammar.

That might be a better way to start. While I like the idea of just kind of learning by just through experience, having a solid grammatical foundation might be better. At least that way I wouldn't develop a bunch of bad habits. At the same time, it is difficult for me to concentrate of verb tenses, when I really just want to be able to ask what isle the orange juice is kept on. I suppose grammar will become more important when I want to carry on a conversation about something other than just meeting basic needs.

Maybe after Christmas we'll look at a more aggressive lesson plan. If over Christmas I can get through the rest of the Rosetta Stone course, I think I'll be in good shape for when we come back down in January. At the very least I'll be further along that I was when we moved down here.