In the States, grocery stores regularly put things like milk and eggs on sale in order to attract customers. Here in Mexico, they don't seem to change the prices to attract customers. Instead they give you something else for free. For example, on weekends, Walmart tapes small bags of juice to all of the milk jugs. So you get this juice baggy thing for free when you buy the milk.

I guess this is good for people who want the juice, but it isn't a very motivating factor for us when we want the milk and don't particularly care for a small bag of yellow juice that we can't identify.

Another thing interesting about pricing, is that milk seems to cost the same at the corner store as it does at Walmart. There is also no incentive to buy in bulk. Milk is 18 pesos for 1/2 gallon and 36 for a full gallon. With the higher expense of packaging two 1/2 gallons over one full gallon, you would expect the full gallon to be at least a little cheaper.

My dog had yellow drainage from her eye yesterday. This morning my friend set up an appointment for me at the vet. He was very nice. He did a thorough exam of her eyes, ears, and whole body. He asked to make sure her shots were up to date. He gave her ant inflammatory shot and then sent us home with antibiotic eye drops. He wants her to return for a follow up visit tomorrow. He did speak English so it went smoothly. He has an amazing love for animals that I had not seen in many people here nor in the vets in the states. It only cost $200 pesos including the follow up visit for tomorrow. It was called Granville Veterinary Clinic. My friends say it is one of the more expensive ones in town but for me it is worth it. So if you are here and need a very good and loving veterinarian give them a call.

House for RentWe went and looked at a house in a neighborhood that we really like. It was ok, but there was a a strong sewage smell in the yard and you could really smell the car exhaust from the nearby large street. We could probably fix the sewage smell with some work, but not the car exhaust.

We drove over to see the house with our friends and as we walked back over to their car we realized the the keys were locked inside. Their spare keys were locked in the trunk so we were stuck. They found a "locksmith" who drove over on his motorcycle and took out a toolkit and started sticking various objects into the lock. I tried to get a picture of him working, but he had the door open in about 30 seconds.

As we got into the car I asked our friend how the locksmith knew it was our car and that we weren't breaking into someone else's vehicle. He said he didn't and that they just "trust" the person who is paying them. Our car uses a different type of lock, so I doubt someone would be able to open it short of breaking a window. Of course breaking the window will pretty much get you into any vehicle and it tends to attract a lot of attention.

Trimming TreesThe other day as I was walking to the store in the morning I saw a bucket truck pull up near our house. The man in the bucket had a machete and was trimming the trees away from the electrical wires. It was a little scary to watch him swinging the large machete blade that close to the live wires. It seemed to work out ok and he got the trees trimmed without hitting any of the wires.

I've noticed that you see a lot more people wearing neck braces than you do in the U.S. I'm not sure exactly why unless it is from minor auto accidents. The way I understand it, insurance will pay for actual expenses involved in an accident. So if you are off work for 10 days, the insurance will pay for the time you lost at work. It is possible that wearing a neck brace gives you a good way to prove you were injured.

In NYC I've heard of a bus that was involved in a very minor accident. There were 20 people on board. By the time the police got there, the bus had 40 people on board and many of them were complaining about whiplash. People off the street saw a chance for a payout and climbed on the bus to claim they had been injured.

We saw what looked like an accident where a car hit a pedestrian a few days ago. The lady had a skinned elbow, but looked like she was fine otherwise.

Sunday we were standing on the street when I heard some music playing. There was a donkey loaded down with synthetic feather dusters being followed by two men. One was playing an accordion while the other was doing his best to play and carry a large upright bass. Behind the two men were 30 other people walking two by two. The marched down the street and turned the corner before I could get a good picture of them. We asked our friends what was going on and they weren't sure. Maybe it was some house cleaning ritual where everyone shows up at a friends house and helps dust away the cobwebs.

November 20th is a holiday in Mexico similar to July 4th. in the U.S. It actually celebrates a 10 year revolution that started in 1910. We are told that there are many parades and celebrations all over the country on this date. We didn't see any because we spent the day sick in bed.

Resaurant in DurangoOn Sunday we went to a restaurant with our friends and something in the food didn't quite agree with our stomachs. Monday was pretty miserable. Our friends were just fine, so it must have been something in the food that we aren't used to up North. We have a friend who came to the U.S. from Colima and he got sick on the U.S. food.

Anyway, here is a photo of a restaurant I would suggest avoiding if you happen to be visiting Durango Mexico. If you are use to Mexican food, it is probably fine, but for gringos you may want to look for a different place to eat.

ApartmentYesterday the realtor called and said she had found us an apartment close to our friends. We went with her to see it. It was nice 3 bedroom 1.5 bath and only for $3000 pesos a month. It seemed fairly new. The rooms were small so it would not take long to clean. There was a little patio area for us to put the washer and cloths line. There was no accessible grass that we could see. The view out the upstairs windows had a grassy area with some trees. That is very good for the soul when grass is such a rarity but it also reminded me of the saying "water water everywhere but not a drop to drink." Grass grass that I can see but no place for my dog to go potty. The apartment had a non-covered gated parking area. The street it was on did have some abandoned houses. Because it is downtown there would probably be scorpion around. It is still an option but we want to see more. We still have yet to see the one where the lady did not show up. It does have a little yard with grass.

Today I decided I would try to be more independent. I called a lady who will teach us Spanish and set up an appointment for our first lesson. Feeling quite confident (ignoring the fact the teacher spoke English), I decided I should try to call an schedule my next visit to my doctor. I made sure I knew what I wanted to say "Necessito una cita con Dr. (his name) por Lunez." I think she understood I wanted an appointment for Monday with the doctor. She asked me what type of an appointment. I told her 23 weeks obstetrical in Spanish, I think. She asked my name. I spelled it using my Spanish for Dummies guide for letter pronunciation. She got the last name but never got the first name so I just acted like she did and figured my last name was good enough. She asked me when and I told her after 4pm.

Then she asked me some questions I did not understand. She eventually said wait (esperar), something about 15 minutes (quince minutos) a bunch of other words and then there was click. I never got an appointment time. I think I frustrated her pretty bad. So the moral of this story is just because you know what you want to say does not mean you will understand the answer or be able to respond when someone speaks back. This is an every day occurrence but I was hoping I could get an appointment. I will have to have my friend call to see what a mess I made and try to straighten it out.

We tried to look at another house tonight. We were supposed to meet the owner at 5pm. Around 5:30 we called to find out where she was and were told she was “on her way”. We stayed around until about 6:15 and tried to call again, but her phone must have been off the hook. Oh well we’ll try again later.

In my U.S. mindset I would think if you have a house for rent, you’d be there before prospective renters in order to make sure everything is ready for them and to try to make it impressive.

We did get a chance to meet the neighbor who it turns out is a friend of the friends we are staying with. She is married to a man from the U.S. so the entire family speaks English. She told us it was a nice house but that the last renter had been paying $3000 pesos per month. The owner had quoted us $4500 per month. The neighbor said we should be able to get her down to $3000. So that was some useful information.

The house is just down the block from the large yellow house that we liked, but that seemed a little bigger than what we need. Unfortunately this house is closer to the main road and after standing there for awhile the I really started noticing the car emissions.

It would be nice if we could find a place that was furnished. The cost of getting a refrigerator, washer, furniture, etc. is really going to add up. So far I haven’t heard of anything like that being available.

I was 18 weeks pregnant when we met our doctor for the first time. He is very nice. He does not speak much English but understands most words. With my limited medical Spanish we were able to communicate some. Our friends came along and were able to help translate a lot.

His office was in a building with many other types of physicians. Each office was just a door in a hallway. Outside of the doors were a few chairs for waiting and a secretary's desk, if he had a secretary. Behind the door to my doctor's office he had a very nice desk and chairs for two people. Behind the desk was a partial wall. There were two exam tables behind the partial wall. He did not have a nurse or assistant, so he took my weight in kilograms and pounds. Then on the first exam table he took my blood pressure and used a doppler to hear the fetal heart tones. Next he moved me to the other exam table where he performed an ultrasound. Actually two ultrasounds. He had tried to record a dvd for me to take home and it did not work so he tried a second time. The second time did not work either, but he had other patients waiting so we needed to go. We spent at least 45 minutes with him and for the whole process he only charged around $30 dollars.

Two other differences I noted in the care given where the lack of routine urine dips. He asked me if I had symptoms of an infection but did not check my urine. In the states they routinely check for glucose and protein. He stated that at 24 weeks he would recheck my lab work. This brought up another subject. I am Rh negative. In the states at 28 weeks and then within 72 postpartum Rhogam is given. I asked him if he would give Rhogam at 28 weeks. He stated only if I wanted it or my Coomb's test at 24 weeks came back positive. He stated the reason for both of these differences was that it is a poor country so things are done differently. I am okay with that. But I did not ask if him if he heard of an asymptomatic urinary tract infection. At my next visit.

That is quite a change from the States. Not to mention the amount of time and price for the doctor visit. The ultrasound which could cost $1,000 in the U.S.A. Even though this is a private doctor, there is quite a difference when insurance companies are not controlling prices in a country.

From my understanding there are three different types of health care you can receive in Mexico. One is the public system for the poor or those without a way to pay. This would be equivalent to a county hospital in the states. But much worse from what I hear. I guess it depends on your county :). These prices are much cheaper. The second is a hospital that working people can go to. The government pays for this hospital. I don't know if the employers contribute some how or not. The third are private hospitals run by individual physicians or groups. These anyone who has the money can go. I will try to find more information on this subject, perhaps my doctor will be able to explain at my next visit.

Mark wrote about the yellow house by Sam's Club. It is my favorite so I wanted to add a little about it.

It is very clean. The walls and floors are all white so that makes it look even more clean. It is the first house with a dishwasher, a pea green one as a matter of fact. I guess that dates it around 30 years old. So maybe it does not work. The master bedroom in this house has its own pink bathroom, Mark did not like it but it reminded me of my best childhood friend's bathroom. It had a lot of pink in it. This house is probably more than we need but it is very nice and if we could get it for cheaper it would be really really nice.

There are two more houses in the same neighborhood neither are not listed with a realtor. We looked at one of them yesterday. It was very nice. It had four bedrooms. The master bedroom even had a jacuzzi in the bathroom. It had two water heaters and a hook up for a dryer. All three of those things seem to be rare. It also had grass in the back yard. Grass itself has to be worth $200 in rent. There were also two apartments in the back yard and an outdoor kitchen. A lot of house for $850 a month. Tonight we go and see the other house. It is much smaller 3 bedrooms and 1 bath for around $425 a month. It may be the perfect one, if we can get the price down and sneak in another bathroom. I would like to have at least two bathrooms for when the baby comes and all our family is here.