Lyn and I finally had a chance to go downtown and have dinner at a “local” restaurant. The restaurant — Marie y su bici — was recommended by some of my students. It is a very authentic Mexican restaurant that still serves some traditional dishes (one I call a “bowl of bugs”), along with some delicious tacos and barbecued meats.
Needless, we stayed with the more common dishes. I’m not one for exotic food, especially anything with the word “insects” in the title.
I did try one of their Mezcallina drinks, which are served in a ceramic bowl. The one I had included half of an orange, half of a grapefruit, and some lemon. It was okay. Not as juicy as I had hoped.
Overall, we liked the restaurant, especially the decor and ambiance. Service was a bit slow — we had practically finished dinner before our drinks came — but otherwise, it was a very pleasant experience. I’m sure my foodie friends Tom and Tiffany will love it! They are a lot more adventurous than I am.
More Americans in Querétaro
After dinner, we wandered down to Hank’s for a nightcap and dessert. There, I overheard some people at a nearby table speaking English. I couldn’t help myself; I just had to go over and introduce myself. Turns out it was a young couple and their parents. The couple turned out to be fellow teachers who were about to embark on another country change. This time, they were relocating to Freeport, Bahamas. The woman, Julie, had been in Queretaro for almost 10 years, and her significant other, nearly as long. The two met at work. He teaches economics and she is an English teacher. They both have been teaching at the American school here.
I don’t know if you recall, but Lyn interviewed there not too long ago for a position teaching math. Turns out, the school will have some openings (at least one in English and one in economics). Julie encouraged me to apply and to say I had spoken with her.
The other position I interviewed for is still up in the air. I had two interviews last week. If they are interested, I will need one more interview, this time, locally. Fingers crossed!
I am feeling encouraged these days that something that pays more will be available in the not-too-distant future. We have been very frugal and still struggle to live within our current earnings. I have been freelancing a bit, which will help. I just started, though, so no income yet.
Retirement
Another update: I did finally call about my Circuit City pension. Of course, they couldn’t take the application to receive benefits over the phone and insisted they had to mail it. Well, you know, mail here takes for-EVER! So, I asked them to send it to my friend, Mary, in Boise, who has been kind enough to be my forwarding address for these past few months.
I am still in the process of updating my address with various places. It takes quite a while, first to get through, then to explain, and then actually get the job done. I’ve been worried that it would impact our credit, which has slowed the process a bit. So far, though, all is well.
I’m just hoping it doesn’t take too long to get everything processed. Once Mary receives the application, she will scan and send it to me via email, after which I have to complete it and provide a number of documents, which, of course, means snail mail. (I will probably use DHL.) Hopefully, it won’t take months to complete the process.
Once I get that pension, things will be a little better. Apparently, they have to issue me money retroactively to April 2017, so the first chunk should be decent. And, because of the exchange rate, what may seem to be a drop in the bucket (about $250), is, for us, like getting a third pay check each month. My freelance income this month will add an entire month’s pay, too. Phew.
Things are definitely looking up.
The kids say “hello!”
donnageisler.com 