by Kristina Morgan and Karen McConnaughey

Last month, in my article about plastic surgery in Mexico, I talked about cosmetic surgery and La Casita Montana, where post-operative care is the best-kept secret in the Lake Chapala area---but now the cat is out of the bag, and I was able to follow the progress of two willing patients who have gone under the knife and have graciously allowed their personal experiences with plastic surgery and the recovery at La Casita Montana to be publicized.

Guadalajara's proximity to tourist destinations such as Puerto Vallarta and Lake Chapala, the largest American and Canadian retirement community in Mexico, has helped boost its appeal as a place for those seeking affordable plastic surgery.

Shelley Brown had her surgery done at a state-of-the-art clinic with excellent patient care. Mexican surgeons are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgeons and have the same memberships and certifications as American doctors.

Anne Dyer, of Casita Montana, has done the research for you and selected Guadalajara's top surgeons with reliable credentials.

Shelley, who stayed with Anne for post-operative care said, "The problem with many Americans," she laughed, "is that they think everyone in Mexico is a chicken farmer riding on a burro. They don't understand that Mexico has some very well-educated people. My doctor is a professor of surgery and his credentials are impeccable, but I never would have done this if Anne hadn't been here.

"I couldn't find a doctor I could trust and had no references I could count on and that's scary. In the U.S. I can ask friends, 'OK, who did you go to?' In Mexico Anne did all the research and she recommended my doctor because he does reconstructive work and I needed that for my nose."

Click here to read part II about plastic surgery in Mexico...

Are you ready to join us on our November 1-8, 2008, program?

If you're still making up your mind, you won't be after reading Kristina's journey of discovery during her family's first celebration of Mexico's national holiday. You'll want to experience it for yourself. The Dia de los Muertos celebrations of death---or at least the memories of those who have died---is something to be celebrated. You won't want to miss it. Come join us for a unique fiesta!

Day of the Dead Customs in Mexico are Very Much Alive
by Kristina Morgan

I want to preface this by saying I do not enjoy morbidity or anything macabre...I avoid horror movies like the plague and I really don't care for scary costumes on Halloween and my children have never been allowed to don the traditional witch, vampire or ghost costumes so it has taken me a good number of years to work toward having any interest in Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), which is one of Mexico's most unique and widely celebrated holidays. In fact, people come from all over the world to experience Day of the Dead in Mexico.

From the outside looking in, Dia de los Muertos appears to be all of those things that I just described not liking.

After 10 years of living here in Chapala, I finally caved in and decided to see what this was all about from a purely scholarly perspective. I left my pre-conceived ideas and judgments at home and brought my husband, three kids and a camera and prepared to be a spectator.

In order to do this "right," we were told we needed to participate in both Dia de los Inocentes (For the babies and children who have died) and the following day, which was Day of the Dead. Like most things, Mexicans don't do anything half-way! They have two days, back to back, to celebrate and remember their passed friends and family.

When we arrived at the cemetery on Dia de los Inocentes, we watched and even pitched in as families were cleaning the cemetery and decorating everywhere with candles, paper they had cut out (papel cortado which resembled colorful paper snowflakes) and fresh flowers. I was awestruck by the families there bringing food they had carefully prepared in lovely presentations and arranging their children's most beloved toys. Some had cradles made out of flowers or paper. One little boy's grave had his pictures, one in his soccer uniform, others teasing his sisters and a school photo. They had all his favorite things laid out: M&M's, pizza, Fritos, an Elmo doll, and his soccer uniform and his little shoes. Judging from the pictures, he was probably about seven years old when he died. A lump the size of Texas swelled in my throat. Oh, the pain and grief this family must have endured...Still be enduring!

I was beginning to understand that this was not about being macabre or morbid. This was a genuine, heartfelt remembrance. Families reminisced by the graves and laughed as they brushed away tears while sharing funny stories about their children they had lost. This struck such a deep chord within me. It seemed to be a place and a time to actively remember how these people we have lost have touched our lives and honor them and their memory while still being philosophical and even---joyful!

It was really beautiful watching the families cleaning the area and remembering the ones who passed on. Looking at the graves it felt as if you could discern their personalities when they were alive. Teddy bears and lit candles at night in the cemetery should sound creepy, but it was just so beautiful.

A tidbit I found rather interesting was that families placed rosaries around their (living) babies' necks (who haven't been baptized yet) and the babies were not allowed to touch the ground or sleep because they believe their souls can be snatched by the dead. As the parents leave the cemetery they call their babies' names loudly so the baby's soul is sure to follow and not stay behind because they believe that the link between a baby's life here and that on the other side is still fragile.

Tomorrow is Dia de Los Muertos and we're going back to the cemetery where there will be dances and ceremonies and prayers and more of the same except with the focus on the adults who have died. This is a pre-Hispanic ritual that dates back to the Mixtecas/Azteca/ Mayan Indians...

To read the rest of the Dia de los Muertos Deciphered, click here...

Aug 9 - 16 program. Still have rooms available.
** Sept 13 - 20 program. Still have rooms available.
Oct 4th - 11 program. Only One Room Left.
Nov 1 to 8 program. Still have some rooms available.
Nov 22 - 29 program. Sold Out. Closed.
Dec 6 - 13 program. Still have some rooms available.

Have you heard of the online phenomenon YouTube? YouTube is a video-sharing website, which was created in mid-February 2005 by three former PayPal employees, where users can upload, view and share video clips.

Well, we joined the high-tech generation in April and have created our own Focus on Mexico site on youtube.

Click here to visit us on YouTube and view the videos we have posted and come back from time to time to see what else we have posted....

Let us hear from you…we’d love to know what you think about it.

If you have seen it, check out full details for our Focus Programs and book now on one of them...

By Tere Ruiz

Foco Tonal is a place located in the village of Cuitzeo, on the other side of the Lake. It is owned by Manuel Dominguez.

It is said that back in 1998, a man from the region had a bad injury in one of his legs and the diagnosis was that the leg needed to be amputated. Someone suggested that this man go to visit an alternative healer named Jose Sebastien Zamora from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, who happened to be in the area. Miraculously, after visiting Jose, this man could walk normally as if he had never had a problem with his leg. After this experience, the man told his friend Manuel Dominguez about it, who was so impressed that he invited Jose to visit his castle.

It is said that when Jose visited Mr. Dominguez, he narrated how he had already seen his place in astral travel (consciousness travel outside of the body) three times, and he described the whole property before even seeing it. Jose told him that he had been looking for the location for a long time because this location was an Energy Point, but as he didn't live in the area, he had not been able to find it.

Mr. Dominguez was very impressed, but after this encounter, he and Jose didn't meet again until two years later when Jose explained to him that a very powerful energy point in his property converged. He showed him the exact location and explained to him how the energy that converged in this point is in constant circulation.

Click here to read the rest about Foco Tonal...

I've always been a little confused by the letter "G" in Spanish. I never know when to use a soft G (pronounced like the English "H") or a hard G (as in the word 'get'). So, as always, when I get confused, I research it and share it with you...my favorite people! Remember, I'm learning Spanish just like you, so, hopefully, this will all make sense. If not, please don't hesitate to write. And, hopefully, you'll learn some new words at the same time!

By the way, in Spanish, the letter G never sounds like g in the English word general.

"G" is a hard g, as in "girl," when it's before a, o, u, or a consonant.

Examples:

- Digno (worthy)
- Egreso (expenditure)
- Figura (figure, shape)
- Gato (cat)
- Gigante (gigantic)
- Globo (globe, balloon)
- Glorieta (traffic circle)
- Gordo (fat)
- Gracias (thank you)
- Guerra (war)
- Gusto (pleasure)
- Ignorer (to ignore)
- Jugo (juice)
- Laguna (lagoon, lake)
- Mango (mango)
- Negligente (negligent)
- Regalo (gift)

Click here for more on Spanish 101 - "G" Whiz!...

By Judit Rajhathy, B.A., RNCP, D.Ac.

Are YOU taking responsibility for YOUR health?

"Modern medicine saved my life but couldn't make me well"
(Wally Hersey, transplant recipient)

Drugs save lives. Thank goodness we have them. As a last resort in the same category as surgery we are blessed to have modern medical intervention. At the same time drugs can be hazardous --- especially when taken improperly or in combination with other drugs.

The practice of medicine has become one of prescribing pills. There is a pill for everything --- and unfortunately in many cases they mask the symptoms rather than address the underlying cause. It is not uncommon for the patient to then return with new symptoms created by the very drug that was given to alleviate the original issue! And then a different drug is given and the vicious cycle continues while the patient's health gradually declines.

Taking an active role in your own health care can be overwhelming, especially if you do not have a medical background. Hence we rely 100% on our medical doctors to 'save us'. The honest truth of the matter is that even the brightest, most up-to-date doc just can't know it all - after all, they are humans too and that means mistakes can be made. Who knows your body better than you?

Judit Rajhathy, Change of Pace Fitness Center, Ajijic, and author of Canadian bestseller "Free to Fly: a journey toward wellness."

Click here to read more about getting a new lease on life...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Regular practice of tai chi chih, a Westernized version of the ancient Chinese martial art of tai chi, can help older people rest easier at night, according to a study in the journal Sleep.

Nearly two-thirds of people who learned the slow, gentle tai chi chih moves experienced significant improvements in sleep quality, compared to about one-third of those who participated in health education sessions that included information on how to get a better night's rest.

In fact, the benefits of tai chi chih were similar to those seen with drugs or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), study chief Dr. Michael R. Irwin of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA told Reuters Health.

Studies show that more than half of older adults experience sleeping problems at least a few times a week, Irwin and his team note in their report. While CBT can ease insomnia, few therapists have the training to offer this type of treatment, which is also relatively expensive. And while aerobic exercise can also help people sleep better, vigorous workouts aren't an option for many seniors.

To investigate whether tai chi chih might be an option, Irwin and his team analyzed sleep quality in 112 people aged 59 to 86 participating in a randomized, controlled trial of the martial art for preventing shingles. Tai chi chih instruction was given in 45-minute sessions, three times a week.

A subset of 52 study participants scored in the "poor" range on a standardized test of sleep quality. Among the 30 poor sleepers in the tai chi group, 19 (63 percent) had moved into the "good" sleep category after 16 weeks of tai chi instruction and another 9 weeks of independent practice. But for the 22 poor sleepers in the health education group, just 7 (32 percent) were sleeping well after 25 weeks of classes.

When tai chi chih group members were practicing on their own, Irwin noted, they logged 161 minutes a week. "That's close to 20 to 30 minutes a day on average, which is pretty remarkable," he said.

"The other thing I thought was pretty remarkable is how few dropouts we had in our study," Irwin added, noting that just seven of the 59 people in the tai chi chih group didn't complete the study.

SOURCE: Sleep 2008.
Wed Jul 2, 2008 6:35pm BST
By Anne Harding

A sharp tongue can cut my own throat.

If I want my dreams to come true, I mustn't oversleep.

Of all the things I wear, my expression is the most important.

The best vitamin for making friends...B1.

The happiness of my life depends on the quality of my thoughts.

The heaviest thing I can carry is a grudge.

One thing I can give and still keep...is my word.

I lie the loudest when I lie to myself.

If I lack the courage to start, I have already finished.

Ideas won't work unless ' I ' do.

My mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open.

One thing I can't recycle is wasted time.

The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime! It is never too late to become what I might have been.

Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Forget about the one's who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

Bill and I went to Ana's mother house the other day. Christina served us a drink that she makes, which I think has now become my new favorite. It's usually served during the holidays, but I'm awfully glad we were introduced to it early!

It was a pomegranate punch made with tequila, also called Ponche. In Mexico, when you think of drinking ponche, it usually means a fruit-based alcoholic beverage. Upon aging, this drink becomes similar to a fortified wine. However, it can also mean the tequila-based pomegranate punch.

Christina is now making a new batch of the ponche and she promised us a bottle when it's ready. We also promised to save her all our empty (of course!) vodka and tequila bottles so she has containers to store her batch!

This is how it's made.

There are a few ways to get the juice from a pomegranate. You can cut each pomegranate in half and uses a manual lever-type orange squeezer to squeeze the juice from it.

You can squeeze and press the skin of the pomegranates vigorously to crush the seeds inside. Then hold the squashed fruit over a bowl, slit the skin with a knife and the juice will pour out.

Or you can just throw 'em in the blender, then strain.

However, I have heard that the most important thing to remember when preparing and/or peeling pomegranates is to wear old clothes since their juice stains like the dickens.

Ingredients:

- 4 cups fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, strained to remove any pulp
- 2 - 750 ml. bottles of a good white tequila (from pure agave)
- 1/2 to 1 cup simple sugar syrup

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Add more juice, tequila or sugar syrup to taste if necessary.

Pour mixture through a funnel into clean glass bottles, and top with corks. Leave the bottles standing up in a dark, cool place (not the refrigerator) for 3 to 6 months.

The punch will show sediment on the bottom and develop a "mother" just as vinegar does. When serving, do not pour the last inch or so, or whatever amount has the sediment or mother. Many people in Jalisco let this age for a few years before serving. How do they do that???

When Christina served it to us in small, approximately 3-oz, tequila glasses, she added a spoonful of walnuts, which floated on the top. It seemed to me to be a perfect combination of sweet drink, crunchy flavor and tequila. Ana says it's practically the only thing served in Tapalpa where she spent her vacation. She also says the sweetness of the drink belies the kick of the tequila, so it's very easy to forget you're drinking alcohol. I can understand...can't wait until I get a bottle from Christina...is it really going to take six months?

Okay...now the 'rest of the story!'...Christina just gave us a bottle of her newly brewed ponche. I asked if I had to set it on a shelf for 3-6 months. Ana says, 'no.' She told us we can drink it immediately...but it must be consumed before the end of six months. Of course, that won't be a problem. I may have to research this a little further to find out the real truth. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it!

Red Cross' bottom line back to health
Written by Jeanne Chaussee
Guadalajara Reporter, Saturday, 26 July 2008

For the first time in many years, the Chapala Red Cross isn't struggling each month to keep its doors open and payroll obligations fulfilled.

Among other accomplishments this year by the International Red Cross Volunteers, enough funds were raised to keep this ambulance at the ready on the west end of Ajijic 24/7. The ambulance has answered 40 percent of Lakeside calls to the Cruz Roja. Photo by J. Chaussee."Thanks to the generosity and the investment of many in the Lakeside community, the Cruz Roja Chapala Delegacion is now operating in the black," said International Volunteer chairperson Norm Pifer in a recent interview with the Guadalajara Reporter.

More about the Red Cross...

More about the fish farm..

To all Focus alumni ladies...remember our Ladies Luncheon meets the third Wednesday of each month, so if you know you're going to be in town, please join us!

Contact Sue Ochs (sueochs@gmail.com) to find out where the luncheon for that month is going to be held. Sue has agreed to be our Keeper of the List for 2008, and we really appreciate her volunteering!

Please join us if you're going to be in town. We'd love to see you, and it's a good way to meet the other ladies.

Our next luncheon will be August 20, 2008.

FEATURE ECO TALKS
by Tony Burton: Writer, explorer, environmentalist

August 5th Only

Tony Burton is a British born geographer, naturalist, and author who has lived in Jocotepec and worked in Mexico for 17 years. His unique insights into local history, ecology and traditions are indispensable for an understanding of this colorful country. In his book "Western Mexico: A Traveler's Treasury" Tony is your personal guide to dozens of day trips and longer adventures. He shares details of little-known places he has discovered and that you won't want to miss as you travel through this part of Mexico. Today he will also talk about the fascinating history of the Chapala area.

Please join ACA and Tony Burton August 5th, 12:00 to 2:00 p.m, at the LCS patio, for this Eco Talk. Contribution is 75 pesos for this special Eco Talks Event. Proceeds benefit ACA Eco Training Center.

The August line-up of Eco Talk topics include, "Mexican folklore - the magic and medicine of herbs". Later in the month another great regional food indulgence, check out, "Lets talk Chocolate".

Pre-registration is not necessary but is appreciated. Sign up in the LCS office, or via email acaecotalks@yahoo.com.

For a list of other ACA Eco talk speakers and the monthly calendar go to www.greatgreens.org...