Loving the House?

I have almost been here for a month and I have to say that I am starting to feel as if I am under house arrest! We have one car (a manual nonetheless, which I cannot and will not drive on these extremely steep hills) and Dave is working longer hours here. I am used to him getting home quite early from work, but here it is customary that people get home between 7 and 8. Dave has been getting home before that on most nights, but by the time he gets home and we eat dinner, there's not a lot of time to go out and do anything with Claire's bedtime.

I am let out on the weekends, but an 11 hour day with a two and a half year old can be ______ (fill in the blank). Once in a while we head out after Dave gets home, but then we (Dave and I) forgo dinner and are usually crabby! And there really is no such thing as fast food around where we live. We have a Mr. Sushi and that is about it.

I am also worried about Claire because before we left Michigan, she was a VERY social child. Now, there is no interactions with other children. There is a playgroup that meets every Monday, but remember, I don't have a car. It is quite a distance away so taking a taxi might not be the best idea either, although I am starting to think that we may just have to do that at least once a month. I have tried to work on preschool activities for her, but with just one child, it is hard to get motivated to make lesson plans and to accomplish many preschool activities, since preschool is mostly about socialization!

We have done a lot of painting and the rice box has really come to be a favorite in the last couple of days. She loves her Playdough and books, but there really is only so many books you can read in a day (especially with a limited supply and no library). Unfortunately, even taking a walk around here is not very feasible. Our house is at the bottom of a huge hill and by the time we walk up to the top, Claire (and I) are so exhausted, that is as far as we get! Then Claire insisted that I carry her back home. There are also very few sidewalks to use. Most people are parked on them or they are under construction. Not to mention the main reason that I don't like taking a walk, the cars drive SO fast and crazy!

We are working on getting a car, but it is a slow process here. First of all, they do not lease to people it seems. They lease to companies and Dave is trying to work with the leasing company that gets cars for BASF, but this is not a guarantee. Second, they do not sell too many used cars around here. Most people drive their cars until they die. Lastly, it is not like we have $15,000 laying around to buy a new car. Dave went today to see if we can open a bank account here in Mexico and then hopefully, also get a loan, but again, no guarantees. I do hope we get a car soon, but I also hope I feel comfortable driving around on these crazy streets. Until then, I will be here, in the house, with my two year old, twiddling our thumbs! :)

Needless to say, we are hoping to get a car in the future. We are looking into leasing because it is the optimal