After a Week in Mexico
I moved out of the Airbnb and into my new apartment in Mazatlan today. It´s fully furnished and nicely decorated and has two bathrooms. Everyone told me not to go through a realtor because I´d end up paying more. However, since I don´t speak the language, other than a few phrases, and it´s a new country for me, I thought it best to go through a realtor, and I´m glad I did. $700 a month for a nice place isn´t expensive to a Californian.
However, I ended up on the fringes of the ex-pat side of town, which I didn´t necessarily want to do, but it´s a good start. The heart of the ex-pat community reminds me of Las Vegas without the casinos. The greedy corporations are building high rises up and down the strip. I find it disgusting, but it´s employing people, so I guess I shouldn´t complain. My lease is for five months, and who knows, I might move on to a smaller town when it´s up.
Something that I find surprising is that these people are rude! Nobody holds doors open for you, and when you´re going through a door, they will barge in past you before you get out. People don´t smile and acknowledge you in passing. The checkers in Walmart don´t greet you or smile. People also block your way, and when you say ¨disculpe¨, they don´t budge. Now, it might be my imagination, but it seems like it´s the young people who are like this. I will have to pay attention and see if I´m right. I´m going to start giving everybody a big smile and greeting and see if that gets the bug out of their butts.
On a more pleasant note, my landlady is a dentist, and I need my teeth cleaned.
