Thank you for the nice greeting.

We just got our email at home up and running a couple days ago. Then Leigh took off for a conference in Las Vegas early yesterday morning. I just talked to her actually. She had a five-hour delay in Guadalajara due to early morning fog. Here at Lake Chapala, it hasn’t really been foggy in the morning but it can be a little overcast. Then it always clears and gets up to the high 70s or so.

We both wanted to let you know that we are doing fine. It will be three weeks this coming Thursday since we arrived. The last couple of days at home were pretty terrible as we were packing and packing and still packing even as the movers were loading up the truck. But it all got done and moved into a friend’s basement. Then the next day, our last day in MA, we had to keep going to finish a bunch of loose ends and take the car to another friend’s house for storage. Finally, another good friend helped us finish at the house, stayed overnight with us, and took us to the airport in the wee hours of the morning. The sale of the house closed as we were getting into Guadalajara.

We traveled with our two cats in their carriers under the seats in front of us. We had one connection in Atlanta. The cats were slightly sedated and resigned themselves to their fate without too much protest. Once in Guadalajara we still had to taxi to the Lake Chapala region and deal with the rental agency for a couple hours. So it was a long day for all involved.

But we made it! Our rental house will be fine for the duration of the six-month lease, and then we’ll see if we can move up a little. We are in the lower-end section of a nice neighborhood with middle-class Mexicans and a few other gringos on the street. Further back from the main road, the homes get a bit nicer, with beautiful views of both the lake and mountains. We had to do the usual cleaning and maintenance to make it comfortable, but all in all, it will do nicely. It is only one block from the bus stop and a short walk to a grocery store and a few restaurants. Given that we don’t have our car yet, it is pretty much just what we needed.

We are getting most of the basics worked out (like Internet access!) but aren’t doing much in the way of cooking yet. Without the car we are limited to where and how we can get supplies, so we do a lot of eating out. The prices at restaurants are maybe about half of what they were back home - so it doesn’t feel very expensive by those standards.

You’ll be pleased to know that we’ve found a non-denominational, English-speaking, “Little Chapel” (average attendance about 45 people right now) within walking distance to our home. We’ve been there three times and have already met quite a few people. There seems like there is some kind of Christian breakfast, Bible study, or other fellowship to go to nearly every day if one were so inclined. Leigh has been to a few. I’ve only been to two after-church lunches and a “Second Sunday Sing”, i.e. hymn sing. We like it. The man working in the rental office, as he was bringing us out to the house, said he sang in the choir there as he drove by. That’s how we found it.

I’m about typed out for now and have to get on to my Spanish lesson for the day before my brain gets too tired…

Best regards,

Keith and Leigh