Welcome to Mexico!

By Victoria Schmidt

Farewell

goodbye adios

 

I remember my first day in Mexico. After driving all day, we—our nephew, who came along to help with the move, my husband, two cats and a dog—reached San Luis Potosí. Initially our reservation was at a USA run hotel run by a USA company, but they wouldn’t allow pets. We were referred to a Mexican hotel where they even graciously helped us set up our kitty litter box and volunteered to walk our dog for us. We stayed in a lovely hotel. My husband ordered room service. I was so exhausted, I fell asleep after taking the first bite of my sandwich. That was our first taste of the graciousness of Mexico.

The next day, we rolled into Ajijic, hit a large pothole, and our electric van door opened up and wouldn’t close. This was how we arrived at our rental property in Chapala.

I was so excited, I found myself thrilled with every new sight. My husband and nephew made quick work of scouting our neighborhood and found several tiendas. My husband was thrilled he could just walk down the block and score all kinds of treats and sodas.

Shortly after arriving, I started attending the Ajijic Writers’ Group, where eventually Alex Grattan-Dominguez, who was then the editor-in-chief of El Ojo del Lago asked me to write this column. It has been a joy sharing my internal journey of my life in Mexico. I fell in love with this amazing country, the culture, the people, and that love continues to grow to this day.

But this is my last Welcome to Mexico column. As Alex resigned his position and retired at the end of April, he and David Tingen, the publisher of this magazine, asked me to succeed Alex as the new editor-in-chief. I have accepted, which means I’ll still be working with El Ojo, but in a different capacity.

It is my hope that my love and respect for Mexico and the richness of the expat community will be seen throughout the pages of this magazine and that working together with the writers at Lakeside we can continue to enrich the lives of our entire community.

El Ojo del Lago - Home Page

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