Home is Where the Heart Is
Ajijic, Lake Chapala, Mexico
Our three children all grew up in Ajijic, Lake Chapala.
They went to school here and 2 of them went to college in the US and Canada and the other one went to university in Ontario. They have worked and lived in the US, Canada, London, England and have collectively traveled to Italy, France, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Minorca, Holland Guatemala and Switzerland. One of our daughters wrote her university entrance essay on the fact that Mexico is her heart which gained her admission into 5 excellent Canadian universities.
They all would go away to school or to work but they always came home to Ajijic, Lake Chapala as his is home and where they all feel most comfortable.
Their friends are here, the food they love, the nightspots they frequent and a life style not found anywhere else in the world
We always encouraged them to go back up north or abroad assuming they would have better lives or jobs but no place ever stuck and they always came home. They are happy here and this is home.
Although they have loved other cities such as London, they still like the peace, quiet and camaraderie of our little village in the sun. They have totally assimilated into the Mexican culture..
They love going to the beach with their friends, or Mazamitla , or Tapalpa or Guanajuato, or San Miguel de Allende or Guadalajara to the fancy clubs or for clothes shopping and sightseeing.
This is a small town and they have all grown up with everyone here so with their contacts and the internet jobs are not a problem. One of our girls has 2 college degrees but still could not get a job in Dallas. Working papers in Guatemala was impossible to obtain . It is amazing to us that this is where they will make their home and build their futures. They all will probably continue to travel but this is where they want to raise their families.
All our children appreciate the values and warmth of the Mexicans.
They, of course, are fluent in Spanish and 2 of them are conversant in French from their French immersion says in Toronto.
These languages have opened doors for them all over the world. I remember when I was nervous about moving here with young children 15 years ago my wonderful mother-in-law said “at the very least you are giving them the gift of another language”.
There is a television commercial that says “if you want your children to leave home stop cooking with cheese”.
I know it is not the cheese that brings them home to Ajijic, Lake Chapala. It is the feeling that they have when they are here. They are safe and among friends. Why would they want to live anywhere else?