FM3!

Friday was an exciting day for Chris & me. We applied for our FM3’s! What, you may ask, is an FM3? Well, it is rather like having Resident Alien status only in Mexico.

When tourists come to Mexico they are normally issued a visa which is valid for either one month or six months…depending on how long you expect to be in the country. Last year, our first season of cruising, we checked in when we arrived in Cabo San Lucas (the first entry port we came to) and were issued a 6 month visa. We were not planning to return to the States until after the visas expired so we solved the problem by flying to Phoenix for two days, doing some shopping and returning to have a new visa issued. It was a nice excuse to visit with my sister and get a few lusted after items that are not available south of the border. Still, it was expensive and inconvenient as we were only a few weeks short of leaving the country for the summer.

This year we have been puzzling over how we might get our FM3 cards so we don’t have to go through the hassle of a trip to the States and back or pay someone a fairly large amount of money to “renew” our visas. Since our current plans involve spending our winters here (at least until we get the bug to go explore somewhere different) it seemed logical to get FM3’s so we can come and go at will. The one real stumbling block has been that you must have a residential address and we move our residence around all the time!

Soooo….when I read last month’s “Philo’s Notes” (newsletter) and discovered that Maria (who used to be the concierge at the marina here) was now providing her services out of his establishment…and…that one of the things she does is help people get their FM3, we jumped on it! The marina was quite cooperative in giving us a letter verifying that we are residing here since we have a slip. Turns out we were quite happy to have Maria’s help for the application process. It involves lots of documents and procedures that have to be negotiated in Spanish.

Thursday we went up to hire Maria to help us with the FM3 applications and the first thing she did was give us a list of “homework”. We had to gather together copies of our U.S. passports, letters of residence (for both of us) from the marina and copies of the last 3 months’ bank statements for both of us (seems Mexico wants to make sure you have some sort of income before they say you can stay). Maria completed the application forms for us (it is all in Spanish). Friday morning we were there at 9am sharp with all requested docs and she drove us to Bucerias where the closest Immigration office is. We had to go across the street to have our photos taken (like passport photos except “no glasses, no jewelry, no bangs…front and side view please”) first and then we were ready. The woman at the desk in the Immigration office was very cute and pleasant. She went through all our documents and then presented us with a form that needed to be taken to the bank where we would pay our fees, they would stamp it as paid and then we would return it to her. Turns out we just waited in the shade of the Immigration office while Maria went to the bank and returned. The only down side to this was there was a bulldozer working across the street that was in serious need of a 5 gallon bucket of WD-40 so we were almost deafened from the squealing while we waited!

Now we wait again. Maria was told it would take two weeks but she is going to begin calling them every day after a week has passed as they tend to have them done earlier. Once they are ready we go back to Bucerias where they will take our fingerprints and issue the FM3’s. Then, we will officially be Resident Aliens of Mexico for 10 years. If, after that time, we decide we want to go farther, we can apply for FM2 status which is valid for up to 5 years. The next step would be Citizenship.

I don’t know what the future holds for us. Whether we will eventually purchase a home here and decide to become citizens (neither of us would give up our American citizenship) or whether we might just keep cruising or move somewhere else. I don’t think it is likely we would go back to living in the States full time as we can’t afford it. As another cruiser friend of ours put it so succinctly, “It costs us three times as much to live in the States as it does to live here.” That is one of the sad things about our beloved country. People who work hard their whole lives often live like paupers or must move elsewhere to enjoy their retirement years.

Many things come to mind as we go through the process to become a part of the Mexican community on a more permanent basis. Perhaps what stands out the most is that we are treated so much more humanely than the Hispanic population is back home. The Mexican citizenry is friendly and welcoming and genuinely happy to know you and have you in their country. They are eager to help you and to be your friend. We are not discriminated against because we are white or American. Even though the Mexican population (legal or not) suffers from regular poor treatment when they are in the States they still respect and often admire us. For me, at least, it is humbling to be in a place where following the Golden Rule is not a platitude but a way of life.

Spanish Lessons

Rosetta Stone & I have a love/hate kind of relationship. This year I had two goals I wanted to accomplish during our winter in Mexico. One was to sail more (we’re about even so far) and the other was to learn more Spanish. Toward that end I purchased the Rosetta Stone program for learning Spanish. I have been trying to spend at least a couple hours a week with “Rosie” and have been about half successful.

“Rosie” is a bit of a devious bitch from time to time. She starts out with nice, easy words and phrases with lots of pretty pictures and all you have to do is match what the speaker says with the correct picture. As you progress through each lesson, you are asked to repeat what the speaker says. If you mispronounce a word you get a buzzer and have to try it again. The speaker only pronounces it once and you have as many chances as you need to get it right. Sometimes the tiniest inflection can be your undoing. I’ve had instances where I can’t even say “la” right! And what a taskmaster! Rosie will NOT let you skip it and move on. You just keep trying over and over and over until you get it right enough to get the bell! Then comes the REALLY difficult part! Rosie will present you with a dialog where you have to try to figure out what you need to say in response to someone else’s comment. Well…holy guacamole! I cannot even begin to tell you how far off I’ve been with this little exercise!

Fortunately, Rosetta is not my only source of learning. Mi esposo es un buen interprete…and thank goodness for that. When I go shopping and find something I want, I know enough to ask “cuanto cuesta?” but if the price is over “diez” (10) I am in way over my head!

I must say that I find it pretty easy to read Spanish much of the time. Many of the words we use in day-to-day language in the States. Things like taco, burrito, manana, adios, etc have become as common as English words like water or house. The difficulty comes when other, less known, words are added. For example, one day we were on a bus to Puerto Vallarta and we passed a roadside stand advertising in large letters that they had: Tacos de Cebeza. OK. I know what a taco is but when I asked Chris what a “Cebeza” is…well…he explained that it is goat head parts like brain, tongue, etc. Ewww!!!

Loose translation: "Crocodile Zone. They eat dogs."

Here are some of the Spanish things I have learned just from taking buses and taxis around and reading signs:

If you had a headache, you might want to go to the farmacia for some aspirin.

If you are in immediate need of a hammer to pound a plug into a spewing thru hull then the ferreteria is the place for you.

Suppose you have had too many cervezas and desperately need to find a ladies room. Your best bet would be to find a bano. Of course, there are banos for caballeros and hombres which would be the wrong one! Yours would be the one for mujares or senioritas or…maybe…it just has a picture of a girl-type person on the door!

If you need a place to stay, depending on how long you want to be in the area, you might want to find a sign that says “se renta” (for rent)or “se venda”(for sale). Hotel is hotel in English or in Spanish.

“No Tire su Basura” means DON’T throw your garbage here while “Basura” is definitely where you DO put your garbage!

"Danger. Crocodile Zone.

No Swimming. No Dogs.

No Fishing. No throwing garbage."

Mexico is very accommodating when it comes to their signs. They seem to understand that Americans are not very good at adapting to foreign languages so much of the time the signs are written in Spanish and English both. This not only helps to bring business into the establishment but is a sort of subtle sub-conscious-y way of trying to teach the average tourist a thing or two. I must admit, however, I STILL do not know what a “Donkey to Iron” is.

One of the great things about the Mexican people is that they are very gracious and forgiving when you slaughter their language. They will do their best to understand what you are trying to say to them and I have never had anyone make fun of my mispronunciations. The hard part is when you are trying to learn Spanish and the person you are “conversing” with is trying to learn English. All sorts of interesting things take place.

It is comforting to know that the universal techniques of talking louder and slower, especially when combined with sign language and exaggerated facial expressions are still alive and well albeit totally ineffective.