I’ve had lots of questions about our upcoming move to
Durango- about the city, the school, where we'll be living, etc. So I thought I’d
address those qestions that I’m able to, now.
But you don’t speak
Spanish. How will you communicate? The American School of Durango is a
fully-credited bilingual, bicultural school.
The students speak English. So that shouldn’t be a huge issue. However,
I studied Spanish in college and I’m hoping that it all trickles back, as I’ll
be immerged in the language. I’ve been told that although Caden may have a
difficult adjustment period, he will soak it up like a sponge, and be almost
fully bilingual by the end of our first year. I’m stoked about that. School website is here: http://www.cadurango.edu.mx/
What are you doing
with Sadie? She gets to come with us, but not right away. Mexico has weird
laws about when pets can travel across the border, so hopefully, we will get
her when we come to visit at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Or, if someone comes to visit, they can bring her, any time after September.
How are you going to
find a place to live? The school is providing us with a furnished apartment.
I haven’t seen pictures yet, but I’ve been told it’ll be a 2-3 bedroom apartment,
in the heart of the city, within walking distance to Caden’s school. I’m responsible for utilities; the water
bill is usually around $10 a month, electricity around $30 every two months,
telephone $20-30, and gas is around $50 every month, all depending on
consumption.
What about your car?
I’m planning on leaving my car up in Seattle with a good friend so I don’t have to
pay for storage or let it sit for year. It’s not paid off, so I’m still
contemplating selling it, so I don’t have to make payments, but I haven’t
decided yet. Everything is reachable by foot or a quick taxi ride in Durango,
so there’s no need to bring my car.
Will you have the
same phone number? I don’t know yet. I have to contact Verizon and see what
sort of plans they have, figure out my options.
What’s the weather
like? The annual yearly temperature is around 78 degrees, with low humidity. The seasons are a little different than those
most of us know. They still have 4 seasons, sure, but there, it’s about 72-75
in the fall, 50-60 in the winter, 72-80
in the spring and 78- 85 in the summer. Sounds good to me. Give me a patio and
a margarita. Hold the ice.
How can you drink a warm margarita? How will you get around not drinking the water? I took this straight from the faq the director sent me: Most
everyone goes through an initiation process that involves a bit of Montezuma's
revenge and general upset stomach. It
basically just takes a bit of getting accustomed to the new set of food and
bacteria in a different place. You can
easily find Pepto and pretty much any other tummy medicine here. The hospital where we have our insurance
arrangement is accustomed to attending American School teachers for such
problems during the first few months of classes and tend to prescribe your
basic antibiotic to fight off the bug.
What about your house
in Texas? Hopefully my house will sell before I leave. If not, I’m going to
have to let the bank have it. I really feel like I don’t have any other choice
as I am not interested in going into the rental business. As far as all of the
items in my house, everything is going to be sold, or given away before I leave.
(even my BOOKS!) It’s good to purge every now and again. My art, my Keurig,
some clothes and a few sentimental items are the only things making the road
trip with us to Seattle, where my cousin will babysit them until our return.
What are you taking
with you? Compared to what I currently own, I’m taking basically nothing
with me. Caden will pack a box of toys and books that my parents will ship over
for us once we get settled. We will take suitcases with clothes and a few
toiletries. I will ship over my
classroom resources directly to the school. The apartment is supposed to be furnished, so we’ll see what their
definition of furnished means in August, when we get there.
Can I come visit? Are
you near the beach? Yes, come visit us. The
nearest beach is Mazatlan, on the western coast. It’s about a 2-3 hour drive,
according to google maps. We’ll road
trip to the beach. It’ll be grand.
Are you going to marry a Mexican? Well, duh.
I’ll post more answers to more questions a little later.
Adios!
