December 14, 2013 · 6:35 pm

Driving Hazards–Motos

moto man
I love my moto. In this land where having a car is a symbol of success, I thumb my nose at status and have voluntarily chosen this form of transportation. Most roads were designed for burros anyway and it takes some doing to cross town with even a small car, much less a truck like Butch. Using my moto makes every trip to town an adventure as I zoop around slow moving vehicles, piles of donkey dung and crater-sized potholes, outrun furious Chihuahuas nipping at my heels and fly over topes (speed bumps) just like a racing video game.

Parking is a breeze and, for the most part, I can cut around heavy traffic, go up one-way streets the wrong way, pass turning vehicles and park practically on the sidewalk. And I can haul more than you would think possible since my moto has a glove box and the seat opens for storage plus there is a front floor board to set plants or grocery bags or a small child on.

moto cart

My husband added to his moto cargo capacity with a nifty little cart and we only have to use Butch the truck for large hauls.

I must admit it is sort of cold some mornings with the wind rippling through your hair, but we dig out our scarves and mittens and bravely press on. It is also less than enjoyable to be a moto driver during the rainy season when buckets of ice-cold droplets pelt your face, leaving you drenched to your chonies (underwear). I have taken the precaution of keeping my bright yellow rain poncho in my moto at all times. I know I must look like a giant yellow canary, but it keeps most of the wet off.

Driving a moto isn’t as easy as you might think. Although my moto is not one where I need to change gears like my husband’s, I still have to balance a bit. As I mentioned, there are all sorts of road hazards to maneuver around: Pot holes, open or missing manhole covers, topes (speed bumps), construction material left in the road, uneven pavement, pedestrians, animals, babies running barefoot, double or triple parked cars, cars swerving around buses in the opposite direction, burros tied along the side of the road or roaming loose, etc.

Other moto drivers are often the most dangerous road hazard. They seem to have no concern in following the general traffic rules and weave in and out of traffic, up one-way streets the wrong way, up on sidewalks, around turning vehicles, directly in front of moving cars and more. They also can be carrying up to 5 persons each moto, with or without helmets or other safety devices. Sometimes without lights. Men, women and children ride motos, here not just Hell’s Angels. Newborns are wrapped in a rebozo and carried by the helmeted mother while the 2 & 3-year-olds stand on the floorboard of the moped and the bigger child rides backwards on the back. Imagine trying to balance that load of wiggle worms! Beware of the motos I say!

Helmet use is mandatory in some areas, optional in others. But in most cases, even when helmet use is mandatory, it seems to be just fine if the rider is wearing a plastic toy fireman’s helmet with a string under the chin to keep in on. We err on the side of safety in our household and require at least a bike helmet or stronger for both riders and drivers. Yet even wearing a big heavy moon landing helmet, my mother-in-law did not escape severe head trauma when mowed down my a police vehicle cruising at more than 200 mph. (See On life and liberty).

I also take the precaution of not taking my moto on roads where there will be fast and furious traffic patterns. In truth, it scares me to hear an 18 wheeler barreling behind me and not knowing if hugging the line will give it enough room to pass. For superhighway trips, we use the bus or take Butch, the truck. But my moto is the bomb to get to and from town and in the event of a flat, not so heavy that it can’t be pushed home for repairs.

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December 7, 2013 · 6:28 pm

Getting Legal–Working Papers

paperwork lady

Just so you know, I have been working most of the 7 years I have lived here, but apparently not legally. It was easier for me to obtain my permanent residency through a dependent status, as there is no minimum income requirement. But this year, feeling frisky, I decided to tackle the work permit business.

When I went to pick up my residency card (See Getting Legal-Trip 5) I asked at the desk what I needed to do to work legally now. The clerk printed out a little paper and said that I would need to fill out electronically the form “notificacion de cambio de lugar de trabajo” (job location change notification), then write a letter indicating the change bajo de protesto de decir la verdad (swearing to tell the truth) and return to the office with my residency card and a copy. I had to ask a second time if that was all, just to be sure. That seemed so easy–it had to be a mistake. The clerk emphasized that it needed to be done within 90 days of the change. Okie Dokie.

However, when I applied for a job teaching English at a private elementary school, that was a horse of a different color. I sent my diploma, notarized, apostillado (apostille), and traducido por un perito traductor (translated into Spanish by an authorized agent) that indicated that I had a Bachelor’s in Science in Education with specialties in English and English as a Second Language. Who better qualified to teach the children of México but me, I thought.

But my own high opinion and a Bachelor’s degree weren’t enough for SEP (Secretaria de Educacion Primaria). I received, with my rejection letter, a list of 10 requirements and a request for payment in the amount of $758 pesos, plus 11 pesos for each document sent, to re-evaluate my documents.

I was requested to send:

1–Formato de Solicitud original (a form requesting my reevaluation)

2–Acta de nacimiento original y copia, traducida y apostillada (birth certificate with an apostille and translated into Spanish and copy)

3–Pago de derechos clave 85-20 (payment to the state of Guanajuato)

4–Pago Correspondente (the $758 and 11 pesos per document)

5–copia de CURP (copy of my identification number issued by federal government)

6–Documento original y copia oficial que acredite las calificaciones finales de los grados a revalidar apostillado y traducido (the original and a legal copy of my high school transcripts translated and with an apostille)

7–Titulo o diploma original y copia del grado a revalidar apostillado y traducido (High School diploma and copy, translated and with an apostille)

8–Documento original y copia migratorio que acredite al legal estancia en el país (my permanent residency card and copy)

9–Certificado original y copia o Diploma de Bachillerato cuando los estudios a revalidar sean de nivel Licenciatura apostillado y traducido por un perito autorizado (my diploma from the University with an apostille and translated into Spanish by an authorized person)

10–Plan y programa que ampare los estudios realizados en el extranjero original y 2 copias traducidas (my college transcripts and 2 copies translated into Spanish)

What the….? Not even immigration asked for so much documentation. I was upset and asked around to see if it was just because I was not born a Mexican–and yep, it was.

Obtaining even this information was as difficult as prying state secrets from a loyalist. I honestly was perplexed at what SEP was requesting, as in my opinion, a diploma from a University was sufficient proof of my qualifications. So I asked around, specifically currently employed English teachers or people working at Universities that might know a foreign-born English teacher. Some didn’t respond. Some said they would get back to me. Some said that I needed to fix my own problems myself. These same people who didn’t hesitate to call me up when they needed to cram for the IELTS, Trinity or TOEFL exams, or had a question about U.S. Social Security benefits, or who sent me desperate people with difficult U.S. questions who then never paid me for my time or effort. These people I thought were my friends! Silly me.

So then I asked the Spanish teachers for information and discovered the astonishing fact that most teachers here in México have never attended a University to become teachers. The law requiring a University education is quite recent, hence teachers who did not attend a University are allowed to continue teaching because of their years in the field are seen to be the equivalent of actual studies. Newer teachers who have not completed their studies, often use a diploma prestado (borrowed) from someone who has completed his or her studies.

But not me, noooo. I would have to complete these requirements and take them to Guanajuato personally in order to be given a teaching position.

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November 30, 2013 · 6:16 pm

And Justice for All?

There was no justice to be had for this man in Moroleón.

There was no justice to be had for this man in Moroleón.

The court proceedings concerning the moto accident between my in-laws and the police finally occurred a year and a half after my mother-in-law’s death (See on Life and Liberty). During the month of September, my father-in-law reported to court an average of 2-3 times per week.

So 2-3 times per week, my father-in-law rode his bicycle from La Yacata to the courthouse or the lawyer’s office.

This legal process was exasperated when the police officer involved or his lawyer or the witnesses did not appear in court and my father-in-law spent hours cooling his heels in the outer office.

We thought that perhaps that the no-shows would be in my father-in-law’s favor. Little did we realize that their absence was a mark of how trivial they felt these proceedings to be since they already knew what the outcome would be.

Decisions of guilt or innocence are not determined by a jury of your peers in México, but by the sole discretion of the judge. In Moroleón, all penal cases are determined by La Juez, whose children I had been teaching for several years. I had come to respect her over the years and appreciated her advice during the difficult week when my mother-in-law died and Chuchi slapped me with a demanda (See The First Demanda and La Novena). However, mitigating this esteem was the fact that her husband was the forensic specialist for the police in Moroleón. And him I was never too impressed with. The forensic evidence submitted by the police included a film of an accident that wasn’t with my in-laws and a dent in the driver’s side door which was used as conclusive “proof” that the moto hit the truck and, therefore, the fault of my father-in-law, completely discounting the conflicting evidence of the injuries sustained by my in-laws.

Forensics here is proclaimed the new messiah and unlike CSI, there is no attempt to find logical connections between the evidence and the action. For instance, if your fingerprints are on your own wallet that was stolen, the judge might determine that you yourself gave the wallet to the thief since there were no other fingerprints on it. Whatever!

With such logic, a dent in the door must mean that the moto hit the truck and caused the accident, not that the force of the impact caused the moto to spin from the front of the truck around to the opposite side and hit the door after throwing the passengers into the air–or so it would seem.

Despite witness testimony, despite testimony from my father-in-law, despite the injuries sustained by my in-laws all charges against the police officer were dropped and instead the charges were laid at my father-in-law’s feet for him to disprove. He awaits sentencing at the end of the month.

An appeal has been submitted to the district court in Celaya, but no court date has been set.

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