BUY five chili plants; six tins
of chipotle; three or four hot chili sauces; some Mexican candy; six different
varieties of tortillas; download some Luis Miguel and Shakira; accept gifts of
dried chilis from friends; place a few trinkets and photographs around the
house; add a sprinkling of love, and what do you get…?
Some respite from a bout of
homesickness.
Admittedly they’re small steps,
but I’m trying my best to provide a suitable Latin-tinged home from home for my
wife.
How do you cure homesickness? Is
there a cure?!
I’ve googled it, mentioned it to
friends and pondered their responses, and bought enough Mexican produce to feed
a small hungry army.
But still, occasionally – and not
so obvious that you’d really notice – I catch a faint glimmer of sadness and
longing in my wife’s eyes.
It’s easy to forget that we’re
now nearly 5,500 miles away from everyone she knows – and everything she’s ever
known.
You can largely replicate some
degree of surroundings, materials and possessions, but it will never be quite
the same.
Yes, the weather – not least the
beautiful summer we’ve been experiencing in the UK – has helped, but overall
life is vastly different to life in Tijuana. Obviously.
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| Plymouth's playground - not too shabby |
A few immediate observations from
Jacks about life/people in the UK:
a). Most British food tastes
‘sweet’ compare to Mexican cuisine;
b). Girls here have bigger boobs
than girls in the US;
c). Girls try to look as brown
(tanned) as possible here – mostly forgetting that their orange faces don’t
match their white necks or indeed the rest of their pale bodies.
Is my wife happy here in
Plymouth? Thankfully so.
She actually now finds herself
getting annoyed with people asking if she “likes” it here, before then stating
“it won’t last”.
It takes someone else’s view of
something you’ve always known to open your eyes to it.
“You have the city, the moors
(and of course the ponies), and the sea… right here,” Jacks says almost
proudly.
“What more do you need?”
That aside, there are moments
when you can’t help but contemplate the sacrifice of love.
Do first impressions last? I do
hope so.
Skype, Facebook and email help
the world to connect. These of course allow Jacks the opportunity to
speak/communicate with her family and friends in Mexico.
But sadly you have to be ‘connected’
to enable you to have that connection.
Sadly most members of her family
(including her mum and dad) are not currently in a position to accommodate
this.
And this is why I’m asking you…
people of the world… do you have any ideas to combat homesickness?
I have to admit – living in
Tijuana – had it not been for the close proximity and relative ease of access
to the US – and ultimately Western ways – I would have been pulling my hair out
if I had spent much longer in Mexico.
A year was truly a long time for
me with limited funds, no firm job prospect, no real friends, the temptation to
spend what I didn’t have, and the built-in Western desire to want for the
latest iPhone or gadget.
I loved the experience, the food,
the feeling of comfort and safety within a family, and the home from home, but
culturally it was hard (not forgetting the fact that my grasp of the Spanish
language was far from ideal).
And now we have the reverse
(although Jacks is admittedly coming from what is actually defined as a ‘Third World’
country, to a ‘First World’ country).
We’ve been back in the UK for
just over three months now and I think it’s fair to say that while we are
settling in, the last two years of experiences haven’t really sunk in yet.
What a whirlwind! Did that all
really just happen????
Did we actually live in Tijuana?!
Was I actually a TV anchorman in San Diego?! Did we get married?! Did we really
have a dinner meeting with John Travolta’s older brother to discuss a Lifetime
movie about our bizarre experiences as a couple?? (Yes… that’s for another blog
post…)
Wowzers.
Sitting here now in the kitchen
of our Victorian home in Plymouth, I’m not sure it ever will really sink in.
Life again, here in the UK is
new, exciting and different.
We’re at that stage now where we
have to order just about everything on a Chinese takeaway menu so Jacks can
ascertain what she does and doesn’t like.
“When you buy Chinese food here
does it come with a big chili as a free side order?”
“Not in a millions years
sweetheart…”
It’s the same drill with most things. Everything’s the ‘same same but different’.
Yes, you try explaining what 'knickerbocker glory ice cream' really is...
Thankfully Jacks is working now
and she’s earning money, thus allowing her to enjoy the finer (*cough*) aspects
of English life – like Primark.
 |
| 'Primarni' |
Words simply cannot describe the
look on Jacks’ face when she emerged from Primark with a bundle of clothes and
shoes so large it near enough took two of us to haul it back to the car.
A visit this weekend to the South
Devon Chili Farm also provided plenty of smiles and laughter.
The farm boasts 150 different
types of chili – some big, some small, some colourful, most likely violent to a
Brit boy’s delicate palate.
And Jacks was beyond happy.
 |
| Happy wife = happy life |
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| Chili farm selfie |
With another two plants purchased
yesterday I’m contemplating either building a home extension to house them, or
indeed setting up a farm myself.
 |
| Home grown |
We currently have 60+ chilis
ripening in the kitchen.
My eyes are watering at the
prospect.
Jacks’ are widening with glee.
Yes, it’s taken a little whole
for me to write a blog update.
No excuses really, we’re just finding
our way, settling in and experiencing our new life, continuing to live the
dream.
Thanks for reading.
Suggestions welcome people!
Tristan
Oh by the way… the chili plants
are called Tatanka, Pachito, Pita, Little Princess and Rainbow if you were wondering… :-)
Follow me:
@tristan_nichols
