Category Archives: Uncategorized

October 4, 2019 · 6:57 am

What’s going on with you–(Pay)pal?

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At the beginning of September, when I opened my Paypal account to count my pennies, there was a message about some changes that would be coming up on September 25. It seemed a kind of a random date and I didn’t really understand what was going on. I sent an email to Paypal customer service to ask for clarification. This is what I received in return:

PayPal is making some changes to its User Agreement that will be effective as to all Mexican PayPal users as of September 25, 2019. We encourage you to review this Policy Update and familiarize yourself with all the changes that are being made. 

Amendments to the User Agreement

 

  • We are disabling the use of balance and implementing an Automatic Transfer feature to your Designated Bank Account (currency conversion fees may apply).
  • We are modifying the currency conversion fees for sending payments. 
  • We are disabling the Mass Payment/Payouts feature.

 

So on the morning of September 25, I signed in and manually transferred most of my balance to my Capital One 360 bank account, just in case. I then held my breath and crossed my fingers. I checked in again and the wrong bank account was scheduled to receive the automatic balance transfer. So I changed that. And waited. Everything went fine.

The next day I discovered that I couldn’t use Paypal to pay for anything. Prior to these new changes, I could use my balance (which no longer existed) or withdraw funds from my Capital One 360 account for the purchase. Not happening anymore. 

Since I am paid for one of my jobs via Paypal, on Monday of the following week, money went in and then just sat there. It wasn’t automatically transferred. I couldn’t transfer it manually. So now what was going on? I sent another message to Paypal which went unanswered. In the morning, I called them up. 

There was “a usually high number of calls” (at 7 am) but a representative would be right with me. When I did talk to one, I explained my situation. The nice young lady said there was a glitch and the money wasn’t being transferred automatically like it should be. So she told me to go to www.paypal.com/wdfunds and I could transfer from there until this problem was fixed. I did and I could. I asked how long it would be until things were back on track. Maybe this weekend was her reply but not with any real conviction. 

So what’s going on in the banking world here in Mexico? It apparently has something to do with Fintechs and the LEY PARA REGULAR LAS INSTITUCIONES DE TECNOLOGÍA FINANCIERA instituted by former president Peña Nieto in March of 2018. The law is being pushed forward by current president AMLO and includes “electronic payment processors” like Paypal. 

It seems that AMLO has this idea that money laundering is going on through Paypal. With all money being routed directly to Mexican bank accounts, the government will have a better handle on remittances and of course be able to collect taxes on those funds. 

This isn’t the first move in complete governmental control of money in Mexico. In August, AMLO was pushing to make all tolls and gas payable through CoDi (Cobro Digital), a digital payment system controlled directly by the Bank of Mexico. This new method of payment went online just a few days ago.

There are a number of reasons why this move concerns me. In Mexico, only 2 out of 5 Mexicans even have bank accounts. Making gas and other items only available for purchase with a bank card means there will be a flurry of black market items bought, things bought by those who have the bank card who then turn around and sell it for a profit to those who don’t have a bank card. 

Then there’s the fact that in order to access your digital payment platform, you need internet access, something that isn’t reliable at all in Mexico, not even in the capital where CoDi will be enforced in less than a month even among the street cart vendors. 

And then there is the smartphone needed to scan the barcode to make the purchase. I don’t have a smartphone. My husband doesn’t have a smartphone. My son doesn’t have a smartphone. No one I know has a smartphone. Estimates show only 40% of the entire population of Mexico own smartphones. 

Still, another issue is the overall unreliability of banks and bank technology in Mexico. In August, Banorte, HSBC and Santander customers couldn’t use their cards to make purchases because of some glitch. In May, Monex Casa de Bolsa debunked with millions of dollars, never to be heard from again. In June, Mexico froze bank assets of suspected human traffickers (which in theory sounds good however how easily funds can be seized is astonishing).

So where does that leave us? A cashless society isn’t a feasible option for Mexico and yet it’s moving along at a train wreck waiting to happen pace. So my advice is “Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!”

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September 27, 2019 · 11:59 am

Decepticons?

We’ve had our full solar capacity up and running for about a month now. Besides my son accidentally shorting out the fuse one day, everything was going well. Until the controller box melted. 

We hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary when suddenly there was a strong smell of plastic. My son called me downstairs and we sniffed and sniffed, following our noses to the battery setup we have in the garage. 

My son hopped up and turned off the power, but the smell was just as strong. Fortunately, my husband arrived home from work just minutes later and disconnected the panels from the setup.

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To our horror, the controller box warped and melted right before our eyes. Our imagination got the best of us, and we thought for sure some sort of Decepticon would spring from the wall fully formed. 

That didn’t happen. But we were in a pickle. We still had power from the fully charged batteries, but the energy from the panels wasn’t making it to the batteries to recharge them. So we needed a new controller box.

We tried to locate Shaggy, the guy who sold us our first panel, but as usual his business was closed and he didn’t answer his phone. So then we went to another guy that installs solar panels. He wasn’t really helpful. He said he didn’t carry the pieces but he could come out and look at the setup (for a fee). We didn’t need anyone to come and look at it. The melted box was obviously the issue.

We went to another lighting place. Lo and behold, the owner said they did have solar charge controller boxes in stock. However, he couldn’t find them on the shelves. He asked us whether our controller box was the correct voltage for our setup. 

Concerned that we may have added too much with the fourth panel, we decided to check the information on the panels again. Each panel is 8.17 amps and the controller that melted was 40 amps, so theoretically, it should have been fine with four panels. I think maybe we need to add one more battery to the setup, but my husband is poo-pooing that idea. 

By the time this guy “found” the controller he had in stock, my husband had already swung by Shaggy’s business again and was fortunate enough to find him there. Shaggy had a 30 amp controller box in stock. 

My husband bought the new controller box which Shaggy charged $1,200 pesos for. He said the box cost about $30 online which would have made the dollar to pesos conversion about 600 pesos. Talk about price gouging.controller

In the meantime, I ordered a 60 amp charge controller from Amazon for about $30 with shipping. It will be here in a few days. 

For me to work these few days while we wait for the new controller since it’s been delayed in customs, my husband installed the 30 amp controller box after disconnecting the fourth panel, since 30 amps would not be able to handle it. It’s working fine. No household appliances are morphing into Decepticons. And we learned a little more about solar energy setups.

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September 18, 2019 · 6:26 am

International Women’s Friendship Month

September is International Women’s Friendship Month. So how do these international friendships typically pan out? Sometimes not so well, sadly.

Living in rural Mexico often means isolation for women who have chosen to come with their husbands to the lands of their ancestors. Friendships with other women are slow in developing, if ever. And yet, women need the support of a tribe of their own, not just the husband’s sister or aunt or cousin. 

Studies have shown that deep, abiding friendship between women can counteract stress–and moving to a new culture is certainly rift with that. Women have an innate drive to communicate, which moving to an area where a new language is spoken can inhibit. Friendships occur over shared experiences, beliefs and values–things that are not found in the new environment these women have settled in. 

Friendship can help women combat loneliness, improve their chances of surviving breast cancer, and generally help create a satisfying quality of life, no matter where a person lives. 

So why is it so hard to foster friendship in a new country?

Unfortunately, we have an inherent bias built into our perceptions that takes deliberate effort to overcome. We tend to choose friends who look like us, have a similar background, and social values. When we are faced with making connections with people who neither look like us nor have a shared history, we need to work more at finding commonality than we would otherwise. And while we immigrants to Mexico may be driven to find connections, the women that live in our village with long-time established friendships, are not. 

So where does that leave us? Depressed, lonely, and ill. Online friendships sometimes help with the worst of this, but virtual buddies can’t ever replace an actual friend. 

In June, I was able to visit my hometown for the first time in 10 years. I stayed in the home of my best friend since third grade. I thought that it was just me, who had been living in relative isolation for so long, that most enjoyed our time together. So I was surprised when my friend said that she really missed the company of women, both her girls were grown now. 

at shannons

We talked about the growing Amish community in the area and whether they had a better support system than most women. After all, they have shared values, a common background, activities, and history. Since that society of women is closed to non-Amish for the most part, we weren’t able to do more than speculate.

Bringing these thoughts back with me to Mexico, I started to feel less resentful of the women who refused to befriend me. The closed society of women here is no different than the Amish community in Pennsylvania. Which of course, makes it difficult for interlopers like myself to establish deep and abiding friendships. 

shopping with e

So where does that leave me? I will continue to enjoy my virtual interactions in the various Facebook groups I am in, including two that I help manage SOTB Bloggers and Women Surviving Rural Mexico, which I invite you to join if you live in Mexico. I will keep trying to be supportive of the women as they struggle with their online presence and daily interactions in Mexico. I will try to remember that I have an internal bias as do the women I come in contact with, so I mustn’t hold it against them. And I will continue to cherish the friends that I have no matter the distance between us. 

How have you made and maintained your friendships with other women?

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