You’ll recall the famous quote from the movie Office Space, which really involves answering that age-old question “why do we pay you?” Retirees, and especially expat retirees get a version of that same question, which roughly goes like this: “what do you do all day?” Well, every day is different, but here is a collage of photos showing some of the things that fill up my time.
Since we’re in the tropics, daylight hours don’t vary nearly as much as up north, so we’re often up before the sun at 7:00 am. I tried to load an MP4 file here, but it just wouldn’t take (probably too slow an upload speed…one drawback from being in a developing country). Still here’s a shot of mi casa at dawn, while I’m walking the dog. You’ll just have to imagine the birdsong and roosters. Or visit.
Breakfast can be as hearty as fresh local coffee, bacon and eggs, or simply a local banana with some yogurt.
Most days include some exercise. We stretch up on our rooftop mirador; Judy does kettle bells on the terraza, while I do a quick trip down the carretera to my gym.
We almost always need to “go into town.” This day, we had immigration photos taken at a shop, and stopped by the local grocery to pick up a few items.
You may have noticed we eat out often. Partly, its just so inexpensive. Partly, it helps the local economy: we live in a tourist zone with many restaurants that depend on steady customers to make ends meet. Mostly, its a social thing: here we are having brunch with our friends from Church. Its a Chinese restaurant called Min Wah, so of course we’re having a Mexican breakfast.
We’ve a
dopted the siesta as an afternoon ritual. This is my dog showing how it is done. Note how he has mastered the “pillow” technique. While Tucker was snoozing, Judy and I attended a fund-raiser for Villa Infantil, the local orphanage, run by the Catholic Sisters of the Congregration of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Joseph (put that on a t-shirt!).
Evenings are a chance to catch up on reading or watching some stateside TV.
An expat friend of mine once described a week of retired life here as “six Saturdays and a Sunday.” Days do seem to run together and have more similarity than the stark difference between work days and weekends/holidays back in the working world. Sometimes I even find time to write a blog entry! 😮
I distinctly remember when we first moved to Germany, we had to get accustomed to the slower pace. In Germany, Sunday’s were quiet days, and you did not work outside on the lawn, wash your car, or do anything noisy outside! Stores were closed. It took awhile before we learned to enjoy the quiet day. Do you and Judy find any difficulty in adjusting to the different pace? Are there some days when you just want to find some hustle and bustle?
Sunday is certainly “family day” here in Mexico. People work on Saturday, so Sunday is the one day guaranteed for family time. There are some things closed, but nothing like I remember from Germany. I thought the slower pace, and the manana culture, would bother me, but it doesn’t. Since I have no time pressures, why should I care whether something gets done today or tomorrow?
Love the pictures Pat. You give a good example of daily life, how harsh it can be. Ja ja ja
Thanks, John. Its tough work, but someone has to do it. 🙂