On leaving San Miguel
By Dione Goyette

Last week, my husband and I took our 10-year-old daughter, Finleigh, to Chicago for her tenth birthday. It's a tradition in our house that when you turn 10, you get to go on a special trip by yourself (without siblings) back to Chicago (a city we used to live in when we were first married.)

This trip felt especially "special" because we were leaving from Mexico instead of Toronto, and because of that there were so many more tantalizing things to do, such as riding escalators and glass elevators, having toilet paper available IN the bathroom stall, drinking water directly from the tap (Finleigh was very reticent to do this), and my favourite-speaking English! (I am still struggling with my Spanish, and I feel guilty about it every day, but I have to admit the relief I feel when I can take a break from it.) We were giddy with joy from the very first minute. There was just no end to the fun, and we hadn't even left the Chicago airport! 

So much of the trip gave me pause to consider how different our lives are now. First of all, my love of the Tuesday market is no secret, and yet Finleigh and I were absolutely bug-eyed at all the things in the stores. At one of those humungous bookstores I collected an armfull of books ready for purchase but then had to jolt myself back to reality and stop the greed. I ended up considering each title and my true "need" for it and then slowly replaced each book. I left the store with nothing. Similarly, I dragged Finleigh into several shoe stores between the "kid" events and was all geared up to blow a bunch of "pesos" on a pair of shoes but, to be honest, there were just WAY too many styles to choose from. I began riding that wave of consumerism and I fell victim to it. I wanted stuff, and I wanted lots of it, and many times I didn't care what it cost. Hullo!? Bad, bad, weak girl! Finally I realized that I could have just as much fun watching and looking and browsing without buying and lugging all that "stuff
" back home with me. (OK! I did get one awesome book from the bookstore at the Art Institute.)

The other surprise (and I haven't been gone from Northern Norte America for THAT long) was the number of people who had cell phones and Blackberries and who used them continuously. Adults and kids would be walking down the streets talking away into something. Many times you couldn't see any device or even an earpiece-just people talking into thin air. It was weird and creepy and kind of funny at times. Finleigh saw a woman at one store who seemed to be buying something, but in the middle of the transaction she waved her hand frantically at the cashier as if to say, "Shhhh! Shhhhh!" so she could answer her phone that we couldn't even see. Even Finleigh remarked at how rude that was! Then, we were at the Shedd Aquarium, admiring all the beautiful tropical fish, while groups of teenagers were all holding up their cell phones to take pictures of the tanks. It was such a strange sight.

Overall, the trip was one fantastic moment after another. In addition to all the "big-city" pleasures, such as subways, Starbucks (everywhere … and by the way, it's not as good as I remember), bagel shops (almost as good as Bagel Café, but not quite) and sushi (conspicuously missing the ever-present Mexican addition of "Philadelphia"), we also visited the Hancock Building, gawked at the miniature rooms in the Art Institute, got pummeled in trampoline basketball and spent the better part of one day at The American Girls store (That's a whole other story!).

I have to say that we were all excited to leave San Miguel for a while (I call it "getting off the island"), but that was no match for the relief and happiness we all felt when we landed in León and rode the winding desert roads back here. 

…Which brings me to the subject of our next departure from San Miguel. My family and I will be returning to Toronto this June. Our plan initially was to come to SMA for one year, and here we are at the end of year two. None of us wants to leave permanently, and so we need to make some arrangements back in Canada for what comes next. I will report back soon and hope to be writing my next article FROM HERE next September. Wish us luck for a speedy return. Cheers!

Dione Goyette is the mother of three and novia/esposa to one. She and her family currently live in San Miguel. She can be contacted at mexgoyettes@yahoo.ca
!