The Girls Of Summer

Sol Beer Girls 

With all the activity of the summer season and the huge boost in population, Progreso is a business opportunity. On Saturdays and Sundays, the "Big Boys" come into town with the girls of summer and make quite a splash. The Big Boys, like to promote their companies and products through the employment of beautiful women. That is beautiful, scantly dressed women; insuring they catch the (male) eye of the public! Sol Beer, with the famous Sol Girls, is one of the biggest splash makers .These girls don't just stand around looking pretty and posing as pretend girlfriends for photographs. No, no, they can dance, shake, wiggle and roll all day long. They are very good at their job and will have you buying beer whether you are thirsty or not!

Sol Girls Grand Arrival
Motorized Beer Cooler..... Brilliant!

Shaking The Money Maker!

Other splash makers are Tostitos and Telcel, a little telephone company owned by Carlos Slim.

Tostito Girls

Telcel Girl

But lets not forget the real girls of summer. So boys, grab a beer and the one you love, and enjoy the last days of summer.......

La Senora

Living By Expiration Dates

Living abroad is living by expiration dates! To keep life running smoothly, it is important to calendar expiration dates a year in advance, so as not to be forgotten. Fortunately, or unfortunately, everything revolves  around the date in which you enter the country; making the month prior, a very busy one for renewals. For us, August is our busy time. Unlike living in the U.S.A., in Mexico, there are no renewal notices sent out 30 days in advance. Mexico, politely waits for you to make the inquiry; never assuming that you will continue on with their services. Hence, the need to ALWAYS calendar expiration dates!

Renewal of our Visas is always top priority. No, not our credit cards, but the permit that allows us, as foreigners, to stay in the country for an extended period of time (1 year). By choice, we have always completed the application on our own, without the help of a service or an attorney. We look at it as a Spanish language learning tool. Three years ago, Mexico implemented computer generated Visa renewal applications. This was a huge step forward by The Department of Immigration; saving time for both the department and the individual applying.

Our first attempt, 3 years ago, was a disaster. The department saved time, we on the other hand, turned a 30 minute task into an all day affair. The day ended with a rescue call to our English speaking Mexican friends for help. They in turn completed our applications, within 30 minutes, and without any translation problems! To be fair to ourselves, I need to mention that we also had some computer problems with enabling certain programs.Year two, with the aid of copies from the previous year, we achieved success within a hour. Okay, maybe it was closer to 2 hours. Year three, this year, we hit the lottery! Question number 3 asked if you know your NUE number? To be honest, I am not sure if this question has always been on the application or if it is new to this year. It is an optional fill in question. Being of the belief that less is best, we usually never give out any more info than what is required. But, for some reason this question (this year) piqued our curiosity. Not knowing what a NUE number is, we figured it must be information noted on the visa. So we grabbed our visas and started scanning line by line.The NUE number is the set of numbers listed on the front right side of the visa. Looking harmless, we decided  to type in the numbers and when we hit enter, the application auto filled. How sweet it is!

In Mexico, they have a saying, "poco a poco", which translates to "little by little". Little by little, everything comes together or works itself out. Well, it may have taken us 3 years to get to this point, but the point is, little by little we are getting there............

La Senora

Armando

Meet Armando,

Armando With The Church Ladies Of The Soup Kitchen

Armando, is a Padre (Priest) in training and the "golden child" of the church that sponsors the soup kitchen. He is young, charismatic and adored by all. Every Tuesday and Friday, Armando dines with the patrons of the soup kitchen. Like a ray of sunshine, he lights up the dinning room and those around him. He shares a word with everyone, leaving a smile upon their faces. At the end of July, Armando returned to Mexico City, to complete his final year in the seminary. After graduation, he will be assigned to a new church of his own. His departure has weighed heavily on the hearts of the ladies from the soup kitchen. In a sign of appreciation and gratitude, the soup kitchen held a special luncheon to say goodbye. I was extended an invitation, and honored to join in the festivities.

Luncheon Preparations

Special Time With Armando

Earlier in the month, a friend had given me a bag of Dove chocolates (from the U.S.A.) to share with the patrons of the soup kitchen. With chocolate being a luxury item in this community, they were a big hit. Ara (a.k.a.Mother Superior), asked if I could bring another bag of the chocolates to Armando's luncheon as a goodbye gift from all the ladies. Relying on the kindness of my dear friend, I was able to obtain another bag of Dove chocolates. The ladies presented a beautiful lunch and we all enjoyed our special time with Armando. After lunch, we gave Armando his gifts, a bottle of cologne and the Dove chocolates. Armando sweetly held the bag to his heart when giving thanks and then graciously shared a piece with all of us. These delicious morsels come individually wrapped in foil. Once opened, under the chocolate morsel is a feel good message (in English). Armando, was first to open his chocolate, saw the message and in perfect English read it out loud. I couldn't believe it. I looked at him as though he just performed a miracle! You speak English! "Yes, and I read English too"! But you never talk to me in English? "There was no need, you may speak Spanish badly, but you make yourself understood"..............

Gift Of Cologne

Gift Of Dove Chocolates

La Senora