Forums > General > Living, Working, Retiring

Rolly

Dec 15, 2003, 5:32 PM

Post #1 of 7 (551 views)

Shortcut

Christmas for the cop

Can't Post | Private Reply

There is a very difficult intersection that I have to make a left turn through on my way to anywhere, and it’s without a traffic light. Thank goodness, a lot of the time there is a traffic cop there. He is the most professional, useful, nice cop in town. He does a great job on that intersection. So today I gave him a Christmas card (with a little something in it.) addressed to, in Spanish, “For the best policeman in Lerdo.” He was thrilled. My guess is that not many drivers stop to give a Christmas to a traffic cop – but this guy earns it.

Do you have a good cop you should remember this year?

Feliz Navidad

Rolly Pirate

E-visit me http://Rollybrook.com
On Facebook as Rolly Brook

jennifer rose

Dec 20, 2003, 9:51 PM

Post #2 of 7 (456 views)

Shortcut

Aguinaldos

Can't Post |

As I sit here with three bags of aguinaldo in front of me from tonight's harvest from posadas, I contemplated what might make a more unique aguinaldo. Like ones containing little perfume sample bottles, hand lotion, chewing gum -- for a very small adult posada. So I started a google search to see if anyone else had any bright ideas, whereupon I was led to http://www.terra.com/...ulo/html/fin2804.htm, whereupon I gasped as I read the suggested aguinaldos. Between $10 and $20 (dollars) for the postman. But I paid him last month during Dia del Cartero! $15 for the stylist? The list became frightening, very frightening. And then I read upwards....and realized that the site was written for US readers living in the US. Whew.

Marlene

Dec 20, 2003, 11:32 PM

Post #3 of 7 (450 views)

Shortcut

Re: [jennifer rose] Aguinaldos

Can't Post | Private Reply

What would you all suggest for the garbage men? These guys are always smiling and laughing as they do their "dirty" work. Apparently they were soliciting donations last evening, but as I live on the second floor I missed it all. One more garbage day till Xmas Eve.

jennifer rose

Dec 21, 2003, 8:02 AM

Post #4 of 7 (426 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Marlene] Aguinaldos

Can't Post |

Ask your neighbors what they give. Community standards are important.

Where I live, the garbage business has long been privatized, so we get a different truck and crew each time, various ones passing through at different times of the day. Even the amount paid for pickup for a sack varies throughout the city. I'm not giving anything, because it's not expected here. But your locale may differ.

Carol Schmidt

Dec 21, 2003, 11:08 AM

Post #5 of 7 (402 views)

Shortcut

Re: [jennifer rose] Aguinaldos

Can't Post | Private Reply

The neighbor couple, who share afternoons with us on our housekeeper, joined us in giving her a 20" color TV in addition to her bonus this year. She cried and cried. Said she'd never had a TV before. We made a whole family immensely happy. Felt good. We wanted her to have it early since her family was coming over Sunday. Christmas eve we'll also give her some chocolates, gloves, cookies, etc.

We did check ahead to make sure she had electricity and room for it, and we did give her money to take a cab home with it, rather than offer to drive her home with it and possibly make her embarrassed and create a conflict for her on how to refuse since she possibly wouldn't want us to know how poor she is.

I threw out an old purse bought from a Guatemala peddlar in town, and Maria dug it out of the trash and treasured it. It was frayed at the corners but she still loved it. Luckily I hadn't dropped bacon grease on top of it. Now I will put anything even remotely reuseable in a separate garbage bag next to the trash can for her to decide discretely whether she wants it.

Just read that the Mexican minimum wage is now at $4 US A DAY for most job categories and areas, with the money switches lately, and 15% of the working population makes even less than that. The average wage is about $10 US a day. Maria makes $105 US a week from three part-time jobs and considers herself wealthy!

Carol Schmidt

Ed and Fran

Dec 24, 2003, 8:53 AM

Post #6 of 7 (323 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Rolly] Christmas for the cop

Can't Post | Private Reply

Here in Tuxpan, Ver, December 22nd is 'el dia del Transito', or The Traffic Cop's day. All the local transito's are out standing at their respective street corners/intersections in their best uniforms. Drivers passing by give them anything from cash to bottles to boxes of cookies. As the day passes, the pile of stuff at their side keeps growing. Some of them seem to do okay.

Feliz Navidad

E&F

SteveInPVR

Dec 24, 2003, 2:57 PM

Post #7 of 7 (291 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Carol Schmidt] Aguinaldos

Can't Post | Private Reply

Carol....what you do for your maid sounds wonderful! We live in a small condo complex in Puerto Vallarta, and my partner & I invited our maid, laundry person and handyman for lunch yesterday. They really appreciated the meal, and our turning the tables on them, serving them for the afternoon. We also gave them some music boxes with cookies in them, as well as the usual aquinaldos. It was a great feeling, and so much more personal than simply handing them a card with some money in it.

Steve
Steve