In This issue...
-
Real-World "Fountain of Youth" In Affordable Lake Chapala Community
-
Carnitas a gift from Michoacan to the whole World
-
Practicing yoga or tai chi can reduce stress
-
Overweight? Start Reducing Today!
-
A Fascinating Dinner in Lake Chapala
-
Myth about Mexico: Health Care
-
Ojo del Lago Review of
"A Pillow Stuffed with Diamonds"
-
Spanish 101: The Meaning of Ya
-
A tip from the Mexican Kitchen
-
AMSIF in San Juan Cosala - Charity begins at home
Enjoy! Read on...
All this and more await
you in this issue of the ...in focus
newsletter.
Real-World
"Fountain of Youth"
Real-World
"Fountain of Youth" In Affordable Lake Chapala
Community
By Karen McConnaughey
That was the headline in the May 2010 issue of International Living. The
article profiled one of our more well-known local residents, Jim Tipton, a
67-year-old ex-beekeeper from Colorado,
who "now lives comfortably in
year-round warm weather in Ajijic on a modest $1,800 a month budget!"
Live in Lake Chapala
on $1800 a month
As the article says, 'You're never too
old to feel young again,' as well as upgrade your lifestyle almost
overnight. Jim expresses the feelings many of us have about living in the Lake Chapala
area of Mexico.
"The high cost of living in Colorado,
the frigid winters, and the skyrocketing health care costs weren't helping [me]
stay 'young at heart.'" It's so true, you know. Bill and I moved here over
six years ago, and we've never felt better or enjoyed our lives more. Neither
of us had been to Mexico
before. Bill had lived all over the world, but had never even flown into Mexico on his
many trips. I had lived my whole life in Kansas
City, Missouri (59
years). Bill spoke three languages fluently, English, French and German, but
had never learned Spanish. I don't know what wonderful confluence of events
collided to make us decide to move to Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico,
but we have never once regretted the decision. I 'retired' at 59 and Bill at 62
on his social security alone. Pretty good for a couple whose only retirement
plans were to drop dead at our desks!
Read more about our Affordable Lake Chapala Community...
Carnitas
a gift from Michoacan to the whole World
By Tere Ruiz, Lake Chapala, Mexico
Mexican cuisine has a large variety of delicious dishes. In fact, Mexican
cuisine is such an integral part of the country's centuries-old cultural
traditions that the government believes it should be included on UNESCO's list
of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, and have asked
for international recognition for the country's cuisine. Carnitas from
Michoacan MexicoThere are several things that have to come together to define
what is cooked in different areas or states of Mexico, and how it is cooked. The
first thing that defines a Mexican dish is the preferences and recipes of the
different precolumbian cultures...since Mexico was a territory originally
populated by Mayans, Olmecs, Aztecs, to name a few. However, the cuisine is
also defined by the kind of vegetables and fruit that grow in the different
climates, as well as the different animals that you find there. All these
things have defined the traditional dishes of each area, and of course, the
blending with the Spanish cuisine and products that came with the colonization.
It is said that pork was introduced in Mexico by the Spanish, and one of the
most emblematic dishes that we have in Mexico is called "carnitas,"
which originated in the state of Michoacan, but is now prepared in different
ways depending on the region of Mexico where you eat them.
Learn more about Carnitas from Michoacan Mexico...
Overweight?
Start Reducing Today!
By Judit Rajhathy, B.A., RNCP, D.Ac.
There is an overweight epidemic that permeates all age groups. One third of all
children between the ages of two and nineteen are overweight or obese and over
one billion adults are overweight, 300 million of them obese! While genetics
may play a small role in these statistics, the predominant factors are poor
diet and lack of exercise.
Diets high in saturated fats and sugars have given way to diets high in complex
carbohydrates. Also the portions have grown by leaps and bounds which is
evident in fast food outlets and family restaurants. Shifts toward less
physical activity is also evidenced by the increasing dependence on cars,
passive leisure and technology in homes.
There are three primary ways of assessing your obesity levels:
- body mass index (BMI) - a measure of body fat based
on height and weight. Normal
would be 18.5 - 24.9, Overweight is 25 - 29.9 and Obese is 30 or higher.
Click on www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi and calculate yours right now. The
limits of this calculation are a) it may overestimate body fat in muscular
people and b) it may underestimate body fat in older people who have lost
muscle mass
- waist circumference - is determined by placing a
measuring tape snugly around your waist. Risk increases with a waist
measurement over 35
inches in women and over 40 in men.
- other risk factors - high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, physical inactivity, high blood sugar, smoking
It is
when you eat more calories than you burn off that your body will store the
extra calories as fat. So the solution is to eat less and/or to burn more -
ideally utilizing both approaches is the most effective. Making sure the
thyroid gland is working efficiently is also important. Joining a group such as
Weight Watchers combined with an exercise program is always helpful in
obtaining desirable results. But do keep in mind that one approach (diet)
without the other (exercise) will not result in optimal health or in healthy
weight loss. Both are required.
Read more about how you can start reducing today...
A Fascinating Dinner in Lake Chapala
by
Karen Mc Connaughey
It started very simply...with a phone call..."Hi Karen, are you and Bill
busy tonight?" Jim asked. We had tentative plans, but were able to change
them very quickly when Jim explained that two tickets had opened up to a
wonderful Palestinean Mezza hosted by Sally Bahous. Jim McCullough and his
group had bid on and won this fabulous prize to be served dinner by Sally and
her husband, along with some friends, at their house in the Raquet Club. When
two people had to cancel at this last minute, Jim called Bill and me, knowing
that we not only loved eating, but loved trying new dishes.
Mezza is Lebanese for tapas/appetizers. Mezza is an important part of the Arab
social life. It is a leisurely, relaxing period in which eating and drinking is
accompanied by congenial conversation. It certainly didn't disappoint...good
food, good friends, good conversation...you can't ask for more.
The benefit Jim and his friends had attended was to benefit vocational
education for the women of the village
of San Juan Cosala. This
important program is essential in helping raise the standard of living for the
many poor families who inhabit the village. See the reprint from the Ojo del
Lago about this organization in this issue of in Focus.
Learn more about this fascinating dinner in Lake Chapala
Mexico...
Myth
about Mexico:
Health Care
By Karen McConnaughey
Myth: I'll get sick, and I've heard
health care is not all that good in Mexico.
Big
Myth-stake! If you do
get sick in Mexico,
health care is very good and very cheap.
Quality
Health Care in Mexico
Mexico
has an excellent reputation for the quality of its health care system. As in
every country, there are good and bad physicians, and better and worse
hospitals. In general, the physicians and surgeons in Mexico (and Lake
Chapala and Guadalajara in particular) are well trained
and have good diagnostic and treatment skills. Many received at least part of
their training in the U.S.
or Europe. Every mid-size to large city in Mexico has at least one first-rate hospital and
in Guadalajara
there are many excellent hospitals. And a big plus is that the cost of health
care in Mexico is generally
one-half or less what you might expect to pay in the U.S. The hospitals are usually
easily accessible and well equipped. In the major centers such as Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara, the
hospitals often have leading edge equipment and techniques that equal or exceed
those available "North of the Border." My personal experience with
Mexican doctors is that they seem more experienced in diagnosing common
problems than U.S. doctors, are more willing to try different therapies, and,
most importantly, they spend more time with their patients.
Read more about the health care available in Mexico...
Review
of A Pillow Stuffed with Diamonds (Reprinted from the Ojo del Lago)
By Karen Mc Connaughey
If you're tired of most of what passes
for poetry these days in The New Yorker or The Atlantic or even Poetry
Magazine, pick up Margaret Van Every's new book, A Pillow Stuffed with
Diamonds, and breathe a sweet sigh of relief that once again you have the real
thing in your hands. --James Tipton, Award winning poet from Chapala,
Jalisco
Jim Tipton says in his introduction to Margaret Van Every's delightful book of
poems, "Those of us who love poetry have something else to celebrate this
year... Margaret's...collection of tanka, A
Pillow Stuffed with Diamonds, [is] a remarkable collection of short
poems that...celebrate life in Mexico."
I couldn't agree more as I savor Margaret's love for Mexico in every delicious and
delectable piece of poetry.
This book pays poetic homage to life in Mexico, with all its beauty, love
and romance, celebration of death, longing, joy, fun, laughter, music,
incongruities, and even some warts. It doesn't color everything rosy, but at
the end you heave a sigh of contentment because...wow...you live in Mexico!
To appreciate the experience, you must read Tipton's introduction describing
what tanka (sing.and pl.) is. Though it dates back 1400 years, it's a new art
form for me.
Read the rest of the review of A Pillow Stuffed with
Diamonds...
A tip
from the Mexican Kitchen
Spanish
101: The Meaning of Ya
by Tere Ruiz
When I started researching about the word “Ya” I thought that it was going to
be a very complicated word to explain in English. So I looked everywhere and
discovered two things:
- "Ya" is an adverb which basically means
either "already" or "right now."
- The meaning of "Ya" depends on the context
and basically on the emotional context of what you are saying.
I believe that we Mexicans are very emotional and also very passionate people,
but there is something else we are too, and that is something somewhere between
exaggerated and precise. We always go all the way down to diminutives or all
the way up to augmentative and even use diminutives of the diminutives or augmentatives
of the augmentatives. As I said, we are very emotional, and I believe that some
of what we say can also sometimes sound rude, because we are very "direct
and to the point." The word "Ya" is an example of this.
Ya= Right Now
One example of this is when you use the word "ya" as "right
now." Quiero que te vayas a dormir
ya. I want you to go to sleep right now.
Learn more about the meaning of the Spanish word
"Ya"...
AMSIF in San Juan
Cosala
By Sally Bahous
This article appeared in the Ojo del
Lago, February 2010
Facing the square in San Juan is an old house painted yellow and trimmed in
blue: during the Revolution it was a hospital and before that it functioned as
the home of the priests who tended the old church whose side wall forms the
back wall of the house's courtyard and whose decaying tower now sports a cactus
instead of a bell, looming large over the green courtyard. AMSIF has rented
this house for the past five years, using it as a school for the women of San
Juan Cosala.
Here, Mexican women teach Mexican women who want to learn more about a large
variety of subjects from nutrition to language to caring for the very young and
the elderly. In the past year, an oven has been installed and some of the women
who have been trainined in baking pastries now have a paying job baking for the
small cafe in the building that serves coffee, tea and desserts every Tuesday
through Saturday.
Read more about this wondeful organization...
Practicing Yoga or Tai Chi Can Reduce Stress
Practicing Yoga or Tai Chi 20 minutes each morning can help reduce stress,
improve strength, limberness, provide better immune function and lower blood
pressure.
The major benefit of Yoga and Tai Chi is that they combine key elements of
exercise - aerobic, strength training, core stability, flexibility and balance
- into unified approaches.
Certain benefits, particularly stress reduction, can be seen in as little as
one day. People report better sleep and improvements in digestive health within
the first few days.
Practicing Yoga and Tai Chi regularly may help reverse some effects of aging,
such as restricted and narrowed movements. After 10 to 12 weeks of regular
sessions, practitioners often notice significant health benefits in other
areas.
For example, a study of Yoga and people who experience migraines found that
those doing Yoga had less frequent and less intense headaches than did those
taking medication.
Also, those who practiced Yoga and Tai Chi saw improvements in anxiety and
depression. Yoga and Tai Chi can improve bone density and cardiovascular health
and decrease blood pressure. The benefits of Yoga and Tai Chi have been
described in the October issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter titled "Yoga
and Tai Chi: Pathways to health and wholeness".
The best way to learn Yoga or Tai Chi is by taking a class or working with a
qualified instructor. These classes, which teach the art of breathing,
meditation and posing, are offered at many locations around lakeside. For
information about some of these locations contact askfocus@focusonmexico.com