BACK WRITING AGAIN

BACK WRITING AGAIN

As I sit down and write again, I recall what drove me to share my live with everyone three years ago. I was at my worst and I had to prove to all that I could change it for the good. I am still cancer free without having surgery, chemo and radiation. Through this experience I have met a lot of wonderful people and obtained a lot of knowledge. I learned that knowledge is power and we live in a very big world. One needs to explore, because you can miss what I have learned about cancer and changing your lifestyle if you do not.

I discovered for example, Mexico is a great place to live. I moved from Florida which I lived all my life, to Mexico about five months ago. I do not speak Spanish at this time, but will be learning. It has been an eye opener to Dan and I for it is not like we had heard it would be ~ its much better.

I am located in the middle part of the country, near a small town called Chapala. I have grown to love the mountains and the small towns. The culture is full of beauty with the gifted talent of the people’s art that is showcased throughout. The land is speaking out saying that we are here and the sun is shining on our souls.

This experience I will continue to share, for I find it so important to show case this countries value to the world. I came for a new journey, and a new beginning for I have been blessed to have been treated by Mexican doctors that have taught me to survive cancer the functional way.

Tonight as I look back at my past, I reflect on the valuable lesson that I learned and realized how important quality of life is. I was given this quality of life and humble to share the bad along with the good.

Remember, anything is possible.

MANY THANKS

MANY THANKS

I am so thankful for all my new and old friends, thanks goes out to Arthur and his family along with Gary and Breta. Today we had our first guest over for dinner. I wanted it to be just right, so we had the owner and chef of the restaurant on the grounds of Perico Hotel to cook it for me. Arthur had taken the organic vegetables that I had purchased at the organic market and the chickens from the local poultry shop, which are grass raised. He smoked them and what a surprise and special dinner it was.

Breta brought a house warming gift, which was a lovely vase of many colors. She knew that I was looking for bright colors for our new home. The vase is bright and had many different types of flowers that were homemade by some Mexican children. The beauty just stands out with the voices of the area. Dinner was a success and it goes out to our friends, THANK YOU

 

Wow! It’s been four months

Wow! It’s been four months since Dan and I moved to Mexico

Time never stops, it keeps going and going! It’s been four months since Dan and I left the USA for a new adventure and a new lifestyle. Every day I have been busy either exploring the awesome beauty that my area provides for us or busy remodeling our casita. The challenge has been rewarding and I could not be more happy and healthy. Every week we go to the organic market and I have been getting to know the venders… As we walk back the beauty surrounds us with the echoing of the mountains singing happy tunes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since the last post, we have been exploring Chapala, which I have taken several pictures of, such as the market place along the boardwalk. This is where you can find a lot of handmade items. The Mexicans are very talented and take pride in their work. Here are some pictures of the last day with our friends, Todd and Sandra before they left to go back to the states.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Days have gone by and now we are off to this town near Guadalajara called Tonala, with our other friends, Gary and Breta.

 

 

Tonalá (Spanish pronunciation: [tona'la]) is a city and its surrounding municipality within the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area in the state of Jalisco in Mexico.

The city had a 2005 census population of 374,258 and the municipality had a population of 408,729 and an area of 119.58 km² (46.17 sq mi). The municipality lies adjacent to the east side of Guadalajara. The Guadalajara metropolitan area, which includes eight municipalities, had a population of 4,095,853, the second-largest urban concentration in Mexico after Mexico City. The city and the municipality both rank fourth in the state of Jalisco in population, after Guadalajara, Zapopan, and Tlaquepaque.

On two days a week (Thursdays and Sundays) there is a giant street market covering several of the main streets, with numerous vendors of ceramics, pottery, glass objects and all kinds of handcrafted items and novelties. Most of the art found on Tlaquepaque and Guadalajara was manufactured here.

Due to the clay soil in the area, pottery or alfareria has been a traditional occupation for centuries.

The noted Mexican artist Sergio Bustamante is reported to have his primary studio in the Tonalá area, with his main gallery being located in nearby Tlaquepaque.

Portrait artist and political activist Jesús Guerrero Galván (1910–1973) was born here.


This is the place to go for any pottery or jewelry items, the market goes on forever.

　

　

Crime Rates at Border

08 | 02 | 2011

 USA Today & MexicoToday.org

Crime Rates in Ohio Are Higher Than Crime Rates in U.S. Border Cities

Sun, 2011-06-12, MexicoToday.org
While some alarmists raise false concerns about spillover violence, a recent article in El Paso Times reported that more data has been collected showing that U.S. cities near the border of Mexico “have some of the lowest crime rates in the nation.”
The following 2010-2011 Crime Rankings Survey conducted by CQ Press compares U.S.-Mexico border cities’ crime rates to the crime rates in Ohio’s six largest cities.
Some Congressmen want to ensure that these statistics are better publicized.  They note that border violence is basically non-existent and the numbers firmly prove that cities near the border are not more dangerous than other cities in the U.S.
U.S. Representative Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, talked about crime rates in Ohio and said that Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner’s “own district in Dayton, Ohio, saw more homicides in 2009 and 2010 than Texas’ four largest border cities combined and Dayton’s population of 141,500 is only about one-tenth of the size by comparison.”
Additionally, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano keeps reiterating that the U.S.-Mexico border has never been more secure than it is today.
U.S. HIGHEST CRIME RATE
Ohio
7. Cleveland
20. Dayton
24. Cincinnati
27. Toledo
37. Canton
47. Akron
49. Columbus
Major border cities
144. Laredo
204. Yuma
221. San Diego
275. El Paso
291. McAllen
304. Brownsville

USA Today Study: Border Cities Safer Than Most U.S. Cities, Crime Rates Declining

July 17, 2011
USA Today has just concluded an indepth analysis of crime statistics along the U.S.-Mexico border using a decade of information from multiple law enforcement agencies.  And what did they find? 
Apparently, crime along the border has been declining for quit some time and the border is ‘statistically safer on average’ than most other U.S. cities.  These findings of course have been proven by other studies it’s just the political rhetoric that is not reflecting these facts.
The repeated demand for a secure border is so often used as the cause for not implementing immigration reform that more than 80% of all American’s believe the border is unsafe and lawless and therefore demand the border be secured before discussing immigration reform. 
Irresponsible and untrue statements, such as those made by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer about ‘headless’ bodies found at the border, do not help the border city image.
The USA Today study shows that the murder rate for border cities (those cities 50 miles or less from Mexico) were lower ‘nearly every year from 1998 to 2009’ compared to the other state averages. 
In addition, kidnapping from drug cartels along the border were at 25 in 2010 down from 62 in 2009 and thus far in 2011 there have been 10 confirmed cases.

Sources:
MexicoToday.org
USA Today
El Paso Times

“Mexico’s violence not as widespread as it seems.”

“Mexico’s violence not as widespread as it seems.”  

After months of sensationalized stories about Mexico’s border violence, USA Today published a story about the media hype. While the story itself became an opportunity to re-tell some sensational tales, it did set the record straight by finally comparing  U.S. and Mexican homocide figures. 

 

Mexico has very low violent crime rates.

The U.S. Assault rate is 5 times higher than Mexico’s. Mexico’s violent crime rates for Assault, Kidnapping and Rape are substantially lower than Canada’s and yet the U.S. State Department issues no such warnings for Canada. The rate for Rape in the U.S. is more than double the rate in Mexico.  The numbers in the charts below have been adjusted for unreported crime from the respected 2012 Prominix report and are the most accurate statistics available on this subject.
Unless you are involved in the drug trade, you are statistically safer in Mexico than anywhere else in North America. Even though the U.S. murder rate of 4 per 100,000 is lower than Mexico’s, tourists and visitors are statistically safer in Mexico and much less likely to be a victim of violent crime than in the U.S., Canada and many other countries regarded as safe.

Mexico City is 4 times safer than Washington D.C.

Mexico City is 4 times safer than Washington D.C.

The U.S. State Department in Washington issues warnings about Mexico, yet Washington D.C. is four times more deadly than Mexico City. Washington’s murder rate has been cut almost in half in the last 10 years, but it still averages 24 per 100,000 vs. only 8-9 per 100,000 in Mexico City. How do you suppose the U.S. State department would feel if the Mexican government posted travel warnings for the U.S. capital? Mexico City is a cultural treasure that is larger than New York, London or Paris. In fact, it is about the same size as London and Paris combined.

 

 

BACK AT HOME IN AJIJIC

BACK AT HOME IN AJIJIC

Dan and I went into town with some friends, we stopped at a couple of places along the way for supplies. While in Ajijic square there was an artist that was carving from the bark of a tree. Mexicans that surround us have roots that the talent goes back as far as 1500 hundred years.

I would like to thank Sandra for the pictures, for I brought my camera however, forgot to put the sim card inside. The dish shown in the picture is the transitional food of the Aztecs that where here many years ago.

Dan and I are still remodeling our place and real soon I will post pictures for your enjoyment.